Chapter 2: Through the portal

Huh- this place is weird... where am I?

There are huge mountains of light. The smell of this land burns my nose. I seem to be in a forest, except there are no fairies only seating benches.

What is that lady wearing?!

I do like her pants. Purple. And they look very well crafted. I guess I'll ask her how to get out of this forest.

She seems to be... not skipping, but not sprinting either. Maybe a light run? She is lightly running on a very well made stone trail. I'll have to carry my trunk and try not to trip in my clunky shoes as I catch up with her.

"Pardon me, Madam!"

Can she not hear me? I shouted pretty loud...

I shout even louder this time. "Madam!!!"

"Oh?"

She yanks two white things out of her ears and pulls a small thin black box from a hidden pocket of her pants. She touches it twice.

"Can I help you?"

She grins once she takes a look at my outfit... I don't know why. She's the one who's not dressed appropriately. She's wearing a gray shirt and a thin pink jacket. And pants! But her shoes, light pink and white, look extremely comfortable.

"Yes, I'm wondering if you could possibly give me directions to the exit?"

"Oh, um, sure. Turn left on the next path then continue on to the next fork in the road. Go right. Travel right again when you see a huge oak tree. Continue on that trail and you should come out of the park."

"Oh thank you! Could you repeat that?"

*30 long seconds later...*

I pick up my trunk and try to make my way. The sun is lowering. I estimate that it is around 3 in the afternoon.

After I spot the huge oak tree I continue on until I see where the forest ends. There are weird metal carriages everywhere! And no horses! I see all kinds of people inside and they all look sad or mad. These carriages are loud.

I whisper to myself. "These have to be powered by magic."

That's when I see it... in a tree right by a small white stone road close to the big black road, an orange feline. All alone... letting out yowls that go straight into my soul... poor fella!

"I'll save you!!!" I proclaim as I set down my trunk and handbag and take off my shoes.

I begin to climb... this tree has scratchy bark.

Almost there... I'll rescue you... I finally reach the branch the small feline is on.

"Phew. Come here, sweetheart..."

The orange ball of fur cautiously walks towards me. Aww, it's so adorable!!!

"Good, fella."

Wait, what's it doing?!

"OWWW!!!! STOP!!! Retract your claws! I'm bleeding! Woah!! I'm gonna fall! AHHH!!!"

*PLOP*

*30 minutes later*

"Oh, my head... Ouch."

A faint male voice asks me. "Are you alright? Hello? Can you hear me?"

"Yeah," I groan as I sit up and open my eyes.

"Oh good... I'll get you some water."

As I open my eyes I see a boy, about the same age as me, with dark gray eyes and dark brown hair cut short. He hands me the glass of water.

"What happened?" I say, still trying to focus on him.

"Well, it seems like you climbed up a tree trying to get the local mean-cat. He attacked you and you fell out of the tree and were knocked unconscious. I was walking home from school when I saw you passed-out on the sidewalk. I brought you to my apartment so I could tend to your scratches. I brought your bag and suitcase, as well as your shoes."

I look around the room and see I am laying on a cushioned sitting bench. A flat,glassy, empty picture frame sits on a little bookshelf in front of me. There seems to be a carpet covering the entire floor. To my right I see a small open kitchen, and on the right wall there are two wooden doors.

"What's your name?" I ask him.

"Andrew. What's yours?"

"Kismet."

"Why are you wearing that?" Andrew asks, gesturing to my clothes.

"What?" I ask, not understanding.

"That dress and corset..."

"Well, this is how queens normally dress..."

"Oh really?" he says sarcastically.

"Mhm."

"Alright then, what is your kingdom called?"

"Exorria." I say proudly. "Would you mind helping me get to this destination?" I say as I get out the paper General Bruce gave me and hand it to Andrew.

"Umm, sure, but first I have more questions."

"Alright." I sit up straight and wait.

"Why do you think you are a queen?"

"I AM a queen, of world seven. Your world is world zero. You probably don't understand, but there are twelve worlds. Each world has different beings, animals, and plants inside. The only way to access the other worlds is through a portal. My portal spit me out in that forest. Humans once used portals, but your species is particularly violent so my father restricted all portal travel to and from Earth. He left portal pods with only a few worthy people. By the way portal pods are the only way to get to the other worlds. I am here because General Bruce said that I am not suitable to rule yet so he sent me to 'learn manners' and to get experience in a different world or something. General Bruce is in charge of me because my parents died from a magical sickness. Any questions?" I ask, as I'm giggling at Andrew's expression of surprise.

"Nah, that covers about everything." Andrew thinks for a few seconds quietly. "Alright, I can bring you to this place."

"One more thing, what is your land called?" I ask.

"New York City," he says proudly. "Do you want me to carry your bag?"

"You can try." I smile widely. The only thing is, he doesn't know the weight of my bag.

Andrew does not look that muscular. His arms are about the same size as mine. But my arms are much stronger than they look thanks to my magical heritage. Also I train with the knights using a sword I 'recovered' from the castle's lost-and-found. Sadly I forgot to bring it. I put on my shoes and grab my handbag and we set off to find my house.

To my surprise, Andrew picks up my trunk easily. Which makes me wonder if he has magical parents too.

As we walk down the 'sidewalks' as Andrew calls them, I can't help but ask questions about his world and those weird metal carriages.

Once we get to the address, I note the house is tall: three stories high. The house is dark brown and looks like it's made of wood. The door is dark teal and locked. There are two flower pots with dead flowers in them on either side of a brown 'Welcome' mat. There is also an old bell mounted on the left side of the door and an old lamp on the right side of the door. The small front yard of the house has a small patch of dead grass and a rusty mailbox. A cracked sidewalk runs to the door. The house also has many windows facing the road.

"What now?" Andrew asks.

"Hmmm." I look back at the paper with the address. I turn the paper around and notice on the back General Bruce wrote, 'The key to the house door is under that white rock in the right flower pot.'

I tell Andrew what the paper says. He sets down my trunk and lifts up the white rock in the flower pot. Sure enough, a golden painted key is underneath.

As I push open the door it gives out a loud *CREEEEK.*

"Well that's creepy." Says Andrew in a humorous tone.

I invite Andrew inside and my shoes go *clomp, clomp, clomp* on the hardwood floor. The door closes behind us.

"This house is definitely haunted!" says Andrew in a panicked voice.

"Or magical." I say trying to ease the creepiness of this whole experience.

The inside of the house is covered in dust and cobwebs with hardwood floors and high ceilings. I immediately see a plain wooden staircase, a dining room with a dusty crystal chandelier, a kitchen, and another room for entertaining guests. Inside this sitting room there is a large moth-eaten woven rug, and another one of those cushioned benches. It is old worn leather with a pair of matching chairs that all face a black glass rectangle just like I saw in Andrew's house. Going through the entertainment room leads me to another space with a desk and comfy-looking chair facing a large bay window. There are also two huge bookshelves here and some paintings. This is obviously a study room.

After exploring a little while we make our way upstairs. I turn left down a long hallway with three doors. I open the first door and inside is a quaint bedroom with large bed, bedside table, lamp, rug, and two dressers. The next room appears to be a lavatory: counter with two wash basins, toilet, small bathing tub behind a curtain, and a small rug. The next door opens onto another bedroom, this time with a smaller bed. Around the corner is the stairway to the third floor.

Going past the stairwell to the other half of the house I see another hallway with only 2 rooms. The first room has ornate double doors which lead to a much larger bedroom. This one has a giant bed, vanity table, two dressers, two bedside tables, and lamps. There is an opening which leads to another lavatory. I marvel at the huge tub and wonder over a small glass-enclosed space with a drain in the floor. There's sinks on a long counter, and a toilet. Past all this is another space with racks for clothes and a small padded bench. This must be a dressing room. Back in the hallway, I check the last door. It is a broom closet, complete with brooms, and nothing special.

Andrew easily carries my trunk upstairs and places it next to the first bedroom I explored. "Wow, you have a nice house!"

"Thank you for your service." I pull out my magic money pouch and reach my hand inside, pulling out a stack of green paper currency. I tip Andrew 10 pieces that have the number 100 on them. I hope it's acceptable.

His jaw drops.

"Magic!" I say in a mystical voice.