I Refuse to be a Named Character

Part 1

"I don't know if that's a good idea. We don't know where we are, we're in different bodies. Let's slow down..."

"You're always such a coward." Her cold words stopped me mid-sentence, and a thick sour sense of shame clawed at my chest. I swallowed the rest of my words, ignoring the prickling of tears forming in my eyes, and followed behind.

"Is the stable clean yet, brats?" An angry voice called out the moment we stepped out. Before us stood a tall muscular man, his scarred face adding an air of violence to his already grim expression. His arms were crossed over his chest, as he stared down at us, his gaze filled with disdain.

I frantically thought of what to say.

"We were cleaning, but I'm afraid my sister and I slipped, hitting our heads together." Chloe stepped forward with a friendly smile. "We got knocked out, and I'm afraid neither of us can remember who we are or where we are!"

You can't just make up a stupid lie like that! My eyes traveled back and forth between Chloe and the man, as his face went from mildly amused to annoyed.

"Can't remember anything?" He laughed darkly. "Sounds like an excuse to be lazy to me."

"We really..." Chloe started to argue but was shoved, falling back into me as I reached out to study her.

"Listen here brats!" He sneered. "You have the privilege of being slaves to the ninth Lord's household, the strongest of the Ten Lords of Armaria. Does that help you remember?"

Armaria? Wasn't that... My breath caught in my chest. Wasn't that the name of the fictional country where "Deadly Crown" takes place?

That's impossible.

In contrast to my utter shock and dismay at his words, Chloe seemed relatively unsurprised, instead asking another question with a determined expression on her face.

"Can you tell us our names, please?"

The man laughed. "You're slaves. What names could you possibly have?" He pointed at the stable behind us. "Now go back to the stables and make sure you've finished the job, otherwise I'll personally break your legs." With that last quiet threat, he strode away, leaving Chloe and I to stare at each other in silence.

"Did you hear what he said?" My voice was strained, reflecting the growing horror I felt inside.

Chloe frowned. "Yeah! We're not important enough characters to have names?"

"Who cares about that?!" I grabbed her hand. "He said we were in Armaria! "

"...So?"

"From the 'Deadly Crown' series!"

"I know." She shrugged as she spoke. "I mean, it makes sense, right? We woke up in new bodies and all. At least it's a world we know."

"HOW ARE YOU SO CALM!" I was trying to whisper, but the volume of my words rose as I spoke. "We've woken up in a different world!"

"It's not like panicking will help us get back to our home."

"But..."

"Besides, isn't this amazing?" She grinned, "We're in one of the greatest stories ever! We just need to escape, and go find Graham! The ten lords are in the Central Plains, so we just need to head towards the Southern Mountains to find him!"

"..." I stared at her in shock, watching as she slowly became upset again.

"It really sucks that we're not important characters already, though... I guess we'll have to work hard to impress Graham to become part of the main story!"