# 0
Trudging along, sun dropped over the horizon, darkness falling like a sheet over the world. A chill followed, and the song of insects. There was no hope of reaching the next town before the darkness thickens to opaque.

How had night crept so well upon him? He shouldn't have allowed himself to become so burdened by the words of Chief Solftieer. Now just to find a place to sleep, with good cover from wind and the eyes of strangers. He wrapped his coat nearer his body, considering how disconvenient a blanket it will make, while climbing the rocky crag to try to spot a place for himself. Scanning, mostly seeing trees with like brush, chops of rocks, hills, but nothing particularly comfortable.

“Well- not my first rough night.”

He moved into a tight cluster of trees, roots touching and knotting and forming a platform shielded from Queen’s Road. Probably anty, but it will do. A rock crag slimmed and took shape as he approach with the weak, flickering lantern light.

“God. A girl.”

Definitely a girl- slumped, pale, and injured. Lewis unconsciously dropped his bag and lantern and ran to her, hestitantly kneeling over her, speaking in a soft voice,

“Are you okay? Can you hear me?" He brushed the hair out of her face and arousal innocently flourished in him. Beautiful. Bright red, he examined her. She didn't seem to have any back injuries, but how could he tell? He wet his hand against his lips and checked her breathing. Her breath through her lips was shallow and infrequent. She is breathing, though. Gingerly, he rolled her to side to help her breath more easily. She murmured in pain, unnerving him.

"I can help you. I have some medical training. Stay with me."

God, he thought.

He started to position her legs and arms so she can breathe. She stopped. In an instant, he had her on her back and readied for CPR.

Why do I always have to do this with such attractive women, he lamented as he concentrated on the right rhythm.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing for heartbreaking seconds. She starts coughing up thick, black blood.

That can't be a good sign. What happened to her? Is she lost and he only risking some exposure to disease?

He continued CPR, night so dark now that he could no longer see her silvery silhouette and shiny hair and dewy skin -- Staying Alive! Staying Alive! Oh oh! Can't lose his rhythm. Staying Alive! She kept coughing up thick globs of congealed blood and struggling all the while.

She started breathing more steadily. Exhausted, he rolled her into a better position and sat next to her. Finally, he draped his jacket over her.

"I'm here for you. You'll be okay." He kept repeating that, panting and sweating.
Hours of panting and sweating passed, a strained murmur broke the night.
“Are you awake?” Lewis leaned closer.
“Why?”
Voice like a bell. Lewis’s heart held still. Why was this happening to her? Why did he help her? How can he answer?
“I am just a traveler. I found you near the road. I have basic medical training, so I did what I could.”
Silence fell over Lewis. He was so exhausted.
“Please. You should rest. I’ll stay right here.”

A tickle across his shoulder, the chatter of forest life, sunlight: daytime came all at once. The girl! He looked next to him. She was sitting up, propped against the trunk of a dogwood, in a dazed stupor. Her face was hardened by pain. He couldn’t see her but barely last night, but here she was in the daylight. Pale-skinned, perfect black hair. She was dirty and bloody, but she was obviously quite lovely. Looking over her small, fragile body—in this condition—fanned flames in his heart. Who did this to her? His thoughts were interrupted suddenly as her vacant eyes fell upon him.
“Good morning,” Lewis greeted her warmly. She didn’t respond verbally, but she held eye contact. “My name is Lewis. I am glad to see you awake. Oh--! You should eat.” He reached for his bag—gone? He looked behind him: still there, on the ground next to his lantern right where he dropped them. He retrieved it, brushed off the grass, and rustled inside. “I have some fruit, and it shouldn’t be too hard to eat. Please, eat,” he placed it in her hands. He was so relieved to see her eat. He took some of his jerky and ate with her. “I have water, too. Please, take my canton.” She drank, too.
She is so much better! I’ll have to take her to Sisterly with me. Otto can look at her. She’ll be okay.
She finished and relaxed.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“What is your name?”
She looked at him with such big, brown eyes. “Adah.”
She seemed pliable, but probably because she wasn’t fully conscious.
“Do you know where you are?”
She clearly hesitated, in another display of lucidity, furrowing her brow. “Near the capital.”
“I think you’ll be okay, Adah, but you’re so hurt. I want to take you to see my friend. He’s one of the best doctors in Sisterly.”
“—Please,” she murmured curtly. “No Sisterly.”
“No Sisterly? Adah, you need a doctor, and Otto is the best. I insist.”
“Please…”
He had to take a pause to consider. Is her attacker in Sisterly?
“I’ll protect you. No one can hurt you.”
“No.”
“I have fighting experience, and I have my sword. No one will lay a hand on you.”
“I just can’t!” She raised her voice.
“Adah...What if I call you by a fake name and disguise you? Please. No one will know you. I’ll never leave your side, even at the doctor. Please, Adah, please for me.”
She stopped responding.
“Well, I’ll carry you. You can sleep.”
He wrapped her in his jacket and scooped her into his arms. It was like carrying nothing. So tiny! She complied, either out of weakness or resignation. “You’ll be okay.”
Lewis continued his journey to the capital with the girl in his arms. As he recommended, she slept the entire way there. They stopped for lunch, but Lewis tried to hurry. They reached Sisterly in the late afternoon.
“Lewis! It’s good to see you,” a guard called.
“Van! It’s been too long!”
“This girl with you--?” The guard raised an eyebrow wryly.
“Haha, please! She is my friend, Eve. Van, she’s injured. I need a doctor urgently. I did what I could, but I need Otto.”
“Doctor Otto? He’s here, probably in his home. He’ll be glad to see you, regardless of the circumstances. Godspeed!”
“Godspeed.”
Lewis hasted past him, tracing the route to Otto’s manor. He took to more covert routes, conscious of his conspicuousness. It was a slow day in Sisterly, anyways. Most people must be in their homes.
“See?” He murmured in her ear. “No one will question you if I’m here. You’ll be safe.”
Soon, they were before the manor’s main entry gate. Confidently, he slipped over the fencing, and rapped on the door.
“It’s Lewis Ashcroft. Doctor Otto, it’s Lewis. I need you.”
There was shuffling around the door.
“Lewis Ashcroft. Doctor, I need your help.”
The sound of tumblers and key jangling promptly followed, and the door opened. “Lewis, my boy!” Otto looked ready to hug his neck. “Lewis, you’ve returned to the city! But with a lady?”
“Eve. We were traveling back and were separated when almost to the capital. I found her unconscious, and I’m worried she’s hurt. Please, Doctor, will you help her?”
“Well, of course, my boy! Please, come inside. Tove! Prepare the patient room. We have a visitor! Brian, make some tea.”
Otto led Lewis to the patient room briskly. Tove already had the bed prepared, so Lewis gently placed her down and unwrapped her.
“She’s not even bathed! Tove.”
The slightly plump, freckled girl set about gently wiping the grit from her wounds and preparing disinfectant.
“Otto, I’d like to stay here and comfort Eve.”
“Why, of course, my boy.” He dropped his voice. “Is she very special to you?”
“Please,” Lewis replied laughing jovially, shaking his head and waving his arms. With sincerity, he repeated, “allow me to stay, Otto.”
“You’ll have to tell me the story. You have my word I won’t separate you two.”
“Thank you.”
“Tove, bathe her, Lewis insists to stay, but I’ll step out. Let me know when she’s ready.”
Tove watched Lewis with the kind of quiet interest interns take in the drama surrounding the lives of their bosses. “Right away,” she chirped.
She brought out the washing pan and started undressing Adah. Lewis averted his eyes.
After she was washed up, Tove applied disinfecting ointments to her wounds and dressed her while Otto returned, carrying a tray of spice tea. He set it on the counter, washed his hands, and set to work.
“My family is indebted to Lewis. He saved my daughter. If you are a friend of his, I will do everything I can to make you comfortable.”
“Please, Doctor—” Lewis was blushing. Tove walked over to him and offered him a cup of tea. Retrieving one for herself, she sat next to him in the intricately carved wooden guest chairs.
“It’s true. He’s a fine young man. My name is Otto Upton. I need to ask you a couple of questions. What is your name?”
Adah hesitated. “Eve Fisher.”
“Do you know what day it is?”
“Tuesday. November 1—”
She was speaking as if from a dream. It was hard to understand her.
“Do you know what happened?”
“I—it all happened so quickly. I was lost. Then they came from behind. I fell.”
“I see…Well, let’s begin the physical examination.”
An hour passed of probing, shining lights, and scribbling notes. All the while, Otto chatted calmly about Lewis.
“He’s told me a lot about you, too. Must be embarrassing to listen to,” Tove commented in a quiet voice. She was trying to comfort Lewis, who was visibly strained from the recent events. Finishing a sip of tea, she continued, “Are you sure you need to stay in the room? You can have a warm bath and a change of clothes. You know Otto takes good care of his patients.”
“Thank you, but I promised. She’s worried to be apart.”
“Are you very close?”
“It’s a complicated story, but I have to take care of her.”
“So noble. Just like in Otto’s stories. I won’t press then, guessing it’s some Queen’s mission.”
“You are helping Otto?”
“I’m the Doctor’s apprentice. I’m training to be a pharmacist, but I help Otto with patients, too. You must be older than you look. I’ve been here for about 11 years now. There’s another apprentice here, Sand. He’s studying to be a doctor, like Otto.” She dropped her voice lower. “He’s kind of a jerk, though, so I worry about any patient that has to deal with him. Well, it’s just his attitude, really. So haughty.”
Lewis chuckled. “I actually knew Otto when I was a young teenage.”
Tove seemed surprised and not surprised. “So you’re in your 20s?”
“26.”
“I’m 20. Not so far apart.”
“And Sand?”
“He’s 24, closer to you. But gosh, so young! You look younger than me.”
“Is your job to flatter guests while they are waiting?”
“Yes, actually! I am just teasing you, though. You are something of a celebrity around here. Otto talks about you in this stilted mythic language. I’m bored of the stories, really, but he keeps repeating them. Then out of the blue, you arrive with this beautiful injured girl, wrapped in that jacket—it’s the very one, isn’t it, that the Queen gave you? Gosh!—insisting to stay by her side in true mythic chivalrous form. And you’re just so handsome! I have to tease you, you know?”
“It didn’t work out between you and Sand, did it?”
Tove turned bright read. “There was never nothing there.”
“If you tease me, you open yourself to teasing.”
“Lewis--“ Tove straightened up, Lewis stood up. “It’s mostly trauma, she’ll be fine. I’ll send you plenty of ointments and bandages, but she needs rest. Lewis looked over to Adah, but she was sleeping. “Make yourself at home, boy. You can go home when she wakes up. For now, I’d like you to clean up. I insist.”
Unable to break his promise, Otto eventually brought dinner to the patient room.
After catching up, Adah woke up, and Otto encouraged Lewis to bring her to his home for more rest. He obliged, whispering to Adah that everything will be fine and telling her about his room, which is housing offered as a reward for serving the nation.

“Tove,” Otto murmured. “Lewis is out of his mind. He completely lied just now.”
“Lewis?”
“You're so young! That's right, did your mother tell you? About Adah, the rebel princess who drew us under enemy rule? Are you old enough to recognize the girl? This ‘Eve Fisher?’”
“No?”
“Adah Stone. She’s the rebel princess who destroyed the southern province.”
“Adah! Surely not!”
“Lewis lied, intentionally or not. I don’t know what he’s involved in this time, but Adah is a traitor. The Queen has a bounty on her head. Wrapping her in that coat, calling her by a false identity, and relying on charisma will get him beheaded the moment he falters. I trust Lewis, and trust you not to breathe a word. Regardless, with those injuries, she’ll be dead in days. She’s suffering for her crime as we speak, but she'll go easy. If she’s caught, it will only hurt Lewis. He's a good man, and I trust him. You're loyal to your friends before your nation.”

Tove agreed quickly and solemnly. She had bathed Princess Adah... She was probably at just as much risk at beheadal as anyone. 

# 1
Lewis woke up on the hide rug. Adah was still asleep on his bed. Morning was peaceful in his apartment. The light sifted in through his curtains, and the birds had yet to begin singing. His neighbors were either gone or still sleeping. All was quiet apart from the weak ebb and flow of Adah's breath. She was pale as a ghost, this slender beauty. If she recovers, Lewis thought, I hope she stays. She's just so delicate. She needs someone to protect her. I think we could be happy together.

He searched his cabinet, but it was empty apart from some salt and flaxseed. He didn't want to leave her, but it would be best to bring food from the market.

"I'll be back in a minute with good food. I'll lock the door behind me. I'll be back before you know it," he murmured into her ear.

She did not stir, gritting and twisting in pain as she had when he laid her there.

He hastily buckled his shoes and drew a cloak around him. In a moment, he was down the hall and out the front door. In another moment, he was selecting vegetables and meats for a hearty stew, paying, and finally, he was unlocking the front door and stepping in.

As before, she was in his bed.

(Maybe she wakes up and murmurs something.)

It was as though she was slipping away. The light was leaving her face. Darts in his heart and ice spreading in his veins. He was here, but at the same time, he was at the mountain daughter's bedside that night she died. Everything was the same.

"I'll save you! Otto will be here."

He burst from his room and hit Tove squarely, knocking them both into the floor. Pills and liquid spilled everywhere.

"Tove!" The incident dazed him. "Oh, Tove, Tove! Please, bring Otto."

"Oh, Lewis--I--” Tove paused to recollect herself. “Lewis, let’s talk in your room.”

“You don’t understand; Eve needs help!"

"Hush, I need to talk to you." Without permission, she pulled him up and led him to room 23E. Once inside, she closed the door. Lewis stared expectantly.

Honestly, Tove wasn't prepared for this. "Yesterday, when you came in,--”

“Doctor!"

Tove turned around to see Otto filling the doorway.

"Quiet yourself, boy, are you mad? You want your neighbors coming over to investigate?"

# 2
“There is no magic in my world.”
“Don’t give me that. You are the one who insisted on intruding upon my secret place. This is one of the last places in Accord without immediate signs of humans. No trash, no trails, no landscaping. This is no place for humans like you.”
“I insisted because I was worried about you. You can not come out to secluded places like this alone at night. What if this is a spot for drug trade or gang initiation? Out here, there is no one to help you.”
“It isn’t so dangerous outside as it is in your mind. People used to do everything outside and still do elsewhere in places. Your house isn’t so safe either, right? Statistically the most dangerous place to be. I’ve slept out here, spent my whole day here, as a child a lot weaker than I am now, and I’m still here! If you are patient, you might come to understand the serenity of a place like this. I am welcome here, and no place is so comfortable. Do you really think I’d be safer at home?”
“I still think you are exaggerating. Obviously your home is safer than the middle of the woods.”
“Don’t bring your arguments here. If you must be here, be quiet.”
Emily huffed. The argument reached a sturdy wall.
“Really, though, the water’s so thick and black. On the surface, it is a perfect mirror.”
“Yeah, why is the water so black? Is it dirty, or is it full of some algae or bacteria? I don’t think you should sit near it.”
“It is a mirror under the surface, too. If you crawl in, you will crawl out of the same pond, and see yourself peering from the other side. The sky’s underneath, the trees are underneath. It is more than a mirror—it is a parallel world. You can see the bits of it through the water’s glassy surface. I told you they exist, and there’s one here.”
“Maybe you are right about these things, but if you hide here, maybe you should spend the time at my house.”
“Did you come here just to ask that?” Will sat down on a cushion of peat moss. “Where did this all come from anyways? I don’t even know you.”
“A girl should not be going out here by herself.”
“I’ll do what I want. You don’t care. Go home to your family.”
“Emily, I’ll walk you home.”
“You should not have followed me here! Go away!”
Will left begrudgingly. He should not force her, so he left her. It was a long walk to the bus stop. He checked his watch. Three hours until the buses stop running.
This is ridiculous.
He turned around and—
She was gone. He hadn’t heard her leave.
“—Emily?”
Dead silence echoed back at him. She was gone. “Emily!” He searched a bit in the woods. Nothing. Grimacing, he even reached a finger into her “portal.” No sky underneath, just slime. Eugh. After searching for a time, he hurried back to the buses.
He went to bed early that night. Rolling in bed, he thought about her soft skin and smooth hair.
At school the next day, he pushed through the day, just waiting for break. The final bell rang, and he was first out. He waited just near Emily’s last class. A stream of 10th graders exited the room, grouping into eagerly chattering cliques. The last few stragglers walked out slowly, a couple of boys talking about when they can meet to finish some lit project. Taking a deep breath, he finally peered into the room. Emily was gathering her things slowly. Everyone had left, even the teacher.
“Hey, Emily,” he greeted gently.
She sighed. “Will, hello.” She met his eyes unwaveringly but without any evident hostility.
“I’m going to the park. Will you come with me?”
She hesitated.
“Come on. There’s swings and a walking trail. It is beautiful. It is quiet, too.”
“Okay.”
Euphoric! A butterfly beat its wings against his heart. A smile and a blush spread across his face. He could not hide it.
They walked together down the hall. It was already empty.
They go on a cute date and—

“It is real—“ Will breathed. Did I just slip through to the other side?
“I told you. There’s points between the world everywhere.”
“How are you so calm! You’ve been here before or something?”
“Well,” Pink flushed over nose. “I’ve watched it from our side.”
She is so queer, Will thought. So weird! “Well, let’s go back. I don’t think we should be here.”
Emily stepped back into the puddle, but it wasn’t the same. “Just water.”
“Wait, just water? Well, you know these things. How do we go back?”
“It is not a portal anymore. We will need a new one,” she mused, stopping to peer into the still water. “Nothing below but water.
“I—it will be dark soon, though. What will my parents think?”
“Like I said. No place for humans.”
“Do you know what’s here? Animals? People?”
“Yes,” she confirmed solemnly. “No place for humans.”
“Stop saying that! You are human just the same as me. What you are is ridiculous.”
“Well, let’s look around. There is nothing here for us. Whatever danger is out there will get us just the same here as around.”
“Right…”
They proceeded in dead silence, avoiding stepping on noisy terrain covered in leaves and rocks. In time, they relaxed. Uneventful minutes eased the initial tension of an alien world. In time, they hiked casually, chatting easily.
“Just like park,..At least, quite a bit like the park,” Will mused.
“Right. It is parallel. I told you,” she replied weakly.
There was just nothing but wilds for as long as the brush allowed sight. “Just nothing here. No swings. No hot dog stand. We are alone! No dog walkers or screaming kids.”
“Now, the people are different here. They aren’t so free-spirited. You will have to be more cautious. It is parallel, not the same, you know?”
“I suppose…” Apprehension sprang up in Will’s heart.
“There aren’t any portals?”
“Well…they are rare, you know? They aren’t for humans. They are in secluded places. They come and go. They are sensitive in that way. They’ll leave you.”
“Are you saying they’ll close or something with me around? That’s just silly. We’re no different.”
“I’m saying we are. You just don’t believe me.”
“Of course I don’t believe you. There’s no magic, like I said. There might be a hollow earth, there might be wormholes, but it’s for conspirators to believe. Nothing proven.”
“Except for what’s before you. Listen, okay I’m not human. I’m just not. Not like you. You’re different from me, Will, and it doesn’t matter in most cases from your point of view, I know, but it’s true. It’s something I feel and am constantly reaffirming.”
“Isn’t there anywhere to sleep? How will we be safe? It’s already getting cold….”
“Don’t worry. Look among the rocks. If there’s a shallow system of caves, we’ll hide among them. Of course, you’re probably worried, but it’ll be better shelter. If it’s shallow, there won’t be established communities inside.”
“Like this one?” “Perfect!”
Emily set down her backpack and took out a little dollar store flashlight. “The cave ends right there. There’s nothing here but us. Let’s wait for morning.
“But my mom will be worried sick….She’ll call the police even.”
“She’ll have to chill. We’re here and will get out when it’s time. Just accept it. We may not be out so easily, considering we should get out together.”
“But uh,…”
Emily stopped clearing aside dirt.
“We’re sleeping here?”
She stared, waiting for his point.
“Together?”
“You are such a sensitive guy. It’d kill you, regardless of consent. But yeah. Take the other wall, if it bothers you. Just leave me alone, okay? Perv. You know your boundaries.”
He sat down next to her.
"Emily?"
She looked a little apphrensous after what he just said.
"I am scared."
She sighed. "You shouldn't be here. You should be with the people who love you. I'm sorry. It's partially my fault, but what can I do? I've been in situations like this before, you know, out in the wilds, sleeping just somewhere. It's not like you die the second you leave your home. We'll probably be okay. I understand you'll be missed, though. I don't exactly know what to do about it."
"Why do you sleep outside?"
"Well, if you want to know about my upbringing, it's embarrassing to tell you. These aren't happy stories. I'm not even sure you'd believe them. It's not like it matters anymore."
Night was falling, and it was getting harder to see.
"Just go to sleep. We'll sort things out in the morning."
Will zipped up his jacket and rested his head on his backpack. Before shutting his eyes, he knew he wouldn't sleep a wink. He never can without a glass of water or his feet tucked in. Emily fell asleep almost immediately, breathing rhythmically.

He felt lost and alone. This was the first moment Will really considered his surroundings. Wind was constantly stirring leaves and dirt, making him paranoid. Every once in a while, a twig would snap, or a branch would fall. Something howled in the distance, an eerie otherworldly sound. That was no animal he was familiar with. If anything happened, he seriously foubted his ability to defend Emily. If it came down to it, he was in a dangerous foreign world with a small, weak girl. He has to take responsibility for protecting her.