True to Mathieu’s word the two began training again the day after JiYeong woke up. She still had a slight headache but if she didn’t focus on it she was barely aware it was there.

Practice with Mathieu was a lot lighter than it normally was. It was as if he were afraid of hurting her. Even though JiYeong insisted she was fine, an easy day was more than welcome.

Before going to train with Shiloh, JiYeong decided to go visit Piers. He was in his room on his bed, which was twice the size of her own. His shoulder was wrapped in bandages and he looked thoroughly bored.

“You’re alive!” JiYeong smiled as she entered the room.

A smile crossed his face as he saw her and motioned for her to come closer. “I could say the same for you too Champion. Luckily for me that Assassin didn’t hit anything major. The arrow was poisoned but I got back in time for the Healers to work their Magick and get the poison out. They couldn’t do much for the blood loss except have me rest and wait to recover from it.” His smile softened. “You saved my life, JiYeong. I can’t thank you enough.”

The sound of her name caused her to falter. She looked at the Prince for a moment, a small smile spreading on her lips. Rather than say anything about it though she said, “Anybody would have done the same.”

Piers was shaking his head before she finished the sentence. “Many would have run at the first sign of danger, not sacrifice their horse in order to get me back. I may be the crowned prince but duties and loyalties only run so far. You did something not everyone would do.” He patted the bed next to him. “Come, sit and talk with me awhile. I haven’t had much company outside of Mathieu and we do not have that much to talk about.”

⚔⚔⚔

JiYeong laid on her bed, sighing lightly. The Council was supposed to arrive tomorrow, and despite the constant barrage of information, she wasn’t sure how she was going to fair.

The rest of the month seemed to go by quickly once they got back into a routine. Mathieu stopped being careful after JiYeong insisted she was fine and seemed to decide to amp up training, claiming they needed to make up for lost time.

Equally Shiloh had also doubled down. Any down time JiYeong got was spent going over War Council etiquette and walking in heels.

It wasn’t hard by any stretch of the imagination, but still, it was all so overwhelming. Of all the things that’d happened to her since being in Allumia, this was the one thing she wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle. Keeping up appearances in front of Mathieu and the others was one thing. In fact at some point it’d become second nature to JiYeong. So much so that it was no longer pretending, she was genuinely becoming the Champion they expected her to be.

And while that was fine for the time being, that was months of spending time with everyone. There wasn’t a need to pretend.

The Council made her efforts over the last several months more of a reality than before. It meant going from simply trying to survive in a strange new land to becoming part of it. It meant taking on a role that she was grossly underqualified for. It meant putting her desire to return to Earth on the backburner.

While it should have been a walk in the park to those native to Allumia, where being named Champion and going on grand quests were everyday occurrences, for JiYeong, someone who was a grocery store clerk until a few months ago, this was a world she definitely did not belong in. And she was becoming increasingly aware of that.

“Ugh!” She buried her face in the pillow. The more JiYeong thought about it, the more she didn’t want to do this. It was fine while she was just training. While there wasn’t that big of a threat. All she had to do was go along with Adaora’s requests until she found an escape but now? Now she wanted to go back home, where she was just JiYeong. Not Champion, not Lady, not Miss. Just JiYeong. Where Allumia Calling was just a game, Allumia just a fictional place.

That’s what she wanted.

What she thought she wanted.

But then she wouldn’t have Shiloh or Piers. Adaora...Silvvyr or Iridia. Mathieu.

JiYeong buried herself deeper in the covers.

Denying that what she felt for the Prince was more than a crush was pointless now. The thought of going home, of leaving him hurt. It was conflicting. And confusing. A feeling that only served to frustrate her more.

It shouldn’t be this complicated!

Her heart clenched and she gritted her teeth, chest constricting at the feeling of tears.

There was a knock on the door then, and when she didn’t respond right away the door slowly creaked open.

“JiYeong?”

After debating a moment on if she should feign sleep JiYeong sat up, scrubbing at her eyes. Speak of the devil. “Mathieu? What are you doing here?”

The door opened fully, and then shut gently. A moment later the bed dipped and she felt his hand touch her cheek gently. “I came to check on you. You weren’t at breakfast and you seemed very distracted this morning during training.” His fingers brushed against her cheek, trailing down to her chin. When he felt the dampness there he asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” she answered. Too fast.

Mathieu clicked his tongue, settling on the bed. “Do you not think I know you well enough by now to know when you are lying to me?”

JiYeong didn’t answer, chewing on her bottom lip.

“JiYeong.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re lying. Talk.”

When JiYeong stubbornly remained silent Mathieu sighed, cupping both her cheeks. He gently brushed at her tears with his thumbs, kissing her forehead. “I hoped you’d trust me a bit more by now, Champion.”

The use of her title sent a pang to her heart and JiYeong sucked in a breath. “I do! It’s just…”

“Just what?”

Telling him what was bothering her meant telling him everything. There was no telling how he’d react to knowing she was not who he thought she was. Would he be okay with that? More than likely he would want nothing to do with her. That would be the more logical reaction, after all. JiYeong shook her head. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.”

More silence. Mathieu bumped his forehead against hers. “Trust me.”

She took a deep breath. Let it out slowly. “I...I don't think I can do this.”

“Do what?” He coaxed gently.

“This whole Champion thing. You guys expect so much from me and...and it's overwhelming. I don't...I can't...”

The dam finally broke, the tears falling freely. JiYeong sniffed, wiping at her cheeks with her sleeve. It was a few moments longer before she decided to just tell him the truth and hope for the best. If he didn’t want to be with her after this then…well it wasn’t as if she would lose anything. “I’m not from here... Not from Criesal, not from Tariadene. Not from Allumia. And the worst part is that you guys expect so much from me but I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know what you guys want me to do. I don’t know if I can do what you guys expect of me.” She was openly sobbing now, not able to stop it. “This thing is happening tomorrow and I don’t know if I’ll remember everyone’s names or their Kingdoms or look like I fit this role that I actually don’t. I know it seems like such a silly thing to be worried about but you don’t understand just how much I don’t belong here.”

Mathieu waited for her to grow quiet before reaching out to pull her close, tugging her into his lap and wrapping his arms firmly around her waist. It was unexpected but it didn’t stop JiYeong from turning to press into his chest, not realizing right away that he didn’t have a shirt on.

“JiYeong.” He murmured when the sobs finally calmed enough for him to speak. “JiYeong, do you want to know something?”

“What?”

“We’ve met before. It was a long time ago.” Her breathing hitched. At her whispered “really?” he continued. “Admittedly you looked quite a bit different. Much taller, for sure. Shorter hair.” Mathieu tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You helped me out when I was short on men, facing a gang of goblins that was terrorizing a village. Nobody asked you to help, and you never asked for a reward. You simply helped, rested a bit and then was on your way.”

JiYeong froze, trying to remember the last few quests she’d done before coming here. When it hit she gasped. “You’re Lord Uche?”

He simply made a small noise of agreement. “When I saw you in the Throne Room two months ago, I admittedly did not recognize you right away. But you had the same name as the woman who helped me all that time ago. And you had the same attitude. The same willingness to help.” He placed his hand on her chin, gently pulling her face up to face him. “A Royal must have a great deal of trust to name someone their Champion, as it is the highest rank one can achieve. My mother saw that in you JiYeong. She could have named anyone Champion, any of her hundreds of Knights, but she chose you.”

“That’s the problem! I’m not from here. I don’t deserve the title.”

“You think we don’t know that?” He chuckled lightly, wiping a tear from her cheek. The words startled her but she couldn’t think of a response. Had it been that obvious?

Mathieu continued, “You look so different from when we knew you before those years ago, we knew you couldn’t possibly be from Allumia. Iridia said you seemed so confused when you were called to Obsidian.”

So they knew. All of them knew this whole time and nobody said anything. So much time spent worrying about keeping her story straight and it had been completely unnecessary.

And why hadn’t they told her?

“How is this even possible? Summoning someone from a different world?”

“I don’t know. We aren’t entirely sure how you got here to begin with.” Mathieu admitted, his voice still quiet. “I know my mother has Iridia and Silvvyr looking into it, but with the ever growing threat of DoHyeon…”

“I understand.” It was more important than trying to understand how they got her here, or even if they could send her back. Especially not when they needed her. JiYeong couldn’t say she blamed them. The safety of many was more pressing than getting her home. Not home. To Earth.

“JiYeong.” He waited for her to make a noise before continuing, “Know that if it is possible, we will get you home.”

JiYeong sucked in a breath, moving so her head rested against his chest again. She took the hand wrapped around her waist, playing with his fingers. “What if I don’t want to go home?”

“You do not wish to return to the things you know? Do you not have friends back where you are from?”

Her reply was a light shrug. It wasn’t as if she didn’t have friends. She’d miss being with Lilia, and playing with her and Zaos on Allumia Crossing, but she knew she would miss being here just as much. And there was the possibility of being able to contact the two through the game, like Adaora had done for her.

But everything was still overwhelming. JiYeong wasn’t sure if she’d be able to handle what was to come. Of course part of her still wanted to go back to what she knew. Go back to what was familiar, and easy.

It’d only been a little over two months since being here but she’d come to feel like this was home just as much as the “real world” was.

“Maybe…maybe I want to stay here with you.” She finally answered, tracing his palm. “Despite the fact that I have to fight, and I have to wear fancy dresses and face this huge threat I’ve never seen…I’ve made friends here. I’d miss Luvie and Shiloh. Iridia and Silvvyr. Even your mom and brother.” JiYeong paused, chewing on her bottom lip. “I’d miss you the most I think.” Another pause, and then even quieter she added, “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

There was a moment of silence, long enough that she was beginning to worry that she’d said the wrong thing. Suddenly she found herself pressed against the bed, Mathieu’s face so close she could make out his eyes in the dark. He pressed a kiss to her mouth, slow and gentle.

“To be honest even though I was fully prepared to support you in your decision should you have decided to find a way back home, I wanted to be selfish and keep you here with me.” Mathieu confessed, his voice dropping to a whisper. He kissed her again. “I wish to be with you JiYeong. I did not like hearing that when all of this was over, mother would double her efforts to get you home. I was not in a position to protest but…if you truly wish to stay, nothing would bring me greater joy.”

JiYeog didn’t know what to say. Her heart was thumping almost painfully in her chest and it felt as if she were going to start crying again. Knowing this didn’t do much in the way of lessening her confliction on leaving, and she still wasn’t sure she would never decide to leave but to hear he wanted her to stay?

Eventually she managed to get out, “You want me to stay?”

Mathieu chuckled, bumping his head against hers lightly. “You aren’t the only one capable of falling in love, Champion.”

The tears began welling again. He chuckled as one slid down her cheek to meet his thumb.

“I am unsure exactly how deep I am, and I admittedly do not know what to make of these feelings as this is my first time... feeling them. But what I do know is that I wish nothing more than to have you by my side, JiYeong.”

“Even though I’m not who you thought I was?”

“You are more than I could have ever imagined.” Mathieu responded truthfully. He kissed her forehead, his voice dropping. “You may not believe it, but you are a Champion, JiYeong.” He trailed the kiss to the tip of her nose, voice even quieter. “Our Champion.” His mouth brushed against her lips, whispering, “My Champion.”