Wednesday, February 7, 2007

well heres 3.....
not much to say..... work sucks... cats all better...umm enjoy..

Chapter 3 – A New World

Toni lay with her eyes closed, her head was throbbing painfully and there was an uncomfortable tightness around her chest. She didn’t think that she had over done it last night but her headache seemed to disagree. Toni turned her head cursing the vodka from the night before. Stray rushes from the mattress tickled her nose, she pushed them away, muttering.
“I need a new bed”, she stopped, with her eyes still closed she wore a confused expression. Her hand felt around the bed, in places more rushes poked though, the blanket covering her was rough and itchy. Toni groaned she was not in her own house, but it won’t be the first time she woke in a strange place after a night out. She turned and made herself more comfortable. But what sort of bed uses rushes and a burlap sack for a blanket? It was now her eyes opened, she was in a dark room the bed was in the centre of the room, in the far wall was a fireplace, its flame was low and it cast little light, there was a window to her left, moonlight flooded in onto a stone floor through the gaps in the wooden shutters. Toni sat up quickly, she was overcome with a sharp pain in her side and head and a wave of dizziness. She lay back down and waited for the dizziness and pain to subside. She lay with a hand over her eyes, her free hand moved to her head, it was tender to the touch; she winched but continued to probe around more gently. Her head it was clad in a rough bandage which extended around her head. She tried again to sit up, slowly this time. The pain in her side returned but the dizziness didn’t. Now she looked around the room, her eyes more accustomed to the dark, she could see a door to her right, and it was closed. The walls where large stone blocks and on the walls where brackets, in one of them was a torch, Toni rubbed her eyes and looked again, there it was still and unchanged, a wooded stick with cloth wrapped around the top, soaked in god knows what to keep it burning. Who uses those?
“Ok, now this is just weird”. She continued scanning the room. Under the window where several small covered pots, near her bed, on the right, was a chair, well a stool would describe it better it had three legs and no back. Beside the stool was a small wooden table on which was a large pewter bowl and a massive jug. On the floor under the table were her clothes, Toni’s eyes widened, she looked down, she was dressed in a large cream coloured shirt, it looked like and itched like wool. Like anyone discovering they had lost some thing her hands flew to her side to pat them as if checking her pockets, pain exploded from her left side, she bit her hand to stop from crying out, and tears filled her eyes. With a pained hiss she rolled the shirt up, underneath were more of the rough bandages and several bruises on her stomach. She let the shirt fall back down to cover the nasty sight.
“Was I mugged?” was the first rational explanation she could muster, she was still not thinking clearly. She looked down to the blankets, they were a rough material it looked like, felt like and smelt like hemp, that would explain the roughness and the irritation she was feeling. Some thing else entered Toni’s head which made her forget completely about the strange blanket and mattress, she gripped the covers and pulled them away from her legs, the cold air rushed over her legs causing Toni to shiver. Her legs where bare expect for numerous cuts and bruises, and another bandage was around her right ankle which was numb and sat at a strange angle and she couldn‘t move it, her legs were a creepy purple colour completely covered in bruises and a large number of cuts. Apart from the large shirt she was naked. Realising this Toni pulled the covers back over her cold legs, she was feeling completely exposed.
“This is messed up, big time”. She sat on the strange bed her head in her hands, and tried to fill the gaps in her memory. ‘There was the band, the gig, we had a few drinks, I started home, I got to the football field and then‘… She struggled to try and remember anything after that, all she could recall was a squirrel for some strange reason. So between then and now she gained a whack on the head, a broken rib, a busted ankle, and she looked like she was dragged though a thorny hedge. Along with that, someone treated her wounds and in the process striped her naked and bandaged her up.
“This is disturbing” Toni felt violated, she couldn’t get over this. Her head was beginning to throb again, her side ached and she couldn’t feel her right leg and her head began to swim. So Toni did the only thing she could, she lay back down again and closed her eyes to think.
Toni heard the door creak open, someone shuffled in and the door swung closed. The shuffling steps walked over to the table, there was some clinking and the sound of water. The foot steps moved toward the left of the room and a slight grunt as the unknown person knelt down near the fire. Toni opened her eyes and tried to see the person. The room was flooded with sunlight, Toni must has dozed off, she could see a hunched over figure at the end of the bed their back was to Toni. She tried to twist into a position to get a better look at the figure at the end of the bed. In the process see moved her right leg, the good news was the feeling was back in her leg, the bad news was the feeling was pain. A sharp pain shot up her leg causing her to curl up into a ball as she brought her knees up they impacted with her ribs, she could not stifle the whimper from the pain and the person at the end of the bed turned and stood.
It was an old woman, her frame was hunched and her grey hair poked out from under her bonnet. She had a stern wrinkled face but kind green eyes.
“So you’re still among the living then?” her voice was like her eyes, kind but had the ability to be forceful.
“Err, yeah” Toni responded slowly, while she straightened herself out under the covers feeling embarrassed, her voice was raspy, like it hadn’t been used in a while. Toni was starting to push herself up to a sitting position
“Stop, don’t” the old woman was beside her faster than Toni would have thought an old person could move which made Toni jump the woman pushed her back down.
“You’ve done a lot of damage to yourself don’t move, can you feel your foot?” when Toni nodded the old woman went to the end of the bed and lifted the sleeping furs from her feet. She removed the bandage from Toni’s foot, it was painful and Toni was cringing, the woman tutted and retrieved one of the pots from under the window and the stool, there was an open wound on the girls foot it would need cleaning it was not broken like she had first though. She uncovered the pot and a fowl smell came from it. Toni screwed up her face at the odour, without looking up the woman explained.
“Its duese-weed, it will take away the feeling in your leg and make it easier to work with, you should count yourself lucky we have this, it takes a very long time to make and the herb its made from is very difficult to find.” Sure enough when the woman spread the stuff on her foot the pain faded, she was grateful because the woman began to clean the wound with such vigour Toni knew the pain would have been crippling. While the woman worked she suddenly spoke.
“My name is Colnuna, I’m the one who’s been looking after you for the past two days”
“Two days! I’ve been here two days”
“Aye, lord Gottol found you while he was hunting two days past and brought you to the castle. You where in a right state, what’s your name child?”
“Wha.. two…..hunting? …..ah oh right I’m Toni…Castle...Hunting?”
The old woman smiled at the tongue tied child in the bed. Toni couldn’t figure it out why would a guy hunt in a football field in Dublin? Or what castle this woman was talking about. Her eyes drifted to the window and her jaw dropped at what she saw outside.
The first thing that caught her eye was the man, in amour and holding a pike walking along the top of a large wall made of the same stone and style as the walls in the room, beyond the wall was a town, all the buildings where stone and had thatched roofs, Toni had seen buildings like this once before at a Famine re-creation village while on holiday in the west coast of Ireland but a whole town was unbelievable. Colnuna finished with Toni’s leg and re-bandaged it.
“I’m safe to guess that your not from around these lands?”
“No, I mean I’m not sure… where I’m I?”
Colnuna couldn’t help but laugh at this “That answers that question, here you should have some thing to drink and eat” She got up from the stool and walked to the table where a tray was sitting, Colnuna must have brought it in with her, on the tray was a goblet and a hunk of bread with some soft cheese, when the tray was placed in front of her Toni released just how hungry she was and began to eat. As Toni ate Colnuna lifted the old bandages and empty pot.
“You finish that and get some rest I’ll be back later to check on you, I’ve already changed the wrappings on your chest and head today” this caused Toni to turn red “and I’m sure your ribs are fine for riding tomorrow”
“Riding?” asked Toni through a mouthful of bread, looking confused.
“I’ll explain later pet, but for now rest” this was said with a stern look as she walked out the door, Toni could have swore she heard a bolt slide into place. She finished the bread and stared out the window, and watched a man struggle with a horse and cart. “This is not right here, I’m just waiting for the camera crew to show up and some guy to shout gotta!” She truly hoped it would happen because it was obvious now that she was no longer in Dublin and she was starting to get scared.
Colnuna met Senus outside the dinning hall and told him of what Toni had said.
“I told you there was something strange about that woman, anyway she should be well enough to ride with you and Gottol to the capital tomorrow”
“Very well, I’ll tell him when he’s done eating” Senus pointed at the door.
“That mans getting fat” Colnuna turned and left Senus chuckling by the door to the hall.

Later Colnuna returned to Toni’s room, and Toni flooded her with questions.
“where am I? who’s Gottol? And ride where?”
“Peace child I’m getting to that first tell me how you got here”, She paused as Toni told her of the Friday night and it was obvious now to Toni that this woman didn’t know anything of the modern world, or she was a very good actor. When she had done it was Colnuna’s turn to talk.
“You’re in the castle of Baron Gottol, lord over the Puntang Plains and tomorrow you will set off with his court and go to west to Ter Bonin, the Capital of the known world of men, the doctor there could offer a better explanation as to why you’re here.”
“Oookkkayyy, that seems a wise thing to do” she drew the sentence out and wondered if the nurse was serious. Toni was confused and had no clue what was happening so she decided to go with the flow and to just act surprised when the cameras appeared.

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