Ria grumbled quietly as she curled tighter into a ball, trying to find a comfortable position so that she could go back to sleep. Why did Charlotte think that it was a good idea to open her curtains so early? She'd known that Ria had been working late the night before at the company, their father insisting that she have the next projection for market trends done before the weekend. It had taken Ria the better part of the night before and she'd stumbled to bed not much before dawn.

She had nearly drifted back to sleep when the sudden shrill shriek of alarmed birdsong crashed through the air. She bolted upright, her heart racing as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. Instead of her elegant bedroom like she was expecting, she appeared to be in some sort of natural clearing. Which made absolutely zero sense, considering that when she'd gone to sleep, she'd been in the middle of one of the largest cities on Earth.

She scrambled to her feet, her bare foot stubbing against a rock which must've been the item disturbing her rest just moments earlier. Sucking in a deep breath, she forced herself to try and think logically. Had she been kidnapped somehow? Her father was one of the largest company owners in the country, after all. But it didn't make sense that someone had managed to bypass all of their security systems and guards and manage to sneak her out unharmed without waking her. At least, not without drugging her and she felt none of the grogginess that came with being drugged.

At least, she didn't think that she was drugged, although the trees seemed to say otherwise. The purple trees. Sensing that she was in no immediate danger, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, counting to five. Crisp cool air rushed into her lungs, like any forest would be like. However, the nearest forest to her home was over three hours' drive away and it was green like a forest should be.

Maybe it had been the shock of waking abruptly that had made the trees look funny? Opening her eyes hopefully, a sigh slipped past her lips. Nope, still purple, this was not good. She'd never heard of purple trees anywhere in the world and if there were purple trees, someone would have definitely talked about it, extensively. The trunks were a rich deep eggplant whereas the leaves were almost a lilac color. Although it was incredibly strange, it wasn't actually unpleasant to look at.

Trying not to panic, she took another deep breath as she surveyed her surroundings. Instead of the pine scent that she was half expecting, these trees smelled almost spicy, like cinnamon with an undertone of clove. Swallowing hard, she kept looking. To her relief, the sky was blue and the grass in the meadow clearing was green, although the deep scarlet flowers scattered across the grass was different than any wildflowers she had ever seen outside of tropical climates. Other than the plants, the clearing and surrounding trees appeared to be devoid of life, the only sounds the light breeze rustling through the grass and the distant calls of the same bird that had woken her.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

If she'd been kidnapped, there should've been other people there. Especially if they were planning on ransoming her. Her father would demand proof of life from her before he ever paid a cent. Both the strange landscape and lack of other people was making her uneasy. There should be someone, or multiple people, around her.

Reminding herself firmly that panicking only led to stupid mistakes, she could freak out when she was safely home, she started by taking stock of herself. She appeared to be unharmed, no marks or stiffness from time spent unconscious. She stretched her arms and legs to double check, but everything seemed to be in working order. To her regret, she was barefoot and still dressed in her navy suit from the day before. She vaguely remembered kicking off her heels before stumbling over and collapsing into bed.

She grumbled internally as she examined her feet. Those heels had been brand new and had rubbed blisters onto her feet where she'd been breaking them in. But still, they'd be better than being barefoot in the middle of freaking nowhere. Another small blessing was that she was wearing a pant suit instead of a dress suit or pajamas. If she hadn't been so tired the night before, she'd probably be in shorts and a tank top in addition to being barefoot. It wasn't much, but she would take what she could get.

Not seeing any bags or her purse laying around, Ria quickly rifled through her pockets hoping that her phone would still be in one. It was, but it was completely dead. She shoved it back into her pocket, sarcastically reminding herself that she had promised that she'd plug it in before she went to sleep. That plan had gone out the window with her need for sleep and apparently along with it, the chance for a speedy rescue. A survey of her other pockets turned up a receipt, a mint, and a hair tie. Just great. While MacGyver could save the world with probably just one or two of those, she was up a creek without a paddle.

She fisted her hands, anger rolling through her as she fought not to scream a string of curses. This just wasn't right. Whenever she found whoever was behind this shoddy kidnapping, she would have them prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and then some. She'd also have a few sharp words with her father about his security and personal.

The thought of the worry that her father and sister must be feeling at her absence cooled the edge of her anger enough that she could think rationally again. It would do no good for her to lose her temper, she needed to find a way out of this first. Using the tie to pull her hair up into a high pony tail, she carefully observed her surroundings again. It still appeared to be empty, but there had to be people somewhere nearby. First things first, find the other people and discover exactly where she was.

Scouring the ground, she searched until she found a fallen branch about the size of a baseball bat. She hefted it experimentally, a grunt escaping her at the unexpected weight. It was heavier than a branch this side usually was, but it had enough heft that it would make a decent weapon in a pinch. It wouldn't do much against a gun, but otherwise she stood a fair chance.

Moving so that her back was positioned against a thick tree that would protect her back, she swallowed hard and gathered her courage. Then, lifting the branch into a defensive pose, she called into the quietness, "Hello? Anyone there? Come out now."