The Counterfeit

eight

"Thanks for the-- I don't know what it was -- but it was great." Izzabeth said, giving her a polite smile. The woman folded her arms and puffed her chest up, much like a robin does. She also raised an eyebrow and like Izzabeth did earlier, looked between Jasmine, Hannah and Adam.

"Nam quantum aliquis certe est mihi in metus." Jasmine's eyes widened as the woman spoke with complete fluency. She'd never heard this language before. She hadn't heard any other language than the one she spoke.

"Sorry, we don't understand." Hannah said nervously. The woman turned to Hannah and chuckled, the hundreds of beads that were attached to her clothing clashed with each other as she did so. It was a deep, manly chuckle.

When she'd settled down, she spoke again, but this time Jasmine made sense of it.
"I said, at least someone has respect for my catering." Almost automatically, Jasmine peered down at the icky green substance in her mug and felt the guilt tug at her.

This woman did save their lives and offer them something to drink. Jasmine didn't feel that guilty that she felt she had to drink it though.
"It's very kind of you, but I'm not exactly thirsty at the minute." Jasmine said apologetically.

"I see, I see. You want answers." It were as if the woman had read Jasmine's mind. Surprised, Jasmine nodded. "Well my sweet child, I can only answer so many questions you have, so ask." Jasmine didn't know where to start. Her head was swollen with all these questions that had been reocurring since she'd arrived in this twisted world.

She looked to Hannah and Adam and Izzabeth for a little help, but they just gave her looks of encouragement.
"Is there not a price?"

Of all things you could've asked, why that? Jasmine mentally smacked herself. The woman chuckled deeply again.
"Of course not my dear. You are lost children who are defined by what the world sees you as. I'm just a kind old woman willing to help. Kids like you come here often you know. They've run from their home realms and often end up with their cold buns here in this very teepee."

This happens often? New questions sprung to Jasmine's mind.
"Okay, so, what is this place?"
"We call it The Glacies. It's a sacred place where people are free to do as they please as long as they abide by my rules."
"Your rules? You own this place?" Izzabeth chipped in.
"I'm a founder."

Jasmine nodded slowly, understanding. It fell quiet as she decided what to ask next.
"Have you ever seen this before?" Jasmine rolled up the sleeve of her rain jacket revealing her trait.

The woman gently took her wrist and read it under her breath, her expression still neutral.
"I'm afraid not." She sounded surprised. "It means outsider, but of all the chumps that have wound up here, I've never encountered this before." She paused and looked Jasmine directly in the eye.

"When did you arrive here?"
"Maybe a week?"
"And you feel normal?"
"I guess."
"Do you see anything you're not supposed to?" At that, Jasmine frowned, not really making any sense of it. Adam noticed the pause.
"She means like do bright lights look funny or do you see stars when you knock your head, medical stuff." He enhanced.

"No." Jasmine tried not to sound suspicious. She knew the woman didn't mean medical obligations in the slightest.
"Then I'm the wrong person to ask. Maybe you'll seek your answer in the City."

"Back up, city?" Izzabeth sounded excited. The woman's mysterious vibe faded and she switched to her normal self.

"Why yes my dear. There's all sorts in the City. You see, when I arrived, the first realm I encountered was the City. I stayed there for a long time before deciding to explore. That's when I came across The Glacies. I'd seen enough and wanted to build my own community. So I stayed, and soon enough more kids started turning up and here we are now."

"You said you went exploring," Jasmine said, staring at the tray. "How did you control which realm you went to?" The woman chuckled again.
"My dear you cannot control it! The land takes what it wants and does what it pleases. There is no controlling which realm you desire to explore. In fact, you can only visit each realm once. Once you leave that, there's no turning back."

"Wait, so you're saying we can't go back to any realm ever again? Not even the one we first started?" Hannah was bewildered at this news.
"No sweet child. Not from my experience anyway."
"But you must run out of realms at some point. It can't be endless." Beginning to feel anxious, Jasmine rolled her sleeve back down and fiddled with it.

"The land takes what it wants and does as it pleases. If you want to survive, you must not forget it."