There was a sensation of numbness tingling from your legs up to your head. It was as if the waters around made you forget everything except for the sheer calmness in your heart. You wished you could stay here forever. Here, there was nothing to hurt you. Here, there was nothing to think about.

Here, you won’t shed any tears.

You resigned yourself to being content with spending the rest of your life feeling nothing at all—that was, until the water pushed you out.

You gasped. Air hit you in the face. You tried to swallow as much of it as you could. The water gently pushed you to shore, and when you finally opened your eyes after much rubbing, you wished you kept them closed.

There was a sword pointed at your neck.

Oh, hold on a second.

There was a spear pointed at your neck. 

You blamed your vision that was fading in and out for getting that incorrect. But then again, you had much better things to worry about at the moment, such as how there was a weapon that could’ve sliced your head off any second.

Then, the spear spoke.

Wait, what?

You blinked, eyes slowly inching upwards. Eyes the color of blood-stained rubies stared down at you as if you were a mere insect. There was a man with a metal suit of armor from his chest to his legs. Oh, he was the one holding the spear. That made a lot more sense.

“Who are you?” his tone was so sharp you could’ve cut yourself on it.

Even in your sluggish, half-numb state, you noticed something as clear as day. What he just said wasn’t a question, it was a threat. And you had a feeling that if your answer wasn’t to his liking, your free trial of existence might just expire very soon. 

Thus, you held up your hands to convey you meant no harm and hollered the first thing on your mind. Wait… what was on your mind? Besides your name, you couldn’t remember anything.

“I-I don’t know!”

The man’s glare worsened. You immediately regretted your choice of words.

“You don’t know? What the hell does that mean?” His voice was cold yet smooth. The sunlight reflected off of his silver-colored hair and gave it a… a glow that left you astonished. Why was his hair so shiny? It was radiant. You had a spear pointed at your neck, and all you could think about was how beautiful your attacker’s hair was.

He interrupted you from your thoughts.

“Tell me how you got here.” He barked, spear closer to your neck. “What’s your purpose? Are you one of her spies?” You gulped, opening your mouth to prove your innocence.

And then you paused.

How did you get here?

You couldn’t seem to recall why, how, or when. With your hands still in the air, you looked over your shoulder. The vast ocean you thought you were in was actually a small pond surrounded by lucious, green grass. Grass that seemed a bit too saturated.

“Turn around. Don’t make any sudden movements if you want to keep your head.”

You immediately snapped forward.

“S-sorry!” you squeaked out, “I-I was trying to see what I fell out of.”

“Fell out of?” he repeated, raising an eyebrow. “What on Candie Land are you talking about?”

“...Did you just say Candie Land? What’s that?”

He studied your face, as if believing you were telling a lie. When you showed no signs of that, he lowered his weapon. You were about to thank him for being civil before a sudden weight is against your temple.

He knocked you out with the side of his hand in one swift motion. 

You lost consciousness.

Hours must’ve passed by the time you finally opened your eyes. The sound of crickets lured you awake, white ceiling and a chandelier were the first things you saw. There was a sweet smell lingering in the air—like marshmallows and caramel combined into one scent.

Then, you winced. The pain kicked in. Your temple still hurt quite a bit in the form of a headache, and you raised a hand to soothe the pain — only to find there was already an ice pack resting on it.

Confused, you sat up. 

Piercing brown eyes with a golden hue met yours.

You scrambled to the furthest corner of the bed, wrapping the blanket around yourself as a last form of defense. The door was on your right—you were ready to bolt it out of there until a voice made you look up.

“Wait!”

The unknown man held his hand out to try to stop you, seemingly aware of your thoughts.

“Please forgive me for startling you. I promise I won’t harm you in any way.” The owner of those enchanting eyes raised his hands in a pleading manner, like how you did earlier towards the man with the spear. “I was waiting for you to wake up so I could talk with you.”

You blinked, noticing he was sitting on a wooden chair to the left of the bed you were on. Around him was a room decorated with a Victorian and modern feel, indiscernible paintings on the walls. A large window was to your left, the curtains covering most but leaving enough of it open for you to see that it was dark outside.

Then, you took in the rest of the man’s appearance.

Brown glazed hair with subtle golden streaks matched his hazelnut-colored skin. His eyes were caramel mixed with milk chocolate, framed with delicate golden lashes. They flapped like the wings of a phoenix everytime he blinked. You noted how you’d already come across two people with extremely rare eye colors. 

He was adorning clothing made for royalty, and you had a sense that you were talking to a man with a high status. A black cape wrapped around his body, decorated with golden lines and symbols. His hands were folded together, black gloves covering them from sight.

You were then aware of the heat lingering on your face. 

“Who are you?” your voice was hesitant, holding a questioning tone. “Where am I?”

There was a gentle smile on his face.

“My name is Mayor Twyx,” he started, “and you’re currently in the guest room of my estate. I brought you here after Min knocked you unconscious.”

“Min? You mean the guy wielding the spear at my neck?”

Mayor Twyx nodded, his brows furrowing together. He lowered his head to you. “Yes, Min is my personal knight. I’m terribly sorry for the harm he has caused you. Are you still in pain?” His concern sounded… genuine. You blinked in surprise.

“Um… kinda.” You slowly inched over to the left to pick up the ice pack on the pillow. Then, you gently pressed it against your aching temple. “Were you the one who gave me this?”

He stared at you, “The ice pack? I apologize, it’s at times like these where I wish I had healing powers.”

It takes a few seconds for you to register his comment. Did he just make a joke?

“Oh. Hah,” you managed to let out a small laugh, “No, it’s alright.” You paused, thinking of what to say. “Um, thank you for the ice pack.” Despite your bewilderment of the current situation, you found his attempt at making a joke a little endearing. Then, you snapped back to reality—you didn’t even know this guy for five minutes.

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“Again, I sincerely apologize. I’ve berated him much for what he’s done to you,” Mayor Twyx frowned, “While this is no excuse, please understand that he didn’t want to harm you. But due to our current situation…” He raises his head to meet your gaze, “Nevermind that. What is your name, miss?”

“My name? It’s… y/n. What’s yours?” You paused, cheeks heating up in embarrassment. “Oh shit, sorry. Mayor Twyx, right?”

He brought up a gloved hand to his lips, chuckling. 

“Indeed. No worries, Miss y/n. I’m sure you’re not in the best shape at the moment. I’d leave you to rest, but I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you a few more questions.”

“Oh, that’s okay. Go ahead.” You shyly replied.

For a moment, there was a silence that hung in the air. 

“…Are you a human?”

You paused, thinking you must’ve heard wrong.

“What?”

“Are you human, Miss y/n?” the mayor repeated himself.

You held his gaze for a moment, “Yes? I mean, of course I am.” You cocked your head to the side, “aren’t you?”

Mayor Twyx stared back with wide eyes. Then, he leaned back into his chair and stayed quiet.

Finally, he spoke.

“I’m afraid I’m not,” he said. While you raised an eyebrow, a part of you wanted to humor him to see what he would say. Was this another attempt at a joke?

“...What are you then?”

He averted his gaze for a second before looking back up. “In this world, there is a species called a Candi. I am one of them.”

“Candy?” you stared back before snorting. “Ohhh, I get it. Because your name and all.”

He gave you a bewildered look, “What do you mean by that, Miss y/n?”

“Um, y’know, the candy bar? I’m not sure why your parents named you after that, but I guess that was their favorite chocolate.”

Again, there was an awkward silence. You started to get visibly uncomfortable by how the mayor was staring at you. His eyes held a longing for you to further explain your words.

You swallowed thickly, “Um, you said ‘candy’? Candy as in c,a,n,d,y?”

“Close, c,a,n,d,i.” 

You stared at one another, silence enveloping the atmosphere. 

“Miss y/n, if you don’t mind, can you tell me where you’re from?” Mayor Twyx asked.

“Like my state? Or the city? I think it’s--” the moment you tried to recall where you’re from, nothing happened. You couldn’t remember, there was something blocking you from doing so. An invisible barrier of some sorts. Your heart rate quickened and man—was it getting harder to breathe? “Haha. That’s funny… I don’t really know. I can’t remember where I’m from.”

Twyx stayed eerily quiet.

“By any chance, do you come from a place called—forgive me if my pronunciation is off—Earth?” his golden eyes bore into yours.

You almost laughed, but his voice held no signs pointing towards his words being a joke.

“Um, yeah. I lived on Earth. I remember that much.” You looked down. There was a sea of questions brewing in your head. Then, with hesitation, you asked, “Mayor Twyx, where exactly am I? I don’t want to be rude, but you’re kinda scaring me with what you’ve been asking.”

It took a second before he replied—as if he was debating between sharing a forbidden truth with you or not.

“Of course. You, Miss y/n, are currently in a place called Candie Land. A land inhabited by numerous candies such as me, and a place where humans do not exist. Well, usually.” The light danced in his golden eyes, “you’re an exception to this. You are the only human in this world.”

“What?” you breathed, “I’m sorry, what did you just say? I’m the only human in this place called… Candie Land?” you considered the possibility that you never woke up from the water, and that your brain was just generating a highly-realistic dream to cope with your lack of oxygen. That seemed way more plausible than a place called Candie Land actually existing.

Twyx’s eyes filled up with sympathy. He reached out and gently placed a hand above yours.

“I’m sorry, Miss y/n, but I promise I’m not lying to you.” His eyes were nothing but genuine.

You stayed quiet. “Okay, let’s say you’re telling the truth, how the hell did I get here then? In--In Candie Land?” you swallowed your saliva, “I remember being underwater, and then suddenly, I wasn’t. I was on land. Then, I looked up and saw your knight guy, Min, pointing a spear at my throat.” You ran a hand through your hair frustratingly, “ I… I don’t understand. It’s hard to process everything right now. My head’s still throbbing from being knocked out earlier.”

His brows furrowed together apologetically, “I know how confusing all of this may seem. I will do my best to explain. Before then, please take a deep breath for me. It’ll help calm you down.”

Although all you wanted to do was wallow in your anxiety, you gave his words a try. After a couple deep breaths, the tension started to deflate from your muscles.

“Thank you, you did excellent.” The mayor gave you a small smile, squeezing your hand gently with his. “How do you feel?”

You felt your face heat up, “B-better, I think. Thanks.”

He nodded, “Of course. Let me try to answer your question now that you’re more relaxed. Earlier, you said you recalled being underwater. Can you elaborate on that?” He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands together and placing them on his stomach.

“Sure,” your hands fidgeted with the blanket, running your fingers over the soft texture. “I was submerged underwater, I know that for certain. Then, I felt the waves pushing me up to the top. Then, I was pushed onto land.” You blinked, “I know it sounds crazy, but that’s what I remember.”

The mayor thought to himself for a moment. Then he spoke, “Min told me that he found you right in front of Snowflake Lake. That must’ve been the body of water you were in. This is based on speculation, but I believe Snowflake Lake must be a gateway between your world, Earth, to this world, Candie Land. Do you remember anything before you were underwater?”

“I don’t. I woke up without being able to remember anything else besides my name. It’s like I’m a blank slate.” You looked up at him with pleading eyes, “Sorry… that’s not very helpful, is it?”

“No worries, Miss y/n. Perhaps your memories will come back to you at a later time.” Twyx said, “You ended up inside Snowflake Lake, but you don’t remember how or why that happened, and now you’re here. In Candie Land.” He paused to think, “Is that the gist of it?”

You were silent, slowly nodding. The pounding in your head quieted down, but your thoughts hadn’t. On the contrary, they were running at a million miles per hour, but you forced your face to stay neutral. Then, you opened your mouth.

“Mayor Twyx… how do I get home? Back to Earth?”

Disappointment was evident on his face, “I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that, Miss y/n. However, I’ll schedule for us to visit my father tomorrow. Hopefully he’ll give us the pieces of the puzzle that we’re missing since he’s more knowledgeable about humans than I am. Nevertheless, I promise I will do my best to help you return back to your world.”

With a nod, you let out a sigh.

“Thank you… that means a lot. I’m sorry I don’t have much to say at the moment.” You tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, “I think I’ll need to sleep on it to process everything you just said.”

Twyx nodded, “That’s perfectly alright, Miss y/n. I’ll leave you to rest then. I’m sure you’d want time to think over everything. If you have any other questions in the morning, let me know. I’ll do my best to answer them.”

You ignored the subtle feeling of disappointment in your chest. He was leaving already? Well, your eyes were practically closing on their own.

“Okay. See you tomorrow, Mayor Twyx?”

He nodded, a smile on his lips, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Miss y/n.”

When you heard the door shut with a soft click, that’s when you threw yourself back on the bed. Your eyes ached for you to shut them, and you complied.

Candie Land… you thought to yourself, This is a place called Candie Land? With Candi people?

What the fuck.

Did ‘Candi’ mean the same thing as candy?

Is Mayor Twyx made out of candy?

Extremely weirded out, you closed your eyes and immediately draped the blankets over you. That night, you had a dream about eating a candy bar made out of milk chocolate, caramel, and cookie bars.