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I groggily opened my eyes to find myself in some kind of medieval chamber. It had all the normal items of a bedroom--bed, nightstand, mirror, wardrobe, a connecting bathroom, etc.--except it looked as if my room belonged in a 13th century castle. A giant blue and gold area rug covered most of the floor, which was made from old gray stone. The walls matched the floors, with gray stone as the background and blue, red, and gold drapes strung across the walls to add color. My bed had a canopy of white and gold cloth hanging above it, and a suit of armor stood in the corner of the room. My spirits lifted as I considered the possibility that the suit was holding a weapon, but, to my disappointment, its hands were empty. The suit itself didn't even look sharp or heavy enough to really be used as a weapon.

Unable to do anything else, I lifted myself off the bed, still a little light headed from the drugs that were used to knock me out. First, I tried rattling the doorknob to see if it was unlocked; as expected, it was locked tightly and wouldn't budge. I grumbled curses under my breath. I looked around the room for any other exits, and my face lit up as my eyes fell on the arched window on the other side of the room. As I made your way over to the window, I realized that the reason why my room looked like it belonged in a 13th century castle...was because it was a room in a 13th century castle.

I looked down to see at least a ten story drop into the dark water of the moat surrounding the castle. The walls of the castle were the same gray color as my room's walls and floor, except more worn from weather. As I looked out into the horizon, I could make out the faint outline of towering metal gates. I couldn't tell exactly from my room, but I guessed the gates must be at least two stories tall. Off to the right of the castle stood a large building that resembled a barn, except much bigger and...more burnt? I quizzically studied the charred sections of the outside of the barn, wondering what had caused the black scorch marks. They looked eerily similar to the marks left by the explosion at my school. Off to the left I saw a spacious cottage of some sort. I saw the faint outline of people walking from the cottage to the castle. Squinting to get a better look, I noticed that the people were holding trays of dirty dishes and baskets of clothing. I realized that they must be the kingdom's servants.

This thought snapped my back into reality. That was going to be me...I had been taken from my home, my family, my friends, and would be forced to work here in this unknown realm for who knows how long. Maybe forever? What scared me the most was that I had no idea where I was, so even if I could get help, I wouldn't know where to go or how to direct rescuers to my location. Was I in a different country? A different continent? A different planet? Everything looked so foreign and archaic to me; how had I never heard about this place before?

I heard a light knock on the door and my eyes grew in terror. Who could that be?! Was it Sir Byron here to take me away again? Or the infamous prince himself? Or something worse? Although, I couldn't think of anything that could be worse in my current situation.

I heard the person outside my door knock again, and this time I decided to answer it. "H-hello?" I whispered, my voice hoarse and nearly inaudible.

However, the person knocking must have heard it, because they replied, "Miss, I'm here to bring you your new clothes. May I come in?"

I stared at the door suspiciously. New clothes? This couldn't be good. I didn't want knew clothes; I wanted to keep wearing my skinny jeans and favorite red top that I was currently wearing. My clothes were the only thing that I had left of home at this point.

"I don't need new clothes. I'm fine with the ones I have now," I replied to the voice.

The person on the other side of the door was silent for a few seconds, then she continued. "I'm sorry, Miss, but you really have to change into these clothes. The Presentation will be held shortly."

"The what?" I asked. Just the name of the Presentation sent a chill down my spine. I didn't want to be presented to anyone, or have anything presented to me. I jut wanted to find a way out of this castle. "I'm not changing into anything unless I can get out of this room," I countered. Maybe if I could bargain with this person, I could find out a little more about where I was being held prisoner.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but you don't have a choice. You must wear these clothes for the Presentation, and you must attend the Presentation tonight. I don't make the rules." I noticed that she held a note of sympathy in her voice.

I don't think that this person would hurt me, and I formulated a plan to dash out the door as soon as it was opened. Set on my escape plan, I finally said, "Ok, you can come in. I'll wear the new clothes."

The door cracked open and revealed a young girl who looked to be around my age, maybe a couple years younger. She timidly held the pile of clothes out for me to take. I stared at her momentarily, surprised to see how young this girl actually was. She noticed me staring and quickly averted her eyes. She seemed to be painfully shy. I wanted to say something comforting to her, but I held my tongue. I had just met this girl, and you didn't even know her name yet. I didn't want to scare her or make her even more uncomfortable. Besides, I didn't even know what I would have said. There wasn't really anything comforting to say, considering the circumstances.

I suddenly remembered my plan, and without really thinking I pushed the girl out of the doorway to make room for myself. She yelped in surprise as she fell over. I jumped over her and ran out of the room into my moment of freedom. I looked back at the fallen girl with a guilty look on my face, regretting that I had to knock her over to escape.

As I ran down the corridor, all the while distracted by the shy servant girl, I didn't notice that I was headed straight for a guard. I slammed into his back, which hurt like hell because of the suit of armor he was wearing. I fell to the ground in a disoriented heap. As I rubbed my head, I felt a hand roughly grab my wrist and yank me to my feet. "What are you doing out of your room?! Do I have to chain you to the wall?"

I looked up to see a brunette guard with hazel eyes. His long, messy hair nearly covered his eyes and ears. He was wearing the same suit of armor as the knights from the auditorium. I wouldn't be surprised if he had been there during your kidnapping. He scowled down at me menacingly. I tried to pull away from his iron-like grip, but to no avail. His hold on me only increased, causing me to wince in pain. Desperate to be released, I tried to make up an excuse. "I...I was...I was just so excited for the P-Presentation, I couldn't wait in my room..." I lied. But the guard wasn't buying it. He chuckled as my face paled significantly.

"Damn, you are one bad liar, girl. Next time you try to escape, I'll slice into those pretty legs of yours and make sure you can never run again." He grinned maliciously at my terrified face as he dragged me back to my room. He threw me onto the bed along with the bundle of clothes that the girl had brought me. "Change. Now," he ordered and exited the room, slamming the door behind me. I sighed as I heard it lock behind him. So much for that escape plan.

As the gravity of my situation began to sink in, I felt tears picking at my eyes. When I couldn't take it any longer, I let them spill out of my eyes and down my checks as I sobbed for what felt like hours. The stream of tears just wouldn't end. When my body couldn't take the intensity of me crying any longer, I began to sniffle lightly as my body shivered in sadness. As my wails morphed into silent tears, I heard a soft voice travel to my ears from the other side of the room.

"M-miss, are you alright?"

I head shot up towards the voice. I immediately recognized it even though I had only just heard it. It was the girl who brought you the new clothes. She was standing in the corner of the room near the window, looking down at her shoes in embarrassment rather than looking you directly in the eye. I controlled my sobs and was able to choke out an answer to her question. "Y-yes?"

This time it was her turn to look up. She looked over at the pile of clothes that sat on the end of the bed. "It's my job to help you prepare for the Presentation tonight, Miss. It will be difficult to change on your own."

Now that I had time to think, I could finally examine the girl's appearance. She had short brown hair that barely made it to her shoulders, bright brown eyes, and a childish complexion. Her skin was so pale it was almost white. It was pretty obvious that she didn't see the sun that often. She was barely five feet tall, and she was as skinny as a twig. She wore a simple beige dress with a dull dark brown tie around her waist. The dress was tight around the chest and waist, then began to lightly flare out as it reached the floor. On her head sat a dark brown headscarf that matched the color of the tie around her waist. This must be what the servants were required to wear here.

"What's your name?" I asked, trying to lessen the tension in the room.

The girl looked at me sheepishly and replied, "It's Eliza."

"I'm Luna," I told her.

"That's a very pretty name, Miss Luna."

To be continued....

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