Zach was a child again, alone at a small campsite in the wilderness. His clothes were handmade and his shoes were worn leather. The fire burned hot, but did little to fight off the morning chill.

In the distance, what appeared to be bison moved across the horizon, an entire herd of majestic beasts. Then something else crossed his sight, something massive. At first, Zach thought it was another bison that was simply much closer, but he realized there were bison between it and him. It was actually on the far side of the herd.

The creature had a silhouette like a male bison, except it had two sets of massive horns. And it must have been nearly three stories tall.

Zach felt the ground rumble with each of its mighty steps and he understood intuitively that no man could fight such a creature. It was a monster, grown to impossible proportions by feeding on mana, and for some reason it had taken to protecting a herd of mundane animals.

It turned and looked right at Zach's campsite, its blood red eyes glowing brighter than the sunrise. Then Zach awoke in his bedroom in a cold sweat, an hour before his alarm.

Two days had passed in a flash since Zach's first meeting with the Princess. On the first day, he'd learned a bit about New Albion's magical careers and had a run-in with a jerk Mage. On the second he had returned to his own world for Friday classes and catch-up. The only interesting that happened while he was in Denver was that strange and terrifying dream.

But now, Zach had a 10am meeting with the Princess to get to. He knew that Bethany had been joking when she'd threatened him about being late, but he didn't risk it. He arrived at the castle a few minutes early, wearing his nicest clothes. The outfit now included a quartz pendant necklace that he'd purchased just to thank a merchant who he got info from. But since he had it and it looked nice, he might as well wear it.

He met Bethany by the staff entrance, then followed her through the winding back hallways. She wore the same black and white maid uniform as all the other women they passed, with only her shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair standing out.

Bethany was pretty friendly with Zach, especially compared to Alexia, who had switched from false friendliness to barely-concealed distrust. He supposed that once her mission was complete, Alexia had shown her true self. He didn't think he liked it.

"So how do you like New Albion?" Bethany asked as they climbed yet another stone staircase.

"It's amazing," Zach answered. "Everything's so different from home, and it feels like it would take a lifetime for me to get used to it all."

"You seem smart. I doubt it'd take that long," she said with a smile.

"Thanks, but my homeland is less like this one than you know." Even though Bethany had been there for his latest talk with the Princess, there was no way she fully understood how different things were in his world.

A new voice suddenly cut in. "Who's that, Bethany?"

Bethany spun around to face the source of the voice: another maid. "Oh, hello, Eloise. This is a guest of the Princess. I can't stop to chat, sorry."

Eloise's face scrunched up in displeasure and she flicked her long curls of shiny black hair over her shoulder. "A man, visiting the Princess? Dreadful." Then she turned and left in a hurry down the hallway, her ruffled dress trailing.

Before Zach could even think to ask what Eloise's problem was, Bethany said, "Sorry about her. She had some bad experiences with men."

"Oh, okay." Zach found it odd that Bethany kept apologizing for her coworker's attitudes, first Alexia and now Eloise, but it wasn't his place to speak.

He changed the topic. "Do you know what the Princess wants to talk about today?"

Bethany shrugged. "Not a clue. It seemed important, though."

The conversation died out until they reached Princess Evelyn's tower bedroom. Bethany knocked and it was another maid who answered, a shorter girl with curly brown hair. Zach recognized her from his previous visit, but he didn't know her name. She'd been the one standing by the wall, trying to be patient but fidgeting the whole time.

"Oh, it's you two," the girl said. "The Princess isn't here yet, so I guess we gotta keep waiting."

Bethany waved Zach into the room and pointed at a chair. "Go ahead and take a seat." Then she turned to the younger maid. "You should introduce yourself to our guest."

The girl quickly said, "Oh, yeah, sure. Hi, Zach. I'm Beebee." Then she jumped to a totally unrelated topic. "Bethany, I heard the kitchens have genuine coffee today. I want to try some, but the mean old chef won't let me."

Bethany rolled her eyes. "You of all people don't need coffee. I hear it gives you more energy, and you have plenty of that as is."

"Well, I will need coffee a few days from now, because it helps you stay awake and I want to stay up 'til sunrise at the equinox festival." She turned to Zach and explained, "It's a big party from sunset to sunrise, to celebrate the day when day and night are the same length."

Bethany added, "That's true, but the reason it's a special event is because mana surges up near the equinox and solstice, and monsters stop attacking for some reason. New Albion considers them holy days."

A grin appeared on Zach's face as an idea came to mind. That festival could be his ticket to financial success, but he had to figure out some details first.

"Oh, you look happy about that, Zach," Beebee said. "Want to come with me to the festival? They're always better with more people."

He said, "Sure. It sounds like fun." He was about to ask for details about the upcoming event, but the door opened before he could.

It was Princess Evelyn. She was wearing a light blue robe and her hair was still damp from bathing. As she entered, she said, "Sorry for making you wait, Zach."

Zach sucked in a surprised breath. He hadn't expected the Princess to apologize to him, especially in such a casual way. "Uh, no need to apologize. I wasn't waiting long, and Bethany and Beebee kept me company."

The two maids nodded, then returned to stiff attention.

Zach caught another look at the Princess's bathrobe and stood up from his chair. "Uh, do you need to finish getting dressed? I'll leave the room."

Evelyn smiled and shook her head. "No, this is fine. Sit and chat with me."

Zach returned to his seat, thinking, 'Sit and chat'? She's being awfully casual, and meeting me in a bathrobe? What is going on here? Then a random thought popped into his head, If she was bathing somewhere downstairs, then what is that other door in this room? Maybe it's a bathroom after all, but without a tub?

"So, Zach, what do you want to do with yourself here in New Albion?" The Princess had taken the seat across from Zach and she was leaning on her elbows, watching him with a curious glint in her eyes.

"I want to become a merchant, trading in interesting goods and information. I've studied economics, so I think I could be successful." He paused, then added, "Though I'll admit that the thought of monsters has me worried. I'll probably stick to local trade until I can afford to hire guards to travel."

"Are there no monsters where you're from?"

"There aren't. There's some dangerous wildlife in remote regions, but monsters are entirely fictional."

"But I'm sure there are other dangers that might beset a traveling merchant?"

"Oh, definitely," Zach said, thinking of everything from car accidents to armed robbery. Though businesses in his world usually had insurance to protect them from complete financial ruin when something went wrong like that. From his conversations with local merchants, there wasn't anything like insurance here.

Evelyn nodded, then turned to her maids Beebee and Bethany. "I need you two to promise me something. What happens next absolutely cannot leave this room. Unlike that rumor that I was interested in a man…"

Beebee looked down at her feet, ashamed.

Evelyn said, "Don't fret about that anymore. What's done is done and it caused no major harm. But I need you to promise to keep what we're about to say totally, perfectly secret. Okay?"

"I promise!" Beebee cheered.

"I promise," Bethany said less boisterously.

Zach just sat in silence, wondering what the Princess was up to.

Evelyn returned her attention to Zach and said, "I'm gonna drop the charade now."

She took a deep breath, then looked him straight in the eyes. There was something in her gaze, strong and persistent and captivating, and it kept him from even considering looking away.

The Princess said, "I've been to your world, Zach. Grew up there, actually. That's where I was when I went missing all those years."

Zach knew he was awful at containing his surprise, and he was very surprised indeed. But his reaction was nothing compared to Beebee's.

"What?! You were in… another world? No wonder they couldn't find you! And think of all the amazing things you saw! What was it like there? How'd you keep it secret all this time?!" She was grinning from ear to ear and bouncing on her toes, unable to contain her overflowing energy.

Bethany put a hand on Beebee's shoulder. "Shush, Beebee. I'm sure she'll answer your questions later."

Zach couldn't keep his surprise inside anymore. He gasped aloud and said, "So I'm not alone?!"

The Princess nodded. "You aren't, and I suppose I'm not either."

Zach closed his gaping mouth and took a slow breath, then managed to say, "So that's why you weren't surprised by a lot of the information I gave you and Alexia, like the population of the US."

Evelyn slouched casually in her chair and twirled a lock of brown hair around her fingers, looking more like a fellow college student than the Princess of a magical kingdom. "Oh, I was surprised alright, by your presence here. I couldn't believe I'd actually found someone else with a connection to the other world. You're the first one ever."

"So what happened to you, when you were in my world?" Zach asked.

She shrugged. "Not much, really. I was raised by foster parents until I turned 18, and I had just enrolled in college in Denver when I suddenly returned to this world. I was living in the summer dorms, but I returned before the start of the semester."

Zach wondered if they had ever encountered each other over there, but he couldn't recall anything. Rather than dwelling on that, he asked, "Do you flip back and forth every day like I do?"

"Ah, so you call it flipping too… I used to flip, but I found a trick to stay here so I wouldn't keep scaring my father with my disappearances."

Zach felt a tightness in his chest. If he could stay in this world, would he? If he could choose New Albion over Denver, magic over technology, would he do it? Could he leave behind his home, his friends and family, for this fantastical land?

"A trick?" he whispered. He didn't trust himself to say anything more complex than that while his heart was hammering and his thoughts were racing.

The Princess answered, "Try sleeping with someone in physical contact with you all night."

Beebee muttered, "Oh, so that's why she—"

"Shh!" Bethany hissed.

Evelyn sighed. "Just contact, like holding hands. Nothing sexual."

Zach blushed at the image that leapt to mind. He averted his eyes from the bathrobe-clad woman seated across from him, her damp hair hanging loose around her shoulders, with no makeup on. She was another college student like him, pulled between two worlds like him. And now that she no longer seemed like some monolithic and unreachable sovereign, he realized something else: he found her quite attractive.

He pushed that thought away in a hurry, telling himself not to form a crush on the friggin' Princess.

"Thank you, Princess," he said, bowing slightly.

"Just Evelyn is fine. I spent eight years as regular girl in Colorado, and I kinda miss it. It'd be nice to relive just a bit of that, if you don't mind."

"O-of course. Thanks, Evelyn."

Zach heard a noise to his right and glanced over at the two maids. Beebee was practically vibrating with excitement and Bethany was trying to calm her down. He asked, "Uh, what's going on?"

Beebee blurted, "She only lets her closest maids call her that! She must really like you!"

Zach blinked, feeling his face grow hot.

Evelyn spoke up. "It's not like that. I'd have everyone call me Evelyn or Evy, if I thought it wouldn't cause more trouble. Whether I like it or not, I'm a princess now and I have to keep up appearances."

Zach said, "I understand completely. Well, I've never experienced anything like that, but I see how it would be hard on you." That came out more awkward than he'd hoped, so he quickly asked, "So you want to relive your time in my world? How about telling us more about your time there?"

Beebee's eyes lit up and she started bouncing from foot to foot. "Oh, please, Princess Evelyn, please tell us!"

Evelyn sighed. "Fine, but sit down somewhere first, Beebee. Your constant wiggling is distracting." Her tone of voice was one of annoyance, but the way she smiled at Beebee said otherwise.

Her maids sat down on the bed and Evelyn began, "I don't remember my first couple weeks in that world, except that I was scared and overwhelmed. It got better once I was put in a foster home. My foster parents were good people, but they didn't devote much time to me, at least not compared to the constant attention Father had given me after Mother died."

"I started school later that year. I quickly learned not to mention my past or where I was really from, but I still had trouble making friends. So I focused on schoolwork, mostly. Technology was amazing to me, and the internet was such an amazing resource. I decided I wanted to be an engineer or scientist."

Beebee looked quite confused by the terminology, but she held her tongue.

"After a couple years there, I started to fear that New Albion had only been a dream. But I knew in my heart that Father and Mother had been real, and that Father would be waiting for me. I held on to the hope that I could go back someday, and maybe science would help me do it."

Evelyn's expression soured. "By the time I was seventeen, I'd lost my belief that science could solve my problem. It was clear that the people of that world had never encountered this one, and their technology couldn't possibly interact with it. I needed magic to have a chance of returning home, but there was none there, at least no real magic."

When it was clear Evelyn had paused, Zach said, "There are a lot of people there that truly believe in magic. Maybe it's because a little bit of this world has bled over into that one over the years?"

"That could be, and that very thought gave me a bit of hope in my darkest hours. In any case, when I moved into the summer dorms, I made a friend there, my roommate. She and I really connected, understood each other. I told her about my childhood, and she… she actually believed me. She believed in me."

Evelyn's face went a little pink as she continued, "And one night about three months ago, it happened. For whatever reason, I returned to this world." She pointed at the massive bed where Beebee and Bethany sat. "I woke up on that very bed, in a room that had been kept the same for eight years, in a too-small nightgown that hadn't aged a day."

Then a small chuckle escaped Evelyn's lips, prompting Bethany to ask, "What is it, Princess?"

"Just laughing at how I said I wanted to reminisce about my time over there, but I fast-forwarded right back to when I returned here. I guess I really do belong here. I just miss Tiesha…"

"Tiesha? Is that your dorm friend?" Zach asked.

Evelyn nodded, her eyes down.

"I bet she's worried about you. I could try contacting her for you, tomorrow after I flip."

The Princess leapt to her feet so fast Zach almost fell backwards out of his chair. She said, "Yes, please do. That would mean so much to me! Her name's Tiesha Cyrus, and she's in the University West Dorms, room 312. Or at least she was the last time I flipped. Tell her I'm okay and I miss her."

Zach took a breath to settle his nerves and to process all that information, then he said, "Will do."