The wind, blowing in from the open window was cold, its touch reminding me like a mother scolding their child to put on more clothes then just the undergarments I currently wore. I went over to close the window. The window was stiff, though it seemed to move with ease, I stopped myself just before closing it, what if Rosary was outside? That thought reversed my movement, and I opened it wide instead just in case Rosary came back.

The bar was empty when I got down. The light of daylight slowly seemed to be eeking its way into the room giving me an almost sleepy feel. I sat down where I had last night. A slight scent of cinnamon started to make its way into the room. I felt like I was swimming in my clothes, I was wearing some of Fredericks old clothes. Apparently, they had been too small for him. My clothes were dirty. Jeesh even that man’s small clothes made you feel like a child while wearing them.

“Good morning,” a sleepy voice said with a yawn. Emma had just walked in, and she made her way beside me. “Good morning,” I responded.

“I like your new look,”

“Yeah, yeah, I’d make fun of your clothes too, but I’m afraid Jean would hear so count yourself lucky.” I hadn’t been the only one who had needed new clothing to wear. The difference was that Emma fit in her clothes, well mostly. I couldn’t help but eye at Emma’s chest. She didn’t exactly have a large chest per se, but Jean hadn’t had much of a chest at all in her youth. Emma’s breasts looked huge in the shirt, and about ready to burst out; I wouldn’t mind that.

“Looks to me like you seem to be enjoying the clothes,” Emma responded dryly having spotted me looking at her suffocating chest. I looked away, feeling like a kid who had just been caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to be doing. An awkward silence came over the table, and she started to fiddle with her phone, reminding me of the fight we’d had in her room before.

“Where is Rosary at?” Emma asked breaking the silence.

“I don’t know; she wasn’t there when I woke up.”

“Aren’t you a little worried about her?” She asked, it almost sounded like an accusation. But her face seemed to imply something else.

“I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t a little worried.” I said it plainly, she seemed to want to say something to that, but I continued, “But I’m sure she can probably handle herself better than we can. This is her home.”

Was I saying it to convince Emma or myself?

“You know it’s kind of surprising to hear you say that, I got the feeling that she seemed more out of her element than you do. Ever since I met her, it seems like she’s always clinging to you.”

“Jealous?” I asked as a grin threatened to display on my face.

She blinked for a moment, then she, looked away. Was her face a little red?

“Um, of course not!” She stammered. Then she glared at me. What the hell? I was joking. Though her mixed reaction did leave me with a shit eating grin. The scent of Cinnamon was suddenly more noticeable.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Leave the flirting somewhere more private would you?” A gruff voice interjected.

Shit! I almost jumped at the voice; I wasn’t the only one as Emma also seemed to have just noticed. I could feel the blood in my cheeks… painfully clear. I turned around to find that Frederick had come in with a tray of food for the three of us along with what looked like a salad. His eyes seemed to have dark moons under them, and he did not seem to be in a good mood.

I didn’t know what to say to him, Emma and I weren’t flirting at all, but it kind of felt like we were. Were we flirting? “Don’t say anything. I’ve seen and heard enough for today, eat. We’ve got a busy day."

The meal was a quiet one; occasionally I would sneak a peek over at Emma, she would be playing with her phone one minute eating with her right hand as her left kept opening and closing the dead phone. Then she would look over to me, those dazzling eyes staring back into mine furtively before we both would look away. Frederick asked about Rosary; I told him the same thing I told Emma, I didn’t know. Jean came out to visit and after Emma finished they both left.  After we finished,  we also left. 

The road that we are on is vast; it reminds me of a multi-lane highway, You could probably drive six vehicles down it without any issue and plenty of shoulder room. We’re in the center of the city; a colossal road splits the city into two Merchants are plentiful here, many looked to have come from outside the city. The scent left my nose feeling assaulted as all kinds of strong smells battled for supremacy; body odor, spices, baked goods, shit, piss, flowers, and cologne or at least something like it? It almost made my head dizzy taking it all in. The sounds were just as much of a mess.

“Turn here,” Frederick said before leading the donkey-driven cart to a much smaller but still large and occupied road. Something strange caught my eye, along the road some of the building seemed to have crumbling ruins right underneath them, it was especially odd to see a foundation for a floor in an almost obsidian kind of color with grey slated ruins jutting out of them as they grew right out of them. “What the hell happened here?” I asked Frederick, who gave me an annoyed look, a look that seriously made me fear for my life, god this man was scary.

“What do you mean?”

“Is that normal?” I pointed to the mess of stone. Frederick shrugged, “Lord Sabbath wasn’t the first one here. Those stones are from the last ruler, well actually I think they are actually older than that even.”

What the hell? What crazy city planner decided it would be safe to not only build on-top of crumbling ruins but to build them like that?

“Why didn’t they just break down the old building?” I asked as a huge ruin started to come in view. The older man gave a sigh, “I forget that you’re an Elseworlder, you really do know nothing. Most of these buildings were not built.”

Huh? What did he mean not built? “Obviously someone had to build them, buildings don’t just appear by themselves.”

Frederick burst out laughing. What now? That was obviously common sense so why was he laughing? “The lords of the land have complete control as to how they wish for their realm to be. If lord Sabbath so wished it he could make the buildings all have trees growing on them, upside down if he so wished.”

“You’re obviously fucking with me.”

His grin faded, a serious almost melancholic look replacing it. “No, I wish I was. That is the right given to those that God has deemed a Ruler.”

“Why didn’t he get rid of the ruins then?” I asked feeling the last shreds of my common sense slowly degrade. “It takes a lot more effort to remove what a previous ruler has created then it is to form over the top, or so I’ve heard. But I suspect it is also a warning, a reminder of the strength that he has.

Then I saw something it, to the right of us an ominous ruin stood in defiance to the buildings around it. The maw of it gaped out; I felt my chest burn a little. There it was… The ruins from my dreams. It felt as if hundreds of tiny hands of ice were crawling their way down my back. I suddenly had the realization that we really were in the same place that I had tried to send us. It just wasn’t the same as it was back then.