Stuck in a love time warp

*Chapter 8*

"Miranda there's a lake two miles that way go get cleaned up."

"Thank you Justin." I started to walk away and I didn't feel anyone follow me. Appararently they were starting to trust me. The walk to the lake was very boring, but it did give me time to think. There had to be a way out of a time warp. If only I could remember that English assignment. This was all my teachers fault, he should have made the assignment more entertaining. It was no use, I wasn't going to remember how to get out, I'm not even sure the character did get out maybe he just made a life in the year he was stuck in. My life here wasn't to bad, besides being attacked and being told I have to get married...okay I have got to get out of here. All of my thoughts took away the boredom of the hike and I made it to the beautiful, crystal clear lake. I pushed past a bush and saw Gabriel standing waiste deep in the water. I felt bad for staring, he probably needed some privacy.

"I know you're there." He turned toward me and smiled. "Come on in the water's nice."

"Oh no thanks, I just wanted a walk I'm going to head back." He walked up to the shore and stood in front of me.

"Oh come on Miranda." We stood there arguing for a while about why I didn't want to go in the water. Even though I really could go for a swim I knew we both needed some alone time to think about our "engagement."

"Gabriel, I just really don't want to."

"Well Miss. Stubborn, you leave me no choice." Before I knew it Gabriel had thrown me over his shoulder. I screamed put me down about a million times before I hit the cool water head first, dress and all.

"Gabriel! You're so mean!"

"It's the only way I could get you in." I wiped my eyes and wanted to get out and leave. It was just to awkward for me, being around Gabriel when I knew I was going to be forced to marry him. I started to walk back to shore, but then I surprised myself. I turned to him and looked him straight in the eyes, oh those gorgeous, blue eyes.

"Why do we have to get married?" He swam closer to me.

"I can't be King without a Queen and according to everyone I should already have a Princess."

"Oh so you're just using me?" I said rudely.

"No, you're just the only decent girl around here."

"Well I'm not from around here."

"Even if you weren't I'm sure my father would still make us marry." He was now close enough to touch. Marrying Prince hottie may not be a bad thing. What the heck was I saying?

"I'm not good enough to be a princess, I don't think I qualify for the job."

"Of course you do. You're beautiful, smart, caring, compassionate," with every word he took a slow step forward, "and you care about me." Now we were only inches apart.

"No, Gabriel you're wrong I don't care." I realize this was harsh, but I would do almost anything to get out of this wedding.

"You wouldn't have saved my life if you didn't." He got me there. His breath was warm on mine. I felt his hand grab my waiste, as he lifted my chin with his other. He was staring straight into my eyes. Next thing I knew we were kissing, and I liked it, way to much. I pulled back.

"I'm sorry Gabriel I can't do this." I began to walk away.

"No Miranda please come back." Of course I didn't turn back. It was already getting dark. I don't remember the walk to camp being this far. It took a few more minutes until I got really lost. Why did I have to run away from Gabriel? The problem was I had liked that kiss. Here I was seventeen years old and still kissing and running, just like we all used to do in elementary school. If I wasn't such a baby I wouldn't be lost right now.

After a few minutes of walking I saw a camp fire. Camp with the guys is the closest thing I have to home in this time zone. All right, I guess I was ready to face Gabriel. I pushed past the bushes to see a bunch of unfamiliar faces around the fire. They all looked just as surprised as I did.

"Well hello there gorgeous, who might you be?"

"Miranda VanHoover." They all stiffened up and a guy grabbed me.

"Tie her up now!"

"Wait, what did I do?"

"There will be time for questions and answers later."

So here I was, tied to another tree, deja vu. Why do I always put myself in these positions. About three hours later a tall man came out with a sword.

"How did you escape?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"The VanHoovers were all captured and killed because...well you know why."

"Why don't you humor me and tell me why?"

"Sure, I don't have anything else to do besides, I like boasting. As you know our country has always been at war with Zumbania. A lot of our men were dying though. We finally created an idea for all new weapons; technology finally caught up. They were going to be something no country had ever seen! Until one of you VanHoovers heard about them. We had to kill you all to ensure our secret weapon stayed a secret. Apparently we missed a few. A VanHoover ecsaped the other day, I'm sure you already knew that though."

As crazy as this sounds, it all makes sense. That one VanHoover that escaped is the reason I'm alive today. I'm their descendant. One problem, I'm tied to a tree and they kill VanHoovers. Another few hours passed. If they were going to kill me I wish they'd just do it. Night was here, it was pitch black besides the small light that came from the fire. I kept dozing in and out of consciousness. I was so hungry and thirsty and tired. I did notice that this camp wasn't that big, they only had about ten men. Gabriel had at least twenty. Gabriel! That's it! He had to be back at camp by now. If I found this place he couls easily...I hope.