Shaking Hands: A KOTLC fanfiction

CHAPTER TWO

Disclaimer: I do not own Keeper of the Lost Cities and anything in it.

A/N: ...Comments? Please? I think all four views are mine. *sobs* Anyway, let's pretend that all of Sophie's friends learned English in some Foxfire lesson. Hope you like it!! We get to see some more from Linh.

Everything hurt. Her back, her head, her arms, and even her legs. She felt like her bones had been set aflame, like her head had been dumped into a tub of freezing water.

   Linh gasped and opened her eyes, even as they filled with tears. Each breath seemed to take in a thousand pieces of shattered glass with it. She let out a rattling cry of pain and fear. Where was she? And why? She couldn't even see clearly!

   She scrabbled around, trying to find something to hold on to. Her hand closed around something warm and squishy. Disgusted, Linh drew her aching hand away and scooted away from it.

   "Hello?" she rasped, as the pain slowly began to lessen and she could think again. "Is anyone there?"

   Her vision seemed to be tunneled. All she could see was a small, dirty street, surrounded by tall, not-so majestic buildings. Beside her foot was a puddle of water.

   Linh reached out desperately. The moment her hand touched the cool water, the pain vanished. She closed her eyes and let out a long, deep sigh.

   It was like smoke, horrible, stinky smoke. Linh coughed. The air quality was horrible! Where in the Lost Cities was she?

   Then it dawned on her, as she squinted at the dimly lit alley. This wasn't a Lost City. It was one of the...

   Forbidden Cities.

   Linh blinked. She was sitting against one of the dirty buildings, still dressed in her nightclothes. What had happened? How had she gotten here?

   And most importantly, where was Tam?

   She forced herself to study the area. Of course she wasn't in a Forbidden City. She probably had just...just what? Linh racked her brain, trying in vain to remember how she'd ended up here.

   She'd been sleeping...dreaming. It had been a simple, silly dream. She hazily recalled the dream, in which she was talking to Sophie and Biana about schoolwork, and then something bright and hot had appeared in the corner of her eye. And somehow, she'd known it was dangerous and she had tried to run. But the thing caught her.

   The last thing Linh remembered was the sound of cruel laughter.

   "Hey! You! In the blue shirt!" Linh realized someone was shouting at her in the human language, English. Was she really in a Forbidden City?

   Her heart began to race. She glanced up, seeing a girl her age standing above her.

    "...Hello?" Linh croaked. She studied the girl. She had a small, pale face, a thin, bony, frame, and a head of bright red, bushy hair. Linh stared at her in awe. Her eyes were a light brown, different from Sophie's deep, gold-flecked cocoa. The girl was pretty, but Linh was pretty sure she was human. Other than the infamous Sophie Foster, no elf had brown eyes.

   "What are you doing down there?" the girl asked. "Where did you come from, anyway?"

   Linh struggled to her feet, noting that the girl was a bit shorter than her and wore strange, ripped, and dirty clothing.

   "I'm Linh," she said hesitantly. "I'm not sure how I got here."

   The girl just scowled. "Sure." Her voice was skeptical. "What? Why are you looking at me like that, weirdo?"

   "Your eyes are unusual," Linh blurted. Inside, she cursed herself. Idiot! To humans, brown eyes weren't unusual. The girl frowned.

   "Ha-ha, very funny," she said sarcastically. "Because everyone has blue eyes. You're lucky to have those eyes. I've never seen anyone like you."

   Immediately a blush spread from her neck, and Linh got the impression the girl hadn't meant to say so much. Linh swallowed.

   "Where am I?"

   The girl blinked, once, twice. She cocked her head.

   "You weren't kidding? You actually don't know where you are or how?"

   "...No," Linh replied, ducking her head in embarrassment.

   "Well, you're in little old Jacksport," the girl answered finally. "A small, unheard-of town in Alberta. Welcome! I'm Thea."

   Not an elf. Elves didn't name their children Thea, not as far as Linh knew. Linh nodded, unsure what to do. Luckily, Thea was already talking.

   "You said your name's Linh, right? You don't look like you come from around here. Do you have a surname?"

   "No," said Linh decisively. Thea nodded. She didn't look sympathetic, which Linh was grateful for. Instead, she simply seemed to understand.

   "I don't, either," Thea informed her. "So...what were you trying to do?"

   "I...want to find my brother," Linh told her. Thea's lips pursed.

   "You have a brother?" she asked, and for a moment Linh thought she saw a flash of jealousy in the other girl's eyes. But the moment passed and Linh decided it had been her imagination.

   "Yes," Linh agreed, realizing it was her turn to speak. "I need to find him."

   Thea scuffed her shoe on the pavement.

   "I'll help you," she said, and Linh stared at her in disbelief.

   "You will?" she marvelled. At Thea's nod, Linh broke into a grin. She had no idea how to navigate a Forbidden City, but Thea surely did. "Thank you!"

   Thea smiled awkwardly and shook her head.

   "I'm sure you'd do the same," she replied, and Linh was too happy to notice the slight twinge of sarcasm in her words. 

A/N: How was that? Please comment! And if you could please answer the questions I asked last chapter, I would really appreciate it!

I made up Jacksport, of course, and Thea is my character. MWHAHAHA. Anyway, I hope you liked it! Have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening/night! (And any other time that I somehow missed!) ~Jade