CHAPTER ONE

I was moving while scaling the wall, I turn a sharp corner and my foot hit something on the ground, it was a fallen piece from the rock and it was lying on the ground. I held my foot as I hop on my feet; I wanted to cry out loud and let out my frustration but I realized that I was the only one here and I didn't want to act insane. The mechanical voice in my head wasn't helpful, it couldn't even sympathize with me or try to console me, all it knows to do was to only speak when it feels like talking or when passing me some information and it was always not informative.

I was trying to remember what really happened and how I was transferred to this world, in my mind I was hoping that it was all a dream, but reality was crude as I got to the entrance, it was real this time, I was in a foreign place.

Standing at the entrance of the cave, I breathed in fresh air, the weather was cool, the trees were greener, the sky was blue and there was nothing covering the cloud even the environment was clean, looking at my left side, I could see a river flowing, the water is transparent and clean. I was appreciating my surrounding, and probably thinking that it was not that bad that I ended up in this strange world when I heard some footsteps.

"Look, mama, it is the forbidden region, mama, the story you told me said that once in a thousand years, powerful people always emerge from here," a small voice said.

"Those are just stories my daughter, it was passed from generation to generation," replied another person, who I am guessing must be the mother.

Hiding and peeping from a corner, two people came to my view, they were at the front; a woman dressed in what was called a ball gown, navy blue in color with some embroidered work done on the collar and the sleeve areas, the small child was also dressed in the same pattern but in another color, they were being escorted by men dressed in black and also clothed in the same attire albeit different to the man leading them. I'm guessing the man has a higher rank than them, since he seems to talk more with the woman often.

Those men had a scabbard attached to their waist, their clothes fitted them perfectly and it looks like it was their second skin. They shave their head bald, which I am guessing is part of their identification. They even march coordinately while walking: they were in perfect synchrony.

"Alexander, go and meet them, they are your ticket to getting out of this territory," a mechanical voice sounded in my head, I almost jumped out of my skin, I wasn't yet used to having a strange voice in my head especially when I have just woken up and I am yet to find out where I am.

Who is Alexander? I asked myself, my name from the previous world that I came from was Nicholas. I stepped out of my hiding place, following them and hiding as I follow them so as to observe their activities and the way they react to words and action between themselves. I hop on my feet as I tried to run up to meet up with them shouting for them to stop, but none answered, my voice was barely audible so I had to look for another alternative, picking up a stone that I could lay my hand on from the ground I threw it at their commander, the most amazing thing was that at the point where the stone was about to touch the man, it stopped and fell, that was a weak momentum.

This got the man attention as he stopped abruptly, turning to the rest of the guards, I was sure he was commanding them to protect the lady and the child, drawing out his sword from his scabbard, he turned to survey the surrounding with his eye, trying to find the attacker. I waved my hand from where I was but it seems as if he couldn't see me, taking a stone again, I threw it in his direction, this got his attention this time around and he looked at where I was, I was leaning on my good leg so as not to aggravate the other one.

He was looking down, why was he looking down? I asked myself, checking myself to see if anything was wrong with where I was standing, I discovered to my disbelief that my hands look so small and my legs were short. I realized that I have been stretching my neck since the very beginning to look at the man but I didn't notice. I was shocked because I was a grown up man in the body of a small child.

Leaving the rest of the group and approaching me slowly, he finally came to where I was, he bent down until we were both at the same eye level, "you shouldn't throw stone at people, young boy," he reprimand me.

"I am sorry," I apologized, bending my head and looking at the ground, since I had to act like a small child for now.

"It's nothing, why were you wandering about? Where are your parents?" he asked.

I shook my head and told him that I didn't know where they were and that I was lost. Stretching forth his hand I took hold of it as he led me back to the group, standing in front of those people, I couldn't help but to be shy, I hide behind his legs. He chuckled and before he could talk, the little girl bounce toward my direction, dragging me from the man leg, the last thing I remembered was my body hitting the ground as I fall unconscious again.

The jerking motion of a moving object, the up and down movement with the constant neighing of the horse was what I could faintly hear and feel. My shoulder was numb as it has been immobile for long, opening my eye to look at my surrounding. I saw the young girl curled by my side and using my left arm as a pillow while drooling on the carriage floor. I wanted to laugh but I didn't want to wake her up. I held my tummy when the pang of hunger hit me hard, I was hungry and the last time I ate was before the expulsion.

Sitting up I had to trick the young girl with another thing to put under her head since she was so attached to my hand, my head hit the headboard as I tried to stand up, holding my head for some seconds, the wagon wasn't that spacious and it wasn't that big, I had to shift and readjust myself so many times just to get to the small window, stretching out my hand I waved it following a circular motion, from what I learnt from my previous life, if you are waving your hand in a circular motion it means that you want to be rescued or you want a way out or that you want the carriage to stop. I did it but I didn't know if they will understand it.

Some minutes later, the wagon suddenly stopped, without being informed, I got slam to the floor; my fall made me to hit the small girl who jumped up in fright and bounce on me again, making me hit my head again on the floor.

The door of the wagon was opened and a hand was stretch forth, the stretched hand has callous and was masculine, I knew it was that man, taking the man hand, I held on tight as he pull me out, he pulled me out so fast so that he could bring the small girl out, I felt a little bit dizzy, bending my head for some minutes I was able to control myself not to vomit since I had nothing in my stomach.

Raising my head from the bent position that I was, the light blinded my sight, it was still sunny. I had to close my eyes for some few minute before I could open them again.

Looking around for the man that pulled me out, I couldn't find him. I got tapped on my shoulder, turning around; it turns out to be the small girl. I should probably stop calling her that but I didn't know her name.

"Are you looking around for Arthur?" She asked.

"Arthur?" I asked not knowing who that was.

"The man that brought you over is called Arthur," she said saving me from my misery.

I nodded my head as a form of understanding, she was holding a blue bird in her hand and the bird was also repeating what she said. They had a parrot in this era or was it a cockatrice? I wondered.

"He will be gone for some time, he has to scout out the area that we are in, we are going to be camping here tonight," she said, linking her hand with mine. "Mother said to bring you when I see you, you should be hungry by now."

I nodded my head so fast that I was sure it was barely hanging from their joints, I was so hungry that I don't care which type of food I will be given, walking side by side with her as we follow a trail; it didn't take us long to get to a clearing. Everyone I saw earlier in the day were there, there was division of labor as some were busy setting up the tent, others were cutting firewood to keep the fire going so as to keep us warm for the night, while the only matured woman was at a corner, cooking.

When the woman opened the pot to check if the food was done, the aroma coming from the food was so intoxicating that my stomach let out a complaining groan; it was so loud because everybody on site turned and focused their attention on me, some couldn't help but to laugh. I was suddenly shy and I quickly turn around, acting as if it wasn't from me.

"Jasmine, you are back already, bring him here," said the woman. That voice really saved me from my moment of embarrassment.

"Yes mama," replied Jasmine. Pulling me towards her mother, I followed her lead. The name Jasmine brought up some hidden memories.

Jasmine was a beautiful name, it made me to remember my first girlfriend, we met in college and I have always been seeing her around, most of the time, which is every time, it was always at the school library, she wasn't a nerd but in another sense I can say she was.

We were on our yearly excursion in my department and some unfortunate incident occurred, that shook all of us, the school had to be shut down for some period of time to console the relative of the dead, some compensation were also given to the student. I was able to collect her number before the incident happened and I chatted with her all through that period. When school resumed I was so eager that I suddenly asked her out and she said yes.

Unfortunately, we didn't spend more than one week together when the bubble I was in got busted, turns out her supposed to be ex-boyfriend came back into her life, it turns out that while they gave each other a break, I was being used to help her pass the moment. I was pained and I started going to the club, I neglected my studies, I started failing in my grade, the guidance and counseling advisor was notified and had to sit me down and speak to me before I could be back to normal. I even went for therapy many times that I lost count of the numbers because it was so hard to leave that world, but at the end of the day I had to move on.

"Ouch!" I cry out in pain as someone pinched the back of my hand, rubbing it, the area was already turning red and I was sure it will take long before the discoloration that will set in soon will fade.

"I am sorry, I have been tapping you for quite some time now but you didn't answer me and what I could think of and the only thing I could do next was to pinch you," Jasmine apologized.

"It's nothing," I said as my eye went to the food in front of me. Turning to Jasmine I wanted to ask if it was for me but I discovered that she was fanning her food and everyone else has a bowl in their hand. I look towards the woman direction and she nodded her head at me.

Turning back to the food, I discard the spoon and directly gulp it. The congee was good and I was sure it was nutritious, I was half filled and I didn't know if I could demand for more. Turning to the girl, she was looking at me as if I was a monster. Using a question as a form of excuse, she asked me what I was called.

"I am Alexander," I replied.

"I can't hear you," she said, talking a spoonful from her congee.

"My name is Alexander," I repeated the word again.

She split out what was in her mouth on my body, everybody stop eating and focused on us.

"I am sorry; I didn't mean to do that," she quickly apologized, taking a handkerchief out to clean my clothes.

"Jasmine," her mother shouted her name, making Jasmine shrink back in fright. Her mother came to where we were, bending down, she also join Jasmine in cleaning my clothes.

"Sorry, about that, mmm…" she paused; she didn't know what she should address me as.

"My name is Alexander, you can call me Alex," I said. The mother paused for a while then burst out laughing. I was surprised and I was looking at her as if she has gone insane.

"Little boy, the name Alexander is a taboo and it is not for everyone to bear, only the reigning king and the prince is privilege to bear it, so are you telling me that you are a prince or a lost prince," she asked looking directly into my eye.

I didn't know what to say and I was about to panic, placing her hand on my shoulder, she rubbed my shoulder in a circular motion, it was soothing and I suddenly felt relaxed, it was like all the burden has being lifted from me. I sigh in contentment, this is good, it could continue forever.

"Now, little boy, tell me, what is your real name?" she asked again. Her voice sounded so far away, her voice was compelling and all I could do was to answer her.

"Nicholas, my real name is Nicholas," I said. My eyes were barely opened and I was finding it difficult to maintain my conscious, before I could succumb to the darkness, the last thing I remembered was that I was lifted from where I was and was carried away by someone.

"Alert! Alexander, it's time to wake up," a sharp voice said in my head, it kept on repeating the word until I rose up.