The universe has a sick sense of humor.
That was Elizabeth's first thought as she opened her eyes. She had thought her life was over when she fell overboard. Surrender had washed over her like a warm blanket as her consciousness faded. She was ready for the end.
Yet, when she opened her eyes, she saw no angels riding puffy white clouds or children running around in luminous white robes. Instead, gentle waves licked her feet and sand clung to her body. She could feel her pale skin already burned by vicious UV rays and wished she had sunscreen.
As she took in her surroundings, however, Elizabeth wished she had more than just sunscreen. In fact, an entire camping set would be nice. It appeared that civilization was a good distance away. There was what appeared to be a city on the horizon, but it would take hours to reach on foot, especially considering the fact that Elizabeth's stomach was growling viciously and she suspected she was dehydrated.
Still, now that she knew she was alive, Elizabeth couldn't lie there and wait for death to come for her. She had been given a second chance and would make the most of it.
It wasn't a complete redo, however. Elizabeth still had to find a way to get in contact with her ship to let them know that she was still alive. Even if they thought she was dead and would have left her alone, she knew it was her duty to report her current status and let her chain of command decide what to do with her.
And, to do that, she had to get to that city on the horizon.
As she trudged along, Elizabeth contemplated her situation further. How had she managed to wash up in such a beautiful place? The majority of the land seemed untouched by man. Most of the plants were unfamiliar to Elizabeth, but she figured that would be the case since she was most likely in a foreign country. Her coveralls with "U.S. Navy" embroidered above the left breast pocket and steel-toed boots suddenly seemed heavier, especially the ocean-soaked boots. It was a wonder that no one had spotted her and opened fire. She had fallen just off the coast of Saudi Arabia.
In fact, now that she thought about it, the land itself looked nothing like Saudi Arabia. Everything was green and lush, almost tropical. The only sand in sight was on the beach. There were no signs of ships on the horizon or ports other than the city that was slowly coming into view. Though Elizabeth hardly knew what the exact dimensions of the Saudi peninsula were, she knew it couldn't stretch as far as she saw now.
Slowly, the sun began to set and Elizabeth sighed a breath of relief. She knew her sunburn had to be getting bad and the heat was draining her of what little hydration she had left. With the setting of the sun, she would be able to move at a much quicker pace and hopefully reach the city at a decent hour.
Once there, she would be able to access her bank account and hopefully find a hotel room to shower in and call her ship. She would also have to find new clothes to wear since it was outside regulation to wear coveralls off the ship. Still figuring the area to be somewhat Middle Eastern, Elizabeth winced. She would most likely have to wear a veil for the duration of her stay simply to appear culturally aware and considerate.
Within a couple hours of sunset, Elizabeth reached the stone bridge leading into the city. The design itself was beautiful, intricately carved with a style she had never seen back in America. It seemed almost Victorian, yet modern and infused with writing in a language Elizabeth had not seen before. Of course, there were plenty of languages she hadn't seen before.
As she approached the other side of the bridge, she could see men standing guard. Of course, that wasn't what startled Elizabeth. It was the fact that they were wearing pale blue armor and carrying swords. Her pulse quickened, though she knew any trained military member would not draw a weapon without probable cause. There was no reason to attack an obviously unarmed person. Right?
"Excuse me," Elizabeth started, hoping politeness would help her case. "I don't know where I am. I fell overboard during a storm and washed up ashore a couple miles from here. I need to contact my chain of command and find a way back to my ship. Is there anyone in town that can help?"
Both guards eyed her curiously, but apparently couldn't think of any real reason to deny her access to the city.
"If you wait here for another couple minutes, I can take you to our base and you can contact your command from there," one offered.
Elizabeth smiled gratefully and thanked the guard.
"Out of curiosity, where exactly am I?" she asked, hoping to start a conversation. The other guard, the one who hadn't said anything looked incredulous.
"You don't recognize it?" he said, looking around at the pale walls and intricate carvings. "We are in the Malkuth Capital, Grand Chokmah."
Elizabeth stared at the guard incredulously. She dared not voice the thoughts floating through her head but the sheer thought that she was in a fictional world was too much. The combination of her confusion, dehydration, and heat exhaustion soon proved too much for her and she collapsed.
The guards immediately rushed to her aid, one moving forward to protect the scene from any curious onlookers and the other went to check her vitals. She was still breathing, but her pulse was weak and her skin had grown clammy. Immediately, he scooped Elizabeth up into his arms and made his way through the crowd to the inn. It didn't take long since the crowd parted immediately upon seeing the soldier move with such haste.
When she awoke, Elizabeth saw that she was in a standard hospital bed in a small, plain white room. There was no trace of an IV or any of the standard hospital monitoring equipment, however, and Elizabeth grew worried. What kind of place had hospital beds but none of the other equipment? Certainly not a legitimate hospital.
Finding her strength had returned, Elizabeth sat up and hung her legs over the side of the bed, eager to get out of wherever she was. But, as she soon realized, she was wearing nothing save for a thin hospital gown that showed more than she would like people to see. So, she tucked her legs back under the blanket and lay back down.
Before long, there was a knock at the door and a kindly young woman entered. Elizabeth was struck by her small, bright blue eyes and blond hair pulled back into a relaxed yet professional updo and a thin, petite frame.
"Thank goodness you're awake," she said with a smile. "We had healers in with you all night. No matter how long they stayed, you didn't seem to be getting better." The young woman paused, looking at Elizabeth thoughtfully. "You seem to be doing quite well now, though. I'll go fetch the Colonel. He seems to have taken an interest in your case, though I have no idea why. Stay right here, ok?"
The young woman left before Elizabeth could say a word. She had no idea why a colonel would be interested in her case, particularly because she didn't think she had much of a "case" to begin with. And just what did that woman mean by "healers?" Did she mean doctors? Somehow, Elizabeth didn't think the problem was the woman's English.
Before long, there was another knock at the door and a tall man with long, brown hair and glasses entered. Elizabeth was dumbstruck. She knew exactly who he was. And that was the problem. She knew exactly who the colonel was and that the guards had not been mistaken.
Elizabeth had somehow managed to wash up just outside Grand Chokmah and was now staring into the crimson eyes of Jade Curtiss.
"Tell me something," he started, picking up the medical charts hanging at the foot of the bed. "How is it that a Seventh Fonist lacks the ability to heal herself?"
Elizabeth took a deep breath before answering.
"Many Seventh Fonists do not know how," she replied. Jade raised an eyebrow and Elizabeth swore he was mocking her.
"Ah, well, that explains everything," Jade said, turning from her to the blinds hiding bright rays of sunshine. "Particularly that strange uniform you were found wearing."
"I'm a sailor," Elizabeth answered simply. "I wear a uniform. I didn't realize that was so strange."
"Oh, the fact that you wore a uniform isn't strange at all," Jade agreed, flipping though the charts once more. "The statements from both soldiers around the time you collapsed, however, suggest that you are not from Malkuth."
"What makes you say that?"
"You didn't recognize Grand Chokmah," he replied simply.
"So? I bet a lot of people don't recognize the city when it's their first time seeing it."
"Not for a sailor. Particularly since every ship in Malkuth makes port in Grand Chokmah. In fact, until recently, Kimlasca also had many ships stop here as well," Jade added as an afterthought.
Elizabeth sighed. Of course, she knew everything Jade was saying to be true simply from beating the game, Tales of the Abyss. Still, a video game and real life were completely different and, as she saw it, should stay that way.
Besides, how was she supposed to explain that she came from an alternate reality in which this entire world was simply a work of fiction meant to be entertainment for teenagers? Surely he wouldn't believe her. Even if Jade somehow managed to accept that she was being honest, how would it affect him? Elizabeth thought that, if she had found that her world was just cheap entertainment for people who took it for granted, she would feel her entire existence cheapened almost to the point of becoming meaningless. She wouldn't risk hurting Jade that way.
"I'm from a very small ship," she said, feeling far more comfortable with half-truths than outright lies. "We don't visit many ports. We don't have the funds for it. Not to mention the fact that our parts are very hard to come across since we're so old. Since Grand Chokmah isn't a good place for picking up these parts, we don't stop here. We usually go somewhere more like Belkend."
"You're Kimlascan?" Jade asked, sounding more curious than suspicious.
"No, but our ship uses their parts. We're neutral," Elizabeth explained. "Our ship is, well, one of a kind. It's the first of its class."
Jade noted the hint of pride in her voice and felt somewhat at ease. It was the same pride he heard in the voices of his soldiers when they thought he wasn't around. Though he still was uncertain of her purpose in coming to Grand Chokmah, something told him she wasn't dangerous. Just unusual, a mystery asking to be solved.
Jade never ignored those sorts of puzzles.
"So, out of curiosity, why didn't I heal right away? I thought Seventh Fonists healed instantly."
Jade nodded. "It is, indeed, unusual. Each of the healers reported that all the Seventh Fonons in the room were being drawn into your body, leaving none for them to utilize to heal you. What's more, you did not heal yourself."
Elizabeth drew in a deep breath and let out a long sigh. She wrapped her arms around her knees, not knowing what else to do. She knew the effects of using the Seventh Fonon if one wasn't a Seventh Fonist from learning Jade's past in the game, but what happened to those who absorbed them without using them? Would she eventually explode, like an over-pressurized balloon? Would she just keep absorbing them until there was nothing left? Would it affect Van's plans for a replica world?
There were so many questions running through her head that Elizabeth didn't hear Jade speak.
"What?" she asked, lifting her head from her knees.
"I asked for your name. Neither of the guards managed to get it before you passed out."
"Elizabeth," she answered. "Elizabeth Harvelle."