Home and soaking wet

[Arabella Porter]

 

     With blurry shapes that shifted back and forth, Arabella slowly opened her eyes, her mind struggling to work out the puzzle that was her sight. The shapes collapsed into eachother, taking on balance and form; a glowing purple lantern, an old wooden chair, something with a wooden surface (a night stand?). she sowly worked outher sideways position with the warmth of a cushion pressing up to her cheek and a blanket over her body, feeling its presence as she shifted. There were voices, not in english, no hebrew, no french... arabic? Ara shot up.

     "Sand! lightning! It was a sand storm!"  she was hushed when a man in a beige cloak with a white hood rushed over and knelt down.

     "We've landed in London." He whispered. You need to wake up, find your equilibrium, let the blood even out when you stand, and then you need to leave. Ara stared him in the eyes.

    "Are you just going to let me figure out how long I was unconcious or are you going to tell me what's going on?" she asked sharply.

    "We picked you up sun burnt in the desert, almost completely dehydrated outside of Siwa." He replied. "We treated you with aloe and have been padding a soaked sponge on your body for three days." He stood fully now as Ara gawked.

    "I was in Cairo."

    "Well you were obviously moved." He replied. "We dont know anything."

    "where's my crew? How do you even know I'm english?" She asked.  

    "you have a London accent! Either way, we found a copy of your warrant papers in your bag by Queen Victoria." He finished and sat down in the wooden chair against the wall.

   "So you took me to London? How do you know I wasnt taking refuge from my bounty in Siwa? Not that I need to take refuge from my bounty," She added in. "Where's my crew?"

    "We don't know but our captain wants to take your bounty. considering that we don't know you and you have never done anything to us, I want to leave your fate up to Allah." They stared at eachother for a long time now, or what felt like a long time, anyways. "I will not condemn someone to their fate when I do not know anything of them bt the price on their head. I dont know what you've done to recieve such a curse but I won't ask and I won't take revenge that isn't mine." He added. The next fifteen minutes went slow and fast all at the same time, finding her strength in her legs, getting dressed, loading her gun, and taking her bag before throwing her things out onto the dock outside from the window. The mysterious man posted the chair in front of the opening before Ara stepped on it, still a little wobbly but there was no time. When she pushed off into the night air, she faltered and gasped when the sensation of cold water rushed over her body as she fell into the Thames. She hovered underwater, still a bit shocked before bobbing back up and climbing out. She breathed heavily before staring at her bags when gun shot rang from inside the dimly lit ship[ next to her. She ra...ran....ran...

 

                     until staring at the door to the Rejected Gear. She was home and she was soaked.