Chapter Three

His words grew silent, as he faded away; the ground beneath me seemed to pick me up, turn me inside out and then carry me through a deep black cloud to deposit me on a grassy knoll, naked alone and very confused. When my head cleared and my stomach had settled down to a more normal state, I looked around. The page had indeed turned or as I saw it, I had travelled onward into this fast developing nightmare. My clothes had not moved with me, so naked I must stay unless I could find some replacement garments or steel them. Though right then, the thought of steeling anything given the whipping I had suffered for just being dressed, put the idea of committing theft in this place low on my list of things to do.

A golden carriage rumbled along the path at the bottom of the knoll on which I was sitting, it glittered in the sunlight and flashed iridescent rays of sunlight as it moved. Within, I could see a lady, a most beautiful lady dressed in a white flowing gown, and wearing a crown of gold woven into her bright silver hair. A queen out riding her lands pulled not by horses but by twelve naked girlies, all harnessed tightly in pairs and driven by a small heavily bearded male figure of very small size. Wielding a whip of great length and cracking it above the heads of the sweating girlies. His voice I heard clearly grunting encouragement at them, with the whip adding its own incentive. She, the queen looked out of her carriage window, her eyes roving the land she passed then locking onto me, she lightly lifted a hand, smiled and then waved at me, mouthing one word which seemed to be carried on the air to my ears.

“Later!”

The meaning seemed obvious, but the fact that she knew me confused my thoughts, later for what, when later, why later? All filled my brain as I sat and watched the carriage vanish along the path. When the carriage faded to nothing, I stood up intending to walk onward but to my surprise a boy stepped around the knoll and stood in front of me.

He held out a pie and a bottle of water whilst saying nothing to me, but obviously expecting me to accept his offering, I do and hungrily. I sit again now stuffing my mouth with thick pastry. As I bite down the pie brakes open, flooding thick rich gravy and lumps of cooked meat all over my naked groin, which then rolled down my thighs to drip to the ground. I brushed at the mess trying to sweep the lumps away; looking up expecting to see the boy smiling at my clumsiness. I am surprised to see he has vanished, much like he had appeared. Leaving me food and water for which I was very grateful. I eat and drink, and was soon feeling full and tired, so I lay back on the grass under the bright sun and doze peacefully, feeling sated and unconcerned by anything much to my surprise.

***

“There he is! Over there on the grass; we’ve got the blighter now!”

The voice fills the air disturbing me and dragging me wearily out of my pleasant rest. The ground beneath me shook as a crowd of males surround me. I looked up, sat up and screamed. They surround me, three deep insuring that I could not escape. A pig like man standing upright on his heavily booted feet approached me, pushing aside those that stood in his way.

“That’s him!” the voice star