Perspective of an Optimist Ch. 01

"Well? is it good?" Samantha asked with two snaps. Still stuffing her face. She must not have eaten either.

"It's amazing. The quality is stunning. I don't even have to make any adjustments. It's like it takes perfect pictures." Lily said stunned at the marvelous machine. "The iso is perfect. I don't have to adjust the shutter speed to let in more light. I don't even have to focus it. The pictures are just perfect." She said awestruck as she learned how to work her new miracle machine.

"There are still pictures on it." She said as found her way to the photo library.

Snap, snap. "Well I did buy it from a pawn shop." Sam said.

"What? Over five hundred thousand photos!" She shouted in surprise. Just how big was the SD card. She couldn't find the slot to check. In fact, it didn't say anything about how big its storage was, or anything about a battery. She started to look through the photos left on the mystery camera.

They were breathtaking. The former owner of this camera must have been a true master of their craft. They also must have been to some amazing places. She saw pictures of rolling green hills greener than anything she had ever seen. She saw oceans with crystal blue water that sparkled like they were filled with diamonds.

She saw many kinds of people in the pictures. Some looked like tribesmen, some looked like they were from the future, and she even saw knights in the pictures. Whoever they were they must have found some high-quality set and costume designers. Maybe they worked on movies.

Even Sam marveled at the pictures as she was now leaning over Lily's shoulder looking through them with her. They saw amazing things neither of them could explain. There was one picture that stood out to Lily. The last picture in the camera was of a woman. She looked to be in her fifties or sixties.

She stood in front of a big house. It was nothing remarkable, but she felt like she had seen the woman before. For some reason, she thought she might be the previous owner of the camera. She just had one of those faces that looked like she could tell a thousand stories.

"This thing is amazing." Lily said in awe. "Thank you so much Samantha." For hours, the two of them looked through the pictures. They began to joke and make up stories as to where the pictures were taken.

They joked that one with crystal blue water was taken on an undiscovered tropical island. They saw one picture of fire and said that one was taken in Satan's living room. The last one of the night they came to was a huge open and beautiful field. Lily joked that it was from a magical medieval world where knights fought and princesses ruled the land. The two lovers laughed much harder than they should have. It was late and the sleepiness was getting to them.

"It's really late, babe. We should get to bed. We have to be up early so you can get some shots for that magazine." Sam said while rubbing Lily's back. If Sam's hands were occupied she didn't feel the compulsion to snap. The best way to avoid it was for her to stay busy. Lily didn't want to go to bed, but she knew they had to.

"Okay hon. But you need to carry me. I'm too tired to walk." Lily said as she yawned. Sam rolled her eyes but she obliged. Once the two in bed Lily took one last look at the photo of the open field. She wondered where it was truly taken. She wondered if it really was an open field in a mystical world. Snuggled up to Sam who always held her at night and wondered. She kept wondering as she drifted off to sleep.

...

Lily woke to the sound of screaming and metal clanging off metal. She jolted upright. What she saw didn't make any sense. Smoke and fire filled the air, and people were fighting everywhere. Lily sat in an area slightly away from it all. Slowly she stood up and looked around.

Bodies littered the space she was standing in. For a moment, she thought she was dreaming. That was until she tripped on something and fell back hitting her head off the ground. You can't feel pain in dreams, she thought. Lily looked at her feet and saw what she had tripped over. It was her camera.

Lily began to panic. She had no idea where she was or what was going on. The last thing she remember was falling asleep in Sam's arms. Sam was nowhere to be found, but she was still in her skimpy night gown. She assumed whatever happen had happen while they were in bed.

She stood back up and looked around. She realized she was on a battlefield. People were fighting with swords, arrows seemed to come down in hailstorms, and horse drawn carts were aflame all around her. All she could hear was the clang of steel on steel and the screams of dying warriors.

Lily began to run. She didn't know where she was going but she wanted to find Sam. The ground was so littered with corpses she had to jump them as if she were playing hopscotch. She ran to a cart that wasn't on fire and climbed up it to get a better view of the land. Lily couldn't believe her eyes.

It was the field from the picture. This battle was taking place on the field from the picture. She raised the camera and snapped a photo. If this was real she would need the picture to prove it to herself later. Just then she saw an archer taking aim at her. The arrow hurtled through the open air towards her. She couldn't move. She was frozen with fear. Just then she was tugged backwards and came tumbling off the cart. The arrow whizzed just above her head.

"What the fuck are you doing? This no place for a whore." A muscular warrior woman shouted at her. Whore? She thought. Then remembered her skimpy night gown. She was about to ask for help but she was interrupted by yelling. The warrior woman pushed her back and she fell against the cart. She looked up just in time to see another warrior swing his sword at the woman.

The woman deflected the blade with hers and she moved to his left side. She swung with her step and her sword took his head off at the shoulders. Lily began to shriek as she saw the display of violence. Blood splattered across her face as his body fell beside her.

"Shut your fucking mouth, girl. Do you want to attract more attention?" The tall woman said. Lily tried to compose herself but she was still panicking.

"I don't know where I am." Lily said frantically. "I don't know what to do. Where is Sam?" She added.

"Fucking shit, you're in the middle of a battlefield." The savage looking woman said. "I don't have time to look after some stupid whore dumb enough to get herself caught up in a war." The woman said. She turned heel and began to leave.

"No! you can't leave me. Please I need help." Lily said grabbing onto the woman's muscular arm.

"Help you? I'm trying to survive this battle myself." The woman said pushing Lily off.

"Please." Lily shouted and fell to her knees begging the woman to help. "I don't know what's going on. I was asleep in my bed and now this."

"Have her hide in that cart. Behind all the grain." Another feminine voice rang out from behind her. The voice was smooth, like velvet. Lily whirled to see another woman. She was smaller than the warrior but still a considerably tall, though she did not look as built. Lily couldn't make out her face as it was hidden by a hood.

"Fine, do as she says. Get in that cart and do not come out until somebody finds you or everybody is dead." The muscular woman said.

"How will I know when that is?" Lily asked. In retrospect, it was a dumb question.

"When you don't hear anymore fucking screaming, idiot." The potty-mouthed woman said harshly as she and the hooded woman started back out into the fighting.

"Will you come back for me?" Lily asked.

"You are on your own whore." The warrior woman said as she left. The hooded woman looked back at Lily and saw her tear streaked face. Lily did as she was told. It seemed like her best chance. She climbed into the cart. It was packed with bags of grain. Lily hid in the back behind them.

...

Lily had gone from one perilous situation to another. The battle was over but she had been discovered hiding and got loaded into a cart with others. She was surrounded by woman, children, and old men. Most said they were from a neighboring town that had been at the center of the battle.

They had given the soldiers that lost shelter, and that meant they were all traitors. The people were all just as scared as she was. The cart was uncomfortable and cramped. The ropes that bound her were so tight they cut into her wrists.

She was frightened beyond belief, and as she looked around she saw the faces of the people surrounding her. They must have mirrored her own, because all they showed was despair. Lily had no idea where she was or how she'd gotten here, and for all she knew she was headed for death. Despite all that she had finally gained control over herself. She wouldn't panic. Panicking wouldn't help her survive this, and that was her top priority right now.

"Excuse me, what is going to happen to us?" Lily asked whoever would answer. The wagon stayed quiet for a long while. Some looked at her and turned away, and some didn't even acknowledge her existence.

"We're headed to the headsman's axe of course." An old woman said. The woman was almost as terrifying as her words. The old woman sat in a shadowed corner of the wagon. Lily could see her hair was wild and tangled. It looked as if it hadn't ever been washed. Peeking through the tangled hair her beady eyes showed a piercing yellow gaze that seemed to glow.

"That can't be true." Lily said in horror. Partly at the sight of the woman, but mostly at the news of their fate. The woman let out an unnerving chuckle.

"Don't worry sweet thing. You won't be dying today." She said with a wide grin. She was missing almost half her teeth.

"What do you mean? I thought we were going to be beheaded." Lily asked in confused horror.

"Some of us may be beheaded. Before that they will try to sell us as slaves to the soldiers and the townspeople who stayed loyal to the crown." The old hag said with the same almost toothless grin.

"But why would they do that, and how can you be so sure I'm going to live?" Lily said. She could feel tears threatening to spill down her cheeks, but she held them back. She for some reason wanted to be strong. Not for herself, but for the people in this wagon.

"Haven't you ever heard of sacking a town? I know you aren't from here but I figured you could put two and two together." The hag said with a chuckle. "And you won't be dying today because I have seen it."

"What are you talking about?" Lily said in surprise. How did this old woman know she wasn't from around here? Was it the way she was dressed, no the way she said it made it sound like she knew something more, and what did she mean by she had seen it?

Lily's eyes searched the people of the wagon for answers. Finally, another older woman spoke up. "You haven't seen anything old woman." She spat at the wild looking old lady. "You won't die because you're young and pretty. You will be bought in an instant. The people who always get bought before they meet the headsman's axe are people with helpful skills, young men fit for fighting, and pretty woman fit for fucking." The woman said. Her eyes looked empty.

Lily was filled with dread. One good thing came of this conversation however; it seemed to act as an icebreaker because now everybody in the wagon began to chime in. Not all of it was useful information, but she learned about the people.

The old gangly woman was a self-proclaimed Blood Witch that lived in a nearby forest outside of their village. The woman who had spoken to her was a baker. She learned of various people while she listened to them talk. They mostly spoke of their chances of being bought, and their fear of meeting their end. Lily used this information to asses that she was in medieval times.

The wagon abruptly came to a stop. Lily could hear a crowed outside. They all shouted over each other. Lily could make out some of their words. They shouted things like justice to the traitors, they shouted to light the wagon on fire, to give them the pretty woman, and many other despicable things.

The curtain opened and the people inside were led out one by one. When it was Lily's turn, her heart jumped into her throat. The light was blinding as she stepped out, and when her eyes finally adjusted she noticed she was being led onto a stage. She heard whistles and jeering towards her as she walked up the steps. If she wasn't so full of dread she would be embarrassed about being in front of all these people in her skimpy nightgown.

Her nightgown was black and lacy. it only came down to about mid-thigh and it hugged her tightly accentuating her curves. She wore it to look sexy for Sam. She saw two different crowds. One appeared to be the people of the town they were transported to. The closest one that had apparently stayed loyal to the crown.

Lily guessed all towns were loyal to which ever warring power was closest, and the one she had just been near had been unlucky enough to pick the losing side. Which made her unlucky enough to be mistaken for one of the villagers.

The other crowed was full of what appeared to be all those who had just fought the battle Lily had woken up in. She looked out and saw men and women alike. Since she seemed to be in some medieval place Lily just assumed all the soldiers were knights or lords. She had never heard of female knights other than in fiction though.

Lily could tell the auction had started. She began to search through the crowed with her eyes. She didn't know who she was looking for until she found them. There in the crowed of soldiers she saw them. The warrior woman and the hooded lady that had saved her. They both saw her and Lily began to plead with her eyes. Begging for them to do something. From Lily's point of view, they appeared to be arguing.

The auction moved along rapidly. A short fat man with a booming voice made the negotiations.

"Here we have a strapping young lad. Looks as if he will make a mighty fine soldier one day." The auctioneer bellowed. "Just look at these arms! It looks like he could strangle a bull."

The man was talking about a boy named Ren. He was the son of a local blacksmith Lily recalled from the conversation in the wagon. Ren was about three people down from her.

"Ten gold pieces." A man clad in glistening armor said. Nobody outbid the knight and just like that Ren was gone, and her turn fast approached. A moment later the auctioneer had sold another person. He was one away from her now. Lily's heart thumped so hard she thought it would break her ribs. She didn't take her eyes off the two lady knights. It was her turn.

"And here we have quite the treat! One of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen if I do say so myself, and I have seen a lot of women. Just look at how the sun gleams off her skin. Look at these beautifully wide hips, slender midsection, these massive breasts, and this magnificent behind. She would make a fine wife, or just be fine to stick your prick into." The short fat man boomed as he circled her. The crowed laughed at his jest. Lily was red in the face with embarrassment and anger.

However, that was soon drown out by fear when she heard the bidding start.

"Ten gold pieces!" The same knight who had bought the blacksmith boy said.

"Twenty!" a villager said with a rather angry looking woman beside him.

"Thirty." Came from a large knight at the back of the crowed. He was in full armor except for his helm. The knight had short jet black air and a large scar that went diagonal from the right side of his face. His eyes were full of malice, anger, and lust. Lily was terrified of him.

The bids kept getting higher and higher. Lily looked at the lady knights. The warrior woman stood stoic, and her hooded companion appeared to be talking up a storm and pointing at her. Lily looked deeply into the warrior woman's golden eyes and before she knew it tears had started streaming down her face. The prospect of going to that evil looking man had broken her. She continued to sob and looked away from the warrior woman.

"Fifty gold pieces." The large woman bellowed. It startled Lily. She was even louder than the auctioneer. Lily was stunned. She was certain they weren't going to help her. This lingered for a long while.

"Going once! Going twice! Remember if you don't have the coin to up bid her you can..." The auctioneer was cut off.

"Challenge." The hateful knight in the back said. The once rowdy crowed had fallen into a stunned silence. Lily had no idea what it meant, but she was petrified.

"Accepted." The large woman said. The crowed began to dissolve around them leaving just the two of them in a circle bordered only by the people from the crowed. They were all now whooping and hollering again. They were so loud now that the noise hurt Lily's eardrums.

"Looks like we have a challenge folks. If nobody cares to up bid then we will get right along with it." The short fat auctioneer said. The two looked like fierce warriors. The man was surprisingly smaller than the lady knight who appeared to stand at about six foot four.

She also appeared to be stronger. She couldn't see the man's muscles under his armor but Lily could see her muscles through the clothes she wore as she donned her leather armor. They were about medium in size but she looked to be incredibly lean. She couldn't imagine he was stronger.

However, that appeared to be where her advantages ended. The scarred knight was in full steel armor, whereas the warrior woman was in leather. He wielded an ornate beautifully crafted shield and sword. The lady knight's sword was larger, but she didn't have a shield. Lily also saw she'd had a bloody bandage on her side before putting on her leathers. She didn't doubt the mean looking knight noticed as well.

Before the fight started Lily took one last look around. She saw that some people still on the stage hadn't been sold. There were four. She then had a sickening realization. She was the last to be auctioned. The four of them didn't sell. They were going to be beheaded. She recognized them. The baker woman whom had probably aged to much that nobody wanted her, the retired blacksmith too old to work, the creepy old forest witch, and another man who hadn't said a word in the wagon.

"Place your bets everybody! Ser Illain Blackwater the Black Knight, or the Amazonian woman." The auctioneer said, trailing off at the end as if the Amazonian woman didn't stand a chance. The bets were resounding. Everybody in the crowed had picked the knight named Ser Illain. From what Lily heard as people came to place he was a famous knight that worked closely with the crown. Lily couldn't believe this woman was sticking her neck out for her like this. She had hoped but she didn't think the woman cared at all.

As people came up from the crowed to bet on Ser Illain Lily saw a hooded figure move through the crowed. It was the woman from earlier. Lily heard her place a bet on the Amazon. Lily had no idea what Amazon meant in this context, but she was reassured as the woman came over and sat on the stage by Lily.

"Breya won't lose." Was all the hooded woman said without even looking at Lily. The woman didn't look at her, but she was doing something odd. Lily looked down and saw the woman's pale hand with her nails painted red. She was running her knuckle along her leg. Gently stroking it. It was odd but Lily assumed she was trying to comfort her.

Lily's heart was still in her throat as the battle started, and the four people still left on this stage gave her anxiety. She looked at them all and wondered if there was anything she could do. They all wore grave expressions, all except the witch who was smiling her same half toothless smile and staring directly at Lily.