She woke up in unfamiliar terrain. It didn't bother her, at least not for now. She just wondered where she was. She got up and looked around. There was a few zeppelins flying in the sky above, docking at towering buildings of copper and rock. Cogs and gears poked out of the sides of well-lit structures, turning merrily. Houses built into the mountainside, looking so inviting with their open doors and windows. Lanterns and bells swung with in the wind, their lights and sounds bouncing around the craggy cliffs. She decided that she liked it here.
She wandered closer to the village, and was struck with how empty it was. Curtains fluttered in the breeze, and someone, out of sight, adjusted it. A name was called, and a cat wearing a collar jumped down from a tree and ran towards its owner. People definitely lived here, but they were a skeleton crew. There were houses prepared for citizens that so far didn't exist. It was odd, but for now it didn't bother her. She was content to watch and see if anyone lived in this ghost town.
Just then, a blonde lady stepped out of a house nearby. As she moved, the newcomer got the feeling that she was in a state of constant caution. The careful way she walked; no one did that except out of practiced habit. She wore a plain white buttoned blouse, stained with oil and grease after a long day of tinkering in the workshop. Knobbly leather gloves with the fingers cut off protected the wearer's hands from the sharp edges of gears. Her baggy pants hung from suspenders with copper buckles. Her hair was loose and a tad messy and uncombed; held in place only with a pair of tinted oxidized goggles. Her electric-blue eyes widened in surprise as she saw the newcomer watching her.
"Who- who are you?!" The lady asked, her hand darting to her sword. "I don't know," The newcomer replied serenely. It was the truth. She didn't remember her name. The blonde-haired lady studied her for a moment. "How did you get here?" She finally asked. "You're not wearing an elytra, and it's a long journey up the mountain on foot." "I don't know." The newcomer repeated. "I just woke up here."
---
False was unsure what to think about the newcomer. So she just woke up here, like me... And she doesn't remember things, like me... She was jumping to some conclusions, but if the girl was telling the truth and she didn't remember her name or how she got there, she most likely had amnesia, just like False. And there weren't many people like her.
She watched the architect, her startlingly violet eyes not blinking once. In fact, she hadn't moved since False first saw her. She was waiting for a response. "Um, do you want to come in? I've got tea boiling," False said awkwardly. The strange girl thought for a moment, then she nodded. "That would be nice," She said softly.
False took her to her house. It was embedded in the mountain, just like most of the buildings in Cogsmeade. Living within the earth felt more... right, than just building on top of it like most people did. False sighed to herself as she opened the door to reveal the mess inside. The grand architect of Cogsmeade didn't really expect much visitors; it wasn't exactly in her nature to clean up often. Note to self, tidy up more.
Scraps of papers with memos and reminders written on them, that should be pinned to walls, were instead lying haphazardly on the floor. A chair that was supposed to be free to sit in had books as its occupants. An armada of clocks fastened neatly to the wall in a long line of ticking timepieces. Wrenches and gears and other tools lay, unsorted, in a toolbox. At least they're in the toolbox, False told herself, remembering how the week before she'd been sleepwalking and woke up to the pain of stepping, barefoot, on a pair of pliers.
The girl didn't seem offended by the mess of her living room, though. In any case, she looked more interested in it. Her eyes roved the clocks on the wall, and silently read the notes on the floor, drinking it all in. "I like this place," She said abruptly. "It's quiet, but in a lived-in way." False didn't really know what to think. Cogsmeade was a relatively new empire, it barely had any citizens. What does she mean by 'lived-in'? False shook her head.
"Um, this chair is free now," She said, picking up the stack of books and setting it down on a nearby table, causing a mushroom cloud of dust to erupt. "You can sit down, if you want." The girl didn't sit. False walked to the kitchen and took the kettle and two mugs already with teabags. She had a weird habit of always preparing food and drinks for two people, like she was expecting visitors. She never was. The tinkerer poured out the tea and walked back to the living room. "Blow before drinking; it's still hot," False advised. The girl took the mug and blew on it.
Just then the door burst open and Sausage came in. "Hi, False!" He greeted jovially, not noticing how much he'd startled the empress. "I've come to trade! I was thinking a stack of iron for- Oh, who's your friend?" False glanced at the girl, who looked completely unfazed by the arrival of a overexuberant emperor. "I don't know," She said. "I don't remember my name." How is she so calm? False wondered. I was frightened to death when I woke up without any memory of how I got here. But maybe that's just me. Maybe I'm just a scaredy-cat. But I'm pretty sure when normal people have amnesia, wake up in a strange place, and meet a stranger who could be trying to poison them with the tea you're drinking, they are worried.
---
"Who are you?" The girl asked the funny-sounding man. "Oh, I'm Sausage." He replied. She decided that she liked Sausage. He was such a bundle of odd things. Cyan and silver armor and a scar running down his right eye contrasted with his bubbly voice and wide grin that stretched from ear to ear. Tangled, fluffy brown hair like a rug on his head that made it hard to take him seriously. A sword hung from his belt, looking more like it was only there for last resorts and for show than for actual use. She liked the manic energy he exuded. Suddenly Sausage's ocean-blue eyes lit up with the arrival of a genius idea. "Wait here, I'm coming back with something!" He called, rushing out the door, the vibrant and gleaming shield that he wore on his back clanging loudly against his breastplate as he ran.
"Friend of yours?" She asked False, who looked distracted. "Oh, um, not really. He's the emperor of Sanctuary, and since I'm the empress of Cogsmeade, we meet for stuff to do with trade and things, but I don't really know any of the other emperors that well." For whatever reason, she was completely unsurprised to hear that False and Sausage were emperors. She knew it wasn't normal to just randomly meet two emperors in one day, but she was unsurprised all the same. "You know, maybe you can be an emperor," False said thoughtfully. "I mean, fWhip just randomly asked me to be an emperor one day, and I said 'yes'. Maybe you can ask him if you want to be one." "I don't think I want to be an emperor," She replied, sipping the tea. It was warm and bitter. "I just want to do what I want."
Sausage soon came back, carrying a box of things that rattled. "I use this to help teach Hermes English," Sausage explained as he set it on the table. He opened the lid and revealed dozens of little wooden squares, each with a different letter of the English alphabet. "It's to help you figure out a new name," Sausage said. "A new name?" False objected. "What's wrong with her old one?" "Well, she can't remember her old name," Sausage shrugged. "But anyway, I'm pretty sure you want a name, right?" "Why not?" The girl said. "Okay! So, I guess you could do it like this." Sausage grabbed a handful of squares and put it on the table. Then he rearranged the letters to form a new word. "Tiget," The girl read. "Get it. I get it." "Okay, your turn!" Sausage said, putting the letters back in the box and passing it to her.
She took some letters and stared at them. Something about the letters she chose, it was... familiar. She focused on them. Maybe it's my name. Maybe I'm remembering my name. She rearranged the letters and frowned. The way the letters were positioned, it was very familiar, but something was wrong. She had almost made her name, but at least one letter was off, at least one letter was incorrect. But she couldn't pinpoint it. She couldn't get her name. But she was going to get as close to it as possible. "Jimena," She said. "Jimena?" False frowned. "That's a little odd." "Not odder than 'False' or 'Sausage'." Jimena pointed out, and Sausage laughed. "Good point."
---
Jimena was happy with her name. She told them that she felt like it was her old name, or at least it was almost her old name. But she couldn't remember enough. False felt a kind of kinship with her in that regard. False also couldn't remember much about her home dimension; only that she wasn't from around here. And Jimena could remember even less than False did. She felt sorry for the young girl. But they had to focus on practical things.
"Jimena, your parents might be looking for you," Sausage said. Jimena looked like she didn't have a problem with that. "Well, I can't remember," Jimena said. Sausage looked worried. "Then where are you supposed to stay?" He asked. "You can stay here in Cogsmeade," False said. "I have way too many empty buildings." "You can stay in Sanctuary too!" Sausage said. "I've also got unused buildings, and Sanctuary's whole point is to be a place where people can stay and be protected." Jimena thought for a moment. "I'll stay here, at least for now," She said. "I can check out Sanctuary tomorrow, if I want to."
False looked out the window and realized that it was nearly nighttime. Guess time passes faster when you've got someone to talk to. She yawned. "I'll show you a house you can stay in," False offered. "It might be a little empty; I haven't focused on furniture in the new houses I've been building yet." "That's fine. I'll get my own furniture." Jimena said. False took her to the house next door. It was the one she was most sure wouldn't have dark spots in it that mobs could spawn in, had a roof that wouldn't collapse, and had enough escape routes in case something went wrong. In other words, the safest house. Other than her own.
"Do you have everything you need to get comfortable?" False asked, as Jimena got into bed. "I've got a bed, two pillows, and a blanket. Yeah, I'm comfortable." False turned off the light. "Goodnight." "Goodnight." False walked back to her room, feeling unsure of herself. Jimena wouldn't be one of those people who pretend to be nice, but would secretly be mean, right? Or worse? False shook herself all over and fell into her bed. You're being silly. You don't have to be worried all the time, was her last thought before she settled into uneasy sleep.