⭒⭒⭒

'Are you coming or what?' She was excitedly rushing about the house, getting her things to go out. 'Seriously, he said eight, we'll never make it on time', she continued. 'I can't believe that you're the slow one here.'

I answered her as I came down the stairs: 'I doubt he'll mind having had to wait once he takes a look at you.' I put on my shoes and coat. 'Also, I'm ready to go, which means I again beat you to it.'

She scowled for a short moment, before switching the subject. 'Do you have your phone?'

I considered going back upstairs, but didn't feel like taking my shoes off again. 'Nah.'

'Don't complain to me when you get bored later.' She checked her makeup for the last time, I hoped, and started putting on her shoes as well.

I opened the door and looked at the peaceful night sky. 'Surely you and your new flame can manage to keep off of each other and entertain me for one evening? I thought this entire thing was about me finally meeting the guy.'

She grabbed her coat. 'Well, mostly', she teased. She squeezed past me, giving me a victorious look on the way out. Outside, she took a deep breath. 'I'm really glad you agreed to meet him.'

I started to follow after her, but suddenly the scene changed. I was standing outside, about to put the key in the lock, when I heard a scream.

I rushed to open the door, but when I entered, instead of our little hallway, I was looking at a stone ceiling.

⭒⭒⭒

'Glad you decided to not join the dead after all.'

A woman was standing beside me.

My memories came rushing back, and with them the fear. I shot upright.

'Easy there'.

She hadn't finished that sentence or my head started to feel like it was about to split in half. I waited for my blood to stabilize, whatever was left of it anyway.

I looked at the woman again. No putrid wounds, her chestnut colored hair neatly tied back in a bun and whole, healthy eyes that had the color of fresh spring grass. Remarkably, so did her skin. She didn't look fully human, but she was alive.

She was dressed in what looked like a nurses' outfit: a short brown dress with an apron that once must have been white. In addition, however, she wore a set of leather armor that covered her upper arms and chest. Her boots were of the same material and reached till her knees. Around her waist hung a bag with what I assumed were medical tools.

She left me no time to study her outlandish skin. She told me she would get me something to eat and promptly left the room.

I sat back and took some time to study my surroundings. I was in a small bedroom. The stone from the ceiling continued along the walls and floor, with the exception of some wooden beams that served as support, and a wooden door that seemed unnecessarily massive for a simple bedroom. The furniture consisted of the bed I was in, a nightstand and a closet. Not even a carpet.

I moved my legs to let them hang from the side of the bed.

The bed was in a corner, opposite of the door. In the wall at the head side of the bed was a narrow window, that suggested the building I was in was some kind of fortification. The tiny opening, too small for even a child to fit through, was further fortified with rusty metal bars.

I started to get the feeling I wasn't exactly a guest here.

I hadn't heard the nurse lock the heavy door. I considered leaving, but before I could come to a decision, the door opened.

The woman entered and placed a metal tray on the nightstand. On the tray was a bowl of porridge and what I assumed was a glass of juice, since it was orange. No, yellow. Red? I didn't know any fruit or vegetable whose color changed.

I stared at the swirling liquid.

She told me to finish the meal in a voice that made it sound she had had years of practice with patients. It didn't quite match her youthful appearance.

Again she gave me no time to study her further, instead leaving me alone with my meal.

When I looked at the porridge, my stomach rumbled. At least the food looked normal.

They wouldn't have saved me just to kill me off with a meal, right?

My hunger won out and I quickly dug in. I had hardly swallowed the last of my (fruit?) juice, when the door opened again. The nurse entered, but this time, she wasn't alone.

A large man was standing in the door opening. He was obviously dressed for combat.

On his chest, arms and legs, thick armor plates had been strapped over his clothing. Based on the color and shine, the material seemed to be some kind of metal. A closer look revealed it was made from a scaly hide, however.

Whatever creature that came from must have been enormous; no simple snake would result in patches the size of a breast plate.

On top he wore a white cape too clean to have seen battle. It closed at the shoulder and was decorated with a chain, from which hung a shield insignia that covered the heart.

His dark hair was clean and neatly brushed. His skin looked human, although it was on the pale side.

The man slowly approached me.

When he reached the bed, I felt like a kitten facing a lion. He looked me over once, before settling his gaze on my face.

His eyes were the same deep green as the woman's. His face, although hard as stone, not betraying any emotion, was a ruggish type of handsome.

Still holding my glass, I uttered the most intelligent greeting I could muster: 'Uh, hi.'

Silence.

I didn't dare move.

I felt like his stare was about to drill a hole in me, when he finally replied.

'Are you human?'

The question made me blink.

'Yes?' I answered, still unable to process this entire situation.

He looked at the nurse.

She nodded and turned toward me.

'There is a set of clothing in the closet. The bathroom is left down the hall.'

The man was already walking towards the door.

The woman continued: 'We will give you a few minutes to freshen yourself up.'

She started to turn as well, when she made a face as if remembering something awful. 'Your clothes were too... difficult to clean and have been thrown away.' Then she too left me alone.

I looked down. I was still wearing my underwear, and luckily, also a long, simple nightgown. Phew. I could still get married.

I finally remembered the glass in my hand, and put it back on the tray. Carefully, I got up. The floor was not as cold as I had expected.

I opened the closet and found I could choose between outfits. Short leather boots were standing on the bottom of the closet. A thick cotton sweater was lying on the bottom plank.

On the rod were two hangers.

One contained a long leather dress. On the inside, it had been reinforced with a lining that reminded me of the soldier's scaled armor.

The other was a set of leather pants and a cuiress that had the same silvery reinforcement.

Well. Someone seemed to be worried I might get myself attacked by another monstrosity.

I put on the sweater as I considered what to wear. I decided I was more comfortable with the pants. I took a look at the cuirass and sighed from relief. Thank my nerdiness, I might actually manage to get myself dressed.

I put on the rest of the clothing.

I was a little worried about whether I put everything on properly, and wanted to check myself in a mirror. Since there was none in the bedroom, I went to look for the bathroom. I opened the heavy door and entered the corridor.

Like the bedroom, all sides were large, flat stones. The walls and ceiling were occasionally interspersed by wooden beams.

I found the bathroom after trying a few doors. Opposite of the door stood a big, stone bath. Beside it, a toilet was enclosed in wood. The decorative back reached to my shoulder and a blue gem had been inserted into it.

Opposite from the toilet, next to the door, stood a matching console sink. A soft looking towel hung from a rail on the wall.

Above the console hung a large mirror. I tried to keep my eyes down as best I could. After what that jerk did to me, I needed a moment before checking out my face. Surely I would be scarred for life, and I wanted to treasure the memory of my intact countenance a little longer.

As I looked down, the sink caught my attention. It did not have a tap. Instead, another blue crystal had been inserted into the back of the basin. It faced slightly upward. Curious, I held my hand in front of it.

Water shot out of the crystal, forming a gentle fountain stream. I marveled at the magic for a little while. When I removed my hand from in front of the crystal, the water stopped. I dried my hand with the towel. It was even softer than it looked.

Before studying myself, and losing my sanity, I thought it'd be wise to figure out the toilet. I raised the large wooden lid. In the back of the toilet bowl, three gems had been placed. The middle one was a little larger than the other two. No button in sight to flush.

I looked at the blue gem at the top of the back panel. When I touched it, water came out of the three crystals inside the bowl.

Cool, a magic toilet.

I put the lid down and turned back to the sink to wash my hands. A soap block in the shape of an intricately carved stag had been placed on a smooth stone bowl. When I used it, the soap stag kept its detailed shape, although it might have shrunk a little in size.

I decided it was time to face my face. I braced myself and looked up. When I saw my reflection, my eyes went big.

I had expected to be a complete mess, but instead I was greeted with a clean face. There were no cuts or even bruises.

I touched my face. No scars.

I stood there, baffled, for a few more moments. When I regained my bearings, I decided to check the state of the rest of me.

My shoulder and neck had been neatly bandaged. The jackass just had to bite down halfway between both.

My clothes seemed to be put on properly. Another shock.

I studied my reflection a little longer. Deep down, I felt a storm of feelings rise up.

What in the world had I gotten myself into?

I decided to push them away. All that mattered right now was finding my friend. I desperately hoped these people were willing to help. I took another moment to gather my bearings and entered the hallway again.

The man from earlier was leaning against the wall across the room I woke up in. He seemed to be waiting.

He looked at me, then turned and started walking. I quickly followed after him. His big strides were difficult to catch up with, especially with the starting distance between us.

As we walked through the fortress, we passed a number of people dressed in similar outfits as the man in front of me, although none of them wore a cape.

They looked at me with the same curiosity I felt.

Most were men, although we passed some fierce looking women as well. They were relaxedly chatting away, until they noticed the man with the cape. They all greeted him respectfully, before continuing with their conversations.

Then I realized.

The language these people were speaking... I didn't recognize it. And yet I understood everything they said.

Could these people communicate their meaning through telepathy? But then how could they understand me?

I wondered a little longer, but the man in front of me didn't give me the feeling this was a good moment to ask. So I kept quiet.

We had been walking for a few minutes, when we got to a broad stairway. We went down a few levels. Through the windows, I could see we were now on the ground floor.

The fortress was surrounded by a large patch of greenery, which in turn was enclosed by a high stone wall. Apparently, the architects had considered that enough defense, as the windows at this level were significantly larger.

They nearly reached the ceiling and were decorated with thick, white curtains. On the curtains, a familiar shield insignia had been embroidered.

'So, this is the little stink-bomb we found in the woods.'

Another man walked up to us.

His dark blonde hair was slightly ruffled, and his clothes were muddy.

'Captain', he greeted.

The captain nodded. 'Nikolai.' Despite the greeting, the captain continued walking.

'I was gonna put on some clean clothes, but I don't want to miss this.' His blue eyes were filled with amusement. 'You taking her to the torture chamber?'

I was starting to feel sick.

'Of course not, you idiot.'

The captain seemed annoyed.

'Aww, you don't want me to frighten her?'

'Shut up.'

The blonde man laughed. 'Don't worry, little one. He's nothing to be scared of. Just a big softy hidden under a mean, ugly face.'

The captain stopped in front of gilded double doors.

'You keep this up and you'll need more than fresh clothes.'

The blonde man chuckled and raised his hands in an apologetic gesture.

The captain entered the room we were standing next to.

Before I could follow, the blonde man moved in front of me, blocking the way. He grabbed my hand and placed a kiss on the back. 'Nikolai, at your service. Although pretty ladies such as yourself can call me Kolya.'

Nikolai stepped aside and made a mocking bow as a gesture for me to go first.

'Such a gentleman', I bit at him.

He laughed again and followed after me.

The room looked like an office of some kind. Big shelves lined the walls, all filled with books and documents. In the middle of the room was a table with a map of what I assumed was the surrounding area.

Miniature castles and other landmarks had been placed on it.

A few meters behind it stood a large desk. It was covered in paper stacks and writing supplies.

The captain sat down behind the desk and signaled for me to sit down on the other side. The blonde man kept standing and leaned against the wall next to the doors.

I sat down. The chair was comfortable enough, with a soft pillow on the seat and back.

The captain placed an empty sheet in front of him and began writing.

'Let's start with the basics. What is your name?'

'Lynn. Lynn Resink,' I replied as calmly as I could.

'Your age.'

'Twenty-four.'

'You are human?'

'Yes.'

'Did any other humans enter this world with you?'

'...Yes.' I had a hard time answering.

'How many?'

I took a deep breath.

'Just one. My best friend, Annabelle Fenton.'

Tears started to fill my eyes.

He didn't notice, or didn't care.

'Where is she now?'

I swallowed.

'I don't know. She was abducted by someone. I was chasing him when I came across that monster.'

The captain looked up. 'Abducted?'

'Yes.'

'Do you know what the abductor looked like?'

I knew all too well what he looked like.

I thought back on the evening Annabelle had taken me to meet her newest lover.

'Continue, please.' The captain had a serious look on his face.

I took a deep breath and recounted the events as well as I could.