Chapter 1:

Under the light of the sun, amidst the cacophony of bird calls, laid a girl with her eyes closed. The wind gently blew through her platinum blonde hair, creating a sense of radiance. 

All of a sudden the girl’s eyes opened up, a look of bewilderment showing in them.

“Where am I?” the girl wondered to herself, glancing at her surroundings, “A forest?”

She bolted upright, growing startled when she felt something slide and fall from her chest.

“A deck of cards?” she asked with a start, looking at the object that had fallen. It was at this moment that her memories came flooding back to her.

“That’s right! I was in the middle of getting that bogus tarot card reading!”

She then felt a breeze brush across her skin. She looked down in surprise. She had no clothing on. Her heart skipped a beat and butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Had she been kidnapped? Had they done something to her?

After taking a minute to calm down, she shook her head. That couldn’t be right. She was perfectly clean. It didn’t seem like anyone had touched her or dumped her here. Puzzlement filled her face. The situation was extremely foreign to her. She couldn’t understand what had happened.

She sat on the grassy floor, unsure what to do next. After contemplating for a while, she grabbed the deck of cards. She opened it and withdrew the card at the very top.

“Strength” the card read. It showed a picture of a woman and a lion. The woman has her hands on the lion, gently taming it. All of a sudden, the card disappeared.

Instantly, the girl was filled with overflowing power that threatened to burst out of her. She felt every part of her physique improve from her head to her toes. 

The girl’s eyes went wide in amazement. She was now filled with boundless strength. She walked over to a tree and gently punched it. With a loud boom, the tree shattered into millions of pieces, scaring away the wildlife.

She stared in stupefaction for a moment before quickly returning to the deck of cards. Although she was in a bad situation, excitement coursed through her veins.

She attempted to open up the deck of cards once more, but found it wouldn’t budge. She frowned, unable to find the reason the deck remained closed.

After spending a few more minutes futilely wrestling with the deck, she sighed. She looked at the tree around her and started walking deeper into the forest, knowing it was important to find some kind of shelter soon.

As she walked, the grass brushed her bare feet, tickling her. The sun shone down upon her skin, gently warming her. She knew the comfort wouldn’t last for long though. At night, the temperature could prove to be too cold for her.

After a few hours of walking, she heard a noise from a clearing. Quietly hiding behind a tree, she observed a group of four men laughing and drinking around a campfire, outside of an old, rundown mansion.

“Good work fellows!” one of the men, roared.

“We had a great haul today!” he laughed jovially, jiggling a bag of coins.

“That caravan didn’t know what hit them,” he snickered.

All of a sudden the man hiccupped, clearly displaying how drunk he was.

The girl knit her eyebrows. Bandits? Was this the middle ages? Either way, she definitely couldn’t allow them to see her.

She attempted to quietly step away from the group, to bump right into a heavy object. She instantly backpedaled, only to realize that a man stood in front of her. 

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“Look what we have here,” the man sneered. He slowly walked towards her, forcing her into the clearing with the other men.

“Look what I found guys,” the man laughed.

The other men turned their attention towards the newcomer.

“A girl?” a man’s eyes lit up, quickly turning lascivious as he realized she was naked. He drank her in with his eyes.

The men smiled wickedly, quickly surrounding her.

“What’s your name?” the bandit captain asked her.

“Emily,” she replied, eerily calm.

The bandit leader blinked in surprise, startled that she had actually answered his question.

“Nice to meet you Emily,” he smiled, his eyes making slits.

He walked up towards her and grabbed at her, only to have her disappear from in front of his eyes. Bewilderment entered his face. He couldn’t find where she had gone.

All of a sudden, he felt a blow connect with his neck. Emily had set down her tarot deck, then delivered a perfectly executed roundhouse kick, displaying years of martial prowess.

A sickening crunch rang out and the man’s body flew a dozen meters, crashing into a tree.

The remaining men stood flabbergasted. Their drunken minds were unable to comprehend the scene in front of them.

Emily wasted no time. She instantly moved, using speed powered by the Strength card, nearly teleporting. She chopped at a man’s throat, almost severing his head from his body. Her foot flew out, crashing into the stomach of one of the remaining men, turning his intestines to mush.

Only two men remained, horror filled their features.

They turned and ran away, only to drunkenly trip over thin air, falling to the ground.

Emily jumped atop one of the fallen men, hooking her arms around his neck. With a twist, she broke his neck, twisting his head 360 degrees in the process. The final man she killed by stomping on his back, destroying his spine.

Emily gazed at her hands in awe. Although she believed she could have taken care of the men without its aid, it was a tremendous help.

She walked towards the fallen bodies and threw them atop the fire. Although the smell was horrible, she knew it was important to dispose of the corpses. She didn’t know anything about the men. It was necessary to destroy the evidence.

She would have taken some of their clothing, but it reeked of sweat and alcohol and didn’t fit her.

After spending some time attending to the flaming pyre, she observed the mansion. Although it was rundown, it would be a suitable place to spend the night. She would have to make sure there weren’t any bandits inside though.

She picked up her tarot deck and entered quietly, going from room to room, easily navigating the large mansion, with bizarre familiarity.

Emily quickly came to the conclusion that no one else was inside, causing her to relax her tensed muscle. Her thoughts drifted back towards the bandits.

“Is it possible I traveled through time?” she wondered. That would certainly explain the bandits. It wouldn’t, however, explain the magical properties of the cards. She needed more information. After she got some rest, she would explore the rest of the mansion, maybe it would provide some clues to her whereabouts.

With a sigh, she went into a random bedroom and barricaded the door. After making certain no one could surprise her, she went to sleep.