Unwilling Arrival (Open)

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Rapunzel reminded herself, hiking deeper into the forest than she usually cared to go. Gothel used to say that before they would do a job. Despite her longing to forget everything to do with her past life - her would-be mother included - she could not help but remember the phrase when she was forced to do something she didn't like.

This winter was expected to be harsh. It was hard enough to pay for food on a servant's salary the rest of the year, when grain and produce were readily available. Meat was much more expensive, and Rapunzel simply couldn't afford enough of it to keep her going. So she'd ... borrowed a bow and quiver of arrows from the training grounds, and had set out for the forest with the intent of hunting down her own dinner.

It was an hour before she caught the trail of a rabbit. Perhaps not what she'd been hoping for, but it would still provide a decent meal. She used the same techniques as when she picked pockets: staying calm, breathing deeply, trying to make herself as quiet and still as possible as she crouched down behind some bushes and readied the arrow. She was just about to take the shot when a voice called out from somewhere close by.

"Hello? Anybody there?" The rabbit startled and hopped off. Rapunzel growled, stuffing the arrow back with the others and slinging the bow over her shoulder. She ran off to see who had ruined her potential first kill.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she yelled, emerging from the woods and stomping over to the stranger angrily.

Rapunzel's eyes widened as she took in the sight of the ... person who had ruined her hunting trip. It was much taller than she was, and it crossed her mind that perhaps yelling hadn't been a good idea. Especially when her dagger was lodged firmly in her boot and it would take a few seconds to retrieve it and defend herself. She was just beginning to learn how to use the bow and arrows.

She took a few frightened steps back, trying to move slowly even though it had seen her. She wasn't sure what it was, exactly. Surely it couldn't be human, being so tall. But then, she'd never seen a giant wear armor like that. When it spoke, she stopped moving.

"You're in Aledon," she said carefully. She hesitated at saying her name. If she managed to get away, she wouldn't want to be found. She decided to use the nickname her husband had given her many years ago - the one that no one else knew her by. "My name is Rae."

Rapunzel gasped as the stranger took hold of her chin. She wanted to swat the hand away, but what chance did she have in a fight? Pushed away, she fell ungracefully into the snow. Normally this would have made her angrier, but she knew when to pick a fight and this wasn't one of those times.

"I don't know anything about a portal or why you're here. I don't know you. I was just hunting and ... and the rabbit I was hunting got spooked when you were calling. That's why I was angry, because I lost my dinner." Rapunzel sighed and stood slowly, careful not to make any sudden movements. Standing at her full height of five feet two inches, she decided to take a friendlier approach. "Look, maybe I can help you. You're new here ... I understand that. I'm from another world, too. Let me take you into the city. Maybe you can find some friends there."

"Criminals? No, Aledon's a city ... a kingdom, really," she explained, leaving out the fact that she was, in fact, a criminal. No need to alarm her the strange newcomer. "I don't know anything about the CIA. And the training grounds are in the city ... I was just hunting on my own." She sighed and followed obediently, briefly thinking of running away, but dismissing it.

She said nothing as they walked, observing everything the stranger did. If anything good was to come of this day, at least Rapunzel would learn the proper way to hunt. And she was pleased that this person would be willing to help her at all, though she was pretty sure the stranger still wasn't getting what she was saying.

Rapunzel's eyes lit up at the sight of the boar lying at the stranger's feet. It was far too much meat for just her, but she could get a fair bit of money for it at the market. "Thank you," she said, stepping forward cautiously. "Please, let me repay the favor and take you into town. What's your name?"

It was not the first time Rapunzel had been called a liar. There were many scams she pulled as a child and teen that didn't work because someone found out who she really was. That did not make this time any less frustrating for her. She considered herself to be an excellent liar - sure, she'd been caught off guard, but still. How did this person know Rae was not her real name? Sighing in defeat, she crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine, Rek'aa. My name is Rapunzel. I'm sorry I lied but I had to make sure you weren't an enemy. And now I know you aren't. As for the boar ... of course you can have half." 'How can I refuse that?' Rapunzel thought to herself.

"But what's a phone?" She shrugged and began following her own boot prints in the snow to reach the point where she and Rek'aa had met. It would be easier to reach the market from the open fields than to try and find her way through the forest. "I'm afraid I don't have a house. I have a room at the inn which is quite small not really fit for two. I can show you the way there, though. I'm sure you'll have enough money left over from the boar to get your own room.

"Thank you, again, for helping me. There are a lot of nasty creatures you could run into the farther you get from the city. Trolls and giants and the like, not to mention some undesirable humans. I'm glad you're an ally." She smiled at the woman, still not completely trusting her yet. But then, Rapunzel very rarely put her trust in someone other than herself.

"I don't know anything about elves, but yes, there are dragons. And there apparently used to be a witch in the city, but I don't know what happened to her. So I guess we are in that type of dimension," Rapunzel told her gently, not bothering to ask what 'fantasy' meant. She was just glad to be getting through to Rek'aa about this world. It was strange for her, of course, being from a world so similar to this one. She still understood what everyone was going through with jumping worlds, though. She couldn't count how many she'd visited in her old life. She could understand how someone would think this world was 'primitive' compared to some worlds, but she would rather live with dragons and trolls than have to get used to all that new technology.

"I'm afraid the tallest building we have is the castle. It's rather big. Most of the others are just two or three floors high. But I wouldn't worry about any of the creatures. They can't get passed the guards." Her eyes lit up at the mention of a space ship. She couldn't imagine what that would be like, sailing through space. None of the worlds she visited had anything like that, and she wondered if her visitor was from the future. "What's it like where you're from?"

Rapunzel smirked. In the short time people had been arriving in Aldeon, their reactions to learning about dragons and the other creatures that roamed the outer lands hadn't ceased to amuse her. These beings were part of her old life in the enchanted forest and beyond, and she wasn't the least bit surprised to learn of them when she came here.

She nodded a bit, keeping her eyes trained ahead. "So I've heard. I've yet to see one for myself, but I don't leave the borders of Aldeon anyway, and the creatures can't get passed our guards. The city is perfectly safe, so far as I can tell. Trust me, I've seen plenty."

She listened with undivided attention as Rek'aa explained her dimension. It didn't sound like anything Rapunzel had ever seen, and a small part of her longed to go there. It was a brief feeling, and she pushed the thought away immediately. Her days of travel were over, and she needed to focus on making a better life for herself for when she found her daughter.

"Your world sounds fantastic. Mine is very similar to this one - primitive, as you say. But I've traveled to many different worlds before. That's why it's been so easy for me to adapt to living here after only a few short weeks. I've done it so many times." She looked ahead again. There was a grouping of evergreens thirty feet away, and she knew some houses were just on the other side of them - the outskirts of the city. "The city begins on the other side of those trees there," she said, pointing.

"I'm not offended. But I wouldn't go around town calling this place primitive, if I were you. The natives won't take kindly to it. Though ... I suppose you can take care of yourself," she trailed off, glancing at her companion's armor. "I still don't know what a phone is, but maybe you'll find someone else to help you with that. Someone else will come through from your time sooner or later."

Rapunzel instinctively tensed as they entered the market. It was here she practiced her pickpocketing, nut not today, with someone with her. She supposed missing one day of stealing wasn't too bad, given the money she'd be getting from the boar. It would cover the cost of her room at the inn for an entire week, no doubt. "I've heard rumors about other cities and villages and even islands, but I haven't been to any myself. There are groups of scavengers who go out to find herbs and the like. I'm sure one of them would be willing to take you out if you pay him enough."

Though she had come to the market for legal reasons, Rapunzel didn't appreciate being stared at, if only because she was with Rek'aa. She gave the people dirty looks and told them to mind their own business. "I apologize for their rudeness. I'd have thought that they'd be used to seeing someone a little bit different around here," she muttered, shaking her head exasperatedly before leading Rek'aa to the butcher, who would buy the boar from them.