Ellie sat curled up with her knees to her chin and leaned against the wall. Thick blankets covered her from head to toe. She glanced over to the closed door that Osmond had temporarily fixed. Astrid had left her alone with Ralf to give her some time to adjust.

Ellie watched from Ralf from the bed attentively like a hawk stalking its prey.

The boy was playing by himself. He was wrapping a knitted muffler around a wooden toy horse. The long muffler had gone who knows how many circles around the poor toy horse but it seemed the boy was not satisfied. He stared intently at the toy in his hands and flipped it around. After a few pauses, he unraveled the muffler and started the whole process again. This went on repeat for a few times.

Ellie sighed in admiration. He looked perfect-- exactly like how she had imagined the protagonist of her novel to be. His features, mannerisms, and even his stubborn persistence. She sighed again and pulled her gaze away from the boy and let her eyes roam around the room as she collected her thoughts.

‘Okay, so… right now, I’m somehow in the body of a child. Is this my own body, or did I somehow get reincarnated into the body of a dead child? What do I even look like?’

Ellie touched her own face and looked at her hands. She flexed her fingers.

‘It’s impossible to tell. I don’t remember how my hands looked like when I was a kid.’ she thought and absent-midedly pulled her hair forwards.

‘Well, at least I’m still a brunette.’ she chuckled.

Ellie looked around for a mirror. After getting off the bed and searching high and low, she failed to find one. She paused for a moment and then turned to Ralf. The boy was staring back at her with beady eyes.

‘Gah, why is he so cute? I want to squeeze his cheeks so badly!’

Ellie shook her head to dispel that thought and cleared her throat.

“Uhm… do you have a mirror?” Ellie asked with her soft but still raspy voice.

“Mirror? What’s that?”

“Uhm… that’s…” Ellie tried to explain when she suddenly remembered.

‘Right, aren’t mirrors like super valuable during medieval times? Peasants shouldn’t have them. I think I remember researching this some time ago.’

“Nevermind,” she turned around.

Something shiny caught her attention. It was a bronze basin filled with water. It was shimmering in the dancing candle flames.

‘That’s it! Polished metal can act as a mirror!’

Ellie jumped over to the basin and peered over it. However, her expectations were crushed when the bottom of the basin was mottled and slightly deformed. She could not see her reflection save for her shadow and the outline of her head.

She sighed and plopped back onto the bed.

‘Why is this fantasy world so realistic? Can’t it be like those medieval isekai stories where everything is convenient but it’s just people dressing up in fancy medieval clothes?’

Ellie rolled around in bed and held her head in frustration.

‘Right, didn’t I want to make this story as realistic as possible? Isn’t that why I spent so much time reading up on medieval Europe? Although I didn’t bother to pick a specific period and place… Ahem! At least I did some research, right!? Right???’

She calmed herself down and turned over just to bump headfirst into Ralf.

“Ah! What are you-- why are you always sneaking behind me?” Elise rubbed her forehead.

“I’m sorry! Are you alright?” Tears were welling up in Ralf’s eyes.

Ellie sighed. “I’m alright. There, there, you’re alright too.”

She gently rubbed the boy’s forehead with her finger. Without thinking, Ellie bent forwards and kissed his forehead.

“Uh… uhm…” Ralf stammered.

“Huh?”

‘Crap! I did that on reflex because it’s how I normally treat my baby nephew when he gets hurt!’

Ellie coughed and turned her head sideways. She shrugged her shoulders like it was no big deal. However, she was trying to hide a gleeful grin.

‘He looks even better up close! How did I create such a character? I’m a genius! Muahahaha!’

“Are you really okay? Mama asked me to take care of you. She said that you are hurt,” Ralf said as he rubbed his teary eyes.

Ellie squealed internally.

‘Cuteness overload! Take a deep breath, Ellie, or your heart’s gonna explode.’

She cleared her throat, “ I’m okay. Don’t worry about me.”

“That’s great!” the boy beamed.

Ellie smiled back at him. The boy’s innocent smile was contagious. It melted her anxiety away for a short moment.

‘Still, the detail in this world is amazing. It’s like a real world. Is this really the world of my novel? Could this be a coincidence? This is really bizarre.’

Ellie had to make sure to clear her doubts. She wanted to cover all possible bases before making assumptions and thinking of what to do next. After thinking for a few moments, she decided to play a game with the boy.

“Ralf, do you want to play a game with me?” a wolfish grin grew on her face.

The boy lit up. Game? What game?

“Let’s see… My friends and I used to play this game. It’s called… uh… 3-in-1!” Ellie felt like hiding her face for coming up with such a silly name. Fortunately, Ralf was only a child.

“3-in-1?”

“I bet you’ve never heard of it before,” Ellie grinned. “Do you want to play it with me? If you do, you’ll be my friend.”

“You… you’ll really be my friend?” Ralf looked down and asked softly. He shifted nervously.

“Yes!” Ellie beamed with all her might. She showed him the most convincing face that she could muster.

“Really?”

“Yes!”

“Promise?”

“I promise!”

“Then… okay! I’ll play with you!”

‘Hehehehe… hook, line, and sinker achieved!’ Ellie felt like pumping her fist into the air but restrained herself.

“Right, for this game, I’ll ask you three questions. You must tell me the truth. You also must keep this game a secret and not tell anybody that we played this game. Do that and we’ll be best friends and we keep each other’s secrets. Understand?” Ellie explained the rules in a mouthful.

Ralf nodded along with the explanation. “I don’t get to ask you questions?”

“Ahem… no, you don’t. This game is called 3-in-1. Three questions in a boy. Or girl,” Ellie looked sideways as she tried to convince the boy.

“Really? I really can’t ask you a question?” Ralf pleaded with beady eyes.

Ellie felt herself get sucked into his gaze.

‘Gosh! Too adorbs! C-can’t resist!’ Ellie squeezed her eyes and clutched her chest.

“Aaahh okay! One question! You can ask me one question!” Ellie gave up. She could not resist the cute protagonist.

“Okay!” the boy laughed.

There was a reasoning behind this game. Ellie feared that the questions she was about to ask would cause suspicion among the villagers if she asked any of the adults. She also used her knowledge of Ralf’s character to her advantage in setting up the game.

In his character backstory, Ralf was a good natured but lonely child who yearned for friendship. Due to special circumstances, Astrid and Osmond had kept Ralf mostly sheltered in their home and away from other children. The recent hunting trip was a rare request of his granted by his father.

“Alrigthy, let’s do a pinky promise,” Ellie stuck her pinky out.

“What’s that?”

“It’s a sign of promise. Whoever breaks the promise will have to cut off their pinky finger.”

Ralf gasped. “C-cut?”

“Yup! Come on, you won’t break our promise, would you?”

“A-alright,” Ralf bit his lip and stuck his pinky out too.

Ellie quickly linked her pinky with his to seal the deal before he changed his mind.

“Okay, let’s start!” Elise rubbed her hands together and licked her lips.

“First question: What is your secret pet’s name?”

“H-how do you know that I have a secret pet?” Ralf’s eyes widened.

“Hehe, that would be your one and only question. Are you sure you want to ask that?” Ellie wagged a finger.

Ralf pursed his lips and frowned. “That’s not fair!”

“You promised,” Ellie grinned.

“Hngg, okay… My secret pet’s name is Faein. She’s a little gray rabbit.” Ralf smiled sheepishly.

“You won’t tell my mama about it right?” he asked anxiously.

“Don’t worry! Pinky promise, remember?” Ellie giggled and continued.

Her first question was to confirm the identity of Ralf. There may be people with the same name but the fact that the name and type of his secret pet were the exact match from her novel proves something. In addition, Ralf had never shared the story about his secret pet with anyone, ever.

Of course, one could argue that this is another coincidence with all the coincidences before like the name of the village. Ellie had just wanted one more positive question to ease the identity issue.

“Second question! What’s the day, month, and year today?”

This was the question that she feared would gain suspicion from the villagers. Who would not know about the date of the day unless they’ve been living under a rock in seclusion right? It did not match with her story since she had already blurted out about the computer. She should have just pretended to not remember anything. Everything would have just been easier. Ellie cursed in her mind.

“Why would you want to know about the day?” Ralf questioned.

‘Exactly my point. Even a child finds the question strange,’ Ellie sighed.

She raised an eyebrow and looked at Ralf.

“Ah! No, not this question. Alright, alright, I’ll just answer you. Uhm.. it’s the 6th day of the month of the Howling Moon and the 46th year of the Skuldir era.”

Chills shot up Ellie’s spine. She always had this uncanny feeling buried in her heart when she suspected that she was in the world based on her novel.

‘It can’t be… please tell me it’s not true…’ Ellie pleaded in her heart.

It was now the third and final question. This question would make or break it for Ellie. Her heart pounded in her chest. She took a deep breath before asking.

“Do you celebrate Hvarl, the winter solstice festival?” Ellie’s voice quivered. Her hands turned into fists.

For some reason, the short pause that wasn’t even a few seconds long felt like a vacuum to her. The boy’s voice filtered into her ears. The answer that she dreaded came.

“Yes, we do celebrate it. It’s in two weeks time. Do you celebrate it too?”

Ellie paled. Her pounding heart drowned out all sound. Her fears came true.

‘Why does it have to be at this time period?’ She lamented inwardly and sighed. Recollections of the prologue of her novel came to her mind.

*****

It was the 46th year of the Skuldir era. The lands were covered with thick blankets of snow. On the day of the winter solstice, the inhabitants of a northern village near Asger celebrated the coming of winter. Despite being in perpetual snow, it was a day of celebration as it marks the near ending of yet another year of hardships.

However, this year was different, as tragedy struck. The jovial celebrations turned into bloodshed as bandits tore through the village. Their laughter transformed into blood curdling screams as blades slit their throats and slashed their bodies. Fires that lit up the night and provided warmth in the bitter cold turned on them instead and devoured their homes. The pure white snow was stained with a mosaic of red blood of the innocent.

Lives perished, hopes and dreams were snuffed. All that was left and stood in the middle of the carnage were the bandits with insignias of the Six Starred Wolf carved onto their blades. In their leader’s arms was a pale faced little boy. His ivory hair was plastered against his head, drenched with the blood of his parents.

The leader of the bandits surveyed the lands around him with a sharp and cold eye. Satisfied with their handiwork, he signalled to his men and rode off into the bitterly cold night, never looking back.

*****

Ellie bit her lip as she remembered the tragedy that she created. If that were to happen, everyone in the village would die, including her. She looked up at the boy in front of her. The so-called bandits would be coming for him.

‘Aahh why is it like this? What should I do??’ Frustrated, she ruffled her own hair.

How can she save herself? Should she warn the villagers and save everyone including herself? Should she instead run away on her own without warning the villagers?

Ellie’s mind was in overdrive. If she managed to save everyone, she would change the storyline of her novel. This is because this event was the catalyst that kick started the main storyline in the world of her novel. This event would also shape the personality of her protagonist, Ralf.

By changing this foundation, Ralf would be a totally different character in the future. Ellie can’t have her beloved brooding, emo protagonist anymore!

‘Wait… why do I even care? First of all, this is a different world, a real world-- at least in this reality. Why do I care about how it will affect my novel? How does this even work? Like, how even am I in this world and how did this world come to be? How is this world linked to my novel?’

Feeling herself losing her mind, Ellie slapped herself to snap out of her own thoughts that were spiralling out of control.

‘Who cares about the relationship and what not? Judging by how things are, I will be dead in two weeks. I can’t let that happen! There’s not much time left!’

Having decided on how to move forward, Ellie pumped her fists and hyped herself up. She huffed and stood up straight, assuming a power pose. Satisfied with herself, she walked towards the door to exit the room.

Ralf stood there dumbfounded and stared after Ellie’s back. After answering Ellie’s third question, the girl had been acting weird. No matter how he tried to catch her attention, she had ignored him. How can someone be so engrossed in their own thoughts and completely shut themselves out of their surroundings?

Snapping himself out of his stupor, he ran after Ellie.

“Hey! Wait for me! You haven’t answered my question! Pinky-- pinky promise, remember? Hey!”