There she was, Lexus.
A beautiful face and a mysterious aura. She had me on all ten, wanting to look at her better.
"What?" She said gently to my staring.
I shook my head with a smile, "Nothing. Just you."
"...Weirdo." She turned, the curve of her lips visible from an angle.
Right now, I'm in a place I never knew existed.
I don't think anybody knew it existed.
A wonderland.
Well, the Holy Land, it's called.
A place in tales of the past, a place in mythology, a place that broke reality and made it fantasy.
Zionara.
The holy land.
But me, I'm what's called an otherworlder, Lexus told me that when I awoke with that pulsing red gem in my chest.
I freaked out at first when I realized.
And then, I questioned what even happened.
'How am I alive?'
'Wasn't I stabbed?'
'Wonders like these cannot be explained.'
My mind ran rampant, a million questions popping up.
Yet no answers.
I was yet to ask what this gem even was.
"Lexus," I said to the girl who was currently making a fire.
The cold cave in which we resided made our bodies shiver in the frosty breeze.
It was a piercing noir outside, a silent but deadly aura.
"Yes?" She responded just as quickly.
"Tell me, what is this gem... In my chest?" I tapped on the pulsing red.
"That's your new friend, the ZERO gem."
"ZERO gem?..." I mumbled.
"Nobody knows what it does. But, legends say it wields the power of the late king, ZERO. The man who created Zionara."
"It's never chosen anyone. Yet, it chose you." She continued.
A faint bloom of warmth fluttered within me.
"So... I'm like a chosen one?"
"Now, don't go overestimating yourself. Just because that gem's in your chest, doesn't mean you're some God."
"I-I know that."
"Good." She smiled.
The breeze picked up, causing us to scoot closer.
Our hands slowly inching toward the others.
We turned our heads to lock eyes.
With a gulp, "Can I... get a little closer?"
"... Sure, just don't be a perv."
"G-Got it."
Our hands slowly locked, and our shoulders touched.
Though the frost of the gust was eager to freeze us in place, we paid it no mind.
I held her hand tighter.
She did the same.
The cold was nonexistent for as long as we did this.
"I don't know how you got us here. I was stabbed, then woke up here with you."
--"But why a cave?..."
"Safety."
"From?.." I asked.
"It's a lot to explain. I don't want to just dump it all on you. I'll explain in due time."
"But what if-"
"Please, just wait." She said quickly.
"Okay."
The clouds in the night sky moved, allowing the double moonlight to shed its illumination on the lands.
With a growing wonder, "Two moons?" I said.
"Ah. Yeah. Two moons."
"How does that work?"
"Don't know. But it's beautiful," Lexus said.
"You're right."
"It's only a myth. But they say, two twin brothers died and became those two moons in the sky."
I looked at her, then back at the moons. "Really? The more you know."
"I just said it's a myth, and you believed it that quickly?" She giggled.
Scratching my head with an exhale and smile, "Ah!"
"You're so easy to convince."
The smile that she gave me produced greater warmth than any sun.
"It's just you. That's why I believed it."
With a head tilt and a stare, "I see," Lexus said.
The night went forth.
***
"Are you sure the ZERO gem chose an heir?"
In a room, there was an empty throne.
It represented that no man, or person, should rule over the place of Zionara.
But all people are equal.
"Yes, prince! My men and I saw it happen right before us!"
Putting a foot outward and striding ahead was a young man. Scars riddled his face, leaving not a single room for unblemished skin, yet he was still visibly handsome. His hair resembled a wolf's, yet it was dark and touched his shoulders.
"This is unprecedented. And an otherworlder at that? Just what is that ridiculous gem doing?"
Grabbing the dark cloak, aligned with navy colored fur around its collar, his arms went through the sleeves, cladding himself in the garments.
"Where are you going, Prince? You have to attend the give-back for the slums." The lackey said.
"I could give two damns about those peasents. They can feed themselves by eating dirt for all I care. I need to find the gem, that's all that matters." The prince responded.
"But, you can't cross the border of Zionara with troops, you know what will happen, sir!"
With a frost on his tongue, "Who said I was doing that?"
"W-Well, the Gem user is back on earth. How else...will you-"
"He's not." The man said sharply.
"What? How do you know, sire?"
"As written by ZERO himself, if the gem is embedded, one cannot physically stay on earth for too long."
--"The gem saps energy, and the naturally potent energy of Zionara is enough to keep it stable. Earth can not do that," He finished.
"Ah. Wise as always, prince." The lackey said.
--"But, even when you get him. How will you obtain the gem? You can not remove it."
"Don't worry about that. I think I know how." The prince's face contorted into a vicious grin.
***
Lexus and I moved step by step.
By now, the sun was out, and it was scorching.
Sweat was beading down my body like a river.
"Is it always this hot in Zionara?" I said, panting like a dog.
"Don't worry, it's just this region. It has bad temperature shifts. At night, it's incredibly cold, and in the day, it's blazing hot," She told me.
"I see. Well, can we hurry it up? I might fall over and evaporate if we stay here any longer."
Lexus laughed, "Sure."
She told me we were headed to a village.
I don't know what the village may be, or who resides there, but I'm curious as can be.
'This is a fantasy world with 2 moons. Just what kind of beings reside here?' I wondered.
"Lexus," I called out.
She looked over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes?"
"This question has been begging to get out. Tell me, is there magic?"
With a beautiful smile, "Absolutely."
A big grin was now etched on my face.
"Great!"
"Let's pick up speed," Lexus said.
***
New beginnings are scary.
But endings are even scarier.
What is to be afraid of?
With the new, there is a possibility for anything.
With her, I know nothing can be wrong.
My heart is quickening.
I'm excited.