There was no further conversation for the rest of our walk, which I was grateful for. I was curious, but I wasn't sure my brain could keep running on so few calories.
After a few minutes of walking, a large red shape and some white blobs formed through the distant foliage. As the trees thinned, the red form turned into a carriage and the white into horses. Millie, still circling above, made a gradual swoop down. We finally broke through the tree line and onto the carriage path, the sight enough to stop me in my tracks.
I had been wrong-It wasn't horses pulling the carriage; it was a pair of unicorns. Their coats were as white as the purest snow. Their horns were milky quartz-like crystals, and their manes shimmered like a rainbow in the sunlight cascading between the trees. The carriage they were attached to was a brilliant red with gold accents, including a golden perch for Millie on top, which she preened on.
Ani moved to peer around my legs, trotting up to sniff at the unicorn's feet. The unicorns huffed and flicked their tails at the action but refrained from stomping on him. He then gazed curiously at Millie, clearly intending to bother her further.
"Ani!" I scolded the troublesome cat. He glanced at me, back to Millie, then thought better of it and jumped onto the carriage driver's seat to curl up.
There was a loud THUMP near the back of the carriage as Helia unloaded a trunk. She unlocked it and flipped it open, digging through for whatever she was looking for with more care than I thought her capable of. She soon pulled out a long, surprisingly plain brown cloak and gently replaced the displaced clothes before closing the trunk and motioning me over.
"Unfortunately, nothing else of ours will fit you." She said, shoving the soft cloak into my hands. It didn't sound like she thought it was unfortunate, and I wasn't quite sure she was telling the truth. I was happy for the warmth regardless and quickly slipped it on, clicking the copper clasp in the front.
"About that food…." I directed my statement past Helia, who I was worried might Ignore me, and to the observing Sera.
"Of course," Sera said, motioning for Helia to obtain some for me. Helia huffed but did as instructed, and I soon had a loaf of bread and a cloth bag filled with nuts and seeds in my hands.
I was careful not to shove all the food in my mouth at once, trying to act as though I weren't starving. I wasn't sure I had succeeded. Helia returned the trunk to its home; and opened the door for Sera and me. She carefully helped Sera into the carriage with a kind hand. She dropped it and gave me a glare that promised I'd regret it if I tried anything. I ignored her and helped myself in.
The carriage shook as we felt Helia jump up into the driver's seat next to Ani, and rumbled as the Unicorns began to pull us along. The interior of the carriage rattled and bounced as we inched down the path, and if Helia hadn't clearly respected Sera too much to do so, I would have thought she purposefully hit every rut in the road. I continued snacking for a bit while gazing out the window, trying to get used to the rocking and avoiding eye contact with Sera, hoping she would hold off on the questions for a little longer.
It was as I watched the alien landscape and mythical creatures move past the window that I stopped ignoring the revelation. The strangely reddish sun, the two moons, the phoenix, the lizard, the unicorns, the old-fashioned garments the women were wearing, the sword, their unfamiliarity with Earth…. I was either on an alien planet or in another dimension.
I was slightly more hopeful about being potentially abducted by aliens, as I felt that would be the one with a more accessible way home. But, as improbable as it seemed, the alternate dimension theory wasn't groundless either.
I shivered again, this time from my thoughts. The prospect of getting home seemed further and further away. If I could find the culprit, I could convince them to send me home. But I had absolutely no idea where to start.
Eventually, Sera's impatience won out, and she interrupted my musings.
"Are you a noble?" She asked me.
"What?" I was surprised and a little flattered by her assumption. And here I was always teased for looking 'stuck-up.'
"You don't have a tan line."
"Excuse me?" I questioned.
"You look as though you've never seen a day of sun in your life!" She exclaimed.
"And then there's your hands." She continued, causing the red-dyed leather seat to creak as she leaned forward to get a closer look. "They aren't callused by physical labor. What remains of your clothes is silk–that's not a fabric most peasants can buy. Even merchants can have trouble getting their hands on some, and most would want to show it off at every opportunity. For you to wear silk to sleep in…" she trailed off. "Well, suffice to say, between that and how well-spoken you are, you clearly come from a home of great wealth."
I had never thought of my life that way, but in context I was pretty well off. I was well educated, having graduated college with a master's in computer science. I was still paying off the debt, and I wasn't rich enough to afford more than a basic two-bed, two-bath apartment, but I could afford most things I wanted. Growing up, Ember and I always had a roof over our heads, food on our plates, and books in hand–even if those books were most often second-hand.
Rather than confirm or deny her suspicions, the real question was how I wanted to move forward here. She was clearly well-educated for her time, and her observational skills were nothing to scoff at. Though her hands had stayed politely clasped in her lap as she spoke, I saw no tan line and could see no obvious calluses. Her gown was made of silk, which in her own words, was only affordable by the merchant or noble class. She'd had no hesitation in ordering Helia around, acting as if she knew her orders would be followed. Earlier, Helia had also started to call Sera something starting with a 'P' before switching to 'm'lady.' Princess, perhaps? Would her treatment of me change if I told her I wasn't a noble?
They had spoken earlier of investigating disappearances and seemed to believe my appearance might be related. I wouldn't rule that possibility out. Certainly, it was in my best interest to stay involved in the investigation.
"You have a good eye Princess," I stated, letting her draw her own conclusions and cutting off that line of conversation. She leaned back in her seat and gave me a wry smile.
"Now, tell me about your disappearance." She instructed, her voice leaving no room for disobeying.
"There's not much to tell. I went to bed as usual and woke up in the field."
She pursed her lips, and her fingers absently tapped her lap as she thought. "Tell me everything that happened that day. Even if it seems of little importance."
And so I told her almost everything, from my uneasy feelings two days prior to going to sleep that evening. I left out anything relating to modern marvels, as I was unwilling to take the time and explain modern technology to someone raised in what was clearly some type of medieval society. She was silent during my story, her gaze unwavering. When I finished, she shifted lean her chin on her hand in contemplation.
"Nothing else unusual happened that day?" She asked.
"Besides adopting a pet cat?" I asked, "No." She frowned.
"The cat…" She murmured. "Have you tested him?"
My brows furrowed. "Tested him?"
"For a magical signature." She clarified. I was not any less confused. Though after a real phoenix and unicorns, the prospect of magic shouldn't seem as surprising as the idea was.
"....No."
"He may appear to be a normal cat, but creatures like the fire salamander are identical to their counterparts when they aren't using their abilities." She sighed. "We also had a mage who attempted to transfer the abilities of magical creatures to non-mages, though we've only encountered human-phoenix and human-dragon chimeras."
"You think Ani is related to this?" I asked, feeling as though someone else was speaking those words. His appearance, his actions, my acceptance of him…they were all strange in retrospect, but some deep instinct was certain he wasn't the cause. That, of course, should have made me even more suspicious.
She studied me for a time. "Don't you? You decided his appearance was relevant when you described what happened to me."
"Because–" I wanted to defend him, but I had no reason to. How had I gotten so attached already?
"Exactly. That said, I've never heard of the ability to teleport. Still, I hesitate to say he is completely uninvolved. The timing of his appearance and your disappearance is very suspicious." She was right, and my heart clenched in my chest, tightening until I was uncomfortable.
"Is there a way to find out?" I eventually asked.
"We can get him tested for magical abilities in Erdmeit."
"What about the other disappearances?"
She shook her head, regretful."We don't even have solid reports that people have been disappearing."
"But you have enough to decide to check."
Her gaze hardened."Magical creatures and people were rumored to be disappearing for years before the first chimeras showed. I'd rather not risk such an event happening again."
"Do you think the mage is behind this?"
"He's dead."
That wasn't an answer, but her tone had been flat, with no room for arguments. "So you have no leads?" I asked.
"I didn't say that. One town, in particular, has more "rumored" disappearances. We're staying in it tonight."
"...have there been any other sudden appearances?"
"No, just you."
Fantastic. So we thought a kitten might be how I got here and had no leads on how to return.
"We'll get Ani tested when we get to town and move forward from there." She placated, "Now, about Earth. I have a few maps if you want to see if you find anything familiar?"
I didn't really, knowing nothing would be familiar, but I felt it would be suspicious if I said no. I agreed, and she pulled out the maps from a drawer underneath her seat.
We went over the maps together as the carriage rumbled onwards. As I expected, I recognized nothing. Not shapes or names. We ended up agreeing I must be from an unknown area across the ocean. As there was nothing else to do, Sera pointed out the town we were visiting, Edremit, and explained we should arrive sometime in the afternoon. Apparently this would give us time to go clothes shopping and get Ani tested before meeting up with acquaintances of hers in a local inn.