Slipping Through Time

When in Rome, I Get Lost

"Court!?" I squeaked.

"If you turn out to be a runaway slave, I'll personally make sure you end up in the arena!"

Arena? What? This lunatic clearly was a little too passionate about Halloween, and a lot too in character.

But I didn't have time to worry about the mental condition of this angry guy. I had to worry about what he was going to do to ME. He started yanking me towards his horse, my ankles dragging in the dirt in resistance.

"Let GO of me!" I screeched at me. My eye caught on a woman walking past us. "Hey! Help me! This guy's kidnapping me!" I called out. The woman glared at me, spitting in my direction and walking a little faster.

My heart felt like it was going to pound out of my chest as it became clear that I, a petite sixteen year old girl, was not going to outfight this muscular, mentally unstable adult. But I continued to thrash and grab at my hair. And then my head was violently jerked to the left. I felt the man's fingers loosen their grip on my hair and I flipped my head up. He hadn't yanked my hair; he'd been shoved.

I looked up to see a figure with shoving the soldier guy to the side. The initial force had been what gave me whip-lash for the second time (but I was free, so I couldn't complain). My rescuer had a cloth with eye holes over his or her face, hiding their identity, but I needed to get the crap out of there, not figure out who had intervened.

Without so much as a glance backwards, I sprinted like my life depended on it (which it kind of did) away form the scene. Ducking into the alley I saw earlier, I pressed my back flat against the stone wall, its cool, rough surface seeping through my thin T-shirt. I suddenly regretted wearing only a T-shirt and Nike shorts to bed. The adrenaline had worn off, leaving me chilly and spooked.

I turned my head to glance down the alley. It was a dead end a few yards away. So I was going to have to sneak out of here or hide in the pot of trash at the center of the narrow niche. I whipped my head back around towards the street, only to come face to face with the masked stranger. Yelping, I leapt back, putting a hand on my chest, sure I was about to have a heart attack.

"Shoot, you scared me," I screeched, stepping back. My heart was racing again. I was getting quite a lot of exercise today, more than I needed or wanted. "Who are you?"

"I think you owe me an explanation, given that I just pretty much saved my life," said the figure. His (it was a male) voice sounded young, like a teenager with a slightly high voice. He sounded like someone I could actually stand a chance against.

Confidence rising, I crossed my arms. "Given that you're the one hiding your face, I think you should at least unmask yourself."

"How can I trust you?" he snapped back, sounded slightly irritated.

"Well, I kind of owe you, so don't expect me to turn you in or anything."

He shrugged, seeming convinced or at least sure that he had power over me to reveal himself. He pulled the hood off of his head to reveal a head of shaggy, chocolate colored hair framing an olive-toned face. He looked fit, but was tall and lanky. He wasn't hot or handsome, but he was cute. Cuteness confirmed. And he was wearing a cloth tunic?

I wasn't even surprised by the situation anymore. This was my time slip, my rite of passage. It just happened to be a very sucky one. The question was, where was I? Or more importantly, when was I? And how did I get back? If I wanted to assess the situation, I should probably get on this kid's good side.

"Okay. I'll go first," I say slowly, making sure my voice was oozing with calmness and maturity. "My name is Hadley. I'm sixteen years old. I honestly have no idea where I am."