Linkers

• three •

As she did that, my eyes landed on a deep, red cut on my right leg that already had dried blood on the sides.

The girl was right, I did fall.

However, I still didn't grasp her explanation and I still couldn't remember what happened before I blacked out.

"Okay, hold still," the woman said as she poured the liquid onto my cut without warning.

"What are yo-" I shouted at her, though I stopped when it caused a stinging sensation, then turned into tingling as I watched in astonishment that my wound sealed within seconds.

My mouth fell open and a thousand questions filled my head, but the girl spoke up again before I could ask her how it was even possible.

"I'm Siora by the way," she introduced herself finally and then thanked the elderly woman, who was already leaving the room.

I looked back at Siora with even more confusion than before as I tried to comprehend this all.

Why did I fall in the first place? And what even was she?

Silence fell over the room as she looked at me like she was awaiting for me to say something.

"I'm, uh... Xenia," I responded hesitantly. But that didn't matter right now, I wanted to set things all straight because nothing made sense. "Um, first of all, where am I?"

Siora raised an eyebrow as if she didn't expect that to be my first question. "Well, you're in the Aerendyl palace right now—the capital of Reslyn, Ririan— but I thought you knew that."

Ririan?...

Suddenly, everything before I blacked out immediately started rushing back to me after she said that; my room, the note in the box, the ring, the strong rush of wind I felt after I had touched the stone of the ring.

My eyes widened.

This was impossible.

"Ririan?" Was the only thing I mumbled because that's exactly what was written on the note in the ring's box.

"Yea?" said Siora, her face telling me that she was questioning my shocked reactions. "You're in Ririan right now. Look, are you sure you're ok? You seem startled."

Startled was more of an understatement.

...Was I in this so-called 'Ririan' place?

Did the ring...bring me here? There was no way that the note in the box was just a coincidence and the only place I last remembered I was at was my room.

I looked down to my right hand, where I saw the exact same ring with the blue stone as before around my finger. The stone caught the sunlight and a reflected zing of blue shimmered through the refined stone.

No way this was possible.

I tried to collect my thoughts, even though I still couldn't believe any of it, and I didn't know how to explain it to Siora either. "No, I'm okay," I reassured her. "I'm just not... exactly sure what is happening."

Siora didn't ask any further questions and and gave me that warm smile again. Even though she probably was just as confused as I was, she was understanding for the most part.