Warm. It was far too warm. It felt as if her skin was melting.
A distant scream echoed through the field swallowed by a sea of flames. It was familiar. Like she should recognize the voice's owner.
"-ht?"
She was forgetting something. What did she forget? Who did she forget?
In an instant, everything came to an end.
"-ight?"
The sky cleared up. She could see the plains clearly again. Her little feet were charging through the grassfield. She was running too. With her lucious ivory locks fluttering behind her.
Someone was waiting for them. Was it grandfather? She could not recall. Whoever it was, it brought joy to her. To mother.
"-ke up!"
Sadly joy was the last thing that welcomed them.
"-ill you wake up?!"
Aisha jerked awake.
Her head was spinning. It seemed as if someone repeatedly pounded her skull to a wall. Not to mention her vision was cloudy and her bedroom smelled like plants. Real plants irritated her nose, which is why she did not have any. So why could she inhale their scent? And did she change the alarm ringtone again? This was the worst morning yet.
Someone was talking to her but between that awful ringing in her ears and splitting headache, she could not make out what they were saying. Did she bring a person home last night? Wait, what did she even do yesterday?
Wasn't she at school? No, she clearly remembered talking to the new girl, Ara, before heading home. And then what? What happened then? She recalled a building. A shop to be precise and...a mirror?
"Oh no" Aisha mumbled as recollection flooded back.
"I see you finally came to!" Said a shrill voice. It reminded her of a cross between a chipmunk and a grown man. A disturbing image.
Aisha sat up, pushed the bangs out of her face and turned to the direction of the voice. What met her vision was a tree trunk. She blinked and looked behind her back. More trees. When she looked up, her eyes finally rested upon a fat, flying bat creature.
"Oh no"
The bat tilted its head and replied.
"Are you going to keep repeating that?"
"Is this some sort of prank?"
It must've been. Where was the camera? It was probably the work of Ara's vicious brother. He must've tricked her with an optical illusion and drugged her. And the bat? It was likely a toy with a radio stuffed inside. They were just messing with her, right?
Things like these only happened in those tacky fantasy novels her grandfather read to sleep.
"You tell me" The bat, as if to disprove any logical explanation she came up with, descended on the grass next to her "Listen, girly. You look a little lost-"
"You think?" She snapped and that damned thing gave her a smug look.
Seeing it now, much closer to her, gave her the opportunity to observe it. The creature had no strings attached and its body, sadly, was not made out of fabric.
"It was lucky of you to have encountered me, mortal" the bat started "As I, the brilliant Angkor, am willi-" but was interrupted by her cradling it into her arms "W-watch it! I bruise easily!"
She inspected the animal, if you could call it that. It had short white hair and tiny black horns on the top of its head. The creature's eyes were amber while its stomach and back were covered in purple, leather-like material that gave the bat a wrapped or tied up appearance. Its black wings seemed far too tiny for its fat little body. It was a wonder 'Angkor' could fly at all.
Well, maybe it wasn't that much of a wonder, seeing as its whole existance was supernatural enough to have a Harry Potter book dedicated for it.
Her attempt to poke him was met with resistance as the bat escaped her grasp and ascended on a branch. Aisha almost pouted.
Angkor coughed.
"As I was saying. I am willing to help you out" the bat's eyes narrowed and it continued "Just don't do that again"
"And what do you get from it?"
The damned bat smirked.
"Why, I would only do it out of the goodness in my heart! No strings attached" Aisha snorted and the creature tilted its head "You don't believe me?"
"Obviously" she said.
And to be fair, why should she blindly trust a flying bat that seemed to have come from the depths of the abyss, a realm of darkness or some other equivalent of hell. 'No strings attached' her ass. She had to think about her options carefully.
On one hand, she could potentially be involved in some weird plot or scheme. On the other, she could get lost, mugged or possibly even killed without guidance. She needed more to go on before she could form a rational conclussion.
"What did you say you were again?" she asked.
"I didn't" the bat said "However I'd be delighted to inform you"
And cue the boring sob story of a demon. Apparently, Angkor reigned over the Abyss, which meant she wasn't too far off in her first guess. His power rivaled that of the Gods and coincidentally, was sealed away by a powerful charm. This was far too convenient for the damned bat since, chances were, if she asked for proof he'd weasel out with 'I lost my powers, remember?'.
She was left with blind trust yet again.
Aisha inwardly slapped herself for giving up so easily. She wasn't a genius for no reason! She had to pry more. Maybe insist on a demonstration or request some knowledge about her whereabouts. Was she still in Wiltspire? With what the bat said, it wouldn't be too out of place for her to humor the idea this area is an alternative, magical dimension. She did go all 'Alice in Wonderland' back in that antique store, after all.
In reality, what scared her the most was how easily her heart believed him. It was delusional yet she couldn't shake off this perplexing feeling that she was unable to describe. Was she being nostalgic? No, that's preposterous. Aisha was positive she'd never been stranded in a forest before. It was different. Perhaps wistfulness.
"You have a very peculiar sense of style" Angkor's voice shook her from her thoughts.
Aisha looked over her outfit to see nothing odd. A pleated skirt and her collared shirt. Granted she did leave her blazer behind but it still looked far from weird.
"It's my school uniform. What's so strange?" she said.
The bat let out a lecherous giggle "Oh, is that so?" he hummed and circled her.
"I don't recall uniforms to have been so..." he paused for, most likely, dramatic effect "...revealing"
Instinctively, she tugged her skirt down.
"So, where are we anyway?" she said with intent to stray from topic at hand.
The bat smirked smugly and Aisha suspected he knew much more about her situation than he let on.
"I imagine involuntarily traversing through realms would make it hard for you to deduce it for yourself" Angkor said
And she was right again. Could he read minds? Maybe it was just a frequent occurence?
Wait a minute. Realms?
"I'm not in Lavock anymore?" Angkor tilted his head "You know, Wiltspire?"
Another blank look. She sighed. That answered her question. Which only left her with one thing to achieve.
"Okay, I'll bite"
"Pardon?" Angkor said.
"You said you wanted to help me out, right?" the bat nodded and she continued "In that case, get me back to my...realm"
"I'd love to, sweet cheeks" he said and Aisha could already feel the upcoming, patronizing 'but'.
"But you'll have to be a little less..." Angkor checked her out "...conspicuous"
"Stop looking!" She crossed her arms "You're creeping me out"
Angkor smirked again and she had to fight her impulse to stomp the damned bat.
"If we make a contrac-"
"Too shady. No deal"
"Hear me out" he whined "I'll be more helpful if you take me as your familiar. If we're connected by a bond, I will regain some of my abilities" with a smug look he added "I could easily conjure unostentatious clothes for you too"
Everything made sense now. Well, except for how he knew her circumstances. At the very least, she knew his motive. A contract held a lot of possible outcomes. But at the moment it was her only reliable lead. It wasn't favorable, however she could use it to her advantage and if she played her cards right, she would gain a potential ally. If he was to be trusted, that is.
Having made up her mind, she accepted Angkor's suggestion. The bat motioned with his left wing and summoned a piece of paper.
"Sign it" Angkor said
Aisha quickly skimmed over the contract. It was worded in a really vague, baffling way. Kind of like a different language altogether. She had a lot of trouble deciphering each of the 2 points listed but what she did understand looked harmless enough.
What was she getting herself into? Her grandfather would've been beyond disappointed.
"Give me a quill or something" she stated and Angkor chuckled.
"You don't sign contracts with quills, pigtails"
"Well then should I sneeze on it instead?" Aisha huffed.
"Extend your palms" she did as ordered and he landed on her hands.
Aisha yelped when she felt a sharp sting as Angkor bit her hard enough to draw blood.
"You don't carry any disease, right?"
"Sign it now" he said
"A blood pact? This is ridiculous" she said and reached for the floating paper.
Having been signed, the contract vanished and Angkor gave her a shifty grin. A moment passed and...nothing seemed to happen. The bat looked the same, she felt the same. Aisha was both glad and disappointed.
"I suppose I should hold my end of the deal now" he said and motioned with his left wing once more.
A blinding light surrounded her frame. Her body was bathed in a warm, purple flare that seemed to alter her features. While it only lasted for a few seconds, the illumination left her lightheaded. It took her a moment to come back to her senses.
The first thing she noticed was how her once naked neck was adorned by a white, lacy chocker that covered her shoulders and ended at her collarbone. On its bottom hem, in the middle of her clavicle, hung a plum coloured triangle jewel. The girl's arms were accented by mauve, long and flowing sleeves with white ruffles peeking out of their open end.
She stroked her hair. Instead of the typical pigtails, her hair was styled into twin tails. For a brief second Aisha wondered if they looked good on her but concluded it did not matter in the long run. Besides, the ribbons were a nice touch.
She was a sucker for cute things, sue her.
It did make her ponder why Angkor decided to change her hairstyle in the first place. She made a mental note to question him later.
Inspite of herself, Aisha was rather excited as, so far, the new clothes seemed swell. With intent to check herself out, the girl peeked below her neckline. What she saw made her blood boil.
"Well, do you like my gift?"
It fit her well enough, however she had a lot of issues with the purple tube top, dark lilac mini skirt and how her abdomen was completely bare. Aisha glanced behind herself. Even her back was naked, with the only visible thing, apart from her skin, being the strings connecting her top.
And to think he had the gall to say her school uniform was revealing. Only video game characters wore apparel like this!
The worst part was that she actually liked elements of it. For example, the white ruffles on the hem of the mini skirt and various patterns on fabric. The tiny zippers and large purple belts that suspended dark lilac, bat wing shaped bottom pieces on each side of her skirt. Hell, even the blending of thigh high stockings and boots was a neat idea. All in all, it looked kind of punkish and she approved it.
Too bad it was so provocative.
Aisha inhaled deeply. She had to stay calm.
"Give me a real shirt and I just might forgive you" she said.
"How intimidating!" Angkor mocked her in an impish tone "Besides, didn't you read my contract?"
"I...skimmed it" Aisha said.
"If you had been more attentive, you would've spotted my conditions" the bat tsked, resummoned the contract and indicated the second paragraph "See? 'I, Angkor, gain the authority to make you, Aisha, wear any garment I request. You are obliged to obey'"
"You can't expect me to read a different language!"
"Ah, but I can. I exploited a loophole by using the demon dialect" he gave her a smug look "You didn't call me out. Now suck it up"
She was outsmarted by a fat, flying bat! How utterly shameful.
"Don't be ashamed! I am older than your entire dimension" Angkor said "I have more knowledge than any mortal being in existance"
"It's ju-Wait a minute" Aisha narrowed her eyes "I didn't say that out loud. You can read my mind after all!"
"Sure, I can." he said.
To be honest, she expected more denial.
"A familiar can always see into their companion's more accessible, unguarded thoughts"
At this point, Aisha was beyond confused "But we only just signed a contract! How could've you read my mind beforehand?"
He giggled and circled her.
"Well, let's just say we may have formed a pact even before you gained consciousness"
"Then what was the point of our contract?!" she was fuming.
"I wanted you to feel like you had a choice in the manner" Angkor said.
Unbelievable.
"You little bastard! Y-you deceived me!" Aisha lunged at him "When I get my hands on you!"
The bat evaded her attempt to pounce him.
"Do keep in mind that my demise equals your demise too"
"I'll take my chances!" she shrieked and chased after him.
"Wait here, sweetie" said the school secretary "The principal will see you in a moment"
Ara nodded and sat on the bench in the hallway. The girl was still fairly shaken by events which occured almost a week ago. Her attempts to contact Aisha's family were met with failure and no one answered her frequent visits to the lavender haired girl's apartament. In a desperate state, she told her brother what had transpired, how her classmate got trapped. She prayed he'd know what to do. And he did, at first. Aren took the otherwordly mirror to his acquaintance, an unknown occult specialist. Her brother hoped Speka would be able to reverse whatever supernatural sorcery that occured.
Ara was bothered by how easily he believed her and how quickly he took charge. Why would he be in contact with an obscure witch?
While Aren was away, she continued trying to reach Aisha's family. They had to know why she was absent. Even if it was ludicrously nonrational. Her efforts were to no avail and soon she was left with naught else but wait for her sibling.
With her brother's return came grim news. Apparently, Speka could certainly feel and trace the mirror's arcane background, however she was not capable of accessing it.
"What you brought here is a bridge between domains" Speka told him "I have nowhere near the ability to even scrape it"
Ara spent the whole night contemplating those words. But even with so much introspection, she could not decipher them. They made no sense. Instead, she decided to focus on reaching Aisha's family.
She started questioning Aisha's neighbours, who told Ara nothing she hadn't known already. Maybe they were constantly out of town? It would've explained Aisha's apathetic behaviour in school. If Aren weren't around, Ara was positive she would've been in a similar state of mind. Her last remaining option was getting a hold of her classmate's student file as it was bound to have a way to contact her parents.
First step: Ask to meet the principal check
If she ever saw Aisha again, Ara was going to personally throw away every single mirror in her store.
The door swung open and the secretary peeked her head out.
"You can come in now, Ms. Haan" she said.
Ara stood up and made her way into the appointed room. The secretary left, closing the door behind her and she was alone with her aged principal.
"Take a seat" she obeyed.
Her principal's cherry desk was abnormally devoid of any paperwork. What she saw instead was a frame of a smilling family, seemingly his own, and a template in the middle that stated 'Principal Hoffman".
"So, Ms. Haan, what can I help you with?"
"Oh, y-yes!" she said in a flustered manner "I wanted to ask if you could give me Aisha's parents' contact information"
"Ms. Landar? I believe she has missed quite a bit of school, yes?" Ara nodded "I'm certain you only want to help her catch up however..." the principal trailed off.
The girl patiently waited for him to continue.
"I'm afraid Ms. Landar's last living relative passed away not too long ago"
"B-but what about her guardians?" Ara exclaimed and the principal shook his head.
"Her grandfather, Kuenbaran Landar, succumed to a sickness while Ms. Landar was legally of age"
Ara looked downcast.
"Ms. Haan, is everything alright?" the principal said in a worried tone "Is there something I should know about Ms. Landar?"
After a forlorn shake of her head the girl sat up straighter. She inhaled.
"No, everything is alright" she said "I'm sorry for bothering you today"
Ara stood up and made her way to the door. She turned the handle, uttered "Goodbye" and left.
For the rest of the day, Ara kept mumbling to herself.
"What do I do?"
Aisha huffed and wheezed as she tried to keep up Angkor's pace. She had never felt as out of shape as she did now. They had been strolling for the past 5 hours, trying to find the end of the forest.
After she calmed down and stopped trying to strangle him, Angkor informed her that it was the Ruben woods he found her sleeping in and that the locals affectionatelly called it 'The Wayward Forest'. Her feet could certainly see why.
His annoying voice reached her ears.
"Cheer up, we're almost there"
"Ar-are you sure?" she puffed "Because I see no difference"
Angkor snorted.
"There is clearly a difference" he pointed with his wing to a bush "See? We hadn't encountered a baneberry bush before"
Noticing her thrilled expression, he added "They're inedible"
"Figures" Aisha sulked.
She was still really angry at the damned bat. The girl has never been deceived before and her intuition has always been correct. It was a massive blow to her pride. She hoped that her grandfather was not watching from above as she could never live it down.
Despite being furious, Aisha had to 'get over it'. Yes, he lied but it wasn't like she hadn't expected it. Angkor was a creature of darkness. She could not trust him.
It was only much later that she finally admitted to have appreciated his companionship and their banter.
"Oh look! The Tree of El" said Angkor.
"It's just a big tree, who cares?"
Angkor ignored her. To be fair, big was an underestimate. The tree would've likely filled up her home town. It was even taller than the Eiffel Tower.
"Ruben village is just ahead"
"You said the same thing two hours ago" Aisha groaned and the demon rolled his eyes.
Surprisingly, Angkor was not exaggerating this time.
Ruben village was tinier than even her own backwater town. It appeared to have the population of approximately 50. Despite that, it looked homely and peaceful. If she weren't so adamant about returning to her own 'realm', she could have seen herself living there.
As they passed through the main road, a few townsfolk stopped in their tracks to stare in their direction. More specifically, their sights were trained on her. Or rather, her outfit.
"You told me the clothes were 'unostentatious'" Aisha whispered bitterly.
"Oh? I don't recall"
She gritted her teeth and stomped ahead. In her outrage, she unwittingly rammed into a boy examining the local notice board.
"Uff!" the boy grunted, startled.
A second after the impact, Aisha groaned and hauled herself into a sitting position.
An extended palm entered her line of sight.
"Are you okay" A worried voice said "Please be more caref-"
"Watch where you're going!" interrupted Aisha and ignored his outstretched hand.
The boy didn't know whether to feel bewildered or insulted.
Aisha stood up and continued marching onwards. Her familiar took a moment to catch up.
"That was awfully inconsiderate of you" teased Angkor "You were the one to bump into the poor boy"
She did feel a little bad, however Aisha was positive she could recognize the boy's striking red hair anywhere. Hence she made a mental note to apologize if she ever saw him again.
"It's your fault I'm so mad in the first place!" she said.
Finally, they reached an inn. The woman in charge called herself Ann. She was a nice, bubbly lady and Aisha felt right at home.
Having taken a long bath, the girl sank into her bed. After such a long day, she felt completely sapped out of any remaining energy.
"I a-" Aisha yawned "I'm going to sleep now"
Angkor bid her a goodnight.
As the girl stared at the ceiling, thinking of how she was going to come back and what tomorrow held for her, she eventually slid into a dreamless rest.
Aisha's "hometown" is based on Lacock, Wiltshire in England. I changed the names a little as I wanted to stray from our actual universe without creating a whole new world altogether.
If you're having trouble imagining her clothes, Aisha had the Elemental Master hairstyle and a typical english school uniform. After making a pact with Angkor, she now wears her Void Princess getup.
Ara has her base appearance.
Thank you for reading! If you liked it, let me know. If you didn't, let me know either way. Reading constructive criticism will only help me improve.
