---

 

“What in the world?!”

“Ugh, you’re stepping on me!”

“I’m sorry!”

“My back hurts…”

“Is everyone alright?”

“I think I’ve gone blind.”

“No, you haven’t—pull up your hat, for God’s sake.”

“Can someone help this kid up? He’s tripping over his own feet!”

“Where are we?”

“Don’t tell me we’ve been ambushed?!”

“We’re supposed to meet the King at the palace—”

“Will all of you just be quiet for once?”

With the overlapping voices, your eyes popped open in shock. Not knowing what to do, you stayed hidden under the covers, shaking, your fingers quickly unlocking your phone to dial the police. Was this an attempted robbery? You didn’t even notice them come in with the loud wind and rain… You strained your ears, but couldn’t hear the howling winds or loud rain anymore.

“If this is your attempt at hiding from us, it is truly sad,” a voice snapped you back to reality. The covers were then thrown off you, your eyes meeting dark brown ones.

“A woman?”

Only then did you realize how many men were standing around your bed. There was thirteen in total, all strangely dressed in clothes you didn’t know people still wore today. Their hair was long, tied back in either a ponytail or a bun; some had what looked like swords around their waist, while others were without any form of weapon. Feeling your mouth go dry at so many strangers, you shrunk back, into a defensive position.

“B-Back off!” you screamed, making them jump in surprise. Holding your phone to your ear, you quickly scrambled away from them, your back hitting the wall with a loud thump. “I’ll call the police!”

“Po…Police?” a young man said, his mouth pulled into a frown. “I’ve never heard of such a thing?”

“Be quiet,” someone else hissed. In one quick movement, someone grabbed your phone and threw it on the floor. You screeched in agony.

I literally just got that phone!

“Answer me, who are you?” a man on your right demanded, his lips pulled in a frown.

“That’s what I should be asking you!” you exclaimed, confused, tears threatening to spill. “If you’re here to steal my stuff, jokes on you, I don’t have anything valuable!” you said, angrily.

“Steal?”

“She thinks we’re thieves!”

“For your information, lady, we’re loyal subjects of the King!” they all clamored defensively.

King?

“If you’re not here to steal, what are you here for?” you snapped. Maybe they just entered the wrong house because of the rain? Did you not lock the door? One of the men sighed, running a hand through his long hair.

“That’s what we want to ask you,” he grumbled, frustrated. Before you could answer, there was a loud hum that ran through the entire apartment, making them flinch in surprise. Some of them even put their hand on whatever they had tied around their waist (which you assumed was a sword due to its length). So, were they dangerous after all?

“What was that?”

“It’s a trap!”

“Duck!”

At the same time, all men dropped to the floor, their heads pressed against your recently polished wooden floors. Confused, but thankful for the opening you quickly crawled and jumped over the end of your bed, making your way to the doorway.

“Not so fast!” you heard one of them say as you tried jumping over their bodies. A hand shot out and grabbed your ankle, making you stumble. As a result, you fell against the wall, slamming the light switch, falling on at least two of them. The lights flickered on in a rush, making them shout. Screaming, you kicked the person who held onto your ankle in the face, making them shout in pain.

“Grab her!”

“My jaw!”

You scrambled out of the man’s iron-like grip and made a bee-line for the door, but someone tackled you to the floor. You inwardly cursed, kicking your legs pathetically.

“Let me go!” you screamed, this time letting your tears fall freely.

“Is she really a lady? God, with that kick, she could break someone’s face!” the man you kicked groaned, rubbing his chin. The others gave him a sympathetic look.

“Don’t touch me!” you wailed, kicking your feet around wildly. The man on top of you loosened his grip slightly and looked at you with wide eyes.

“Do you take me as a criminal?!” he asked, clearly offended.

“You guys are insane, of course she’d be scared after you attack her like that!” A man without a sword by his hip sighed.

“Why don’t we just talk like civilized people?”

“Civilized?! How can anyone consider her to be civilized after she nearly knocked my jaw from its place?!”

“Oh, quit whining.”

“Help her up and calm her down,” a man groaned, rubbing his temples. Sniffling, you shoved the man off you and look at all of them in distaste. The man who was on top of you gave you a sheepish look before scampering back behind the others.

“Listen, let’s just talk and try to figure something out, since both parties are confused,” the man who took your side earlier gave you a soft smile.

Despite his heart-melting smile, your scowl never left your face. What if you said no? Would they kidnap you, or even worse, kill you? You tried your best to see which was the best route out, but your silence was starting to agitate some of the men.

“Hey, are you going to answer or what? Should we just do this the hard way?” one of them grunted, making you scoot back, anxiously.

“Fine, we’ll talk, then you guys will all get out,” you muttered.

They looked at each other in apprehension before nodding.

“Good.”

 

---