First day in a new world was over. It was such a long and exhausting day that I was knocked out pretty quick. Khaleesi let me borrow a frilly nightgown and let me sleep in her room for the night as she went and slept in her parent's.
This made me wonder about where her family could be if an empire had taken over the village she said she was in. And then I thought about my own family. My mom and dad who I was staying with. My younger twin siblings, Ryan and Riley. My cousins, Maggie and Griffin. My best friend, Lona.
A knot in my stomach. Was I homesick? It was a sucky feeling. The fact that I was on a planet possibly light years away from my own home.
It was fun while it lasted but I was secretly hoping this was all a dream. So I could wake up and face reality. Find out where Lona was going every night, why Maggie painted that castle, and finally get over a silly little crush.
But I didn't wake up to my childhood bedroom painted bubblegum pink. I woke up to a large room that looked like it was built in the Victorian Era.
I silently wept. I never used to cry like this. This was the second time this week. Why was I like this?
I pushed the bed sheets away and slid my feet onto the hardwood floor. I wiped around my eyes leaving no trace of tears and prayed that my cheeks weren't red and puffy.
<>*<>
"Good morning," Khaleesi greeted. Her ombre hair had been tied into a high ballerina like bun. She wore a white mini dress and a blue transparent shawl.
Once again she had lent me an outfit this morning when I got ready. It was a simple pastel pink dress with white flowers. Although I would've preferred mom jeans and an oversized graphic tee over this any time.
"Morning." I covered my mouth as a yawn took over.
"It's already eight and my appointment is at nine. So, we better get going." She picked up a small shoulder bag from off the hook of the front door.
"Are we going out for breakfast?" I asked.
She nodded. "A coffee shop near here that's quite popular."
We walked out the door and into the wide cobblestone streets of Threa. I somewhat had found the energy to go through with the day. I was not about to sleep in until one p.m. on another planet. Plus, the weather was pleasing and there was no air pollution to cloud the mood.
It wasn't awkward at all during the walk because Khaleesi and I entertained ourselves by talking about one another. I quickly grasped the information that she was an avid tea drinker, had three brothers, and aspired to be a high demand seamstress for a large and flourishing kingdom.
I told her I had a cousin who was like a sister to me and two real siblings. I also mentioned how I played a few instruments. I didn't want to overshare just in case any hobbies I had would interfere with the course of how this world worked.
I couldn't tell her how I watched anime because there were no TV's. I couldn't tell her I was a marching band kid because I didn't think schools here had them. Which made me wonder what the schools here were like. Were they anything like Hogwarts from Harry Potter or Camp Half-Blood from Percy Jackson?
That led me to ask. "What are the schools like here?"
Khaleesi shrugged. "Nothing much. They just teach you basic things like reading, writing, math, and history."
That sounded boring. "Is that it?"
"Well, you enroll at age five. Schools are quite common but very small in size. You learn the basics and then you graduate."
"You don't learn enchants in school?"
"Well no, school is for every species. Only enchanters can use enchants so it wouldn't make sense to teach it," she answered.
"Didn't you say merpeople existed? How can they go to school if it's on land?" I was so curious about everything this world had to offer.
"Um, they have schools underwater too. But school is optional."
What! Not fair. Optional school seemed pretty cool but at the same time school taught you the basic knowledge needed to live. "At what age do you graduate?"
"Twelve," said Khaleesi. We took a right turn to a shorter path.
Only twelve? Kids got only seven years of education? It was like you graduated as a sixth grader if you went by the American school system.
"What's the drink age, then?" I asked jokingly.
"Thirty."
"Whatttt. Are you serious?" Thirty? That was kind of hard to believe. In America it was twenty-one, Korea, it was nineteen, and the Philippines it was eighteen. But thirty? Did people abuse alcohol that much?
"Well, yeah. It's not exactly good for you. If you're under thirty and you're caught with any booze, I heard that the Altum Tiers will find you and send you to prison."
Before I could bombard Khaleesi with any more nonsense questions, we arrived at our destination.
"This is The Tasty Tale. A popular coffee shop that originated in a large kingdom in a neighboring region."
The coffee shop was not how I was expecting it to look. It was so modern. Like a splash of color. It's walls were of yellow brick with large windows and a pink and white striped canopy. There were still vines growing around it, which every building seemed to have, but the building still popped with personality.
It reminded me a lot of Maggie's painting. It wasn't a castle but the color scheme still matched pretty well.
"Don't just stand there like an idiot." Khaleesi playfully slapped my back. "There's breakfast waiting for us."
We entered the coffee shop and I was immediately stunned. It looked exactly like what I imagined a Japanese Maid Cafe to look like. The inside was spacious with pastel red and blue seats. Pink and yellow accents were everywhere from walls to the picture frames. Pastries lined up inside glass displays were neatly presented for the customers.
All the employees, of course, wore maid outfits. Every single one of them had cat ears and tail which were certainly real. I assumed they were catsys as Khaleesi had mentioned before.
I remembered promising Maggie that we would one day eat at one if we decided to visit Japan. And here I was without her, except I wasn't in Japan. I was in Threa.
"C'mon, Rinyu!" Khaleesi gestured to follow her and we took a seat next to the window.
"Mow!" A maid walked up to us holding a pink hued sheet which I assumed was the menu. "Herro! Wercome to da Tasty Tale!"
She placed the menus in front of Khaleesi and I.
"Pwease take a wook and I'll come back when you'we weady to owdow!"
Not trying to sound like a rude and ignorant brat, but her voice sounded like a whole cringe fest. I couldn't tell if she was trying so hard to sound cute or if she genuinely couldn't pronounce her L's and R's.
I glanced down at the menu to check out what would make for a steady meal.
The pastries were all familiar and too similar to what was on Earth but some of the beverages and desserts were bizarre.
Star juice? Purified lava? Unicorn pops, baked drago, elven dough bits, pixie sprinkles, starqlez? Half of the names seemed concerning and I didn't know if I would be interested in eating them but I was still willing to try.
Plus, it was a once in a lifetime experience to try alien food. Of course, I was interested in the ingredients involved making these foods, so I put my menu down and began to ask Khaleesi.
"Don't mind me asking but what exactly is star juice and purified lava?"
She grinned and answered, "Well, star juice is a drink created by alicorns. It's made from appalorsh and a little bit of stardust. Stardust is actually edible and has like a sweeter taste. Like sugar from space. Purified lava is basically in its name. It's lava but has some kind of essence created by dragons so that it doesn't burn and set flames. It's one of my favorite drinks. Taste like a coffee with an overdose of whip cream. I heavily recommend it."
They both sounded interesting but I guess I was going to give the purified lava a shot since Khaleesi recommended it. "I'm not really a coffee kind of person but I'll try it."
"Um, do you mind explaining what some of the desserts are. Like baked drago - that's not a baked dragon is it...?"
Khaleesi chuckled. "No, silly. Baked drago was created by dragons but it's not a literal dragon. It's a pastry made with dragon fruit also known as pitaya. The dough is made from a sacred grain. Same goes for elven dough bits. The dough is made from a grain from the region of the elves."
I nodded. "That actually doesn't sound that bad."
"It really isn't. Is there any more food on the menu you want to know about?"
I skimmed over the pink menu one more time. "Is it okay if you explain like the whole right section of the dessert category?"
"Unicorn pops are a pebble looking candy with colors that resemble unicorns, pixie sprinkles are also a candy sprinkle which is a secret recipe made by pixies, and starqlez is a warm ice cream like dessert made with stardust."
All sorts of new food I was suddenly interested in trying. Of course for breakfast I was going to eat a pastry instead of dessert.
"What do you suggest I order?" I questioned.
"They have special combos you can make. It might be really sweet for breakfast, but I suggest maybe trying brownies with starqlez on it. It tastes just so mmm-" she did a chef's kiss gesture and continued, "muah."
"Haha if you say so, then I'll try it. What are you gonna have?"
Khaleesi tapped on her menu. "Pancakes with pixie sprinkles. One of my favorites. I usually have brownies and starqlez but I figured I needed a change of food."
After we finished up deciding what to eat, a waitress - or maid - came up to our table holding a small black notebook and pen. "Awe you weady to owdow?"
"Yes, um, two purified lavas, a large brownie with starqlez, and pancakes with pixie sprinkles, please," Khaleesi ordered.
The catsy girl wrote down the order and proceeded to walk away. And after a few moments, our drinks were brought to the table. The purified lava was brought to us in a coffee mug. I leaned over to look at the liquid. It was, well, lava. Except it didn't look all that bright orange. It was kind of like a brown consistency.
When Khaleesi caught me staring at it, she said, "Just have a sip it tastes nothing like how it looks. Trust me."
I brought the mug up to my lips and took a sip. She was right. It didn't taste so bad. I expected it to taste like rock and dirt (don't ask how I knew how that tastes) but it made sense that it didn't since it was purified. It really did taste a tiny bit like heavy whipped coffee, but more refreshing and less sweet. It tasted like maple syrup mixed in with hot chocolate and maybe a teaspoon of cinnamon.
The breakfast was then served and the brownies looked normal, however the starqlez did not. It indeed looked like ice cream, but it was really shiny. Like specs of crystal (maybe sugar?) was what made up most of it. Then I realized that it was possibly the stardust. The creamy substance was like a really light peachy color.
I licked my lips in excitement to try the breakfast.
<>*<>
While waiting for the tab, Khaleesi pointed over to a little spot in the corner of the cafe. "You can play with cats over there. This isn't any ordinary coffee shop. It's run mostly by catsys that's why it's super cute and has so many additions to it."
Cat towers, beds, and litter boxes were on all four corners of the cafe. In them were a variety of adorable cats and kittens. I made my way to play with them and I was greeted by a tabby cat and persian cat. They purred tenderly and once I sat down, they rested on my lap. I pet the cats gently.
I looked up for a bit and on the tower was black cat. I glared at it, suddenly remembering that cats were the reason I was here.
I turned away and skimmed for our table so I can show Khaleesi how cute the cats were. One of the maids was at our table and they seemed to be opening a conversation.
I leaned over to eavesdrop, even though I shouldn't have, and my stomach tightened.
"That girl with you, is she-" The catsy was interrupted by Khaleesi who frantically hushed her.
"Shh, keep it down." They both turned their heads to see if anyone was listening in.
I tuned them out and began to furiously pet the cat like I had been too distracted to notice.
And then they resumed their conversation. "She claims she's not a fairy," Khaleesi started, "but I'm not sure. She doesn't have wings so I assumed that she's a..." The rest was inaudible as Khaleesi spoke in a whisper.
Khaleesi then went back to a quiet talking tone rather than a whisper. "I don't exactly know what she's playing at. She's either hiding something or has some type of amnesia. She says she's from another place. It started with an E, I don't really remember. But she's basically clueless about her surroundings."
The catsy waitress bowed, possibly as a sign of respect. "I'm very truly sorry. If I was in your place I wouldn't know what to do. Especially if she turns out to be an Altum Tier. I would be risking a lot by being with her."
"Yeah, but if I didn't offer her a place to stay and she was truly an Altum Tier, who knows what would have happened to me."
I turned away from the conversation that I uninvitingly eavesdropped on. They were basically talking crap about me. Then I remembered what I had thought of yesterday when I was considering telling Khaleesi where I was from. I would rather have been feared of where I was from than been accused of being something I was not. But now, I was being feared and accused of being something I was not.
Now that I thought of it, I didn't think Khaleesi really liked me as much as I thought she did. It was actually bold of me to assume that a stranger I had met that day would automatically like me. We barely knew anything about each other and I guess she wasn't very trusting of me.
The waitress had left and I decided to go back to Khaleesi and accompany her to her appointment. I would simply disregard the fact that she talked about me behind my back.
"Hey, you seemed to be enjoying the cats." She grinned at me. I couldn't tell if it was fake or genuine. She must've been a good actor if she didn't trust me at all and just talked to me like we were best pals.
"Yeah, they were really cute to play with. Kind of like therapy."
We exited the cafe and began to take the cobblestone path to the clinic.
The wealthy looking almshouse rested on its little hill as we promptly arrived. At the door, Khaleesi turned to me.
"Um, I don't think visitors are allowed when there's an appointment," she spoke diffidently.
"It's okay, I can just wait in the lobby," I suggested.
"No!" Khaleesi yelped. Her body was tense and sweat dripped down her cheek. "There's a bench by the side of the building, you can just wait there."
Her true colors were showing. She's so fake. I exaggerated a face of disbelief. My eye was undoubtedly twitching and my arms were crossed. "Why can't I just wait in the lobby?"
Khaleesi bit her lip and began to open the door. She quickly slipped inside and let the door shut on my face.
I proceeded to throw a tantrum like a toddler and stomp my feet letting out a distressed, "Ugh!" I wasn't going to follow her in because I knew I was probably going to snap back and cause a scene. I instead did exactly what she told me to do and sit on the bench at the side of the clinic.
It was obvious she didn't want anyone to see me with her because I noticed right away that the bench was out of sight from the rest of the village. If she really believed that I was a fairy and didn't want to be seen with me, why didn't she ditch me from the start?
I put my head down and rubbed my hands together as I stared at the ground.
I never felt so lonely in my life. If I ever wanted to be in a world to adventure in, I would have loved to be in it with someone from Earth. At least we would have our backs having the same origin. If only Maggie or Lona were here. It would have made things easier. But they weren't.
I was alone and misunderstood in a world where I didn't want to be in. I didn't belong here.
"Excuse me, but, are you alright?"
I jerked my head up.
My nose was suddenly barely touching a nose that belonged to someone else.
His pale face reflected a weary state with heavy eye bags. His bangs hung away from his face and his turquoise eyes shined dimly.
"Wow, you have a big forehead," I muttered. My eyes widened and I quickly covered my mouth. Shit! I did not mean to say that out loud.
He leaned back and turned his head away, tugging on his bangs out of insecurity.
"Oh my God, I'm sorry!" I blurted. The boy from the forest flipped on the hood of the cloak to cover his forehead, making me feel worse about my impulsiveness.
"It's fine," he murmured shyly.
A few moments of an unbearable silence passed but was broken when the boy cleared his throat. "I-it's Rinyu, correct?"
I snorted then immediately covered my mouth again. "Yup, yeah, yep, that's me." What the hell was that? A stutter or a cry for help?
"Are you alright?" He repeated.
"Never been better." I flashed an intolerable grin.
He cleared his throat again. "Well, I'm glad I found you."
"Yeah," I said.
"Do you mind following me? I have something to show you."
I pondered on the idea. I had nowhere else to go and it was pretty obvious Khaleesi wasn't fond of me, so I nodded. "Sure."
He straightened his back and offered his hand to me. He then rubbed his neck with his other hand and looked away.
I didn't have any choice but to snicker. He was a bashful sort of person, that was my conclusion. I slipped my hand on his and began to shake it.
"Um, I was going to help you get up, not shake your hand..." His eyes twinkled and I didn't know if I should have felt at home or just cringe.
"I knew that," I stated. "Just wanted to get a reaction out of you."
He awkwardly let go of my hand as I began to stand up. We began to leave the area and down to a smaller hill maybe a few blocks away from the clinic.
He had led me to a vibrant flower field that overlooked almost all of Threa. An olden sycamore tree stood proudly with branches lifting up its leaves.
I ran to the edge of the hill and savored the view. Spreading my arms out, eyes closed as I breathed in the fresh air. The wind welcomed me as it swirled around and carried my hair.
I turned back around to see the boy leaning on the sycamore tree with his arms crossed. "It's a wonderful view, isn't it?"
"It is." I skipped over to him and leaned back on the tree. "So, is this what you wanted to show me?"
"Yes, but I have something else too."
"What is it?" I gazed up at him. He had his eyes glued to the grass as his hands rested behind his back.
"Well, I won't show it to you unless you tell me what's wrong."
I sighed and shrugged unenthusiastically. "I guess I miss home. You seem to be the only one here who might understand."
He didn't respond but instead silently nodded.
"By the way, what's your name? I'm getting tired of referring to you as the boy in the forest."
"You might have to keep calling me that because I'm afraid my name is not as significant."
I slumped down to the ground and kicked my feet onto the lush green. "Then how about I guess your name?"
"That's going to be hard," he notified.
"Then why don't you give me a hint?"
He sat down next to me and leaned again onto the tree. "It starts with an L."
"Is it Loser?" I joked.
He raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Nevermind." Why did it seem like he didn't have a sense of humor. "L, huh? Is it Luke?"
He shook his head.
"Logan?"
He shook his head again.
"Lucas, Liam, London?"
"No," he answered. "Those are quite unusual names."
"Not really, they're pretty common on Earth," I stated. "They're actually really boring. I'm guessing you don't have a boring name."
"I suppose not." He rubbed his arm under his cloak.
"Why do you wear the cloak? It's like in the middle of summer."
He looked away. "So people don't pay attention to me."
"You seem very introverted." I gave emphasis on the word introverted. "I was told in high school that I was a social butterfly."
"You do talk a lot," he giggled.
"That's true, but if you want me to shut up just tell me." I hugged my knees to my chest.
"No. I like it when you talk." We turned to each other then immediately looked away.
I cleared my throat and changed the subject. "So, what did you say you wanted to show me?"
He reached into his cloak and pulled out a journal with a leather cover and tattered edges.
I immediately gasped as I recognized it. It was Lola's diary.