The First Step

So I've had time to consider the situation, and I truly wonder: how can he expect me to know anything? It's not like I just plodded into this world 15 minutes ago... Oh, wait, I did... Jerk

Not only that, I'm securely trapped in his arms. For a man that looked like he had minimal muscles, they were sure putting in work. No matter how much I squirmed or wiggled, I couldn't loosen his hold. My breath started to rush in as my heart rate spiked. Clearly this man was up to no good. Which was proven true when he picked me up as if I were as light as a feather and started carrying me somewhere. I wish I could tell you where we were headed, but my face was covered by his loose-fitting robes, which obstructed all my vision.

"HEY! LET ME GO YOU JERK!" I shrieked while hitting him. I know this is not the most useful move in this situation, but there really wasn't much I could do. It was like the man had super strength. Imagine Superman holding you while he was flying around; that's what this felt like.

My panic level was starting to reach unhealthy heights. This brute of a man was carrying me off to some unknown location. Then we stopped almost as abruptly as we started. So I suppose we went to one of the manors along the street.

After some shuffling, I managed to get my arm free and move his robes out of the way to get a sense of the new location. There were multiple servants wondering, but none seemed concerned about the situation. In fact, one was even laughing at me with a small smirk on her face that she hid when she noticed me staring. Actually, she wasn't wearing the same outfit as the others were. Her robes looked much fancier, so she was probably a noble lady of the manor.

Although I couldn't see, I can only picture a rather upset man marching over to our location with a stern face based off of how upset him and the Jerk that was holding me seemed. They seemed to be arguing with each other. And before I know it, I'm practically thrown into this new man's arms. I can confidently say that he smelled nowhere near as good as Jerk. He had the odour of someone who had gone to the gym in the same clothes for too long.

He moved as if we were competing for first place in a race. He was eager and demanding in his movements, as if he wanted this to be finished before it had even started. Look, buddy, I agree with you; I certainly don't want to be here either ... and yet here we both are doing things we don't want.

Before I knew it, I was thrown onto the floor of a cell like room. When I turned towards him to try and plead my case, it was too late. He had already locked the door and left as quickly as he had come.

After taking a small inventory of the room, which consisted of a small bed, a tiny window, and a door, I started to think of what this could all mean. Finally, I only came up with two possibilities: either she was actually this man's bride and ran away from him, or she was his prisoner and couldn't escape.

Both sounded equally bad; who wants to be married to such a Jerk? Oh, I'm not getting my way, so I'll just throw you over my shoulder and force you to do it anyway. I can't help but wonder what time period on Earth that was actually a real-life strategy.

Let's look at the bright side; at least this is a dry and warm place to sleep at night. Tomorrow I can try to figure out a way out of here, but for now I should find out as much as possible. None of the servants seemed to recognise me, nor have any personal ones shown up. So, either I've never been here before or I am just a lowlife girl.

My stomach reminded me of how much time I had spent deep in thought. At this point, multiple rumbles could be heard. Which brings us to the most pressing issue at the moment. What am i going to eat tonight? In my family, I was a star cook. I learned to make dishes from all over the world that I'll probably never have again.

I was starting to believe that I could possibly fit this tiny body through the equally tiny window to find food before there was a knock at the door. Which is odd; wouldn't people just walk in on their prisoner?

"Oh, my, look at you, such long black hair and jade skin you have. What a beauty!" I rolled my eyes when I heard this little old lady happily walk in. Until I realised something crucial! That was in English.

With my eyes wide open at this new revelation, I inquired, "You can speak English?"

"The only one besides you that can," the old woman answered cheerfully.

"Do you know what's going on then?" I desperately needed answers to this very confusing situation.

The old woman just shook her head, closed her eyes, and sighed.

"It shouldn't have been you, but since it is, we will have to do our best to get you used to this place. I will help you a little. If you eat this little red bean, by tomorrow you will be able to speak the language. This is the most I can do for you. Remember that the customs here and where you are from are very different."

The old lady handed a rather small red bean to me. Her wrinkled hands clasped around mine as if I were a treasure. After examining the red bean for a while, I had thought of a lot of questions to ask the old lady.

"So, what do I do with it?" I asked, still staring at the bean, but no reply came. After waiting a few more seconds, I glanced up to give the old lady a questioning look, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Well, that was very abnormal. What did she mean when she said it wasn't supposed to be me? that my perfectly good life wasn't worth transmigrating over here because I agree! Also, what is this crazy red bean, and what is it even going to do to me? How does it work? Do I just eat it!?! I sat there in a daze, staring at this red bean, which apparently held my entire future in its small form.

After deliberating for a long time, I decided to eat the bean before going to sleep. So, if it did anything weird, I could at least pretend to be sleeping.

My stomach still had nothing to nourish it and complained loudly. Clutching it tightly, I laid down in bed. I tried to ignore my body's demands and eventually got comfortable enough to sleep. I placed the little red bean in my mouth, which burst with flavor that was completely unexpected for what it was supposed to be.

My mind went on a journey from childhood to adulthood. At each stage, I learned more and more of the words until I could have been considered a native speaker. My brain had acted like a parched sponge that had just found some water. language, culture so many things were being introduced to me.