Ascension of the Monster Queen

Chapter 2: Weird land

Am I dead?' she wondered as she felt as if she was drowning wh she felt someone's grip on her wrist pulling her up and wh she oped her eyes, she saw someone with long beautiful hair and a pretty smile on their face, but wh she oped her eyes Nessa quickly shut them back due to a bright light.

She squinted until her eyes adjusted, th slowly oped them once more to find herself lying in a flower field and there was no one with her.

"Huh? where is this?" she muttered as she stood up and noticed a phoix-like creature flying over her head. Her eyes wided in shock as her heart matched the irregular flames that pulsed across the sky.

"Am I dreaming?" she thought as she pinched herself.

"Ouch, I am not dreaming… This isn't Tokyo though, so where the hell am I?" she pondered aloud as the phoix's roar echoed across the fields. The birds lying within the trees took flight from fear; the girl swayed with the flowers, her heart thumping with each wingbeat of the birds.

'I can feel pain and my heart is beating so I am not dead or dreaming… I need to know where this is…' The girl thought while clutching her head, attempting to ease a headache caused by confusion.

'I was about to be hit by a car, and it was all because I saved a cat. Why do I always d up in trouble?' She sighed as she wandered under a tree on a hill that overlooked the forest below.

"This is strange… I've never se anything like it before. I mean, I've read about phoixes in books and se them on TV, but this is the real deal, I know it." she mumbled as the phoix landed beside her, sding her small frame flying to the tree trunk.

"I don't want to be eat, no thanks." she told the phoix, still paranoid and terrified about everything a her in this strange new world.

"I just had to mtion food… now I'm hungry…" She mumbled as the phoix gazed at her with glowing eyes, making the girl ev more terrified.

"Creepyyyy… Someone help…" She whimpered as her hands trembled. She gasped as the phoix began to glow, causing apples to grow on the tree.

"Apples…" she uttered while struggling to reach one. The phoix flew up, picked an apple with its beak and placed it on a nearby branch. The girl gave a gratuitous smile wh she noticed the phoix's gaze still lingered on her.

"T- thank you," she stuttered, th carefully jumped off the tree. She ate the apple while taking in the unfamiliar surings.

"If there's one thing I have learned in life, it's that no matter where you are, who you're with, always fight for your survival. And since I don't know where I am, I need to find out. I have no inttion of dying as of yet, I am too young." She declared while walking down the hill; the phoix flew away soon after.

The girl noticed a path in the forest on her short stroll and decided to take it despite having no idea where she was going.

"I feel drained…" She mumbled as she approached a crossroad separating the forest into differt sections where she heard screams that lit up her sses.

'What was that?' she inquired as she noticed a man slashing three people across the chest with a black sword.

'Huh? What the hell happed?' she thought as the guy turned a; she jumped into one of the trees and hid herself.

'I am so dead, I am really dead meat…' she thought as she watched him empty their carriage and leave. She climbed down the tree once she could no longer see his silhouette.

"Are they dead?" she asked as she approached the carriage. A man nearing death grabbed her ankle, nearly causing her to scream. Out of fear of the killer coming back, she forcefully covered her mouth as tears ran down the guy's cheek.

"Please… take it... don't let him find it." The dying man mumbled as she slowly lowered herself near his side and examined his wounds.

"Take what?" she asked. His eyes hummed with a gre glow causing the girl's hands to tremble, but she did not leave.

"Keep... it safe." he murmured as a gre diamond appeared in the palm of his hand and he placed it on her lap.

"I... I apologize… for the inconvice… but this is critical…" he said with a smile before taking his final breath. She closed his eyes, grabbed the crystal, and stood up.

'What is this?' she inquired as she approached the carriage and saw the horse staring at her with fear in its eyes and caution in its subtle movemts. She smiled gtly as she approached the beauty.

"Hello." she spoke softly as she extded her hand, but the horse pulled back.

"They seem to be wealthy and their carriage appears to be something that royals would have." She made conversation to ease the horse's nerves as it braced its head against her palm.

"I am curious where this is. Do you know where I can get help or meet other people?" She inquired as she looked a the carriage and noticed a small pouch containing money, which she collected and placed in her pant pocket before the horse approached her.

"Will you take me?" she asked, and it neighed fearlessly, th she got on and held on tight as it ran off.

"I have never ridd a horse before, so please take it slowly." She urged the horse as she closed her eyes and held tight.

While riding, the girl smelled something pleasant and slowly oped her eyes, only to be surprised by a path of flowers.

"Whoa…" She exclaimed as the horse sped by various creatures and she looked up at the beautiful differt trees.

"They are lovely…" She muttered as the horse approached an oping and rode down a path by the side of a hill.

"What is this place?" she asked, looking at the intersecting mountain range and waterfalls.

'Perhaps this world isn't so bad.' She thought as they rode through a valley. Momts later the horse collapsed abruptly, causing her to get a few bruises and rashes from rolling to a halt. Her eyes wided as she saw an ogre standing before her with a sword at her neck.

"Wow… I am good as dead now." she said as a crash in the mountains startled the ogres, making them jump in fear.

"It's the hunters…" The ogre with the sword at her neck stated to the others.

"Who would have thought you guys were real?" she blurted aloud making the ogre inspect her, puzzled.

"You are not from a here, are you?" the ogre asked.

"A female ogre?" Nessa asked as the ogre helped her up, th sighed as Nessa nervously chuckled upon seeing the horn on the side of her head.

"Welcome to our world… This is a magical place, are you a summoner?" she asked but Nessa only stared at the horse and didn't answer the ogre's question because she didn't trust them.