The sun peaked into the small room, a beam searching for and finding Eva’s face around the curtain. “Ugh!” She turned over to escape the light, “Oh shit! I’m late!” Eva sat up so quickly she felt dizzy for a minute. As she sat there waiting for the dizziness to fade, she looked around and found that she was not in her own bedroom – everything had not been a dream. She again looked at the phone in her hands, but the screen was black now, unable to turn on, the battery dead.

Looking around the room, Eva saw it only contained the small bed she was sitting on, a small table with a candle, and what looked like a small closet. A beautiful rug with swirls of dark blue and green covered about half the floor. There was a simple green curtain covering a small window that kept the room dim, but allowed small beams of light around the edges.

Remembering the freezing and pain from the day before, Eva slowly moved to stand up and was surprised at the lack of pain she felt. Still unsure of what was actually going on, she stood up and made her way to the door. The rug was soft and warm under her bare feet. Once she reached the edge of the rug, Eva prepared herself for the expected cold from the stone floor but was greeted with a pleasant warmth there as well. The need to relieve herself drove Eva to quickly follow the sounds of people talking until she found the kitchen.

“Restroom?” Eva asked as a kindly looking older lady stood up and started to approach her. At the woman’s apparent confusion, Eva blurted out, “I have to pee!”

“Oh!” Sirah did her best to stifle a giggle, “Follow me!” Sirah led Eva back through the doorway she had just entered and to a door a little ways down the hall. Behind the door was a room with a stone box with a hole in the top. Seeing confusion on Eva’s face, Sirah explained how things worked and waited in the hallway.

When Eva was finished, Sirah led her back to the kitchen, “My name is Sirah. I am the housekeeper for Lord Edan.”

As they entered and the aromas from the breakfast Radin had made reached her, Eva’s stomach let out a loud growl. Clutching her stomach, Eva tried to apologize but was hushed by Sirah and directed to sit. A plate with a large chunk of bread, a small slab of meat that smelled similar to ham, a pile of something green topped with some sort of red berries, and what looked to be fried eggs was placed in front of her. Sirah then handed her a dull knife. Eva looked between the knife and plate, unsure if she was expected to use it just to cut up the food or to use it like a fork.

“Thank you.” Eva was finally able to say as Sirah sat down beside her and pulled her own plate to her. Eva watched how Sirah used the knife to eat her own food and followed the older woman’s example.

While she ate, Eva was able to make out more details about the room and the people around her. The woman that sat next to her had long, thick, silver hair that was pulled back into a sensible braid that reached down her back. Her clothes were functional, but simple and of earthy colors – a deep green shirt with a light brown skirt and a light green apron.

The walls of the kitchen to her right and behind her were lined by counters with stone tops. The door leading outside was in the far corner. Next to it, sat a large barrel that, though she couldn’t be completely sure, Eva believed held water. The wall to her left contained two doors – the one she had been through and another in the opposite corner. The wall she was facing was lined in shelves that held an assortment of food and dishes.

Once Sirah had finished her meal, she collected two cups from the shelves and dipped them in the barrel. She took them to the table and placed one in front of Eva and drank from the other. Seeing that Eva had eaten only a little bit of food, she became concerned, “Are you feeling ok, dear? Aren’t you hungry?”

“Huh? Oh, yes, I’m feeling fine.” Eva laid the knife on the plate and took a drink, happy that she was correct and that the liquid was fresh, cool water. “I just can’t eat too much too fast when I go a long period between meals.”

“Poor dear! You take your time.” Sirah patted Eva’s hand gently. “You sit here, I will be back.” Eva quietly watched as Sirah efficiently served up a fresh plate of food and covered it in a warmed cloth before leaving the room with it.

The only person left in the kitchen with her was a tall, slender man. His long, greying hair was pulled back and tied at the nape of his neck as he moved around the kitchen, tidying up after breakfast and preparing for the rest of the day. Radin smiled warmly at Eva when he looked her way and saw her watching, but didn’t say anything.

Windows on the walls above the counters provided a view of a beautiful countryside. A short dirt road led from the house to another building that reminded Eva of a barn. She could see two men out there but was unable to make out what they were doing. Out the window on the wall behind her, she could only make out a grassy field lined by tall trees.

It wasn’t long before Sirah returned. As she resumed her seat next to Eva, she placed a basket full of clothes on the floor next to the table and a tray with several small squares and various threads in front of her. Without a word, Sirah pulled a shirt from the basket and matched up a cloth square over a hole. Once she was satisfied that she had the correct size, Sirah threaded a needle and began to sew the cloth over the hole.

“Can you tell me what happened last night?” Eva asked softly, “I remember walking through the forest, then the next thing I can remember, I was laying on the floor there and a man was sitting next to me, holding my hand. I remember saying I need to get home to my kids, but he didn’t seem to know how to help me do so.”

“Yes, dear.” Sirah paused in her sewing to look at Eva closely, “You were walking through the forest. You stumbled into the road as Alik and I were returning from town and collapsed in front of us. You were nearly frozen so we brought you here and Lord Edan used his magic to undo the damage from the cold. The place you said you were from is a place Lord Edan has never heard of before, which is strange since he is well traveled. He is actually in his study this morning trying to find the place you named.”

“Magic?” Eva’s confusion quickly turned to disbelief. ‘Magic is a thing of books and fairytales. It really would be wonderful if it were real though!’ To Sirah, she continued, “Is he a doctor that treats people and calls it magic because they don’t understand what is going on? I may not understand how everything works, but I know there are scientific reasons and that magic isn’t real.”

“No, no. But magic is real. And without his magic last night, you would at least still be feeling the effects of frostbite if not have permanent damage.” Sirah countered.

Seeing Sirah completely believed what she was saying, Eva let it go. “Can I talk with Lord Edan this morning?”

“After you are done eating, dear, we will get you cleaned up and in some proper clothes and then I will take you to see the Lord.” Sirah finished sewing the square onto the shirt and set it to the side.

Looking down at herself, Eva saw that she was still wearing the black sweat pants and grey t-shirt she had gone to bed in back home and at Sirah’s mention of washing up, she suddenly felt the dirt that clung to her from her walk through the forest. “Thank you for everything, but I can’t eat any more.” Eva was anxious to have a chance to clean up and talk to the Lord.

“Follow me, dear.” Sirah filled a pot with water from the barrel and led Eva back to the small room she had awoken in. Moving the candle to the corner, Sirah set the rounded pot on the table and produced a few squares of some rough material. She then turned and pulled the curtain aside so the room was flooded with sunlight. “It is a bit too cold to go down to the stream for a full bath, so a nice scrubbing will have to do. Take off those clothes and I will help you get cleaned up.”

Eva removed her dead cell phone from her pocket and placed it on the bed. Self-consciously, she began to remove what she was wearing. Once she was down to her underwear, she picked up the discarded clothes and folded them and lay them at the foot of the bed. Eva then moved closer to Sirah and the older woman took a wet cloth and began to scrub her. “That smells like flowers!” Eva was surprised, “And it’s warm!”

“Yes, this pot is lined with layer of soap and has a spell to make sure the water is a comfortable temperature.” Sirah answered as she scrubbed the girl clean. Once they were done, Sirah pulled a comb out of the pocket on her apron. Dipping the comb in the water, she then ran it through Eva’s long brown hair until there were no more tangles, batting away Eva’s attempts to do it herself.

“Luckily you look to be close to the size I was in my younger years.” Sirah smiled. She then turned and opened the closet in the room and pulled out a full dress ensemble. At Eva’s wide-eyed look of surprise, she laughed, “This is a spare bedroom and this wardrobe holds anything that does not fit anyone currently. The girl we had before Mila joined us was a tiny thing and these were too big for her. And for Mila, they are too small.

Now come,” Sirah handed Eva each item, one at a time, starting with a pair of thick, warm socks and loose leggings to wear under the skirt. Following that was an off-white, long-sleeved shirt that reached half-way down to her knees. Next was a dark brown skirt that Sirah wrapped around Eva’s waist and tied off in the back. The last thing that Sirah held up was a green apron similar to the one she wore.

Once fully dressed, Eva marveled at the feel of the cloth against her skin. Where she expected a rough material, it was as soft and smooth as silk, if a bit worn. Satisfied with the outcome, the two women made their way through the house to the Lord’s study. Sirah knocked once on the door and opened it when she heard Edan’s response.

*~*~*

He would normally take his breakfast with the household, but a strange woman had arrived the night prior and he was spending the morning trying to find the country she claimed as her home.

He hadn’t even heard the knock when Sirah walked in with a plate filled with his breakfast. “When would you like to see her, My Lord?” Sirah asked.

“When you deem she is ready, bring her to me.” Edan didn’t even look away from the book he held in front of him.

What seemed like mere minutes later to Edan, there was another knock on the door. “Come in,” he set the book down and stood up to face the door.

Standing in the doorway behind the housekeeper was the girl that had just arrived. She had been cleaned and dressed in one of Sirah’s old dresses and it fit her well, he thought. Her waist-length brown hair had been brushed but left hanging loose. Sirah waved her in and left the room, closing the door behind her. Panic flashed across Eva’s face as the older woman disappeared, but was quickly gone as she turned to Edan. She kept her hands clasped in front of her as she looked at him, her ice-blue eyes seeming to take in every detail.

Quick glances around the room reminded Eva of the old studies she had seen in movies back home, just not as dark. On the wall opposite the door was a large window, curtains pulled back to allow sunlight to bathe the room. The wall the door was in as well as the wall to her right were filled with books while the wall to her left held a fireplace with a lively fire dancing to keep the room warm. In the middle of the room stood a large table stacked with a variety of books. In front of the fire, there were two big, comfortable-looking chairs with a very handsome man standing next to them.

His jet black hair was thick around his face, barely reaching his collar in the back. Turquois eyes glittered around a prominent, but not overwhelming nose. His full, red lips curved into a smile as he greeted her. He stood about a head taller than her and Eva could tell he was slender, but strong under the loose shirt and pants he wore.

“Eva, please, come sit.” Edan motioned to a big chair next to the one he had been sitting in. Without a word, Eva moved towards the chair Edan indicated, blushing when she brushed his hand with hers as she walked by.

When Edan again asked Eva where she had come from, she instead asked, “Do you have a map of the world? I can show you on the map.” Edan stood up and pulled a scroll from one of the shelves, cleared a space on the table and unrolled it. Eva stood next to him and looked down at the map he had placed on the table, confusion taking over. “I have seen this map before, but it isn’t a map of the world! I asked for a real map of the world!”

“This is.” Edan began pointing at locations and listing off names.

After a short debate about the map, Eva demanded a piece of paper and pencil so she could draw the map she was familiar with. Edan provided the materials and, when he saw the crude map Eva drew, asked, “Is there real magic where you come from?”

“Of course not!” Eva snapped, not happy with the change of subject, “Everyone knows magic is just sleight of hand and illusions! Why-ahhh!” Eva squeaked and grabbed for the table as she was suddenly lifted into the air.

“I believe that you are from a different world.” Edan set Eva back down gently. “Magic is very real here.”

Eva suddenly burst out laughing. “Of course I’m in a different world!” She exclaimed between bouts of laughter, “My wish of a new life somewhere else FINALLY comes true!”

Completely confused about what she was going on about, Edan led Eva back to the chair. Once she calmed down, Eva explained how she had always dreamed of being taken to a new world where magic was real and she could start her life over – before she had kids.

The two of them talked as the morning wore on and by the time there was another knock on the door, it had been settled that Eva would stay on as a maid in Edan’s household and he would help her try to find a way home.