What If?

Chapter 2

When Joyce woke up, the first thing she saw was sunlight. Sunlight through tree leaves. It was pretty, she thought. But as she woke more fully, she realized she wasn't in her bed anymore. Joyce was in a forest. A forest? She thought. Did I somehow sleepwalk here? 

Then she looked down and saw that she was wearing a beautiful red dress. It had a full, ballgown style skirt and a sweetheart neckline. The detailing on the bodice was gorgeous and the whole dress was made of satin. The shade of red was deep and bright. It was very striking. 

"Why am I in this dress? What's going on?" She said. Joyce sat up and looked around. Sunlight was streaming through the trees, making shadow patterns on the forest floor. It was quiet. The wind rustled the leaves in the branches above Joyce's head. Birds chirped in the distance. She stood up. This dress is huge! She thought. As she walked, her skirt went swish swish. It was the only sound besides the rustling leaves and birds.  

Joyce walked around the forest for what seemed like forever. But suddenly, she heard some rustling in some nearby bushes. She focused her attention to the bushes and saw a strange woman emerge. 

The woman had a bow and a quiver of arrows across her back. She had short disheveled black hair and a wild look in her eyes. Her clothes were sleek and looked to be made of leather. When the woman saw Joyce, she drew her loaded bow and aimed it at her chest.  

Fear raced through Joyce. She had never been threatened with a weapon before. "Wait!" Joyce cried. The strange woman looked frightened, but kept her arrow aimed at Joyce's heart. Then, without warning, she quickly lowered her bow and ran off into the bushes.

One, two, three seconds passed by and Joyce let out the breath she was holding in. What just happened? Who was that strange woman? 

Joyce stood in the forest and breathed. Then she decided to walk in the direction the woman went. She walked about twenty minutes and came to the edge of a little village. There were women pulling carts full of what looked to be various merchandise. Other women were bustling around in cloaks carrying baskets full of bread and leafy greens. More women were coming in and out of different shops.

What is this place? Joyce thought. But suddenly Joyce felt a hand on her shoulder. She whipped around and found herself staring into the eyes of an old woman. "There you are." The old woman said. "I've been waiting a long time for you. Come with me."

For a split second, Joyce hesitated. But then, she followed the old woman as she walked into the village.