Chapter 1
The sweet breeze of the forest air attempted to soothe Celes as every bite from this morning's breakfast rushed to reacquaint themselves with her tastebuds before moving quickly to make introductions with the plush forest floor. Realmwalking came with its drawbacks; immediate evacuation of the stomach was occasionally one of them. Celes hastily rubbed the remaining residue off her lips and onto the cream-covered sleeve of her linen blouse, immediately lamenting the inevitable stain. After a brief and wistful glance at her sleeve, Celes reached for her well-loved waterskin and quickly rinsed her mouth. In addition to returning a sense of normalcy to her tastebuds, the spring water also helped to cool her heated body and ground her racing mind. With a low sigh, Celes finally gathered enough resolve to open her eyes and take in the full extent of the trouble she now found herself in.
"Well, you certainly outdid yourself this time Plum." The corners of her mouth tugged into a small smile as she mumbled, her attention focused on the verdant scene before her. The dense forest was lush and rich in color, the vibrant greenery calling forth visions of an overabundant emerald mine and providing a picturesque backdrop for a rainbow of bold blossoms that snaked through every tree, shrub, and bush. She stepped forward, narrowing her eyes in curiosity at the sight of a blood-red plant before a brief flash of golden light in the corner of her eye demanded her attention. Celes jerked her head up and to the right, dragging her gaze to the high branches of a nearby tree. The rapid thudding in her heart slowed as her mind worked to piece together an understanding of the curious sight before her: an oversized pinecone spinning and glinting in a stray summer sunbeam.
She closed her eyes and shook her head, a wry smile painting her face as her hands rested on her hips. After the briefest reconsideration of the series of life choices that led her to this moment, Celes opened her eyes and watched as Pit's custom portal marker spun lazily in the air, a blue and white braid of ribbon uniting the pinecone with the looming branches of a nearby tree. The Captain had a penchant for arts and crafts - and an oversized, gilded, paper-mache pinecone hanging from an ancient Oak tree was simply another example of Pit Plum rising to meet expectations.
Her eyes trailed down past the point of the pinecone and toward the empty space beneath it, squinting and bobbing her head until she spotted it - the faint shimmer of a near-invisible portal. A perfectly placed sunbeam pierced the translucent magic, shattering the ray of stray light and painting the usually invisible portal with a delicate rainbow. The odds of finding this gate were near the higher percentages of impossible - but that was the fate of Pit Plum; luck (both good and bad) was well practiced at guiding his feet.
Pleased with the apparent stability of the portal, Celes moved on to her next goal - identifying a few landmarks with more permanence than Pit's elegant art project. A few contenders quickly rose to the top: an oversized mound of boulders that resembled the sleeping form of an ancient dragon a bit too closely for comfort, a grand willow tree with long and delicate stems brushing against the bubbling ripples of a lazy river, and the sight of a nearby waterfall foaming with fury and power as it crashed into the pond found at its base. Each landmark rested about fifty paces from her current location in vastly varied directions - the portal soundly in the middle of an awkward triangle. With enough time and a heaping measure of stubbornness, even her directionally inept mind could find this spot again - with or without a map. Her immediate concern of becoming trapped in a new realm with no coin, gear, or means of escape was allowed a short holiday to make room for a new terrifying concept - building a life in a new realm from scratch.
Again.
She crossed her arms instinctively as she eyed the vibrant forest with a touch more scrutiny. A dewy mist coated every inch of greenery, the sweet balm tickling her senses and working to try and soothe her worries. The sight of delicate white flowers twinning along the ground caught her attention, calling her to kneel down and inspect the fair blossoms. Honeysuckle would be her first guess, but without concrete knowledge of the flora and fauna in this strange realm, she was more than happy to pass on the latest opportunity to play her least favorite game - Venomous, Poisonous, Neither, or Both?
Brushing the dark dirt off of her skirt as she stood up, Celes took the opportunity to stretch her arms before methodically cracking each of her knuckles. A smattering of lazy white clouds drifted high above her, their wispy forms painted against a background that was a single grey shade away from being a perfect example of Robin-egg Blue. The magic in the air was nothing short of palpable - giving further credence to Pit's claim that a leyline ran underground nearby. She closed her eyes and stretched out her hands, her palms parallel to the ground. The energy swirling around her was ripe, overabundant, and… familiar?
Her gaze jerked up, her breath catching in her throat as each plant, animal, and insect instantly earned the title of a potential threat. There were many reasons why magic could feel familiar. Most of those reasons were extremely bad for her, but others were… fine. She flexed her hands, closing her eyes and willing her spirit to attune and mix with the ley of her new home - until her eyes snapped open and her hands ripped to her chest. Each tree, shrub, and flower was immediately met with a stern and accusatory glare, her piercing gaze demanding answers for the heinous crime of familiarity. Something in this forest dared to call to the hazy and long-ignored memories that now tugged at the back of her mind, screaming for even a shred of her attention.
But the plants held no answer. Of course, they didn't.
Goosebumps spread down her arms as she continued to scan the trees - the hairs on her neck rising and begging her to do anything but stand still. Attuning could wait - she needed to move. Celes thrust her hand into the side pocket of her skirt, fishing around for a small piece of weathered parchment. The paper crunched in her hand as she pulled it from its home, a faint was of sea salt ticking her nose - a common occurrence whenever Pit was involved. Her hands shook as she unfolded the inked sheet, her eyes squinting to read the hastily scribed instructions and correlate them to the simple map. A quick glance up towards the sun for her directionals gave her the last boost of confidence needed to push past her hesitancy and hike up the front of her layered skirt, swinging her short legs over the low shrubs of the forest floor; hopefully, the Captain was better at cartography than he was at being a pirate.
She moved with haste, taking care with each step to avoid stumbling over any wayward branches. After a few hurried steps, Celes finally caught sight of her oasis - the pocked dirt of a well-traveled road. A plume of red dust kicked into the air as she leaped onto the trail - her body shaking with adrenaline and relief as her feet renounced the plush forest floor in favor of hard-packed dirt. However, her moment of triumph was rudely interrupted by the distant chattering of frustrated voices.
After tucking the small map back into her pocket and failing to brush out the wrinkles of her colorful outfit, Celes pulled her shoulders back, straightening her stance before taking a solid step toward her future.
The boisterous sounds of conversation blended seamlessly with the booming announcements and declarations coming from who she could only assume were the local guards. As Celes neared the gates, a startlingly large portion of her willpower begged for a large enough fan to hide the grimace covering her face. The stone wall surrounding the town showed its age in the form of disintegrating masonry covered in aggressive ivy and a gate so rusted over that she could see the orange hue from several yards away. She shifted her attention to the poorly organized queue of individuals hoping to gain entry to the town, each group making their way to a single pair of overworked guards and speaking loudly enough that even she could hear the frustration in their voices. Regardless, the guard on the right wore an unyielding smile emblazoned across his sunkissed face, his grin somehow managing to outshine his thick and curly mane of gold. Each laugh that escaped his lips reached his eyes, and the gentle ring to his voice instilled calmness around him. The only crack in his mask of confidence was his constant fiddling with the pendant hanging around his neck.
The other guard?
Celes had never seen someone who matched the textbook definition of a knight in shining armor. Tall was a worthless descriptor for this Adonis - he was mountainous. At his full height, it was readily apparent that he stood head and shoulders over most of the crowd - and his ever-flexing biceps failed to help soften his serious demeanor.
Her advance slowed as she watched the guards work to process the endless groups of travelers. The leader of each party handed a small stack of papers to the mountain before turning to speak with the blonde guard. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the large man flip through the pages, his attention occasionally shifting to one of the faces in the group. Her heart sank as she recognized the last barrier keeping her from a new life, one Pit conveniently failed to mention when he initially offered her sanctuary - papers.