“I thought you’d be gone before I got up.”

“Well, I overslept! You could’ve woken me up…” Lysanne shoved some food into her bag and ran to the door.

“You always say I’m not allowed in your room, so I didn’t go. Hope your partner isn’t TOO angry!”

Lysanne ran as fast as she could to the guild where Leon was waiting. She honestly expected some sort of reaction to her lateness, but his expression was no different from last night.

“Here.” Leon handed a paper to her and started to walk away. Lysanne grumbled and followed him as she read the paper, which contained details about their mission.

“…It’s just a monster in a house? I thought it’d be more exciting! But twenty points…I guess it’s worth it.” She sighed and shoved the paper into her pocket. Leon stayed silent.

The two left the city to the south, into the same woods where Lysanne fought in her last mission. The path through the forest was windy and rough, with visible ruts in the ground from carts that frequently traveled the path. Swynhurst was a main hub for commerce in the country of Astrenia, second only to the capital.

Lysanne pushed some of her red hair out of her eyes. In her rush to leave she hadn’t pulled it up as perfectly as she usually did into her pigtails. Leon said and did nothing other than walk straight ahead of her. They turned more towards the east, following a path edged with stone. Lysanne recognized the road as the one leading to some of the mansions outside of the city. The higher class did enjoy their space and large houses.

“This one. Let’s go.” He continued walking.

“…That’s the first thing you’ve said to me since you left.” Lysanne whispered. “So dull.” She stood next to him as he knocked on the door a few times. It was about a minute before it opened, revealing a well-dressed young woman.

“Hunters…you’re here to get rid of that monster?” The girl spoke nervously. Leon wordlessly handed a paper to her, which she briefly scanned over before stepping outside. “Thank you so much…it’s been eating our food and won’t leave. My family left but…I’ve been staying in the basement.”

Lysanne put her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “We’ll take care of it for you, don’t worry. Stay out here, okay?” The girl smiled and nodded, and moved out of the doorway. Lysanne and Leon walked inside, both drawing their weapons as they approached the kitchen. They could hear the ravenous slurping of the monster eating. Leon held back, motioning for Lysanne to engage it first. She sighed lightly, and turned the corner, shooting with both of her guns twice.

The monster screeched and leaped at its attacker, taking out part of the doorway in the process. Lysanne barely dodged and shot back, just grazing the monster as it leaped at her again. When Lysanne dodged this time, she lost her balance and dropped both of her guns. Cursing under her breath, she drew her emergency weapon – a short sword.

“Leon! Do something!” Lysanne slashed at the monster, slicing its clawed hand open. The monster reeled back, and Leon finally unloaded his weapon on it, causing it to collapse. Lysanne grabbed her guns and took aim for the final blow, but paused. The monster started to shrink, eventually becoming nearly a quarter of its former size. She nudged it with her foot.

“Um…you got it?” The girl had come back inside and was peeking around the wall. “Oh…it’s all little again.”

Leon looked at her. “…The food.”

“Oh yes, well, we found it in the backyard injured and thought it was some sort of normal animal, so we took it in to treat it. But then it kept eating our food, and we noticed too late that it was really a monster.”

Lysanne reloaded one of her guns. “It should be killed, then.” The girl nodded and turned around, squeezing her eyes shut as Lysanne shot the monster one last time. Leon picked up the body and carried it outside, returning after a few minutes.

“Thank you again, you two. I know it’s late now…we have a spare room that you two can use so you can rest up and head back to Swynhurst in the morning.”

Leon nodded and headed upstairs. Lysanne sighed and sat in a nearby chair. “Sorry about him, I don’t know what his problem is. So…bland. Hm…I never got your name. I’m Lysanne.” She held out her hand, which the girl took and shook.

“I’m Ciara, it’s nice to meet you. If I ever need help again, I’ll see if I can get you on the job. Would you like anything to eat or drink? I’ve got some stuff in the basement.”

“Actually…do you mind if I stay down there with you tonight? I mean, sleeping in the same room with a strange guy…”

“Oh, of course! Anything to make you feel comfortable!” The two girls went down into the basement. Ciara poured out two glasses of water and handed one to Lysanne. “So…tell me what it’s like to be a hunter. This is the first time I’ve hired any…I’m really curious for some reason.”

“Where to start…” Lysanne tapped her fingers on her leg briefly. “You can join the guild when you turn eighteen, but you can work as an apprentice to a hunter at sixteen…I didn’t get to do that, my parents made me stay in school. I’d be a higher rank if I did that…oh right, hunters are ranked by skill and how many missions they’ve done.”

“I bet you’re at a high rank…I think you’re quite strong.”

“Actually…I’m rank 29. And you start at 30.” Lysanne laughed a bit. “I’ve only been a hunter for six months, so I’ve got a long way to go before I can even think of getting into the top ten. Those guys are the best in the guild, you can only get there if one of them retires, you pass a skills test, and the guild master likes you. It’s tough.”

“I believe in you, Lysanne. You’ll get far.”

“If my parents don’t make me quit first…oh well.” Lysanne took her boots off and lay down on the bed. “I guess I’ll try to sleep now…” She drifted off as Ciara got next to her. “Um…”

“Oh, I could sleep on the floor…” Ciara began to get up.

“No! It’s fine, I was just…surprised. It was stupid of me not to notice. I’m the one intruding here anyway.” Lysanne turned onto her side. “Good night.”

Ciara lightly placed her hand on Lysanne’s back and closed her eyes. “Yes, good night…”

“Again, thank you so much. My family is going to be very happy when they hear the good news!”

“Where are they staying? Do you want one of us to escort you?” Lysanne asked.

“They’re at a neighbor’s house, just down the road.” Ciara pointed down the stone-cobbled road that continued to the west. “I can get there myself, but thank you for the offer. Besides, you need to get back to the city.”

Leon nodded, and began to walk away. Lysanne shook her head and followed him, knowing she would have an uneventful trip back to Swynhurst.

“Mission complete.” Leon’s tone of voice was the same as always. Lysanne almost wanted to grab and shake him just to see if she got some sort of reaction from the man. She was thinking so much about it that at first she didn’t pick up on the guild master talking to Leon.

“…enough points to rank up. Good job.”

Lysanne snapped back to reality as she waited to hear how many points she got for the mission.

“And you, fifteen points again.” The guild master turned to file the completed mission papers and books away.

She pursed her lips, and tapped her fingers lightly on her leg, trying to keep a level head. Lysanne remembered she still had the mission details paper in her pocket, and pulled it out, placing it on the desk.

“Sir, it said here that the mission was twenty points. And you only gave me fifteen…” She trailed off, almost adding an “again” but decided against it.

“So? The guild bases points given on the effort used in the mission. I questioned your partner for details, he said you didn’t give much.”

“I was the one that killed the thing! Leon, what the hell did you–” Lysanne turned next to her only to see no one standing there.

The guild master sighed and leaned back. “Maybe if you had been paying attention during questioning, you could’ve avoided this. Too bad.”

Lysanne seethed. “How many points do I need to rank up?”

“Thirty.”

She swore it had been less, but didn’t want to continue arguing. “Then give me a mission that lets me rank up. I’ll do anything.”

“Anything, eh? Well then…there’s a request for an escort mission, bit of a strange one. Usually I’d send a higher leveled member on something this important, but since you’re so eager…”

“I’ll take it.”

The guild master leaned over the desk. “Do note you’ll be working with someone, that Preston girl. If our client complains about any poor behavior from either of you, you won’t be getting any points for this. Might even lose some. Got it?”

“Yeah, I got it. You won’t be disappointed.” Lysanne said, nearly gritting her teeth. A high-stakes mission, and she had to work with Daniella. She thought she probably sounded desperate to the guild master for points, but she wanted to show that she could do a mission right.

“You leave the day after tomorrow. Now get out of the way, there’s others waiting.”

Lysanne said nothing, and walked out of the guild to head home, taking a longer path to clear her head. The last thing she wanted was to walk into the house angry, and get yelled at by her parents, or even worse, chided by her sister. Her thoughts went to her next mission partner – Daniella. She was about a year older than Lysanne, and higher ranked. They had known each other since they were in school, and Daniella was the type to always try to one-up Lysanne at anything, and brag about it. They had never worked on a mission together before, and Lysanne had been dreading the day that it would happen.

“Wonder what’s so high-stakes about this mission anyway…must be a VIP we’re escorting.” Lysanne twirled some of her red hair around her finger as she walked, trying to imagine what kind of person they would be traveling with. “Some rich guy…maybe someone from the company. But where are we even going? I hate that we don’t get mission details until we actually start it.” It wasn’t much longer until Lysanne arrived to her house.

Lysanne was greeted by silence. She mumbled a bit before walking into the kitchen and opening the icebox, looking for something to snack on.

“I’m here!”

Lysanne jumped up, nearly hitting her head on the top of the compartment, and instinctively put her hand on her gun before turning around. “Oh, it’s just you.” Briana smiled.

“I’m glad you love me so much that you’d kill me.” Briana hugged her sister tightly. “Glad to see you made it back alive again. How was it?”

The older girl sighed and sat down. “My partner was completely boring, I had to share a bed with a near stranger, and I got cheated out of points again.” Lysanne put her head on the table, her red hair sprawling out. Briana started playing with a few of the loose strands.

“Sorry about the points. But what kind of person did you sleep with?”

“It was the client, a girl…it felt a little weird, she kept her hand on me all night. Guess she was still nervous after having a monster in a house for who knows how long.”

“Or maybe she liked you.”

Lysanne groaned. “I hope not. I’m not really interested in dating anyone right now.”

“You just admitted you’d date a girl.”

Lysanne’s head snapped up. “Briana! I didn’t admit anything! Idiot.”

“I think you’re being vague for a reason.” Briana sang in a singsong. “My sister wants to date a girl!”

“Briana, don’t be mean.” Katri walked up to her daughters. “You shouldn’t make fun of Lysanne’s…life choices.”

“Mom, she’s lying! I’m not interested in those kind of things!” Lysanne stood up. “So what if Ciara and I shared a bed? Briana and I did that when we last went on vacation!”

“But I’m your sister, why would you even use that as a comparison?”

Katri sighed. “Stop, both of you. Briana, have you done your homework for tomorrow?”

“It’s been done, didn’t I tell you yesterday?” Briana shrugged. “I guess I’ll go read or something until dinner.” She smiled and headed upstairs. Katri shook her head and started to make preparations for cooking.

“Oh, yeah…” Lysanne said while watching her mother. “I’m leaving on another mission in two days. An escort…have to work with Daniella.”

“…I see. I really wish you would stay home for longer between missions. I suppose it can’t be helped, though. Don’t be too mean to Daniella.”

Lysanne was silent. She could tell from her mother’s tone of voice that she wasn’t happy. “Hey, I could help you with dinner…”

“No, I’m fine. You should clean up before we eat, though.”

“…Right.” Lysanne left the kitchen for the bathroom, hoping that a hot shower would make her feel better.

Orien hung up his jacket and put his briefcase down, walking into the kitchen and hugging Katri. “Dinner smells good.”

“Yeah, it does!” Briana said as she came downstairs. “Almost done, right? Did Lysanne help any or did she just sit there?”

“Don’t fight.” Katri spoke before Lysanne could reply. “And she kept me company while I fixed dinner. Wash your hands and come sit.” The family gathered at the table as Katri served them, before she sat down as well.

“So Lysanne, this is the first time you’ve eaten dinner with us in a week. How does it feel?” Briana grinned.

“I’ve been working.”

“Right, right. Hey Dad, how was your work today? I’m sure Lysanne’s really interested in hearing about it.”

Katri looked at Briana. “Stop, please. We’ve been over this before.”

“Briana, you should be thinking of what you’d like to do after you finish school.” Orien added to the conversation.

“Oh, I’ve thought! Maybe teaching, or working at a library. Something like those, I’ve got the grades to do it.”

“Those are good choices.” Orien said. Katri also nodded. Lysanne sunk into her chair and finished eating.

“Excuse me.” Lysanne got up and put her dishes in the sink, then went upstairs into her room. She didn’t feel any better from earlier, especially with the added light jabs Briana kept making at her. She also felt like her parents had nearly stopped caring about her choices.

Meanwhile, the rest of her family was still sitting together in the kitchen. Katri spoke first.

“Maybe we are being too harsh on her…”

“Neither one of us wanted her to become a hunter, but she has shown her strength.” Orien answered. “Besides, she is an adult. We couldn’t stop her.”

Briana quietly stood up. “Lysanne and I will do the shopping tomorrow, okay? I’ll apologize to her then…I think I was the one who went a bit too far.”

“Briana, it’s a weekday, why are you out with me?”

“Day off of school…it’s planting time so a lot of people aren’t showing up. We’re only going every other day for a while.” Briana looked up at her sister. “Are you starting to lose your memory? You haven’t even been out of school for a year.” Lysanne responded by lightly smacking Briana on the head. The two sisters went around the market, picking up the various goods that Katri had listed for them. The market was nearly empty, only a few other people were out doing their own shopping.

“I’m gonna go into this store for bit. Wait out here…or go pick up the next thing, doesn’t matter.” Lysanne waved and dashed into a clothing store. Briana giggled and kept walking. She was interrupted when a man stepped in front of her a short way down the road.

“Is…there something you want, sir?” Briana asked, cautiously. She had already partially turned away from the man, ready to run. She wasn’t entirely sure how fast she could run carrying the things she had bought, but she thought that dropping a few goods wouldn’t matter in the long run, and maybe even trip up the guy if he chased her.

The man smirked. “You’re a polite little girl, aren’t you? Well, why don’t you just politely give me that purse you’ve got around you and I’ll leave you alone.”

“Trying to rob someone in broad daylight? You’ve got guts…” Briana started walking backwards, keeping her eye on the man.

“Not as sweet as I thought. Too bad.” The man lunged at her, causing Briana to jump back and let out a short yell. She turned to run, but her foot caught a loose stone and she tripped to the ground. Briana held still, hoping the man would just take whatever and run, but the grab she was expecting never came. The brown-haired girl looked up behind her. The man’s arms were twisted behind his back in a hold by a taller person wrapped in a hooded cloak.

“Too bad for you, rather. It is gutsy to try to rob a girl so early in the morning.” The cloaked person said in a low voice. Another man walked up to the pair, and the cloaked man handed the mugger off to him. “Young miss, are you all right? Let me help you up.”

Briana took his hand gratefully. “Thank you, sir. I should’ve just handed it over instead of talking back like that. I…I should get back to my sister.”

“No need to, it seems. Is that her there?” The man pointed behind her, and Briana turned to see Lysanne watching curiously. He then walked up to her. “Don’t worry, she’s safe…an idiot just tried to get some fast money from her.”

Lysanne was silent, staring at the cloaked man. She couldn’t see his facial features well at all, other than a few strands of blond hair poking out from under the hood. He smiled at her and she jumped a bit. “Sorry, I…yeah. Thanks for…helping, sir.”

“Not a problem. I must be going now. Be sure to protect your sister…family is a precious thing.” Lysanne watched as he walked off down the main road, eventually disappearing down a side street.

“Good job on being rude, Lysanne. I’m sure he appreciated you staring like that.”

“Briana.” Lysanne didn’t turn around. “That…that was the top ranked hunter. That was Landis.”

“Top ranked, huh? So…”

“He’s really strong…mysterious…I’ve heard he never takes off that cloak, not even for the guild master. And he rose to the top rank in only five years!” Lysanne blinked. “Oh gods, and I just stared at him!” She buried her face in her hands, groaning.

Briana put her hand on her sister’s back and rubbed lightly. “You’re just realizing that now? You should go apologize to him, once you’re back from your mission, I guess.”

“I think I will…I hope he doesn’t tell the guild master that I’m some rude bitch or something.”

“You’ll be fine!” Briana smacked Lysanne’s back, causing her to stumble. She laughed. “Let’s go home, I’m hungry. We can make something to keep for dinner later too, be nice to Mom and Dad.”

“Ugh, all right.” The two left the market and headed home.

“Oh gods. It’s not dead.”

The thick-furred monster growled as it rose up on its hind legs, staring at the human girl standing in front of it. It tracked her with its eyes as she circled around, attempting to get into a better position. Its ears tilted back as it picked up the sounds of footsteps to its rear.

The girl took that moment to fire her handgun again into the side of the monster. It screamed in pain, dropped back down to all fours and turned to her. She began to take aim again, but the monster charged, sending her scrambling.

“A little help? Please?” she screamed to her partner as she dove behind a pair of trees to dodge a powerful swipe from the monster.

“Oh…um…” the man fumbled, checking his own handgun. “Anything for you, Miss Lysanne!”

Lysanne cringed, unable to get into a good position to shoot and having to dodge again. “Focus! I don’t want to fail this mission! Do something so I can get into position…if I can get a clean shot at the head…”

“R-right!” the man shot at the beast’s legs, causing it to roar and spin around, concentrating on its new opponent. Lysanne reached into a pouch situated at her hip and pulled out a tinted bullet, tipped with a red colored crystal-like material. Opening the cylinder of her gun, she slid it in to an empty slot, closed it, and made sure it was the next bullet to be fired. She took aim, bracing herself for the recoil she knew would come, and fired at the monster’s head.

A trail of smoke left the gun as the bullet flew. As it made contact with the monster’s head, it exploded, searing flames that engulfing its fur. The enraged creature screamed, clawing at its own face and stumbling blindly towards Lysanne.

“Dammit, why won’t you DIE?!” Lysanne shot at it more, emptying her revolver. Her partner also shot at it from behind, finally causing it to collapse at Lysanne’s feet. She kicked its smoldering head for good measure.

Her partner nodded and walked up to her. “Well, that was intense.” He smiled at her. “Where did you get that bullet anyway? Magic bullets aren’t that common…besides, your gun–”

Lysanne waved her hand, interrupting him. “They were a reward for completing a mission I did a while back.” She holstered her revolver at her hip, and also motioned to the one at her other side. “Same with the bullets, they all came with the guns, though I am running low… but does it really matter? Just don’t tell the guild master, okay?” Lysanne winked at the man, who nodded in response.

“Right…hey, about the reward money…”

“What about it?” Lysanne motioned to him to start walking with her out of the forest and back towards the city.

“I’m just wondering how to split it. You did most of the work, but I don’t know what the guild master will say to an uneven split.”

“50/50 is fine, really. You’re already helping me out by not telling him about my guns.”

“All right, Miss Lysanne.”

Lysanne rolled her eyes. “Drop the formalities, I hate them. And they’re not getting you any closer to a date.”

Lysanne and the man walked in and were greeted by the standard chatter of the other hunters in the guild. Some read the newspaper or guild notes, while others chatted over cards or drinks. At the desk in the back sat the guild master, who lifted his head as the two approached him.

“We’ve completed the mission, sir.” The man said, smiling some. The guild master leafed through a stack of papers next to him.

“The one about the monster raiding farms right? How did it go?”

“Well, we ended up chasing it into a forest, which complicated things a bit but…” The man paused for a moment. “But we set up a trap and killed it with no problems.” He nodded after he finished his statement.

“Right, good.” The guild master stamped the paper, marking it as complete, and filed it away. After briefly going to a back room, he returned with the payment. “Don’t fight over the split, got it?” Lysanne and the man nodded. The guild master then took out a book. “Let’s see…” He looked at the man. “Twenty points for you, which brings you up to the next rank. Congratulations.”

“Oh, thank you, sir!” He was nearly unable to contain his excitement, which almost made Lysanne laugh. “I’ll continue to do my best!”

“As for you, girl…” Lysanne’s bit of cheer was dampened by the fact that the guild master couldn’t bother to call her by her name. “Fifteen points.”

“…What?”

“Fifteen points. It’s not that loud in here, I’m sure you heard me.” The guild master looked at Lysanne with a piercing gaze. “Are you going to argue about it?”

“It’s just…” Lysanne stepped closer to the desk. “The two of us basically did the same amount of work, I just find it…unfair, I suppose.”

“Take it or leave it, girl. If you want to argue, I’ll have to give you less.”

Lysanne sighed. “Fine. Fifteen is just fine.” She leaned on the desk. “I suppose since I’m here I’ll take a new mission…try to make up for those lost points.”

The guild master glanced at her unhappily as he slammed the mission list in front of her. Lysanne picked it up and gazed over it. “Hm. This one, about the monster hunt…”

“Right. You’ve already got a partner for that one, he’s sitting over there. The two of you leave tomorrow.”

Lysanne made sure the guild master marked her down for taking the job before heading over to speak with her new partner at the table.

“So…we’re working together on the mission tomorrow. I’m Lysanne, rank 29…haven’t seen you around much, what’s your name and rank?”

The man didn’t look up at her. “Leon, 25.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Leon.” She sat in the chair next to him and straightened out her long jacket. “You look you’re pretty well off…rich family?”

“Yes.” Leon stood up and started to walk out. Lysanne jumped up after him.

“Hey, where are you going? I kind of wanna know more about you…”

“Out. We’ll meet here tomorrow.” He walked out of the guild, leaving Lysanne standing alone. She grumbled.

“This mission will be fun…”

“I’m home!” Lysanne said cheerfully as she stepped inside. A younger girl with brown hair looked up from the table in the kitchen, and jumped out of her seat, running to Lysanne.

“Welcome back! Ew, you’re all dirty…I’m not hugging you.”

“Thanks, Briana.” Lysanne poked her younger sister on the forehead. “You home alone tonight?”

“Nope! Dad’s still probably closing up his office, but Mom came home this morning when you were out on your mission. I’ll go get her.” Briana dashed down into the basement. Lysanne poured herself a glass of water and sat at the kitchen table as she waited for the two to return. It wasn’t long before she heard a set of footsteps coming up the stairs.

“Oh, Lysanne…it’s so good to see you home safely.” Katri, her mother, went up to Lysanne and embraced her. “I don’t see any injuries…thank goodness.”

“You say that every time, Mom.” Lysanne smiled. “But it is nice to hear…don’t worry, the mission went fine. Oh, but I’m leaving on another one tomorrow.”

Katri sighed. “I really wish you’d think about leaving the guild…” She said, quietly. Lysanne cringed slightly, knowing she had possibly sparked off another lecture. Katri continued. “It’s dangerous, and…not really a woman’s place to be a hunter.”

“Don’t start with that! There’s a lot of girls at the guild, and there’s more joining all the time. Besides, if I quit now, it’d look bad…I’ve only been there six months.” Lysanne rested her head on the table. “And I thought you were all about women getting more rights…”

“It’s still dangerous, and I worry about you.” Katri sat at the table. “You’re a smart girl, you could have easily taken an internship with your father and me at the bank…become an accountant.”

Briana leaned in. “Yeah, if you wanted to look bad. Lysanne’s pretty bad at math.”

Katri stood up. “I’ll keep telling you to think about it, Lysanne. The option’s open for you.” She smiled gently. “You’re my daughter, and I can’t help but worry, you know that. Now, how about helping your sister with the laundry before bed?” Lysanne grumbled, but obediently got up and went with Briana to the laundry room.

“Hey, turn around for a moment so I can change out of these.” Briana turned around and Lysanne took off her outfit, pulling on nightclothes for a replacement. She tossed everything into the washing machine along with a nearby pile of dirty clothing.

“Idiot, you didn’t even check to see if the colors all match. I don’t want my white shirts turning blue or anything.” Briana reached over and pulled out what Lysanne had thrown in, tossing in darker clothes instead. She nodded, and Lysanne added the soap and closed the lid. “Check to make sure the stones are in place, too.” Briana reminded. Lysanne crouched by the box next to the machine, opening up the latch. Inside sat three stones – red, blue, yellow, each about the size of her closed fist.

“They seem to be fine, so you can turn the machine on.” Lysanne closed the door before Briana pressed the switch. A faint glow seeped out of the box as the machine rumbled slowly to life. The two girls could hear the water begin to flow through the pipes from the box to the machine.

“Mom will get it when it’s done…you should probably go to bed.” Briana walked out of the room, and Lysanne followed.

“Don’t tell me what to do. Besides, you need to go too…get up early tomorrow and do all that homework you probably have.

Briana stuck her tongue out. “I got it all done today, so I’ve got tomorrow off.”

“You…”

“Don’t fight, you two.” Katri poked her head out of the kitchen. “And Briana’s right, Lysanne. Go to bed and rest up for tomorrow.”

“Fine, fine. Good night.” Lysanne waved as she headed upstairs into her room. To tell the truth, she was rather tired. Lying on her bed, she decided she’d wake up with a shower in the morning before eating and heading out. It wasn’t long before she fell asleep, not even bothering to pull her blankets fully around her.

-Other ideas worlds included a Poke/Digimon-like world with people and partner mons, a post-apocalyptic world, a generic fantasy place, two worlds that had later stories set in them (including the one I did for NaNo 2010), and a prehistoric-like place.

-In one of the worlds, Aislin met up and worked with a travelling angel. The differences between the heavens and the world of the dead would be explained.

-About halfway through the world travels, Ria gets a call from someone saying she’s “broken the rules”. Soon after, her sister Sabia appears in the library and takes Ria away. When Aislin returns, Sabia’s the one looking after the library.

-Meanwhile, Ria’s being reprimanded by the Goddess of Death, Morrigan. It’s revealed that Ria’s her daughter, and that Ria’s also half-human.

-While Ria’s gone, Aislin takes the chance to make Sabia send her back to Ki-Lin’s world in order to rescue the princess. Aislin joins a rebel group with the same goal, and they’re successful.

-Upon her return, Sabia cruelly reveals to Aislin that Ria has no power to restore her life, and in the end it’s up to Morrigan to decide. Ria lets Aislin decide if she wants to continue to visit the worlds until then, which Aislin says she’ll do.

-Aislin only ends up visiting 12 worlds total (13 trips since she visited one twice) out of the 17 originally stated. Morrigan allows her to return to life since she’s been “such a hard worker”. It’s also out of kindness to her daughter, though she wouldn’t admit it.

-Ria chains herself to Aislin in order to take the trip through the soulstream to Aislin’s world, which has been frozen in time since her death. Ria heals Aislin’s body enough for her to live. Ria seems sad that Aislin is leaving, and lightly kisses her before leaving. Aislin returns to her body, and time starts flowing in her world once more.

-Aislin spends a week or so in the hospital recovering (over her winter holiday from school and the new year). Her body heals, but her mind is ravaged by voices — souls of the dying people in the hospital begging to live. She can also still see the reapers.

-Aislin’s condition doesn’t improve even after she goes home. Some days she doesn’t hear anything, while others she is bedridden from the pain of the feelings and voices. Morrigan visits her one night, saying that because of the close and prolonged contact with the world of the dead and with Ria has transferred some of their supernatural power to her. Morrigan regulates the power — Aislin can still see the reapers and feel the souls, but it won’t cause her pain any longer.

-And then there was going to be a sequel involving another world beginning to merge with Aislin’s, and the resulting demon invasion and other issues it caused.

Tomorrow I’ll start posting my NaNo2010 story

Part 7: Decision

Aislin unexpectedly tripped and crashed into the wooden floor. Looking up, still panting from her escape, her eyes widened as she recognized this area.

She had returned to the library, and Ria was standing in front of her.

“Sorry for the sudden…teleportation, I guess you’d call it.” Ria extended her hand to help Aislin up. “I happened to check in when you were in trouble. Not only that, but you got all the information I needed, so you didn’t need to be there anymore–”

Aislin interrupted. “Send me back.”

“Your work in that world is done, so you don’t need to go back.”

“I said, send me back.”

“…Why?”

Aislin jumped up, and grabbed Ria by her shoulders. “I need to save her…Ki-Lin, I said I’d save her!”

Ria tried to get out of Aislin’s grasp. “Even if you saved her, it wouldn’t matter in the end.”

“…”

“You were only gathering information that had been lost from the world’s data. Even if you had prevented her capture now, it would have happened later. You can’t change the future.”

Aislin was silent. Her arms dropped to her sides. Ria continued to speak.

“I’m sorry, but you have to understand this to continue…working here.”

A heavy silence hung in the air. With her eyes cast to the floor, Aislin slowly walked to her bedroom, locking the door behind her.

—
A long time passed before Aislin emerged from her room. Ria watched her as she walked into the main room. Aislin looked back, and the two girls stared at each other awkwardly.

“Would…you like something to eat?” Ria asked quietly.

“Not hungry.”

“Ah, you won’t be, since you don’t have a physical body, but it’s still nice to eat sometimes…I’ll make something you like…” Ria’s voice had dropped even lower now, and Aislin could barely hear the last words she said. Not that she cared at this moment. She walked across the library towards the door at the far side.

“Aislin?”

Aislin didn’t respond. She placed her hand on the doorknob.

“Aislin…you know that door leads to the soulstream…right?” Ria walked up behind her. “If you open it…”

“My shell will dissolve. I’ll be absorbed into the stream to await reincarnation.” Aislin turned to Ria. “I…This…” She hesitated.

“…Are you angry, Aislin? About earlier?” Silence. “You want to leave because of this?” Silence, again. “I thought you wanted to live…”

“Shut up!” Aislin spun around, swatting at Ria, who screamed and jumped back. The dark-haired girl paused, then sighed and pushed past Ria, heading back towards her bedroom.

“Fine then, be angry!” Ria called out to her back. “I don’t care what you choose to do!” The only response she received was from the slamming door. Knowing that Aislin wouldn’t be out again for a while, Ria went into the kitchen.

“That girl…maybe this was a mistake.” She muttered while pulling out various cooking ingredients and utensils. She busied herself with her cooking, trying to forget about the other girl’s outburst.

—
Aislin was curled up on the bed, hugging the pillow tightly. Her stomach kept churning, and her head was pounding.

Why did she care so much about Princess Ki-Lin? Was it to show that she wasn’t selfish in wanting to live again? It was a selfish wish, she thought. And she could easily turn that wish around…set things to how they should be.

“I don’t want…to die…” she whispered to herself. “Though…I’m already dead. I don’t want to be…dead dead.” Aislin sighed. The concept of this afterlife was still confusing to her. But there was Ria…Aislin realized how little she knew about the mysterious girl. She did know, however, that she needed Ria to live again.

Aislin sat up. Maybe she should apologize to that girl…and then get back to work.

—
“Oh, you came out.” Ria said flatly as Aislin entered the library. “I made food, you can have some if you feel like it.” She gestured to the table, which had various plates set on it. Aislin took a bowl of fruit and picked at it as Ria continued to speak.

“I guess you’ve decided to stay? Well, I don’t personally care about your decision, but I’d just like to make sure that you’re still working here. For other reasons.”

“Mm.”

“…Okay, then. I picked out the next world I’d like you to fix up. It’s the total opposite of the last one.” Ria held up a blue book. “I’ll go set the door up while you finish eating…um…do you like those fruits?”

“Mm.” Aislin emptied the bowl, and placed it back on the table.

“You could use words, y’know. Whatever…I’ll get more for when you return, okay?” Ria went to the back door of the library, and ran the machine that connected the worlds. Aislin followed her, and waited until the door was ready.

“Stay safe. The rules are the same as always.”

“Right.” Aislin nodded. “…Ria?”

“Uh…yeah?” Ria was a bit shocked at Aislin saying her name for the first time.

“About earlier…sorry.” Aislin stepped through the door, leaving an even more shocked Ria behind.

—
(And that’s all that was written.)

For the next few days, Aislin and Ki-Lin spent most of their days together. They ate every meal together, and took frequent walks through the gardens. Aislin even attended a few of the meetings Ki-Lin was forced to attend with her advisors.

Each meeting was focused on one thing: her marriage to Jiang. Even her advisors were arguing amongst themselves over what their princess should do. Ki-Lin stayed silent, usually looking out the window or to the floor. Her advisors were clearly starting to take sides, and each meeting had more arguments than the last.

Four days after Ki-Lin’s meeting with Jiang, everything turned for the worse. One of the servants found two of the advisors dead, poisoned sometime the night before. These two advisors had also been the only two to support Ki-Lin’s decision to not marry Jiang at this time.

It was obvious what the rest were pushing the princess to do.

Ki-Lin was sitting in her room with Aislin, braiding the older girl’s hair. She kept sighing and stopping her work to lean against Aislin’s back, holding back her tears. Eventually she finished, tying a ribbon at the bottom of the braid.

“You’re so beautiful, Aislin…” The princess spoke quietly, her voice wavering. “I really mean that, too. I…for some reason, I look up to you…your beauty, your maturity…”

“I see.”

“I don’t want to marry him…”

“I know.”

Ki-Lin had wrapped her arms around Aislin and was clinging to her tightly. “I really don’t want to.”

Aislin suddenly turned around, pulling Ki-Lin into her arms. The younger girl gasped at the sudden display of affection. Aislin herself was surprised that she had reacted in this way, not being one to act this nice to people. She was also blushing slightly as she held the princess. “I’ll…help somehow, okay Ki-Lin? Don’t cry more…”

“…Aislin!” Ki-Lin started crying anyway, sobbing hard into the older girl’s shoulder. Aislin awkwardly patted her back, not used to having to provide comfort to others. Her thoughts drifted to trying to figure out why Ki-Lin was so attached to her. She closed her eyes, thinking back through the last week. It had been surprising that it was only a week since she came to this world. On one hand, time had moved by rather quickly, but she also felt like she had known Ki-Lin for years.

The princess’ movements in her arms brought Aislin back to reality. Ki-Lin had pulled back, wiping her face and straightening her hair. She was blushing.

“My apologies, I…broke down…how embarrassing. This is…so hard. I didn’t think it would be, but it is…”

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. “Please enter.” Ki-Lin hid her wavering voice well as she allowed the servant to enter. It was Mei, and she smiled at Aislin as she walked in.

“Lady Ki-Lin, Lord Jiang is here to see you.”

“He…he’s early. It’s only been four days.”

“Yes, but…excuse me if I’m out of line by saying this, but you should see him, my lady. Before he gets angry.” Mei shifted nervously.

“…Yes. I will go now.” The princess looked at Aislin. “Will you…walk with me there?” Aislin nodded. They walked to the meeting room, and Ki-Lin walked inside. Aislin sat against the wall outside by the door.

—
Inside the room, Ki-Lin was met by her surviving advisors, Jiang, and his advisors. Her heart started pounding as they stared at her when she sat down.

“Ki-Lin, I’m glad to see you again. I was afraid that you wouldn’t come.” Jiang spoke softly.

“Why are you here? It has not been a week.”

“I heard about your advisors. I give you my condolences. However…” Jiang leaned over the table. “I believe you should make your decision now, dear Ki-Lin. You don’t know what might happen if you continue to stall.”

“…I do not want to marry you. That is my decision.”

A heavy silence hung in the room. The advisors were exchanging glances, and a few were whispering to each other.

“I see. Well, if that is your decision, I accept it. I’m glad you were able to tell me your feelings this time.” Jiang stood up. “We will take our leave now. I wish you luck in the future, my dear Ki-Lin.” He bowed, and left the room, his advisors closely following.

All of Ki-Lin’s advisors were staring at her now. One spoke up. “My lady, I apologize if I’m too forward, but…why have you chosen this? You know your country is in danger now.”

“I said I wouldn’t marry him.” Ki-Lin said, defiantly. “It doesn’t mean I won’t try to make an alliance with him.”

“He might consider your refusal a hostile act.” another advisor said. “I honestly believe you should reconsider you decision.”

“I believe all of you are overreacting.” Ki-Lin stood up. “Please calm down. If you are worried about my future, trust me, I will marry someday. I will contact Lord Jiang after he returns to his home with a request for alliance.”

—
(Pretty sure the chapter would’ve gone on for a bit more here, but I don’t remember now. Basically Jiang would’ve had troops already situated at the border in case of Ki-Lin’s decline of his proposal, and he invades. A war breaks out, and Jiang’s troops end up outside of the capital…)

—
Aislin and Ki-Lin spent the rest of the morning together viewing the garden. There was some conversation, mostly one-sided on Ki-Lin’s end. As they were heading back inside, a servant approached them.

“Lady Ki-Lin, your visitor has arrived and is waiting in the meeting room.”

“Visitor? What is the date?”

“The 16th, my lady.”

“…” Ki-Lin sighed. “I apologize, Aislin, but this is one meeting that I cannot run away from. You are free to do anything you wish for the rest of the day. I’m sure I’ll be in that room until dinner, at least.”

The servant turned to Aislin. “Lady Aislin, if you’d like, you can accompany me while I go into town. I have some errands to run…”

Aislin nodded. “Ki-Lin…good luck.” The princess nodded and went inside, leaving Aislin and the servant girl.

“You haven’t been to town yet, right Lady Aislin? You can look around as much as you’d like when we get there.”

“Mm. Your name?”

“Oh…I’m Mei.” She bowed slightly. “Shall we go now?” Aislin nodded, and she followed Mei out the front gates into town.

—
Meanwhile, Ki-Lin was slowly making her way to the meeting room. Her stomach kept doing nervous flips. She wanted to tell someone she was ill and wanted to rest, but she had done that the last time she had a meeting with this person. The time before that, she claimed she was out of town that day, even though she hid in a secret house located in the town for that week.

Her small hand rested on the door to the meeting room. She took a few deep breaths, trying to control her pounding heart, trying to calm her mind. She slid the door open and walked to the table, kneeling on the pillow at one end, facing the three men inside.

“Ah, Ki-Lin,” the youngest of the three said in his smooth voice, “it is a pleasure to finally see you after so long. Have you recovered from your illness?”

“I have, Lord Jiang.”

“Please, just Jiang is fine. I do expect to get much closer to you, after all.”

“I assume that is what you are here to discuss. My answer is still no.” Ki-Lin was trying to stay calm, but that got harder with each passing minute. She wanted to run away from this room, from the palace. Her mind wandered back to Aislin, wondering how she was enjoying the town.

“…and you do know if you don’t comply…Ki-Lin. Please, I’m sure you have a vivid imagination but this is not the time to be dreaming of what could be.” Jiang leaned over the table. “Your reality is to marry me. Think of what it would do for your country.”

“You would just take over, I know how militaristic your country is. You instated that forced military conscription policy yourself.”

“It would be a simple alliance between our countries, there would be no…invasion or war at all.”

Ki-Lin jumped up. “Do you think I trust you, especially after you took over that seaside country a half year ago!?”

One of the advisors also stood. “They invaded us first! It was in self-defense!”

“Please, calm down, both of you.” Jiang placed his hand on his advisor, who sat down. Ki-Lin stayed standing. “Do not dwell on the past, let us just think of this moment and of the future. Ki-Lin, my dear, if you marry me, think of the benefits to your country. We would be available to protect your citizens from any attack, provide new trade routes and goods, and alliances with other countries. You are taking this situation too…personally.”

“Of course I am! It’s marriage! I…I’m not ready for that…”

“You are old enough to rule a country, therefore I believe you are old enough to marry.” Jiang stood up. “As usual, I will be in town for a week, and I do want a decision made by then. If you avoid this decision…” He walked over to Ki-Lin, leaning in close to her ear and whispering, “my terms might not be so friendly next time.” Waving his hand, he and his advisors left the meeting room, leaving a shaky Ki-Lin standing alone.

—
Aislin and Mei were heading back up the path to the palace together, carrying their various purchases. Aislin was turning a small doll around in her right hand. For some reason, it caught her eye and she bought it as a gift to Ki-Lin.

“Oh…I guess that’s who Lady Ki-Lin was meeting…” Mei was looking ahead at a group walking down the path in the opposite direction. Aislin also started watching them. The rich-looking young man glanced back as her as they passed next to each other.

“That was?” Aislin asked.

“Lord Jiang…he’s the ruler of the country to the south of this one. He’s been coming here every month to meet with Ki-Lin. He wants to…marry her.”

“…I see.” The two walked together in silence for the rest of the way to the palace. When they entered, Mei excused herself to put away the goods she bought. Aislin decided to locate Ki-Lin. She went to Ki-Lin’s bedroom and knocked on the door.

“I said before that I don’t feel like a meeting tonight, please let me rest.”

“…Ki-Lin.”

There was silence, and the door was opened. “Aislin…I’m glad it’s you, really. My advisors have been wanting to talk ever since the meeting earlier and I …sorry. Here, please enter.”

Aislin walked in and extended her hand. “Here.” Ki-Lin took the doll from her and smiled.

“Oh, it’s so cute! Thank you, Aislin. I’ll treasure this gift.” The girl’s mood had improved significantly by the small gesture, and even Aislin almost smiled.

“The town…it was pretty.” Aislin said, quietly.

“Yes, it is very nice this time of year, everyone’s outside since it’s sunny almost every day. I wish I could visit more often myself, but my advisors…” Ki-Lin sighed. “I understand that they only want to help me the best they can, but sometimes they can be so suffocating.”

“And they force you into things.”

“…I guess Mei told you some things about today. Don’t worry, she won’t be in trouble, I know you still have questions about me and the country and everything. I think you…deserve to know.” Ki-Lin took Aislin’s hand and lead her to the table where they sat next to each other. Aislin lightly mentally kicked herself for being blunt with her last sentence.

“I was visited by a lord of a neighboring country today…”

Aislin interrupted. “I saw him on the way back. He seems…a lot older than you.” Again, she was being blunt trying to get information.

“Oh, yes, he is…I believe he’s about 25 years old? He’s been ruling for a few years now. I…I just turned 14 at the beginning of the year.”

Aislin was slightly surprised. She had noticed that Ki-Lin was younger than her, but not that young. She also realized that this girl was the ruler of a country.

Ki-Lin leaned against Aislin. “You’re surprised, I can tell. I’ve been ruling this country for four years now. Of course, I have my advisors, but sometimes they just make it harder.” Her voice dropped low. “I feel as if some are trying to decide my life for me…by forcing me to marry Lord Jiang.”

“So it was their idea.”

Ki-Lin nodded and closed her eyes. “I don’t want to marry yet. I understand if someday I must marry for politics, but not now…I can’t even bear him any children yet.” She smiled slightly. “What do you think, Aislin? Am I being selfish?”

“…Maybe so. But it’s your…your life. You should be able to choose how you want to live.”

“So you have that freedom where you’re from, to choose your life?”

“…Yeah, I had that.”

Ki-Lin blinked. “Past tense? Did something happen?”

“No. I’m…obviously alive.”

“Of course.” The princess smiled. Aislin noticed that Ki-Lin was still leaning against her, with her head resting on her shoulder. Aislin, after a few seconds of thought, wrapped her arm around the younger girl, pulling her close. Ki-Lin sighed happily. “Thank you, Aislin. You’re so kind.”

“No…you’re much more kind than I am, taking me in here.”

“Maybe so…maybe so.”

The two girls spent the rest of the night sitting together, forgetting about their problems, only enjoying the moment surrounding them.

The sunlight streaming through the large windows awoke Aislin the next morning. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. Her body still ached slightly, and her head was also still fuzzy. She briefly noticed that she wasn’t hungry like she expected to be after the night. The thought was forgotten as she ran her hand through her hair, bumping her ear. Aislin flinched in pain, and then remembered about the earring Ria roughly stuck through before she left the library.

“…Damn jewelry.” She cursed as she twisted the ball a few times, mentally noting to take it out for cleaning later. A knock on the sliding door brought her out of her thoughts.

“Lady Aislin? May I enter? I’ve brought breakfast for you.”

Aislin sat up, pulling one of the sheets around her “…Fine.”

The servant entered the room with a tray. “Today’s meal is rice with a side of fruit grown from the orchard here. I’ve also brought some hot tea.” The girl looked up at Aislin, and blushed. “A-ah…I could…also help you get dressed…?”

“If you want.”

The servant blushed more, but went to the pile of clothes left in the room the previous night. Picking out a set, she returned to Aislin. “Please stand, my lady.” Aislin obeyed, and the servant skillfully wrapped the kimono around the girl’s body, followed by the traditional obi to hold it shut. “You look beautiful, Lady Aislin. I’ll take your dirty clothes to wash.” The servant girl bowed, picked up Aislin’s uniform and left the room.

Aislin walked around for a bit before sitting down to pick at her breakfast. Even if she wasn’t hungry, she didn’t feel full either before or while eating. The food was good and it would be a shame to waste it. She shifted a bit. It was too awkward to sit any other way than kneeling in this kimono, and her legs kept falling asleep. She had just finished eating what she could when there was another knock at the door.

“Aislin? It’s Ki-Lin…may I enter?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Ki-Lin quickly opened the door and slid in, shutting it as quickly behind her. “Good morning, I assume you slept well? The servant that checked on you around dinner time said you were fast asleep…but I didn’t expect you to sleep for sixteen hours.”

Aislin blinked. “That…long?”

“Well, you left my room around half past five, and I guess it took a bit for you to fall asleep. It’s about half past ten now, and you only woke up a short time ago…”

Aislin sighed. She wasn’t typically a long sleeper, though her hours depended on schoolwork. “I see.”

Ki-Lin laughed. “Oh, you look so shocked! I didn’t expect you to be, honestly.” She laughed more. “The look on your face…was also unexpected.” Ki-Lin reached up towards Aislin’s face. Aislin jerked back. “I-I apologize…” The princess retracted her hand. “Your hair, covering your face…I was just curious.”

“There’s nothing special there. Why did you come? Hiding again?”

“Oh, no…not yet, at least. I do have a meeting later with someone. It’s…confidential.” Ki-Lin was nervously fingering her kimono. “I’d just like to spend some time with you before then. We can walk around the garden, it’s beautiful this time of year.”

“Mm.” Aislin stood up along with Ki-Lin, and the two walked outside together.

The young girl, dressed in expensive robes, opened the basement door and quickly fled down the stairs. She adjusted the clips in her hair as she walked down the dark hallway. She ducked into the familiar alcove…stumbling over the body curled up within.

“A-ah…!” The girl screamed as she fell to the floor. Aislin jumped up, now wide awake, and looked around the darkness. A nearby torch slightly illuminated the other girl’s outline. She sat up and turned to Aislin.

“I apologize for falling onto you. Are you injured at all?” Her voice was light and quiet. “Who are you, anyway? Are you hiding?”

“I…” Aislin struggled to find the correct words. “Just…had to get in somewhere for the night.”

“That’s understandable.” The girl nodded. “If you’d like, I could try to bring some food or clothes to you…”

“You will do no such thing, Your Highness.”

The two girls looked up to two armored guards standing above them. Both carried long, decorated spears as weapons.

“Princess Ki-Lin, you must stop running off every day! Do you not understand the importance of the meetings with your advisors?”

“Oh…but I was not in a meeting, I just wanted to walk around.”

“It’s still dangerous, my lady.” One of the guards grabbed the girl known as Ki-Lin by the arm, pulling her close to him. “I’ll escort you back to your room.” He turned to Aislin “And this girl…”

Ki-Lin spoke up. “She is a harmless traveler, only seeking shelter. Let her stay here.”

“B-but Your Highness…!”

“Let her stay.”

“Y-yes…” The two guards glared at Aislin, though it was hard to tell due to their helmets. Aislin herself was silent. She was also slightly confused. Why was this girl of such high standing protecting a stranger?

The four of them left the basement, walking back up the narrow stairs. Outside, they walked along the palace walls for a short time before heading through a door to the inside. The inside of the palace was as magnificent as the outside. The wide halls were bright from skylights evenly placed across the ceiling. The floor was made from what looked like bamboo surrounding the stone path they were currently walking on. Cloth tapestries adorned the walls, red with gold and white designs on them.

They arrived at a set of double doors. The guards opened them, and the two girls walked in alone.

“Ah…I’m sorry for this mess. But I suppose this is the best outcome, right…um…” Ki-Lin tilted her head slightly. “Your name, traveler?”

“…Aislin Reinard. Just Aislin is fine.”

“A strange name…where have you traveled from?”

Aislin was silent. She couldn’t tell this girl that she was a wandering soul trying to come back to life. What could she tell her, anyway? She knew nothing about this world, let alone countries. Ki-Lin noticed her struggling.

“If you cannot tell me, then it’s fine. You can call this country your home if you were exiled.” She smiled, then briefly ducked out of the room. When she reentered, she knelt on a pillow by the table sitting low to the ground. “I asked a servant to bring us some tea and snacks. Dinner will be served later, I believe we’re having fish tonight.”

Aislin sat across from Ki-Lin. “…I…don’t know anything about this place. Could you tell me…ah…Lady Ki-Lin?”

“Just Ki-Lin is fine when we’re alone together like this.” She smiled again. “And I would be happy to tell you about my country.” She started at the beginning, from the history of the discovery of the land to the present day people, agriculture, and cities. Aislin listened intently to her girl’s sweet voice, somehow finding it interesting. Or was it just her voice that captured Aislin? Even after the servant delivered their snack, Aislin paid more attention to the girl than the food in front of her.

“I believe that’s enough for now. I can see that you enjoyed the history lesson, Aislin.” Ki-Lin sipped her tea.

“Thanks…” Aislin also drank from her cup of tea. The warm drink relaxed her, and she realized how exhausted she still was. Her sleep the last night had been uncomfortable. The stone floor was coarse and painful to lay on, and basement had been rather cold.

Ki-Lin stood up. “If you’re tired, I’ll take you to your sleeping quarters. I’ll see if the room next to this one is open.” She extended her hand to Aislin, who took it and also stood up. Together, hand-in-hand, they went to the adjacent bedroom. Ki-Lin had servants bring in a futon and bed linens, along with a few sets of clothing for Aislin.

“Sleep as long as you need to, Aislin. You can ask any of the servants for a meal no matter when you awaken. Rest well.” Ki-Lin smiled and returned to her own bedroom.

Aislin took off her school uniform, folding and placing it in a pile near the door to be washed. Not putting on another outfit, she crawled between the blankets on the futon. She sighed, thankful for whatever luck she had been graced with to fall into such a good situation. She was also thankful for Ki-Lin’s kindness, though she wouldn’t say it out loud to anyone.

She had someone. She was together with someone. Briefly, Ria flashed through her mind, but the thought quickly faded. Ki-Lin seemed to be a much better person than the strange girl of the library. Sleep overcame the girl quickly as she curled up more underneath her blankets.

She appeared in a forest.

Aislin scanned the area. Other than the occasional chirp from a nearby bird, it was silent. She guessed she was rather deep in this forest, since there were trees in every direction. She wasn’t even on anything that resembled a traveling path.

The dark-haired girl sighed and sat against a tree. She noticed a leather bag on the ground next to her. Inside was a book almost identical to the one Ria had in the library. This one was thinner, and after flipping through the pages, completely blank. Aislin had hoped it would have some clues as to who to look for in this world, but there was nothing. She sighed again.

This was the first time she had ever been truly alone.

Granted, she wasn’t really a social person. She got along well enough with her family, but didn’t usually accompany them on shopping trips or other outings, and they rarely went on vacations. At school, people only talked to her during group projects or for occasional help with work. She had one person that she considered closer than the rest — Aislin didn’t call her a friend, but the girl wasn’t a stranger either. But in all of those situations, people were still around. This time, as far as she knew, she was the only one in this area. To make it worse, this was a completely unknown place to her.

Aislin knew she had to find civilization quickly.

She stood up, lifting the bag over her shoulder. The forest was dense, and she didn’t seem to be on a well-traveled path. The dark-haired girl started walking, carefully avoiding the protruding roots and sticks that littered the ground.

—
Aislin didn’t know how long it had been, but it felt like hours. The sun was starting to set, though Aislin couldn’t tell exactly where it was in the sky. Not like it would help, she didn’t know how to tell time just by looking at the sky. She was still in the thick forest, which was starting to seem an endless mass of trees. She hadn’t even seen many animals in this area, either.

Suddenly, there was a wall in front of her. Aislin stopped short, not expecting that she would run into a building this quickly. The wall was made of large, reddish bricks, rough and covered in dried vines. Aislin sighed. At last, she had found some sort of possible civilization. Placing her left hand along the wall, she started to follow it around. She continued to follow it around the corner. There didn’t seem to be any gates on this side either, however there was a pile of wood leaning against the wall.

Would climbing over the wall count as breaking in to the property? Aislin knew she needed shelter for the night, and the property seemed big enough that she could hide somewhere until the morning.

She climbed up onto the wood pile. It shifted slightly, but stayed upright enough for her to clumsily scramble over the wall. It wasn’t a graceful climb at all, and her momentum caused her to tumble over the other side. Aislin gasped when she hit the ground — the fall hurt more than she expected. Was this what Ria meant when she said that the soul shell was weaker than her normal body? She shook her head, and stood back up to look around.

It seemed to be a courtyard surrounding the building a good number of feet away. The building looked like to be a sort of palace, made of the same red brick the wall was made from, accented with gold and white colored trim and well-trimmed plants. The side she was on had a door leading inside.

Aislin decided to take her chances. She didn’t know what would happen if she was caught. The girl walked up to the door and opened it, revealing a staircase leading into a basement under the building. Slowly, she started to descend, shutting the door behind her. There was no light in the basement, and she had to carefully use the wall as support as she walked down the thin stairs.

There wasn’t much light at the bottom of the staircase either. A few torches dimly illuminated the walls. Aislin looked around as best as she could, trying to get her bearings. After her eyes adjusted, she continued on. The silence was deafening. Aislin could only hear her own light breaths echoing slightly through the empty hall.

She reached an alcove in the wall. She was exhausted from all the walking she did today through the rough terrain. The girl sat down in the alcove, which was barely big enough for her to stretch out in. It was cold in the dark basement, and slightly damp. Aislin shivered.

The realization had just struck her. She was completely alone.

She drew her knees up to her chest, hugging them tight. Her breath was ragged, even though she kept trying to breathe deeply to avoid crying.

She couldn’t. The tears silently rolled down her face. Aislin buried her head into her knees, shivering. Her thoughts were entirely jumbled. She wanted someone with her, anyone.

And she wanted to be home again. Alive.