He stood up and walked to the wall behind his chair. “Come. You need a change of clothing, food, and sleep. I’m surprised you have not passed out.” He opened a door she had not even realized was there and quickly began to ascend a set of stone steps. As she followed him, she began to think everything here was made with that white stone.
They climbed two sets of stairs ending at a doorway. He opened it and as she walked inside, she gasped. The bedroom was decorated in whites and lavenders. It had a bed in the middle, a side table, and a dresser. “Strip all your clothing off and toss it in that basket,” he said pointing to a simple stone garbage pail. He didn’t even move and a tray of food appeared on the side table. “Eat as much as you can and then get into bed. You will sleep until I believe you are ready.” Without another word, he turned and left.
“Well, isn’t he bossy,” she muttered as she began to take her clothing off. Once she was in the buff, she tossed it at the pail, gasping as it disappeared the moment it hit. “Oh great. Now I have nothing to wear.”
The scent of the food pulled at her as well as the bed, but her stomach won out.
None of the food on the tray looked familiar, but it all smelled so good she ate quickly. The scents, the flavors, and the textures combined to make the most amazing meal she had ever eaten. “His chef should open up a restaurant in the United States,” she giggled as she licked the plate clean. “He or she would make a killing.”
As soon as she ate the food and drank the tall glass of water, which was the best she had ever tasted in her entire life, she crawled under the covers and moaned. The bed was comfortable too.
Maybe I’ll just stay here forever…
Chapter Nine - Magic, not all it’s cracked up to be
Stretching, Ari sighed. She was so comfortable she didn’t want to wake up. Something told her she should open her eyes. Pulling one lid open, she shrieked as she spotted Mayir at the foot of her bed. “What are you doing?” she snapped, annoyed.
He raised an eyebrow. “You have fifteen minutes to eat and dress. Then we start your training.” Without another word, he disappeared.
Mayir. Zeta. That’s right. She was clear cross the universe on a distant planet with some guy who was supposed to teach her magic. Flumping back on her pillows, she stared up at the stone ceiling. Sleeping the day away did not seem like such a bad idea, especially after her recent brush with Orion the terrifying.
“If you are not dressed, you will still appear at my side. I suggest you move.”
Gasping, she sat up and looked around, grimacing as she realized he was able to speak to her without being in the room, just like Orion. That was just a tad annoying and a whole lot scary. Getting out of bed, she quickly ate the breakfast that was waiting for her, another meal to tempt anyone’s taste buds, and looked around for what to wear.
At first, she refused to believe that the strange diaphanous material hanging from the doorway was her outfit. It couldn’t be. It was so girly. “Ewww,” she groaned as she pulled it down. It looked like some crazy outfit a Disney princess might wear. In three pieces, her uniform consisted of a pale yellow skirt that was in about fifty layers, a deep blue bustier, and a white lace camisole to wear under it.
After laying each piece out on the bed, she realized there was something missing. “Uh, Mayir?” she said, feeling stupid for talking into thin air. “Where’s the underwear?”
“The what?”
“Underwear. You know. To wear underneath the frilly skirt.”
There was a moment of silence and then he said, “Ah, you mean this?” A pair of granny panties in the same material as the camisole appeared.
“Yeah, that will do. If it must,” she added in an undertone.
“If you dislike my choices in clothing, maybe you will learn magic faster so as to create your own.”
Rolling her eyes, she put on the panties and cami before glaring at the skirt. She shimmied into it, trying not to laugh at how stupid she felt, before grabbing the bustier. It was more of a chore. It had laces she had to pull tight, so as not to show everything off. As it was, when she got it tied tightly enough, her breasts puffed out the top. A mirror stood near the door. She walked over and looked at it. “I look like a naughty cupcake.”
Her legs were viewable, even under the layers and layers of transparent fabric. The bustier pushed her breasts up until they were about to overflow. Colors of the gown reminded her of a cartoon she saw when she was a kid. “I’m Snow White in an R-rated flick.” Giggling, she barely began to turn toward the door when her room disappeared, and she found herself outside. Underneath her feet was soft dirt, and as she turned around she realized that was all she could see. No buildings, no flowers, no grass. Nothing but dirt and lavender sky. Well, at least she was still on Zeta.
“This is your first lesson,” said Mayir’s disembodied voice. “You are to bring grass into life where there is none.”
After a few minutes of nothing, she asked, “And just how am I supposed to do that?”
“Magic.”
Rolling her eyes, she glared into the dirt. “Did Abigail not inform you I know nothing of magic?”
“That matters not. You will bring it to life because you can. When you have finished, you will come back.”
“You have got to be kidding me!” she spat. “I know Abigail muttered nonsense words to get us here. Surely there are—”
“Enough wasting time,” he said in a firm voice. “Magic is simple, Arwen Reynolds. Think it. Believe it. Understand. Let it happen. That is all you need. Now, I am busy. Do not bother me.”
Gasping, she opened her mouth to let him have it when she remembered Abigail saying something about what a pain in the ass he was. “Great. A beastly red-eyed dude wants me as his slave, and instead I end up taking lessons from Professor I-Have-My-Head-Up-My-Ass. If I was home, this would be Jane’s idea of a date.”
Huffing, she looked around.
Dirt, dirt, dirt, as far as the eye could see. He wanted her to bring grass into the world. That made no sense. For hours, she walked around in circles trying to figure out how to get grass to grow. She tried to command it. “Grass grow!” But all she got was a deep chuckle that resounded in her head. Mayir obviously thought that was funny.
She dug into the dirt looking for any sign of life. None found. For over an hour, she sat on the dirt and tried to imagine the vista in front of her covered in green. Nothing happened. As the sun reached its height and began to go down again, she was so bored she stood up and began to dance, figuring maybe she could get some rain to come and it would make the grass grow.
By the time the sun went down, she was tired, grumpy, hungry, and trying to decide who she would kill first: Orion, Abigail, or Mayir?
“Hungry?”
“Very.” A table, chair, and full meal appeared before her, and without thinking, she sat down and dug into it. Every time she drained her glass of water, it refilled itself. Entranced, she tossed out the fourth glass and waited for it to refill, but it did not. Grimacing, she finished her meal and looked around. “Now what?”
“Make the grass appear.”
“But I don’t know how,” she whined.
“Start there. For it is at the unknowing where magic begins.”
Well that made a whole lot of sense.
Frowning, she stood up and walked around in the moonlight, unsurprised when she turned around and the table and chair were gone.
She was surprised however, to find a bed in its place.
“Sleep and try again tomorrow.”
“I’m sleeping outside?”
When he did not respond, she sighed and walked to the bed. Too tired to care that she was dressed and covered in dirt, she climbed in and pulled the blanket up to her chin. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep. For days, she woke up in the field, tried to figure out how to get grass to appear, did not succeed, and fell asleep in the field. After a full week, she was tired of it all.
“Look!” she sa
id loudly as once again a table, chair and food appeared. “I told you, but you obviously did not believe me. I can’t do this!”
A deep chuckle rang through her head. “Can you not?” He appeared right in front of her. “Tell me why you cannot.”
“Because I don’t know how.” Duh.
“Do you know what grass looks like?”
“Well, of course, but—”
“Can you imagine the field covered in it?”
“Well, sure, but—”
“Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
He raised an eyebrow, and with a huff she closed her eyes. “See the field in your mind.” Grumbling under her breath, she focused on the dirt and imagined it covered in spiky green grass. “Feel it beneath your feet.” She dug her toes into the dirt, trying to imagine it was spiky winter grass instead. “Now, let it go.”
Her eyes opened. “What do you mean?”
“First you imagine. Then you feel. Then you understand. Once you understand, you can let it go and it will happen.”
Frowning, she glared at the dirt. “I can’t do it.”
“Could you imagine it?”
“Yes.”
“Could you feel it?”
“Sort of.”
“Could you understand?”
“What am I supposed to understand?”
To her annoyance, he nodded. “That is where your block is. Understanding.” She opened her mouth to ask what he meant when he turned to the wide expanse of dirt. “First imagine.” His eyes glazed over. “Then you feel it.” His fingers twitched and his toes dug into the dirt. “Then you understand.” A look of peace crossed his face. “Then you let it go.” As the words left his lips, the entire field went from being one large dirt pile to a huge green field.
“How did you do that?” she whispered, reaching down and pulling up a blade of it. “And more importantly, why couldn’t I?”
“I explained how I did it, Arwen. As for why you did not, it is because you do not understand yourself. Come, let us return. You need to contact the Interdimensional Dating Service so that Orion still thinks you are available.”
Confused, she nodded, and next thing she knew, she was in her bedroom with a full meal in front of her and her laptop booted up right next to it. Electing to eat first, she slowly ate the food, her mind trying to make sense of the last few days.
“What did you learn today?” His voice made her jump, and she turned and glared at him.
She was tired and achy and just wanted things to go back to normal. “That there must be something wrong with me, because I couldn’t get it to work!”
“Very good, Arwen. First lesson learned.” As he disappeared, she gaped at where he was.
“Abigail, come rescue me,” she sighed, finishing her dinner.
Chapter Ten - Contact
Once her dinner was done and the plates disappeared, she turned to her laptop.
It felt strange pulling up her email address. How did it even connect with the internet on Earth? Having been away from Earth for at least a week, she wondered how many emails would appear. Never would she have expected only fifteen emails. All of them from IDS. “I guess the other two services have forgotten me,” she said in amusement.
“Actually, Abigail discontinued your use of them as they were not involved.”
“I wish you would stop talking in my head,” she murmured. “It is too much like him.”
“You might as well get used to it,” he said from right behind her.
Rolling her eyes, she pulled up the IDS folder. Of the fifteen messages, twelve of them were from Orion. Two were from names she did not recognize and one was from Terrian.
“Open up the messages from Orion.”
She opened up the oldest one.
Come back now, pet.
Orion
A small twinge came in her chest, and she rubbed it frantically.
“Unfortunately you will probably feel that for a long time. Orion knew what he was doing when he created that contract and with Celie doing her best to please him, she just made it worse. In his mind, he was after her family, essentially all female descendants. Instead, she gave him access to every female member of her blood line. And he really wants you,” he growled.
“But why? I mean, Abigail said I look like her great aunt, but I still don’t understand why he would focus so much on me. I’m really not all that special.”
When he didn’t respond, she looked over her shoulder. He was looking at her with the strangest expression. “Have you no idea of your worth?”
Blushing a little, she shrugged. “I’m not downing myself, but this is huge. Why me?”
“Because your magical signature is more intense than any woman in your family. Ever. Because you carry with you the magic held within only one other being.” When she raised her eyebrow, he continued. “Your grandfather. His power is phenomenal. And Orion wants it.” Before she could ask, he disappeared.
“Who’s my grandfather?”
He didn’t answer.
Frustrated, but knowing he would not give up the information until he was ready, she turned back to her laptop. Wanting to get all of Orion’s messages out of the way, she went through them quickly.
Where are you, pet?
Respond or there will be consequences.
Where has Abigail taken you?
Answer me!
Each message became more demanding, his anger practically ripping through them. By the time the final one appeared, her chest ached, and she whimpered aloud as she read it.
You are mine. I own you. Either come to me or the pain will get worse every day. I might not even accept you back if you wait too long. Think of it, pet. A lifetime of anguish.
Her hands shook as she hit reply. Her mind thought about what she wanted to say. Stay away from me, go away, and I am not your slave were what she thought. What she typed was Yes, Master. As soon as she saw the words, she let out a scream and erased them.
Concentrate, Arwen.
Concentrate. Great advice! Maybe when she figured out magic she could turn him into a toad.
Looking at the last message, her finger paused over the delete button, but a thrum in her ankle made her pause. She was prepared to think Terrian was some lunatic with his description, but the fact was, he was probably real. A man from a different dimension. Even though she was sitting on Zeta, it still felt unreal. What was it Abigail said? Something about the anklet having the ability to help her find a good match? Well, it certainly didn’t hate Terrian like it did Orion, which was a huge plus. She really needed to ask about what was done to the metal to make her ankle do this. Deciding she would give him another chance, she opened his email.
Arwen,
Was I too forward in my previous email? If so, I apologize. I have been told I can act too bold at times.
I hope you are well and that whether or not you respond that you are happy.
Terrian
The email was nice and made her feel good, just like his first one did. Reminding herself there were, in fact, other dimensions and she needed to remember that, she opened up the email he wrote that freaked her out and reread it.
Arwen,
That is a beautiful name. So, you live in a library as well? Well, that is wonderful to hear. Though maybe not for you. It can be a bit taxing. I thought it would be nice to tell you a little more about myself, if that would be acceptable to you. If not, read no further.
I am a rather large sports enthusiast and wish I could spend more time engaged in them rather than watching. My favorites are wind surfing and tree skiffing. Do not spread this around, but I also have a deep love for animals. My mount Abriethon has been with me for a few decades, and I swear he knows me more than anyone else. I also raise Dipthan Kivees, somewhat similar to the Orenean Brevs, but my mother and I have been striving to breed the perfect corg with a more malleable temper.
Have you ever jumped dimensions before? I did when I was much younger. Unfortunat
ely I found it did not bode well for my temperament so I stopped. My brothers Caifu and Stero spent a couple centuries doing it and it never affected them, though, so it might just be me. My youngest brother Zenun jumped once but found the shift too painful. He stayed in the Anjolan Sphere for fifty years before he was killed accidentally. We tried to get him to come back home before then, but he stubbornly refused.
I was sorry to hear you lost your mother. Losing one’s parent must be a dreadful experience. My mother has just passed her millennial birthday and is stronger than ever. My father is close to his bimillenial. I am quite young at only 745 years. Within my direct family, I have two older brothers and seven younger. There are many other relations who I will not mention as to do so would take far too much space.
Besides the books I have read, I am unfamiliar with your particular dimension. Would you be willing to tell me about it? Or anything you wish to write about. I would just like to get to know you better.
Looking forward to your next message,
Terrian
Suddenly the whole email made a lot more sense. And it made him look more normal, if normal was having a conversation with someone from a different dimension. Feeling, hoping actually, that maybe he was someone she could talk to, just like she thought, she hit reply.
Terrian,
I apologize for not responding earlier. My life has taken an unexpected turn. You might be surprised to find out that a week ago I had no idea there were actual dimensions or that other worlds existed. I thought the Interdimensional Dating Service was on Earth. So, when I read your second email I am afraid I thought you were a lunatic.
Sorry about that.
The fact is, of all the guys who showed interest from IDS and the two earth-bound services I tried, you seemed the most human. Ha. That sounds funny now.
Your Dimension Or Mine? Page 11