I kept pacing around Elizabetha's living room as I felt panic begin to rise in my gut. If magic was clearly real like I just witness was it possible that I was in another world after all? If that was the case then Liam was right about me getting home was going to be difficult if not impossible. I was pretty sure that I was happening a panic attack. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest while my breathing was so shallow. If Liam is right then there is a very good chance that I won't ever get to see my parents again. They will just spend the rest of their life wondering what happened to me never getting a chance to know what happened to me. In cases where parents have lost their children at least they get closer even when the child is found dead. It's the wondering that leaves the doors to the pain of lose open.
Seeing that I was panicking Liam stood up grabbing me by my shoulders stopping me from pacing. I looked up at him seeing the soft look of worry in his eyes. Looking up at him it took me a moment to realize that I was crying. I could feel the tears falling from my eyes to my chin where the fell on the shirt I was wearing. It wasn't even till then that I realized I was shaking like a scared chihuahua. It felt as if Liam's hands on my shoulders were the only things holding me together. I felt like there was a crack running down my chest that could cause me to shatter at any given moment.
"Liam you might want to take her to the tailor. I doubt she wants to wander around in pajamas all day long. She'll especially need a decent set of boots." Elizabetha said breaking the silence.
"I'I don't have a-any money." I hiccuped.
"Don't worry about it." Liam assured me.
I waved goodbye to Elizabetha as Liam and I left her home. Walking down the street I looked back over my shoulder to see here standing in her door way watching us leave. I did have a strong sense that there was another reason as to why she told Liam to make sure that I got some good boots. I may be in the middle of calming down from a panic attack but at the same time I wasn't completely clueless. There was a bit of suspicion in my mind that was telling me that she knew something. Maybe that something might help me in getting home. I wanted very badly to go back to her home to find out what she knew.
Walking in to the tailor's shop the walls were lined with a variety of clothing like a clothing store back home. Liam led me over to a very thin woman with long fingers who pulled out a measuring tape. I spent the next ten minutes having this woman run the measuring tape all over my body trying to figure out what size I wore. When she was finally satisfied that she knew what size I was overall she ran around the store grabbing clothing after clothing. Before I had a chance to say anything the woman pulled me over to some curtains shoving me behind them with the massive pile of clothing she had put together. Liam sat down in a small wooden chair giving me a smile as a pulled the curtains closed. Going through the clothes I found quite a few tan breeches that actually to my surprised fit perfectly. The shirts she had grabbed were all white while a few were long sleeved and others were long sleeved. I did have a little issue with some of the corsets that I had found in the pile. I was never very good at tying them myself so it took me a minute or two to get even one tied so that it was on snug but I could still breath. Looking down at myself I felt like I had stepped in to a renaissance fair. It did feel good though to be wearing something that didn't make me stand out so badly.
Stepping out from behind the curtains Liam lifted his head up to look at me. I was now wearing a pair of dark brown breeches with a short sleeved white shirt underneath a black corset. I felt my cheeks get a little warm when I noticed that he took a quick glance over me before looking me in the eye. Liam stood up and told the woman that had picked out all of the clothing I had tried that he was purchasing them all. I tried to protest that I didn't need all of that but he just smiled and pulled out several gold coins from a pocket inside is vest. The woman told Liam that she would have the clothing delivered to his home. Liam didn't even have to tell her where he lived. The good thing about a small town like this every one knows everyone so doing deliveries was easier than in a city.
From there Liam led me across the street to another shop that had a single elderly man hunched over a work station. Even as we walked up he was in the process of sewing some leather together making what looks like children's shoes. We stood there for several minutes before the man lifted his head up acknowledging that we were there. Liam quickly told the man what we needed for. The man slowly put down what he was working on motioning for me to follow him. I followed him through a doorway that was covered with some red curtains. Behind the curtains I felt my jaw drop when I saw piles after piles of boots in a variety of sizes. All of the boots had their laces tied together so that each pair was together. I wasn't sure of what kind of system he had but he quickly measured my feet before diving in a couple of piles. He soon reemerged with several pairs of boots dropping them at my feet. He then stood there watching as I tried each on. Out of all of the boots I tried on there were only two pairs that fit me properly. One pair went all the way up to my knees while the second went only half way up my lower leg. I was surprised when I found the inside of the boots were soft and quite comfortable. When I returned to the front of the shop Liam was still there waiting for me pacing around with his hands behind his back.
"Now what?" I wondered as we left the shop.
"Now I walk you back to my home. I have to go out to the farms to help out for a little while." he replied.
"Would it be possible if I could go see Elizabetha? I was hoping to talk to her a little bit more." I wondered.
"All right. I'm sure she would love that since she does live by herself and she was quite interested when she heard about you." Liam agreed.
"Do you live alone?" I asked as we walked.
"No, Will of course lives with me. I also have my mother and younger sister that lives with me. They both work on the farms as well." Liam answered.
"Where's Will's family?" I wondered.
"Unfortunately I'm the closest thing to family he's got left. When I met him for the first time as kids he was an orphan." Liam explained.
"Well that does explain quite a bit."
"I'm assuming you're referring to his personality. It is part of it but not everything." Liam said.
Liam walked with all the way back to Elizabetha's house where he left me waving goodbye as he made his way to the farms. I took a deep breath before walking up to her door that was now closed. I only stood on her porch for a couple of seconds before she opened the door. She stood aside letting me walk past her in to her home. She closed the door behind me following me to the couches sitting down with me.
"I had a feeling you would come back." Elizabetha said.
"And I have a feeling you might know how I can get back home. Liam said that it might be near impossible for me to get home." I said.
"He's right. The portals between our two worlds don't open up on command. They are in a way like when lightning strikes. It never strikes in the same place twice. The portal's opening are very rare on top of that. The fact that Will managed to find a portal to your world and back to ours in a matter of two days was luck in its self." Elizabetha explained.
"Then how am I supposed to find one of these portals? Wander this entire world till one magic pops up in front of me?" I groaned.
"No. Doing something like that would only get you killed in the long run. You aren't trained in any form of combat I'm assuming let alone any magic. This world is far more dangerous than yours especially since you don't know the first thing about this world." she pointed out.
"I can take care of myself." I insisted.
"I'm sure you can but surviving this world is far different than being an independent adult." she said.
"I can't just sit around twiddling my thumbs praying that a magical portal will open so I can see my family again." I groaned.
"You won't. There is someone that I knew that might know of a way to get you home. There is only one problem." she stated.
"What problem?"
"Well problems actually. First off you would have to actually have to do quite a bit of traveling. The second problem is this person doesn't help people easily. It would take quite a bit of convincing to get this person to even possibly think of helping you but they are the only one that could possibly help you." she explained.
"I'll do whatever it takes to convince this person. It's better than it being near impossible to get home. With this I have a chance of seeing my parents sooner than several years." I said feeling the excitement rising in my chest.
"You do realize that making the journey I'm referring to won't be easy and you very much won't be able to do it on your own." she said.
"I don't care. I'll make the journey on my own if I have to." I declared.
"Easy there. I'll speak with Liam and Will. I'm sure the two would be willing to help you make the journey." she offered.
"I can see Liam possibly making the journey with me but not Will. I'm sure that he's more than happy to be done with me." I said.
"Will isn't as bad as he tries to make everyone think he is." Elizabetha stated.
"Sure."
"I will speak to the two of them on their way home from the farms. If all goes well you could leave in the next couple of days. In the mean time I suggest you take the day to relax. Gather your strength because if you do make this journey you'll need all the strength you've got." she advised.
"I do have one more question."
"Ask away."
"Why was Will in my world to begin with?" I wondered.
"He was following Marcus." she answered.
"Any idea why Marcus would be coming to my world?" I inquired.
"Not sure but that was what Will was trying find out. Sounds like from what Will told me Marcus caught on to him following him when you came across them fighting." Elizabetha shrugged.
She gave me a sweet smile before leading me back to her front door. She assured me once again that she would speak to Liam and Will. I walked out of her house unsure of what I would do for the rest of the day. I didn't know any one besides her, Will and Liam. I wasn't even from around here so I didn't know what was done to pass time beside maybe work on the farms. I've never worked on a farm before so I wouldn't know what to do or if I would be of any help to begin with. It might be better if I just stayed out of everyone's way.
I wondered around town not really going in any particular direction. As I walked around I watched the people. I did notice that everyone seemed quite happy. It was hard to believe that this world could be more dangerous than my world. With all the weapons of mass destruction around my world I would say everyone lived in constant fear of the next world war. Here everyone seemed happy and content with the simple things in life. Besides some nasty animals in this world like the Cruet it was hard to believe that this world could be worse than mine.
I eventually found myself walking along a road that had nothing but fields upon fields of fruits as well as vegetables. With how close the forest tree lines were to the very edges of the farms and town this place seemed cut off. I kept walking past the farm land and eventually I came across some men using hoes to dig trenches in the earth. I stopped in my tracks when I saw both Liam and Will working out in the field. Like many of the other men they had taken their shirts off to work in the hot sun. With each swing of the hoes they were using the muscles in their backs seem to ripple with the effort of slamming the hoe in to the earth. I didn't notice that I was staring till I realized that Liam was actually smiling and waving at me. I clumsily waved back at him while Will glanced over his shoulder for a moment frowning when he saw me. He quickly turned his back to me not even acknowledging that I was there. Liam rolled his eyes at Will before flashing me one more smile before returning to his work.
I kept wondering around town for hours trying not to stress to much about how much I was all ready missing my parents. I found myself back at Liam's home around the time the sun was finally setting. I managed to recognize it from the garden in the front yard. Walking up to the house I wasn't sure as to whether or not I should just let myself in. This was technically not my home so it didn't feel right just letting myself in. The house was two stories which assumed was added on to make sure that their was room for everyone. I stood outside for about ten minutes before the front door open.
A little girl about ten years old stepped out. It wasn't hard to tell that she was Liam's younger sister. She had the same shade of blond hair that flowed down to her shoulders. She even had the same shade of hazel eyes as him. I even noticed that she had the same little crooked smile as him.
"You don't have to stand out there all night." she called.
I quickly made my way in to the house where the young girl closed the door behind me. I followed her to the kitchen where a woman was in the process of chopping up some vegetables. Her strawberry blond hair was pulled back in to a loose bun a few strands falling around her fair face. Her fair skin had several freckles across her nose. When she looked up at me with a slightly crooked smile I saw her hazel eyes and knew instantly that this was Liam's mother.
"It's good to see you walking around again Riley. I'm Lissa and my daughter here is Melinda. You had us all pretty worried when Liam brought you to the house. You were quite pale." the woman said.
"Well if it weren't for Liam I might have been a lot worse shape than just an injured leg." I said sitting down at the table with her.
"My brother does like to be the hero." Melinda chirped.
"Anything I can do to help?" I wondered looking out across the table that was covered in vegetables.
Lissa smiled at me handing me another knife. I pulled some of the vegetables toward me remembering how my mom had taught me to chop fruits and vegetables. Sitting at the table with Lissa and Melinda I kept remembering all the times I had helped my own mom with cooking. I could feel my heart tighten when I thought about my mom. Seeing both Lissa and Melinda working together made me miss my own family all the more. I knew it had been only a couple of days since I came across Will but with each day that passed I longing to see them grew. I smiled at the two of them trying so hard not to cry in front of them. I didn't need to make them worry even further about me.
We were just about finished with dinner when Liam and Will walked in. They were both thankfully fully clothed but they both had smudges of dirt across their faces. While we finished up dinner for everyone the two of them went to get cleaned up for dinner. When they finally came back there was a large pot of stew and fresh bread ready to be eaten. Will took his food out on to the porch while the rest of use sat around the table together.
"Did you and Will talk to Elizabetha?" I asked Liam.
"Yes we did. Will isn't too happy about it but the two of us will be helping you make the journey." Liam answered.
"Did she tell you who we're going to go see because she didn't tell me." I wondered.
"The woman we're going to see is quite old to the point that no one is sure as to her true age any more. No one knows how she's managed to stay alive so long either but if anyone would know of a way to get you back to your world she would." Liam explained.
"Elizabetha said that she doesn't help people easily." I pointed out.
"No she doesn't but we'll worry about when we get there." he smiled. "We'll leave in the next couple of days. Will and I just have to get together some things."
"Okay."
I never saw Will before I went to the room that Lissa said was mine for as long as I wanted. I was glad that Liam and Will were willing to help me. I wasn't too happy about having to travel with Will again but I will deal with whatever I have to so that I could get back to my parents. Closing the door behind me to my room there was a soft night breeze coming in from the window. Lissa or Melinda might have opened it to keep the house cool during the night. I curled up underneath the quilt feeling quite excited that I would soon be one set closer towards seeing my parents again. I was just about to drift off to sleep when out of nowhere I felt a hand over my mouth. I felt my heart begin to race when my eyes flew open to see a familiar scared face of Marcus. He had finally caught up to us.
Walking in to the tailor's shop the walls were lined with a variety of clothing like a clothing store back home. Liam led me over to a very thin woman with long fingers who pulled out a measuring tape. I spent the next ten minutes having this woman run the measuring tape all over my body trying to figure out what size I wore. When she was finally satisfied that she knew what size I was overall she ran around the store grabbing clothing after clothing. Before I had a chance to say anything the woman pulled me over to some curtains shoving me behind them with the massive pile of clothing she had put together. Liam sat down in a small wooden chair giving me a smile as a pulled the curtains closed. Going through the clothes I found quite a few tan breeches that actually to my surprised fit perfectly. The shirts she had grabbed were all white while a few were long sleeved and others were long sleeved. I did have a little issue with some of the corsets that I had found in the pile. I was never very good at tying them myself so it took me a minute or two to get even one tied so that it was on snug but I could still breath. Looking down at myself I felt like I had stepped in to a renaissance fair. It did feel good though to be wearing something that didn't make me stand out so badly.
Stepping out from behind the curtains Liam lifted his head up to look at me. I was now wearing a pair of dark brown breeches with a short sleeved white shirt underneath a black corset. I felt my cheeks get a little warm when I noticed that he took a quick glance over me before looking me in the eye. Liam stood up and told the woman that had picked out all of the clothing I had tried that he was purchasing them all. I tried to protest that I didn't need all of that but he just smiled and pulled out several gold coins from a pocket inside is vest. The woman told Liam that she would have the clothing delivered to his home. Liam didn't even have to tell her where he lived. The good thing about a small town like this every one knows everyone so doing deliveries was easier than in a city.
From there Liam led me across the street to another shop that had a single elderly man hunched over a work station. Even as we walked up he was in the process of sewing some leather together making what looks like children's shoes. We stood there for several minutes before the man lifted his head up acknowledging that we were there. Liam quickly told the man what we needed for. The man slowly put down what he was working on motioning for me to follow him. I followed him through a doorway that was covered with some red curtains. Behind the curtains I felt my jaw drop when I saw piles after piles of boots in a variety of sizes. All of the boots had their laces tied together so that each pair was together. I wasn't sure of what kind of system he had but he quickly measured my feet before diving in a couple of piles. He soon reemerged with several pairs of boots dropping them at my feet. He then stood there watching as I tried each on. Out of all of the boots I tried on there were only two pairs that fit me properly. One pair went all the way up to my knees while the second went only half way up my lower leg. I was surprised when I found the inside of the boots were soft and quite comfortable. When I returned to the front of the shop Liam was still there waiting for me pacing around with his hands behind his back.
"Now what?" I wondered as we left the shop.
"Now I walk you back to my home. I have to go out to the farms to help out for a little while." he replied.
"Would it be possible if I could go see Elizabetha? I was hoping to talk to her a little bit more." I wondered.
"All right. I'm sure she would love that since she does live by herself and she was quite interested when she heard about you." Liam agreed.
"Do you live alone?" I asked as we walked.
"No, Will of course lives with me. I also have my mother and younger sister that lives with me. They both work on the farms as well." Liam answered.
"Where's Will's family?" I wondered.
"Unfortunately I'm the closest thing to family he's got left. When I met him for the first time as kids he was an orphan." Liam explained.
"Well that does explain quite a bit."
"I'm assuming you're referring to his personality. It is part of it but not everything." Liam said.
Liam walked with all the way back to Elizabetha's house where he left me waving goodbye as he made his way to the farms. I took a deep breath before walking up to her door that was now closed. I only stood on her porch for a couple of seconds before she opened the door. She stood aside letting me walk past her in to her home. She closed the door behind me following me to the couches sitting down with me.
"I had a feeling you would come back." Elizabetha said.
"And I have a feeling you might know how I can get back home. Liam said that it might be near impossible for me to get home." I said.
"He's right. The portals between our two worlds don't open up on command. They are in a way like when lightning strikes. It never strikes in the same place twice. The portal's opening are very rare on top of that. The fact that Will managed to find a portal to your world and back to ours in a matter of two days was luck in its self." Elizabetha explained.
"Then how am I supposed to find one of these portals? Wander this entire world till one magic pops up in front of me?" I groaned.
"No. Doing something like that would only get you killed in the long run. You aren't trained in any form of combat I'm assuming let alone any magic. This world is far more dangerous than yours especially since you don't know the first thing about this world." she pointed out.
"I can take care of myself." I insisted.
"I'm sure you can but surviving this world is far different than being an independent adult." she said.
"I can't just sit around twiddling my thumbs praying that a magical portal will open so I can see my family again." I groaned.
"You won't. There is someone that I knew that might know of a way to get you home. There is only one problem." she stated.
"What problem?"
"Well problems actually. First off you would have to actually have to do quite a bit of traveling. The second problem is this person doesn't help people easily. It would take quite a bit of convincing to get this person to even possibly think of helping you but they are the only one that could possibly help you." she explained.
"I'll do whatever it takes to convince this person. It's better than it being near impossible to get home. With this I have a chance of seeing my parents sooner than several years." I said feeling the excitement rising in my chest.
"You do realize that making the journey I'm referring to won't be easy and you very much won't be able to do it on your own." she said.
"I don't care. I'll make the journey on my own if I have to." I declared.
"Easy there. I'll speak with Liam and Will. I'm sure the two would be willing to help you make the journey." she offered.
"I can see Liam possibly making the journey with me but not Will. I'm sure that he's more than happy to be done with me." I said.
"Will isn't as bad as he tries to make everyone think he is." Elizabetha stated.
"Sure."
"I will speak to the two of them on their way home from the farms. If all goes well you could leave in the next couple of days. In the mean time I suggest you take the day to relax. Gather your strength because if you do make this journey you'll need all the strength you've got." she advised.
"I do have one more question."
"Ask away."
"Why was Will in my world to begin with?" I wondered.
"He was following Marcus." she answered.
"Any idea why Marcus would be coming to my world?" I inquired.
"Not sure but that was what Will was trying find out. Sounds like from what Will told me Marcus caught on to him following him when you came across them fighting." Elizabetha shrugged.
She gave me a sweet smile before leading me back to her front door. She assured me once again that she would speak to Liam and Will. I walked out of her house unsure of what I would do for the rest of the day. I didn't know any one besides her, Will and Liam. I wasn't even from around here so I didn't know what was done to pass time beside maybe work on the farms. I've never worked on a farm before so I wouldn't know what to do or if I would be of any help to begin with. It might be better if I just stayed out of everyone's way.
I wondered around town not really going in any particular direction. As I walked around I watched the people. I did notice that everyone seemed quite happy. It was hard to believe that this world could be more dangerous than my world. With all the weapons of mass destruction around my world I would say everyone lived in constant fear of the next world war. Here everyone seemed happy and content with the simple things in life. Besides some nasty animals in this world like the Cruet it was hard to believe that this world could be worse than mine.
I eventually found myself walking along a road that had nothing but fields upon fields of fruits as well as vegetables. With how close the forest tree lines were to the very edges of the farms and town this place seemed cut off. I kept walking past the farm land and eventually I came across some men using hoes to dig trenches in the earth. I stopped in my tracks when I saw both Liam and Will working out in the field. Like many of the other men they had taken their shirts off to work in the hot sun. With each swing of the hoes they were using the muscles in their backs seem to ripple with the effort of slamming the hoe in to the earth. I didn't notice that I was staring till I realized that Liam was actually smiling and waving at me. I clumsily waved back at him while Will glanced over his shoulder for a moment frowning when he saw me. He quickly turned his back to me not even acknowledging that I was there. Liam rolled his eyes at Will before flashing me one more smile before returning to his work.
I kept wondering around town for hours trying not to stress to much about how much I was all ready missing my parents. I found myself back at Liam's home around the time the sun was finally setting. I managed to recognize it from the garden in the front yard. Walking up to the house I wasn't sure as to whether or not I should just let myself in. This was technically not my home so it didn't feel right just letting myself in. The house was two stories which assumed was added on to make sure that their was room for everyone. I stood outside for about ten minutes before the front door open.
A little girl about ten years old stepped out. It wasn't hard to tell that she was Liam's younger sister. She had the same shade of blond hair that flowed down to her shoulders. She even had the same shade of hazel eyes as him. I even noticed that she had the same little crooked smile as him.
"You don't have to stand out there all night." she called.
I quickly made my way in to the house where the young girl closed the door behind me. I followed her to the kitchen where a woman was in the process of chopping up some vegetables. Her strawberry blond hair was pulled back in to a loose bun a few strands falling around her fair face. Her fair skin had several freckles across her nose. When she looked up at me with a slightly crooked smile I saw her hazel eyes and knew instantly that this was Liam's mother.
"It's good to see you walking around again Riley. I'm Lissa and my daughter here is Melinda. You had us all pretty worried when Liam brought you to the house. You were quite pale." the woman said.
"Well if it weren't for Liam I might have been a lot worse shape than just an injured leg." I said sitting down at the table with her.
"My brother does like to be the hero." Melinda chirped.
"Anything I can do to help?" I wondered looking out across the table that was covered in vegetables.
Lissa smiled at me handing me another knife. I pulled some of the vegetables toward me remembering how my mom had taught me to chop fruits and vegetables. Sitting at the table with Lissa and Melinda I kept remembering all the times I had helped my own mom with cooking. I could feel my heart tighten when I thought about my mom. Seeing both Lissa and Melinda working together made me miss my own family all the more. I knew it had been only a couple of days since I came across Will but with each day that passed I longing to see them grew. I smiled at the two of them trying so hard not to cry in front of them. I didn't need to make them worry even further about me.
We were just about finished with dinner when Liam and Will walked in. They were both thankfully fully clothed but they both had smudges of dirt across their faces. While we finished up dinner for everyone the two of them went to get cleaned up for dinner. When they finally came back there was a large pot of stew and fresh bread ready to be eaten. Will took his food out on to the porch while the rest of use sat around the table together.
"Did you and Will talk to Elizabetha?" I asked Liam.
"Yes we did. Will isn't too happy about it but the two of us will be helping you make the journey." Liam answered.
"Did she tell you who we're going to go see because she didn't tell me." I wondered.
"The woman we're going to see is quite old to the point that no one is sure as to her true age any more. No one knows how she's managed to stay alive so long either but if anyone would know of a way to get you back to your world she would." Liam explained.
"Elizabetha said that she doesn't help people easily." I pointed out.
"No she doesn't but we'll worry about when we get there." he smiled. "We'll leave in the next couple of days. Will and I just have to get together some things."
"Okay."
I never saw Will before I went to the room that Lissa said was mine for as long as I wanted. I was glad that Liam and Will were willing to help me. I wasn't too happy about having to travel with Will again but I will deal with whatever I have to so that I could get back to my parents. Closing the door behind me to my room there was a soft night breeze coming in from the window. Lissa or Melinda might have opened it to keep the house cool during the night. I curled up underneath the quilt feeling quite excited that I would soon be one set closer towards seeing my parents again. I was just about to drift off to sleep when out of nowhere I felt a hand over my mouth. I felt my heart begin to race when my eyes flew open to see a familiar scared face of Marcus. He had finally caught up to us.
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