The first thing Kary saw when she woke up was the ceiling , intricate and decorated with precise grooves and colorful carvings, the many colors blending together into a beautiful art piece, albeit too abstract for the still sleepy girl to comprehend. For a few moments, the girl remained immobile, her waking mind trying to make sense of the situation she was in right now, for she had no memories of ever getting to this place, wherever it might be. The last thing she remembered was being invited to party with the scholars, both young and old, celebrating the massive discoveries proportioned by Kary’s abilities. Everything that happened after that was a blur of movement, the colors and sensations and voices all mixing and melting together with no reason nor rhyme, a blur that consumed everything that had happened that night, as if a bullet train carrying her memories had departed into the horizon, and she was left behind trying to piece everything back together from the few things she could guess based on the context. Staring at the ceiling with a slightly scrunched up face, she tried to fit together the pieces of the puzzle while missing most of the pieces, eventually giving up once the load on her little brain had exceeded what it could do, deciding instead to look for clues within the room, in the hopes of finding something that would explain why she was here.

  With a grunt, she slowly got up from the comfortable she had been lying on, the soft mattress decompressing to conform with the sudden void created by Kary, its form inviting, the coldness of reality all but begging for the girl to return to the soft embrace of the blanket she had thrown aside, her hands clasping its edges tightly, as if afraid they would disappear should she let go of them. Of course, she knew that she would accomplish nothing from the top of the bed, but just the thought of getting up and actually doing something seemed so excruciatingly bothersome that for a few, fleeting seconds she seriously considered the possibility of simply hiding under the blanket and going back to sleep, for there was no one there to bother her, no one to belittle her or drag her out of the bed. Wherever she was, it seemed like she could stay for however long she wanted, and her tired body demanded rest, rest that the girl simply could provide. Although she would love to do just as her brain had proposed, she wasn’t stupid enough to give in to intrusive thoughts such as these, otherwise she would have been killed by one of her mother’s fits of unreasonable rage a long time ago. To survive in the harsh world she was from, she had been forced to learn how to completely ditch her desires and emotions, bottling it all up in order for her to break down far away from everything and everyone. Was it healthy? No. Absolutely not. But it wasn’t like she had any other options.

  Shaking her head, she got up from her sitting position in a single go, her naked feet touching the ground with all the grace an avalanche would touch the bottom of a mountain, the sound of the wood groaning beneath her feet travelling through the small room, its willowing moans echoing and distorting as it hit the thick walls and bounced back, the building itself, as sturdy as it might be, all but begging the girl to be more gentle with its old structure. Such pleads fell into deaf ears, however, as Kary was already walking around the room in hasty paces, any trace of her previous sleepiness gone, substituted by determination instead. Try as she might, though, the simple room had absolutely nothing within its four walls that could be of use to her, with the only pieces of furniture being the bed she had woken up in and a round, empty table by the side, sitting quietly with its three feet gently touching the ground, looking as inconspicuous as the bed. All in all, it was admirable the bareness of the room, which contained only the most essential things for a person to rest in, all while maintaining a gaudy fa?ade that that only served to make the atmosphere all the more eerie.

  After peeking at every nook and cranny of the room, from the bottom of the bed to the sharp corners, and once again finding nothing, the girl eyes the door suspiciously. On one hand, it was the only way out, the only way through which she would be able to unveil more of the mystery, but, on the other, it was also a passage to the unknown. Who knew what was after that door. Perhaps it would be her ticket to liberty, but what were the chances of there being a guard, or someone else tasked with keeping her well within the confines of wherever this place was? Although she wanted to believe that there was nothing going on under the tables, considering the flaunty design of the room, it was undeniable that she was inside some noble’s house, and the fact that she had no idea how she had gotten here in the first place was more than enough to warrant some suspicion. After all, although she had interacted with some nice nobles throughout her time in between arriving in this world and reaching the capital, the reputation they were known for, even in her old world, was still the norm, and all caution when around them would still be too little. Still, the dilemma remained: to open or not to open the door. It wasn’t that big of a choice, now was it? It wasn’t as if she had any other options on hand. She either could take the plunge now or wait passively until something happened to her, and the last time she had allowed her life to be swayed by the whims of others, she ended up living in absolute misery, something she wasn’t particularly keen on reliving.

  Steeling her still shaky determination, she raised her head high and marched towards the door from the position at the corner she had been in, circumventing the bed and boldly pushing the wooden door outwards with such force that the her from a few months ago would be left agape, wondering what kind of sorcery would she encounter in order for her physical strength to improve to such degree. With little to no resistance, the door creaked as it pivoted around its hinges, slamming into the thick stone wall and surely awaking anything and anyone in the proximities that could have been asleep. Embarrassedly, Kary looked around, trying to see if anyone noticed her bold, poorly though of exit, her eyes meeting with those of a maid in the corner as she scanned the area, whom her brain pointedly ignored in a futile attempt at saving its owner’s face. The area outside the room seemed to be a long hallway, decorated with more beautiful engravings on the walls, golden lines and drawings that extended far beyond what the girl could see, surrounding the clear windows and passing behind the extravagant furniture sitting in the corridor, as well as the metal cart standing beside the aged maid. Everything screamed of nobility, even more so than the room she was in just before, making her eyes sharpen as she began to think of possible paths that would lead her to the outside world, even though there was very little she could see from her position. Of course, it was impossible to determine more than a few basic steps, and very quickly she began to head into the realm of imagination, fantasizing about all the ways she could make her escape, taking inspiration from the movies and media she had watched in secrecy on her past life as she daydreamed away.

  It was only after the maid standing by the corner addressed her that Kary was forced to recognize the reality of the situation. Wherever she was, there was no hope of her escaping, for she knew neither the layout of the building nor the patterns of the people that inhabited it. If she wanted to make a grand escape, than those were the bare minimum requirements for it, and she had already ruined it all by making her presence obviously known to everyone not deaf. With a disappointed sigh, directed mostly at herself, she decided to hear the maid out, since her only other options would be to run randomly through the structure, and there was no way it would end well for her, as she had known for a long time that her luck was absolute horseshit.

  “— the young lady has finally woken up. Please pardon me for not tending to you sooner. If I knew you were already awake, I might have been of more use to you, but it seems that my years have been catching up with me. But I doubt a fair girl like you would be interested in the ramblings of an old maid like me, now would you? I’m sure, however, that you could use some food after that ruckus you caused last night.” Hearing the maid talking about the party she attended to with a serene smile on her wrinkled face, Kary didn’t know whether to dig a hole to hide herself out of embarrassment of immediately question the old woman about the details of the party. The smell of food as the maid picked up the iron dome covering a platter in her cart, however, was enough to throw every plan she had been devising straight out of the window, as she was just now realizing how hungry she actually was. It made a surprising amount of sense, if she had stopped to think about it for a moment, as there was no food in the room used by the scholars, and she doubted any of them would have the coordination necessary to bring them some after a few rounds of drinking. Without thinking, she quickly made her way towards the old maid, her eyes wide and mouth watering with delight, for she had never smelled anything quite as good as this, neither in her previous life nor in this one, during the trip to the capital or in the impromptu party the day after their arrival.

  Completely ignoring all the red flags she had pondered about before, she ravenously attacked the biscuits and cakes neatly arranged into little towers of bliss, her mind focusing on nothing more than absorbing these delicacies into her body as quickly as her. From a few steps away, the old maid could only watch, half in horror and half in fascination, as all the food she had been asked to deliver seemed to vanish in the blink of an eye, entering the apparent black hole that was the girl that not even five minutes ago was looking at her with the same intensity two mortal enemies would stare each other down in the battlefield. After trying and failing to get the girl’s attention on her once more, maid simply watched with an awkward smile, silently wondering where the fierce warrior who had so violently opened the door had gone. For a while, there was there was no sound other than the skin-crawling noise of someone scarfing down food as if they hadn’t eaten in weeks, even though Asteria had assured the old woman that the girl was, in fact, well-fed and properly cared for, at least during the time they had been together. Of course, such a rate of consuming was unsustainable, and soon enough all the food that had been prepared had been reduced to nothing but crumbs, those being the only reminder that there had been ever something on that tray.

  Suppressing a chuckle after seeing the sad expression on the girl’s face, the old maid once more tried to get her attention, and now, without anything else that could hog it all, Kary finally decided to listen to what the woman had to say, her brain finally remembering that she was supposed to be in enemy territory, even though it was now a bit confused by the sudden show of kindness by the owner of this place. In contrast to her almost conspiratory worry from before, she was now much more susceptible to hearing the other side of the story, which the maid gladly provided.

  “Was the food insufficient, young lady? I could go ask the chef to make some more, if the amount provided wasn’t enough to sate your hunger.”

  “No… no, it’s fine. Sorry about that, but the food was just so delicious that I lost myself for a bit there.”

  “I see. I’ll make sure to bring your compliments to the chef on a more appropriate moment. For now, though, I am willing to answer any questions you might have, and I predict you will, given how… hostile you were but a few moments ago.” With a smile that seemed to hold no hidden intentions, the old woman simply waited for the girl’s response as she paced back and forth, a fierce battle going on inside her mind as one part of her wanted to trust the maid, while the other was dead set on not allowing the supposed enemy to acquire any piece of information on her, even though she had no idea what had happened to her while she was asleep. Although it seemed to last for an eternity, the argument wrapped up soon after starting, with the more reasonable side of hers winning by a thin margin, in no small part thanks to all the delicious food she had been so generously given.

  “Thank you very much for that, truly… First, could you tell me where are we in this moments? I don’t… nevermind, just… just answer it, please.” Hearing the uncomfortable tone with which the girl addressed her, almost as if she was trying to fish for the right words to say, the old maid, having seen much in this long life of hers, simply nodded with a slight trace of a smile still on her face, her hands playing with the hem of her long dress as questions about the girl’s past flashed through her mind, questions about the series of events that had led such a distraught and distrusting girl to one of the most reliable persons in the kingdom, about the origins of such a beautiful and fair lady, and how she had managed to remain hidden until not too long ago. Still, she knew not to ask such indelicate questions to someone who was still clearly on edge, especially since it would mean she would be answering a question with another question, which was just plain bad manners. Wetting her dry lips with her saliva, the aged woman simply answered Kary’s question in the simplest way she could, trying to give the girl as much information as she could within the simple request.

  “We are currently still within the royal palace, from where you did not set foot out of after being led inside yesterday… afternoon I believe. Yes, the afternoon, when that poorly-organized party was held. I wonder who it was that orchestrated that whole event, but such things are of little concern to a maid such as me. Returning to your questions, you are in the east wing, not far from the room where you, Lady Asteria, Lord Onico, his apprentice and the scholars through a second party in the dead of the night. I never took those serious folks as the type to do such things, but I suppose what you did to them must have been truly quite special. After everyone was either sleeping peacefully or wasted on the floor, Lady Asteria, your guardian, left the room searching for vacant sleeping quarters and someone to tend to it. I can’t precisely pinpoint the exact time it took her to finish all the arrangements, but the last thing she told me before departing was to keep you safe while she did some errands, though it’s not like I have some sort of hidden power that could help with such task. It seems that this old maid was simply the first one miss knight found, and, because I wasn’t able to retort her at the time, here I am, dutifully guarding the door to the best of my abilities, even if that doesn’t mean much, heh.”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Did… did she tell you where she went? Or what she was going to do?”

  “Hmm… No, I don’t recall her saying anything like that, and, as I have hopefully demonstrated, I consider my memory to be quite good. Hah… ” With that part being barely a whisper, Kary could only tilt her head in confusion, wondering what it was that the old lady had said under her raspy breath. Whatever it was, though, it must have been of little importance, as the maid made no attempt to further explain what it was that she had just murmured, instead choosing to change the topic entirely.

  “I myself can’t help but feel curious about what could possibly demand Lady Asteria’s attention that late into the night, but her business aren’t mine to pry, so I’m just content with the fact that I know that she will be back for you… eventually. Since you two seem to share a deeper bond than I could ever expect to form with her, maybe you would be able to extract some information out of her, even though I doubt she would be so careless as to let confidential topics slip out of her tongue like that.” Not knowing how to respond, the girl simply stood awkwardly besides the now empty metal cart, looking from one side of the hallway they were in to the other, the sunlight coming from the windows scattered across one of the sides perhaps the only thing reminding her that she was not in some dump, dark dungeon, but in the centermost place of the nation. The invisible, all-present clock of time ticked silently as neither of the two women managed to come up with any topic to discuss with the other, their knowledge of each other and, in Kary’s case, of the society she had been forcefully placed into, preventing any more meaningful conversation from breaking out. What seemed to be like an eternity in its truest sense passed with the speed of a dying tortoise, the only saving grace being the beauty of the world beyond the oppressive walls of this place, the flowerbeds arranged neatly right outside, its colorful patterns a lot more bearable than the gaudy shapes drawn in gold throughout the corridor.

  For a while, she allowed herself to sink into herself while admiring the expertise of whoever had been able to create such beautiful things, her mind thinking about all the weird things she had experienced ever since she died. It would hilarious, and at the same time extremely upsetting, if it all turned out to be one of those senseless dreams people sometimes report to have. Maybe that was why everything had been going so well. After all, her first dream since… since she could remember should be a nice one, right? To compensate to all those sleepless nights she had spent looking at the same old boring ceiling that had accompanied her throughout her entire life. Still, even if everything around her was nothing more than a hyper-realistic figment of her imagination, the least she should do would be to enjoy it to the fullest, and that was something she would not budge. She would realize her dream of traveling the world, a dream that had long been shut down by that monster in mother’s clothing, and that had now been reignited with an entire new world for her to see. Clenching her fists, she chanted in her mind the mantra that had become her partner on these moments of inner turmoil, reassuring her, reminding her that here she could do whatever she wanted, and she do everything she wanted.

  Eyes closed, slow breaths, her fists red from the force she was applying to them, methodically repeating the same phrase, a reminder that she could never get enough of that things would be okay this time around, that needn’t follow the whims of monsters devoid of empathy anymore, that she was free to be her own individual. Instinctively, she knew all that, she had realized the magnitude of what she had been granted on her first day on this planet, when she encountered with a monster that had almost taken her life. Despite that, she still wanted to go out, to explore, to fight, if needed, to search every nook and cranny of what this medieval mockery of feudal society could offer her, offering in return her life, her blood, sweat and tears. If that meant she could do what she enjoyed the most, or what she thought she enjoyed the most, since she had never had the chance of exploring more than her own neighborhood, than such sacrifices were to be expected.

  Although she wouldn’t mid staying like this for a little longer, her string of thoughts was interrupted by the echoing sound of footsteps, their owner not yet visible on either side of the hallway, though by the increasing noise they should be close, and, sure enough, not even a full minute later, a figure emerged from the right side of the corridor, the figure still too far away to be discernible in any detail. Despite that, Kary immediately knew who it was; from the way they walked to the armor they wore, every little detail capable of being seen from somewhat far away in this cramped space only served to confirm their identity. All trace of suspicion was gone as the girl hastily walked towards the figure, her speed just below that of a runner, a stark contrast to the other person, who kept walking at the same pace, almost as if they hadn’t noticed the girl barreling towards them. From the same position she had been in since Kary had barged out of her little chamber, the old maid simply chuckled at the scene, her gossipy mind all the more curious about the relationship these two shared. As she had said to the girl, though, such things were not for her to discover, so, with her job done, she could just sit back and enjoy the almost commoving reunion, was it not for the fact that it happened less than a day after the two of them had broken apart. Picking up her cart, she glanced towards the duo one last time before silently making her way to the other side, quietly leaving the scene, as she had no business prying in the life of others, even if she loved gossip just as the young ladies in their fancy tea parties.

  Meanwhile, Asteria steadily approached the girl, her light armor clinking and clanking as the hoops and hooks collided with the leather protection at every step, though the sound seemed to bother neither of them. Once they were close enough, the knight firmed her feet on the ground before breaking into a sprint, her form blurring for a moment before reappearing right in front of Kary, arms outstretched before tightening around the girl with the vice of a viper, taking great care to apply just the right amount of pressure to convey what she wanted without causing any actual pain to the girl. The one subject to the treatment, however, stood limply in shock, eyes wide as she experienced the whole of Asteria’s bear hug, something completely alien to her, an thus something she knew not how to react to. It wasn’t as if she had never received affection from anyone. Liz had been a great friend to her, standing by her side for years and years, helping her bear the weight of everything she had gone through, but even the warmth of her smile paled in comparison to this moment, this singular demonstration of love, corny as it might sound. So she just stood there, not knowing how to react or what to do with her hands, choosing to awkwardly mimic the knight’s action and slowly embraced her back, albeit with a lot less force behind her moves.

  They stood like that for a long while, alone in the hallway, holding each other, their expressions greatly different. Eventually, though, Asteria did put the girl down, before carefully caressing her long, silver hair, shimmering as it reflected the sunrays coming from outside, not minding in the slightest the lack of action coming from Kary. It was nice, felt nice, both the physical gesture and the meaning behind it, everything felt so fluffy and warm and weird. But it was not bad. She didn’t mind being taken care of as one would do to a child, she didn’t mind the overly physical interaction she had with Asteria, she didn’t mind the contact, even though past experiences would lead anyone to believe the contrary, but she felt like there was a world of difference between the way Asteria walked, talked and interacted with her compared with most incidents scattered throughout her life. It was the same way she had felt around Elizabeth, like she had nothing to fear when interacting with them, as if she was free do talk as she pleases, without the fear of being belittled or outright ignored. Even if she couldn’t quite name this peculiar feeling, it was undeniable that its presence had become an essential part of her life throughout the years, a key component for her enduring persistence in face of all the bullshit the world seemed to be so keen at throwing at her.

  All these thoughts melted away as Asteria crouched down to reach Kary’s level, in her sharp face an unmistakable smile as she swiped away the tears that had formed at the edges of the girl’s eyes, much to its owner’s surprise. She had never thought of herself as the emotional type, but it seems that, with the world finally allowing her some degree of happiness, she might have changed more than she had expected. Dumbfounded, she could simply stare blankly at the knight, a mix of confusion and astonishment in her face as she tried to rationalize the origin of those tears. Before she could reach any conclusion, however, Asteria finally addressed her, her tone soothing, calming, almost as if she was trying to comfort a lost child.

  “Sorry for taking so long. I had to do some… things last night and I couldn’t exactly take you with me. It was a pretty… delicate job, after all, and I hope you understand that I didn’t do it out of desire or malice, but out of genuine need. Some… unsavory… yes, let’s call it that, matters came up in the middle of the night, so I had to leave you here while I dealt with it. After I finished, since I assumed you would still be fast asleep, I took it upon myself to do some errands I’ve been meaning to do ever since I’ve decided to take you in. Consider it a late welcoming gift if you must. I won’t tell you what it is, you’ll have to see it for yourself once we return to the manor, but I guarantee you’ll like it.”

  “Really…? Then… umm… can… can we go now? I wanted to say goodbye to Kelly, but I guess she already left with… Onico, was it?”

  “Yes, dear, the old fart’s name is indeed Onico, and indeed he took his leave quite early in the night, taking with him that girl he picked up from somewhere. Although I can’t say exactly where they went, as I try to stay as far as possible from anything Onico-related, the Court Mage’s tower is the most likely place you’ll find your friend. Since it’s not exactly near here, though I suggest we go back and visit them another day, for I am quite excited to see your reaction, heh heh heh…” With an awkward expression, Kary silently nodded, prompting the knight to escort her out through the maze-like structure of the castle, the two-woman entourage going past tight turns and long hallways, locked doors and sleepy guards, who were promptly chastised by the ever-uptight Asteria, not long after reaching the entrance through which they had arrived the day before. After greeting the guards standing at both the double doors and the gates a few hundred meters beyond, the knight took Kary down the road, the scenery once more familiar to the girl as she looked at the vast plots of terrain occupied by equally grand mansions, with their adorned walls and mesmerizing gardens competing to see which one could hold her attention for the longest, though that came to an end fairly quickly as they neared Asteria’s own manor, its size, although compared to its neighbors, far from enough to hide its simplicity compared to the rest. Despite the beautiful garden tended with an almost religious piousness by Gunther, the gardener, the bare white walls and dusty windows all but screamed the owner’s social status for everyone who might be willing to listen.

  Like normal, Asteria unlocked the gates with a key that had managed to remain quietly hidden up until now, allowing them both to go into the house itself, all the while the girl played with her hands as she looked from one side to another, poorly, if at all, concealing her nervousness from the knight. They went past the garden, stepping on the carefully trimmed grass path until they arrived on the doorstep, the thick, worn down door greeting them with mute reverence as the both of them simply stood there in front of it for a solid second, before the knight pushed the wooden structure inwards, uncaring for its creaks and groans, an expectant smile plastered on her face as she led Kary through the main hall and into one of the side corridors, before entering a seemingly random room. Kary, of course, followed the woman with no questioning; her own excitement too aggravated for her to even pay any attention to where she was going, curiosity only demanding knowledge on what awaited her on the end of this long walk. Without thinking too much, she entered the room right after the knight, taking in its simple design, much too different from the extravagant chamber in which she had awoken some time before, before laying her eyes on the singular chair oddly sitting right at the middle of the room, where neatly packed clothes sat in the same place a human would normally take. Although Kary wouldn’t consider herself knowledgeable about the current trends of the capital, what little she could see only served to make her more excited, something that was definitely not helped by the suspiciously sword-shaped package leaning on the side of the chair.

  “Are these… mine?” The girl asked, her excitement barely constrained.

  “Of course they are, silly. Who else would they be for? I told you I had prepared something for you, didn’t I? Now come on, change into them, I want to see how you look! Oh, I bet you’ll be gorgeous! Don’t be shy now, Kary. See, I’ll even step out of the room so you don’t feel too conscious.” True to her word, the knight did step out, closing the door behind her, a wide grin plastered on her face as she imagined what kind of expressions the girl would be making now. Would she be flustered? Happy? Disappointed perhaps? Well, she hoped that it wouldn’t be the latter; otherwise she herself would be disappointed at the choice she had made, though she did feel pretty confident about this one, since she had taken into consideration everything Kary had shared with her about her past experiences, a surprisingly tactful choice coming from the usually block-headed knight. With nothing else to do, the woman simply waited for the girl to leave the room on her own, her sharp ears picking on the sound of fabric being touched, moved, and thrown around. Although Asteria had gotten the easiest to wear garment, she wondered if even that would too hard for Kary to put on, especially since she had been taking her sweet time inside there, all but making the knight anxious with anticipation. Time passed painfully slowly, what should have been a couple minutes at most feeling like she had been forced to sit through everything in between the birth of this world until this very moment, the lack of any proper means of discerning time serving to only amplify this sensation.

  When Kary finally left the room, though, she felt as if all the wait had been worth it. The girl’s pristine white skin had been mostly covered, as protective gloves, thick leather boots, long pants and a blouse made out of some sort ash-gray colored monster’s hide and a chainmail suit hidden beneath the shirt hid almost all of the skin. On her hips a leather belt that housed a simple dull-brown scabbard, holding inside one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful sword Kary had ever seen, and her hair had been tied into a ponytail with a silver ornament that perfectly blended in with the hair. Her expression was one of both amazement and awe, almost unbelieving of the reality happening right around her as she looked at her own body, as if she had completely forgotten about Asteria’s presence in the room. With a wide grin plastered across her face, the knight could only nod her head, for her prediction had been absolutely spot on. After all, who could the person in front of her be if not a bona-fide adventurer, ready to embark in some dangerous and exhilarating quest?