Romance Fan Fiction ❯ Prayers Surpass Time ❯ The Chapter in Which Some Weird Things Happen...eh the title's too long to type out ( Chapter 1 )

CHAPTER 1: The Chapter in Which Some Weird Things Happen Which Starts the Whole Crazy Domino Effect That Leaves Me Confused and Totally Clueless and I Think I've Gone Crazy or Something, I Mean, What are the Chances…Am I Rambling? I Think I'm Rambling….

 

“Ow!” I flinched as a tree branched whipped my face, leaving a stinging scratch across my right cheek. “Stupid branches…” I tramped further through the woods. Summer break had just started, and just like every other summer since I was five, I had been shipped off to my dad's house. It was big, and spacious, and “could keep me occupied and off the streets” as my mom put it back in Pittsburg. My dad also lived in Pennsylvania, just in a country town named Sherwood on the southern side of the state. And guess what Sherwood has a lot of…forests. So every summer I went off to my dad's and basically spent the entire summer in the woods behind the house.

Oh, and by the way, my name is Vaylie…Vaylie Everheart. My life is as normal as the next girl's…who is an average looking soccer geek who's never had a real boyfriend in her life. I doubted I'd find one in these woods, but who knows, right? Maybe I could fall in love with a good looking forest nymph or something.

Tramping around in these woods all days can only spark a girl's imagination. Every day I'd bring my backpack loaded with my journal (also extra notebooks), a sketchpad, pencils, some snacks, and a water bottle. Alone in that forest, everything would seem to fade away. I may have been sixteen, but when no one's watching I was like a five year old girl. I would have sword fights using sticks against evil bush and tree armies. And other times I would be the damsel in distress and a dashing young prince would ride in on horse back in the nick of time and save me.

Time had no meaning when I was in my own little world. But among all the games I played alone, my favorite was Robin Hood, hero of Sherwood Forest (in the spirit of living in a real Sherwood Forest during the summer). I, of course, would play the beautiful Lady Marion. I would fall in love with Robin Hood, and we would go on all sorts of adventures together.

On this particular day, I was playing “Robin Hood” once again. I was walking to my favorite spot (I had walked there so many times I had sort of wore down a path). The evil tree-minions had attacked me, trying to slow me down (shut up, it's my life). I was almost there, when suddenly…

“AHH!” I didn't remember a drop off here. “What the—” It was the strangest thing. I just kept falling. This couldn't be normal. Where was I? What was going on!! Then, suddenly, I felt solid ground rush up and slam into my feet. My knees buckled and something sharp struck my head.

Then everything went black.

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Voices were above me. I could hear them, but they didn't make any sense, though they were growing increasingly clearer.

“I think she's coming to,” one of the voices said. It had an English accent.

“Look at the bruise on her forehead, and the scratch on her cheek. She's had a right nasty fall, or something, this one,” another voice added. This one was deeper than the first, but also had an accent. I tried to speak, but I think the words came out in a hoarse cough.

“Hey! She did something!” It was the first voice again. I heard footsteps run and then stop at my head. I tried to open my eyes, and succeeded. I was staring up into a pair of large, sparkling, upside down blue eyes. I saw that the eyes were part of an upside down face fringed with light red hair.

“Well, good morning, sunshine.” The person said, and his lips twisted into a crooked upside down smile.

“Oy! Robin! Don't make jokes! Check to see if the girl is hurt! Blimey…” The boy, I could see he was about seventeen now, turned back to me, his head directly above mine.

“My colleague wishes me to ask you if you are unharmed,” the boy said with joking politeness and smiled again. My head was becoming a bit clearer, and I recognized that he, too, had an English accent, only his was softer.

“Ah, um—” I coughed to clear my throat. “Yeah, I'm good.” The boy drew back, and I sat up.

“Good.” I got up and dusted off my jeans, then turned around. The boy was still sitting back, but jumped up in a buoyant manner when I turned to face him. He was wearing very strange clothes. He was dressed in white top, like the kind you see in pirate movies, and tan pants, with black boots, warn outside them. He also wore a dark green, almost black hat with a black and brown feather stuck through the holes in the fibers. The other two were dressed similarly. What, were they on their way to some Renaissance Festival?

“Um…thank you…for helping me…” I said shyly. The boy stepped forward, removed his hat and made a quick bow, then swiftly replaced it.

“No thanks needed, fair lady. But in return, may I humbly ask your name?” He grabbed my hand, and to my surprise, kissed it gently.

“Um, m-my name is V-Vaylie,” I stuttered in surprise. “Vaylie Everheart.”

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Vaylie. Allow me to introduce my traveling companions. This is Friar Tuck,” he motioned to a man in his mid thirties with sandy brown hair. He nodded.

“How do you do?” I recognized the first voice. Friar Tuck…wait…

“…and Little John,” a larger man with dark brown hair tipped his hat to me. Little John? Wait a minute. What was going on? But the boy continued with a crooked smile.

“And I, m'lady, am Robin Hood.”

 

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