A gentle breeze and the scent of cinnamon woke Damian up. When he came to, he was no longer in his bed. In fact, he wasn't even in his apartment. Damian was sitting against a lone Quaking Aspen tree on a hill within a small clearing within a forest. He would have recoiled from the sun's bright rays but the shade of the tree protected his eyes. His head was facing a downward direction so his now adjusted vision was greeted with a perplexing view. He was wearing a blue hoodie with a yellow shirt under it, black jeans, sneakers, a white fanny pack that was worn in a trendy fashion (slung over the back), and the vintage watch his dad gave him for his 15th birthday.

"What?" Damian whispered to himself.

When did he put on his clothes? Damian brushed his hair with his hand and was further bewildered. It had been hand combed back in its usual slicked back style, which contrasted the messy hair he remembered it being when he went to bed. Damian was baffled, but despite all that, what startled Damian the most was what met his eyes when he looked up. There was a girl, who looked about his age, intensely staring at him with curious eyes. She was squatted down at his eye level, inspecting the clothes he was wearing as if he was an alien. Besides her was a woven basket that was filled with fruits and berries. She continued to gawp at his clothes so he called out to her:

"Hey"

When her gaze met Damian's, she jumped back a short distance and gave a little shriek. They stared at each other, neither person advancing or retreating. Not wanting the awkward situation to continue, Damian decided to initiate a conversation.

"Uh, hi."

"H-Hello"

The two youths went back to staring at each other. An awkward aura loomed over them once again. Not being able to take it any longer, Damian turned his head away in embarrassment. Then, a question arose from the girl.

"Hey, w-what's with your clothes?"

"Huh?"

Damian was confused by her odd question. Was she mocking his fashion choices?

"Your clothes. I've never seen them before. And your hair too! How is it blonde on the top but black on the sides?" the girl asked with more audacity.

Suddenly she was in his face, basically interrogating him. Damian was surprised by the sudden change in attitude.

"This is just a hoodie and jeans. And this is a fanny pack. And as for my hair, the long top part is dyed blond. The short sides are my natural hair color."

Damian pointed at the parts as he explained what they were to the girl. However, she still showed no sign of understanding. She repeated the words in an unsure tone.

"What about your clothes? You're rocking a full on fantasy dress! Are you a cosplayer or something?"

The girl wore a brown leather chest plate over a short light pink dress with long sleeves and brown boots that just about reached her knees. She looked just like a village girl from a fantasy world. The confused girl played with her short brown hair.

"I'm sorry but I don't quite understand what you're saying."

This is a prank isn't it? If it is, she's a really good actor because she would have fooled me if I wasn't any smarter.

The girl showed no sign of letting up her act so Damian decided to be direct.

"Is this some sort of joke? This is a prank right?"

The girl shook her head no. Unconvinced, Damian got up and looked around for a hidden camera. The girl silently observed him with a puzzled expression as he scrambled around looking for, and failing to find, a camera. After a few minutes of searching and then giving up, Damian reluctantly decided to believe that the girl really didn't know what he was talking about. Perhaps he had somehow turned up in a different country or something. But how? He doubted that he put on his clothes, fixed his hair, and made his way to this specific spot in his sleep. Someone had to have taken him here.

Maybe this girl? No, she seems to be as clueless as me. I think I saw my dad in that bizarre dream. Could he have something to do with this? But I haven't actually seen him in forever. He is always busy with work after all. So how did I end up here? Wait, where even is here?

With that last thought Damian surveyed his surroundings and in the distance discerned a tall wooden wall. He concluded that it was a village. He didn't recognize the view. With no other choice, Damian turned to the girl.

"Can you tell me where am I?"

"You are in the Kingdom of Energia." She responded with a cocky smile and a puffed out chest.

"Kingdom of Energia? Huh, I must have ended up on a small island in the middle of nowhere or something." Damian sighed to himself, thinking he was in the worst case scenario: an island where people were still in medieval times.

"Small island?! Our kingdom is the greatest and largest of the four nations I'll have you know! Where are you from anyways, huh?" the girl yelled, clearly upset at Damian's evaluation of his whereabouts.

"Ok, ok, I get it, sorry! I'm from New York in the USA." Damian apologized to the yapping girl.

Did she say four nations? This island must be bigger than I thought. He decided to keep the observation to himself for now.

"New York? USA? Where is that?." she questioned

"You really don't know New York? Or the United States of America?" Damian asked in disbelief.

The girl shook her head no for the second time.

Well, if they are stuck in medieval times then I guess they wouldn't know about the modern and industrialized superpower country of the west.

To save his breath, Damian gave an over generalized answer.

"It's a country in the west." he explained bluntly

"In the west? But I thought the Kingdom of Energia was the country furthest west"

"Well I guess you thought wrong because according to the world map, the US is the country furthest to the west." Damian remarked

The girl looked like she wanted to argue with him so Damian, not wanting to explain what the United States of America was to her, quickly changed the topic to the village he had spotted earlier. He guessed that she was probably from there since they were so close.

"Do you live there?" Damian asked the girl as he pointed towards the village in the distance.

"Yes, It's Hudson village, my hometown." She responded.

If I go there maybe I can get a better understanding of where I am and what to do next. Damian concluded.

"Can you take me there?"

"Oh, of course. How could I forget?" The girl smacked her forehead. "Thats what I came here to do!"

"You came here to pick me up?"

"Yeah. I've been coming here everyday to check when you would finally arrive. Though I never imagined it would have been in my lifetime."

"What?"

"Frank will explain everything to you. He is a nice guy and will answer all your questions."

The girl picked herself up and grabbed her basket filled with fruits and berries with one hand.

"My name is Emilia Wyatt, nice to meet you." She said as she extended her other hand with a smile.

After leaving the shade, her face had become more visible. He could see her clever, curious eyes that were craving for knowledge and she had a mother's smile that made Damian feel safe. Her smooth brown hair was swept to the right side from the left and it continued down until her shoulders.

"I'm Damian Lotus, nice to meet you too I guess" Damian said slightly bashfully, realizing how pretty the girl actually is.

Damian timidly extended his own hand and the two made contact for the first time. He could feel her tiny, soft hands that contrasted with his own firm one. With Emilia leading the way, they headed for Hudson village.