Start a Riot (by Bastille)
"If your world falls apart, I'd start a riot. If night falls in your heart, I'd light the fire . . ."
It barely occurred to her that she was running. Running so fast that her brain couldn't even catch up, which maybe was a good thing. The jail whipped past, all of it a blur of gray. Coming here had been a mistake. It'd been a huge mistake. She wished she could forget everything within the fifteen minutes she'd talked to Nobody. She just needed to get out of here, away from where Nobody was, away from the source of her suffering, away from everything.
Apparently, despite how fast she was running, she couldn't get to the exit fast enough. The walls felt like they were closing in on her, threatening to hold her here forever. She pushed her legs faster, urging them forward. Why did she come here? Bethany could still hear his laughter in her head, his words that were laced with callousness. Good luck with your failure.
An indescribable rage flooded Bethany's veins, mixed with a whirlwind of disbelief and fear and sadness. She couldn't tell which emotion overpowered the others, only that she felt so, so stupid. It didn't work. It should've worked, but it didn't. How couldn't she have anticipated that? Why had a small part of her believed — hoped, even — that she'd be given some kind of advice? Or at least a hint of how to fix things. But no, she'd gotten exactly the response she'd expected all along. She just hadn't wanted to believe it before.
"Bethany?" A surprised voice, and then footsteps following quickly after her. She barely recognized the voice as Owen's, or saw the concern on his face. She just kept running, each step carrying her to the entrance. Her sneakers skidded across the floor as she turned the next corner, back the way they'd come in. There was the door, still partially open from when she'd first entered.
She reached it then, pushing it open and racing past the mess in the waiting room. She didn't even stop to see if the lady from earlier was back. It was like she had tunnel vision, and the exit was the only thing in sight. The only thing she cared about. Finally, her hands reached the handle of the front door, and she pushed roughly on it, bursting out into the open air. Only then did she stop running, all of her momentum coming to a standstill.
"Bethany!" Owen shouted, coming out a second after her. "What's wrong? What happened in there?"
Not looking at him, Bethany tore off her bodysuit. She didn't care if anyone was around to see, not anymore. Beyond frustrated, she threw it as hard as she could to the ground. It fell down, landing on the remains of the crusty snow. There was no way the suit wouldn't get dirty now, not that she cared. "Nothing! Nothing happened!"
"What do you mean?" Owen asked, his voice rising an octave. She felt worse, knowing that she must be freaking him out. In a less aggressive way than she had, he started taking off his own bodysuit, only to get the fabric caught on his head. He grunted, flailing awkwardly in an attempt to pull it off.
Bethany leaned over, helping him pull it down. "Nobody was just — ugh! It didn't work, Owen! Just like you thought it wouldn't!"
His shoulders slumped. "I didn't wanna be right."
Ignoring him, she shook her head angrily. "I was so stupid — I — I thought that he'd give me answers. But of course I was wrong. And now I have no idea how to fix anything!"
"That's okay—" Owen was saying.
"Don't tell me that. It's not. I'm so sorry, I tried to get it out of him, and it didn't work! I didn't expect it to be so . . ." She blinked, shaking her head in disbelief. She let out a shaky breath. "I thought we'd get answers. But I— I got nothing."
At first, Owen was quiet. Pulling the rest of his bodysuit off, he laid it gently on the ground. "I kinda was expecting this would happen."
Surprised, Bethany's eyes snapped to him. "You were?"
"Yeah. What villain tells you how to do something that goes against their plans? That's right! None of them do that, unless they're trying to manipulate you or something. I didn't think Nobody would tell us anything. I just didn't want you to talk to him alone."
A small, choked laugh burst from her mouth. "Because I would've."
He smiled. "You just wanted to do this because you thought it might save the fictional world, but it's not like there aren't other things we can do, right?"
"But Nobody . . . he said we can't reverse anything. He said the only person who had that kind of power was him."
"He was probably just saying that. But this means we just have to do something else. It's like with your dad! When you couldn't find him one way, you found another way to find him."
Bethany found herself nodding. "Yeah, I guess. I just have no idea how we're gonna solve this. I thought this would be the thing to fix everything, and it wasn't." She sighed, kicking her foot into the curb. "We're right back where we started."
"We don't know that for sure. Did Nobody say anything about how to fix things?"
She tried thinking back to their conversation, but it was hard, given how it all seemed to blend together. But wait . . . there was something. Something, in the heat of the moment, that she'd said herself. About learning to rewrite things back the way they were, only, Nobody wouldn't be doing it. Maybe it still was possible. He'd said something about the fictionals being able to rewrite themselves now. If they could do that . . . did that mean they could rewrite themselves back?
"He did say something about fictional people being able to rewrite themselves. If we can get everyone in the fictional world to rewrite themselves back to normal . . ."
Owen's eyes widened. "We can fix everything! Wait, that actually might work."
"Yeah, maybe." She nodded, feeling a little more hopeful. "I don't know, I guess we just have to try or whatever."
"See? We're kind of on the right track."
Bethany smiled. She reached over and hugged him, surprising herself at her next words. "Thanks." A second of hesitation, and then, "I love you."
"That's really embarrassing, Bethany," he squeaked, but squeezed her a little tighter anyway. She thought she might've heard him mumble it back, too soft for her to hear. When they pulled apart seconds later, both of them were smiling. Owen leaned down, grabbing the bodysuits. "You mean in a best friend way, right?"
Bethany made a face. "Ew, you think I meant romantically?"
His head snapped up quicker than she'd ever seen it. He waved his hands, shaking his head vigorously. Horrified. "What? No! That'd be so weird. And gross."
She let out a breath, relieved. And also, a little embarrassed. "Well, I meant in a best friend way, so don't worry." A small, teasing smile grew on her face. "I wouldn't want to compete Kara for you."
If possible, Owen turned even redder. "Kara and I aren't — there's no competition! Just because she kissed me—"
Bethany's mouth dropped open. "Wait, what? Kara kissed you?"
He froze. "Um — um . . . no? No, I just said that because — because, wow, we should really get going!" He started to walk away, only for Bethany to grab his shoulder, stopping him.
"Come on, I heard what you said."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Owen . . . had kissed Kara, and hadn't even told her? Sure, there'd been a lot going on. A lot, but still! If Bethany kissed anyone, she'd tell Owen. Her mind drifted back to a different memory, one with Kiel, and she pushed it away, too terrified to even admit that had nearly happened. Almost-kisses didn't count, if that was even what . . . whatever that was. This was about Owen not telling his best friend, Bethany, about him actually kissing someone. Unbelievable.
Since Owen said nothing, she added, "When did that happen?"
He squirmed uncomfortably under her gaze. "Right before she went into the pure possibility. I didn't expect it at all! It just . . . happened, and then she just . . . left. I still can't believe it happened."
Bethany just shook her head. "What I can't believe you never told me. For like, two days, you didn't tell me! Are you kidding me?"
Owen covered his face with his hands, groaning. "I'm sorry, I didn't know how! I couldn't just casually tell you 'oh, by the way, Kara kissed me', you know? There's no way to say it that doesn't come out embarrassing! And I'm pretty great at embarrassing myself, so it was bound to happen anyway."
"You still should've told me. Like, on Toby's bus, for instance?"
"Hey! I thought about bringing it up, but it's not as easy as you think." He took a defensive stance. "And it's not like we tell each other everything. You keep secrets from me all the time."
She snorted. "Yeah, but just about the stuff you wouldn't want me doing, like recruiting Doyle to look for my dad or going off to fight Nobody by myself. Not a secret like that."
Finally, he looked at her. She could tell he was still embarrassed, given how red his cheeks were. "Sorry. I should've told you."
"No." She waved it off, not caring so much about that. "It's okay. I get it. So . . . you really like her?"
He nodded slowly. "I, um, I think so. I— y-yeah." A frown grew on his face. "But I ruined everything. I didn't even tell her I liked her after she . . . you know, did that."
Bethany had no idea what to say to that, so she just nodded, swallowing hard. She'd never been the best at comforting others, not when she wasn't always sure how to comfort herself. Despite how well she knew Owen, this was something she had a hard time giving advice on. Finally, she settled on, "You probably didn't ruin everything. I don't think anyone could easily say they liked someone after kissing them — especially if it was out of nowhere."
She saw him relax slightly. "You think so?"
"I guess!"
"Oh, that's good. But I still think if that happened to someone way more confident, like Kiel, he'd be the exact opposite!"
It took a moment for his words to sink in, and Bethany felt her stomach toss. She didn't know what to say to that either, so she didn't even bother, instead focusing on her shoes, which had suddenly become very intriguing. Luckily, after a few seconds of silence, it was Owen who changed the subject.
"So, what now?" he asked. "As long as it's not illegal."
"Not illegal," she assured him, grabbing the bodysuits from his hands and sticking them in her page. "I think we should go back to your mom's library — back to the fictional world. I'll go alone. I'll jump in, check it out, and let you know what I find."
"Don't worry, I'm going to be useful too," Owen promised, as they walked back to their bikes. "And you can't go in there alone. Think of all the stuff Nobody's rewritten in there!"
"Worse than what we saw in Jupiter City?"
He sighed. "I hope not, but yeah. Maybe."
The bike ride to the library was a lot quicker than expected. After a few wrong turns and Owen nearly getting his bike caught in a pothole, they reached the library. Bethany was relieved to see that no police cars were around, nor were any other cars of the kind. If they had still been here, getting back to the fictional world might've been a lot harder. Maybe after checking to see if any more evidence was there, the police had left, deciding it wasn't worth it to hang around.
Parking their bikes in the bike stand, Bethany and Owen ran inside, teeth chattering from the cold. Bethany was surprised, to say the least, that it was still warm inside the library. She would've thought that after a week of no one to watch it, the air conditioning would've gone out. But that was the one thing that hadn't. The library was much cozier than the inside of a prison, that was for sure.
Looking around, she saw it was just how they'd left it. Books lay scattered across the floor, having fallen from one of the bookshelves after Nobody had fallen into it. Almost immediately, she headed for the last place she'd seen her sword — the one she'd used to fight Nobody. Last she'd seen of it, he'd knocked it out of her hands, sending it sliding into one of the aisles across the room. Hopefully, it was still here. If it wasn't . . . the police were probably investigating it, trying to figure out how a sword could have ended up in a library.
"Did you find it yet?" Owen called over to her. So far, he'd done that maybe twice. Didn't he get that if she found the sword, she'd say it?
"Nope!"
Bethany ducked into one of the aisles, where she was almost certain she'd last seen it in. If not this one, then one of the next rows down. She scanned each one inside and out, but nothing was there. Nothing except rows upon rows of books, and since she hadn't stuck the sword inside any of them, it wasn't worth searching anymore. The police must've taken it with them.
But she wasn't too worried. If they came back and asked why they'd had it, they could say it was a fake sword or a prop, covering up that it was actually from a Percy Jackson book. And if they didn't believe them then, Owen could make up a lie about how he needed a sword for cosplaying. Sure, the only character he'd cosplayed as was Kiel and (possibly) a few others, but he could just be a very, very detailed cosplayer. Which . . . might not help their case at all since in the nonfictional world, most weapons weren't allowed to be taken anymore. Not real ones, anyway.
Bethany pushed it in the back of her mind, more concerned with what they were here for. Sometime within the next hour, she was going back to the fictional world. Where everything would be different, maybe worse, and they'd have to change it all back somehow. But even with the hope that they could get the fictional people to rewrite themselves back to who they originally were — what their worlds originally were — it almost felt impossible. For more reasons than one.
Realistically, she couldn't imagine it would be as easy as telling people to rewrite themselves, and they'd do it. Did they really have that much power now? And if it was possible that the fictionals could rewrite themselves back to normal, who's to say it would be back to normal? That their stories wouldn't be messed up, all because of Nobody? It seemed like everything went answered. The only way to fix things was to jump right in.
But . . . wait, what if there were other, maybe quicker ways to bring back the stories to their original form? When Owen had written his own stories, he'd created his own fictional worlds within them. He'd been in control, then, able to change worlds with just a few sentences. An idea formed in Bethany's head. An absolutely insane, crazy idea, given that the whole point of Nobody rewriting the worlds was so authors couldn't have control over it anymore. But what if authors did have some control, still?
Maybe there was a way to test it. How did Nobody know that they couldn't just type a sentence into the computer, and everything he'd rewritten would be unwritten? But wait, would that do anything? She remembered Owen had written some sort of fanfiction about his friends (something he still wouldn't let Bethany read), but it wasn't like that had changed the course of Kiel's and Charm's stories. It'd probably just created an entirely new world instead, since the only one who should be able to rewrite Kiel and Charm was Jonathan Porterhouse.
But if that was the case, it'd mean only the authors of the books could rewrite things — possibly writing their books all over again, and that'd take forever. They didn't have that kind of time! Okay, so scratch that idea out. Anything that'd take too long was off the table. But maybe trying to rewrite something from the nonfictional world was still something they could try.
Bethany was about to march over to the computers, only to stop as Owen called to her from across the room. "Hey, Bethany? Can you come over here?"
"Why?"
"Just come here! There's something you need to see."
Sighing, Bethany swiveled around, heading back in Owen's direction. A little annoying that he was keeping her from her attempt to write on the computers, but whatever. As soon as he came into sight, though, the idea of that left her brain. He was holding a copy of EarthGirl. Bethany's heart squeezed at the sight, and just then, she remembered how much she missed Gwen. It was a thought that'd always been in the back of her head, constantly reappearing at the most random times, just as it did with her other friends. She couldn't wait for that thought to be over.
But looking at Gwen's book, and around it, really, Bethany realized there was nothing out of the ordinary. She crossed her arms, looking back at Owen. "So? This is just Gwen's book."
"No, look!" He opened it, then started flipping across every page. Except to Bethany's surprise, all the pages were blank. Not a single word showed up until they reached the last page, where the author's acknowledgments usually were. But instead, it had one sentence in the middle of the page. EarthGirl has been rewritten. That was it.
"It's not just Gwen's he did this to. I checked Kara's and Kiel's books, too. And some other books, just to make sure I wasn't crazy or something. But they looked exactly like this!" He shook his head in stunned amazement. "I'm pretty sure every book is like this."
Bethany found herself shaking her head, over and over and over. Somehow, this was getting even worse. Blank? They were blank? "But we can still jump into them. We jumped out of my dad's comic book, so we should be able to still jump into them."
"When they're blank?" Owen asked, looking confused. "Wouldn't we just be jumping into nothing?"
Of course she knew that. That's what usually happened when she jumped into blank pages, but this time, they were really stories. Rewritten stories. That had to count for something, right? If not, she couldn't deal with the idea that these pages just might be blank, meaning there was nothing inside them, and no way to get to the fictional world. This was not happening, and she couldn't let this happen any more than it was already not happening!
"I don't know, okay? But—"
An idea suddenly hit her. Wait. If everything was blank, then . . . she bolted over to the checkout area, grabbing a pencil from a pencil holder on the counter. Maybe she was crazy to think this would work, but it didn't hurt to try. Reaching Gwen's book again, she opened it to the first page, instantly bringing the tip of the pencil down and—
"What are you doing?" Owen pulled the book away from her, hugging it protectively to his chest. "We can't write in these! They're from my library, remember? My mom would kill me if she found out someone wrote in them!"
"They're blank!" Bethany said incredulously. "How much more damaged could they get?"
He glanced down at the book in his hands, seeming to realize what she'd said. "Oh. Okay, fine. But can you at least write it lightly and erase it? Please?"
She nodded. Not that it'd make much of a difference, but she understood Owen's reluctance to let her write in them. Blank or not, they were in his mom's library. Owen, she knew, had very strict ideas about what people should do with library books, like dog-earring the pages, or getting food smudges on them, or writing in them. Unfortunately, Bethany knew she'd done the second one a few times, back before she'd been friends with Owen. But hey, was it her fault that she'd been having a bad day, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was the only thing that'd cheer her up?
Owen opened the book again, laying it gently down on the table. Taking a deep breath, Bethany slid into the seat in front of it. She found herself gripping the pencil a little tighter, as some level of comfort. She brought it down to the page again and started to write. The sentence was short, barely enough to make a huge difference, but just enough that it would be noticeable. She leaned back to stare at the words.
EarthGirl's story returns to normal.
Bethany held her breath. Please let this work. Only, even as the words were written, nothing happened. Nothing else appeared on the page, or on the next hundred or so pages after that. Miraculously, astonishingly, it made no influence at all. If it did, there was no way to tell. She gritted her teeth. Okay, maybe that was fine. Quickly, she flipped to the end, where the words "EarthGirl has been rewritten" were. Only to see that . . . they were still there. The words she'd written had done nothing.
Bethany clenched the pencil tighter, this time out of irritation. Then she slammed it down. "Seriously?"
"It didn't work?" Owen asked, looking over her shoulder.
"No. It still says this." She tossed a look back at the words on the last page, which Nobody had definitely been the cause of. "Does it look like it worked?"
"Hey, you're the one holding it!" He held his hands up in defense. "Sorry, really. I know you're on edge about all of this. I am, too."
"Yeah, because the pages are blank. Why the heck are the pages blank, Owen?"
He shook his head slightly, frowning. "I have no idea! Maybe Nobody just . . . doesn't want us reading anything about what's going on."
"Who cares? We're going in there anyway." Bethany stood up abruptly, impulsively, and reached for Gwen's book. Suddenly just . . . not caring about anything, only wanting to see her friends. Wanting to see them now, no matter what. Orion hadn't been rewritten, not as far as she knew. But what did Nobody have against Gwen? Or Kiel? He couldn't have rewritten them, could he?
"Whoa, wait!" As she bent down, placing Gwen's book on the floor, Owen reached for her arm, stopping her. "We can't just jump in without a plan. It's too risky."
Eyes still on the book, Bethany sighed. Owen was right, as much as she wanted to just jump in now. "Okay, okay, you're right." She looked at him, almost surprised to hear the worry in her own voice. "I just . . . I just want to see them, Owen. I'm like, gonna go crazy if I don't soon."
He nodded several times. "No, me too, I really, really want to see our friends. But we don't even know if they've been rewritten, so, um, we're gonna need a plan."
"We have one."
"Well, yeah, but I was just thinking . . . remember how we agreed we're just gonna ask fictionals to rewrite themselves?"
"Uh-huh. That was the one."
"But if not everyone's back— like our friends— then I have idea how that'd rewrite entire worlds and people back. And maybe not everyone would purposely want to rewrite themselves back."
Bethany frowned. Now that she considered it, that was very likely, under the rare circumstance someone actually liked how they'd been rewritten. "Then . . . how are we going to get answers on how to rewrite anything?"
They both fell silent, a clear sign that neither of them really had an idea of where to get answers. But besides Nobody, who could tell them how to rewrite anything? Or what to do, specifically? It was annoying there wasn't some kind of guideline for this sort of thing. If there was, a lot would be different right now. For one, she'd have restored the worlds by now. Oh yeah, and her stress levels would be much lower. Almost impossibly low — that was how she liked to imagine it.
Suddenly, Owen's eyes lit up. He looked at her, a huge grin forming on his face. "Wait, I have an idea! I know who can tell us."
She looked at him suspiciously, not quite ready to give into hope just yet. "Who?"
He quickly corrected himself. "Okay, well, I meant what. I just remembered that in Magisteria, there's this magic crystal ball that—"
"Oh come on, don't those things just tell you the future?"
Still grinning, he shook his head. "Not this one. It tells you the answer to anything you want to know. It's kind of all-knowing, so it'll tell us exactly what we have to do."
Bethany's eyes grew wider. "It'll tell us how to rewrite things? You're sure?"
"I'm sure," Owen said, taking a moment to catch his breath. "It's perfect. The only thing we have to do is find it, which should be easy, because it's a big thing in Magisteria. In the books, Kiel had to use it once for one of his quests to find the keys, and everything it said was true. It didn't even take him that long to find it, either. He just had to find the carnival first."
She crinkled her eyebrows. "Wait, the crystal ball is at a carnival? How come we've never gone to it?"
"We were gonna go at some point, remember?" Owen told her, and now that she thought about it, she did remember, but it'd been so long ago, practically years. "Kiel just had no idea where it was. Because it travels around a lot."
"I think only circuses do that."
He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess maybe Magisteria's carnivals are different? But anyway, the crystal ball's there. We can try that. If it won't work, there's no reason to freak out."
"That sounds exactly like a reason to freak out," Bethany told him. "But fine, okay, let's do it. You got the book?"
"Yeah. Right here. I grabbed it from the children's section while you were looking for your sword." He reached across the table, and among the small pile of their friends' books, revealed a copy of Kiel Gnomenfoot and the Source of Magic. The seventh and final volume. Bethany wasn't sure why, but she hadn't even noticed it was there. Maybe because she'd been so preoccupied with writing in EarthGirl.
Bethany's heart flipped at the sight. Here they were, about to jump right back into Magisteria. How would things be rewritten, there? More importantly, most importantly, would Kiel be in there? The idea of seeing him again, the possibility of it all, it sent a weird fuzzy feeling vibrating through her. She told herself it wasn't likely. Since Nobody had said her friends probably weren't coming back, she'd rather not get her hopes up, in case it all was true.
But it didn't matter. All that mattered was finding the crystal ball, getting answers on how to rewrite the worlds, and fixing everything. It was the only plan they had anymore, better than asking fictionals to rewrite themselves, better than writing aimlessly in books, hoping that it would change things. This way, with the crystal ball, they had at least one thing. And that was saying that hopefully, Nobody hadn't rewritten it out of existence . . . or had just gotten rid of Magisteria altogether. As soon as it popped up, the thought ran in circles around Bethany's head. She tried shoving it away.
Meanwhile, Owen was flipping to the back of the book, in the same way they used to every time they visited Kiel's world. Bethany had no idea why, when it wasn't like the story was there anymore. But maybe it was automatic. Like an impulse. She probably would've done the same accidentally if she had been the one turning the pages, so she couldn't hold it against him. Though this time, instead of jumping into Magisteria or Quanterium, she wasn't sure what they'd be jumping into. Or really, where. It was unsettling, like knowing they were about to jump off a cliff, but not even knowing if there was anything at the bottom. The only thing to do was jump.
"Okay, I have the page," Owen said, breaking her out of her thoughts.
"Great." Bethany grabbed the book from his hands, placing it down for them to jump into. She glanced at Owen, holding a hand out. "Ready?"
"Not really."
Despite everything they were about to face, she had to smile. "Me neither."
Bethany only had a second to catch him returning it before she reached for his hand, pulling them both into the book. Like always, a weird, papery feeling shuddered through her bones. But she was so used to it at this point that it felt as natural as breathing. Passing through the book, they transformed into words, spreading across the page like brownie batter. One second, they were moving through the page, and the next, their feet had touched the surface of the ground.
Instantly, something felt wrong. And it wasn't just because right where she landed happened to be the middle of a very crowded street, just so that she actually tripped right into someone, only to be pushed roughly aside. Eyes widening, Bethany stumbled back, weaving to get out of people's way until she backed into a food stand. Oh yeah, this was Magisteria. There was almost no way to walk down the streets without bumping into someone— it was always excessively crowded. And noisy.
At first glance, she realized it looked much of the same. The streets, the people, the energy of the place was typically how it'd always been. Rowdy, unpredictable, almost chaotic. The structure of the buildings and houses looked the same, of all different shapes and sizes, practically crammed on top of each other, as if fighting for space. The smell was the same, too. Every time she was in Magisteria, it almost felt like she was smelling a million different things at once. Food, for one. And flowers. And something indescribable, like the smell of magic.
She spotted a flock of dragons overhead, soaring through the clouds, seemingly not interested in attacking any villages. Check. A couple of fairies flew past her in a hurry, tiny bags in their hands. Check. Even an ogre walked past, which wasn't uncommon. And then, of course, there were the magicians, easily deciphered by their long, flowing robes and the hovering spell books that followed them. Since everyone in Magisteria was by definition magicians, they made up the majority of the crowd.
In other words, everything that made Magisteria Magisteria seemed normal, not that she fully believed it. If anything, Nobody would've rewritten it to be worse than before. It was just a matter of time before they saw what.
"Huh," Owen said from beside her. "It looks exactly the same!"
"Yeah, it does," Bethany agreed. "Can't say I was expecting whatever this is, but I still think Nobody did something here."
"Probably to Quanterium, too."
He started walking, and Bethany followed, trying their best not to get in anyone's way. Their attempts didn't last long, though, because someone shoved into Bethany from behind, which caused her to bump into Owen. The force of it must've been a little too hard, because he fell directly into a Magisterian. They both crashed to the ground, and Bethany reached for Owen's arm, immediately helping him up.
"I'm so sorry!" Owen said, as they both looked down at the Magisterian he'd crashed into, a lady with red hair. They were in a less crowded section of the road, next to an alleyway. A good thing, too, because Bethany wasn't sure she'd be able to stand still with how crowded it was.
The woman picked herself up, shaking her head with a smile. "It's okay! Happens all the time. My tip: don't walk in front of any giants."
"Yeah." Owen laughed, his face slightly red. "Thanks for the tip!"
She looked up and down at them, her smile fading. "You two have some strange clothes. You're not from Quanterium, are you?"
We're the ones with the weird clothes? Bethany thought, but kept that to herself.
Owen blinked. "Um, well, we're sort of—"
"No!" Bethany said quickly, shooting Owen a look. "We're from here. Magisteria."
"Oh." The smile was back on the woman's face. "That's a relief! If any Quanterians snuck in here, they'd get locked up immediately. I would've had to report you."
"Wait, what?" Owen said, clearly just as confused as she was. "But — but things changed after the war. They're not great, but they're better. I thought Quanterians and Magisterians went to each others' worlds, now that there's no more fighting. You're joking, right?"
"No joke," the woman told him. "Don't you know? The war between Quanterium and Magisteria. It's back on. Happened really suddenly, too, but I feel like I hate Quanterians more than I ever did. I just want their planet destroyed! You know what I mean?"
"Yeah . . . totally," Bethany said, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see Owen giving her a panicked look. She felt much of the same way. So this was what Nobody had changed. Or, one of the things, really. But the war had always been going on, hadn't it? Until Kiel had stopped it, by stopping Dr. Verity. But maybe . . . if Kiel wasn't here anymore, that meant there was no one to stop the war between the two planets. Not to mention, if Charm, the future president of Quanterium, hadn't been rewritten? Even worse.
"Um, is Charm Mentum still going to be president of Quanterium?" Owen asked. "She wouldn't have wanted a war."
"Oh, no, not her. Last I heard, Dr. Verity's been the only one in control of Quanterium." She gave them an odd look. "You kids really need to get into politics. I get it, but this is a war we're going through."
"Right!" Owen said, giving her a pained smile. "We'll do that. Definitely."
"Anyway," Bethany cut in, feeling impatient. "We're looking for the carnival here. Do you know where it is?"
The woman nodded, recognizing the name. "The Magisterian carnival? Sure, I've heard of it. It's just hard to find. It moves around every year."
"So I've been told. And where is it this year? We kind of have to get there as soon as possible."
"Oh, well, it's easy to find. You just have to find the constellation in the sky. It's shaped like a—"
"Let me guess, a carnival tent?"
"Close! Actually, it just spells out the letters for 'carnival'. It used to be shaped like a flying wheel, but it became too confusing."
Owen crinkled his eyebrows. "You mean a Ferris wheel?"
"No." She didn't elaborate any more on it, so Bethany hoped Owen wouldn't push it, since Ferris wheels obviously weren't a thing in Magisteria. Luckily, before anything could get worse, the woman added, "Well, I need to go, but I hope you two have fun at the carnival."
"Thanks!" Owen replied, and they both watched her go, disappearing back into the crowd. As soon as she was out of sight, Bethany grabbed Owen by the arm, pulling him into an otherwise-empty alley.
"Do you know what this means?"
He sighed. "I know. We're gonna have to wait until night to see the constellation. Maybe we can ask someone to point us in the right direction, though?"
"No, not that. It was Nobody. He rewrote Magisteria and Quanterium to be at war again!"
"Yeah, and Charm's not going to be president anymore, either! It's like nothing Kiel and Charm did made an impact."
"I know. This is really bad. And there could be more going on that we don't know about." Bethany shook her head, annoyance rising up inside her. "Let's just find the carnival, so we can fix things."
"Okay," Owen said, starting to slowly walk forward, back towards the street. "I'm sure we can ask someone where the constellation is, and just go in that direction. Or we'll have to wait until it's dark."
"Nope. Not doing that. The sooner we get there, the better."
"Or we could jump out and try at a different time or something?" Owen suggested. "I know the pages are blank, but maybe we could—" Not looking where he was going, his foot came in contact with a large puddle on the ground. But instead of his shoes just getting splashed with water, he was pulled down inside of it, quickly submerging his legs, then his torso, then quickly building up to his head.
"Owen!" Bethany screamed, eyes wide with horror. She reached down to grab him, but the only thing to grab was his head, which was quickly sinking underneath the water. She'd never seen anything like this before. How was this even possible?
"Are you kidding me?! This isn't how puddles work at all!" Owen shouted, then threw a desperate glance at Bethany. His words came out in a rush, so fast she almost didn't process it. "I'm getting pulled under! Meet me at the carniv—"
Then his head went under, and he was gone.
Bethany just stared at the spot he'd been in, mouth hanging open. No, no, no. One second Owen was there, and the next he was gone. Gone again. It took a few seconds for it to fully sink it, that Owen was gone, that he'd fallen through a magical puddle and he wasn't coming back. She had to get him out of there! Her eyes searched across the puddle for movement, but there was none. Wherever the puddle led, it definitely wasn't just a few feet down.
She was about jump in herself, or at the least, throw her hands in and make a wild grab for him, but the sound of footsteps approaching stopped her. Bethany looked up, and her eyes fell on a boy entering the alleyway. From her guess, he was homeless, given the disheveledness of his state and his threadbare clothes. It wasn't uncommon to see homeless people in Magisteria, especially children. Since he was the closest person nearby, she decided that maybe, it'd be smarter to ask someone for help first. Not that she wouldn't try to jump in after Owen, anyway.
"Hey!" Bethany called loudly to him. "Where does that puddle go?! My friend fell through there!"
The boy just stared at her. He started to walk closer to where she was standing. "You don't know?"
"No," she growled, not even trying to keep the franticness out of her voice. "What happened to him? Is he okay? Where did he go?"
He came even closer, stopping once he was about a foot away. "Puddles lead to all parts of Magisteria. It's a new thing, actually. Just appeared today. You fall in, you arrive at a different section of the planet."
"So if I jump in, I'll get to where my friend is?"
The boy chuckled, but it almost sounded fake. Not completely sincere. Like he didn't care. "Oh, no. They take you to a different place every time. The same puddle can lead you anywhere."
Bethany gritted her teeth. Great. So even if she jumped in, she might never reach Owen. Though wherever he ended up, they agreed they'd meet at the carnival. That was the one reason all of this wasn't completely horrible, but it didn't mean she felt any better about it. The idea was unsettling, knowing it might be days before they saw each other again. Being separated from Owen reminded her just how alone she felt, and at his absence, the feeling resurfaced.
"Convenient that he's gone, though," the boy added. "Because we've been following you. It's easier to rob one person than two."
As if on cue, a couple of ragged boys emerged from the other end of the alleyway. They were running. Running towards her. Alarms went off in Bethany's head. Her brain screamed at her to jump out of the book, over and over again, but she couldn't. Not when she might be leaving Owen in the process. If she jumped out and jumped back in, she might end up somewhere entirely different on Magisteria, or even worse, on Quanterium. That'd just lead to more complications.
So instead, she stood her ground. Then, as the boys came closer, an idea hit her. What if she jumped inside the puddle? It might get her further from Owen — wherever he was — but it might be the only way to avoid getting mugged. And seeing as no one else was in the alleyway except her and these boys, it was the perfect escape route. So she didn't waste time. She leapt straight for the puddle, getting so close that she would've gone right inside.
But before that could happen, before her feet could touch the puddle, she was being shoved backwards by the first boy. "Don't even think about it," he said, as she stumbled. "Give us all your gold first."
Bethany glared at him. The other boys reached her, surrounding her. Shoot. She was trapped. Man, what she'd give to have her sword right now, or her Twilight staff, or something. If she was in the nonfictional world, she could jump into a book to escape, or throw these boys into books. Or even now, she could just easily jump out, if not for fear that she'd never find Owen again.
"I don't have any money," Bethany growled. She took a step back, and another. Then, she bumped into someone, and jumped away in surprise. Great, she was surrounded.
"I don't believe you!" he replied. "Only homeless kids don't have money, and you don't look homeless. So where's your money?"
"Are you serious? I already told you, I don't have any!" She threw her hands up, annoyed. "Do I look like I have money to you? Can't you just use magic to get yourself money?"
"No, and I won't say it again." The boy narrowed his eyes. "Give us your gold."
And then, another boy's voice. "Hey, didn't I already see you guys take gold from like, ten people today? Isn't there a limit to that?"
Bethany's heart jumped. The voice was so familiar, so recognizable that she instantly turned to the sound of it. Only to gasp. Maybe she was imagining things, because standing there was someone she'd never expected to see again. Kiel. But at the same time, she almost didn't recognize him. Instead of his usual black clothes, he wore a some kind of peasant outfit, a much more worn-through, makeshift cape replacing his usual one. Weird, but she was less focused on that. The days that passed since she last saw him unfurled back, and the force of it pinned her to the spot. She couldn't breathe.
"Didn't expect to see you, Gnomenfoot," the other boy said, the first one who'd been talking to Bethany. "Thought you were looking for your dead parents."
"Actually, I don't have parents!" Kiel replied cheerfully. "I'm a clone, which was a little annoying for me to learn about, but now I guess I'm okay with it. What I'm not okay with is you guys stealing from someone who —" He glanced at Bethany for barely a second. "No offense — doesn't look like she has any money."
"Hmm." The boy wrinkled his nose. "You're right. I could cut off her hair and sell it, though."
"Good idea," said another boy. "A lot of the vendors here want to trade for hair."
"What?" Bethany came out of her shock enough to blurt out something. Her eyes widened in horror. "No one's cutting off my hair!"
"Hey, you know I can do magic, right?" Kiel said. "So if you think about doing that, you'll regret it. Because I'll turn you all into mice, and you can hang out with my buddy Alphonse! He's a cat. With wings. Don't take it personally if he tries to chase you around forever. He's really good at catching mice."
The first boy's eyes widened. "Fine, we won't rob anyone else today. We'll just . . . steal food or something."
Kiel winked. "Good choice!"
"Come on." The boy hurried away, gesturing for his friends to follow. Casting nervous glances at Kiel, they ran down the alley until they were out of sight. Suddenly, Bethany became hyperaware of the fact that it was just her and Kiel there. She couldn't wrap her head around it. With the adrenaline of nearly getting robbed wearing off, it hadn't fully sunk in that he was here. It did now.
"You're back," she blurted out, just loud enough for him to hear. He'd been watching the boys run away, as if making sure they weren't about to mug anyone else. But at the sound of her voice, he looked back at her. And for once, really looked. They stared at each other.
"Hey, are you okay?" Kiel asked, genuinely sounding concerned. Really concerned. "Did they hurt you? Sometimes, people go a little too far when they're trying to rob people."
A huge grin formed on Bethany's face. Her heart felt like someone had filled it with glitter and let it explode. It was the way she'd felt when she hadn't seen her dad in years, and she finally, finally had. It was weird how suddenly happy she felt. Well, not weird given the circumstances. Just because it'd been maybe two or three days since she'd last seen him, and under normal circumstances, she might not think his presence was such a big deal. She was always glad to see him, sure, but now it felt like they'd been apart for years.
Of all the people to see in Nobody's rewritten world, she'd never thought it'd include Kiel. Back when Nobody had said he wouldn't bring back her friends, well, she'd believed him. She'd only half-expected someone she knew might've been rewritten, but just not someone who'd actively tried to stop Nobody. Not someone who'd been so close to her. But this was proof. Proof that Kiel was here. Here, in person, not pure possibility anymore.
Looking at him now, she realized it was easier to breathe.
And all she felt was happiness. She forgot about the hurt she felt when she'd thought about him, forgot about the betrayal. Forgot, for an instant, that Kiel might not remember her. She forgot about all of it. She floated down the alley towards him. Bethany's feet were moving her forward, first slowly, disbelievingly, then faster and faster. She began lifting her arms, prepared to hug him.
Then, just a foot away, she stopped short. Kiel wasn't grinning back, neither was he rushing forward to hug her. Like an avalanche, it all came crashing down. Her grin faded in an instant as the realization hit her full force. Right, he had no idea who she was. It wasn't like the worlds getting rewritten had changed anything about that. In fact, Nobody must've known all about it — maybe it'd been the reason he'd brought Kiel back, to make her suffer. Without any memory of her, she was just a stranger to him. Her heart sunk as quickly as it had lifted.
Kiel cleared his throat. "Do you normally stand this close to someone you just met?"
"What?"
He smiled. "Look, I get it. You're impressed with me and probably dumbfounded. All of my fans do the same thing." His words only made Bethany grow more irritated, but before she could reply with something snarky, he added, "It's not every day you get saved by your hero."
Bethany started to blush. She took a step back, shaking her head slightly. "You aren't my hero."
"Okay. Fine. Savior, whatever." He broke out into a grin, and she only glared back.
"That's not what this is," she said. Her hands were trembling, an unusual sensation when she was around Kiel. "I could've handled it. Seriously. It's not like they could've stolen anything from me, Kiel. I don't have any money!"
He continued to stare at her until something like realization seemed to come to his head. "Wait, do we know each other?"
That stung. "No. No, we don't know each other, but thanks for uh . . . that."
She was proud of how casual her voice sounded, whether or not this was something that anyone would approach with a casual air. After a second of hesitation, Bethany moved around him, starting to walk briskly down the alleyway. Her heart twisted painfully. Hearing about Kiel losing his memories of her was one thing, but seeing him look at her that way . . . it was like she was a stranger.
After everything, he'd thrown away his memories of her. Like she was nothing to him. That was what hurt. Kiel had known he might lose his memories of her, and he'd still casted that stupid spell. He was one of her closest friends. Her best friend, not counting Owen. He'd been there for her since the beginning. After so much time they'd spent together, and so many memories gone down the drain, she didn't even have him anymore.
She heard footsteps behind her. "No need to thank me!" Kiel said, his voice loud. "I already know how helpful I am." She didn't have to look to know he was smiling. "But I'm happy to help." When she didn't answer, he asked, "Hey, what's your name?"
Jump out, jump out, jump out, jump out, her brain yelled at her. Officially, this was as worse as things could get. After being best friends for the longest time and going on adventures together— here they were, starting over. With a clean slate. But Bethany didn't want that. This shouldn't be happening. She just didn't want to be here, with him like this. How could she start over being friends with him? How was that even possible when every time he looked at her, he saw no one?
"It's not important," Bethany said, stepping out into the street. She wished he wouldn't follow her. She'd almost forgotten how annoying he could be, especially when she wanted to get rid of him. Unfortunately, anywhere she could go, Kiel could easily follow.
"Sure it is!" Kiel ran ahead until he was in front of her. "I think names are very important."
Bethany groaned, pushing past him. "I have to go."
"Well . . . can I ask where? I know everything in the area. I can show you the shortcuts."
"Nope. Can't do that."
He sounded confused. "I really can. Just trying to be helpful. Okay, it almost sounds like you don't like me, which is impossible, because everyone likes me. Also, you still never told me your name!"
Still walking, Bethany glanced at him. "Why do you even care what my name is?"
"I . . ." Kiel almost looked unsure of what to say. "Well, for starters, I saved you."
"Not technically saving."
He was walking beside her now, a warm smile on his face. "You know my name. I should know yours. You know, if I ever see you around."
She skidded to a stop, turning back around to face him. Right. No matter how excruciating this experience was, she was still being rude. "I'm Bethany."
"Wait, Bethany?" His eyes widened in realization. "You're that girl! The one Kara sent me to find!"
Bethany blinked. Of all things, she hadn't expected him to say that. "Wait, what?"
"Yeah! Owen said I lost my memories of you. I still don't know how, but—"
"You don't know how?" she snapped, unable to help herself. "You used a soul-searching spell or whatever it's called—"
"Oh, the soul-connection spell!" Kiel nodded knowingly. "Right. I remember Owen saying I used that."
Bethany swallowed roughly, gathering her courage. "Is . . . is there a spell you can do that'd make you remember?"
He shook his head. "I can't, I'm sorry. I don't remember magic, and I don't have my spell book anymore."
"Oh. That's, um . . ." She didn't know what to say, the disappointment inside her was far too huge. So she changed the subject. "How did you end up like— like this?"
"It was Nobody," Kiel said, poorly disguised annoyance in his voice. "He's changed everyone's stories. He's made me forget all my magic. I'm homeless again, too. If you couldn't tell." He gestured down at his feet, and Bethany felt a small, unexpected smile come to her face as she realized he wasn't wearing any shoes. "And even worse, magic here is all . . . jumbled."
She gave him a confused look. "What do you mean 'jumbled'?"
"Like, it keeps backfiring. Every time I've seen someone cast a spell, it does the opposite. It's all mixed up. No one has control over it anymore."
"Wait, so when you told those boys you'd turn them into mice, you were just saying that?"
"Yeah." Kiel laughed. "Even though I'm not a magician anymore, I'd rather they still think I am." He paused, tilting his head. "I think the only person who can do magic correctly anymore is the Magister."
"Of course. The Magister was working for Nobody."
"Right, he was! I have to say, I'm a little offended Nobody took my magic and not the Magister's, but for now I'm okay without it. It's Magisteria I'm worried about. Oh, and the war between Magisteria and Quanterium? It's back on."
"I heard," she said, letting out a breath. "It's so stupid! I'm honestly not surprised Nobody would do something like this."
"Yeah! It's like nothing ever got better." He sighed. "I haven't seen Charm, but I'm assuming she's back on Quanterium, trying to fix things."
"I'm trying to fix things, too. I'm actually—" She slapped her forehead, groaning as she remembered something. "I forgot to tell you, but Owen fell through one of those puddles. I have no idea where he is."
Kiel's eyes grew wider. "Wait, Owen was with you?"
"Yeah, he was, until he fell down that stupid puddle. But it doesn't matter, because we're going to meet at the carnival. We, um, we're trying to find this crystal ball. It might be the only way to get answers on how to fix the worlds."
"Wait, I know what you're talking about! I've used the same crystal ball once. It told me about—"
"Something about your quest for one of the keys?"
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
"I just . . ." She shook her head, her stomach twisting again. "I just already knew."
God, this was so weird.
"I was thinking . . . maybe we'll have more progress if we stick together," Kiel suggested. He watched her carefully, like he was trying to interpret her reaction as he said it. "I'm trying to fix my world— you're trying to fix all the worlds. It makes sense to me if we work as a team." He smiled. "We can find the crystal ball together."
A team. He wanted to be a team, when because of him, they were the farthest thing from a team. Bethany stared at him. "You . . . you want to be a team?"
He nodded, and she found herself looking away. The words came out slowly. "I don't know if that's a good idea."
"Why not?"
If she told him the real reason she didn't want to stick with him, it might be too awkward. "I'm just here to try to figure out how to fix the worlds. Not . . . hang out with you."
"This isn't just about that. If we fix the worlds together, it'd be a lot more fun! I know how to get to the carnival, and I can, you know, make sure no one tries to rob you anymore."
She knew he'd meant in good-naturedly, just like he meant everything. The easier thing to do would just be to find the crystal ball on her own. She could do that. Most of the things in her life had been done on her own, and she trusted herself to find it, to make it to the carnival by herself just by following the constellation. She'd meet back up with Owen, all without having to undergo the pain that filled her whenever Kiel looked — even talked to her. That had never happened before.
But it dawned on her that despite all the hurt she was feeling right now, she really didn't want to say goodbye to Kiel. As angry as she was with him for forgetting all about her, she still wanted him around. She always would. Then, and now. And she was angry, too, at herself for wanting it. Because he was still wonderful as ever. Maybe not her friend anymore, but he still seemed to care. Maybe deep down, there was a part of him that remembered her. Maybe that was what changed her mind as she made her decision.
Hoping she wasn't about to regret it, Bethany gave her response. "Okay. I guess we should. But just because you might get us there faster."
Kiel smiled warmly at her. She almost wished he'd stop doing that. "Great! But first—" He threw a glance around the street. "We're gonna need a disguise for you."
A disguise? Was he serious? She scowled. "Why would I need a disguise?"
"Because, you're in Magisteria! If you're not wearing a cape, I'm sorry, but you might as well be from Quanterium."
She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Where do I get one then?"
He glanced over her outfit. "And maybe not just a cape. Maybe a whole new outfit."
"What? Why? This just seems stupid!"
"No, not stupid. You really should get a disguise if you wanna blend in. And also 'cause everyone's looking at you."
Bethany glanced around. Sure enough, people were casting weird glances as they passed. Aggravatingly, Kiel was right. She was drawling too much attention to herself. It was something that had always bothered her, so she'd been careful about blending in each time she jumped into a book. She hadn't disguised herself last time she was in Kiel's world, or any of the other times before that. But since the worlds were rewritten now, maybe disguises were a good idea. Annoying, but still good.
"Everyone wears capes here," he told her, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "It's just weird not to."
She raised her eyebrows. "It's weird to wear black all the time."
That made him laugh. "Fair enough. But if you want to blend in here, you're gonna have to look Magisterian. Come on!" He tapped her on the shoulder, sending a shiver through her body. "I know a place."
Waving for her to follow, Kiel broke out into a run. She quickly fell into step beside him. They ran for several minutes, weaving in between Magisterians and jumping around stands. For a moment, Bethany lost herself, caught up with the scenery, and the atmosphere, and how good it felt to be in Magisteria again. So much that when Kiel stopped, she almost kept running, if not for the fact that he reached for her arm, stabilizing her.
"Here it is!" Kiel said, gesturing to a shop in front of them. It was small, with a wooden, lopsided roof. Bethany craned her head, searching for the name of the shop, but there wasn't even a sign. Maybe that was just a nonfictional world thing.
"There's clothes in there?" she asked, giving him an odd look.
He winked. "You'll see."
Rushing to the door, he held it open for Bethany, allowing her to walk inside before going in himself. The first thing she noticed was the smell, like a hundred different scents were trapped between the walls. The next thing she noticed was that this was no ordinary shop, because ordinary clothing shops? They didn't section off one half of the room for clothes, and the other for potions.
Her eyes wandered around the room, unable to settle on one thing. Everything was either shaking or glowing or humming. Clothes hung from baskets or hooks on the wall— some even sat piled on floating shelves. A strange, bubbling noise came from the right side of the room, where all the potions were. Those, at least, were kept on shelves. Not that they were any less distracting. Every potion was brightly colored, standing out in its own unique way as they settled in jars of all sizes.
Yet somehow, with the soft sunlight shining in from the open windows, all the randomness in one place seemed to fit. And it shouldn't have. That was the weird thing about Magisteria. Anything that didn't make sense just seemed to fit together, as if by magic. Well, exactly like magic. Like two pieces of a puzzle that shouldn't go together, but did. This was probably the only place that could pull off a half-clothing, half-potion shop.
That was when she noticed that there was no one else inside. No workers, not even a cashier desk. Or a counter, for that matter. Bethany turned to Kiel, eyebrows crinkled in confusion. "Where's the people who work here?"
"No one. It's more of a borrowing shop, kind of like Owen's library! You borrow clothes and other stuff for a few days and bring it back later. And if you don't meet the deadline, your stuff just blows up." He laughed. "It's awesome!"
"So you're telling me that whatever I wear will blow up—"
He held his hands up. "No, don't worry. You just have to set your deadline for like, a week from now. That way by the time the deadlines over, you'll be done wearing the clothes."
"Are you sure you didn't create this shop?"
Kiel chuckled. "I wish."
"Why don't we just return it before the deadline? And how do you know I still won't be here in a week?"
He shrugged. "Good point. Guess we'll have to set the deadline for two weeks, then."
"Or a month."
"Or three weeks."
"A month and a half."
"I think three weeks sounds reasonable."
Groaning, she rubbed her hands across her face. "I can't stand you sometimes!"
"Do I usually annoy you?" he asked jokingly. Though it must've not been jokingly, because he really didn't know.
She glanced up at him, and the reminder made her deflate, just a little. An article of clothing caught her eye from the wall behind him, and she changed the subject. "Hey, what about this?"
She reached for it, pulling it off the hook it was resting on. It was a cape, much like the one Kiel usually wore — other than the fact that this one had a hood and his didn't. The other difference was that it was the color of strawberries, and looked a little less . . . polished than his had been. Not that she cared. She undid the string at the front of it and pulled it around her shoulders, only for it to get pulled a little too far, wrapping around her whole body instead of just hanging across her shoulders.
She must've looked so weird, so out-of-place, because Kiel had to fight down his laughter. Almost wanting to laugh herself, Bethany held it down, settling on glaring at him. "What?"
Finally, he collected himself, shaking his head with a laugh in his voice. "You're wearing it wrong."
"I know I'm wearing it wrong! How do you get this thing to—" She yanked at the fabric of the cape, which had wound tightly across her legs, and it came loose. It billowed around her, swinging in a majestic, almost mesmerizing way. After straightening it out, she noticed it was long, long enough that it reached down to cover her ankles. She didn't see a reason why she should try on anything else. Even from the front, it partially covered the long-sleeved shirt and jeans she wore.
"There," she announced. "What do you think?"
She looked back up at Kiel, only to see he was ruffling through one of the hovering shelves. He pulled something out— a vest, and handed it to her. "Put this on over your shirt." He turned right back ground, fishing through a basket that hung from the ceiling. He reached in, grabbing a flowy, light blue pair of pants and tossing it to her. "And this!"
"Ugh, really? Isn't the cape good enough?"
"Not if you don't want to be mistaken for a Quanterian," Kiel told her, giving her a wink.
"Quanterians don't wear jeans!"
His expression melted into confusion. "Jeans?"
It took her a moment to realize he must've not known what jeans were, despite the fact that she and Owen wore them constantly. Maybe they'd never explained what the pants were called, or he'd just never asked before. Weirdly, that was something she'd missed— getting to explain nonfictional terms to him. "These." She gestured to her pants, and he nodded in realization.
"Oh, those! Yeah, those are just a nonfictional world thing. But most Magisterians will think you're from Quanterium anyway if you have them on. At least wear the pants."
Sighing, Bethany removed the cape, draping it across a table behind them. She slid the vest on first, not bothering to button it up, since her shirt wasn't entirely stand-outish. She leaned down to grab the pants (they'd fallen on the floor after Kiel had thrown them) and instead of removing her jeans, she just pulled the Magisterian pants over them, since they were loose enough that they slid easily over the jeans. She felt weird in the clothes, like she was dressing up for a play or something.
If only Owen were here. He'd enjoy this a lot more than she was.
As Kiel moved to a floating scroll near the door — where he'd write the return date for the clothes — Bethany found herself drifting over to the potions section of the shop. She walked slowly along the wall, peering at the labels on the potions that sat on the shelves. First an aging potion, a potion to grow hair, a love potion (typical of every fantasy novel ever), a potion to heal burns, a memory potion, a—
She stopped in her tracks. Wait a minute. A memory potion.
Bethany did a double-take. Sure enough, it was a memory potion, which proved to bring back any lost memories once a person drank it. Hope rose inside her. If Kiel drank it, his memories of her might come back! No, they would. The label said they would. She grinned. What were the odds that a memory potion was here, right when she needed it? In a whim of impulsiveness, she grabbed for the bottle, taking it in her hands and screwing open the cap. Not caring about any risks, just wanting it to work.
"Kiel!" Bethany crossed the space over to him. "Drink this."
Kiel glanced at her, immediately looking confused. "Huh? Why?"
"Just do it! It's a memory potion, it'll bring back your memories of me." She said it all in a rush, barely processing the words as she was saying them. She pushed the bottle towards him, but he held a hand up, gently pushing it back.
"Look, I'm all for drinking random potions, but remember how I said magic doesn't work properly here? These potions are made up of magic. This morning I saw someone drink a potion to make themselves fly, and their hair turned green! It backfires, remember?"
"When have you cared about stuff backfiring?"
"I only care if it hurts anyone," Kiel said softly. "I've seen a lot of Magisterians getting hurt because of their magic backfiring."
"But this won't be hurting anyone! Just try it," Bethany pleaded. "If it doesn't work, it's okay." It wouldn't be okay, but she didn't say that.
"Okay. I'll try." He smiled. "Yeah, maybe it will work!"
Taking the potion bottle from her hand, he brought it up to his mouth, pouring a little bit in. Both of them waited. Bethany held her breath, watching Kiel's face carefully. Nothing happened, not for the first few seconds. And then, he looked at her in confusion. "Wait, why am I holding a bottle of blue liquid?" He frowned, holding it up to look at the label. "Ooh! Memory potion!"
Bethany's eyes widened. "You forgot you drank it?" Then, it hit her. Wait . . . if Kiel didn't remember the potion he'd just drank, that meant . . . She groaned. "Oh no, you were right. It backfired!"
"It did?"
"Yeah, because it was supposed to give you back your memories, but it only made you forget what you were just doing!" She grabbed the potion from his hands, placing the cap back on and sliding it back into the spot she found it. "Forget it. Let's just go." She was about to walk towards the door, only for something to catch her eye. A forget potion. Bethany lunged for it. "Let's try this one!"
"I'm not sure—" Kiel began, but Bethany was already unscrewing the cap, shoving it in his hands.
"Just drink it, okay? This one has to work!"
"No, but we—"
Suddenly, what sounded like alarms went off in the shop, and the bottle in Kiel's hands started to shake. So much that he lost his grip on it, sending it crashing to the floor. It shattered into tons of pieces, some kind of liquid spilling all over the floor. Bethany and Kiel leaped out of the way, mouths hanging open in shock. For a moment, they were completely silent, too shocked to say anything. It didn't take long for Kiel to break it, though.
"That's what I was trying to tell you," Kiel said, looking up at her. "I kind of forgot until now, but the potions aren't allowed to be opened unless you've rented them." He offered her a smile. "It's okay. On the bright side, you can teach me all the inside jokes we had! If they make no sense, I'll just pretend they're funny anyway."
"Very funny," Bethany remarked, but that did make her feel better. Just a little.
Ten minutes later, after hiding the evidence the best they could (mostly by kicking the broken glass and potion underneath one of the tables), they were back outside. Now fully disguised in Magisteria wear, Bethany noticed that no one else did double-takes as they passed her. Her disguise must've been working, and honestly, she felt relieved she wouldn't have to draw any more attention to herself. Not if it meant being mistaken for a Quanterian, which was apparently a crime, now.
Wherever Owen was right now, she hoped he wasn't having the same issue. Though with his tendency to be overexcitable in Magisteria, he'd probably still stand out, even if he had a disguise like her's. Either way, she hoped he was okay. Maybe she should've jumped straight into that puddle, no matter what the boy from earlier had told her. But to her aggravation, there was nothing she could do about it now. Nothing except reaching the carnival, and hoping he'd be there when she did.
Beside her, Kiel was scanning the streets. "Okay, I know what to do. Follow me!" He whistled, bounding over to the front of a wagon filled with hay, where a man in robes was sitting. "Hey! Can we get a ride?"
Quickly catching up to him, Bethany hissed in his ear. "We don't have money."
"Shh. I have a plan." He smiled at her, and she quickly looked away, weirdly wishing he'd stop doing that.
The man glanced at them. "Do you have gold, or anything to trade? I don't allow anyone to ride for free."
"My, um, my friend here —" He leaned towards her, his voice a whisper. "Sorry, I forgot, what's your name?"
Bethany swallowed, but it only made her throat feel tighter. "Bethany."
"Bethany! Okay, Bethany. Got it. Now I'll never forget."
"Well, you might," she joked, except it sounded less like a joke and more like a threat. Wow, jokes were a lot harder when she was in emotional pain.
Seemingly not focused on what she'd said, Kiel turned back to the man. "My friend Bethany is working in the Magisterian carnival this year. If you give us a ride, we'll get you in for free."
"For free, huh?" The man leaned forward, seeming much more interested in the former boy-magician's offer. He narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure you're not saying this to get a free ride?"
With identical looks of innocence, Bethany and Kiel glanced at each other, then shook their heads. "Nope!" Kiel said, the lie pouring easily out of his mouth. "Today's your lucky day. Unless of course, you don't want to get in for free? Because we can always ask some other person to take us—"
The man shook his head. "No, no, please don't do that. It would be my honor to take you! I know which way the constellation is pointing this year, so I can get going right away." He twisted around in his seat, gesturing to his wagon. "Take a seat in the back. Sorry, it might get a little squished."
"Thank you, we don't mind," Bethany told him.
Grinning at their success, they ran around to the back of the wagon, lifting themselves up to sit on the wooden platform. Barrels of hay pressed up against their backs, which wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but it at least offered something to lean against. Once the driver made sure they were onboard, the wagon started to move, rolling slowly across the busy street. As the wagon moved, Bethany found her body swaying from side to side. She gripped the side for balance.
"I really wish I could speed this thing up!" Kiel complained. "If I had my magic, we could teleport straight there. Though I guess it is kind of satisfying doing things the boring way."
"We have something like this in my world, too," Bethany said. "On haunted hayrides."
"What's that?"
"Well, you're really on a tractor, but it moves really slowly. Like this." Seeing his confusion, she elaborated, "You go on them during Halloween. They're supposed to be scary, but I haven't been on one since I was little. I don't think I was scared on that one, though."
"That sounds fun." Kiel grinned. "You know what, this one should be haunted. That'd be awesome! Not that I'd get scared."
"Yeah, 'cause that's impossible," she said sarcastically. Another moment came where they said nothing, drifting off into silence. Her fingers tapped against her leg, her voice quiet. "Hey, do you think Owen's okay?"
He nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure he is. He's Owen. He can take care of himself . . . for the most part. And we're gonna find him, so don't worry."
Bethany gave him a look, and Kiel put his hands up. "Just a suggestion." His smile grew. "Not telling you what to do."
Bethany held his stare, unconsciously smiling back. Then she realized what she was doing, and quickly looked away, her smile fading out of existence. The conversation shifted. He started babbling about all his favorite places to visit in Magisteria — all the places they'd apparently pass — but Bethany knew all of them. She just didn't have the strength to tell him she'd heard it all before, as if it'd been said in another lifetime. In a way, it had. Except Bethany was still stuck in that same old life, while Kiel was brand new, living in the future.
Their legs dangled over the side, arms resting in their laps. The sinking feeling in her stomach grew. If she blocked out everything else that'd happened, it was almost as if nothing had changed. This could just be any one of their trips to his world, like all the other times he'd taken her alone to Magisteria. She grasped for the memories, as if she could rewind time and pretend none of this ever happened. Pretend that he remembered her, that he remembered everything, that his presence only brought her sheer happiness, like it usually did.
But seeing him look at her that way, like he didn't know her, it made Bethany wish she was somewhere else. Just so she wouldn't have to deal with this. He was here, right beside her, but it almost felt like sitting beside a stranger. Only, she was the stranger, and it felt like she was on the outside, looking in, knowing everything about him while the most he'd learned about her was from Owen. He felt far from her, too far away to even remember her name.
It was like he'd soared off to the stars, and she . . . she was stuck on Earth.
"Will you take my hand? We can make our stand . . ."
