She learned one thing on her bumpy journey: she did NOT like the smell of horses.

When she finally touched the ground again, she felt a stone floor underneath her bare feet. One of her captors undid the ties around her legs, and then dragged her through whatever hall she had been brought to. One of the creatures pushed her forward from behind, and she fell forward. She grimaced in pain as her knees hit against the cold, hard floor.

“Where are your manners?” came a loud, authoritative voice. “Untie her at once.”

“But master—” Sarah felt the warm breath of a horse at her back.

“No buts, and no excuses. You might have been raised in a barn, but I wasn’t, and I show hospitality toward my guests.”

Sarah didn’t know exactly what was going on, but she felt the ropes at her wrists get loosened and then removed. In another moment, the heavy black sack was taken off of her head, and she was free again.

“Good,” said the man in front of her. “Now leave us alone.”

Sarah craned her neck to see one of the horse-men behind her. Without another word, the creature bowed its head and left the room they were in, slamming a heavy wooden door behind it. Sarah was now alone with her captor – but at least he was a human, and not another one of the beast-men.

The room was exactly the type of sight Sarah expected out of a king’s castle. It was spacious and grand, with tapestries and banners lining the walls. White marble pillars stood evenly throughout the hall, rising from the floor to a ceiling that Sarah probably wouldn’t be able to see if it wasn’t for the chandeliers hanging from the carved stone. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all built out of rock, but the room seemed warm nonetheless. In front of her, sitting upon a gold throne, was a man she recognized immediately, even though she had only seen him once. The warlord Baelan sat before her, still in armor from the battle earlier that afternoon. His breastplate was polished and spotless, and a massive sword lay propped against the throne. Baelan himself had a long mustache whose corners drooped past the corners of his lips. He looked old enough to be Sarah’s father, but he was well-muscled and looked much stronger than any middle-aged man Sarah knew from her own world.

“I’m sorry for the way they treated you,” said the warlord in a gentle voice. “Those creatures can be more than a little stubborn.”

Sarah didn’t say anything. She just watched Baelan, trying to figure out what was about to happen.

“Can I get you anything? Some tea or maybe a bite to eat?”

Sarah shook her head, but remained quiet.

Baelan smiled, showing the tips of his yellowish teeth. “Of course you’re intimidated. Where are my manners? My name is—”

“You’re Baelan, the warlord of Greystone Valley,” interrupted Sarah.

“Precisely. Your companion has told you that much truthfully. I wonder, though, what other stories he might have told about me.”

“Where’s Kay?”

“He’s safe and sound, and none of my beast-men will harm a hair on his head. The same goes for you. I give you my word that you’re safe here.”

Sarah kept her eyes locked on the man’s face. He seemed to be telling the truth, but it occurred to her that someone who led armies across the land was probably very good at lying, too.

“If Aries has told me correctly, your name is Sarah.”

Sarah nodded. There wasn’t much point to hiding that from him.

“The other beast-men tell me that you’re Kay’s apprentice. But given your clothes and your age, I’m guessing that you’ve just arrived in this fair valley. I think you’re like me and the countless others who have found themselves trapped here. Am I right?”

Sarah didn’t answer, but her silence told Baelan all he needed to know. The warlord stood up, showing off his impressive height as he began to pace around the throne room.

“I’ve been here a year. Cut off from my friends, my family, and everyone I ever knew.” He walked toward one of the tapestries on the wall. The pattern looked like a map of a land that Sarah had never seen or heard of before. “I was a king before I came here. I ruled almost the entire world. People bowed before me and spoke my name in hushed tones. Now I’m here, with only a few hundred men at my command. I was meant to explore, and to conquer. Instead I’m trapped in this jail of a valley.” He turned away from the tapestry and looked into Sarah’s eyes. “And what about you, Sarah? What were you meant to be? You’re still young. What dreams do you have?”

Sarah stared at Baelan blankly. Then she shrugged her shoulders. “I…I don’t know. I’m still growing up. I haven’t really thought about that too much.”

Baelan smirked. “Maybe you should start thinking about that. And then you should think about how little you’ll be able to accomplish as long as you’re stuck here. This is a valley of wonders, but it’s like living in a museum. There are spells and monsters, but what good is all that when the rest of the world is closed to you?”

Sarah remained silent. What did those heroes from her stories do when they weren’t saving the world?

“It’s easy to leave this place, if you have the right tools,” said Baelan. “I need that spellbook of Kay’s. With it, I can open up Castle Greystone and go to whatever land I please. And what about you, Sarah? If you help me, you could join me. If you’re looking to be great, I could make you a princess, and then a queen. You could rule all of the many worlds I will conquer once I regain my armies and open up the secrets of Castle Greystone.”

Sarah blinked. The idea of people bowing before her as a queen was tempting, but… “What if I don’t want to rule? What if I just want to be?”

“The world is made for strong people, Sarah. You either impose your will on others, or you let them push you around for the rest of your life. You should know what I’m talking about. You have parents, don’t you?”

“I have a mom,” she said.

“And she probably tells you that she loves you very much,” said Baelan, his voice growing harder. “But whenever she gets a chance, she forces you to live by her laws. She rules over you. Wouldn’t you like a chance to do the same?”

“But my mom doesn’t use threats to tell me what to do. You did. You threatened an entire village with your army, just to get at Kay. When my mom lays down a rule, she’s trying to help me. You’re just trying to help yourself, and you don’t care who you need to push around to do it.”

The corners of Baelan’s mustache twitched. His face seemed to grow darker. “I’ve offered you power and glory, Sarah. Don’t be stupid enough to throw it away. I will master Castle Greystone, one way or another. It is my destiny to rule, and to conquer as many new worlds as I can find. If you tell me where Kay hid his spellbook, I will give you entire countries as your playthings. If you refuse me again, I will throw you in my dungeon and make sure you never see the light of day until you’re too old and gray to even remember your precious home and your beloved mother. Now tell me…where is the spellbook?”

Sarah met the warlord’s gaze, but didn’t keep staring as long as he did. Her eyes broke away, drifting to the sword at his belt. She wondered if he was willing to use it on her. Nonetheless, she resolved to tell him nothing. Heroines didn’t crack under pressure. If she wanted to be a heroine, she needed to act like one.

“I said it before, and I’ll say it again,” she said. “I know where the spellbook is, but I won’t tell you or anyone else. You can’t go bullying everybody just because you’ve got a few soldiers at your side.”

Baelan growled and placed a hand on his sword. Sarah flinched, but didn’t go back on what she had said. Before the warlord drew his weapon, he turned away and shouted for his guards. Two beast-men appeared at the door almost immediately.

“Take her to the dungeon,” said Baelan, returning to his throne. “If she doesn’t crack, then Kay will. One of them will tell me something and leave the other to rot.”

Baelan sat on his throne, his fists clenched in anger. Sarah managed a self-confident smile before the beast-men started dragging her away.

“I might as well enjoy this victory,” she muttered to herself, “because rotting in a dungeon doesn’t sound too fun at all.”