So I need opinions on something. Basically, I can do longer chapters (4000+ words) for a longer wait, or shorter chapters for a shorter wait. If you have an account, please go vote on which you would prefer!

Anyways, here's chapter 3. Thank you to those that have reviewed/faved and followed! Honestly, just knowing one reader wants to embark on this "story adventure" makes me really happy ^^ Such are the joys of storytelling!

Chapter 2: The Another World (Heart of Mercy)

"Ugh…" When Alexa awoke, she was lying on a cold, stone floor. She groggily lifted her head, blurrily making out a set of bars in front of her. "A prison cell…?" She jolted up, pushing herself off the floor. The memories of home came rushing back; her dad being gone, the note, and the symbol she drew with the stick that destroyed the floor.

"Was that illegal or something?" she mumbled, standing up on shaking feet and walking over to the bars. She didn't initially notice that her captivity wasn't in a normal prison cell. She looked to the side, giving a loud gasp when she noticed a burly figure standing next to the bars. A huge cloak covered his broad shoulders, and where his feet should have been were a set of hooves and a long, whip-like tail.

"E-excuse me, sir?" Alexa managed, trying to ignore her terror. The guard turned his head slightly, and Alexa bit her tongue to avoid screaming when she saw he had the head of a bull.

"What does she want?" he asked in a husky voice. Alexa shrunk back from the bars, trembling.

"W-where am I?" she whimpered, half to herself.

"That does not concern her. She was caught using magic; that is all she needs to know. Her punishment will be determined accordingly," the bull informed her.

"Who? Who was caught?" Alexa asked desperately. The bull gave a snort of laughter. "She was. Is it not obvious to her?" Alexa shuddered as the bull stared directly at her, looking darkly amused. She backed up further in her cell.

Oh god, wake up Alexa…please wake up… she kept thinking to herself, convinced she was trapped in some sort of deranged nightmare. "This is just a bad dream…a bad dream from hearing all of dad's phony stories…" Her thoughts were interrupted by the loud clop of hooves as the guard walked by the bars of her cell and vanished down the dark hallway. Without his labored breathing, the prison became eerily silent. Alexa curled up in a ball, praying that she'd wake up in the warm, safe bed of her home any moment.

"Pst!" The sound brought her back to her situation at hand. She looked around for the source of the voice, but she didn't see anyone.

She waited for a moment.

"Hey! Pst!" the voice whispered again. Then, she felt something sharp hit her knee.

"Ow…" she muttered, looking down at a pebble before staring across at its source. She made out a cell across from hers, where a boy was held captive. He was human as far as she could tell, looking a few years older than her, but he was dressed in unusual clothing that she could barely make out. She did notice a gleaming silver sword hanging from a belt around his waist.

"Sorry," he whispered with a grin, holding up the straw with which he had shot the pebble from. "I wasn't sure how else to draw attention over here. Anyway, bull-face is gone now."

"D-do you talk like that, too?" Alexa asked hesitantly. She heard him chuckle.

"Are you kidding? No one from this world talks like that…well, I suppose the royals speak kinda weird, but definitely not like that." She stared at the ground, feeling stupid for asking. He approached the bars of his cell, peering at her curiously. "I heard those idiots talking about you earlier…so you're not from this world either, huh?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"You cast Gateway to get here, didn't you?" His voice took on a playful tone. "And with clothes like that, I'd hope you weren't from this world!" Alexa glanced down at her pale blue shirt and striped pajama bottoms, realizing she'd forgotten to change into day wear before looking for her dad.

"Well, you're one to talk!" she whispered coldly. Her response only earned more laughter. He stopped, however, when the clopping sound returned.

"Here, take this." The boy slid a smooth, polished stone through the bars holding him captive to Alexa. She caught it, noticing an identical symbol to the one she'd cast etched on its surface. "When they take you to meet Orphus, use it. Oh, and be sure to cover your head, the magic is a bit on the weaker side."

"W-wait, what is this? Who's Orphus? And who are you?" Alexa asked desperately, but the boy backed away from the bars as the bull guard returned and opened the cell door.

"Get up," he ordered Alexa. "She has a meeting with the master now." Before Alexa could protest, she was roughly pulled up from the ground and yanked out of the cell. She just managed to slip the stone in her pant pocket as the bull led her down the corridor. Her feet, only covered by a pair of fuzzy socks, stung as they walked along the uneven rocky path. They turned a corner, and reached another hallway where the floors were made of polished marble. This one was also was lined with bronze statues leading to a metal door. The statues appeared to be of humans, cats, and birds. Alexa glanced around, noticing the expression of the statues; they appeared panicked. Alexa found herself wondering who in the right mind would forge statues to look such a way. The guard knocked on the medal door, and it swung open to reveal a circular chamber. He shoved Alexa in, causing her to stumble forward and fall flat on the cold marble floor.

"I've brought her, Master Orphus," the guard bowed deeply to a figure standing at the front of the chamber.

"Very good. He should keep an eye on her." Alexa pushed herself up in time to see the figure turning to face her. She shuddered when she saw a dark beak emerging from the hood that covered most of his face. When he reached out to grab the gold rod beside him that ended in the head of an eagle, however, Alexa saw a pair of bear-like claws.

"Does she know why she is her?" he seemed to address Alexa.

"N-no, sir." Alexa managed. Oh god, wake up…

"At approximately one hour to moonrise, she has been recorded illegally casting the magic spell Gateway. We intercepted her spell and brought her directly here, as we do with all who attempt Gateway. As the citizens of this world know, use of magic is strictly prohibited under the Manchuzoo Order. Violation of this law is met with the harshest of punishments. Is this clear to her?"

"I-I'm sorry, sir, I didn't k-know!" Alexa insisted, her voice trembling. "I-I'm not from here!"

" 'Not from here' she says. So she confirms that she is of another world?"

"Yes!" Alexa verified desperately. "I'm not from here! This is a mistake, I just want to go back home!"

"We see." Orphus ran his claws along the gold rod, creating a sound similar to nails on a chalkboard. Alexa winced at the harsh noise. "Regardless, law is law. And she has broken one of our fundamental rules. A punishment is in order."

He paced forward, and Alexa sunk closer to the floor, shaking.

"Hm…she is a very small human. We are not used to seeing wizards this young."

"I-I'm not a wizard," Alexa muttered. Please wake up…

"But she casted a spell, did she not?" Orphus stated curiously.

"It wasn't mine, it was my dad's! He's totally wacked, I mean it's his fault I'm even here and-"

" 'Her dad's', she says," he muttered, ignoring her prattle. The cloaked bird figure examined her for a moment. "...She is weak. We see that she does not pose an immediate threat. Still, we mustn't take any risks that would threaten the order." He straightened up, clearing his throat.

"Very well. She should be very thankful that she is not in the company of Master Garmr or Mistress Bastelle, for they are far harsher than us. In an act of our kindness, we will grant her a choice. We can imprison her for a bit longer and see if we can make use of her, or we can remove her from here immediately. Choose wisely." Alexa's head shot up for a moment.

"You can remove me from here?" she whispered hopefully, assuming he meant send her home.

"We can." Alexa thought she caught a hint of amusement in his otherwise monotone voice. "So, human, what does she decide?"

"Send me home!" Alexa begged, staring pleadingly at the bird's unseen eyes. His gave a strange sound that could easily be interpreted as laughter. The bull guard also gave a snort.

"If she wishes to be removed, then we shall remove her." He looked to his guard. "Hold her steady."

Alexa squeaked in surprise when the bull yanked her up and held her firmly in place. Orphus began speaking in an unusual language, as a ball of light formed in the open beak of the eagle-headed rod. The bull's grip was so tight that Alexa could feel her wrists becoming bruised. Orphus stopped his chanting for a moment.

"One last choice, human." He spoke as though he were speaking to a child. "Would she like to rest in the citadel gardens, or the hallways?"

"W-wait, what?" she managed through gritted teeth, crying out when the bull's hold intensified on her arms.

"If she does not have a preference, we are sure she will be a nice addition to the décor of Morriban." He lowered his rod as the ball of light intensified.

Décor? What does… She froze, suddenly recalling the hallway that had taken her to this chamber. It was filled with bronze statues, their expressions unusually animate for a metal object…

Oh my god.

Alexa panicked when the realization hit, writhing in the bull's hold. She whimpered when his hoof stomped near her foot to silence her. She desperately prayed that she would spontaneously wake up, but the bull's bone-crushing grasp informed her that this was no dream. She prepared to succumb to his grip when a thought occurred to her.

That stone. She knew the idea of a stone having magic powers was completely bogue; but then again, this whole situation was bogue. Without much else to lose, she stuck her hand into her pant pocket, wincing at the strain it caused on her hurt wrist, and just managed to grasp the stone between two of her fingers.

"Farewell, wizard's child," Orphus announced, lowering the rod. Alexa maneuvered the stone into her palm and clutched it for dear life. The ball of light spilled crackling magic, turning pieces of the marble floor into shiny bronze tiles. She tightly closed her eyes and didn't bother to stop the thought that entered her head in a childish and pitiful voice:

Help me, dad!

A beam of light shot towards just as she was suffused in a cool blue glow. She heard the bull holding her give a bellow of surprise as his grip was yanked from her arms. The stone in her hand vanished as her vision turned blue.

And then everything became dark.

"…"

"..."

"..."

"...Alexa…"

Huh? Alexa thought in confusion. She opened her eyes and glanced around at her surroundings. She was in a long, dark hallway. The hall was lined with statues of what appeared to be wolves; their jaws were parted and a glowing fire brewed within their mouth. At the end of the hall was a simple wooden door.

"...Alexa…" She heard the voice again. It was so familiar, and yet she couldn't place a name to it.

"It will soon be time…Alexa…" The voice whispered in her ear, as though it were standing right beside her. "I'll be waiting for you…"

"Who are you?" she thought. But there was no response. Alexa took a cautious step towards the door. Suddenly, the floor beneath her collapsed.

And she was falling.

"Crikey, she's out like a lantern!"

"And look at 'er wrists! Poor lass is bruised as a rotting babana."

"She's got a proper case of comatose, eh?"

"Well, wouldn't you if you fell from the flippin sky?"

"Oi, wait mun, she's waking up!"

"Urgh…" Alexa groaned, moving a hand up to her forehead as her eyes open. Her head was pounding and her vision was blurred, but she made out an array of curious eyes staring at her beneath a ceiling of dark tree branches.

"Mornin', sleepy head!" a fairy in the middle greeted her. "You alright, then? You had a mighty long fall, you know." Alexa stared at him blankly.

"Long fall…"

"Fell out of the sky, you did. Came barreling down here like a flippin ulk. Fall off your dragon or somethin'?"

"W-wha…?" she started, snapping out of her daze. Her eyes widened in horror. "I-I..."

"Hm? What was that now?"

"Y-y-you're…"

"We're what?" One of the fairies marched up until he was inches from her face and gave her a knock on the head. "Spit it out, lazy tongue!" Alexa blinked at the fairy once.

And then she screamed.