A few hours later, Mia woke up again, this time feeling completely refreshed. She stretched slowly while yawning and began to scrutinize the room she was in, something she hadn’t had the chance to do during her previous awakening. The space was relatively small and contained a bed, a small dresser, a window, a wooden wardrobe, and two doors. One had to be the exit, and the other... She got up to find out.

It led to a small bathroom containing a sort of marble sink and wooden toilet, as well as a cupboard with the essentials for a quick wash-up: soap, washcloth, a toothbrush made of wicker and mint toothpaste, a towel. There was no shower or bathtub for a full wash-up.

The arrangement reminded her of the tiny attic apartments of Parisian students or university dorms with communal showers, which she had been fortunate enough to avoid. Mia’s family wasn’t wealthy, but they were part of the upper middle class, allowing their daughter to live in her own apartment. And that suited her just fine, as she wasn’t particularly fond of communal living. She appreciated the freedom of action and choice that came with living alone.

The furniture resembled that of her world, except it seemed to be from a slightly older style than what she was used to seeing. Nonetheless, it provided all the necessary comfort for a young woman accustomed to living in her twenty-first century, except for the shower which was probably communal. Nothing particularly alarming up to this point. After all, fashion changed from society to society and from era to era.

As Mia was about to return to bed after exploring her quarters, as she had nothing better to do, someone knocked on the door and entered the room even before she could respond or invite the person into her presumably temporary living space.

“Great, you’re awake!” Lily exclaimed with enthusiasm.

“Perfect. So, we can start,” expressed an unfamiliar male voice.

The newcomer was a man in his thirties. A very handsome man, with long blonde hair, porcelain skin, white teeth, and red irises. Red irises? At least he didn’t have wings.

In comparison to the fairy, he seems almost perfectly normal, she thought, chuckling mentally.

Maybe he had an unusual medical condition that gave him crimson eyes. Or perhaps he just liked wearing colored contact lenses.

“Please, have a seat,” he said, gesturing towards the bed, which she promptly sat on. “Alright, let’s start with introductions. I’m Vassili More. To put it simply, I’m a professor of History and Anthropology.”

He paused, waiting for Mia to introduce herself. It took her a couple of seconds to grasp what he was expecting from her. Her ability to think was still somewhat impaired by the surrealism and incomprehensibility of her situation.

“Mia Bayer, um... I am studying classical literature,” she hesitated.

“Mia, what I’m about to explain might sound a bit... incredible, so brace yourself.”

That didn’t sound promising. The blonde clenched her hands firmly on the mattress, a bit stressed about the prospect of these revelations. If it was a prank, they were all exceptionally good actors. Her interlocutors seemed far too serious for it to be a simple reality TV scenario.

Nonetheless, she nodded to indicate that he should continue.

“First of all, tell us a little bit about what happened that led you to this state.”

She really didn’t feel like going into the “alcohol” part that had led to her fall, even though she could laugh about it now that she had come out of it alive. And besides, they already seemed to know.

“We were having a little rooftop party with my friends. At some point, my phone fell, and... let’s just say I fell with it. It must have been from like the four or five floor. I should’ve smashed my head on the pavement, but I landed in grass, in broad daylight. It feels like I dreamt that moment because it makes no sense...”

Like all the moments that followed, she thought.

“You didn’t dream it. You went through a portal, a sort of bridge between our two worlds. No one really knows what they are, and they appear entirely randomly. It’s quite rare, mostly because we don’t know where they are. They can appear anywhere, in your world as well as in ours.”

The prank was starting to go a little too far for it to be even remotely believable. She wasn’t ignorant of the saying “the bigger the lie, the more it’s believed,” but this man’s explanations were simply pure fantasy. The pranking guy who thought anyone would buy into this kind of outlandish story should seriously reconsider their career.

“I’m afraid I’m not really following you there... Your world?”

“Istarea, it’s kind of what you would call Wonderland. Except the word “world” would be more appropriate. It’s complicated to explain in detail since we don’t know how different our worlds are. Here, we live through magic. It’s deeply ingrained in our genes. Regular humans disappeared a while ago. Vampires, centaurs, werewolves, fairies... are those words you recognize?”

A small “yes” escaped the blonde’s lips, no louder than a whisper. It was a bit overwhelming for her. The hidden camera theory didn’t hold up anymore. The wings, the glowing irises, the lack of pain after such a fall... These were all elements slowly pushing her to consider that they were telling the truth.

All those fictions about heroines falling into their favorite book or a parallel universe came to her mind. They were just stories... right? And magic, vampires, and werewolves, really? Where had she fallen, exactly?

She didn’t really know how to react anymore. Her brain was registering the tangible evidence before her, but it simply couldn’t accept it as reality. She almost expected a woman dressed as the Queen of Hearts to burst into the room and join the little gathering.

Or maybe, given the absurdity of her fall, they had actually decided she belonged in a psychiatric hospital, and all of this was a test to see if she still had her sanity... This hypothesis seemed unlikely as it was too costly for a regular patient, though slightly more rational than what the man in front of her was explaining.

Perhaps she was trapped in those famous comas that seemed more real than reality, while her severely injured body lay lifeless in a hospital bed, connected to all sorts of machines keeping her alive? Yet, everything felt incredibly real, and she found none of the typical signs that she was dreaming, such as having a sixth finger on each hand or the blatant lack of detail in her surroundings.

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As Mia wrestled with her thoughts to try to understand what was happening to her, she could feel a headache coming on. She winced as her head seemed to be slowly approaching the point of exploding, then resigned herself to simply listen to what was being explained to her and not try to analyze things too much for now. Anyway, no theory made sense.

Play along, Mia repeated to herself. We’ll see how it goes.

“Those are legends in your world, right? I can’t say that all your legends are true, and I don’t know them all, but they contain a certain element of truth... The portal doesn’t work just one way. Over the centuries, it has happened that some of ours venture to your side. A few lucky ones have managed to cross back and tell us what they’ve seen there.”

Alright. Let’s assume for a moment that what he was saying was true. If the legends were true, at least in this world... What could she expect from its inhabitants? From one version to another, some creatures were depicted as bloodthirsty beasts. Should she fear for her life? Hadn’t they told her that humans had disappeared in this world? Horrific images crept into her mind.

Her hands began to tremble and grow sweaty as she imagined a thousand scenarios leading to her death. Suddenly, she would have preferred to be told that she was actually in a psychiatric hospital, safe in her straitjacket, confined within four walls.

“You have nothing to fear here, if that’s what’s troubling you,” reassured Vassili, sensing the young woman’s panic.

“But... you said the humans...” she questioned, not daring to finish her sentence.

“Ah, yes... A sad period. It’s not the time to go into the details now, but our world was greatly ravaged by war between the peoples. Humans were... the weakest.”

She swallowed, not particularly reassured by this revelation. He was telling her that humans had been decimated, quite literally. And they were telling her she had nothing to fear?

So they wanted her to believe that she had arrived in an imaginary world populated by unreal creatures and that she was the only one of her kind?

I must be very lucky... If everything is true and I really fell into a parallel universe, why couldn’t it be the world of the Teletubbies? Or My Little Pony? Just any world where I would be safe?

And the man who was explaining all these things to her, what kind of creature was he? Did she really want to find out? Her curious nature screamed yes, even if it was at her expense.

“And what about you? What are you?”

In an instant, his features grew more gaunt, his complexion turned corpse-like, his eyes became bloodshot, and a row of fangs sharper than razor blades replaced his human teeth.

Mia jumped back in surprise, placing her hands in front of her face to shield herself in a survival reflex. She suddenly felt like a cornered prey facing a predator who was dying to make her his afternoon snack. The sudden transformation of the man resembled more a vision of horror than a simple demonstration.

A second later, he appeared human again. Cold sweats ran up the young human’s spine, the nightmarish portrait forever imprinted in her mind. A vampire! And not those nice vampires she saw in movies, no, he looked more like a creature straight out of hell!

“That must be quite impressive for you. Once again, you have nothing to fear. The war has been over for a few decades. We established this school for that purpose, to maintain a balance of peace among the peoples. I can’t promise you that everyone will accept you, but no one should harm you.”

When an unknown man who hid a terrifying monster behind an elegant face told you that you had nothing to fear, he shouldn’t be surprised if his interlocutor greeted his words with great skepticism.

“Anyway,” he continued as if nothing had happened, “the Arena. Young adults of all species come here to pursue a curriculum of a few years to hone their individual skills in order to compete in tournaments organized by the school. It might sound barbaric, but it’s an appropriate framework to channel displays of power among the different peoples. Here, we don’t kill our opponents. The tournaments have strict rules and allow the different species to show who’s the strongest in complete safety.”

Mia didn’t doubt Vassili’s strength. Her gaze landed on Lily, the little fairy. Was she a combatant too? She didn’t seem to be built for combat, but who knew what she could become if she transformed like the vampire in front of her. A smile appeared on Lily’s lips. She seemed to have expected the human to ask such questions.

“Fairies don’t fight. We excel in healing and protective magic. That’s why we usually work in the infirmary. Since we dedicate our lives to healing others, we don’t need to prove that we’re the best,” she said with pride.

Mia would have liked to see that magic in action, if it really existed. It seemed so... harmless. Much closer to the image that humans had of a wonderful and magical world. Perhaps she would have the opportunity to observe it during its work...

Once again, doubt and confusion reigned supreme in her mind. Rationally, all of this was impossible to believe. Yet, if she admitted the evidence that had been presented to her – the absence of injuries, the wings, the vampire, the white magic... – the existence of a magical world was the most logical hypothesis. And Mia liked to think logically when she had the chance.

Well, no need to rack my brain any longer. Let’s assume that all of this is indeed true. People discover things every day that they didn’t think were possible, isn’t that right?

Where could she go anyway? If she had understood correctly, unless she stumbled upon one of those portals purely by chance, she was stuck here. She might as well accept it, and quickly, please. She didn’t want to be one of those foolish heroines who made mistake after mistake and faced problems because their brains couldn’t comprehend and assimilate their new reality. Especially since it seemed she was far from done discovering things about this new world, so she might as well be cautious and intelligent.

“So, I’m going to stay here then?” she inquired, refocusing her attention on Vassili.

“Yes. I’m not sure what we’re going to do with you,” he chuckled. “It would be too dangerous outside the school, and you’re not familiar with our world. It would be... cruel to release you into the wilderness. Anyway, I’ll leave you in Lily’s capable hands. I’m needed elsewhere,” he concluded with a smile, getting up and leaving the room.

Lily stepped forward and approached the wardrobe that the blonde hadn’t had time to explore, pulling out a stack of clothes. She placed them on the bed next to her patient. Mia still had a ton of questions to ask her, but she quickly understood, seeing the fairy busy, that it wasn’t the time for explanations anymore.

“Here, get changed. I need to get back to work, but Arry will come get you in about half an hour to show you around. Don’t worry, she’s very nice!”

“Thank you,” Mia replied, taking the clothes.

When Lily left the room as well, she found herself alone again.

She took the opportunity to change quickly, abandoning the white dress she had been given and replacing her worn clothes from when she was unconscious. This time, she wore a cream-colored flowing dress that gave her a somewhat stiff appearance with her blonde hair. With her chin held high, she might give the impression of being strong against all these threatening creatures...

Mia cursed when she realized Lily hadn’t given her any shoes and began to rummage through the closet to find a brand-new pair of leather sandals, quickly slipping them on. At least fashion seemed relatively similar to her contemporary world, except maybe a bit less eccentric.

She had about twenty-five minutes to kill if her perception of time wasn’t deceiving her. She decided to spend them on the bed, sitting against her pillow, thinking about what she had learned. She really did feel like she was swimming in a dream.

Her heart tightened as images of her loved ones flashed through her mind. Was she dead on Earth, or had her body simply disappeared? Her friends must be completely losing it. Her parents would be agonizing over her disappearance. Mia would have liked to be able to tell them she was alive and safe for the time being, but she strongly suspected that was impossible.

Lydie was probably making headlines due to her, propelling her journalism career to new heights. In truth, Mia couldn’t even be mad at her. At least her disappearance would have some positive effects on the lives of those around her.

Finally, she decided to pack away and seal those depressing thoughts in a corner of her mind. There was no point in lamenting over her loved ones’ reactions; she couldn’t change anything about it. She had things to do.

However, shifting back to a more positive note, she couldn’t deny that the vampire’s explanations had piqued her curiosity quite a bit...

Dream or not, danger or not... it would be a shame not to take advantage of it. Who can say they’ve had the opportunity to explore a whole new world? And a world where magic exists, no less!