I dreamed of the glowing plant in my lab. I was reaching for it but then the plant suddenly turned into Rossa's face laughing at me. I jolted awake and saw a white ceiling above me. I looked around in confusion and I was still in the same room from the night before. I pursed my lips, feeling troubled. Then I felt someone was beside me. Her arms loosely held on to my arm and her face rested at the crook of my neck. I forgot how to breathe again. Evi was still here. The overly affectionate Evi was still here. Her breathe fanned my skin, that made my heartbeat going wild.
I tried to squirm away from her clutch. She stirred because of me. Crap, I wasn't ready to deal with her yet. She untangle her hands from my arm and laid down on her back, slowly opening her eyes and yawned adorably. She looked perfect even though she just woke up. I sat up and turned away from her, scolding myself for gawking at her shamelessly.
"Morning, Resse. Did you sleep well?" She asked, her morning voice sounded so attractive somehow.
"Morning." I replied shortly, refusing to face her. I needed to figure out what was going on. I couldn't say all of this was just hallucinations anymore. It was a real world.
Evi hugged me from behind, her arms lazily looped around my hips. My shoulders tensed up and I found myself holding my breath. She placed her lips on my shoulder and I still didn't want to call that a kiss. I could feel her smiling on my skin. Help, my heart was about to explode!
"Let's change and head to breakfast okay? Then, we can go to the city." She told me. I nodded stiffly. "Great!"
She released me and get down from the bed, heading toward the bathroom. I sighed. I touched my chest and I wonder if it was possible to get a heart attack? Why did that Evi makes me feel like such a mess like this? I've only ever considered Evi as a friend. Those words she told me last night rang in my ears. My face automatically heated up, blushing furiously. Agh!
"Resse? What are you doing? Still sleepy?" Evi called out from the bathroom.
"5 more minutes!" I blurted out and buried my face into the fluffy pillow. I was being an idiot all of a sudden.
Evi changed and getting ready while I was still laying down on the bed, looking blankly at the ceiling. My spirit was low, knowing that I was stuck in this reality. I wasn't sure if I could ever leave this place and went back to my normal life.
"I'll head down first. Don't sleep too long, dear. I'll be waiting for you." She said, sitting down at the edge of the bed, beside me. She smiled sweetly at me. I just nodded, forcing a smile. She leaned down and pressed a kiss on my cheek. My face flared up. A part of me was thankful she didn't kiss my lips because I wouldn't know if I could handle it the second time. She tucked a stray hair behind my ear and continued looking at me with that look.
"Don't keep me waiting too long, okay?" She raised her eyebrows at me. I nodded again, I couldn't trust my voice. She patted my head softly and then left the room.
I took a deep breath, tyring to calm down. This place was too harmonious. Everyone knew me and I wasn't out of place. That Evi, was a different Evi. That wasn't the Evi that I knew. I sat up from the bed and ran toward the mirror. I looked at myself and started inspecting my body. I still had the scar on my right knee and I didn't feel weird with my body. That convinced me that this was my body and I was just me. Then, if there was a different Evi in this place, that meant, there was a different Resse too.
"Alternate worlds?" I murmured and couldn't help but think how ridiculous was that. That was unlikely reasoning but it was the only answer I could come up with. How did I end up here? Also, where did the Resse of this world gone to? Should I be worry that she would show up soon and probably jumped at me, accusing me for being an imposter? I shook my head at how ridiculous my imagination was.
I knew I needed more information. My best bet would be Evi herself. For sure, I couldn't reveal my secret yet. I have a gut feeling that it would be wise to pretend that I was the Resse in this world. I took a deep breath and began to get ready. After washing my face I went to the walk-in wardrobe to find something decent to wear. I came across my first hurdle for that day. I didn't know which clothes belonged to Resse. I picked an outfit randomly, hoping that it would fit me. It was another one piece, it was pale yellow. There was no other choice. If I wanted to pretend to be Resse they knew, I needed to dress like one. This one piece was similar to the one I wore the day before.
After changing, I needed to wear some accessories too. I decided to go with the same golden bracelet I had before. It looked somewhat important to wear. I noticed that Evi had the same one too. For my hair, I decided to put a hair clip and just let my hair down. I hoped it wasn't weird. I went out of the room and then it dawned on me, I didn't know where to go. Evi said she will be heading down for breakfast. Where was that? Damn it.
I wandered around aimlessly. Hallways, going down the stairs, peeking into rooms, halls but still no sight of Evi or anything that close to a dining table or kitchen or anything. I almost gave up when I saw a small balcony to my right. It wasn't the same balcony from the day before but the scenery was almost the same. I saw that beautiful garden again. There were a lot of flowers with various species. The botanist part of me wanted to go down there and started inspecting them but another part of me was troubled because I couldn't find Evi. I didn't even know the way back to the bedroom. The place was massive.
"Good morning, Ms Resse. What are you doing here?" A voice spoke behind me. I turned around and saw one of the guards.
"Oh, erm, I can't find my.. Fiancée. Do you know where she is?" It was harder to admit that Evi was my fiancée.
"Oh, her highness, Princess Evi is at the dining hall. I can escort you there, Ms." He offered politely.
I knew Evi was some kind of important individual. I noticed how she was addressed by everyone else the day before. They were calling her 'her highness'. So, Evi was a princess here. I followed the guard. I looked around as we walked. Everything was just so pretty and luxurious. A few minutes later, we arrived in front of the double doors. The handles were made of gold and I could see symbols on the surface. The guard politely lowered his head and pulled the door open for me.
"Thank you." I uttered before entering the hall. The dining hall was huge. Chandeliers above, a long table at the centre of the hall and I saw Evi was sitting there with papers littering in front of her.
She didn't sit down at the head table but instead sat at the side. It made me wonder whether there were more people joining later on. I walked over and Evi noticed my presence. She looked up from the papers and automatically smiled at me. I returned the smile and sat down on the seat across from her.
"Sorry. I know I said I'd take a break from work but they just put all these for me to see and.." She explained, looking at me sheepishly. She was acting like I would scold her or something. "There are changes that need to be done for the wedding. I need to look through it again."
"It's fine." I said and quickly added because I wanted to continue the conversation, "What are the changes?"
"Oh, the council insisted that we changed our wedding venue. I know you'd want the wedding at the waterfall but they said it was too dangerous." She told me, still being cautious. It was as if she thought that I would lash out at any given moment or something.
"Oh, so.. Where do they want the wedding to happen?" I asked. I had no idea what council she was talking about though but I needed to act like I understood what she said. I was trying to contribute to this conversation by asking questions. I've been so quiet the day before after all. Definitely couldn't afford to be more suspicious.
"They want to do the wedding here, in the palace." She looked even more worried. Did she perhaps expect me to be angry?
"Oh I see." I muttered.
"You're not angry?" She was astonished.
"No.. I guess, it's more reasonable to hold the wedding in the palace." I said carefully. I didn't sound too suspicious right? She blinked and then smiled in relief. She was finally relaxing.
"Alright then." She looked happier. She called over someone to clean up the papers. That man just showed up out of nowhere, like freaking jumpscare. I knew this world was somehow a world of magic but I was still having a hard time believing it.
"What would you like to eat?" Evi queried. Oh no, I didn't know a shit thing about their food. The workers appeared in the hall, probably on standby to take our orders.
"Ah, just water?" I answered in my panic. Evi paused for a bit and then burst out laughing.
"Dear, there's no way the chef is going to serve you only water." She said after calming down. I just fake a laugh.
"How about.. Erm, something with leaves in it? Er.. Salad?" I was taking a risk here by mentioning salad. Did that exist in this world? Evi raised both of her eyebrows and laughed again.
"Resse, you're giving the chef a hard time."
"Well, erm.. Surprise me then." That was my safest response. Evi grinned and told the workers. She requested something as well, a type of dish that I've never heard of.
"So, you surely take your sweet time to come down." She started. Yeah, I probably took an hour to get into the hall.
"Yeah, I was having a nice extra sleep." I shrugged casually. She chuckled lightly, shaking her head.
"Did you have a good sleep last night?"
"Maybe."
"Well, you were restless last night, I thought you might have had bad dreams." She looked at me in concern. This Evi was just so kind.
"Just some weird dreams. Nothing important."
"I see."
"So erm, where do we start our shopping later?" I asked just so I felt like I contributed to the conversation.
"Hmm.. Let's see.." She furrowed her eyebrows as she was thinking about it. There was a sudden thought that crossed my mind during that time, 'She's so cute.' I shook my head, trying to push that ridiculous thought away, what was I thinking?
"Should we go to Fern? You love their clothes. Maybe we can buy matching outfits?" She suggested. I had no idea what Fern was. A clothing store perhaps?
"How about, you pick the place this time?" I couldn't make a decision when I basically had zero knowledge of this place. I didn't even know the name of this city, or country. Her eyes slightly widened, surprised.
"Really?"
"Yeah.."
"Alright then." She grinned. "I'm thinking of going to UnderseaSight. Is that okay?"
"Sure, whatever you like." I nodded. I smiled to mask my ignorance. I didn't know what that was. Evi brightened up and her smile was contagious. I could tell that she was excited.
The workers showed up a few minutes later with our food. They served a very weird food in front of me. It looked like jelly. A blue glowing jelly. Evi's food was at least recognisable. It was a fish dish. Though, I didn't know the species. I tried eating my food and it melted immediately in my mouth. It had a distinct sweet taste in it. I've never tasted this flavour before. It was decent I guess, not my favourite.
After we were done eating, Evi and I exited the hall. Hand in hand as we walked along the corridors toward the exit. She told me that our ride to the city was already prepared. I swung our hands together as we walked. I was just trying to ease my tension and nerves. Evi found it funny and giggled cutely. I laughed too. This reminded me of the Evi I knew. We joked around like this back when we were in high school. Walking down the hallways to our classes, marching together, holding hands and just being silly.
The city was just like how I remembered it the day before. We got down from the carriage and Evi led the way. We entered a building in a shape like a hemisphere. It was made of glass. A very thick glass and wasn't a see through. It coloured in a mix of pink and purple. It was pretty. The inside was empty. There was a single desk at the centre and a woman was waiting for us.
"Greeting, your highness and Ms Resse." The staff greeted us, lowering her head politely.
"Greetings." Evi replied.
"Let me escort you to the entrance. This way." She gestured her hand to her right. I just noticed there was a door there.
Evi tugged my hand and we followed the woman. Once we were nearing the door, the staff stepped aside and lowered her head again. Evi nodded at her and we entered the door. I didn't see any pathway ahead of us. It was just a small room. I stood by her, confused. Then, the floor beneath our feet moved. I almost screamed when the floor turned into liquid and we were sinking. Evi was grinning, feeling excited. I guess this was supposed to happen. I held her hand tighter to calm myself down.
We were swallowed into the floor and I closed my eyes the entire time. A cool sensation washed over me. Evi touched my cheek and I had to open my eyes. My eyes widened as I took in our surroundings. We were underwater! However, I didn't feel wet or anything. In fact, I could breathe just fine. My mind went dizzy, trying to make sense of this. We were floating and I could see colourful reefs, fishes swimming past us.
"Come, we have more to see." She told me. We could talk underwater?!
Evi never let go of my hand and pulled me along with her as we swam around. It was enchanting. Everything felt so magical here. There was too much to take in. I've never seen anything like this. Even the fishes were new to me. I'd never seen such mesmerising fishes like that. A friendly fish somehow tickled my cheek, making me chuckle. This was so amazing.
I saw a big fish resembling a shark but the colour of its skin was gold. It swam under us and I couldn't stop gawking at it. It was so surreal. Evi nudged my side and pointed at something ahead of us. I saw buildings. Then, I saw something that came straight out from the fairytale. Mermaids! A group of them were playing with each other. They were so pretty and their voices felt so good to listen to, it was alluring.
"Hey, I'm going to be jealous if you keep staring at them." Evi brought me out from my trance. She was smirking at me. I blushed.
"I.. I wasn't staring." I tried to justify my action. Well, I never saw mermaids before so, I couldn't help it.
"Hm hm.." She was unconvinced.
We moved again. This time I saw mermans displaying their strength with a mock brawl between them. I noticed that each of them was holding a trident. So, trident was a significant weapon in this place? As we moved further, we came across a vast sea floor with shimmering purple plants. I gasped at the scene. It was so beautiful.
"I've been meaning to show you this place but never got the chance to." Evi told me shyly.
"This is so beautiful." I praised sincerely. I let go of her hand and moved closer to the plant. It was so interesting. The botanist part of me couldn't help but emerging. I touched its petal, it was soft to touch. Then out of nowhere small creatures flew up from the plants and it added the magical touch of the scenery. It was as if fireflies were flying around us, well, except it was underwater and these lights were probably glowing small fishes. I grinned broadly.
"I'm glad you love this." Evi came to my side, matching my grin.
"Thank you for bringing me here." I meant it. She grinned even broader, she looked so pleased and happy.
We spent another hour there until it was time for us to leave. Evi led the way to the exit. She just knew the way around. We emerged back into the surface, appearing back again in the small room. We were completely dry and it baffled me. The staff greeted us again outside the room and then we walked out of the building. That was definitely my most unforgettable experience.
"Should we look around the stores?" She asked. I just nodded.
So, we walked down the streets and stopped just to browse through the stores we came across. The people that saw us would automatically bow and greet Evi. Everyone knew her and they knew me too. It was still unclear the role of Resse in this world. She was a noble too? Also, how come everyone acted normally when two women like us were together? Was it normal here? There were so many questions.
Hours passed and Evi decided it was time for us to go to the river. She already booked the cruise. We would be having lunch on board as well. There was a big river flowing right in the middle of the city. When we got to the dock, I gaped at the size of the ship. It was amazing. Intricate designs and motifs were carved on its body. It looked heavy though and the materials weren't made of wood or anything but with pearls. How did it stay floating? I had no idea. Maybe they casted some kind of magic on it so that it was floating. Evi helped me to board the ship, holding my hand and made sure I wasn't going on a trip. She was so kind it was making me feel guilty.
I found out during our shopping trip that this country was named Atheen and the city we were in was the capital city called Ascar. It was thanks to the brochures I managed to read when Evi was busy looking at the vendors. I was unfamiliar with the names. Which only convinced me that this was a different world. Was this some kind of typical plot in those fictional novels?
I stood by the railings, looking at the water. It was so clear and clean. It was a great view to see the city. The ship was moving slowly and that was intentional so that we could enjoy the cityscape. It was peaceful. This country was peaceful and prosperous. Everyone with different races got along well with each other and I could see how efficient the security and safety inside the city was. Soft breeze slapped my face. I looked up and saw a clear blue sky. The weather was perfect.
A pair of arms suddenly snaked around me from behind. I flinched slightly, totally not expecting it. Evi rested her chin on my shoulder, our faces touched and it sent shivers toward me. I didn't know why I was reacting like this around her. My face heated up and I knew for sure I was blushing so hard.
"I just can't believe it. You'll be mine soon." She whispered into my ear. My heart was going wild inside of me.
"Erm.. How many days left until the wedding?" I asked carefully.
"10 days." She answered and I could tell that she was smiling as she spoke.
"That.. Well, it'll go by fast without our notice." I muttered. She nodded in agreement and kissed my neck. I almost let out a gasp. This was getting riskier. I needed to defuse this situation without looking like I tried to stop her.
I turned around and hugged her instead. She chuckled in surprise and easily hugged me back. I exhaled in relief. I managed to stop her from showering me with kisses. I didn't think I could handle that much longer.
"Now you're being clingy again. You've been shying away from me since yesterday." She mumbled out. Crap, my change of attitude was too obvious.
"I.. I'm just.. Erm, nervous." I didn't know if that was enough of an excuse.
"That's actually rare of you to be nervous around me."
"Ah, well, we're about to get married. So, I.. I.." I leaned back to look at her so that I could make up a quick believable excuse but my words were failing because of how close our faces were. My face got even redder if that was even possible. She looked so ethereal at this distance. She looked like a model that was ready for a photoshoot.
"I know. I get it, Resse." She said thoughtfully. Her gaze softened and it was making me weak. What was this feeling inside of me? "I love you."
"I.. Erm.." How was I supposed to reply to that? I couldn't look into her intense blue eyes and ended up looking down, right.. At her lips! They looked so soft and I knew how it felt to be on mine. This was bad.
"Well? Aren't you going to kiss me?" She teased, grinning slyly. I stared at her pink lips for a few more seconds before I decided to turn my head away.
"Erm, I'm hungry. Is lunch ready yet?" I backed away from her, unable to look at her anymore.
"Oh, you're such a tease." She pouted. She grabbed my hand and pressed a kiss there. This was too much. "I think the food is ready. Let's go."
She led me to the deck. They prepared a table for us and it looked so fancy. She pulled the chair for me and with a red face, I sat down clumsily. She chuckled in amusement. She took the seat across from me and I could feel her stare. I was still determined not to look at her directly. I was too embarrassed already. The waiter came and placed the menu in front of us. I pretended to read the menu when actually I was trying to calm down.
I picked something at random, not knowing what kind of food it was. For the drink, I just got the same one as Evi. We didn't wait for that long, the waiter brought our orders in just 2 minutes. That was so efficient. The food I got was a fish, kinda. It was roasted with some kind of vegetable. I wasn't that fond of fish but I couldn't complain.
"So, I want to go pray." I announced out of nowhere. Evi halted from eating, looking at me in confusion. I heard several people with animal ears talking about going to pray when we were shopping. So, I thought, I should go too. Well, I got nothing to lose and decided to try talking to the god they worship. If I wanted the answer how I ended up here, I might as well ask the god itself.
"Eh.. You want to go to the temple?" She asked.
"Ah, yes. I want to go to the temple."
"Why?"
"Erm, I want to say my thanks." I didn't think this through. I wasn't prepared enough to give reasons.
"Your thanks?"
"Y.. Yes." I looked at her and my heart skipped a beat. Her blue eyes gazed at me, waiting for my explanation. "I.. I want to say my thanks for.. Having you in my life."
"What?" She ended up laughing out loud, definitely never expecting that reasoning. Well, I could sympathise, I didn't know what I was saying either. I frowned.
"I'm serious." Fuck it, I'll just go with this. She stopped laughing but the grin never left her face. She was highly amused. I was somehow glad to make her laugh though.
"I'm not ridiculing you dear. I'm just.. Well, I'm flattered." I noticed blushes on her face. She reached out her hand, wanting to hold mine. I voluntarily offered my hand for her to hold. She intertwined our fingers together. "I've never heard that pick up line before. You really surprised me there."
"Well, okay then. Let's go to the temple after this. I want to say my thanks too." She smiled broadly. I smiled at her, happy that she agreed.
We talked casually afterwards. It was easy to click with this Evi. She told me about her meetings and the people she met. It was fun listening to her story. They were interesting. Then, she paused, as if realising something.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Sorry, I know you don't like it if I talk about other people." She was being cautious again. I spotted nervousness and fear. I noticed that Evi was always careful around me. She was always trying to keep me in a good mood. It was like treating me like a time bomb or something. I also noticed that Evi somehow always asked me first before doing something. The original Resse was a control freak or something?
"No, it's fine. Tell me more about the people you've met." I smiled warmly at her. Her shoulders eased up and her nervousness dissolved. What kind of relationship she had with the Resse in this world?
An hour later, we disembarked at a different dock and just like Evi promised, we would be visiting the temple. The ride there only took 10 minutes. The temple was on top of a hill and we had to climb hundreds of stairs to get there. Oh my gosh, I wasn't athletic. I started regretting this. The temple had a lot of similarities with Parthenon, the temple dedicated to Athena back in my original world. While the Parthenon was like a ruin, this one was new. It had been maintained carefully. Golden symbols decorated its pillars and statues at the courtyard.
"I can carry you." Evi offered, sympathising with my lack of stamina. I was out of breath already and we weren't even halfway up there.
"No.. I can do this." It was already humiliating for her to see me like this. I wanted to salvage the leftover pieces of my pride. Evi smiled in amusement. She held my hand securely and matched my slow pace. She was just so kind.
After what felt like hours, we made it to the temple. Evi was kind enough to give me a drink and she rewarded me a kiss on top of my head. I was too tired to be panicking about that kiss. I recovered after 10 minutes and we were finally ready to enter the temple.
The praying hall was just like I expected. Benches lined up before the altar and there was a huge statue in front. It didn't take a genius to guess what statue was that. It was definitely the statue of the god they worship. The figure had a long cloak, covering its face and a Scepter that resembled a trident. The hall was empty and it was just us there. I let go of Evi's hand and went to kneel in front of the statue. My body just knew what to do. I clasped my hands together and closed my eyes.
A cold sensation engulfed me. My body felt extremely light. I opened my eyes and I was in a freakishly white room. I didn't see the end of it. I looked down at my hands and was surprised that they were almost transparent. I tried to glance around but everywhere was just the same. It was like I didn't even move.
"You're not dead." A voice sounded. I couldn't tell where it came from. It was like it spoke right inside my mind. It was reading my thoughts whether I was dead or not.
"Are you god in this world?" I asked bravely.
"Yes. You can say that." I heard amusement in his tone. "You handled the situation well, child. I expected that you probably would cause chaos when you arrived in this world."
"Did you bring me here?"
"Yes, more or less."
"Why?"
"This world's balance is tilting. I have to bring you here to make sure the balance scale is right." That made no sense to me.
"What?"
"Atheen is the foundation of this world. The peacefulness, prosperity begins in Atheen. If Atheen falls, so does the whole world. The one that maintains Atheen is none other than Evi Ascar, the true ruler."
"Alright.. So, what's that gotta do with me?"
"Evi loves you."
I knew it was obvious that Evi was in love. However, she wasn't in love with me. She was in love with the Resse from this world. All of this was still so confusing for me.
"If she lost her loved one, she will not be able to rule properly. If she fails to do her duty, Atheen will fall."
"Lost her loved one? What do you mean?"
"The Resse in this world died. The same way you did in your previous world."
"Hah?!"
"She ate the same plant as you. Fascinating isn't it? The alternate version of you thought of the same idiotic action which resulted in death." I could tell that he was mocking me.
"I.. Died?"
"I brought you back and sent you here to replace the Resse in this world."
"If you can bring me back to life, why don't you just do that for the Resse in this world?"
"As I said, the Resse in this world needs a replacement. She almost became the cause of doom to this world."
"What do you mean?"
"She was causing harm to Evi Ascar. If prolonged, the consequences will be severe."
"I'm lost." This was too much to take in and my head felt like spinning.
"To put it simply, I replaced the Resse in this world with you. Because you can fulfil the role of Evi's loved one better."
"What.." I was genuinely lost for words.
"Just fulfil your role as her partner and the world is preserved."
"But.. We're both women though. I mean.. What about the continuation of Evi's lineage?"
"This world is different from your previous world. Anyone, no matter the gender, can have offspring. They just need to ask me. If I deem them worthy, I shall grant offspring to them."
"What a responsive god you are." I muttered.
"Are you being condensing?" He snapped.
"No! It's a praise!" I almost anger a freaking god.
"Then, this shall be it. I can't keep you here for too long."
"Wait! I have more questions!"
"Time is up, child. As a parting gift, I prepare something for you. Please fulfil your role properly and for the sake of the world, take care of the true ruler."
I felt myself again. I slowly opened my eyes and I was still kneeling in front of the statue. Then, all of a sudden I felt an intense pain inside my head. Like something was forcing its way through. I couldn't help but falling to the ground, my vision blurred badly. I heard someone was calling me but that voice sounded muffled in my ears. Tears trickled down from the corner of my eyes. I've never felt a pain at this scale. I couldn't even let out a word. My body felt numb and I succumbed to darkness.