Emma and I waited on people for most of the day. The conversation from earlier still managed to elicit a few flurries in my stomach when I saw her. Though the rush of the day helped keep that down. Once again Emma seemed to have no trouble with dealing with the customers. In fact, as I peeked over at her on occasion a young man with a full mask on the table seemed to be especially interested in her.

Focus Daniel, don't get distracted.

Easier said than done, she seemed to be very receptive to his advances, smiling at him, listening to whatever it was the guy was saying with plenty of interest.

"Excuse me, we need another drink."

I stopped watching the two of them, coals simmering in my chest. It was completely irrational, I knew it, she had a boyfriend already so if anyone should have been jealous it should be him. But I couldn't help it.

"Hey kid, did you hear me?"

"Sorry!" I replied before getting back to work.

It wasn't until Frederik had come back that I even got a chance to relax. Today was especially busy. I needed to ask him where to find that guide. Umma I think was her name? Unfortunately, he seemed to be busy talking to some of the customers in a corner of the room, and my conversation wasn't exactly something that I wanted others to hear. I waited in a little room next to the kitchen, a break room of sorts.

"God was that exhausting!" Emma exclaimed as she walked in. "Doesn't matter what world you live in."

"Huh, what are you talking about?" I asked, a mix of coals and butterflies in my stomach messing with me both physically and mentally.

"Just some presumptuous asses, we had a few today."

"You seemed to enjoy some of the company," I said, irrate the coals taking the lead.

"Well some of them were nice, though some a little too nice." She smiled, "I got a great tip, so I'm going to go to the city tonight and grab a few things with miss Jean." She said her face alight a moment of butterflies bubbling up at her excitement.

Before I could say anymore Frederik walked in, a tired slump in his posture. He glared when he saw the two of us. This was my chance, but I didn't want Frederik knowing that Emma knew anything.

"Hey, Frederik I need to talk to you. Sorry, Emma, it's important." I hoped she would take the hint.

She walked up to me. "I'm going to take Rosary, be careful, he seems in a bad mood."

I nodded and approached the unamused man. Even now that we were both working towards the same goal he still didn’t treat me any different. “What do you want?” He grumbled, “I’m looking for Umma,” I said.

“No.” He replied coldly, “I told you once already that you shouldn’t go into those ruins.”

“I need to go see Panzer.”

“I don’t care, I’m not about to risk myself or the men working with me. The less you show up they're the less likely that you’ll be caught.”

God he was getting so frustrating, what was his deal? I glared up at him, and he returned it. It was a strange feeling, that glare he gave me would have put me into submission, but now that I had gotten a taste for the terrifying and fought it rather than running away I found that Fredrik wasn’t so bad.

“Panzer told me that I could come by anytime,”

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“I don’t take orders from Panzer, and I’m not about to tell you anything that may risk our operations, do you understand? You’re a risk, I don’t even know why Panzer would allow an Otherworlder to join, this isn’t your fight and all you other-worlders do is bring trouble.

“Your mother is an other-worlder.”

He flinched, “My ma is an exception.”

It was like talking to a rock, we argued back and forth but he didn’t budge. I understood now why he acted so terribly to Emma and I now though, he had some kind of grudge against other-worlders. I left cheeks feeling like they were on fire. I stepped outside into the cool alley. If I couldn’t find Umma then I might as well try the way I had before.

It didn’t take too long for me to make my way to the place that I had remembered us coming out of. I searched for that pile of rubble and couldn’t find it, had I picked the wrong spot?

A giggling sound came from behind me, I turned to find Umma, a huge grin on her face; she was laughing at me, I knew it. Well, at least I had found my guide.

“Ya know I did tell you that you needed me if you were going to have any chance of finding your way back.”

“I tried to, but Frederik wouldn’t tell me where you were.”

She shrugged as if she didn’t know what to tell me.

“I doubt he could have told you anyway.”

“How the hell was I supposed to find you then if even he wouldn’t have known, I thought that was why you talked to Fredrick.”

“Nah, I had to relay a message to him from Sir Panzer, the last thing I’d want is some guard keeping tabs of where I’m at, could ya imagine how much of a disaster that would be? I need to eat ya know. Guards don’t like hard workers. Especially those that need to take things from lazy rich guys.

Seriously? Why had Panzer made this girl my guide? Had she been the only choice? I looked her over, short cropped hair, wearing a dirty shirt and trousers size large. The girl swam in her clothes. She couldn't have been older than 15 so why was she his first choice? God was this going to be a pain.

“Ok got it, could you bring me, please there’s something very important I need to bring up to Panzer.”

“Sure, but it’ll cost ya.”

“Didn’t Panzer tell you to let me in or something?”

“Yeah, but he only told me to be your guide, he didn’t tell me to do it for free.”

“I’m sorry but I don’t have anything to offer you.”

She shrugged, "Guess that's too bad.” I could feel myself become exasperated by this girl.

“Umma, I need to see him, it’s very important. Please, I’m begging you.” She gave me a look as if I was the exasperating one. Then she shook her head.

“You’re so hopeless Daniel, like a lost puppy, it's almost adorable. Ask me what I want, trust me when I say that you have it.”

“Ok fine,” I grumbled. “What do you want?”

She gave me the biggest Chesire grin I’ve ever seen. “Well I’d love it if I could lose my virginity to some nice good looking guy; though they can't stink, god does some of the men here stink.” She gave me a playful stare, “You seem to fit that description, well at least enough of it, you see I’m not too picky.”

I stood their mouth dropped as far as it could go, any further and I'd lose it. Was she being serious? She wanted me to fuck her? Why?

“That's not going to work,” I stammered. She rose an eyebrow at me and licked her lips suggestively. She strode right up to me grinning, a predatory look in her eyes, the look of having cornered her prey, my back against the wall of a building, I felt utterly helpless as she pressed herself against me.

“And why is that?”

“You're a bit young for me, I'm sorry but I have this thing about not fucking kids.”

Umma pressed her body harder against me, her face having almost a sneer to it, her small chest pressed against me awoke something, the feeling of guilt and disgust at myself following.

Then a sharp pain beginning in my crotch. Explosive and painful I gasped as I fell to my knees and then to the ground. "FUCK!" She had seriously punched me in the groin. It took me a moment to recover and she stood over me one foot on my chest, probably putting most of her weight down. Were she wearing a dress I’d be able to see underneath but instead I got to stare at some ragged trousers.

“What the fuck was that for? I groaned. She pressed her foot down sliding it too close to my crotch. “That was for calling me a kid. I’m 22 asshole."

Wait what?

"Seriously?”I asked she nodded acting as if she were pissed that grin on her face made it hard to believe. "You know for denying me a second ago you seemed pretty excited. She moved her foot further down, a playful stroke in my nether region before letting go. "In fact you're still kind of excited, pervert."

I stood up immediately, at 5’9 I was about average height, this girl was tiny next to me, I wouldn't have been surprised if she were just under 5 feet. Could she fault me?

“So all I have to do is fuck you and you’ll take to see Panzer?” I asked still feeling a sense of moral distress my body still not done processing that she wasn’t actually a kid unsure if she were actually telling the truth.

“I never said that. When did I say I was that easy? I’m still a virgin for a reason.” She said, then burst out laughing.

"I just told you what I wanted. That's different from my conditions silly."

I could feel the heat in my cheeks again, god damn was this woman frustrating. “Why did you say that after I asked then? This whole damn conversation was pointless.”

“Cause you’re so cute that I couldn’t help myself.” She sidled up to me, a tiny hand resting on my leg. She looked up to me, her left blue eye and right green eye staring up, her other hand pulled me down. Fuck did she have a lot of strength for her size. She whispered in my ear, “My condition is that you take me with when you go back to Elsewhere.”

Just when I thought I couldn’t be any more surprised she tells me that.

“What makes you think that I can go back to Elsewhere?” Did panzer tell her?

“Because the birds and the bees told me.”

“Uh huh.” Had Panzer told her about my abilities?

Seeming to predict my inner thoughts she smiled “Don’t worry nobody you know told me, in fact, few people have ever had the chance to even speak to the ones that told me.” She said.

I gave up trying to play dumb with her. “Why do you want to go to Elsewhere?”

“Because I thought it would be cool to lose my virginity in another world.” She joked, err at least I think she’s joking.

“You can’t tell me you’re serious.”

“Maybe,” she said, her hand rubbing down my leg the feeling sending tiny tingles of excitement her upturned eyes, stirring conflicting.

“Whatever my reason it doesn’t matter to you, bring me with you, that’s the deal. Take it or leave it. "

“Fine,” I said, what harm could it be to bring her with? I wouldn’t be able to go at all if I can’t figure out what is stopping me right now.

“Good boy,” Suddenly she tiptoed up and gave me a kiss, her mouth pecking at my cheek. She turned around then, grabbing my hand in the process and rushed forward practically jerking me back to the ground in the process.