Guardians Of The Box

Chapter 3 - The Village

She found herself waking up in a cold sweat. She didn't have a clue where she was, but it was definitely unfamiliar. Feeling the fabric of cotton bedsheets with her fingertips, Stephanie realised she had been asleep for some time. But where had she woken up?

Wiping sweat from her brow she carefully sat up, not wanting to make any sudden movements in case she alarmed anyone. Although, the atmosphere surrounding her made her suspect she was no longer in Creel's clutches. After all, he didn't provide her with the luxury of cotton bedsheets. Or a bed for that matter.

Looking around, Stephanie noticed the walls were made out of rags...and the rags were moving in the wind.

A tent, she thought. She had been sleeping in a tent. Closing her eyes for a few moments allowed her mind to breathe, releasing all of the recent memories of everything ranging from her time in captivity to the handsome stranger who rescued her.

Enzo.

Had Enzo brought her here? Where was he? Where even was here?

Deciding that she desperately needed answers, the only way she would find them was by leaving this goddamn tent. Flicking her wavy locks out of her face, she raced off in search for results.

Outside of the tent, were dozens of groups of people sat in circles round large campfires, many more tents behind them. It was like a village, except these people dressed weird. They were all in rags much like the material of the tents they slept in, the women were mostly covered from head to toe in various garments, the men had beards the size of bushes wearing big straw hats.

Okay, Stephanie thought, so their trying to make a fashion statement. But what exactly were they trying to say? Stepping on a twig, alerted the villagers to her presence. Suddenly, she felt all their eyes fixated on her. One by one they all rose to their feet, eager to study the girl that stood out in their crowd of similarly dressed individuals.

"Who's that girl mommy?" a little boy said, his face was smothered in dirt which made Stephanie question how long he had gone without cleaning. The boy had both of his frail arms wrapped around his mother's hand, clinging onto her for dear life.

Stephanie felt goose bumps on the back of her neck as the crowd of people inched closer to her, like they'd never seen a girl wearing a strapless dress before. A short, balding man with a crooked nose stared at her with astonishment.

"Well, hello to you too," she said, darting her eyes at everyone that rallied around her.

The man with the crooked nose pointed directly at her. "The girl has both her shoulders and legs showing in the presence of all men and women alike! Provocative I must say!" he announced in a loud voice.

Please tell me I haven't travelled back to the nineteen fifties, Stephanie thought.

Immediately the crowd behind him began to erupt in a chorus of whispers that revolved around the presence of the young strapless girl. Amidst the crowd, a familiar face stepped forward. It was Enzo. Stephanie wasn't sure if she was thrilled to see him or angry that he'd brought her to a place full of nosey villagers. But she could yell at him about that later, right now she wanted to know how the hell she was going to get home. "Enzo? Where the hell are we? What happened?"

Enzo placed a comforting hand on her shoulder before whispering in her ear. "Relax, I'll answer all your questions in a minute we just need to get past these guys and get to Valerie," he said, turning to address the crowd without waiting for a response. Raising both his hands in the air, Enzo warned the busybody's to return to their homes. "We have work to do people, show's over."

Disappointed, the crowd began to dissipate, leaving the two of them alone. Enzo escorted them across the small village and into a tent much larger than the one Stephanie had slept in. There were several men standing outside of the tent, presumably guarding it. Stephanie could feel the tension in the air. She and Enzo were shown into a room inside the tent, all that was present was a small wooden cabinet with books littered across its surface, and candles, lots of candles. There were maps scattered around the floor collecting dust, small bugs crawled around the ones that had been there the longest.