06:25
Astrid awoke just before 6:30am to discover that she had an alarm clock. It was a small clock, but it projected a screen above itself showing what looked like security camera footage of Sass climbing the winding staircase. It rang in alarm louder and louder as Sass climbed the stairs.
Astrid bolted out of bed, feeling dizzy from standing up so quickly.
*Shoot, shoot, shoot! Stephen was pretty clear about that whole ‘don't let anyone find out about being an admin’ thing! Gotta get up, gotta get up, oh goodness it's cold! Already missing my bed, but I gotta get out the—*
Astrid left the suite and closed the door moments before Sass walked into the room. Astrid inwardly thanked her excellent sense of timing.
“Oh, Astrid, you're already awake? Poor thing” Sass had a burlap sack hanging in front of her, being balanced over her shoulder by her tail. “I was up for most of the night myself getting your sheets and some other things prepared. I was hoping to surprise you with one more hour of better sleep.”
Astrid was surprised by the gesture, opening the burlap sack to see a variety of clothes, a set of bedsheets, and a feather pillow. “Thank you Sass. I thought you said my needs weren't urgent enough to get anything figured out last night?”
“Well, I couldn't get anything immediately. Everyone else was already asleep, so I did this alone, and it took longer. Nothing was ready because we weren't expecting you, and tomorrow is the day the majority of the laundry is done.”
Astrid put on a brown tattered hood, wearing it like a jacket to warm herself up from the crisp morning air. “Thank you again Sass. Did you say I could lay down for another hour?”
“Yes, though I did want to give you some good news first.”
“What news?”
“Those two brutes who mishandled you have been dealt with. Magdala executed them herself half an hour ago.”
“What, why?!”
“Well, they hurt you, didn't they? That's no way to treat a lady.”
“They didn't hurt me though, they saved my life and were only doing what they were told!”
“Well…” Sass stopped for a moment before shaking her head. “It's too late now anyway. Even if it wasn't, Magdala is not someone whose mind is changed easily. I'm sorry.”
“I just… wish I had been there. They didn't seem like the best kind of people, but they didn't deserve to die.”
Astrid sat on the straw mattress, her head in her hands. Astrid had noticed herself becoming more comfortable with the thought of being in a fantastical and strange world. The mind adapts quickly to change, after all. As she became more comfortable with her new place in her new world, she began thinking more kindly of Grant and Gerald. They were brutish, and they may have protected her for their own personal reasons, but they had persevered. She admired their perseverance.
Sass sat next to Astrid, embracing her with both arms and her tail.
“If you'd like to pay your respects, we can go to the dungeon together. Would you like that?”
Astrid nodded her head after considering for a moment.
Sass continued, “I can even see if we can sneak a nap in this afternoon, since it doesn't sound like either of us are going back to bed.”
Astrid leaned into Sass's embrace. Sass's scales were cold and hard, but Astrid felt the warmth of the moment.
“I just wish I could have said goodbye” Astrid sobbed into Sass's shoulder.
At this same moment, deep in the castle, Stephen was trying to undo a deadly mistake. The system responded to them both.
Urgency detected…
Rerouting nearby command…
/SetTime to “one hour prior”
Time set to 05:34:56
Astrid sat bolt upright in her bed, and looked at her alarm clock.
05:35
“What?!” She exclaimed out loud. “Wait, I went back an hour? Does this mean Grant and Gerald are alive?”
/RequestInformation “I went back an hour? Does this mean Grant and Gerald are alive?”
Information Authorized: Time was set back 1 hour. Grant and Gerald are currently alive. Approximate time of death will be at 06:07:24 and 06:11:36 respectively.
Admin4 “Ronald”
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Hi again! Looks like you made it to another day. Anyway, I'm gonna preemptively send some time-travel paperwork your way. This particular form is mandatory and time-sensitive. You’ll need to spawn your own paperwork in the future. Hope you have something to write with!
Spawning mundane object: Form 17C
The form that materialized in Astrid's hand was covered in fine print. It required her to fill in the circumstances that led to time traveling, the mode of time travel, as well as a detailed summary of everything that happened during both the original and new timeline. The form had in bold print at the top: THIS FORM MUST BE COMPLETED BEFORE THE SUBJECT ORIGINALLY TRAVELED BACK
*Well, that’s stupid. Not only does that make it harder to do anything during my second chance, what if I only went back 10 seconds? What happens if I don't turn this in on time? And how will I know what all I’ve done if I have to turn it in before time catches up?*
Astrid failed to notice the warning buried in the middle of a fine-print sentence at a random spot two-thirds down on the back of the form. She folded the paperwork as small and tightly as she could, shoving it into the pocket of her jeans. It only fit halfway into her pocket, but that would have to do. She was too busy plotting how to save Grant and Gerald from dying.
While she didn't know where to go, she knew the first direction at least: down.
Astrid glanced one more time at her alarm clock as she hurriedly put on her shoes and ran out the door. She didn’t have a watch, but would rely on her sense of time to keep her on track. If she simply rushed, then it was likely that someone would stop her to find out what was wrong, so she prepared herself to move steadily and quickly to Grant and Gerald without appearing urgent.
05:40
Astrid’s first hurdle to overcome was the staircase outside of her room. She was six or seven stories up with a bad leg, it was dark and unstable, and it was obnoxiously loud. Astrid eased down the steps one-by-one, trying to do so quietly while also keeping herself from falling or hurting herself. She would never get to Grant and Gerald in time if she hurt herself or caused a ruckus.
05:45
Astrd was able to descend more quickly towards the bottom because of a faint light from a cracked-open door.
Astrid peaked into the door, her eyes adjusting as her ears picked up the sound of scrubbing. She was seen before she could see into the room.
“Oh, you poor thing. Couldn't sleep, could you?” Sass's voice cooed gently and melodically, “your bedsheets are nearly dry. And it's good to see you already have a jacket, I was going to work on that next.”
“Sass? Could you take me to see Grant and Gerald?”
“Well, that’s an odd request. Are those the names of those brutes who mishandled you so terribly? Why would you want to see them?”
“They're not that bad. They saved my life at least once, and I don't want anything bad to happen to them.”
Sass stared at Astrid for a moment, before glancing over the mess of laundry she was doing.
“Please, Sass. I don't think I'll be able to sleep if I'm worried about them.”
Sass sighed and set down her brush. “Alright love, I'll take you to them if it means that much.”
05:50
They walked through the corridors, Astrid trying to hurry Sass as much as possible.
Astrid didn't know what time it was, but she could feel her deadline approaching. It was a slowly-growing weight in the back of her mind.
05:55
They finally made it to the dungeon's door. They had been let back here with little-to-no questions being asked. This surprised Astrid, but she didn’t feel like questioning a good thing.
“Can you wait out here, Sass?”
“Yes” Sass hissed “but I will be right here if they try anything.”
Sass handed Astrid her torch.
Astrid entered the room. Metals bars divided the room in half, with writing transcribed in the air between the bars. Grant was asleep, but Gerald stared ominously at Astrid.
“Why are—”
“We don't have time for that, Gerald. Or, more specifically, you two don't have the time to ask questions. Do you have a way out of her?”
Gerald's face paled. He haphazardly threw a green ball of life at Grant, who yelped and jumped up. Gerald went to the corner of his cell, and glanced back at Astrid.
Grant saw what Gerald was about to do, and shouted at him. “Don't you dare do it, you stupid, fat, ugly old man! Don't you dare ruin months of—”
Gerald moved a piece of the wall, revealing a hole that was just large enough for a not-a-dwarf to squeeze through. He never broke eye contact with Astrid.
“Useless now, if we're gonna die. The last portion requires a crowbar. Don't suppose you have time to fetch one?”
06:00
Astrid could feel time tick down in her soul. She needed them to leave already. She needed a crowbar, but how was she going to get one?
/SpawnMundaneObject “crowbar”
Spawned at Admin0 “Astrid”
“Oh, here's one!” Astrid said excitedly.
“Why do you sound surprised by the crowbar YOU brought?”
“There is literally no time to–”
She heard the muffled voice of Sass outside, greeting someone.
“Hurry!” Astrid whispered loudly and intently.
Grant took the crowbar offered to them, and they disappeared into the hole in the wall without another word.
Astrid sat down, leaned against the bars, and dozed off for a minute. She felt relieved that no one was going to die on her account this morning.
06:05
Astrid woke up to see Magdala's face extremely close to her own.
“What. Happened!?” Magdala demanded, emphasizing both words.
“Grant and Gerald escaped,” Astrid said matter-of-factly.
“How did they escape?”
“I helped them escape.”
Magdala's brows furrowed, “why?”
“I’m saving them from you. You planned to come here and kill them, didn’t you?”
Magdala stood up, towering over Astrid who was still sitting on the floor against the bars.
“You’ve put me in an awkward position, Astrid. I don’t know what I’m going to do. How did you come to find out that I would execute them this morning?”
They stayed there in silence for a minute or two. Astrid did not answer Magdala’s question.
“You could always let me go” Astrid chuckled.
“No, that is the one thing I simply cannot do… Tell me, Astrid, do you remember your life before?”
“Only bits and pieces, and they fade whenever I focus on them.”
“That will have to do.”
Magdala’s staff of many colors began humming with yellow light.
A bodyguard standing nearby called out to her, “My lady Estuary, please reconsider!”
“Silence! I must do this, for the safety of the realm,” Magdala told her guard before turning to Astrid, “do you know what kind of magic this is, Astrid?”
“How would I?” Astrid asked back, while squirming away from the yellow light.
“You and I are about to go on a journey together, through your mind.”
06:10