Before I continue on with my book, I would like to mention that editing is not my favorite thing to do, and so I apologize if I missed any grammatical or any errors overall. There are terms in the story that you may not understand so if you need some help scroll to the bottom/ end of the chapter and there are some terms you should know. Thanks for your understanding, and I hope you enjoy Chapter ONE... of Beneath the Trees.
~*~
I awake surrounded by worried faces of multiple girls. I scream in shock, snapping up into a sitting position as the rest back away, fear striking their faces. What happened last night? This can’t be right; I swear I’m dreaming right now. I don’t live here, where am I?
“Nicole?” One of them starts, reaching out for my arm, but I pull away only to be stung by the soreness I feel. When I glance down at my arms, they're covered with bruises and wounds, sticky with some kind of gel.
“Where am I?” I stammer while pulling my knees close to my chest to make sure no one touches me. I don’t know these people; they’re complete strangers to me.
“Do you not remember us, Nicole?” Another asks. Her bell-like voice is choked up in sadness. How do they know my name? Who are they? All these unanswered questions taunt me, only making me fear more for my life. All I remember last night is the horrible beating I endured from that terrible man. Even he claimed to know me.
“Oh my, I think she lost her memory,” a motherly voice sounds from behind the group.
“I didn’t lose my memory! You people are insane to think that!” I shout, causing them all jump in surprise. “Now I want to know why I’m here and what you want with me!” I gather my strength and glare at each of them. The one who spoke up before sits on the edge of the bed. She appears rather old, with graying hair and wrinkled complexion. Slowly, she reaches out and touches my hand. Warmth spreads through me, and I suddenly feel at home, remembering the touch of my dad whenever I would have nightmares or start crying in the middle of the night.
“Nicole, do you honestly not remember me?” She asks seriously, and I shake my head, softening my gaze slightly. “The Fields of Power must have taken your memory of this place,” she says, reaching forward with both of her arms extending, gathering me into a gentle hug.
“The Fields of Power are a myth,” someone speaks up, and a few others agree.
“But my Master tells me about them all the time,” yet another corrects us.
“Your Master is stupid to think that thing is real. It is too far fetched to be made believable,” another snaps at her.
“Your Master has taught you all wrong about our land,” she rolls her eyes and crosses her arms stubbornly.
“What are the Fields of Power?” I ask carefully when the older woman retreats.
“They are not real, so do not worry about them,” one of the girls reassures me, but the older woman silences her with a wave of her hand.
“The Fields of Power are what keep us slaves within the walls of the Castle of the Gifted. They also keep the creatures from the Realm from escaping the forests and disturbing the mortal world. Gifted, though, are a special matter,” she explains. “They are much like you mortals call vampires, but I say they kill more from what I hear about vampires in those silly mortal books. Gifted capture mortals from the human world and force them into slavery. Most of the Gifted know how to treat us well, though some do not,” she gives me a pitiful look. I don’t want to be pitied, not even for this.
“I’m a slave?” I ask, almost considering this all to be a joke. What the heck are Gifted anyway? They can’t possible believe all this nonsense, right?
