Chapter 2: Lost: A Prisoner in Another World

The first thing I noticed besides the headache I had was the gentle roar of an ocean nearby. I made a
face and lay there, collecting my thoughts. The ocean was nice, the smell of salt, the warm feeling of
the sun on my face-

Wait.

How in the world was I at a beach? The last place I remember I was at was with the band-

It all hit me in an instant: the running, the men that ambushed us... I sprang upright into a sitting
position with my hands cupping my head as I thought about my predicament.

If I was here, where was the band?

I tilted my head up at the sound of a small splash and stiffened at what lay before me. There was this
weird... huge starfish flopping towards me. It had two large eyes and let out a little bubbly sound that
sounded it was gurgling underneath water.

I started to back away when my hand touched down on something. Was that a fin? I looked down to
see an enormous fish barring its razor sharp teeth up at me, and I screamed as I threw myself
backwards to get away from it, staring at it numbly in disbelief.

I must have hit my head too hard in the event last night, I must be raving mad… someone did smash
my head against the bus, after all. As if to attest with that certain memory, pain shot up the back of
my head and I squeezed my eyes shut in pain. I felt my entire body jolting in shock when I saw the
two… creatures now closer to me than they had before, the giant fish now floating in midair. My body
reacting on its on, I started to crawl backwards. Hallucinations or not, I did not want to be anywhere
close to those things.

The giant fish opened its mouth to bare its teeth at me again as I continued to come up with every
possible rational explanations on what it was I was actually seeing, that I was indeed just
hallucinating, that this was all just a horrible dream-

When the giant fish flicked its tongue out in a hungry manner however, I let fear take hold of me and
I opened my mouth to let out a scream loud enough to make even the two creatures twitch. I could
hear my own voice hitting an octave higher when I felt someone grab hold of my arm and yanked me
back to land on my rear behind them. I stopped screaming once I realized that whoever this new
person was, they have effectively placed themselves between me and the objects of my current fear. I
still did not keep me from trembling, however.

I watched as the giant star fish reared back, its boneless body moving fluidly as it did so, before
shooting its body back up and spitting what looked like a ball of black slime at us.

“Guardian!” The man in front of me cried, and I watched in wide-eyed shock as a wall of green
suddenly appeared before us and halted the ink before it could touch us. I heard a sizzling sound as
the smell of burning acid reached my nose as the black slime slid down the glowing green wall, steam
rising out from it as it did so.

What in the world was this?!

I yelped when the slime finally landed on the ground and turned a patch of pale golden sand into a
crispy black color: a plume of smoke rising from that burnt patch it when it did. Oh dear goodness,
that ball of slime was acid! Those things can spit acid! I scrambled backwards when the wall of green
fell, watching as the person in front of me charged towards the creatures before I stood up to turn
around and run.

“Wait!”

He must have disposed of the monsters quickly, I think, because I could hear that person's running
footsteps as he chased after and easily caught up to me. I screamed when he snagged my wrist and
he dropped his sword in shock. It was one thing to see Nathan holding one, he said he collects swords
after all, but it was an entirely different thing to see one in the hands of a stranger in the middle of
nowhere with no one to hear my screams.

“Relax! I’m not going to hurt you!” he insisted. “Sit down a second...”

I stood still for a second, staring down at my badly shaking hands.

“Sit down, please,” he said again gently, and this time I obeyed. “There, was that so hard?” From his
tone, it was clear he meant it as a joke, albeit a bad one in my opinion.

I watched with great trepidation as he reached a hand into his bag and pulled out an apple. “Here.”

I reached up and took it, but the weight of the apple and the shakiness of my hands caused me to
drop it into my lap. I stared at it in dismay, appalled at my obvious weakness.

“Why were you out here on your own without any kind of protection?” he asked.

“I-I…” My head roared with pain once again and I pressed my hand against it.

“Miss?” he asked quietly.

As I stared into my lap, the events from yesterday flicked into my mind once again. Strangers
attacking me from behind, my band members getting attacked, and then I ran...
and then I woke up here? I groaned a little and pressed my hands to my forehead, the cold tips of my
fingers soothing the pain just a little.

“First Aid.” I jerked my head up to look at him as a gentle green light moved from his finger tips to my
forehead. I started to lean away from his hand when, astonishingly, I felt all the pains fade away with
his touch. The headache was now nonexistent, the soreness of my body gone, and the pains from
where I was struck the previous night all seemed to disappear as if they were never there to begin
with. But… how-!?

It all struck me then like a brick to the face that I was not dreaming nor was I hallucinating: one
should not be able to feel pain in a dream, and the scent of the salt of the sea and the acid from
that thing, the feeling of the sand underneath me… they all were too vivid, too clear for my senses.
One person hallucinating has problems merely in their mind, not with the rest of their body.

“What was that?” I was not proud of how fearful my voice came out in the face of… of… whatever all
this and everything else was! Too much had gone on, too much information to properly process, too
many questions to ask, too few answers I have a feeling I would get. Though my job entails me to
react quickly in the face of any kind of unexpected or unplanned development, this whole entire thing
was just too much for my mind to grasp. Out of all things, I have never, ever, in my life, expected
anything like all this to happen. Now that it had, just what was I supposed to do?

He chuckled a little. “Haven’t you seen it before? It’s Boltzman's magic... healing magic.”

I stared at him blankly, the name unfamiliar to me and the claim of magic usage too impossible to
accept. I finally noticed his features when I looked at him and my stare only intensified. Everything
looked fake about him: the hair was too red to be natural- even as dye job- and his eyes too pale
to not be contacts.

“W-What?” I started to say before he stood up.

“If you aren’t going to eat that, we should go back before more monsters start attacking.”

“W-What, monsters?” I stammered again as he went to pick up the sword he had dropped on the sand
earlier.

“Monsters attack in swarms,” he informed me, and I stared at him blankly again. “We should go back
to Sybak.”

I made a face as yet another unfamiliar name was given to me. Surely I could recall the name of this
town or city on the maps I have poured over whenever I'm mulling the possible destination of where
our band's next tour should be, in the near future or otherwise. “What?”

“Miss, I think you might have hit your head a little... Sybak is the best place to go for education in
Tethe’alla. Maybe something will jog your memory.” He smiled awkwardly.

He offered his hand and I took it. I think I had a lost look in my eyes, because he looked at me with
pity.

I'm afraid to say that I may have gone into shock considering what have happened so far. Had my
mind been clear, I would have been more suspicious of the man- no, boy, he couldn't look any older
than eighteen- because as far as I knew, he could be one of the people that attacked us. Even so, if
he wasn't, I would have been more wary and attentive of him, considering there was only the two of
us in the middle of seemingly nowhere. He was armed and I was not, he was a boy that's taller and
more muscular than I am, and with some degree of ability of using a sword.

However, since I was in shock, I did not consider any of those possibilities. I only followed him
thoughtlessly without protest, one of his hands behind my back both in a soothing gesture and as a
way to guide me along. The attack on the band, the loss of my friends and the lack of knowledge of
both their whereabouts and their conditions, the unfamiliar area and names, me being alone with
someone who may or may not kill me as well as clearly not being normal on some levels,
the monsters, the usage of magic?

It's too much…

Far, far too much…

Too much for my mind to take…

Because of my being in shock, the scenery around me had blurred all around me in a cloudy haze as I
felt my thoughts going into a blissfully dead halt, halting any more stressing intel from the world
around me. Any sounds from the surrounding area had become a dull hum in my ears, and I could no
longer feel anything such as the sun shining down on me nor could I smell the salt from the ocean. It
was like I was going into and out of sleep, with my body working purely on autopilot.

The red-haired boy, from what I could tell whenever my subconscious rose up to gather whatever little
information it could before sinking back down again like a wave in the ocean, did not talk much. But
whenever he did, I could barely hear him, both because his voice was soft, and the fact that my numb
mind could not make out the words he had said. To me, in that state, it was like he was trying to
communicate with me through several layers of walls that were between us.

So it came to me as a surprise when I was forcibly 'woken up' from my catatonic state when pain
suddenly exploded throughout my torso. I blinked, stunned at my sudden awareness. I then realized I
was staring at a patch of grass covered dirt, and I was lying facedown on the ground. I looked up to
see the red-haired boy staring down at me in surprise, and I realized that I clearly must have tripped.
I squeezed my eyes shut and dusted myself off after standing up.

“I’m sorry, are you okay?” He asked and I nodded, noting with detached interest that I could hear him
fine… at least for the time being. I already could feel my mind slowly start to slip away to the darker
parts of my subconscious.

“Sybak is about five minutes away now, if you look, you can see it over there. You can see its port.”
He pointed at about three o’clock. At the horizon line, I saw it. A bunch of buildings shimmered and
wavered with the heat of the day, but I saw it. In the middle, there was a taller building.

Even in my state, I was still shocked at what I just heard. Just how long was I in shock for? Were we
not at the beach just a moment ago? How far did we go? I inwardly cursed myself for being so
inattentive. But… even as I did that, the idea of being in a blissfully unaware blank state so that I
don't have to deal with all this seemed so appealing, and already I started to feel my mind start to slip
away until the boy asked me a question.

“What’s your name?”

I hesitated, unsure if I could give this stranger my real name. I then decided that I must, if anything,
perhaps he could recognize me by my name. “B-Bridgette… Bridgette Arnette.”

The boy nodded. No surprised blink, no recognition in his eyes, no shock on his facial expression, just
a nod, as if my name was just a name like any other. I suppose he's not a fan of our band if he did
not recognize my name. We started to walk again, I waited until he gave his name but he offered
none. I guess I have to just ask. “What’s your name?”

He stiffened in what seemed to be shock before turning to me with wide eyes. “You don’t- oh. Forgive
me, I just assumed… pardon me. I’m Vincent Wilder, the Chosen.”

The what? Well, whatever the case, I could have cared less at the moment. Whatever it meant, I'm
just not ready to deal with it at the present time.

"…Huh." I sounded tired, even to my own ears.

Truly… everything… was just too much.

Just… let me escape reality for a little while…

The world around faded into obscurity once more as I allowed my mind to slip away as my body
continued to move on its own.

************************************************************************

I blinked, noting with mild surprise I was at a completely different location than the wide open and
grassy plains I was at earlier with… with… what was the boy's name again? I wasn't truly in the best
state of mind to remember his if he gave it?

No… no… he definitely gave it… or did I just imagine the whole conversation? Like how I had been
earlier, I still felt like I was drugged, my movements and thoughts so slow and sluggish to me, though
I could care less at the present time.

Feeling like I was looking straight into a television set, I absently took note of my current
surroundings. It looked like I was in a bedroom. It was a modest little thing, with only the essentials
placed about. The walls were a very pale grey color with thin blue carpeting covering the entire floor.
There was a closet, a nightstand with a lamp on it, a vanity mirror, and two doors which I assumed to
lead to the bathroom and the hallway. I was seated on top of the bed with my hands clasped neatly
on my lap, the window next to me wide open and allowing a very light breeze to blow in, ruffling the
thin curtains. The room was bathed on a warm golden orange glow from the outside: it was late into
dusk already, I noted indifferently. I should be worried, especially since it seemed like it was just the
middle of the day on my way here with that boy, but I just didn't have the energy to do even that.

I was awake the entire time… maybe I should just go to sleep…

I'm tired… so so tired…

Maybe, just maybe when I wake up more refreshed, I would have the energy to do something
productive. I could only hope so.

Shedding myself of my jacket, pants, camisole and shoes so that I was clad in nothing but my
undergarments, I got up to slide the window shut, lock it and closed the two curtains before it,
throwing the room into almost darkness.

With the vague inkling that I was forgetting something, I pulled back the covers of the bed and
crawled in. Sleep eagerly welcomed me with open arms the second my head hit the pillow.

************************************************************************

I let out a yawn as I slowly sat up, brushing the sand from my eyes as I willed myself awake. Another
day filled with work. Better get showered and dressed quickly so I can go grab a cup of coffee before
dealing with the paperwork. A day for the manager of a band is always a busy one.

Maybe I should get something to eat this time, too. I had such a terrible dream last night. Ahh, I
should forget it, or else I won't be able to concentrate with my work and the band will suffer as a
result.

…Oh good grief, did I not shower the previous night? I smelled terrible! The stench of my own sweat
burned and tickled my nose and I wrinkled it in distaste. Absolutely bushed from a hard day's work or
not, I must always shower before bed. It was like I had ran a marathon in a hot summer's day and
went to bed without even washing or changing. And since I'm not wearing any of my night wear, it
was clear that I definitely did not even change clothes. Oh how neglectful of me. To take care of a
band well, their manager must take care of themselves well too.

Well, enough complaints, more action. I just needed to find my bag somewhere in this room without
waking either Valerie and Jasmine so I could shower.

At the thought of my two friends, I frowned as I looked around the room. Though light managed to
filter into the room through the cracks of the curtain, it was still somewhat dark. Even so, I could
neither see the two women, much less even hear their breathing. Did I end up getting a room to
myself? Goodness, I must be tired last night if I don't even remember what happened.

My frowned deepened further as I walked around the room in search of my bags so I could get a new
set of clothes. None of my bags were anywhere in sight. I looked in the bathroom, checked
underneath the bed, opened the closet and even opened the drawers, but I could not- to my growing
irritation- find even a tube of one of my many lipsticks. The only possessions of mine I could find are
the one's I'm already wearing, and the discarded clothes from the previous day on the floor.

Groaning, I pulled aside the thicker curtains of the window but left the thinner ones as they were. I
just needed some light… and I'd rather not accidentally give someone outside a free show of myself
clad in nothing but my bra and panties.

I swear to God, if this is some kind of prank of sorts by Valerie or any of the others… they even took
my cell phone so I couldn't call them and demand they bring my stuff back to the room! Oh, I could
just hear them laughing it up somewhere in this hotel now…

Giving up, I elected to take a shower for the time being. I scrubbed myself down with the bar soap
until I am free of dirt and grime- just what have I been doing yesterday?- and washed my hair with
the shampoo the hotel provided until I smelled decent all over. That done, I brushed my teeth and
then dried and patted down my hair the best I could without any of my hairbrush to help me with.

It was easy to take care of short hair, but it still takes a small amount of hair to keep the ends of it
from sticking up. Unfortunately, without my drier and curling brushes, I was instead left with my short
black hair looking disheveled and sticking up at the ends. At least my fringes, which I kept longer than
the hair at my back for the sake of style than anything else, looked to be in slightly better condition.

I decided to wait a while. Maybe the others will return back to the room with all my bags once they
decide to end this joke of theirs.

As I waited, I took the time to dry my entire self completely before staring at my reflection in the
bathroom mirror. Of course, my short black hair's a mess thanks to my curling brush and drier being
temporarily stolen, and I could see the annoyance reflected in the green eyes of the woman staring
back at me with pursed lips. I dropped the towel and took a step back, before gaping in horror at
myself in the mirror. It had been a while since I looked,really looked at myself in the mirror, and what
I saw surprised me.

All right, so being the manager of a band is not exactly the most physical job there is, but surely the
running around and making sure things are properly set and prepared would contribute to the loss of
weight, even by a little?
Obviously not, if my body was any indication. I had absolutely no curves to speak of, my body as
straight as a rod in terms of shape, with the only thing I'm pleased about were my skin color- kept
rather fair due to my job seeing me placed indoors more often than outdoors- and my breasts:
modest in size, neither too big nor too small. I was then shocked further at just how meaty my thighs
were, and how my thin arms still had enough flab to wiggle about when I shook them, and how I was
just slightly round in the stomach.

This was why I do not like to look at myself too long in the mirror… it would just remind me of how
out of shape I was. Still, at least I'm okay to look at in the face for a thirty-going-on-thirty-one year-
old… at least that's what I told myself as I put back together the shards of my self-appreciation. What
woman wouldn't like to look good? Besides tomboys, that is.

I waited for a few more minutes, but when no one returned to the room with my bags, I groaned in
defeat and trudged back into the bedroom to slip into my clothes from yesterday, grimacing a bit
when I did. Looks like I have to hunt those adult children down… honestly…

I had just opened the door- which, I noticed, was not locked- when I stopped, the surprise that was
undoubtedly on my face mirrored on the two faces before me. And one of those faces was familiar.

The red-haired boy lowered his arm with a sheepish smile: he probably was about to knock on the
door before I opened. I was further surprised to see the look of relief in his unnaturally bright blue
eyes.

"You… you're finally…" the boy trailed off awkwardly, sighing it what appeared to be relief.

"Responsive," the other male, this one looking to twenty years my senior, supplied helpfully, pushing
his glasses up. I noticed that he was clad in a pristine white coat with a clipboard tucked underneath
one of his arms. A doctor, perhaps?

"What are you talking about?" I asked, my eyebrows arched high. "Who are- oh…"

It felt like I was punched in the gut by an iron clad fist as I gasped for air, suddenly finding myself out
of breath as pictures rushed through my mind. The attack, the running, the monsters, the rescue, the
magic, the red-haired boy taking me somewhere away from that beach, and then… and then…
nothing. I don't remember anything else.

I found myself laughing bitterly, only to choke myself on the sob that came up to my throat.

"So… everything… it wasn't a dream…?" I asked, the question sounding more like a plea than anything
else.

The red-haired boy looked alarmed whereas the man dressed as a doctor looked at me with obvious
sympathy. "Perhaps it's best that you take a seat…" he suggested kindly.

I felt the proverbial iron fist in my gut again, and I gasped.

Real… real… everything that happened… they were all real.

I had no idea where my friends were, whether they're alive or dead, I'm alone somewhere I'm not at
all familiar with, I do not have any of my possessions on me- not my cell phone, my IDs, my credit
cards or anything I would need- monsters and magic apparently exist in this place, and I did not know
anyone that I could go to at the present time like this.

My world started to darken again, but I blinked in surprise when I felt strong hands roughly grab me
by the shoulders. I looked up to see the red-haired boy's blue eyes glaring down at me.

"Come on, don't lose yourself again!" he snapped. "Your eyes, I could tell… you're going away again
just like yesterday! Is that your answer? Or do you want to fix the problem and move on and put
everything behind you?"

My eyes widened at that realization was slapped across my face, and I could see the truth in the boy's
words.

Just what would I gain by losing myself to my own mind? It would help me find my friends, and it
won't help me find a more familiar city. It won't help me with anything, in fact.

Everything… everything that had happened so far was shocking, unrealistic, impossible… but that
didn't mean I should block everything out and hope things could get better on their own, right? How
could I allow such a thing to affect me this badly? I needed to pull myself together and get things
done.

I nodded, watching relief wash across the red-haired boy's face as he let go of my shoulders and took
a step back as I took in a long and deep breath as I closed my eyes. I held it as long as I could before
slowly letting it out, opening my eyes as I did so.

Okay, good… I could see everything better now. Everything is crisper, clearer… I took in more several
deeps breaths to calm myself down, seizing my panic and fear and doubt and worry all by the throats
and shoved them down to a place where they could not bother me for the time being.

One step at a time… I could do this…

It was my job to overcome any unexpected incident with a level head and good rationality.

Honestly… if I could not do that, if I went into shock every time things shocked me as badly as all this
did just now, I would have cost not just myself, but the rest of the band their jobs long ago.

One step at a time… and the opportunity of where my first step was presented right in front of me.

Five minutes later found the three of us in the hotel bedroom, with me seated on the unmade bed as
the red-haired boy leaned against one of the walls and the doctor sat on a stool that he had dragged
to be placed right in front of me. After the two of them had entered the room, a young lady had come
up to place a tray of food and a jar of water on the vanity table, as the room didn't have any other
surface area appropriate to place them at. I had poured myself a glass of water and was in the
process of taking careful sips from it, watching the two men warily as I waited for either one of them
to start speaking.

When it seemed that neither of them was willing to break the awkward silence that had descended
upon us, I allowed myself to cough softly to get their attention. "I believe… I have a lot of questions
that needed to be answered."

"As I'm sure you do," the doctor agreed, leaning forward and clasping his fingers together in front of
his aged face. "We will answer any questions you have to the best of our ability."
I inhaled deeply. Time to start a not so fun game of twenty questions. "Where am I? How did I get
here?"

"You are in the city of Sybak, also known as the University Town," the doctor answered. "As for how
you got here, well… you have the Chosen to thank for that. He brought you here." His glasses slipped
down his nose and he pushed them back up with a finger. "From what he had explained to me, he
found and then saved you from monsters."

I frowned. "I've never… where is this place on the map?"

The doctor briefly had a look of surprise on his face before regaining his composure. He shared a look
with the boy against the wall and let out a sigh. "I'm afraid you did not exaggerate, Chosen one. It
appears she does not remember anything."

"Just answer her questions," the red-haired boy said, looking annoyed. "She'll remember. Her mind
just needs a little jog."

"As you wish, Chosen One." The doctor turned back to face me again. "Sybak is located just north-
west of Meltokio, beyond the Tethe'alla Bridge and the closest city to it. To be more specific, we are
located on the upmost central continent of Tethe'alla. Does anything ring a bell to you?"

"I, no." I shook my head, exasperated. "Tethe'alla? Where is that? I've never heard of any of the
names you mentioned, and mind you, I look at our world map often."

"If you've gone through our world map often you should know," the doctor protested, his eyebrows
knitted together in mild frustration. "At the very least, you should be well aware that Tethe'alla is the
name of our world."

"…I'm sorry, what?" I shook my head in denial. "No, you're wrong. My good sir, you must be
mistaken, or perhaps you're just joking with me-"

"I assure you, as of the present time, I will have no gain from joking or lying with you."

"-but last time I checked, we call this world Earth," I finished, making sure to add a tone of finality to
my words. I was getting annoyed very, very fast.

"No, we definitely call our world Tethe'alla," the 'Chosen One' said, backing up the doctor. "I know
technically we live on earth, but we don't name our world Earth solely because of that fact."

"You have your facts wrong, ma'am," the doctor said with a short sigh. "However, considering your…
current state of mind, your misinformation can be forgiven."

A spark of anger shooting through my chest, I narrowed my eyes at the man. "…Excuse me?"

"When The Chosen has brought you in the previous day," the doctor started, giving me a look of pity
as he did so, "he mentioned that you were rather… out of it. Now, I am not sure what had happened
prior to your meeting with him, or if it was merely the fact that you had gotten rather close to death's
footstep with those monsters, but I can assume that the traumatic experience you went through has
put a rather huge strain on your mind. Other than the two conversations where you conversed with
the Chosen, for the most part of yesterday, you were unresponsive to any else that was said and done
before you."

The doctor heaved another sigh. "You are still, clearly, in shock. Though you have improved greatly
from the previous day, it is clear to me that you are… ah… still oblivious and confused about many
things, shall we say? It is temporary, of course, but you are still suffering from the traumatic
experience you had."

"But I'm all right now!" I insisted, standing up and then forcing myself to sit back down when the
doctor shot me a look. "I know what I know! I am fully confident in the facts that I have! You're
mistaken!"

"My dear, I can understand your aggravation. No person would be willing to admit they have
difficulties with their state of mind when it is questioned," the doctor said. His words were meant to be
kind, but impatience was starting to creep into his voice and overall manner as he waved a hand.
"Next question, if you would please."

I gaped at him, feeling the wave of anger within me spike to higher levels. I was tempted, so very
tempted to scream at the man that I was sane and to not to flip the middle finger and swear at him.
This man did not want to hear my version of the truth; he just wanted to be proven right and is willing
to dismiss my worries because of it!

Gray and Valerie were both bad influences to me over the past few years sometimes… yet despite how
much I wanted to, I needed to keep my temper under wraps. A manager should always maintain a
professional and civil demeanor in front of others. Raising my voice and using vulgar words and
gestures would make a huge dent to my image as a manager greatly. And as I mentioned before, I
would not be the only one affected by any wrong actions I may make. Which is all the more reason
why I should keep cool, even when I was faced with ignorant bigots. And oh, I have had the
displeasure of meeting many of those before, those that attempted to try and get me to sign the band
under their name in the forms of very ludicrous contracts that would benefit them more than the
band.

Even then, even when I refused their kind offer, I still also managed to get through the meeting with
them with a pleasant smile and a sweet but professional tone of voice and both my and the band's
name and dignity intact as if I had not a care in the world, when inside, all I wanted to do was get up,
throw a glass of water to their greedy faces and storm out with a flourish.

I could do it before, I could do it again.

If he did not want to believe what I say, then that's honestly too damn bad. But that doesn't mean I'm
wrong. I'll find a way to help myself once all my questions are answered and he's gone.

Still, it didn't stop me from being angry, however.

"All right," I bit out, swallowing my pride for the time being. "I'm sorry, you might be correct," I lied. I
then frowned deeply. "Next question... I don't suppose you know how I got there on that beach, do
you? Because last thing I remembered was being at a forest."

"About that," this time it was the boy that spoke up, pushing away from the wall and walking up so he
was standing behind the doctor. "Yeah, you remembered right. You were actually at Gaorrachia Forest
when I found you." His face darkened. "You were getting dragged away by three Desians. I took one
look at you, bruised and beaten and unconscious, and I knew they were responsible, especially since
they were laughing and insulting you about it. And I knew that they were taking you to a Human
Ranch, if not outright kill or torture you later."

I felt the blood drain from my face. Human Ranch? Kill? Torture? "D-Desians…? Who are they?"

"The Desians are a group made up purely of half-elves," he spat the term out with such venom I
couldn't help but be taken aback, "-formed merely to terrorize, fight, kill and spread fear and suffering
to innocents. They built Human Ranches where the humans they captured are taken to be treated
even worse than cattle and slaves, and Martel knows what else to them. They are cruel, heartless and
merciless."

He took in a deep breath, and the shadows that covered his eyes lifted slightly as he his stiff posture
relaxed again. "I killed all three of those worthless Desians-" my hands flew up to my mouth in shock,
my eyes resting on the sword strapped to his side, "-and I wanted to bring you to safety. I got tired,
so we rested at that beach. I swear I thought I had poured enough of the liquid from a Holy Bottle in
the area before I went off to patrol the area to make sure we're safe, but I guess I poured too little
after all."

The boy gave me an apologetic look. He looked so guilt-stricken I couldn't help but feel bad for him.
"I'm sorry. I should have been more careful. You almost got killed because of me back there at the
beach. I've never used a Holy Bottle before, so I wasn't sure how much to use." Here he rolled his
eyes. "Even though it should be basic knowledge. Guess I need to study a little more about potions."

The boy then frowned at me. "Which then begs the question I asked you yesterday… what were you
doing wandering around without a weapon or without a group of people to stand by you? And in
Gaoracchia Forest, of all places, no less?"

I hesitated. Should I give these two the full truth of what happened? Or would they brush off my
claims like they did just earlier? It was already made clear that they doubt my memory.

Oh what in the world do I have to lose now? If they do not believe me even when I'm telling the
absolute truth, that's their problem, not mine. I'll just have to not use names. If they do not recognize
the name Earth, then I highly doubt they'll recognize the names of the locations I will use.

"I promise you from the bottom of my heart it was not intentional," I told them. "I was with my
friends- five of them- and we were on our way to a destination when our transport broke down." I felt
myself shaking slightly as the memories of that frightening night went through my mind once again. I
closed my eyes, took in a deep breath to calm myself down, and opened them again so I could
continue. "We were attacked by a group of people, and I managed to get away from the fight and ran
even further when I realized that some of them were following me, but while I was running, I fell
down a ditch and lost consciousness."
I nodded over to the red-haired boy. "When I finally came to, I was at that beach. You were there,
and you know the rest." I ducked my head, staring at my hands. "I don't know what happened to my
friends, but I really do hope they're all right…"

"It's most definitely the Desians that attacked you," the doctor said and I restrained myself from
rebuffing his statement. I wasn't sure if these Desians were truly our perpetrators. We were still back
on Earth, after all, and not on this… Tethe'alla.

…This is something I needed to take in more slowly, I realized as I swallowed a lump in my throat. A
whole new world… monsters… magic… half-elves… an organization created just to spread death and
destruction… it felt like I have just stepped into a fantasy movie.

I still couldn't believe it…

"I'm sorry… I would like to be alone now," I said, not looking at either the two males. I needed to
properly absorb and accept all the facts that have already presented to me. Learning anything else
new would prove to be overwhelming later if I didn't.

"Would you like to hear my advice?" the doctor started, making me look up. He frowned at me
skeptically before turning to look at the Chosen and began to talk as if I wasn't even there. "She's not
mentally stable… I do not trust her to be alone and as a doctor, I cannot just leave her be like this. I
would have to assign someone to watch over her for a period of time."

The spark of anger I felt earlier was now back in full force, and I felt my eyes widen in indignation.
"Excuse me?"

"No," the doctor said, raising a hand up at me as if to stop any further protests. "I'm afraid I have to
insist on this."

"Doctor, there is no need-"

"Then I'll watch over her."

My words were caught in my throat and the doctor nearly fell out of his seat. The both of us stared at
the red-haired boy with identical looks of wide-eyed shock on our faces. The boy's lips were set into a
determined smile, his eyes resolute.

"Chosen, are you sure?" the doctor started hesitantly. "There is no need to burden yourself-"

"I'm afraid I have to insist on this," the boy said sternly, echoing the doctor's own statement from
earlier. "I want to look after her. Honestly? I would be worried if it were anyone else but me." He lifted
a hand up to brush back his hair. "It's decided. Bridgette will stay with me."

The doctor let out a sigh, coughing once into his hand. "If that is your wish, Chosen One, then I have
no problems with it."

If it were physically possible, my jaw would have dropped all the way to my chest by now. I was too
stunned to even protest.

The look on my face must have been especially hilarious, because the boy caught my gaze and gave
me a wink with an amused smirk on his face.

"I'm not sure if you remember our conversation from yesterday, but seeing as you were in quite the
daze on our way here, I'll introduce myself again, just to make sure." Turning to face me, the boy
placed one hand behind his back and the other in front of his stomach as he performed a swift and low
bow. "I am Vincent Wilder, The Chosen One of Tethe'alla. It is a pleasure to meet you, and I do hope
we would become very well acquainted with each other soon as we spend time together."