By the time Rachel realized there was something wrong going on, it was probably too late.
She had woken up in a place that definitely wasn’t her comfortable bed. Not only that but her body felt groggy, as if she had stayed awake all night. At first, she hadn’t noticed - she had been excited, way too excited to see people gathering around her - but now it was quite obvious that things weren’t okay.
Was this the job of Sebastian Smythe? He had threatened her before, saying he’d post embarrassing photoshopped pictures of Finn if she sang at Regionals, after all. And even if it seemed like he had changed for good, maybe he wanted revenge because The Warblers didn’t win. Yes. This was obviously an act of revenge, because the New Directions couldn’t win Nationals without her marvellous voice.
Well, figuring out why she had been kidnapped had been easy enough for Rachel. Now the problem would be getting home. Where was she, anyways? It was such an unknown place for her. Everything looked different, almost as if she was in a different country -or a different continent!- but Sebastian couldn’t have gone that far, right?
Apparently, she was in a sort of market place. Rachel had heard the name Polis and Food Market here and then, but that’s all she knew. Maybe it was just another state, and she had been abandoned to her own luck?
In any case, there was something good to all of this, and it was that now she had a story to tell! Every star had their own story - failed marriages, eloping, the death of a significant one - and this could be the start of her own story. This could even help in her application to NYADA, because it’d make her famous, and if she stayed calmed and acted like the mature person she was, that could be included in her application.
‘Okay, Rachel, a silly attempt of kidnapping won’t stop you. You just need to find someone willing to help you. Right, that’s all you need.’ She thought, and started wandering around, looking for someone who could help her, or at least tell her where she was. There were a lot of people in that place, and someone had to be good person and help her.
“Uhm, excuse me! Yes, here! Do I have your attention now?” She said, waving her arms. “Could you tell me how to get back to Ohio?”
So far the princess had decided to keep to herself once she had finally gotten to the village and sign she had been assigned. Rarely she would step out and explore the places that this world had to offer, refusing to believe this would be her new home and that her old one had been turned into nothing but dust. For now she’d simply have to bear it with a strong facade, masquerading around as if she hadn’t been shaken up by this peculiar situation.
And, without that, she was certain she’d be eliminated from this place.
A hand moved to run through blonde locks that trailed behind, emerald eyes easing as features fell into a somber expression. Being here meant she would have to find a way to pick up a job, she was certain; making a living instead of getting things handed to her like she had been so used to.
It was upon that thought that a voice had interrupted the teenager, head lifting to look in the direction that it was coming from. Much like how she had reacted when she first appeared, only the noble had been a bit more forceful in grabbing a wrist than just waving her hands.
What this girl said, however, didn’t make sense to her in the slightest. ” Ohio? I’ve never heard of a country with that name. Even if I did, there wouldn’t be a way to help you get back.
From… from my understanding, there’s no way to leave once you’re here. “
… well, at least she’d just put in bluntly instead of raising the girl’s hope.
[Six’s own revelation had been… well, he’d accepted it. The man was no stranger to the strange, and it was all too easy to confirm the story. His world was dead. So was the vast majority of all who’d lived in it. It was all-too probable that the Courier was the last man from his reality, as his world had crumbled, as the cycle would begin again…]
“Of course, Etoile. It’d be my pleasure. Village of Valor’s outside th’ city. We… should talk, first. Get your bearings about this place.”
[The man opened his mouth, to suggest they find a nice, calm place to talk—but was interrupted as the princess had stopped already. Six fiddled with the pack of cigarettes, fishing out one more—lighting it, before taking a long, hard drag.]
[It was probably fortuitous that she’d stopped. Braced herself against a wall. He’d seen how some people had reacted—some had collapsed in shock, others had argued angrily, some had burst into tears… Six had just felt this numbness, somewhere deep in his heart. He’d hidden it, yes, but it had been there nonetheless. It was probably because… his life hadn’t been much of one, if he had to be frank.]
“We have all been scooped up by the ‘goddess’ of this wonderful little island—named Sophia, you know, that giant tree you musta woken up under—for a good reason.”
[He closed his eyes, and let out a hard sigh. The hardest part. For a paradise, it sure hit a lot of people hard… the irony was not lost on Six. He held back a grim little smile—that would be even more improper, wouldn’t it?]
“Our… homes, for lack of a better term… they’re gone. Swallowed up by oblivion.”
[The Courier looked at Etoile, scratching the back of his head.]
“We’ve been saved. I guess that’s what you’re supposed to call it. I don’t know if you’ll believe me—hell, you’ve just met me, logically, I should be insane—but… it’s the hand that’s been dealt to all of us.”
A well deserved relief was what washed over the princess.
… or perhaps she thought too soon.
Eyes shifted to stare at him, her mind skipping over every word until that last part. Everything she had been fighting for was now gone… the reason she had ran from Amenti’s marriage to her on the day of, losing her title as a princess until she could put a halt to that horrid man’s conquest. What was she to do, knowing that everything was gone? Her uncle, even —
” You’re… you’re joking, right? This has to be a joke! There’s no way anything like that would happen, otherwise this place wouldn’t be here. It’s not logical that only one place would survive when everything else is gone! ”
A tight grip wrapped itself around her chest, the feeling of breathing getting harder as she tried to convince herself this wasn’t true. Hands had found a small piece of his clothes to tug at as she pushed herself off the wall, as if trying to keep his attention on her to answer what she had just inquired. If it wasn’t bad enough, tears had already began to pool at the corner of her emerald optics, showing the true distress she held inside.
And it certainly wasn’t long before she let her light grasp go, hands moving to cover her face to hide her reaction. A few people walking by had taken a quick glance as she let her knees catch her as she fell to the floor and sat herself down, unable to keep herself braced from moving away from the wall.
” … tell me you’re lying. They’re still alive, Rolan is still alive — I won’t accept any other answer than that! “
Talk about a deep form of denial.
Anonymous
” Rolan, come and save me already — ! “
Anonymous
” H - Hey, get your hands off of me! ”
[Six was right, after all. She was just a confused young woman, finding herself in a new place that she had absolutely no knowledge on, just like so many other inhabitants of Arcadios. The mercenary vaguely wondered what would happen to her, if he hadn’t come along… well, he couldn’t judge a book by its covers. All the same, it wouldn’t do for her to take a wrong turn and end up being chewed up by some nasty creature hiding out in the Deep Forest.]
“Oh, yeah, yeah, tons of people just show up all the time. Includin’ me… heck, I doubt anyone’s really from here.”
[Then, the blonde continued to speak. She was being refreshingly rational about the whole kidnapping thing: Six had, upon arrival, thought he was on a terrible drug trip, or something similar. Etoile seemed like she had a good head on her shoulders.]
“Purpose? Yeah… you can say that.”
[This was gonna be hard to tell her. She was a nice-looking young woman, probably scared out her mind by the whole ‘kidnapped by forces beyond mortal ken’ thing. Six hated the prospect of brusquely informing her that all she knew—her friends, family, her previous reality—was nothing more than shadows and dust. The mercenary would have to let her down gently.]
“Etoile du Clauven. Pleased to meet you.”
[The Courier frowned as he said the name carefully, trying his best not to utterly butcher the foreign-sounding appelation.]
“An’ the pleasure’s all mine, miss.”
[He began to navigate through the crowd. He kept close to the woman, making sure that they wouldn’t be separated by the sea of people.]
“That’s a bit of a mouthful. No offense, of course. ‘s a nice name.”
[Soon, they found themselves on a marginally less crowded street, one where the sea of people wasn’t nearly as suffocating.]
“That’s better. You should know somethin’ bout a Village, and a Sign. What’re yours?”
[Six shot her a sideways glance as he did so, hands tucked in his pockets.]
” What’s the reason, then? It’d be better if I was informed. “
Unfortunately she hadn’t a clue on what he was to say on that matter. Yet, as she had said, knowing as much as she could about the situation at hand meant she could handle it much better as well. The price to pay in taking care of herself was nothing but hearing the ugly truth, something she didn’t want to hear — Rolan was truly the only one she had left aside from the king who was her uncle, the only family she had left.
Hearing of their fate would hit her hard.
… or perhaps it would simply be what made her hit back harder in denial.
Noticing his movements, she began to follow closely after without a moments hesitation. ” Thank you, but you can just call me Etoile if it’s easier. Saying my full name isn’t really necessary. “
Being able to find a less crowded street brought the princess a bit of relief. Whatever this place was, it sure was crowded with quite a few people; even her own kingdom was packed, but perhaps it felt just a bit different because it was so foreign. Finding a place against the wall that hadn’t been occupied wasn’t too hard, either, the woman resting her back against the building as she stared up to the man.
” Cancer, the village of valor. I figured that was where I’d be staying since most people lived in villages back where I’m from. ” A small pause before a tilt of her head. ” … would you be able to show me where that is, by chance? “
[Six—who had been previously enjoying a little stroll by himself, one blustery morning—suddenly found himself staring right at the woman who’d just grabbed his wrists and leveled a question towards him. There was an expression of mild annoyance and surprise on his face. He vaguely considered getting angry at her, but then realized that would be uncalled for.]
[Newcomers, from all sorts of worlds, seemed to flood into Arcadios every day, all of them bumbling around like drunkards after a particularly vigorous drinking session. Six remembered when he himself had first arrived. Had he been so… clueless, on those first days? Most probably.]
“Uh, excuse me…”
[The mercenary gently extricated himself from the younger woman’s firm grasp, tilting his head to the side as he crossed his arms over his chest. An amused smile was on the Courier’s face, as he realized her gesture had been done out of sheer desperation. He felt a little bad—he’d had help, when he first arrived here. And this newcomer seemed pretty distressed. The man felt unusually charitable—pay it forward and all that. Well, this woman had his attention now, whatever that was worth.]
“You’re a newcomer, eh?”
[The mercenary’s tone was a bit sarcastic, but not unkind. He pulled a battered pack of cigarettes from a pocket inside his duster. Sticking one in his mouth, he retrieved a battered metal Zippo lighter, and began to smoke his cigarette. The crowd moved around the two of them, as the city life bustled around them.]
“Well, this here’s Arcadios, and this city’s called Polis. Welcome, ma’am… and you have my sympathies. Name’s Six. You?”
His initial reaction was the first thing that caught her off guard when dealing with these people. Somehow she felt like he was going to simply brush her off, continue moving just like the others once he got away from the grip that did nothing but grab someone’s attention. Whatever it was, something happened to allow him to get him to stay long enough to aid in gathering information of the place.
Thank whoever it was that she had been granted that much.
” So others have been brought here like I have, too? ” Maybe a question that sounded a little stupid, but her tone was genuine about it. Being called a newcomer was the one thing that definitely gave that away, the blonde allowing herself to take in the generous man’s words. Even this man must be someone who was kidnapped, something that wasn’t unlikely now that she was able to realize fate hadn’t been picking on her.
Eyes drifted to watch as a few people brushed by, the girl making sure to keep close enough to this stranger so she wouldn’t get bumped away in the heavy traffic.
It was only until she heard his explanation and welcome that she looked back to him.
” So what you’re saying is this is an entirely different world from my own? It’s a little hard to believe, though I’m sure there’s a purpose behind it just like everything else. ” A pause for thought, though it wasn’t long before she put on a grateful smile for his help so far. ” It’s a pleasure, Six.
My name is Etoile du Clauven. “
… somehow this couldn’t be right.
No longer was she in the lands of her home, astray from the path she had been cornered into taking by the commercial city union. A foreign land lay before her as allowed herself to move forward, emerald eyes glancing every which way to absorb this new surrounding. To let her guard down here meant risking the loss of her life, unaware of what might be going on behind the scenes of this little mishap that caused her life to shift so drastically.
Yet that didn’t stop the woman from moving her way towards the nearest place she caught sight of. If she were to handle this on her own, she wouldn’t be able to wait for some knight to come and save her — Rolan would no longer be here for her to depend on anymore.
Arriving wasn’t the problem to the young noble as she stood at the entrance of the fine city, expression shifting to uncertainty. So many people were walking around, going about their day as if they were complete natives — and, well, perhaps they were as she didn’t recognize any faces she would have known — to the land. A deep breath and she took her first few steps within, moving to tap someone lightly with a question to ask.
Being brushed off wasn’t exactly the best thing for her to experience, yet it seemed everyone here wasn’t willing to pay mind to the passive advances. ”There’s no way I’m going to get help at this rate, is there? “
Changing tactics was the only way the princess could see anything working. And so, with a bit more courage to do what she must, she reached out to grab hold of the nearest person’s wrists in hopes to gain their attention before blurting out her question.
” Excuse me, but could you please tell me what’s happening here? “
” Drinking alcohol, I guess. It helps me calm down and feel relaxed. “
