The Daughter of the Northern Star

Not a Dream

Chapter 3 - Present - Alana

Scared, Alana had no idea about what she should do, head hurting like the worse of the migraines that she ever had while she wanted to believe it all was just a dream.

... Even if it clearly wasn't...

"MATÉR!"

"MIE COL'BON!" 

While going to her, both figures yelled in her direction, and Alana couldn't understand what they meant by this unknown language as they got closer to her.

Startling her even more, the woman suddenly kneeled before her, touching her face right away with an expression that Alana didn't know how to explain... But, it was almost like the beautiful figure was seeing some kind of miracle in her.

... And she had no idea how she really was...

However, soon the woman was pulled away from her by the other person, who also got closer to her.

The man was tall, and from where Alana was lying on the floor, she couldn't see his face so well, just the thousand tattoos in different colors that existed in his dark skin, yet nothing was similar to what she had seen before.

... Even if none of that meant anything to her right now...

Alana was yet too scared to talk as the two unknown figures continued to argue in front of her... Speaking words that she couldn't understand, no matter how many times she tried to comprehend them.

Sometimes they would point in her direction, using the same ones from earlier, and she found herself asking in her mind what would happen to her now...

She remembered some stories like that, which her brother used to play sometimes, but she couldn't remember any happy ending in any of them to her unhappiness... Maybe it was just that he was really bad at it, but yet, that didn't help her so much at that moment while they kept arguing.

... Her head started to hurt more and more when she felt a hand touch her before a delicate one did the same, and everything around her became darkness once more...

*

*

*

When I opened my eyes again, I was no longer before those strange creatures, but now, in front of me was only a cream-colored ceiling that seemed to have come out of a historical book.

The subtle sunlight appeared to come in through the cracks in the windows until I finally remembered everything and realized how I was still in that strange world that wasn't just a dream as I believed...

Quickly sitting, I got dizzy at first by how fast I moved while I tried to figure out if no one else was there with me.

... And everything really seemed to have come out of a history book or an old painting, almost as if I had just woke up in ancient Egypt itself or Mesopotamia...

Historical classes never returned to my mind as much as they did that day before a sudden noise from outside startled me, making me lie down again, pretending that I was sleeping.

They never got inside the room, but someone opened the door, and I could hear different voices talking, whispering-yelling while arguing about something, perhaps me, even if I couldn't understand them.

I could hear the creaking of the old wood, but seconds later, the same noise was made again before the silence filled the room, making me imagine that whatever it was that they wanted with me, they had given up for now.

... Waiting a few seconds, I took a deep breath before I went to the door, searching for any possible way to lock it from inside, buying me some time to figure out what to do next...

Holding the hem of the long nightgown, which would probably drag on the floor if I let go of my hands, I went carefully until the front of the room.

Sometimes even holding my breath while looking for a way to close the door until I finally found an old bolt on the floor as my first sign of joy.

... The metal looked rusty and rarely used as it was dropped next to a bucket, similar to one made of straw or braided rope, which have something like pillows or mattress inside it...

Carefully, I placed the bolt in its original place, and thankfully, it didn't make any alarming noise as I assume it should do at any second before I started to search for something else to block the door.

I honestly didn't believe it would be enough to stop any of those beasts that were outside if they wanted to forcefully enter the room until I finally saw a second and third one at the top of the door, far beyond where my arms could reach...

Starting a new quest, I looked around for something that could help me to lock the other two; however, uselessly, I couldn't find anything like a chair or a bench to help me with this, and honestly, I was almost giving up when I saw something closer to one of the windows.

... It appeared to be a simple piece of wood, a kindling to be more specific, but the shape of its end that bent in an L shape was perfectly what I needed now... Even if I was yet unsure for what they used it...

At the tip of my feet, I finally managed to close one of the bolts, missing just another one that, thankfully, was lower than the other.

... Taking a deep breath, I continued to think in my mind that everything was going to be fine and that soon I would be away from there, wherever that place was while I fixed up again the nightgown I was wearing, and which seemed to be so big in my body.

Honestly, it was like a few kilos were missing from my figure, and I must say that I was just too thin right now, and that shouldn't be right since I clearly remember how my jeans almost didn't close earlier that morning...

"YES!" In a whisper, I celebrated when I finally reached the last bolt, and I just needed to push it a little ahead then to the side to make the door completely locked.

... However, unlike the other ones, this seemed not to be at my side when, while performing its duty, it let out loud noise, alerting everyone who was outside.