Chapter 2: Arrival

A few hours earlier…

It was an important day for Morgann. While she appeared calm and regal as usual, some more astute people could see her lower lips twitching from nervosity. They had prepared for months and only had one shot but she trusted Uther, an eminent professor of the magical academy of the capital.

“Everything is ready, professor.”

Several guards were drawing a circle made with brown sand mixed with elm wood chips. Turning to a man wearing a long black coat and a burgundy colored shirt below it. Even though he was in his forties, his long and detached hair and his lack of wrinkles made him look like he was still in the beginning of his thirties.

“Thanks. You can move back for now. We will proceed with the ritual,” he said in a gentlemanly tone.

“Are you sure this will work, professor?” asked the princess. She was doing her best to not show her restlessness to her faithful guards.

“Magic isn’t science, your majesty. I’m not sure this ritual will really summon the man we are looking for.”

He passed his hand through his long hair before opening the book that he had kept under his arm. Nothing was written on it, or at least, it appeared so to those who didn’t possess his eyes. The pages started to twirl rapidly as if the wind itself was looking for the good page, before stopping abruptly. He had only one try, Uther knew it very well. If they were to fail now, there would be almost no other hope to find the man who killed his friends two years ago.

The circle started to glow and a forceful wind appeared, twirling around it, forcing Morgann to hold on to a table in the corner.

“Open.”

The professor started his chant. A blinding light illuminated the room, forcing Uther to cover his eyes as he kept reading his book. The ground started shaking, and then, a deafening whistle filled the room.

“Gate to the world beyond!” Uther shouted.

He couldn’t even hear his own voice. But as he finished shouting, everything stopped. Instead, a single bed had appeared on top of the middle of the circle. Inside, a young man who was unknown to him.

“Did… Did it work?” asked the princess.

“It seems that is the case but…”

Uther examined the young man which seems to have been awakened from his sleep quite brutally. They looked at each other for a while, even the guards looked at him, aghast.

“Who are you?” the professor asked without approaching.

He held his book firmly, ready to fire a spell in case the man was a threat. Seeing this, the guards all pointed their weapons at the stranger, locking their eyes on him. They could hear an audible gulp as the man answered with a trembling voice.

“L-Luka… Sir,” he said as he avoided their gazes as best as he could.

“Do you bear any ill will towards us?” Uther asked another question while he readied a specific page from his book.

“N-No… Why?” Luka answered, curling himself up in fear.

Uther sighed loudly as well as Morgann.

“We failed…”

“What are we going to do professor? Can you send him back?”

“No, we can’t,” Uther shook his head. “Hey you, do you know how to get back to your world?”

Luka’s eyes went wide.

“What do you mean my world!? What’s going on? Where am I? Who are you?” he started panicking.

Uther chuckled and approached the bed with a reassuring smile on his face.

“My name is Uther, professor at the Academy of Magic of Eran,” he then pointed at the young woman beside him. “And this is Morgann Sora, Her Majesty the princess of this country.”

Upon hearing this introduction, Luka chuckled nervously, his thoughts starting to fog from the sheer amount of information he got.

“Ahah… Magic, very funny. No but seriously what is going on?”

He knew something was off, that the man who talked to him had not once lied during his introduction. But still, he couldn’t just agree with what he just said, his rational mind couldn’t as his thoughts were running wild.

“Do you know of a man named Desmond?” the gentleman in front of him asked.

Great, now he is asking me more things I don’t get, Luka thought. But he answered nonetheless.

“No. I don’t know any Desmond personally,” he answered without looking at the man, holding up his head as he was thinking. “There’s no way… There’s just no way…” he muttered to himself.

“I’m very sorry for what happened but you really don’t know how to go back to your world?” Uther asked again.

“No, I don’t. I mean… How the hell do you even change worlds?”

“That’s a good question. We used a spell that your predecessor left here.”

“A spell? As in… Magic?” Luka looked at the man for the first time in the eyes.

“Yes, magic. Don’t you know any spells?”

“Of course not! Magic doesn’t exist in my world!” Luka shouted angrily.

The professor switched the page of his book and chanted under his breath. When he finished, a ball of light appeared out of thin air, illuminating the room.

“Like this?” he asked, holding the ball of light to Luka.

But he stayed there, dumbfounded, reaching his hand slowly while trying to understand what kind of scientific phenomenon could have caused this.

“Okay… So that’s magic,” he repeated that multiple times in his head.

“Yes. Aren’t you capable of feats like this in your world?”

He breathed deeply and exhaled just as much.

“No, we don’t. I think I’m starting to get this but…” he said as he looked at the ball of light intently. “What am I going to do now?” he said, addressing the elephant in the room.

That was a good question, thought Uther. He didn’t know either as he was certain that the man being summoned was the one he was looking for. Instead, a young man without a clue appeared, completely disoriented.

“Well, for now,” interjected Morgann. “We can give you a room in the castle to excuse us from the inconvenience.” she sneered internally at the word inconvenience considering the sheer scale of the problem. “We have plenty of rooms available.”

“Thank you very much, huh… Your majesty.” Luka answered bowing respectfully in an awkward manner.

She clapped her hands and asked one of the guards to guide him to a room in the north aisle. While still in his pajamas, Luka hesitated to leave his bed but complied anyway, thinking that it wasn’t his problem anyway. Once he had left the room, Morgann turned to face Uther.

“Tell me. Is there really no other way to try again?”

“Yes,” Uther sighed. “Since this spell uses astrology, it needs another specific alignment of planets that won’t happen again in years. I’m sorry Morgann. There is little chance that we will catch him and bring him to justice.”

Morgann shook her head and showed a little smile.

“It’s fine, don’t worry too much about it. I knew it wouldn’t be that simple anyway…”

She still looked dejected to Uther. Catching this man might’ve eased her heart a bit but now there was nothing he could do but be at her side.

“Now… I wonder what I’m going to do with this poor guy,” she muttered under her breath.

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She had to send him home, it was a matter of responsibility, a duty. But as Uther said, there was no means to send him back, not for a long time at least. So she will have to take him under her care at least in the meantime. Of course, she won’t just let him do as he pleases all day, he will at least help the maids of the castle from time to time.

“I shall take my leave then,” Uther bowed.

“Yes. Thank you for everything, professor.”

She watched him leave before drifting back to her thoughts. A busy day was waiting for her and she had to get ready.

Thus, several hours later, the young man was kidnapped in the middle of the afternoon as he was accommodating to his new room. Several men barged into the room, knocked the guard unconscious along with him, and dragged him to the front gate with a camouflage spell before leaving with him. His memories of these events were hazy at best, but what he remembered the most, was the blood-covered face of his savior. After cutting his bindings, Kanami grabbed him back to the castle and put him in one of the beds of the infirmary. There, she met Morgann who felt relieved upon seeing her return.

“Ah, Kanami!”

Seeing the still fresh blood on the face of Kanami made her gag a little but she was used to such situations. She felt her stomach turning upside down multiple times before speaking again.

“Thank you for bringing him back. But… You maybe could use a bath,” she pointed out.

Kanami looked at herself in a mirror near the entrance and nodded.

“You’re right. Sorry to impose you such a sight, Your Majesty.”

“It’s nothing. Just go.”

Kanami nodded again and left the place at full speed, only leaving behind a fleeting breeze.

“Maria!” Morgann clapped her hands.

A woman in a dress trimmed with white laces and an apron appeared in a hurry. It was the head maid of the castle, having lived here since she was a teenager, her years of experience could be seen because of the few wrinkles on her face.

“Keep an eye on… What was his name again?” she looked at him quizzically.

“I think you called him Luka earlier,” Maria answered while keeping a straight face.

“Ah Luka, yes. Thank you Maria.”

“My pleasure.”

“Keep an eye on him. If he wakes up, explain to him everything he has to know around here.”

“Understood, Your Majesty,” Maria bowed.

As the princess was leaving the room, the middle-aged maid looked at the nurse.

“How is he?”

“A few bruises here, some scratches there. Nothing too severe but I’m worried because he is still asleep,” the nurse replied still examining him.

“I’m fine.”

The nurse jolted backward in surprise.

“Just I feel like I’ve got run over by a bike,” Luka groaned in pain as he held himself up in the bed.

“A bike?” the nurse repeated, puzzled. “But I’m glad you are fine mister Luka.”

“Where am I?”

“In the infirmary,” answered the maid. “You were brought here while you were unconscious.”

“I don’t remember much of what happened…”

“You need to take it slow. You also were probably unconscious for a few hours. Can you stand?” the nurse said as she took his hand to help him out.

He managed to stand up without any effort, though he was in pain. He kept trying to remember what happened but the only thing that flashed through his mind was receiving hits and seeing this girl that saved him.

“Do you know who saved me?” he asked while trying to find a comfortable position to not feel any pain while standing.

“Her name is Kanami,” Maria answered. “She is the personal guard of the princess.”

“Woah she sent her personal bodyguard? I need to thank her.”

“Well Her Majesty is currently busy so-”

“I meant the guard, sorry. Of course, I must thank her too but I meant this girl, Kanami.” he interrupted.

Kanami, he thought, her name resonating in his mind. This was an unusual name compared to everyone else. He had to thank her to at least make things right, and besides, she could maybe tell him more about his kidnapping. Damn, that’s too much! He thought, clenching his fists. Yesterday was a normal day and now all kind of crazy shit happens!

“Well, if you mean to meet her…” Maria trailed off. “She lives in the woods near the castle’s north aisle. She has a small house there.”

“She doesn’t live in the castle? As a bodyguard, it’s… odd to say the least.”

“Yes but we have our reasons,” Maria answered, still with a straight face. “And she has her own too.”

“I guess I will meet her then.”

The sun was starting to set and his first ‘day’ here was going to end. A sinking feeling was growing inside of him by the minute.

“Her Majesty decided to post more guards near your room for tonight in case something similar as today happens again. She also apologizes.”

“T-Thank you very much… I’m sorry for being a bother.” Luka bowed.

“No, no, don’t be. On that note, I need to prepare dinner for Her Majesty,” Maria bowed too. “Please take care.”

With a light step, she left the infirmary. Luka stared at the corridor for a while before realizing something.

“Where is the north aisle?” he muttered to himself.

“Go right and then at the end of the hallway go left,” answered the nurse with a smirk.

“O-Okay. Thank you very much miss.” Luka bowed again before leaving the room.

“At least he is polite…” sneered the nurse.

The castle had a simple architecture. Four aisles with a tower on both ends to navigate through the floors. While the south aisle had a view of the city, the north aisle faced the hills and the private woods of the castle. It was a gloomier place due to the lack of light since the sun was blocked most of the day by the hills and the woods. As Luka went down the stairs of one of the towers, he remarked that the place was quite empty for such a large building. The only people he met were servants working to clean the place or guards. Though most of them paid him no mind, some were still giving him some stares. Once outside, he realized how tall the trees were. These were pines, towering above the castle living quarters on the third floor. He looked around him, trying to catch a glimpse of the house the maid mentioned but all he saw were two tombstones that were neatly placed near each other below a sakura tree.

On one tomb, the name ‘WRIMBO’ was written in capital letters while the other had ‘ILYS’ written on it.

“Are those family members?” He asked himself. “Also ‘Wrimbo’... What a weird name. Is this some kind of old language or something?”

He pondered for a while before deciding that he had nothing to do here and entered the woods. There was a small dirt path that was traced so he decided to follow it. It was a good guess since, after a while, he could see some warm light later down the path. And when he arrived in front of it, he stopped in his tracks, dumbfounded.

“Okay, what the hell?” he muttered.

It was nowhere near the same architecture that he was used to see here. Not that he had seen much but still. It was a small Japanese-styled house made entirely of wood. A small corner of paradise inside these gloomy woods that was well maintained. A small garden with a pond could be seen on the other side since the sliding doors were opened. Flowers were blooming and the plants were colored with a radiant green.

Luka approached the steps leading to the house and took a look inside. Of course, the floor was covered with tatami mats. The living room was composed of a small wooden table surrounded by four cushions. A kettle was set on the table, still fuming.

“Is anyone there?” Luka shouted.

He hesitated to step further in since it could be taken as rude. He even hesitated to remove his shoes since her name and the house didn’t leave much to the imagination of what her customs were. While he hesitated, he suddenly felt a hand placed on his shoulders, grappling him tightly. He then felt the cold steel of a dagger resting on his neck, telling him not to move.

“Who are you?” a feminine voice asked.

“Luka! My name is Luka! You saved me!” He shouted as he raised his hands in panic.

“Luka?” she repeated quizzically.

The woman sheathed her dagger and turned him around.

“Oh. It’s you.”

Luka exhaled deeply, he almost had a heart attack.

“What do you want?” she asked, giving him a cold look.

Luka didn’t pay attention and bowed deeply.

“I… I wanted to thank you for saving me!” he said, mustering up his courage.

Kanami looked at him silently. She recognized the guy she had delivered earlier today in the shack. She recognized that he had come here to give his thanks and the way he did it was strange but…

“Why?” She asked, still not changing her expression.

“Why?”

“Why are you thanking me? There is no reason to, I just did my job,” she explained calmly.

Luka stared at her silently. This was awkward to her, very awkward. He had a nervous smile splattered on his face, his hands were shaking a bit, probably from being scared, but his eyes weren’t wavering.

“B-Because I thought that…” he inhaled deeply before continuing. “Isn’t it normal to thank someone because they saved you?”

His hands stopped shaking. He knew she was dangerous but, for some reason, he felt at ease.

“Yes but…”

“Then I’m thanking you, miss Kanami.”

“No need to add the miss.” she waved off. “Did you decide to come here on your own?”

“Yes?”

“...”

Kanami smiled. For a long time, she thought she would never smile like that again. It wasn’t out of pity, a snarky smile, or a polite one. No, it was a genuine smile. It had been so long that it even surprised her.

“You said your name was Luka, right?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t hate me?”

“Huh? Why?”

She was certain now. This wasn’t normal at all but she didn’t hesitate to welcome it. She knew how rare it was, how important to cherish those moments. Her smile grew a tiny bit wider as she held her hand towards him.

“My name is Kanami, glad to meet you.”

“G-Glad to meet you too…” he answered as he shook her hand.

A firm handshake, though he didn’t have the hands of a man like the guards she thought. He looked weak, and frail, like a small animal, but she didn’t mind that at all. Remembering what her grandma used to tell her on how to receive guests, she asked.

“Would you like some tea?”

“W-With pleasure.”

And even if Luka hated tea, he couldn’t possibly refuse.

This is how they truly met for the first time, and even long after, she reminisces of this smile he showed, as she took his hand…