Chapter sixty three

Isabella said she had to change and take a bath before lunch so I teleported to the storeroom in the back of my store. Unlike before, the storeroom was completely filled by shelves , and on each shelve were different goods stacked carefully and meticulously arranged. I went out of the room that looked like a wet dream of someone who has OCD and headed to the front of the store. There I found the same level of organization on a smaller scale. Someone, and I had a sneaking suspicion who, had put a lot of time and effort into the store.

Behind the counter was a woman that I barely recognized as Lidia. Her usually free falling blond hair was pulled up into a bun, instead of her usual dresses , she was wearing a gray suit jacket and miniskirt combo, and finally she was wearing glasses for the first time since I met her. In conclusion she looked completely professional and completely stunning at the same time. I got to admit I kind of drooled a tiny bit and quickly wiped it off before she looked up.

The moment she noticed my presence in front of her she raised her head from the paperwork she was working on and then froze as her eyes saw my face. Suddenly she leapt right over the counter and threw herself into my arms, if I hadn't caught her we might have both gotten hurt. She just hugged me without saying a word, just holding on tightly, and as I held her I could feel muscles that had been really tense slowly relax. It was as if she was holding all her stress in her muscles and she was finally able to let go of her pent up stress. After a couple of minutes of just letting her relax she started talking,

"You promised you wouldn't leave me, you promised that you would protect me. They said you were dead John, I thought I was alone and I didn't know what to do. What if the church had found me ? Who would have protected me? I thought you were dead. I thought you were dead and I was alone. How could you just leave me like that John? I thought I actually meant something to you, or am I just luggage that you don't want anymore?"

"I'm sorry Lidia, I never meant to leave. I was sucked into another world by accident and I came back didn't I ? And if the church had taken you , I would have burned it to the ground to get you back. I am sorry that I was gone for so long and you felt abandoned but I came back as quickly as humanly possible and you are not luggage , you are a smart, beautiful, determined woman that I care deeply about."

"John..."

"Yes ?"

"I'm happy that you made it back safely."

"Me too , Lidia. Me too."

* * *

Over the next four days I had to go out several times with both Lidia and Bella to pacify them , and although it was obvious that they were making it abundantly clear that they were interested in me in the romantic sense I tried to keep our relationships as plutonic as possible. I was already in a committed relationship with Sarah and since I had figured out how to teleport between the two worlds I had no excuse if I were to cheat on her now.

It was a bright Monday morning and I had told everybody that I might be gone for a few days and not to worry , so there was nothing preventing me from going back to my girlfriend in the other world. I focused not only on the location, which was in a dark ally in new hope that I was accustomed to using as an anchor , but also on the little shift in the ether which indicated that I have crossed the boundary between worlds. I carefully remembered the feeling and tried to recreate it.

I was apparently successful because I was standing in a dark ally and when I got out I recognized the streets of new hope. I traveled by foot to my house so that I could see how the city had been without me. It had expanded beyond belief and there were more people than ever, but what I found most shocking was that once in a while I would see the tell tale silver glimmer of nobility. At first I thought the city was conquered but I recognized the people and the city guard that i personally armed patrolling with their weapons. I was getting a very unsettling feeling as I approached my house.

Where my simple one bedroom house stood, there was now a giant palace in its place, I guess they were getting really good at masonry to get that giant palace up in under a week. It was obviously made by one of my tools that compresses earth so much that it ended up looking like brown marble. I walked up the large steps towards the palace wondering why they would need to build such a thing.

When I tried to enter the palace I was blocked at the door by a pair of guards from the city guard, but as soon as they heard my voice they saluted and got out of my way.

There was a commotion going on somewhere deep in the palace which got me curious so I followed the noise to what appeared to be a large audience chamber and sitting there on a golden throne , wearing a velvet dress and a bejeweled crown was Sarah. In front of her brandishing towards a large pile of gold and other trinkets was a one of the silver men ,meaning he was a noble , who was speaking loudly.

"For accepting our Prince's marriage proposal, our Prince sends these gifts to the wise Queen Sarah, and although their beauty might pale in comparison to yours ,may it remind you of our Prince's everlasting love for your majesty."