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Valentina Bleech landed with a thud as she fell face-first on to the hard, dusty and cracking ground. Val got up staggering and brushed off all the filth on her skirt. She scanned the surrounding scene. Tall, dark trees stood stubbornly facing her, Their rough bark highlighted the small pond nearby. It was unusual to see this in a desert. Up on a steep hill, Val could see thousands of men stacked on horses, galloping down the mile long hill. Val panicked. There wasn't much place to hide. The only hope was hiding within the branches of the trees. Val was too far away to be spotted yet, so she sprinted towards a large oak tree and scrambled up to the high tops. Luckily, there was a clear of branches just where her eyes where. 'Small, but clear,' Val thought. 'I wonder if they can see me'
Val peeked through the clearing. She spotted the men stop all of a sudden. Val heard an inaudible shout and at that cue, all the men stepped off their horses and some lay on the ground, obviously very tired from the journey.
The men stayed there for hours, not seeming to leave. They were all dressed in some sort of medieval armour. It looked like the costumes you'd see in the museum. Swords were at their sides. A small leaf in the tree dropped onto Val's lap. It had been scratched with a stick. '!^!$' Was it some sort of code? Then Val remembered the numbers on a laptop keyboard. "!" was very common. She then realised it read '1614'. The year of a war. Val NEEDED to get out. Val slowly climbed down the tree while the men were sleeping. There was nowhere to go but up the hill. Val sprinted up the hill. It was like cross-country races combined. When Val got to the top, she had a view of the most beautiful village you could imagine. Lovely shops stood still waiting for the morning. Val needed to find out where she was, why she was there and a place to stay the night.
Val peeked through the clearing. She spotted the men stop all of a sudden. Val heard an inaudible shout and at that cue, all the men stepped off their horses and some lay on the ground, obviously very tired from the journey.
The men stayed there for hours, not seeming to leave. They were all dressed in some sort of medieval armour. It looked like the costumes you'd see in the museum. Swords were at their sides. A small leaf in the tree dropped onto Val's lap. It had been scratched with a stick. '!^!$' Was it some sort of code? Then Val remembered the numbers on a laptop keyboard. "!" was very common. She then realised it read '1614'. The year of a war. Val NEEDED to get out. Val slowly climbed down the tree while the men were sleeping. There was nowhere to go but up the hill. Val sprinted up the hill. It was like cross-country races combined. When Val got to the top, she had a view of the most beautiful village you could imagine. Lovely shops stood still waiting for the morning. Val needed to find out where she was, why she was there and a place to stay the night.