I felt the warm rays of the sun beating down on me through the window of my room, drifting me awake along with the loud yelling of my sisters arguing to see who gets to use the bathroom first. 'Do they have to be so loud?' I thought, wanting a few more minutes of sleep, dragging myself off my soft warm bed.

Today felt off. I was unsure what exactly was making me feel this way, but I dismissed the thought quickly. I walked over to my dresser, which was in the corner of my room to the right of my bed. The dresser was old and dark brown with brass handles on each drawer. I slipped on a white long-sleeve shirt, black slim-cut pants, and black low-top shoes.

I made my way out of my room, walking through the hallway to the dining room where my mother was, wearing her baggy oversized white shirt and gray sweats. The dark colors of her clothes made her pale, almost cream-colored skin pop more than usual along with her rose-red cheeks. Her long black hair tied into a messy bun made her emerald green eyes shine in the light of the room. She was laying out breakfast on the dining table: scrambled eggs, waffles, and toast, a very average breakfast she would make for us every morning before school.

I took my seat at the end of the table, the low-hanging chandelier dimly lighting the room. Shortly after, my sister Sarah entered with her black medium-length hair, dark brown eyes, and cream-colored skin she got from my mother. My other sister Clarie took more after our father, who was no longer in the picture. Her crystal blue eyes, light brown hair tied in a loose ponytail, and dark tan skin made her look like she was roasting in the sun. They both took their seats on the sides of the table and began to eat their breakfast.

“Sarah, Clarie, are you both excited for your first day of high school?” my mother asked gleefully with her warm, bright smile.

“Yeah, I guess I just want to get the day over with already. I'm already so over school and it has not even started yet,” Sarah mused tiredly.

“What about you, Clarie? You’re taking all AP classes. It's gonna be a lot of work,” my mom mentioned with a more serious tone.

“Yeah, it should not be too hard after all. If I don't understand something, I can always go and bug Ezra,” she said, looking at me with an evil smile on her face.

“Sure, you gonna pay me by the hour?” I quipped back with a cheeky grin.

“As if,” she said with a scoff.

After finishing up breakfast, I headed out to walk to school.

***

“Mr. Cyprus… Mr. Cyprus!!” My eyes snapped open. I was sweating bullets; my body felt like it was being set on fire along with pins and needles filling up my entire body. I felt horrible and the searing pain in my head was not helping.

“Yeah! Sorry, I'm up now. May I use the bathroom, please?”

“Yes. Just be quick,” she said with a bit of worry in her voice. It was not really like me to be falling asleep in class. I don't even remember falling asleep. After stumbling through the halls, I made it to the restroom and fell to my knees.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

My head was pounding, the pain spreading to the back of my eyes. It kept getting worse, becoming unbearable. To make it worse, my body started to feel strange in a way I couldn't even describe. My hand began to tingle, and when I glanced down, I saw my fingertips turning into white specks of orbs.

The white specks filled my vision until all I could see was white—at least I think I was seeing. I'm not sure. After what felt like only a few seconds, a strange, indescribable feeling filled me and then suddenly stopped. My knees buckled, and I landed hard on the surface. As my vision came back into focus, I realized I was kneeling on a stone platform. Regaining my footing quickly, I noticed that the platform was covered in interweaving carvings forming a circle.

My heart pounded in my chest, and my breathing was fast, like I had just run a marathon. All I could hear was the sound of my heartbeat. Looking around, I saw that I was no longer inside the dirty bathroom of my high school. I was in a massive stone great room with four pillars supporting the high ceiling. Cracks filled the pillars and walls, indicating the room was obviously old. The light fixtures on each pillar dimly lit the room with a cold, bluish hue.

In front of me stood four men. The first three, closest to the platform, were wearing burgundy robes with a gold trim. The faces of these men were hidden beneath their large hoods. All three of them took a few steps back, and one of them even stumbled to the floor in shock, I assumed.

But the man a few feet behind them caught my attention the most. The tall man stared at me wide-eyed. His blonde cropped hair was slightly disheveled, and his pale skin with rosy cheeks made his crystal blue eyes stand out. He wore a bright red military-looking uniform trimmed with a glossy black. His broad shoulders accentuated his slim waist.

Running his hand through his hair and wiping the dust from his uniform, he began to walk toward the platform. His unhurried steps echoed through the empty stone room, sending chills down my spine. Putting on a kind smile, and in a calm and even-toned voice, he spoke.

“Hello. My name is Bel. Bel Xyrus, prince of Zelrick,” he said, bowing his head slightly.

“Where the hell am I?” I said, my voice slightly shaky.

So many thoughts began to race through my mind: How the hell did I get here? Where is even here? What is Zelrick? Too many questions without answers right now. I needed to calm down and figure out what was going on.

“How did I get here?” I was beginning to be slightly more scared due to all these unknowns.

“Please, calm down. We have no intentions of harming you. We can get out of this temple and find somewhere to talk, and I'll answer all your questions.”

“Screw that! I don't know who the hell you are or where I am. Why would I go anywhere with you? You can answer all my questions right now!” I was getting frustrated. Did these men have something to do with me appearing here? Not wasting any more time asking these questions in my head, I demanded, “What happened? How did I get here? Tell me right now.” My voice was rising from frustration.

“It was an ancient spell. It summoned you here,” he said with his hands raised to keep them in my sight, his voice also seeming to be in a consoling tone.

Judging by the fact that my body a few minutes ago was turning into white glowing orbs, I couldn't really reject what he said as false. Still, it sounded completely absurd to me, like I was in some fiction book.

“You said you were the prince of Zelrick. What is Zelrick?” Obviously not where I'm from or anywhere near; I've never heard of it.

“Ah, the kingdom of Zelrick is one of the seven great kingdoms. Right now, we are in a forest not too far from the royal city. If you are okay with it, can we return to the palace and continue our chat?” Bel, I believe his name was, said this while slowly approaching the platform with his kind smile that seemed to put me on edge. He reached out his pale, delicate hand to help me down.

“That would be great and all, but I'd rather you just undo whatever you did and send me back home,” I said firmly, not wanting to spend another second here.

Bel took the hand that was raised and rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes falling to his feet. He spoke with a sigh. “About that, we are not really sure we can.”