Noelle woke up from a very restful sleep.
She had a big day ahead of her and she could barely contain her excitement. She loved her hometown but today was the day she was going to the capital to join the Mage's college. She rubbed her eyes and looked out the window of—
She paused for a moment.
Wasn't she on a blue tram? The one she was currently in was solid white. Had she switched trams at some point during the night? She turned to the person sitting on the seat across from her. "Hello. Are we headed to the capital?"
The person gave her an odd look. "We're already at the capital."
As if on cue, the tram lurched to a stop and people started rushing out. Noelle waited for everyone else to step down before stepping down herself. She took in the world around her and breathed in the capital air.
And promptly broke out in a coughing fit.
The air smelled rancid and was filled with dust and smoke.
When she stepped forward, the solid cobblestone roads prodded at her feet through the soles of her thin shoes. This was a far cry from the soft loam of home. Her throat was dry after the long journey and her heart raced, the realization sinking in that she was in a strange new place she knew nothing about.
The town in front of her seemed like it was straight from the books she'd read. It was bustling with well dressed people who all seemed in a rush to get to wherever they needed to go. She spotted a lovely clocktower in the distance while wooden storefronts with painted signs were sprawled out ahead of her.
She patted the dust from her clothes and approached an intimidating woman, who looked her up and down critically as she approached. "Excuse me," Noelle asked, trying to look more cheerful than she felt. "Do you know where I can find the Arlabach college?"
"Never heard of it," the woman replied in a clipped tone and walked away.
She tried again with a baker, a shop boy and an elderly man sweeping in front of his store. The answers were all the same: No one had heard of Arlabach.
A hollow feeling began to spread through her chest. Did she even have enough money to go back home? She checked for her coin purse and with a sinking feeling, she realized it was missing. The clock tower that had looked so lovely before seemed to loom over her. It was close to afternoon already and she still hadn't had breakfast.
"You there," a voice came from behind her. "You're looking for Arlabach, right?"
She turned around to find a middle aged man wearing simple black clothes. Her mood lifted slightly. "Yes! I've been looking all morning!"
"Oh. You poor thing. Let me take you there. You see, not many people know about Arlabach in this area. It's on the other side of town. I'm actually headed that way right now. Would you like to come with me?"
Noelle hesitated. Her mother had warned her not to trust men offering favors but she had no options at the moment so she warily followed him. He seemed to be well dressed and polite. He was probably a good man. "Yes, please," she answered and followed after him. "I'm also looking for an inn. Do you know any place where I can work in exchange for food and a place to stay?"
"Sure thing. I'll show you where it is."
The man, whose name she found out was James, walked at a leisurely pace and asked her questions about her hometown. She eagerly answered and asked him about his life as well. He was a pleasant conversationalist and Noelle found herself thoroughly enjoying his company.
"We're almost there," he stated and they turned a corner into a narrow street.
There was a group of men sitting at the entrance of a house. One of the men called out, "Oi James! What have you brought us today?"
James chuckled and answered, "She needs work and a place to stay so I thought why not give her some work we'll all enjoy?"
Noelle's steps faltered. James' tone had turned dark and he sounded nothing like the man who had been telling her about his wonderful son just a moment ago. She turned to look at him and flinched back at what she saw. Gone was the friendly smile and in its place was a lecherous sneer as he looked down at her.
"Wait. But you said—"
"You made this too easy." His sneer widened.
The others approached. One of them grabbed her wrist and pulled her. "Oh. Don't look so worried. We'll take very good care of you."
Noelle's heart turned to ice and hot tears sprang into her eyes. She tried to speak but no sound came out. She tried to move but her legs might as well have been made of rock.
And then as if conjured by providence, a sharp voice cut through the air.
"Step away from the woman."
A white haired man in silver armor strode down the narrow street, his chest emblazoned with a golden lion. He drew his gilded sword with a smooth motion and men scattered away like startled dogs, muttering curses as they went.
Noelle stood frozen.
Her heart pounded and her tears flowed freely. The knight turned to her and she instinctively flinched back at the steely look in his crystal blue eyes. His eyes softened upon seeing her reaction and he suddenly looked so young. He couldn't have been much older than her. He sheathed his sword and approached her like one would a wounded animal.
"Are you alright, miss?"
She nodded quickly, not trusting her voice.
He regarded her for a moment, taking in her worn shoes and dusty clothes. "You look like you've traveled far. Do you have a place to stay?"
Noelle hesitated. He seemed nice enough and he looked like a knight but she had just learned a tough lesson about not trusting appearances.
He took her silence as answer enough and continued, "There's an inn not far from here. It's called the Red Hearth. Tell them Sir Caedwyn sent you."
She nodded and let him escort her in complete silence, which was in stark contrast to her previous companion. After walking for a while, they reached an intersection that connected to the main street. He pointed straight down the road and said, "The inn is at the end of the street. Take care of yourself now."
Her voice finally returned to her. "Thank you, kind sir."
He gave her a short nod of acknowledgement and left, taking all of Noelle's courage with him. Now that he was gone, Noelle's anxiety returned. And the chilling realization that she had no money. She didn't want to impose on the knight any further so she decided to try her luck at the inn and hoped that the innkeeper would be a kind person.
She set off in the direction he had pointed out with hope and fear mingling in her heart. The skies seemed to reflect her mood and turned gloomy. Small droplets of rain started to descend from the cloud.
She quickened her pace hoping to find the inn before she could get soaked. Perhaps she could ask directions from one of the vendors before they closed down their shops for the rain.
And that's when she heard her name.
"Noelle!"
The voice came from ahead of her. She stopped in her tracks and took in the sight of the woman who stood in front of her, her gaze staring into her soul. She wore a simple white dress with a heavy jacket that could only belong to nobility. Her dark black hair combined with her ruby red eyes made her look very intimidating. Behind her stood a knight wearing similar armor like the one who had saved her, except his chest was adorned with a sigil of a red dragon.
"Noelle," the woman repeated. "I am Dahlia Ignivar. Do you remember me?"
Noelle was taken aback. She didn't know anyone from the capital but she didn't want to be rude so she considered pretending to know the woman. But she also didn't want to be deceitful so the latter side of her won out.
"I apologize, my lady. I'm afraid I don't remember."
"That's alright. Let's continue our conversation elsewhere. It seems the weather was not kind to you today. Follow me."
Her tone left no room for debate so Noelle acquiesced. The woman seemed to know her and had invited her into her home. Guilt crept up in her for having forgotten such a beautiful soul. The knight shadowed them without a word, not even responding when Dahlia took off her coat and handed it to him with a muttered thanks.
And then they entered the most opulent place Noelle had ever seen.
***
Dahlia tried to suppress a smile at seeing Noelle's dumbstruck look as she took in the overly expensive details of the room around her.
Sure, she had talked shit about Noelle as a character in the webtoon but seeing her in person felt completely different. She seemed so pure and untainted by the world. And like she had predicted before coming here, Noelle looked like she would get eaten alive by this place.
Which made the task of keeping her alive all the more difficult.
"Take a seat," Dahlia offered and sat down on the plush, brocaded sofa. She called for tea and pondered what to say. She landed on first trying to figure out who the Noelle in front of her was. Was she a naive country girl? Was she an experienced mage? Was she on track to becoming crown princess? What point of her story was the current Noelle from?
"So, Noelle, tell me what's going on with you?"
Dahlia internally flinched. Did that question sound too modern? She could get away with it because the person listening was Noelle. If it were a member of nobility, she would probably raise more than a few eyebrows.
What she got in response was an angelic smile that almost blinded her.
"My lady, I arrived at the capital this morning." Her smile dropped a little, robbing the room of its light. "I was trying to find the Arlabach college but no one had heard of it."
Dahlia's first thought was: Wow. Noelle has really expressive eyebrows. They seemed to have a mind of their own with the way they moved around as she spoke. Her second thought was: Welp. Noelle was at a point where her powers were still very undeveloped, which would make her survival that much harder.
"Oh. I'm afraid Arlabach college is a scam. It doesn't exist," Dahlia lied as easy as breathing. "What did you want to do there?"
Noelle's face (and eyebrows) fell even more but she quickly recovered and tried to put on a brave face quite unsuccessfully. She was quite terrible at hiding her true emotions. "I wanted to learn how to control my abilities. I can grow plants, you see. But I'm not very good at it."
An idea was starting to form in Dahlia's head.
The real Dahlia was supposed to be one of the greatest mages of her generation but the current Dahlia was anything but. This would probably be a hurdle down the line when a ton of dangers would come for her. She needed to train and she could use Noelle's training as a guise to do so!
"I can help with that. My teacher, Sorel, is an excellent mage. I'm sure she would be happy to teach a bright girl like you."
Light returned to Noelle's face and quickly dimmed as she asked, "How much would it cost? I'm afraid I don't have any money at the moment but I can get a job, my lady. I'm a hard worker and I can learn quickly. I can work in the fields or a garden. I can also cook and uh…" Her voice turned more desperate the longer she spoke.
"You don't have to worry about that. I'll take care of it."
Noelle opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by Ivy bringing in some fragrant rose tea.
"Seriously, don't worry about it," Dahlia continued. "If you'd like, you can work for me. I remember that you loved gardening above all else. The greenhouse could use your touch."
"You are too kind, my lady," Noelle replied, taking a small sip of the tea before abruptly settling it down. Dahlia remembered that Noelle never liked hot drinks but would tolerate them anyways because she didn't want to offend the nobility.
"Here, have the scones." Dahlia nudged the plate of scone closer to Noelle prompting her to flash a sweet smile of understanding at her.
Perhaps things would work out this time after all.
***
Dahlia set down her quill and took one last look at her letter to Sorel. How she wished she could get it proofread by someone before sending it out but alas, there was no one she could trust among the nobility. They were all scheming backstabbers who wouldn't hesitate to pounce at the slighting sign of weakness.
She could ask Ivy but part of her was terrified at the thought of losing the one person in this world that she could trust. Ivy was fiercely loyal to Dahlia, who had saved her and her sister and given them a new life. But if she found out that the current Dahlia wasn't that same Dahlia, how would she react?
She hoped she would never have to find out.
As if on cue, Ivy arrived with a plate of delectable pastries and honeyed fruit. All of Dahlia's worries disappeared as she took in the sight of the spread in front of her.
"Noelle is all settled in, my lady. She will be working at the greenhouse for now."
Ivy was as dependable as always. Dahlia wished she could express her gratitude but alas, she was not sure if it would give her identity away so she settled for a small nod. She handed the letter to Ivy and said, "Send this letter to Master Sorel. Get some rest after."
Ivy bowed low. "Thank you, my lady."
Dahlia treated herself to a deep, long sigh once she was sure Ivy was out of earshot. The past two days had been more eventful than any month she had experienced on Earth. But she would not let this new world overwhelm her. This was an adventure like she had always wanted and she was going to make the best of it!
After she stuffed her face with pastries and took a long nap, of course.