Egor had been trying to get an appointment with a doctor for an hour. He was driving his grandmother across town and was only five minutes late! How could they cancel the recording!
"Listen, young man, we have a record for a few months ahead and we can't just take a Pouoka...."
"I don't have a middle name," the old woman smiled. "Just sign me up. Pouoka Gradova"
"So," the nurse continued, "you missed your time and I can only suggest that you sign up again."
"But we can't wait that long!" Egor was indignant. "She needs this consultation immediately! I want to meet the boss at this damn hospital!"
"I understand your indignation, but…"
The argument continued, and the old woman sat serenely on a bench near the office and looked at the people scurrying back and forth. She didn't understand why her grandson had raised such a panic. She's only had high blood pressure a couple of times. I lay down, drank the medicine and that's it. As good as new. For her age, she was quite a cheerful old lady and did not observe any serious health problems.
In an instant, her face turned pale and she forgot how to breathe. A tall young man with long black hair pulled back in a ponytail walked past. Perhaps there was nothing remarkable about him except his beauty and daring outfit, but it was not the young man's face that attracted Pouoka, but what was on him.
How long had it been since she had last seen those black tattoos? Fifty years have passed, and maybe more. Since she fled her native country, saving a baby in her arms and mourning her murdered lover, she never saw the offspring of the Deffender dynasty again. And how could she see the people she had left behind. She left not only her hometown and country. She left the world, and there was no way a person from it could get here unless...
"Egor," she called out to her grandson.
"Grandma, wait a little longer, I'll be back soon...."
"Leave it alone. We'll make an appointment for another appointment."
"But how…"
"Now I need you to urgently stop a young man with long hair and tattoos on his temples."
"I don't understand ...," the grandson looked at the old woman in a puzzled way.
"I'll explain everything to you later, but now run. He should be out of the hospital by now. While I'm hobbling to the door, stop him. In any way. I have to talk to him."
Egor still didn't understand anything, but he didn't ask any questions. He left the nurse, who sighed with obvious relief, and rushed towards the exit. Going out through the glass doors, he looked around, but did not see anyone like the young man described by his grandmother. "He's probably already gone." But in order to clear his conscience and tell his beloved grandmother that he had done everything possible to fulfill her assignment, Egor still walked along the hospital. First one way, then the other, and saw him.
A tall and handsome guy was standing in front of a hot dog stand and arguing with the seller about something. Egor slowly trudged towards him.
"I explained to you that I want to eat! My father will send people to you with the money later. You will be generously rewarded for helping me!"
"Boy, it doesn't work that way. If you want to eat, pay. If you don't have any money, get lost."
"If I had a sword with me now, this arrogant merchant would have been left without a hand. How dare he? Can't he see who I am!" thought Klaus.
"I'll pay," Yegor, who had just arrived, intervened. "Can we have two hot dogs, please?"
Egor decided that this was the best way to detain the guy. "He's kind of weird. The stranger's gaze sent goosebumps through my body." Egor thought.
"Thank you. Tell me your name. My family will thank you later."
"No need to thank me, it's just a hot dog. You probably forgot your wallet, it happens to everyone," the fair-haired young man smiled nervously. "My name is Yegor. Yegor Gradov.
The fair-haired boy had to tilt his head back. The handsome stranger was a head taller than him and his eyes… His eyes were frightening and at the same time attractive. Black, deep, majestic. He looked at everyone like a king at his subjects.
"May I know your name?"
A puzzled expression, an involuntary touch to the tattoo on his temple and a suspicious look. It seemed to Egor that the guy was surprised.
"You don't know my name? Oh, yes, maybe it's not so well known in your country. I didn't think. I'm Klaus of the Deffender family."
"You are a foreigner, but you speak our language very well!," Egor tried to start a conversation.
"With my abilities, learning the language will not be difficult. I borrowed knowledge from one professor. Can you tell me how I can get to this place?"
Klaus handed Egor a piece of paper with the phone number and address of Professor Skotsky. His neighbor. What a small world!
"I know. It's in the same house as me. My grandmother and I are just going there. You can come with us."
"This is the second time you've helped me out," he thanked, taking a generous bite of the hot dog. "This is very tasty! I've never tasted anything like it!," he added, feeling better.
"Glad you liked it. Shall we go?"
The two young men headed back to the hospital, where Pauoka was already sitting on a bench waiting for them. She stared at the young man next to her grandson and couldn't tell if she was happy or scared about this outcome.
"Hello, young man," the old woman smiled as soon as the guys came close enough. "How did you get here?"
"Do you know me?" Klaus asked.
"I don't know you personally, but these," the old woman pointed at the guy's temples "are familiar to me. So I'll ask again, how did you get here?"
"Who are you? And what is this place?"
"Ignoring questions is in your blood," the old woman sighed. "This place is far from your homeland, young man. It is impossible to get here, neither by boat nor by plane. This is not another country. This is another world."
Egor listened to the conversation and did not understand anything, what were these two talking about? What does another world mean? And why was the grandmother so interested in this young man?
"My name is Klaus Deffender. I am the heir to Isorobia and I have no idea how I got here. Can you get me home?"
"Unfortunately, this may be difficult. You are the first person I met from my homeland. You can come to this world, but you cannot leave it."
"Did you come nere too? Who did this? What for? And have many questions…"
"Slow down, Klaus Deffender. We'll discuss everything, but not here. Come and visit us. You need to understand a lot to survive here."
"I don't plan to stay long."
"It doesn't depend on you anymore," Pouoka sighed and stood up from the bench "Let's go, Egor. We have important guests today."
The fair-haired guy was stealthily watching Klaus, who was trying with all his might to contain his fear and surprise. The young man realized that his new acquaintance had never seen the subway, mobile phones, or other modern-day conveniences before. He couldn't even get through the turnstile on his own, and when the subway car doors opened, Klaus had to be pushed into it almost by force. The young man was on edge at all eight stations, and with every sound or movement he involuntarily reached his hand to his belt, as if trying to feel something there. The black-haired guy only reached a relatively calm state when the three of them left the subway and found themselves in the fresh air.
"This is an amazing place. Using underground tunnels to move around is just genius!" Klaus admired the ordinary things.
"There are still many things that will surprise you in this world," said the old woman. "You will have to learn to blend in with the crowd."
"Who said I want to blend in with the crowd?"
"It's necessary now. It's unusual that you were thrown here. What happened before you were sent here?"
"A bunch of soldiers tried to kill me in my own room," Klaus shrugged.
Egor's hair stood on end. "How can you even talk about something like this in such a serene tone?"
"I see. So you're here for protection. Smart. - Nodding to some thoughts of her own," Pouoka concluded.
"I can defend myself. I don't have time to sit here and relax. If my own soldiers are attacking the heir to the throne, what's going on in the country right now? I have to be there and fight!"
"But you can't go back now. Accept it. Use the situation to your advantage."
"And how, I wonder?" Klaus asked the old woman skeptically.
"I don't know, but I'm sure that everything that happened was not without reason, and you need to take advantage of this opportunity. I doubt that anything has changed in Anatodom in fifty years, but I believe that the country can still be saved."