I stood stiffly in the silence, unsure of what to do in the wake of Ezra's departure. Henry had said that he would come and get me later, but when was later?

I liked being left alone, just not in another person's space. I was always one touch away from getting punished for touching something I shouldn't have and, because my curiosity can most definitely cause the death of a few cats, I couldn't help but snoop. It usually only came back to bite me in the ass when I had eyes on me unknowingly, but I couldn't feel any of the prickling unease that came from the feeling of being watched at the moment.

I looked around the workshop that looked like it came straight out of a fictional novel. The sun streaming through the wall of windows caught and highlighted the dust particles that drifted through its rays. The room was a mixture of chaos and organization. It was an organized mess. The jars were sorted, grouped on shelves with others that held a single brushstroke of the same colour. They were colour-coded. The clear jars seemed to be less organized, but it wouldn't be difficult to identify the contents compared to the opaque clay jars since they were visible. I could spot a few labels on some, mostly if they were different jars with similar content, like the three jars full of eyeballs. I guessed that the labels were of what animal they belonged to, and despite being written in English, they were unfamiliar to me.

I wandered around the 'workshop.' It was more like a witches dream lair- well warlocks lair if my memory served correct. There were herbs and powders littered over the table. A small fire made the dark contents of the cauldron simmer, an acidic scent stung my nose as I stepped closer. I walked up to the wall of books and couldn't help but trail my fingers over the cracked spines. Occasionally, my fingers met one that was in near perfect condition, new.

My pulse increased at the feel of the books. It had been years since I had the time, or was even allowed to read.

I paused when I reached the end of the row, my eyes catching the glint of sunlight reflecting off metal. Sitting on a small circular table in the corner beside an armchair, was a picture frame. I lifted the frame to view it without the glare of light making it difficult to see.

The picture was of a younger-looking Ezra and two women. The similarities in the shape of their lips, colours of their eyes, and hair made it clear that they were related in some way, most likely siblings considering they appeared around the same age. They looked like they were a few years older than him. The three of them were smiling, one of the women had her arm slung around her sister's neck while the other seemed to be holding her sunhat down so the wind wouldn't blow it away. Ezra sat beside them, an open book held in his hands.

The image caused my heart to twist in pain. I had a family out there somewhere. Parents. A younger brother. People who most likely thought me dead. The smiles in the picture and the wind captured in the movement in their hair reminded me of the last time I saw them. The day of my 16th birthday. We had been so happy.

Our parents had taken my brother and I to see the Royal Canadian Circus. It was like I could smell the scent of buttery popcorn in the room permeated with scents of dirt and herbs as my mind dived into my last good memory before I was subjected to nearly nine years of torment. I could hear the phantom cheers of the crowd, the booming laughter of my dad as we laughed at my brother who managed to spill chilly from his chilly dog onto his shorts with his first bite. Mom had lectured him about making a mess while fussing over him with a hand full of napkins. He had turned red from embarrassment while trying to make her stop and to let him deal with the mess himself. Dad and I had just laughed harder.

A knock at the door jolted me out of my memories. I nearly dropped the picture as I jumped. I let out a relieved breath as I tightened my hold on the frame. Not today, gods of misfortune. Not today. I set it back on the table in its original position, not wanting to risk dropping it again, with my luck and elegance there was a very high probability that I would, and turned towards the door just as it opened.

"Come on, lass," Henry said as he stood in the doorway. Hearing him address me as 'lass' overshadowed the slight notes in his accent that differed from the Irish accents I had grown used to hearing in movies, making him sound more Irish every time I heard it. "Let's get some food in that wee body of yours."

I followed Henry down the halls, silently thanking a non-existent God for having someone in this new and unfamiliar environment. Instead of heading to the kitchen, he led us to the stairs that descended into the basement. Following him down, he led us in the direction opposite of where my room was located.

The corridors were more populated than when I was here previously. Once again I was met with similar looks from others around us. They either followed me with their eyes like hawks or averted them like I was medusa and would turn them to stone if we made eye contact. Men would stop their conversation as we passed just to stare at me with their undivided attention. Some rushed into nearby doorways as I neared.

I preferred those who avoided me completely. It stung a little that I was obviously a pariah, but it was better to be avoided than to have the wrong kind of attention directed at me.

Ezra's words as to why there were no women echoed through my head. He had never answered my question. As someone who had suffered most at the hands of men, I could not see how they would be distressed due to women. Men were generally larger, and stronger by nature.

My thoughts strayed to the sights I had witnessed when I was taken into the city. I had seen women that were taller than the average women I was accustomed to seeing, but most of the men were still a few inches taller and, besides those that were malnourished, most were more muscular.

But all of these men were larger than me by a great deal. The only ones who weren't were the few younger boys, children, that I had caught a brief glimpse of before they darted into one of the rooms.

We approached pair of open doors. They were held open by wooden wedges. Loud boisterous voices could be heard from within, growing louder as we drew closer. Laughter and cheers along with cursing could be heard accompanied by the sound of metal spoons being scraped against metal trays. Through the open double doors, I could see some holding metal trays up to their mouths, shovelling the food into their mouths in a hurry. Most were eating leisurely, talking and joking around with their friends.

The moment we stepped foot into the large room lined with tables and benches, all conversation and movement stopped. It became so silent that you could hear a pin being dropped.

"This way," Henry said, nudging me with his elbow before heading to the far end of the hall where food on platters and trays were lined on a long table. Hopper windows lined the top of the wall the food sat near, letting in the gold, orange light that indicated the sun was setting and night was approaching.

A younger man was standing by the buffet-style table. He walked over to the wall adjacent to the food and slid a square metal window that had a glass window in the center and pulled out a tray holding sliced, glazed ham, replacing an empty tray on the table with it. It was a small elevator that led to the kitchen above.

"Here." Henry handed me a metal tray. It had divided sections to load with different types of food.

My stomach growled in hungry at the scent of the hot food. Mouth watering, I loaded my tray with ham, roasted vegetables, potatoes smothered with gravy, and a dinner roll. Henry's tray held twice the amount as mine did.

He led us to a half-empty table. As we sat, the men on the other end grabbed their trays and moved to different tables. I didn't notice when quieter conversations had begun again while I was distracted by the food, but the tense atmosphere was obvious compared to the carefree one that saturated the hall before we entered.

The moment I set the tray down, I dug in. I couldn't remember the last time that I had eaten any real food besides stale bread and dried-out cheese. The growls of my stomach had turned into hunger pains and I couldn't be bothered to mind my manners as I stuffed my face. To others, I must have looked like a squirrel with its cheeks stuffed with nuts. While inhaling food, the conversation around us had increased in volume once more but had not reached the level it was before. It was clear that I had become the topic of dinner conversation for most of them.

After a few large bites, I was disappointed to realize that I was starting to feel full, venturing into the territory of overstuffed. I hadn't even finished half the contents of my plate.

"Why does everyone look at me strangely?" I asked Henry who was eating at a regular pace. Maybe I'd be able to eat some more if I rested for a bit. I felt guilty for wasting food, a result of having to watch perfectly good food be thrown in the trash while my stomach cried in hunger. It was also a great opportunity to get some answers in the meanwhile.

Henry look up from his tray and looked around the room. "That's 'cause you're a woman," he answered, looking at me like I had asked a stupid question.

"But what does me being a woman have to do with anything?"

Henry paused. A piece of ham speared on his fork stayed frozen where he lifted it to his mouth. He looked at me like he couldn't decide if I was serious about my question or not.

After a moment he put the meat in his mouth and chewed as he answered. "That's quite obvious, lass. Most of the men here have experienced abuse at the hands of a lady. The lucky ones who ain't, have witnessed or know those who have. They have good reason to be wary. Even despite your wee size."

"Abuse?"

"Aye, power goes to one's head. It's the weaker ones that end up sufferin' as a result," he said shaking his head.

His words confused me. It was usually men in power that preyed on the weak. I'm sure women did too, but there was a disproportionate amount of men in power compared to women. Women had recently started breaking the glass ceiling and gaining power. The default when thinking of people in power who preyed on the weak would still be men- unless far more had changed in the world in the last nine years than I was aware of.

"But men are usually the ones who abuse their power, they're stronger and hold more powerful positions than women," I voiced.

Henry looked at me blankly for a moment before throwing his head back and laughing. A man at the table behind him jumped in his seat at the booming sound.

Wiping a tear from his eyes as his full laugh turned into chuckles, he looked at me again. "Hmm, I'd love to live in the fantasy world you be creatin' in your head, lass." He looked down at his tray, shaking his head. "Ha, men bein' the ones with power," he said with humour as he stabbed his fork into his veggies.

I furrowed my brows, feeling slightly offended at the way he reacted to my words like they were outrageous. I had personally experienced the extent of men who had too much power and thought that it made them invincible.

"It's not a fantasy," I said, my words coming out harsh. "It's a nightmare that's reality."

My tone of voice must have caught him off guard. He blinked at me with his mouth hanging open. Furrowing his brows, he put his fork down and was about to say something, but was interrupted by Kai's arrival.

"Yes! I could live off this ham for the rest of my life. I wish they served it more than twice a week," he said while sitting down across from me, beside Henry.

Movement to my right me drew my gaze. The man who had driven me into the city, Timothy I think, took a seat beside me. He left more distance than necessary between us, but I was fine with that, preferred it actually.

"Not everyone loves ham as much as you," Timothy said, rolling his eyes. "I'd stab you if I had to eat this for every meal."

"Why would you stab me?"

"Because you wished for it."

"Wouldn't it make more sense to stab the cooks who'd make it every day?"

"No."

"That's just stupid. Isn't it..." He turned to ask Henry but trailed off when he noticed the tense energy between us.

I looked down at my plate, pushing around my food and started to deflate as worry began to replace my anger. Had I just ruined things with one of the few people that had shown me kindness because I wasn't able to control my emotions?

"What do you mean?" Henry asked. I was surprised. He didn't sound angry or offended at my tone.

I looked up at him through my lashes. He was looking at me, genuine curiosity showing on his face.

I put my fork down. "Men are the ones who hold more power. They take advantage of those weaker than them because they aren't held accountable. Even if they are, they can usually just buy their way out."

The three men at the table looked at me in silence. After a moment kai broke it with his laughter.

"What-"

Henry raised his hand to cut off Kai. Looking at Henry's face and noting the lack of amusement, his amusement slowly faded.

"Where are you from, lass?" Henry asked, leaning forward with his voice lowered.

I didn't answer his question, instead, I replied with one of my own. "Where are we, right now?"

Something was seriously off. Judging from my conversation with Ezra earlier, combined with the confusion of how I ended up here instead of in his hands, I was starting to believe the outrageous theory that I had travelled to another world like Ezra had hinted at with his questions.

For fucks sake, I had seen a fucking Pegasus and what I was pretty sure was a giant Griffin. I was mind-controlled by a man with colour-changing eyes! What more proof did I need?

Toto, I had a feeling we weren't in Kansa anymore...

"We're on the outskirts of the city of Qora," Henry answered, observing my reaction attentively.

I shook my head. "I've never heard of Qora."

My answer grabbed the attention of Kai and Timothy. They both seemed to start observing me just like Henry from that single response.

"You haven't heard of Qora?" Timothy asked.

"Have you been living under a rock?" Kai added. Seems he was much more comfortable around me than when we first met me.

"Qora is the second-largest city in the Queendom of Arradona. The largest is the capital city of Arradona, home to the royal family. Everyone in the lands has heard of both," his eyes flashed with curiosity. "So why haven't you?"

I paled. His words were as good as the final nails in the coffin of my doubt. That, plus the sight of a man manipulating water with a simple flick of his fingers.

My eyes widened as I watched a small orb of water lift from the glass and into the air. The man at the table behind Henry and Kai had simply made a slight upward gesture with his fingers. I continued to watch, my jaw hanging open, as he crooked his fingers, making the orb move toward him and into his open mouth.

Toto, forget Kansas, I had a feeling we weren't in the damn Milky Way anymore.

Henry must have realized something to the same effect. "You're not from here, are ya, lass?" He asked, his lowered voice barely discernable over the noise of the hall. The questioning glint in his eyes led me to believe he wasn't just talking about the Queendom of Arradona.

Was it that obvious? First Ezra, now Henry. I felt self-conscious at the moment, like I stuck out like a sore thumb. Well, more so than just being the only woman in the room. I wanted to think they were talking about countries, but from everything I had witnessed so far... Narnia was the only plausible explanation I could think of. But I hadn't stepped into any weird wardrobes recently...

Suddenly, the obvious hit me. The abandoned building. The weird wind and sounds. I had found it strange that I had woken up surrounded by five men with him nowhere in sight when he had been so close to capturing me again.

"I don't think so," I replied, still reluctant to accept the facts staring me in the face.

Logically, it was impossible...

Kai seemed to be oblivious to our realization. "Are you from one of the surrounding nations?" He asked excitedly, practically bouncing on his seat. He got up onto the bench on his knees, leaning over the table towards me. "Is it true?" He asked, lowering his voice. His eyes reminded me of an excited puppy. "That men are treated as equals outside of Arradona? I even heard rumours that the lands of the Fae are ruled by kings!"

"Kai," Timothy hissed. "Shut up before you get your head lopped off for sedition!"

Kai snorted, but still sobered at his words. "No one here would report anything to the Queen." His actions contradicted his words. He sat back down and shrunk into his shoulders like he was trying to hide his neck from an executioner's axe.

Bells warning me of danger rang in my head. Did I just go from a tyrannical household and end up in a tyrannical kingdo- queendom?

"Quiet," Henry said, glancing around him to see if anyone had heard Kai's words. "You never know the lengths others will go to for the promise of coin an' some power. They're not beneath betrayin' their own given the correct circumstances."

The rest of the meal was spent in tense awareness. Timothy changed the topic and tried to lighten the mood with some gossip he had heard around the manor, but it only abated the tension for moments before it returned.

After the four of us were done with our meals, we handed our trays over to the wash station. Guilt twisted in my gut as I watched the man stationed there scrape my leftovers into a bin. I hated to waste food.

Kai and Timothy went their separate ways when we reached the bottom of the stairs leading up to the first floor. Henry stayed with me, insisting on walking me to my room.

We were surrounded by an uncomfortable silence as we walked down the hallway. When we reached my door, I opened it and turned to say goodnight, but he had stepped past me and into the room, flicking the switch by the door that lit the bare, dim bulb that hung from the ceiling. I tensed, wondering if I had miss judged him.

"Close the door. We need to have a chat that's best if it stays out of the range of other ears."

I warily shut the door behind me as he leaned against the dresser. When he made no move towards me, I let out a small breath of relief.

"I've been on this land for more cycles than I can remember," he started, crossing his arms. "My awareness and knowledge of certain matters are greater than that of the young ones such as Kai an' Timothy. They were not yet birthed to witness the wars and battles fought through history that I've bared witness to." He pushed off from the dresser and turned to face me where I stood in front of the door. "Tell me, lass, are you not of this realm?"

I just looked at him and blinked. "Realm?"

He gave me a pained smile, like that one-worded question had answered his own. "Are you from another realm?" He repeated solemnly.