Every bone in Eliza's body hurt. For one wild moment, she thought perhaps the house had exploded. But death would not hurt this much, she decided, and so she attempted to open her eyes.
Ah, yes, grass. This was good. Carefully, she pushed herself up into a sitting position. Nothing seemed broken, and slowly she began to wiggle various parts of her body to make sure. She'd fallen out of enough trees and off enough horses to take things slowly.
Wherever she had come, it certainly bore little resemblance to her father's library, she thought as she looked around. The trees were tall and lush, nothing like the scrawny things lining her street. In fact, it appeared she'd landed in a forest. Climbing to her feet, she took a better look about, and noticed the trees seemed to thin off in one direction. She began to walk towards the increasing light.
A red glow rose ahead of her. Thinking it might be related to her accident, she increased her pace. But when she broke through the trees, an alien sight met her eyes. Before her lay a town, one that seemed to be burning. After a moment, she recognized that only a small part of the fence-surrounded village was aflame. Nearby a gate stood open, and as she watched, a group of horsemen came charging out of the gate! They rode straight for her, whooping and yelling, swinging sacks and ... swords?!?
Startled, Eliza tried to duck back into the woods, but one of the riders pointed to her and yelled. Another rider wheeled his horse and galloped towards her. Frightened, Eliza turned to run, but before she could get more than a few feet, a strong arm looped around her waist, and she was pulled onto the horse, in front of the rider.
"Nice catch, Genrou!" The dark haired man who'd first pointed her out rode up, peering at her. "Pretty thing. Merchant's daughter, you think?"
"Maybe! Let's find out!" The voice of her captor was raw but jovial. He heaved her up until she sat on his lap, his arm like iron around her. Eliza finally got a nice CLOSE look at her captor.
Eyes so light brown they were nearly amber danced above a devilish grin. The youthful and handsome face was framed by hair the color of the flames rising over the village. An earring of red beads and a silver feather hung from one ear. This man appeared the definition of 'rake'. Handsome, wild, and confident, he held her in one arm while he controlled the horse with only one finger on the reins. A sword dangled from the same hand as the reins. He couldn�t be more than a year or two older than Eliza.
"So, pretty one, where were ya today while we looted yer village, hm?" he asked, his nose only inches from hers.
Eliza flushed. Oh God, I've been captured by a highwayman! THANK YOU! She couldn't seem to find her voice, her emotions a wild mixture of fear and excitement.
Without waiting for her answer, he turned the horse back to the town, stopping well out of arrow range. Prudent, for a few townspeople were at the gate, those not fighting the fire, and they shot a few half-hearted arrows at the group of bandits laughing at the forest's edge.
"Ho! People of Shuntau! Thanks for yer fine DONATION today!" He laughed as they shoot their fists at him. "Who will pay the ransom for this lovely girl? Someone must be wantin� her back!" The villagers yelled epithets back, as Eliza finally found her voice.
"I don't live there!" It was all she could think to say. Not 'Put me down' or 'Unhand me, fiend', since frankly, she was quite happy right where she was. She couldn't take her eyes off this mad bandit, powerful and beautiful, her mind supplied.
His eyes turned back to hers. "Ya don't? Well, maybe I'll take ya with me, to be my bride!"
The dark-haired fellow laughed. "Genrou, you hate women! What would you do with a bride?"
"What does any man do with a bride, Koji?" Genrou shot back, an evil grin splitting his face.
Eliza wondered if her complexion would ever get back to normal, she blushed so hard.
Suddenly the people in the town began to cheer and point. Whirling, the bandits saw the reason for their delight. A troop of men, all dressed in similar armor, rode towards them, following a banner of yellow with a red phoenix on it. The soldiers, as Eliza guessed they were, began to kick their horses and draw their swords.
"Whoops! Time to go!" Genrou said. Even as he spoke, most of the bandits were fleeing. He kicked his horse, charging for the trees, Eliza bouncing on his lap. At the last possible minute, he yanked the horse to a stop. "So long, Sunshine!" He pulled her close for a rough kiss.
Time stopped for a moment. My first kiss, from anyone, and it's a handsome outlaw! Her hands tightened on his arms.
Just as quickly, the bandit named Genrou dumped her forward. Eliza fell from the horse, landing on her hands and knees. She only heard the horse gallop away. Scrambling to her feet, she looked after him, but the dense forest soon swallowed the bandit troop.
Hoof beats behind her made her whirl as the soldiers thundered by. One soldier, his armor more ornate than the others, stopped beside her and dismounted quickly.
"Are you alright, miss?"
Still dazed by the kiss, Eliza merely nodded.
"Come," he held out his hand to her. "Lets get you home." Nodding weakly, Eliza took the proffered arm.
"My lord Tamahome! They've vanished!"
"Let them go," her escort responded. "We're not really here to hunt bandits."
Back at the village, the fire was nearly out. Eliza stood with the soldiers, wondering what on earth had happened to her, and where she was.
"Now, where is your family?" Her escort, clearly the captain of this troop, asked her gently.
Lord Tamahome, she told herself, looking at him. He seemed young too, again not much older than herself. He had hair so black it seemed blue, with pale blue eyes. He was handsome, but without the wildness that had made the bandit so gorgeous to her. Blinking, her brain finally caught up to her ears. "Oh! My home! Mission Hill, San Francisco."
Tamahome blinked back. "Where?"
"San Francisco. California. You know, the United States of America. Is this Canada?"
"There are no such places," another voice said, and an older man peered at her.
"Um, you'd better make the proclamation, Chancellor," Tamahome replied.
"Of course. People of Shuntau! We are sorry for the loss you have experienced today. Sadly, we are not here to bring those rogues to justice...." Eliza tuned him out as Tamahome cleared his throat to get her attention.
"Where are you from again?"
Sighing, feeling a bit exasperated, Eliza repeated, "Beacon Street, Mission Hill, in San Francisco, in the State of California. You know, the gold rush?"
Tamahome only shook his head. Behind her, Eliza could over hear the Chancellor saying "... Emperor must order conscriptions, one man from each family must report to Eiyo for service...."
Carefully, Tamahome said, "You are in the village of Shuntau, not far from Eiyo, the capitol of the Empire of Konan. Does that sound familiar?"
Eliza shook her head in turn. It sounded Chinese....... THE BOOK! Oh God, the story is a spell! I'm in the book! Becoming frantic, she said, "I have to get home! I'm not from this.... this world! I have to go home! It's only a story!"
Tamahome's eyes locked on hers. "Not from THIS world?" He seemed to examine her, her clothes, and her face.
"My lord? The notice has been given." Another soldier stood nearby, waiting for Lord Tamahome's response.
After a pause, he replied, "Select four men. The rest will continue with the Chancellor. The four will ride with me. We will escort this lady to the Emperor."
California, San Francisco, October 7th, 1883
Geoffrey set the book down. Though it never said Eliza's name, he felt certain he knew what had happened. Somehow, Eliza had been sent, by magic, INTO the book. The story is a spell! A girl from another world, who became the Priestess of Suzaku. It was impossible, yet somehow it had happened!
A noise by the door drew his attention. Emmet stood there, looking nervous.
Leaping to his feet, Geoffrey ordered, "Speak NOTHING of this! If anyone asks, Eliza is not well, tired from her journey, and resting in her room. She's NOT to be disturbed for anything! Do you understand?"
"Yessir!"
A bell rang. The two men froze, and then habit forced Emmet to head for the door.
Geoffrey peered around a corner, and when he saw it was Missy, he ran forward. "No, no, Emmet, it's OK. Missy, please come with me." He grabbed her arm and drew her into the dining room nearby.
Only a few minutes were needed to bring Missy up to date on what had happened. Eliza's friend since they'd come to Mission Hill, Missy immediately accepted Geoffrey's word as truth. She'd read the same wild books, prowled the same Chinatown shops, and spied on the same high society s�ances as Eliza. She readily believed in magic.
Taking the book, she instantly flipped ahead. "Ah! The pages are blank!"
"What?!?"
"See? The story is written as it goes on! Eliza must live out the part of the Priestess."
"Why?"
"To make her wishes come true, of course."
In a ghastly tone, Geoffrey asked, "And THEN what?"
Missy could only stare. How would Eliza get home? Decisive, she pulled on Geoffrey's arm. "Grab your coat," she ordered.
Complying, Geoffrey wanted to know where they were going as Missy led him out of the house.
"It's a Chinese book, right? Chinese magic! So we go to Chinatown, and find someone who knows what's going on!"
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