by Vicky Savage
“It’s not a game, Jaden. I know it seems a bit surreal, but that is exactly what has happened to you. You are no longer on earth… well, earth as you know it, anyway. You are in what we call an alternate world.”
I put down the remnants of my second pommera and fold my arms across my chest. “Exactly how stupid do you think I am? Kidnapping’s a serious crime—you know that, don’t you? I’m not a willing participant in your little entertainment, so you and your deranged friends better get me home right now or you’ll spend the rest of your pathetic lives in prison.”
“All right, all right.” He raises his hands to calm me. “Humor me for a moment, please. Let us use logic. Like your mother used to say, ‘the best approach to any problem is the logical approach’.”
That weirds me out. How does he know about that?
“More tea?” he asks.
“No!”
“All right, think back for a minute. What do you last remember before you hit your head?”
I mull it over a moment. “I remember a big storm, thunder, lightning, you know. I was on my back porch watching it all. Then I jumped off the rail.”
“Why did you jump?”
I scrunch up my forehead straining to remember. It hurts my cut, so I stop. “I thought I saw some guys on horses. They were barreling straight for the house. That must have been you and your buddies. Right?”
“Didn’t that seem a bit odd to you? Horsemen in your backyard in a storm?”
“Uh, yeah. In the middle of Madison, Connecticut, that would be a little out of the ordinary. Why do you think I jumped?”
I go over the scene again in my head. “You know, it didn’t seem real, though. It almost looked like a 3-D movie. But I got really scared, because it felt like they were looking for me.”
“Well, they were—and they weren’t. They weren’t looking for Jade Beckett of Madison, Connecticut. They were looking for Princess Jaden Victoria Hanover Beckett, heir to the throne of Domerica.”
“What are you talking about? What’s Domerica?” I say, irritated with this whole screwy conversation.
“You’re in Domerica now, Jade. We don’t know exactly how it occurred. It likely had something to do with the intense electrical storm, but you were shifted from your life in Connecticut to another existence in Domerica.”
“Huh? You’re saying I’m not me now. I’m somebody else? Like I’m really going to believe that. How does someone get ‘shifted’ to another existence?” I don’t know what the point of this bogus scam is, but this guy must think I’m pretty gullible.
He looks at me over the top of his glasses. “Nothing like this has ever happened to you before, has it?”
“Seriously, dude?”
“I didn’t think so. Well, I assume you’ve heard of a time-warp? This is more like a person- and place-warp, similar to a worm-hole or a parallel universe. Can you understand that?”
“Understand what? The load of crap you’re trying to feed me?” Now I’m pissed. I jump to my feet, adrenaline pumping wildly through my veins. Its fight or flight time.
“Okay, buddy, who the hell are you? What are you trying to do to me? Is this some kind of sicko mind-game you’re playing?” I silently thank my mom for forcing me to go to Tae Kwon Do all those years. I know I can deck this wiry little freak and get the hell out of here. There has to be a sane person somewhere nearby who can help me.
“Please sit down, Jaden,” he says calmly. “Think about it. Somewhere in the deepest part of you, you know what I’m saying is true. Your mind may not be willing to accept it, but you know this is not the same earth on which you grew up. You can’t even see the sky or the sun. Look at yourself, you have on different clothing.” He gestures to my peculiar outfit. “Your hair is significantly longer than it was.”
My hair, which I normally wear loose, is tied back and woven into a thick braid. I reach around to grab it, and I’m shocked to find that it hangs below my waist. I pull the braid around to examine it. It’s the same gold-brown hair I’ve always had, split-ends and all, only it’s grown about two feet.
Ralston says, “People are riding horses for transportation, Jade. Have you seen a car or an airplane since you’ve been here? Have you ever heard of a fargen, or a pommera, or a healing wand?”
I sit down hard on the dirt floor, sending up a cloud of dust. My mind zooms in a million different directions. It’s true that a lot of the things I’ve seen since I woke up don’t make any sense to me. My brain has taken it all in, but hasn’t figured out how to process it. I just thought my faculties were addled from the fall, but that doesn’t explain this mysterious skyless land or the differences in my appearance. His words bring all the curious things I’ve witnessed into focus, causing my pulse to quicken and my breath to come in short spurts.
“Okay, okay. Help me out here,” I say. “The logical explanation for all this bizarre stuff is that I’m hallucinating, or dreaming, or drugged. The logical explanation is not parallel universe. Parallel universe is not the logical explanation for anything. That’s insane.”
“It is perfectly understandable that you should feel that way,” he says soothingly. “In general, people on your earth do not accept the reality of other universes. They are the stuff of science fiction and fantasy, but rest assured they do exist. Whether or not you believe me now does not matter. You will soon know beyond a doubt that what I am saying is true.”
“This can’t be happening,” I say, covering my face with my hands. How did I get stuck in this god-forsaken cave with a certifiable lunatic?
“I know it is hard to believe, but I can guarantee that you are safe here. This shift is only temporary. We will get you home within a short period of time, and meanwhile, I’ll be here to help you through it all.”
“You’re going to take me home?” I ask quietly.
“I promise you, as soon as it is safe to do so, we will return you home.”
He gets up and pours more tea for me. I take some sips, and my breathing slows a little.
Can it possibly be true? Could something so bizarre really happen to me? I think I’m pretty open-minded about most things. I like the idea of reincarnation, and I’m pretty sure earthlings can’t be the only life forms in the universe considering the billions of other planets out there. But a parallel world? It’s too far-fetched. I don’t buy it. And if it is true, why me? Why is this shitstorm happening to me? Out of all the billions of people in the world? I can’t be that unlucky.
“Jade,” Ralston says after a moment. “You’ll be pleased to know there is a bit of good news in all this.”
I don’t reply. I stare at my teacup trying to figure out what I did to deserve this kind of rotten karma.
“Your mother is alive in this world.”
My head snaps up. “My mother? My mother is here? She’s alive?” That rockets me out of my little pity party.
I nail him with my eyes. “If you’re lying to me, I swear I’ll…”
“I’m not lying, my dear. I would not be so cruel. Remember Blackthorn said she was alive.”
“When can I see her? Can we go now?” I spring to my feet.
He shakes his head. “It’s not safe yet. Morning will be here soon enough and besides, we have a few things to discuss first.”
“Like what?” But before he can answer, another question occurs to me. “Wait a minute, is this my same mother?”
“Yes and no. She is basically the same person you’ve always known. But Jade, she really is a queen—the Queen of Domerica. She is running a decent-sized country in a world that is far different from the one you know. She may have certain traits you are not accustomed to. She may appear more formal, more devoted to duty than before. But she loves you and is terribly worried about you right now.”
“Is my dad here, and Drew?” I sit back down on the cave floor.
“Yes they are both here. Your father doesn’t live at the palace with the rest of you, though. He has his own pursuits, still within the healthcare
field. He is a physician and lives in a community within Domerica, but independent from it.”
“Are my parents divorced?”
“No. They’ve parted ways. They remain on good terms, though. He sees you and Drew frequently.
“In this world, your brother is known as Prince Andrew William Hanover Beckett. Domerica is a matriarchal society, Jade. That means that even though Drew is the eldest, you are the heir to the throne.”
“Me? So, that’s why everyone was calling me Princess?” It scares me to realize I’m beginning to buy into this alternate universe story. I remind myself to be on my guard, but certain things are starting to make a little more sense. Maybe I just want to believe I’ll see my mom again. But maybe, just maybe, it’s true.
“So, what happened to the real princess? The Jaden that was here before I got shifted?”
Ralston takes off his glasses and massages the bridge of his nose. “She is your mirror in this world—your twin here. In all honesty, she was supposed to have died as a result of the fall from the cliff. That did not occur because you shifted into her body.”
“Whoa, shut the front door! She was supposed to have died from the fall, but she didn’t? Now I’m here in her body and going on with her life? That’s just creepy.” I examine my hands. They look just like my hands, except the nails are beautifully manicured, and I’m wearing an unfamiliar carved gold ring on my right hand.
“One might consider it—”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute! What is happening with my life back in Connecticut? Does my family think I’m dead? Did I just disappear? Is my dad okay?”
“Jaden, calm down. I will answer all your questions. One at a time, please.”
“You’re telling me to be calm when my whole world has turned into a bad X-Files episode. I want answers!” I ball my hand into a fist and smack it on the ground for emphasis. It hurts like hell.
“Ow!” I shriek.
“Keep your voice down. They will be searching for us,” he says. “In answer to your questions, without getting into all the technicalities, I can tell you that when you return—and I promise you will return—it will be within a few minutes of the time you departed. Your life will continue on just as it would have had you never been shifted to this world. No one will have an opportunity to miss you or think you’re dead. We can manage that part at least.”
He drags his hand over his wispy hair. “I can’t say exactly when you will be able to return. We’re working on that. These things can be tricky.”
“How tricky?”
“Very. Many factors must favorably coincide for such a precisely timed return.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Let me try to explain, as best I can. I warn you, though, I will not be able to do a thorough job tonight. You will still have lots of questions. I can give you the basics, and we can fill in the details later.”
“The basics would be good.”
He sits cross-legged, facing me. “All right, try for a moment to imagine your life as a computer model. At the instant you were born, billions of paths for your life became possible, based upon trillions of different variables, including all the choices you might make during a lifetime.” He leans forward earnestly, brow knitting together. “An illustration you are familiar with might help. Have you ever watched the news when a hurricane is approaching the United States?”
I nod.
“Excellent. You’ve seen what they call the ‘spaghetti models’ that the meteorologists use with all the different colored lines extending out from the storm?”
“Yeah.”
“Those lines represent the computerized prediction of the myriad possible paths the hurricane might take, based on many meteorological variables. But sometimes, something happens that the meteorologists don’t anticipate, and the hurricane veers off on a path completely different from any of those predicted by the computers. Are you with me so far?”
“I don’t know. I think so. Please get to the point.”
“Take that spaghetti model and layer it on top of the spaghetti models for each of the innumerable universes in existence—that is the number of potential paths your life might take.”
“Hang on a sec; you’re saying there are zillions of other universes out there?”
“Trust me on this, Jaden, there are.” He stares at me with steely conviction.
“Now this is the important part: You, the spark that is uniquely you—call it the soul or whatever you like—can be on only one of those paths at a time. So even though all the possibilities exist in their entirety, just like in the spaghetti model, the hurricane can follow only one path at a time. Just as you can follow only one path at a time. Except you jumped paths in midstream, so to speak.”
I stare at him for a minute, processing this explanation. “Okay, so you’re telling me I got shifted from the path I was on in Connecticut to this path in Domerica, or wherever the heck I am, because of something like a computer glitch?”
“Yes. Well, that’s a very good analogy.”
It sounds complicated. “So how do I get home?”
He shrugs. “As I’ve said, we are working on that. Many factors must coalesce at the exact moment in order for your homecoming to be timely and successful. I don’t know how long it will take—maybe a week, maybe a month, or maybe more. But you will get home. No one who has shifted has ever failed to get back. It’s vital to galactic order that you return home.”
This information makes me dizzy. “I’m not sure I understand all this stuff about possible lifetimes and other universes and spaghetti models.”
“That’s all right. Those details are unimportant right now. What is important for you to understand is that your presence here has already altered the course of this universe to an extent. We must minimize the effects of this cosmic accident by ensuring that things proceed in an orderly fashion while you are present in this world, and by returning you swiftly and safely to your own world so the course of that universe remains intact. That is my job.”
“Yeah? Just how do you plan to do that? We don’t have to stay in this cave the whole time, do we?”
He chuckles. “No, my dear. In fact, you have quite a comfortable home here in Domerica. It’s called Warrington Palace. But I need to educate you on a few things first. You will be required to play the role of Princess Jaden until this situation is resolved. So, you will have to learn certain things about this world and your specific situation before we return to the palace.”
“No way! You’re going to try to pass me off as a princess? Good luck with that.” I laugh nervously, but I’m feeling queasy.
“What if they find out I’m an imposter? What will they do to me? I’m sure the penalties for impersonating a princess are pretty steep.”
“That’s not going to happen. You are in Princess Jaden’s body. You know all the players—well, your family members, at least. At most, they will think you have been traumatized by your ordeal. We can finesse the rest.” He lifts my half-empty teacup and hands it to me. “Here, drink some more tea. You’ll feel better.”
I do as I’m told and, remarkably, I do feel better, more calm and confident. I’m beginning to believe everything will be okay, especially if I get to see my mom again. In fact, come to think of it, I’m feeling a little too good under the circumstances.
“Hey, is this tea drugged?”
Ralston drops his eyes. “It contains a mild mood elevator.”
“What!” I fling the cup at the opposite wall. It clatters and bounces against the stone. “That’s just great. You’re supposed to be my what? My sponsor, my guardian, my protector? And you drug me without my knowledge? Why should I trust you at all?”
“You’re right, Jade. I’m sorry. It’s just that most people would be in utter shock if this happened to them. I wasn’t sure how badly you’d react. I thought it would make things easier for you, but I shouldn’t have done it without telling you. Truly I meant no harm.” His whole body sags, l
ike the stuffing’s been ripped out of him. “Please forgive me.”
I glare at him, considering my options. Let’s face it—I don’t have a lot of other options. I blow out a long breath. “Okay. Just don’t lie to me again,” I say sternly.
“I won’t. I swear it.” He straightens up.
“Let’s get on with it, then. Make me a princess.”
SIX
Ralston rubs his hands together eagerly. “First, I shall tell you about this world in which you currently find yourself. It’s quite extraordinary. We have time only to touch on the essentials; the particulars can be filled in later.”