Wind rustles through the trees, carrying with it the first warm hints of spring, as the sun rises over the meadow. The world was starting to wake up after its long hibernation, as bird song tentatively tested the air. The first songs of spring heralded the new season to come. Animals began to forage from their dens, babes born in the winter venturing forth for the first time.
A morning of peace; and in one little burrow on a hill, where a tree sits, the rabbits sleep. Except for one. Her pink nose already wiggling at the new scent. Her large eyes opened, and her stark white fur a contrast to her brothers and sisters. An oddity for a wild rabbit, but not one animal cared.
She had lived a small little life, in her tiny hole in the ground, sleeping much of it away. But, today something was new. A small little beam of light landed on her fur, and it was beautifully warm. She had never felt something like that before, except when she slept piled with her family. This though. This was different, and she did something very dangerous for a little bunny. She began to wonder, and want.
Something completely foreign, something beyond the basics of food and shelter. Her thoughts, primitive, but they could be summed up as.
What could possibly feel so good?
What out there is calling to me?
Her nose twitched, as the scents of winter passed over her carrying within it new scents from far-off places. Her instincts telling her, not yet. She needed to know.
With a hop, she pushed past her instincts making her little way out. Reaching the entrance blocked by melting snow, only a tiny hole allowing the sun through.
She began to dig and before she knew it she was out and for the first time saw the sky. She never imagined what was beyond her little burrow. Now she could see a field of snow, twinkling in the sun, and covering her tree.
When she looked at the tree she learned she wasn't alone. Her instincts screamed for her to flee. Except she ignored them, doing so showed her this wonder, so she wondered, Why?
The creature turned its head with a slight lift of its mouth showing teeth. She began to shake but didn't run.
Then it made a noise.
“Aren't you a brave little one?”
The bunny didn't respond. She only listened to the noise enjoying the feeling of its voice. It was new and kind.
The creature looked out beyond the hill, “Never imagined this. It's beautiful.
The bunny fully exited the burrow hopping closer to the thing. Sniffing around as it looked out over the hill. She licked its hand tasting of salt and other things. His hand moved placing it upon her head.
“You are a curious one.”
She froze instincts overriding everything as the giant's hands passed over her.
The feeling was quiet pleasant and warm; like the the little beam of light.
Was that you? She wondered.
It only smiled down at her.
“Would you like to come with me?”
He asked and something inside her clicked at the words, she didn't understand as the man held out his hand for her to hop on.
She could feel a choice, a big choice. To go would take her far away, a place of danger, where she might not survive. A feeling so familiar it was instinct. But, She would see new things.
So she hopped up into his hand, surprising even herself.
#
A man looked out over the idyllic winter scene. Perfectly warm and chill at the same time. It was absolutely perfect in a way Nicki couldn't describe. Almost artificial. There were no loose branches, the wood itself gave off a scent of wintergreen and pine.
The snow melted in his hands yet they stayed dry. It was like a painting or a dream. He didn't understand this place. How could a place be so...Then he looked far off into the distance from the hill he sits and saw its edges. Where the world lost detail, and became more conceptual.
“Was this a dream little bunny?” He asked the furry creature sitting in his hand. It sat perfectly fitting into his palm. So small.
Nicki was still shocked at the lack of fear, or attempts to run. He turned back towards the door just to the side of the tree. Opening the way into the between following the strings of fate. Each step, bringing them both deeper through the multiverse. As the worlds were becoming strange.
Fate started to thin, and frey knots not even having the chance to form. There was a single string thick and strong, woven among the partial fates. It was connected to them all yet not. Why is everything a contradiction in the multiverse?
Curious Nicki followed the odd fate string.
#
At the end of every story, where the dreams of the reader drift off into the infinite. Where fate ends, begins, and shifts. Where everything is, was, and will be.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
A place outside of it all, and yet right smack dab in the middle. A place of places. The ultimate annoyance of contradictions. Sits a building old and worn, well cared for and loved. Today it is a tavern, tomorrow, well that's another story completely.
In this infinite impossibility, God's, beasts, angels, and indescribable eldritch beings sit. All of them waited, talking and exchanging stories, yet something even the place of places never expected occurred. A human sitting at the bar having a drink.
It was such a mundane thing, he opened the door that has never opened and stepped through with a bunny in his hand. For the entities, who many hadn’t seen a mortal since time was a concept, it was a moment surreal in its normality. Some for just a moment forgot or remembered their own worlds long ago. Now exchanging stories and tales across all time and space.
Here a human sits and drinks with Gods and monsters.
#
“Ahhh!” A woman screams terrified of what is to come. She had already been through so much, having drawn the ire of the Viscount. Beaten black and green she had been tossed up a set of stairs. Stairs that called to her, and that terrified her more than anything the Viscount could do. Carey had begged them to just kill her. She would have done anything to not go up those stairs. The guard on the other hand looked disgusted, “You’re lucky to go up.” He then looked at the top with envy. Which to Carey made it even worse.
Then by spear and sword, she was forced up the stairs. Now she was screaming waiting for whatever creature to end her existence. When nothing happened for a long time she stopped screaming and opened her eyes.
What she saw through any expectation out the window. It was all so, mundane. Just an office, one in a strange style she had not seen before. Then she noticed the large sign across the desk that was overflowing with manilla folders. It read:
Please stop screaming.
Carey was beyond confused. Was she dead? “Where am I?” her voice cracked from the screaming.
“Oh, good she stopped screaming.” Carey heard a woman’s voice from behind. She whipped around towards the voices. Finding a closed door.
“Should we give her a minute, and make sure she stopped?” A man’s voice asked.
Carey was so befuddled she spoke, “Hello?” Then immediately covered her mouth afraid of what she just did.
“That rules that out.” The man’s voice said. The door opened revealing a girl and a man. She recognized the girl as a courier who would deliver around the city. She had handled her master's deliveries enough to recognize her. She hadn't seen her for the last couple of months. Had she been here all this time?
“Hello, I'm Illia, and this is Rixar.”
“We're am I?” She asked when she realized she recognized the other man. “Don’t you work for the Viscount?”
Rixar laughed as Illia answered. “No we don’t work for him. and you being here means you got on his bad side.”
She didn't know why she just dropped a trey when he was writing something. And she was beaten, and taken here. She felt her eyes grow warm.
Illia noticed. “Are you ok?”
“I don't know.” She could feel tears building.
“Hey, it's ok.”
“Where am I?”
Illia scrunched her face, “That's a little hard to explain.”
“The moon,” Rixar said bluntly.
“What?” There was no way she heard him right.
Illia let out an annoyed sigh. “Way to ease her into it.”
“How?” Carey turned annoyed. “No. You’re having a laugh at me.” She shook Illias hand off her shoulder.
“We aren’t having a laugh,” Illia replied seriously. “We don't really know what this place is but we are on the moon. I can show you.”
“...your serious.” Carey couldn’t believe it. It was just so insane.
“Yeah.”
“She stops screaming.” A voice sounded from outside the door each word sounding like it came from a different person.
“Yes, Sasha.” Illia answered, while
“Oh good.” The voice was strange but made her wonder how many people were sent up the stairs.
Then a flying sword floated in speaking in a plethora of different voices. Like it was just cutting people's voices together to form a sentence. “Hello, welcome to the moon. Do you enjoy cutting?”
Her breath was coming fast. She was dead. She knew it. Swords don't talk. “What? What?”
“Hey hey. It's just a magic sword. We have those at home.” Illia quickly tried to comfort her.
That was enough to stop her spiral, “We do?”
Illia nodded. “Yeah saw one myself delivering to a knight in the hills.”
Rixar looked surprised, “Sir Doorance? I thought that he was mad?”
Illia laughed. “So did I till I heard the sword speak back.”
“Wow.”
“If your up for it want to come meet the others?” Illia held out a hand for Carey.
“Others?”
“Yeah.” They opened the door to find the office bustling with people dozens if not hundreds all having set up homes for themselves in the massive cubicles. Curtains covering the entrances.
“How many?”
“A lot Viscount Rolish has been busy.” Illia’s voice filled with venom.
#
At a tavern at the end of everything, a concept sits down next to a human and a bunny.
“Is it time to go back?” Nicki knew he would be taken back at some point, possibly yelled at.
“You've been gone too long.”
“It's only been a few days and I’ve been doing the job.”
“The farther out you go. The more time passes at the office.”
“Oh,” Nicki pulled out his phone seeing it should only have been a week. How much time did I lose this time? “How long has it been?” He asked almost afraid of the answer.
“On your world about a week. The calender on your phone is accurate. The office on the other hand.” Del held up six fingers. “Six months.”
Six months! “Oh shit that girl!” He had left her back in the office to cool off. He had almost forgotten about her. “I hope she's ok.”
Del raised an eyebrow. “Girl?”
“Yeah, she kinda freaked out. Then I got...I got a little girl. I saw...I saw her bravery, her smile, her..death. Then I kinda freaked out.” Nicki was babbling.
A hand fell on Nicki's shoulder. “We have given you a burden one that we hoped would make these Heroes' lives better. To help keep the problems of the past, from surfacing.”
“I've not been doing a good job.”
“Actually, after the tutorial you've been doing good”
That surprised Nicki. “Even with all this? He says gesturing to the tavern. I haven't sent any of them to the tutorial.”
The ones you sent didn't need one. You've been following fates and every choice you gave was a gift of power. Those Heroes were twice blessed.”
“But, I abandoned the office. I traveled fate to change it.”
Del laughed. “Your kind never ceases to surprise me. You never realized the impact you had until you look back.”
Nicki was stunned not knowing what to say. So instead he asked about the thing he’d been curious about for so long. “What do you mean my kind? What am I?”
“Don't you know?”
“No. I've been trying to figure it out.” Was it something simple I just missed?
“You're a Hero.” Nicki sat shocked. “One of my and Ge’s creations. Our first and only Hero in all the multiverse.” He said proudly.
Nicki didn’t know how to reply.
“Hahaha,” Del laughed. “You had no idea.” Del continued a long belly laugh.
Embarrassed he replied softly. “It's obvious now that you've said it.”
Del leaned in, “Want to know something?”
“What?”
“Your powers don't include traveling fate.”
“But I've been…”
“Yes.” Del interrupted. “And like all Heroes you grew. In ways no one could ever have predicted.”
“Oh.”
Del stood grabbing Nicki. “Now we got to get you back.”
“Yeah.” He thought back to the blue-sliver girl with horns. “That girl is probably going crazy.”
“Yeah her and the others.”
“Others?”