Winged

Chapter 3: Past and Present

It took a few minutes for it to sink in. Leo had entered a tunnel in one place and exited in a completely new world. He stepped on a carpet of lush, green grass and felt the cool, soft breeze on his face. He had the urge to take off his shoes and feel that impossibly beautiful grass between his toes. As if reading his mind, Frederick placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You can take in the scenery later, Leo. We must go somewhere first."

Frederick led him to a spacious chariot with a sapphire exterior, gold velvet seats and silver wheels, pulled by two beautiful chestnut horses. It was parked not far from the tunnel. The carriage was clearly meant to take the two somewhere else, but there was no conductor to be seen.

Frederick climbed in and Leo followed. At the sound of Frederick's high-pitched whistle, the horses set off toward the town in the distance.

"I think you understand now why I didn't tell you anything before," said Frederick.

"Yes, definitely," said Leo, looking at his surroundings rather than his companion.

"Well, now that I have proven my sanity, I think it's time for explanations."

Leo couldn't remember the last time he'd heard sweeter words.

"Finally! I'm all ears."

"Very well. You can let your wings out now, if you wish."

It had only been a few days since Leo discovered his wings, but ever since then Leo felt the urge to see or try to use them. In his world, he didn't have many opportunities, and now he was grateful to release them. His claws, however, he chose to keep in, as they weren't nearly as pleasant to have out.

"OK, tell your story," said Leo.

"I'll try. The problem is that it's hard for me to decide where to start."

"OK, first things first. Where are we?"

"Well..." Frederick frowned, searching for an appropriate explanation. "Have you ever read... oh, what's the name?...Uhm.. Oh! Narnia! Yes, think Narnia."

"I'm going to need a little more than 'think Narnia'."

"Yes, I imagined you would," Frederick sighed, frustrated. "So, be prepared for a little history. I have a lot to tell you... Thankfully it's a long ride to Adharie; we'll have time. Adharie is that town over there. As I said before, this place has no real name. We simply call it 'This World', and we call yours 'The Other World'. Both worlds exist together and are connected; that is, a person can go from one to the other through several portals, which are spread around the worlds. Are you following?"

"So far, so good. That door over we came from was a portal, right?"

"Yes. There are several different kinds of portals, abandoned tunnels, such as that one, enchanted doors and furniture, even holes in the ground. We don't know all of them. We've tried to close as many as possible but still leave some open, so that if we ever need something from the Other World we can get it. Nevertheless, we usually put guards in disguise on them, like Círan."

"Great disguise, by the way," commented Leo, rolling his eyes. "Very discreet."

"Thank you," replied Frederick, unaware of the sarcasm. "We aimed for discretion."

"But, wait a minute. Why close the portals? Why do you want to cut yourselves off from my world?"

"This is where the history comes in. This is a long story, so I'm going to condense it a bit. If you have any questions, just ask."