Page 9 of Song of the Shadow Prince
4
CAT
Feeling as if my eyelids had been super glued shut, I struggled to peel them open. The sun's blinding light forced me to raise an arm to block it, and I rolled over onto the hard surface on which I currently lay. Groaning, I rubbed my pounding head as the unmistakable signs of a hangover made themselves known.
“Angie,” I grumbled, my voice thick with sleep. “I need Advil.”
“Lady Arya!”
A shrill voice pierced my foggy mind. I jolted awake, startled, and looked around in confusion. I was definitely not in my apartment in West Hollywood.
The same girl from my nightmare came running toward me and dropped to her knees beside me. She was dry this time, and the absence of thundering rain revealed details I hadn’t noticed earlier. Her eyes were wide with relief, and she had a delicate, almost ethereal appearance. Her auburn hair framed her face in soft curls, and her pale skin glowed in the sunlight streaming through the windows.
“Oh, thank the immortals you’re okay, Lady Arya!” she cried out, hugging me tightly and trapping my arms against my chest.
“What the hell?” I murmured, my head still spinning. My gaze scanned the strange room. It didn’t look like the type of place where I would be held for the purpose of having my organs trafficked, but it was still unfamiliar.
The room was lit by gas lamps and candles, their flickering flames casting warm, dancing shadows on the walls. There wasn’t a TV in sight, much less an electrical outlet. Heavy, ornate furniture filled the space and richly embroidered tapestries adorned stone walls. I was lying on a large, canopied bed that dominated one side of the room, its velvet curtains partially drawn back. The heavy scent of lavender and beeswax filled the room, mingling with the faint aroma of fresh herbs from a nearby table. It was sensory overload, and I struggled to make sense of it all.
“Excuse me,” I tried to gently push the stranger named Maeve away, “but can I borrow a phone?”
The woman pulled back with a frown, her expression puzzled. “Pardon?”
“Cell phone?” I made the universal phone gesture with my hand, bringing it to my ear. “I need to make a call.”
Her frown deepened. “I’m not following, Lady Arya.”
I sighed in exasperation. “Look, I’m not Lady Arya. My name is Cat… short for Catalina. I don’t know where I am, but I can just Uber home if it isn’t too far. I appreciate your hospitality, but I really do need to go—”
“U-Uber?” Maeve repeated the word as if it was completely foreign to her.
“Yeah… like a taxi. If you have a phone, I can use your app. I promise to Venmo you once I get back on set—”
“My lady!” she cried out, collapsing onto me again. “What has been done to you?”
My eyebrows shot up at her overly dramatic display. I raised my hands, trying to avoid touching her. What was happening? Did she really believe I was this Arya chick?
“How far from Los Angeles am I?” I whispered, hoping not to set her off again.
She raised her head, sniffling. “Where?”
“Los Angeles.”
“I don’t know where that is, my lady.”
I furrowed my brows.Who doesn’t know where Los Angeles is?“Where am I?” I asked instead.
“You’re in Elaria.”
“Say what now?” I deadpanned.
Maeve started to cry again, her bottom lip trembling. “I can’t believe you’ve forgotten everything.”
“I haven’t forgotten; I just don’t know geography too well,” I muttered, scratching my head. “Are we still in SoCal? I’m not a native, so there could be—”
“SoCal?” she repeated, confusion etched on her face. “What language are you speaking, my lady?”
I stared at her, feeling a mix of frustration and bewilderment. The room, the clothes, the lack of modern technology—it was beginning to feel like I had been transported to another world… certainly another time.
