Arrival

Myla continued to look out the window as the carriage made its way. It wasn't long before my mother came to tell us that we had arrived.

We parked the carriage in a less busy spot, grabbed our bags, and headed towards our destination.

"Do we have to return the rented carriage to a specific location?" I asked Zeph.

"Probably, but I'm sure it will be fine parked here," he replied nonchalantly.

I sighed. "It's all fun and games until you owe someone money," I said, eyeing Zeph's worn-out clothes. "And you don't seem to have much of it."

Zeph walked ahead confidently. "Don't judge a book by its cover, dear nephew," he said, looking back at me. "I might just be a rich man in disguise."

"Yeah, right. I highly doubt it," I muttered under my breath, unsure whether to believe my own words.

Zeph didn't give off any indication of wealth, but I had seen people in my previous world who were "rich in disguise." They preferred to dress simply and comfortably instead of flaunting their wealth.

Ignoring the carriage and Zeph's words, I followed my family through the crowd, navigating in and out with our bags in tow.

Finally, we arrived at what resembled a train station in my previous world but without the trains. There were several booths with the names of cities above them, representing their respective destinations. Each booth had a clerk, and customers would pay for a ticket that allowed them passage to the warp gate.

After making it through the crowded station, we found a relatively quiet spot to say our final goodbyes to my parents. My sister hugged my mother and father one last time. "I'll miss you guys," she said.

"We'll miss you too," my father replied, his voice tinged with sadness.

My mother hugged Myla tightly, not wanting to let go. "Make sure to call us if anything happens," she said, extending her pinky. "Promise me, okay?"

Myla linked her own pinky with my mother's. "I promise, Mom."

After their promises were made, my mother turned to me and gave me a warm hug. "Now you be good and don't cause any trouble."

"When have you ever known me to do that?" I joked, but in truth, I was saddened by the thought that this might be the last time I saw my parents in person for a while.

My mother chuckled and extended her pinky. "You too, promise me you'll call if anything happens."

I linked my pinky with hers. "I promise to call, and I'll make sure to keep Myla in check."

My words elicited laughter from my parents and an annoyed gasp from Myla. My mother seemed to take me seriously, thanking me and giving me one last hug.

When my mother finally let go, my father hugged me tightly with the strength of a bear. "Train hard, son. And remember, if you ever feel lost or unsure of where you're supposed to be, just keep moving. There's a place for everyone in this life, and I don't know why, but I feel like yours is beyond my understanding." He released his hug and put his hands on my shoulders, his eyes glistening. "Although you're still a boy, I can tell you'll be a great man."

I didn't know how to respond. In my previous life, I could shut off my emotions at a moment's notice, but around these people, I couldn't.

Why was that?

I looked at my father with determination, but unwanted tears streamed down my face. "I'll make you proud, father," I said.

His watery eyes released tears as well, and he ruffled my hair. "I'm sure you will, Fal."

After a second, he wiped away his tears. "Now, Faliya, if we don't leave now, we'll miss the next gate."

"Right," my mother responded, as she wiped away some tears of her own.

They each gave one last goodbye wave before disappearing into the busy crowd.

Zeph gave us a moment before he interrupted our small moment of sadness. "Are you guys ready to set off?"

I wiped my face with my shirt sleeve. "Yeah, let's go."

Due to the busy crowd, we walked for what seemed like hours until we finally made it into a line that would lead us to the capital. The line was somewhat long, and we had to wait around twenty more minutes to make it to the booth.

When we finally reached the booth, we were greeted by a young female clerk. Her almond-brown hair and eyes seemed to match perfectly with her uniform.

When she noticed Zeph, her expression changed from a smile to what seemed like shock. "Zeph? You're back already?"

"Well, if it isn't Carey. You look as stunning as ever," Zeph shot a smile at the young clerk, whose face turned a shade of red. "Yeah, I'm back." --he pushed me and Myla forward-- "Meet my niece and nephew."

The clerk gave us a warm smile. "It's nice to meet you both." She turned to something in her booth, then said, "So, two children and one adult to the capital. That will be four silver coins."

Zeph slid her four silver coins, and she handed him three tickets in return. Zeph grabbed the tickets and turned to walk away, beckoning us to follow. "I guess I'll see you some other time, Carey. Maybe we can go out for drinks again."

I turned back to see her face, once again, turn beet red.

"How lewd," I mumbled under my breath.

Myla must have heard me because she let out an awkward laugh.

From there, we once again continued our way through the crowd. Myla and I didn't know exactly where we were going and just followed Zeph. We eventually made it to the entrance of a wide corridor. The ceiling of the passage curved, making the ceiling somewhat high. As we walked through, I could sort of make out the endpoint.

There were armored guards, their swords kept neatly at their sides, standing as still as statues as if waiting for an altercation. They were standing near another clerk--this time, a man--and even though his uniform was similar to the female clerks, you could tell he was of a higher position. He would take the passenger's tickets and place them on a glass-like table. The table would light up green at their tickets, and the armored guards would allow them passage, leading them to a large circular platform, and the passengers would just stand there waiting. We eventually made it to the line, and I had seen them repeat this process.

When the large circular platform looked like it reached its maximum number of passengers, the clerk then spoke into something akin to a microphone, "Maximum capacity reached. Please do not move off the platform until your destination has been reached." I could tell he had said this many times before because his voice sounded almost robot-like. The clerk then began to flip multiple switches and press a good amount of buttons until multiple glowing white runes lit up around the circular platform. As the seconds flew by, the bright runes only grew brighter, until the passengers disappeared, and the lights dimmed until they were no longer visible.

Myla nudged my shoulder. "Did you see that? It looks a little scary - they just disappeared."

"Yeah," I said, taking a step forward with the now-moving line. "What if you just disappear and are never seen again?"

Her face paled at my somewhat dark humor. "T-that wouldn't happen."

"I'm sure it won't," I consoled. "Although I didn't expect the 'Brave Myla' to get so scared."

She gave me a light punch on my arm. "I wasn't scared for me. I was just scared for my dear little brother."

I rubbed my arm where she had hit me, feigning hurt. "Is that any way to treat your dear little brother?"

She took another step, moving up the line. "Oh, shut up."

A few more minutes passed, and we saw the gate activate a couple more times.

At last, it was our turn. After all the waiting and walking we had done in the station, I was more than ready to leave.

Zeph handed the man our tickets. The clerk placed them on the glass-like platform, and it lit up green.

"You may proceed," said the male clerk.

At his words, the guards opened the gate. After we passed through, they locked it and escorted us to the platform.

After a few more people filled up the warp gate, the clerk made his usual robot-like announcement before activating it.

Multiple glowing white runes lit up around me. I looked to my left, where Myla was standing and saw her eyes shimmering with excitement.

"Are you ready, Rye?" I asked. Rye hadn't said a word on our journey from the carriage to here, but I could feel him silently observing, trying to take everything in.

"Yeah!" he responded.

The runes kept glowing brightly until my vision turned white, and I was unable to see anyone around me. After about a split second, I was able to see around me again.

Myla was clenching her stomach, almost like she was going to puke. Zeph was doing the same but looked unfazed by it.

I turned to see all the other passengers doing the same. Some people were in worse condition than Myla and began taking some kind of pill.

"What's wrong with them?" I wondered aloud.

"You have arrived in the capital. Please step off the platform!" said a clerk through the microphone. The clerk was much older than the one I had seen only a few seconds ago.

We all did as we were told. Zeph was helping Myla get off the platform and he noticed that I was just fine. "Does your stomach not hurt, brat?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine," I said with a shrug. "Aren't you guys overreacting a bit?"

We passed the guards and walked along a path leading us into another large corridor, which was much fancier than the previous one.

Myla seemed to be fine now and even had enough energy to say, "Overreacting you say? It felt like my stomach was being twisted from the inside!"

Zeph rubbed his stomach. "Even though I've taken many warp gates, I still feel pain. For you to not feel anything at all is unnatural."

"Well, I'm fine. What were those people taking back there? Some kind of pill?" I asked.

"Oh, that. It's a non-prescription drug they sell at all stations to help with the 'after warp gate ache' as they call it," Zeph explained. "Sorry, Myla, I forgot to get some. I don't usually travel with new travelers."

"It's fine," Myla responded as her walk began to look more stable.

"The more traveling you do, the more you'll get used to it, so think of it as another form of training to toughen up," Zeph said, shooting a thumbs-up at Myla.

"You're just saying that because you forgot the pills," I said as I walked out of the large doorless exit of the corridor.

Our previous conversation was dismissed from my mind, and I looked at the sight in awe. Large stairs from where I stood led down to the busy mass of people. Gigantic windows were on every wall I could see around the transport station, using the sun as an extra light. It gave it a different air than the dimmed corridor. The atmosphere here was what I could only explain as lively or bright.

After about a minute of staring at the sight, I heard Zeph. "Stop gawking and come on," he said, hurriedly going down the steps. "Someone should be waiting for us."

Myla and I quickly followed, probably both wondering who could be waiting for us. The three of us seemed to zip through the crowd, finally making it outside. Many buildings filled my vision, along with many more people. It was around midday, and it was likely the city's busiest hour. I saw many people across the street flooding the sidewalks and going into stores or restaurants. There were also many people with parked carriages in front of the station, most likely waiting for someone to come out. But even after seeing all this, I couldn't draw my eyes away from the enormous castle way out in the distance.

I was fascinated by the sight. I don't know why, but the picture it painted in my mind truly gave weight to the fact that this was a magical world.

Finally, looking away from the castle, I turned my gaze to Zeph, who seemed to be looking for someone in particular.

He held his hand above his eyes in a searching manner. Finally, he waved his hand, calling us to follow.

We walked up to a man in a fancy all-black suit. His hair was dark and neatly swept back. The wrinkles on his face and visible gray strands of hair told me he was old, though.

"Bertly, it's been a while," Zeph said, conversationally.

The man smiled and bowed. "Indeed it has, Lord Zephyrus," he said, turning his gaze towards us. "They must be Miss Faliya's children."

"Right you are, Bertly," said Zeph. "This is Myla and Falyn, my niece and nephew."

The man, who was apparently Bertly, gave a bow. "It's nice to meet you. I am Bertly Hensworth, Lord Zephyrus's personal assistant and butler."

I looked at the man in shock, only snapping out of it at Myla's words. She gave a polite smile and said, "It's nice to meet you as well, Mr. Bertly."

I quickly followed up with a response of my own. "Yes, nice to meet you."

Bertly chuckled. "No need for the 'Mr.' just Bertly is fine. After all, I am your butler now too." He then pulled out a small pouch from the inside of his suit. Inside were two rather uninteresting rings. "You're probably tired of lugging all that stuff around, so I brought these." He handed the two rings to Myla and me. "Just imprint your mana signature onto it, and your items will go inside."

"Are you saying this ring is some kind of storage place?" I asked, my shock obvious in my voice.

"Correct," the fancy butler responded. He turned to Zeph. "Now, should we set off?"

"Yes, I think we should," he replied, already heading to the carriage.

While we were in the carriage, I kept observing the ring I had gotten. I was surprised that something so small could fascinate me so much.

In the middle of taking my bag out and putting it back in, playing with the ring like a child with a toy, Zeph interrupted me. "Is that ring really that interesting to you, brat?"

"I don't know why, but yes, it is," I replied. Finally, I stopped playing around and put my bag in the storage ring. "How much stuff can this thing hold anyway?"

"You can probably hold two wagons' worth of stuff in the one you have. The only things it can't hold are living things."

"That's amazing."

"Yeah, so don't break it. Those things cost a pretty penny, kid."

***

The ride went smoothly and I hopped out of the carriage, finding myself staring at a magnificent mansion. The brilliant road leading up to the house and the elegant water fountain in front of it looked like something out of a fairy tale. The newly trimmed bushes and swaying trees in the light wind only added to the splendor.

"So, this is your home, Zeph?"

"Yes, it is."

"And you own this place?"

"Yes, I do."

I let out an inexplicable sigh as I accepted the facts. If Zeph was wealthy like this or even a noble, it made me wonder how other nobles behaved.

"Right this way," Bertly said, gesturing inside. "Chef Loria has prepared a feast."

"A feast?" Zeph asked, rushing into the house like a child.

I could've sworn I felt Rye wagging his tail inside me.

This is going to be a long couple of years...