Reality Check

The Magisterian Carnival

A/N- hello everyone! so initially this was going to be WAY longer, because I wanted to end the chapter a certain way,, but then it ended up being 20k words and I wasn't even finished one of the scenes... so I was like EH I'll just split it up into two chapters haha. this took a bit longer to write then expected, but here it is!!!

Patience (by Bad Suns)

"All my dreams have been weighing me down like an anchor to my bed. I can live my life instead . . ."

___

The trip to the carnival was shorter than Bethany expected. They'd been traveling for hours, leaving the crowded village behind for a more deserted, lush landscape. By now, the sun had sunken into the horizon, the vibrant colors in the sky settling for a dark, starry one with a full moon. As the stars started to map the sky, Bethany noticed the constellation come into view, the one that they should follow to reach the carnival.

She wasn't the best at picking out constellations, but it wasn't hard to miss, with the word "carnival" strewn across the sky. In all her times in Magisteria, Bethany hadn't remembered actually noticing the stars before. They looked strikingly similar to the stars back home, though the only difference, of course, was the planets. In the nonfictional world, there was the Milky Way, and the planets that made it up were usually brighter, or different colors from stars. Though to the untrained eye, they might just appear like regular stars. 

Here, there was no Milky Way. There was a moon and stars, but the similarities stopped from there. The only planet — at least the only planet that'd been nearby in the books — was Quanterium, which was easily the largest star Bethany saw in the sky. Just like much of the planet itself, it was gray, devoid of any vibrant colors. Magisteria, if she could guess, looked the opposite on Quanterium.

As dusk settled over them, fireflies buzzed to life, their tiny bodies flickering back and forth, from light to invisible. In Kiel's world, they were called something else— a word that sounded like it was in another language, similarly to the way spells were written here. Tall oak trees filled up the gaps in the ground, some of them so close together that their branches practically twisted over each other, competing for space in the dense forest. Flowers of all colors lined the side of the road and the fields beyond, glowing in the dark.

For the most part, all Bethany had seen were trees, along with the occasional magical creature or Magisterian. Luckily (and surprisingly), despite traveling with Kiel, they hadn't run into any trouble. No fights, no confrontations, nothing. The ride had mostly been uneventful. While she'd spent the first half of it talking to Kiel, she found herself drifting in and out of sleep as the sky got darker, her head pressed against the bale of hay behind them, which felt more scratchy than anything else. Not the most ideal thing to use as a pillow.

Bethany had started to drift into sleep again when the sound of someone shouting jolted her awake. It was their Magisterian driver, the man steering the wagon. "Hey, get ready back there! We're here."

Kiel, who'd been dozing off beside Bethany, slowly blinked his eyes open at that. He leaned to the side of the wagon, twisting his body to peer around the bales of hay. A second later, he turned back to Bethany, nudging her gently, an excited look on his face. "He's right, Bethany. We're here!"

As they rode closer, the carnival popped into view, appearing behind the curve of trees. Bethany hadn't been sure what to expect, aside from the stereotypical tents and bright colors and flashy rides. Much of what she'd imagined it to be was true, but there was a lot more. What must've been hundreds of tents filled the carnival — maybe more, though it was hard to tell from this angle. A long line of people waited at the entrance, stepping one by one past the gate and into the carnival.