When Katherine Stepped On Earth
> ”For when dreams tie into reality... And the realm of all things become true… A world of a path no longer still… All that is left is me and you.” ~Norazzel, Faunel of Dreams and Memories
Katherine sat upon the cradle of her Mind Palace. It was represented by a grand cathedral. Stained windows depicted her memories, colors shifting to new shapes of different recollections. The floor was polished sleek black, but empty save for a single, sophisticated, red cradle reserved for her size. It floated off the floor and rotated slowly.
On the corner of her Mind Palace, towards the doors leading to her Exhibit was a human silhouette clad in pink and green, glowing meiyal residue. It stood silently like it had done so for years. Katherine had learned to ignore its whispers and in turn, it had learned to shut up.
She couldn’t move out of her cradle and, for some reason, it chose to fixate on the silent silhouette, slowly halting its rotation. The Lady felt pity for it. Despite ignoring it for this long, it persisted to beg for her attention.
It should deserve some at this point.
“You want to watch something?” Katherine asked. It nodded once.
Without a second thought, Katherine’s mind shifted towards a fond memory, and the cathedral, in turn, followed her desire.
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Recollection: Katherine Militia
Subject: When the Two First Met
Timeframe: Day 320 of the 24th Year of Monarch Denis
Katherine Militia stepped on Earth.
A delicate foot pressed upon solid ground of a park unbeknownst to her. The chill of the night, a calm darkness lit only by one, lonely, yellow moon, embraced her soft skin. Her hand reached out and tore a small opening on the space before her, pulling out a black coat. She realized her mistake a little too late.
Katherine took a second to curse herself. These habits wouldn't do. Blood-red eyes peered from one tree to another while a pair of slender arms busied themselves with the coat. Thankfully, it seemed nobody noticed.
A sigh caused hot breath to roll out. She walked and observed her surroundings while undoing the tie of her brown ponytail. The parks here on Earth didn't look any different from Brymeia. And it seemed she arrived safely without causing any trouble. No witnesses, at least.
Determined, Katherine closed her eyes to disguise their color. As far as her research went, no human of Earth had eyes of crimson red, except for vampires and other fictional creatures—fiction was a debatable term in her mind. Then again, people here didn't consider vampires to be humans in the first place, but that was all the more reason she wanted to avoid any potential of a modernized witch hunt.
Well, I should probably go find a place to sleep, at least. Katherine followed the paved road, hoping it would lead her out of the park. It only took her a few steps until a sudden movement caused her instincts to kick in. She jumped back a little farther than what she intended. Out of the corner of her eye, sitting on a bench facing away from her, was a man.
“Damn, I lost,” he sighed.
Before Katherine could even process what the words meant, the man jerked awake and turned towards her. The clouds above moved, allowing the moonlight to shine down upon his black, unkempt hair. A pair of black eyes stared at her, not even trying to hide their suspicions. Scratches and bruises riddled the rest of his face.
There shouldn't be anybody here at this hour… His thoughts were clear as day.
“Hi,” Katherine said, putting forward her best smile. “I seem to be lost, do you mind helping me out?”
The man's wary thoughts lingered and doubled, but much to her surprise, he got up from the bench and approached her.
“You need a place to stay?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Alright, follow me.”
The man turned, but she quickly intervened. “By the way, I'm Katherine. What's your name?”
He gave her a side eye and his cautious thoughts redoubled once again. Am I getting scammed? Why's a cute, pretty lady trying to strike up a conversation? I might get mugged if I'm not careful. Maybe I should just run?
“Not much of a talker, huh?” Katherine probed with interest, but ultimately decided not to press further. “Well, that's okay. Once you get me a place to stay, I should be fine on my own. Sorry for the bother.”
The two made it out of the park without issue. They took a right turn and continued along the sidewalk. Cars—vehicles that existed somewhat in a different form in her own world—passed them by occasionally.
“It might take a while to get there,” the man said. He stopped and allowed Katherine to catch up. She didn't miss the fact that he deliberately turned so that he ended up in between her and the main road. Subtle gentleman work. “You don't mind walking?”
“I don't.” Katherine gave a genuine smile of gratitude this time. Though a speeding car wouldn't really hurt her, she still appreciated his gesture despite all his cautious thoughts.
Indeed, the walk was long. As well as the silence. It didn't take too long for things to get awkward between them. Katherine took a small peek at his face. He looked battered, but his expression—a faraway stare into the distance—didn't seem bothered by it for one bit.
Curious, she decided to peer into his thoughts once more…
…there's also the fight next week. I don't think I can recover much before that. I probably won't make rent if I skip it, though. I wonder if there are part-time jobs at this time of the year. If I get too many consecutive losses, I'll definitely lose favor. I wouldn’t have to fight as much if I’m a champion, though…
He wasn’t even thinking about her!
Katherine couldn't decide whether to be angry or not. She chose to stay neutral about it and probe a little more.
She saw him glance as another car passed by. Along with a prolonged mental sigh, a dark thought surfaced in his mind.
I can’t really end it all in front of her. Maybe tomorrow…maybe tonight. But I can’t give the landlady any trouble…
“So…where are we headed?” Katherine prompted almost too urgently, trying to sway his thoughts out of whatever it was he was planning.
“My apartment,” he replied almost too quickly for a man in deep, dangerous thought. “There's a vacancy just a few days ago. If you don't mind being next door neighbors, I'll introduce you to the landlady. Otherwise, I can bring you to an agency tomorrow. They can help you find a place much quicker than I can.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“I don't mind being next door neighbors with you.” Katherine smiled once again in an effort to get more of his attention. She found him quite interesting, a curiosity of sorts, especially how quickly he shifted from self-destructing to calm and accommodating. When his eyes stared at hers for an uncomfortable amount of time—dangerously long given that they were walking—she couldn't help but withdraw. “Something on my face?”
When she didn't hear an answer right away, she peered into his head once again, hoping to hear something better than the previous one.
She's flirting, right? I don't know…should I bite? We'll be next door neighbors, so I don't want to start on the wrong foot and make things awkward. That's a really beautiful smile. I wish I could see that smile every day. She’ll definitely think I’m a weirdo if I tell her that.
Katherine failed to stop a chuckle.
“What?” he asked. His obliviousness to the situation didn’t help his case, and she ended up bursting into a full laugh.
“I should be asking that, Mr. Stare-a-lot. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re trying to drill a hole in me.”
The man abruptly broke eye contact and quickened his pace a bit. “Sorry.”
The silence was filled by two speeding cars racing against each other.
Damn it, brain! Are you a kid? Drill a hole! Why’d she have to say it like that? Now, I can’t get it out of my head!
Intrigued, Katherine indulged in her curiosity and decided to dig deeper than his surface thoughts. A rather nasty and raunchy image of the two of them played through her mind. The real him desperately tried to wipe it away, but she looked on, absorbed into how the thought-versions of them were drowning each other for pleasure like they had lost all forms of decency. They were practically violating one another. It was curious how he saw her, fighting for dominance in bed…
A premonition arrived like the dawn of a new day. Enlightenment unlike any other. Katherine realized how free she was now. True, she arrived here on Earth to find the Visitor. But no one would be crazy enough to sacrifice their entire life for a cause they didn’t even know. Maybe she didn’t have to find the Visitor.
She could just stay here and have a new life. Maybe he could give her that new life, and she could give him a reason to keep going and forget thoughts of suicide. Maybe those were the reasons they met right after she arrived.
Destiny, some would call it.
Then again, she just met this man. Logic would say that his inner thoughts, acted upon or not, were predatory and insane. Then again, he did apologize.
Too many maybes, too many then agains. It made Katherine frustrated and all the more curious.
She managed to catch up. He was blushing. Cute. They crossed a long bridge over a wide river. The streetlights barely gave light to the calm waters below. It was eerie.
“Hey, sorry about that. I shouldn’t have said it that way. The staring was a little too much, that’s all.”
“No, it’s my fault. I was thinking too much.”
You sure are, she thought.
“I’ll forgive you if you tell me your name.” Katherine smiled again.
At the very least, she was sure her smile was irresistible for him. It was teasing, and now, it even provoked his thoughts. She realized, she didn’t mind indulging him. As long as these were inner thoughts that he could keep to himself, she didn’t mind letting his imagination go wild. Only time would tell if she’d let it be reality.
“It’s—”
The horn of a speeding truck blared in their ears, and the strong headlights blinded them. Frein moved to push her off the collision course, but Katherine was quicker to act.
She began to Draw.
Siffera brought strength throughout her body and allowed her to move faster than any other car. With Frein’s momentum falling towards her, she used it as leverage to pull him as well. Enhanced by her Meiyal Art, she managed to drag him out of the truck’s way.
The two rolled dangerously in the middle of the street. As the truck toppled over, its cargo missing them due to its fortunate inertia, Katherine and Mr. Stare-a-lot managed to dodge the oncoming traffic until they reached the island of the main road.
In truth, Katherine subtly employed her Meiyal Arts in order to determine their safety, pushing away anything that might put them in danger with a flick of her power. She ended up sitting on top of him as the disaster behind them began to escalate. Car after car crashed on one another until the ones further away managed to break in time.
Mr. Stare tapped at her thigh with repeated urgency. “We need to help them,” he said. Katherine realized their position and quickly hid her embarrassment, awkwardly dismounting her new friend—or at least, she considered him her new friend.
Minutes quickly became an hour. Rescue and police officers had arrived on the scene. The two of them were given first aid and were allowed to leave the scene after a short interview. Without much further incident, they continued on their way and finally reached the end of the bridge.
“That was pretty heroic, back there,” Katherine complimented him and rewarded him with another smile.
“It’s a good thing no one died.”
“That truck driver was drunk. He deserved to—”
He stopped and interrupted her with another stare. It was a calm look. One that didn’t hold any weight, let alone stop her from speaking. Only that it did. Katherine didn’t know what to make of it.
“Don’t say that,” he said. “We all have our problems, and we’ll pay the consequences of our wrong decisions. But telling someone that they should die just because they did something wrong…no one deserves that. So please don’t say that.”
Naive.
“It sort of ruins how beautiful you are.”
But sweet.
“Are you flirting with me now?” Katherine provoked.
“We’re here.”
“Hey, don’t dodge the question!”
The man ignored her and knocked on the first door along a set of doors of a multi-story apartment. Almost immediately, a beautiful elderly lady, huffing a cigarette, greeted them from the other side of the door.
“New tenant,” he said.
The elderly lady took her cigar. “You didn’t just pick up a pretty-looking homeless girl, did you?”
“She is looking for a home, so to speak.”
“I meant poor.”
The realization hit him and he almost headbutted Katherine. “Are you?”
“I can pay rent,” she replied to him as much as to the landlady.
“Six months advance and fill up some papers.”
“Actually, can we skip the papers?” the man asked. “We’re sort of the same case.”
“Oh…” There was a vague hint of clarity in the landlady’s tone. “Alright, dearie. I’ll take care of the papers, but payment now, first.”
Katherine poked her stranger friend by the shoulder and asked for a private conversation.
“How much is six months' advance?” She showed him a wad of cash Schrodie acquired before her venture to this world. Of course, she didn’t show him everything she had, and she monitored his inner thoughts to see if he was taking advantage of her.
Guess she’s really not from here. That’s a lot of money, though. He separated her money into three piles.
“This is for the advance. This one is the monthly rent, so make sure to have this many every month. Our landlady’s not keen on keeping freeloaders. Here’s the rest of your money.”
After confirming that he was telling the truth, she couldn’t help but feel much friendlier with him. “Thank you.” She smiled again. She would keep giving him that smile if he’d ask for it.
But she really wanted to know his name first.
They returned to the landlady, who happily gave her the key to the room. “Name?”
“Katherine.”
The landlady stared at her for a while, waiting for the rest of her name. She didn’t give it.
“Alright, Katherine. This is the only key we have. We always replace locks for new tenants. No spares. If you need spares, let me know, so I can have them made.” She tapped the man’s shoulder. “This guy will tell you where your room is. I’ll send you the house rules tomorrow.”
Katherine blinked twice. “I was sure you’d say his name. He didn’t tell you, either?”
“Oh, I know who he is and what he does. I don’t just drop names whenever there’s a new face around. Anyway, time for my beauty sleep. Good night, you two.”
“What’s a beauty sleep?” Katherine asked as they went up the stairs. Her curiosity suddenly slipped, and she was left to hope that it wasn’t too strange a question.
“Just some marketing stuff, I think. Your room’s over here. My room is the one right next to it. If you need anything, just knock.”
He went to his room and opened the lock. Katherine did the same.
“Frein,” he said.
Katherine just looked at him and blinked twice.
“Frein Nivan, that’s my name.” He moved to enter his room.
“Katherine Militia.”
Frein nodded. “Goodnight, Katherine.”
“Actually, Frein.” Katherine closed her door and approached her new friend. She had made her choice. There was no way she would be leaving him alone tonight. “Do you mind if we eat something? I haven’t had anything the entire day.”
After a thought, Frein pushed his door wide open. “I’ll cook something for you.”
End of Recollection: Returning to the Present
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“It’s not the same as I recall,” Katherine said, smiling fondly. “I’m pretty sure I shook his hand the first day we met.”
“You should wake up soon, Katherine Militia,” the silhouette said from the corner. “Dwelling in dreams will do you no good. Norazzel will find you and kill you if you linger too long.”
The large, painted ceiling of the cathedral crumbled with the boom of a crashing impact. It all happened too fast.
Claws the size of a Forest Jaws ripped apart the stained-glass windows. The snout of a colossal wolf descended upon the falling ceiling. Its crazed snarl opened to salivating jaws filled with sharpened teeth. Its eyes, aflame with maddened frenzy, pierced her with hate. And its ear-shattering roar caused her to vanish to nothingness.
Katherine shot awake to the soft purple glow of the night sky. She could see the familiar sights of the Atlas Sid by her window. To her side was Frein, sleeping. A small white rose rested on her lap with a note on it.
She recognized her father’s handwriting and smiled.
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