Another World

by D. C. Gomez

  “My sword?” I asked, searching around for Sageri.

  “Every page has a sword, so why don’t you have one?” the little girl asked.

  “Madison is just starting out,” Sageri told the little girl. “When Sir Bertrant thinks Madison is ready, a sword will be issued.”

  The girls were easily appeased by Sageri. The rest of the town would not be that easy. I couldn’t walk around without a weapon for too long.

  “I need a sword now,” I told Sageri on our way back to her place.

  “Maybe a small one,” Sageri said. “We don’t need you chopping your arms off with a longsword.”

  I knew Sageri was trying to be funny, but her words were too close to the truth. Manual labor did not bother me, but I had no idea how to use a sword. Grandma taught me how to shoot a rifle, and the 4-H club taught me to handle a bow and arrow. But nobody in the states had ever given me sword lessons.

  “Relax Madison,” Sageri told me. “You just need to carry one until my mistress gets back.”

  Sageri was right, but I would feel like a fake wearing a weapon I had no clue how to use. Sir Bertrant had a room full of them in the stables, so maybe I could teach myself. That would be my new evening routine.

  After all deliveries were done, I ran back to Sir Bertrant’s. A candle was left on in the living room when I came in. Sir Bertrant was nowhere to be found, but the candle was still tall, so it hadn’t been lit so long ago. Did he leave it on for me? I didn’t want to waste too much time pondering the strange behavior of the knight, so instead, I marched to my new room and grabbed a couple of spare pieces of cloth. Sageri had been joking, but she had made a valid point. I did not want to cut my hand off with a sword. On my way to the stable, I wrapped my arms with the cloth. It made me feel more like a bad mummy than a knight in training.

  To my surprise, I found both Thunder and Lightning in their stalls eating dinner. They both stared at me when I opened the stall with the saddles and weapons.

  “Do we want to know what you are doing?” Thunder asked.

  “I need to learn how to use a sword,” I told him.

  “By yourself?” Lightning asked, mid-chew.

  “How hard could this be?” I asked the horses, and both started laughing.

  “Have I told you both that you are not very good at moral support?” I said, then I searched the room for something small for me. “This one should work.”

  “Too big. You won’t be able to keep that up for long period of time,” Thunder announced when I came back in the hallway with the sword.

  “You should get the dagger from the far wall,” Lightning told me.

  “Wouldn’t I look like a wimp with a dagger?” I asked the horses.

  “We have no clue what a wimp is, but do you want to stay alive, or would you rather look good?” Lightning’s argument was more reasonable than mine.

  “I like alive better for sure.” I pouted.

  “Good, get the dagger,” Lightning ordered this time, not leaving any room for discussion.

  The small room was getting darker, and I had to light a candle to find this mysterious dagger. Lightning was right, a dagger did hang on the far wall. Except the dagger was the size of my forearm. In my hands, the dagger could pass for a small sword.

  “Not bad.” I carried the dagger back to the hallway.

  “Look at her. Maybe now she won’t accidentally stab us,” Thunder told his brother and the two laughed again.

  I stuck out my tongue at them and headed outside to practice. Back home, everyone used to say, “Practice makes perfect.” And I could still hear Grandmother’s voice as she said, “Perfect practice is what makes perfection.” With my lack of knowledge with a sword, perfection was not happening tonight.

  The summer between fourth and fifth grade, Grandma sent me to a camp. One of the lessons was fencing. Maybe I could use this stupid dagger as a fencing sword. I only remembered a few moves, but it was a start. It didn’t take long for my arms to start burning, and soon after, fatigue set in.

  So embarrassing! It was only a dagger, and everything hurt. Between all the work I was doing in the stables, the housework, and the deliveries, my entire body ached. I observed myself and I had no muscles anymore. Pitiful how out of shape I had become. My body remembered how to perform the tasks around the form, but living in New York City had made me soft. I had never been bulky, but I used to be strong and well defined. Now I was weak. This had to change.

  That night, I went to bed making mental notes. I needed a tougher exercise plan and a few drills to improve my skills with the dagger. Honestly, I didn’t care about skills. I just wanted to be able to hold it still long enough to scare someone away. Right now, a child could take the dagger from my hands and beat me with it.

  The next morning, I woke up before Thunder started his morning campaign. I had no time to waste and my list was getting longer by the day. The candle that I left on for Sir Bertrant had melted down. Did he come back last night and just forget to blow out the candle, or was he still out? The living room looked just like I’d left it, so I guessed he was still out. Maybe the horses would know, if they were here.

  Horses were in their stall and surprised I was early. Neither one had a seen Sir Bertrant or knew where he was. We all decided not to worry too much about him. If he didn’t show up by midday, I would go find him. Feeding took no time, since I didn’t have to move anything out of their way. Step one in my new routine was to maximize everything I did today. The water trips became bicep curling time. Floor sweeping turned into part of my quad regimen, and I even added a few push-ups in between. By the time I was done with that part of my chores, sweat dripped from me.

  The sun barely peered over the horizon when I started my fencing training. My muscles were shaking from exhaustion already, but I would just have to push through it. Everything was going pretty smooth until I tripped over a root and went flying face first into the dirt.

  “If you are trying to poke your eyeballs out, you are doing a great job,” Sir Bertrant mumbled from the backdoor of the house.

  “How long have you been standing there?” I brushed the dirt off my clothes as I stood up.

  “Long enough to watch you flailing around like a lunatic.” He was holding one of our apples and pointed at me with his free hand.

  “Thanks, at least I want to train, unlike some people,” I muttered back.

  “Drunks don’t need sword training because we just drink,” Sir Bertrant replied and turned back inside.

  “Ohh, I could beat him with this dagger.” I waved my dagger in his direction.

  “Are you talking to yourself now?” Sageri asked from behind me.

  “Is everyone spying on me today?” I asked, spinning around to face her.

  “I was not spying. I knocked on the front door and nobody answered so I came around.” Sageri had her arms crossed over her chest and her head held high.

  “Fine. Why are you here so early?” This was an odd visit for her. Sageri had tons of stuff to do in the morning.

  “I ran into a guard at the shop today and he told me the greatest news,” Sageri said, bouncing with excitement.

  “Is the kingdom giving money away?”

  “Close. Lord Peru is giving a huge reward to the person who kills a dragon and rescues all the missing girls.” Sageri folded her hands together, staring at me like a kid standing in front of a Christmas tree on Christmas morning.

  I had no idea why this news was so exciting, so I said as much. “I’m so confused here. Which part of that is good?”

  “Don’t you see?” Sageri asked.

  “No. No I don’t,” I replied.

  “This is a great opportunity for Sir Bertrant to get back to his rightful place in the kingdom.” Sageri bounced up and down, clapping her hands together.

  “Your idea of redemption is to send him to battle a dragon?” My voice was dripping with sarcasms. “Are you serious?”

  “It is a rescue mission,” Sageri added, like t
hat fact made it any better.

  “Who cares? It’s a dragon,” I countered.

  “Madison, Sir Bertrant was the best knight in this kingdom, and probably the world. This is child’s play for him,” Sageri told me.

  “How long ago was that? The man is a drunk right now, and your little mission sounds like a suicide mission,” I clarified, since obviously she had lost her mind. “Besides, he would never sign up for that.”

  “Exactly.” Sageri held me tight by the shoulders. “That’s why you will do it.”

  “What? Hell no!” I shouted, trying to squirm out of Sageri’s hold, but it didn’t work. Her strong grip held me in place. I needed to increase my training sessions.

  “What is hell?” Sageri asked, her brows etched together, and her hand angled towards me.

  “Never mind that, I’m not doing it,” I told her, pulling away.

  “Madison, this is the only way to restore his reputation,” Sageri said, her voice filled with desperation.

  “This is madness, and he will die if he does it.” And I couldn’t be responsible for the death of the crazy old knight.

  “Fine,” Sageri said.

  “That’s it? You are not pushing this?” I asked her. After all of that, her agreement came a little too quick for my taste, causing suspicion to curl in my gut.

  “I won’t push you,” Sageri said. “By the way, the rest of your clothes are ready, and we need to stop by the market.”

  “Today?” I had other plans for this morning.

  “You already paid for them, so there is no need to wait. Go clean up so we can go.” At times, Sageri could be very demanding. It was probably the royal blood in her coming out.

  Arguing was not going to get me out of this. I took a deep breath and went inside the house. From the doorway, I watched Sageri making her way around the trees.

  At least she wasn’t angry that I did not follow her instructions with the potion.

  From Sir Bertrant’s house, it was a longer journey to the market than it was from Sageri’s house. The weather was perfect, and the cool breeze played with my hair. Sageri explained that temperatures would be hotter in the next three months. If we were on Earth, that would put us in August—also the hottest month in the US. My time there started to feel like a lifetime ago and I couldn’t believe it had only been five days. I missed Earth, but it was starting to feel like a far-away dream.

  Midday at the market was full of busy shoppers. Everyone had kids running around. Are any of those kids able to read and write? Sageri could, but I wasn’t sure if the rest of the kingdom had the same opportunities that she’d had in the palace. The air carried the scent of pastries, alerting me that someone close by was selling baked goods. My mouth watered and I prayed Sageri would let us make a quick stop before leaving. An afternoon trying on clothes clouded my mood. I hated trying on clothes in my world, but it had turned into a nightmare in this world.

  A blessing came when we walked into the tailor shop to find it empty. Excitement glimmered from the tailor’s gaze when he saw us. He couldn’t wait to show off his creations. I couldn’t deny it; the man was a genius when it came to needle and thread. His clothes were better than some of the things my grandmother had bought me in major department stores. Everything fit perfectly and the best part was nothing itched. Some of the wool pieces I’d been wearing had driven me crazy, and just thinking about it made my skin prickle again.

  The tailor couldn’t stop talking while he worked. I wasn’t paying attention to most of the conversation, but when he said my name and offered me an expectant look, I realized he must have asked me a question.

  “I’m sorry, but I didn’t hear you,” I told him.

  “Have you heard the great news, page Madison?” the tailor asked, beaming at me.

  “I’m not sure.” It might be best to keep my answers as short as possible.

  “The great contest the Lord is having.” He poked me with one of the needles because of his excitement.

  “Ouch.” The sound escaped me before I could cover my mouth.

  “I’m so sorry,” the tailor told me, not looking at me.

  “No big deal,” I lied.

  “I’m just so happy,” he continued. “We have feared that the disappearing of the girls would spread to the entire kingdom. News came recently that a girl went missing only a day’s ride from us. That is too close to let us sleep at night.”

  “You are right. How far is a day’s ride from us?” I had no point of reference in this new land.

  “I’m so glad you brought your dagger today. I can adjust the loop I made,” the tailor told me, ignoring my question.

  The tailor moved to a workstation to do his magic with my dagger. By the time our little session ended, my arms ached from holding them out for the tailor. The tailor promised to have my remaining clothes sent to the house in the morning. That was fine by me. I didn’t want to come back and try anything else.

  Sageri and I made our way out of his shop and around the market. The area was packed with young men and gawking girls.

  “What is going on?” I asked Sageri.

  “The pages and helpers are here to sign their masters up for the challenge.” She stood on her tippy toes, her gaze roaming over the area.

  “Sageri, we need to go now,” I told her, but it was too late.

  A blond guy headed our way, waving at us. When he stopped in front of us, he dropped into a bow. “My lady.” Then he stood, and I guessed him to be about five-feet-eight inches, and he appeared to be in great shape.

  “Very funny Demas, its Sageri now,” Sageri told him, tossing her hair over her shoulder and glaring at him.

  “Of course, my lady…I mean Sageri,” Demas said as he inspected Sageri, his gaze like a predator admiring his meal.

  “What do we owe the pleasure of your visit in this part of the kingdom?” Sageri asked, making her voice as formal and cold as possible.

  “Nothing really, just inspecting the prospects, or lack thereof.” Demas glared at me.

  “This is Madison, Sir Bertrant’s new page,” Sageri introduced us. I saluted the arrogant boy like Sir Bertrant had shown me.

  “That crazy old fool has another one,” Demas told Sageri, but his eyes were on me. “Good luck not getting killed. He does go through pages fairly quickly.”

  “Here you are, can we go Demas?” a masculine voice said from behind Demas.

  “Julien, guess who I found?” Demas moved out of the way, revealing Sageri.

  The most beautiful guy I had ever seen stood behind Demas. Julien was around the same height as Demas, but instead of blond, his hair was jet black, matching his dark eyes. He had chiseled cheekbones and a creamy skin that made you want to touch it. My throat went dry and I stopped blinking.

  “Nice to see you again, Julien.” Sageri gave Julien a small curtsy.

  “Always my pleasure, Sageri,” Julien replied in a soft whisper that made goosebumps race down my arms.

  “I’m surprised to see you here,” Sageri said.

  “Someone needs to keep this guy out of trouble,” Julien told her, pushing Demas’s shoulder in a joking manner.

  “Please, tell me you are not here to sign that drunk Bertrant up for the contest?” Demas asked me, snapping his fingers at me.

  “What?” I barely replied.

  “Save the old man the humiliation. He will never win,” Demas told me.

  Demas’s statement hit a nerve in me. He was right, of course. Sir Bertrant had no hope in hell of winning against a dragon. But those words coming out of that arrogant jackass were like venom and it made me want to wipe the smug smile from his face, preferably using my bare hands.

  “Of course, we are. Sir Bertrant has been training and he is ready.” The words were out of my mouth before my brain had a chance to jump in.

  “That is great,” Julien said. “We need him back.”

  “Nobody needs that whiny loser back. Let’s get out of here.” Without another glance in our direc
tion, Demas dragged Julien away.

  Sageri clapped for joy next to me. “Oh, this is great.”

  “What?” I asked, coming back to reality.

  “You signing Sir Bertrant up,” she told me.

  “He is going to kill me,” I confessed.

  “Maybe, but if you don’t sign him up now, he is going to be ridiculed all over again. Demas is going to go back and tell everyone at the castle now,” Sageri informed me. “Why did you make the announcement?”

  “I got mad, and I couldn’t let that spoiled Demas talk bad about Sir Bertrant. He might be a drunk, but everyone deserves respect.” I crossed my hands over my chest as I tried to figure out how to get out of this.

  “Demas is a pain and so is his master, Sir Morien,” Sageri said. “It doesn’t help that Sir Morien and Sir Bertrant have been rivals since they were both knighted.”

  “Are you serious? This keeps getting worse and worse. Who does that hot one work for?” I prayed Julien didn’t work for the same guy.

  “Julien? You like him,” Sageri said, poking my stomach.

  “Oh no. Nothing like that.” I squirmed but it was too late. I could feel the heat rising up my cheeks. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not like he even noticed I am alive.”

  “That’s because he thinks you are a guy,” Sageri said. “Julien is into girls, unlike Demas.”

  “Demas is gay?” I asked, giving her my undivided attention. This was a really progressive kingdom by the sounds of it.

  “I don’t know what gay is, but he likes anyone, as long as they are pretty,” Sageri said.

  “It doesn’t matter what he prefers because he is still a jerk,” I told her.

  “Demas is a special one, alright,” Sageri replied. “To answer your question, Julien’s master is the white knight. They are both extremely honorable and loyal.”

  It figures. He was handsome, had amazing qualities, and didn’t even know I existed. Story of my life.

  “Why do you even care? You are still trying to get home, right?” Sageri asked me, watching me closely.

  “Of course I am.” I had to go home, and in order to do that, I needed to stay focused on that goal.