A Dreamer's Tide

Chapter 4

Her voice trailed off as she saw that this was not inside an abandoned house. No. This place wasn't anywhere near that, or so it seemed. She looked behind herself and saw that the door she entered wasn't the old wooden door that looked like it was about to give in. No, this door was different somehow. It was like the key that Eda dropped. The eye was not on that door. This door must have been where the key went, by the looks of it. She started to look around some more, taking her eyes off the door as she tried to look for the owl. The little owl wasn't in sight at the moment. Leaving Luz confused as she looked around the place. This place seemed so different from her home in Gravesfield. Was this even Connedicut anymore? From what it looked like, it was some tent filled with more junk from the other side. Luz looked at the open door and then backed out. Luz walked forward to see what exactly was out there. She heard a voice from outside the tent and decided to take a peek out of the tent-like structure. It honestly looked like a blanket fort inside from certain angles. Everything out there looked different from home. Too different. It looked like a marketplace of sorts in modern fantasy. Nothing here looked like Gravesfield at all. Before she could look around, she stopped for a moment. I noticed someone vaguely familiar. As soon as Luz saw who it was, her eyes widened as she saw the sight before her. It was that older woman she saw last night, talking to someone. Her arms were crossed like a mother would if they were talking to some neighbors they didn't like, even if said mother had to play nice. There were at least three people in front of her as well. They seemed strange at first glance; they looked like guards with those gray masks on and everything. Who wears that kind of stuff out and about in this weather? Maybe there was an event going on that she didn't know about. Whatever the case, these guards did not look friendly. The two guards stood behind another guard, most likely the leader. The two guards from behind wore gray masks and dull gray uniforms with hoods over the backs of their heads. To cover any identification outright, for whatever reason that could be. The one in front, however, wore a different mask than the two who stood behind him. This guard wore a golden mask and outfit that were different from the two behind him. The one with the golden mask even carried a staff of sorts with a red crystal attached to it. Honestly, this sight alone was strange, but she looked behind her to see the open door still there. At the moment she had no clue on whether she should stay to see what was happening or leave. Little did she know she wasn't the only one watching the scene. Others around also looked at the sight, either because they were nosy or had nothing better to do.

"Give it up, Owl Lady; we have you three on one! So hand it over!" The one with the golden mask announced, "Or else you will have to come with us."

"What do you want from me? I haven't done anything!" Eda began seeming just as confused as Luz was: "I don't even have anything you want, unless..." Eda trailed off, looking at the items she had on the stand.

"That's not it, and you know it!" One of the other guards snapped, stepping forward aggressively.

The woman took a step back from the guard but seemed ready to fight if she had to. Before the guard could even think of doing anything else, he got smacked, lightly, of course, behind his head by the guard with the golden mask on. Luz found it strange that these people didn't show their faces like common policemen or officers did back on the other side. It almost felt like some weird fever dream watching this unfold. The guard yelped in response before rubbing the back of his head. The guard was taken aback by the sudden action at first, but he backed down nonetheless. The guy with the golden mask stepped forward and said to the guard,

"Next time, wait for orders, you buffoon." The golden guard spoke sharply before turning his head back to Eda and saying, "And you, you're not going anywhere until we get what we need from you."

"Look, kid-"

"Golden Guard." He cuts her off, correcting her with that sharp tone despite sounding the way he did, which was like a teenager.