The cool, crisp air caught in his throat, and Alexander pulled his jacket closer to him, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He had just turned nineteen and had left his party early to get some time away from the crowd of people, time to his thoughts, before turning to go back. Alexander felt his body go numb and froze as confusion clouded his face. The footprints he should have been leaving were not there. Neither were the streetlights nor the sidewalk. Did he walk further than he had meant to? No, that was impossible. Alexander had walked this path countless times, and he knew what should be there and what was not there. Alexander took in a cool breath before looking towards the sky. His face went white as the snow silently fell around him. Two. There were two moons above him in the sky.

Had he passed out? Was he dreaming? Alexander then took off at a dead sprint towards where he had just left, but as seconds turned to minutes and minutes more until, finally, he ran out of breath and collapsed to his knees. Where the hell was he? He had run longer than he had in a while, and there were still no signs of any civilization.

Moreover, the forest to his left was even quieter than it should have been. He could hear nothing, not even the crunching of snow. It was as if all the sound in the world had gone. Suddenly, Alexander heard a sound that reminded him of a waterfall or an earthquake. It was a low growling from a large creature. He felt it more than he heard it, but it was there.

Moreover, it was coming closer. Every instinct in Alexander's body told him to run, but run where? Everywhere he looked, all he saw was the quiet forest to his left and the open expanse in front of him. Even worse, it was hard to tell where the sound came from. It could be miles ahead of him or directly behind him, just out of sight. It was impossible to tell. That was when he saw it—a large white wolf. Alexander could barely see it with how it blended into the snow around them. The wolf's hackles rose, and his muzzle curled back to expose pearl-white fangs. Ears shoved forward, tail held high, he circled Alexander. Alexander was the wolf's prey. He shuddered, not from the cold but from fear. Fear that he would die out here, not even knowing where he was. The wolf snapped his jaws in an attempt to startle him. Then, the wolf started to emit a low growl that began to evolve and fluctuate before it lunged at him.

Alexander clamped his eyes closed as he waited for the inevitable. But what he had expected never came. Instead, when he opened his eyes, the wolf lay dead in front of him. Its eyes rolled back as an arrow was sticking out of its side—blood pooling around it. Alexander had to fight the urge to vomit. Then he had to resist the urge to run as he quickly realized that someone had killed it. Who? Were they a friend or an enemy? What's more, he was surprised to see an arrow and not a bullet wound.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

Footsteps.

Alexander turned towards the footsteps, and as he did, a small group of people emerged from the tree line. Bows with nocked arrows aimed right at him. Alexander put his hands up in defense as one of the men approached him. He was a large and stocky man, and his stride faltered with a pronounced limp. His skin was a light beige that contrasted so much against the snow that it was almost lost in it.

"Who are you, human? Why did you cross the border?"

The man's voice was deep and baritone as he spoke with authority and purpose. This man was a leader, likely a very respected leader. Alexander knew he needed to be wary now. One misstep, and he would probably be dead at this man's hand or at his signal. However, Alexander was confused by his words. What did this man mean? Were they not human? What did they mean by the border? When Alexander didn't answer immediately, the man frowned and stepped closer, clearly growing impatient with him. He looked him up and down, examining his clothes and appearance. He then turned and made a signal, and the bows lowered before he asked Alexander something else.

"You aren't from this world, are you?"

Alexander blinked. Startled. "This isn't – I don't understand…."

The man sighed before motioning to one of the other men, "Owen. You're in charge of him. He's coming back with us." Owen, the younger man, or maybe the boy, tried to protest but was stopped before everyone began to disband back into the tree line.

"I'm not going anywhere… not until I get some answers –"

It was then that the older man cut him off, "You can either come willingly or by force. The choice is yours."

Alexander swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat. He couldn't afford to die here. At least not before even knowing what had, or rather was, happening to him. Alexander finally nodded, "…fine. I'll follow you."

Owen then approached him. Obviously, sticking close so Alexander wouldn't get any ideas about running from them. Not that he would; he didn't even know where he was, so why would he run? If he did that, he was far more likely to die, as he nearly had earlier had these men not shown up when they did. As they walked, Alexander got a better look at his new companion. Owen had long, pale blonde hair that barely stood out against the white of the snow. It was kept neatly pulled back into a ponytail. The man was attractive, even with his tawny-colored ashen skin and his oddly colored violet eyes. He was well built but still retained a slim stature, and he walked with an almost elegant stride as if he came from money.

Even in this dense forest, the group walked as if they already knew where they were going. They did not hesitate or feel lost at all, unlike Alexander. If he had been here alone, he was sure he would have already gotten himself turned around. The trees were tall and barren of any green due to the snow. He could only imagine how it must look in the summer when the branches were full. Right now, Alexander couldn't hear much. It was mainly just the branches creaking overhead as the wind whistled through the trees, and as they trudged through the icy snow, he could hear it crunch beneath their feet. Alexander thought the songbird's tunes from the trees sounded eerie and reminded him of a horror story. Thanks to the cold winter, the only things Alexander could smell right now were the stale and dry scents on the wind from nearby. Which made his nose sting, and he felt like sneezing.

Soon enough, they approached a camp. Small cabin-like buildings were seemingly strategically placed, and men stood guard at specific points. Alexander spotted a few of them in trees as well. It was different from what he had expected and smaller, too.

Owen led Alexander to a cabin near the camp center. "You'll share with me so I can keep an eye on you. Don't get any ideas, got it?"

Alexander nodded, "Yes, sir." He stated, unsure how formal he should be or how formalities even worked here.

Once they were inside, Owen told him to ask anything he needed to, seemingly understanding how confused Alexander was at that moment.

Alexander nodded, "Well, can you tell me where I am?" It was a simple question, sure, but it was certainly one that needed to be asked.

Owen answered pretty quickly since it was such an easy question: "The eastern woods, about thirty-eight miles from the capital."

Alexander shook his head. Owen had misunderstood his question. "No, I mean… where, as in, this world? Just earlier, I was walking from my house when I turned and wasn't there anymore. I don't understand what happened."

Owen nodded, "It sounds like someone transported you here then. I hope it wasn't for anything terrible. This world is called Ellond. Right now, you're in the elven territory and are close to our border with the human kingdom. Hence why the commander presumed initially that that's where you had come from."

Alexander took a moment to let this information sink in. He really was in another world entirely. Now the question was, how would he get home? When he voiced that question, Owen couldn't give him a good answer. There were apparently many ways to pass between the worlds. Owen didn't know about any of them personally since he had never been interested in such a thing. However, Owen did tell him he had a sister who could likely help him better than he could. After that, Alexander had a few more questions answered before Owen said it was time for him to go on watch and that Alexander should get some sleep.

So, what Alexander knew at this point was that he wasn't on Earth any longer. That someone very likely brought him here, though the reason was unclear. That he was in the elven territory and heading to meet their leaders. He shouldn't step out of line because their commander had a short temper and would pretty likely kill him on the spot, and finally, he felt different here. The last one wasn't anything he had asked Owen about. It wasn't something he wanted to voice yet because he wasn't sure what it meant. He was worried that whoever had sent him here had done something to him.

It was with these swirling thoughts that Alexander slowly drifted off to sleep.