A/N- hello everyone! so initially this was going to be WAY longer, because I wanted to end the chapter a certain way,, but then it ended up being 20k words and I wasn't even finished one of the scenes... so I was like EH I'll just split it up into two chapters haha. this took a bit longer to write then expected, but here it is!
Patience (by Bad Suns)
"All my dreams have been weighing me down like an anchor to my bed. I can live my life instead . . ."
The trip to the carnival was shorter than Bethany expected. They'd been traveling for hours, leaving the crowded village behind for a more deserted, lush landscape. By now, the sun had sunken into the horizon, the vibrant colors in the sky settling for a dark, starry one with a full moon. As the stars started to map the sky, Bethany noticed the constellation come into view, the one that they should follow to reach the carnival.
She wasn't the best at picking out constellations, but it wasn't hard to miss, with the word "carnival" strewn across the sky. In all her times in Magisteria, Bethany hadn't remembered actually noticing the stars before. They looked strikingly similar to the stars back home, though the only difference, of course, was the planets. In the nonfictional world, there was the Milky Way, and the planets that made it up were usually brighter, or different colors from stars. Though to the untrained eye, they might just appear like regular stars.
Here, there was no Milky Way. There was a moon and stars, but the similarities stopped from there. The only planet — at least the only planet that'd been nearby in the books — was Quanterium, which was easily the largest star Bethany saw in the sky. Just like much of the planet itself, it was gray, devoid of any vibrant colors. Magisteria, if she could guess, looked the opposite on Quanterium.
As dusk settled over them, fireflies buzzed to life, their tiny bodies flickering back and forth, from light to invisible. In Kiel's world, they were called something else— a word that sounded like it was in another language, similarly to the way spells were written here. Tall oak trees filled up the gaps in the ground, some of them so close together that their branches practically twisted over each other, competing for space in the dense forest. Flowers of all colors lined the side of the road and the fields beyond, glowing in the dark.
For the most part, all Bethany had seen were trees, along with the occasional magical creature or Magisterian. Luckily (and surprisingly), despite traveling with Kiel, they hadn't run into any trouble. No fights, no confrontations, nothing. The ride had mostly been uneventful. While she'd spent the first half of it talking to Kiel, she found herself drifting in and out of sleep as the sky got darker, her head pressed against the bale of hay behind them, which felt more scratchy than anything else. Not the most ideal thing to use as a pillow.
Bethany had started to drift into sleep again when the sound of someone shouting jolted her awake. It was their Magisterian driver, the man steering the wagon. "Hey, get ready back there! We're here."
Kiel, who'd been dozing off beside Bethany, slowly blinked his eyes open at that. He leaned to the side of the wagon, twisting his body to peer around the bales of hay. A second later, he turned back to Bethany, nudging her gently, an excited look on his face. "He's right, Bethany. We're here!"
As they rode closer, the carnival popped into view, appearing behind the curve of trees. Bethany hadn't been sure what to expect, aside from the stereotypical tents and bright colors and flashy rides. Much of what she'd imagined it to be was true, but there was a lot more. What must've been hundreds of tents filled the carnival — maybe more, though it was hard to tell from this angle. A long line of people waited at the entrance, stepping one by one past the gate and into the carnival.
Faint music came carried by the wind, an unmistakably joyful tune, the kind of music that could only belong in a carnival. From what she could see, no rollercoasters or merry-go-rounds or house of mirrors, but other rides that were foreign to her. A huge wheel (probably Magisteria's version a Ferris wheel) hovered hundreds of feet in the air, towering above the carnival. A gigantic, wood-carved dragon towered just above the tents, and every now and then, a spout of fire burst from its mouth— probably by magic, since technology was a foreign concept here.
The air was electric, buzzing with excitement and something like magic. What seemed like mini fireworks filled the sky, so close to the ground that if it was anywhere else, it would've been dangerous. But despite the close proximity, Bethany couldn't even feel sparks showering down on her. Magisteria, she remembered, didn't have fireworks like the nonfictional world did. Kiel had never heard of them until Bethany introduced the word, so it had to be made up of something else.
Eyes wandering to the left, she caught sight of a cliffside in the distance, though close enough that it outlined the edge of the carnival, separated only by a fence. As if it was some kind of game, some people even seemed to be jumping off of it, their laughs rippling with delight, only to bounce back into the sky a few seconds later, landing smoothly back on the cliff. It must've been a magic force-field keeping people from falling, though from what Kiel had told her about magic backfiring, Bethany prayed that didn't count for the force-field.
Despite the strangest temptation to, she made a mental note not to jump off any cliffs. Even if it seemed safe, even if everything here seemed safe, there could still be a catch. She'd rather just find Owen, get answers from the crystal ball, and not linger too much while she was here. But she had to admit that being here filled her with a strange twist of joy, of almost wanting to just explore the carnival and take a few hours to be reckless and have some fun, even if "fun" might not even be an option right now.
Bethany found herself leaning closer to Kiel, lowering her voice to a whisper. "So, this is the carnival?"
"Yeah," Kiel whispered back. "It is."
She began to smile. "Why are we whispering?"
He looked at her, mirroring her expression. A big smile filled up his face, revealing slightly crooked teeth. "I don't know!"
They both laughed.
For that one moment, it felt like nothing had ever changed, and it brought a warm, fuzzy feeling to her heart. So suddenly that when butterflies rose in her stomach, she failed to recognize them, or even bat them away. And then the wagon abruptly came to a stop, sending both of them tilting to the side, grabbing the rail for balance. A second later, their driver came jogging around to the back of the wagon, stopping to face Bethany and Kiel. He looked excited too, and Bethany completely forgot why until he spoke.
"So now that we're here, how about that deal you promised? The one where I get into the carnival for free?"
Bethany and Kiel looked at each other. Oh, that deal. The one Bethany hadn't really been a fan of, because although she was all for finding temporary solutions for problems, temporary was the key word. Kiel had made up a lie, saying that since Bethany was working at the carnival, she could get them in for free. The lie would only last them the wagon ride over, because sooner or later, their driver would find out Bethany wasn't working at the carnival— let alone, she doubted Kiel would be able to sneak this guy in. Not without magic.
"Did we make that deal?" Kiel asked, feigning confusion. He was already sliding off the wagon, maybe preparing to run if they needed to, so Bethany did the same. Only to realize she probably couldn't run straight away, not unless she stretched her legs out first. She felt stiff from sitting for so long. And after sitting against barrels of hay for hours, her whole body felt itchy, like little pinpricks trailed up and down her back. Even with the cape she was wearing, it hadn't seemed to block the coarseness of the hay.
Subtly, Bethany nudged Kiel's arm. "Oh, yeah, we did. Let's go."
She and the former boy magician moved past the man, starting to walk quickly towards the carnival's entrance. Realizing they were leaving, their driver scrambled into action. Glancing over her shoulder, Bethany noticed he was heading back to the front of the wagon, just as she hoped he would. That should keep him busy, maybe long enough that by the time he came back, they'd already be inside.
"Wait for me!" their driver replied, and Bethany felt a pang of something recognizable, like guilt. "I need to grab some things from the front first."
"We'll meet you at the entrance!" Bethany called back. "Just getting a head start."
"You know we can't actually get him inside, right?" Kiel said, just loud enough for only her to hear. "Because I feel bad I can't but— I just said that to get us a ride."
"I know," Bethany whispered back. "We have to lose him first. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't let us go if we said we weren't planning to let him in."
"Oh, nice thinking!" He broke into a smile, and Bethany wasn't sure if it was that or his statement that made her face feel warm.
She turned her attention back to the carnival's entrance, which as they got closer, seemed to grow more populated with people. She strained her eyes for a sign of Owen, but he was nowhere to be found. While she hadn't seen many other people on the road, tons of Magisterians were filtering inside. Many of them must've flown here on broomsticks— or tried to, anyway— because she spotted a few people touching down from the air, looking frustrated with their landing.
Even if magic wasn't entirely gone, it still didn't seem to be working the right way. Or maybe things would only get worse, and Magisteria would soon be rid of magic entirely. And the other worlds could be worse off, for all Bethany knew. Gwen came to mind, of how Argon VI was holding up— or if it was there at all. Thinking about that only led to more worry. Bethany swallowed roughly, shoving the thought far away. She'd fix all of that soon.
"Ladies and gentlemen, right this way to the Magisterian carnival!" said a man in colorful, flowing robes, a bright smile across his face as he waved a family into the fair. As Bethany and Kiel approached, he looked down at them. "Stop right there, you two! You got a ticket?"
"Ah, yes." Kiel winked. "We do, thanks for asking." He started to walk past the man, only for the ticketmaster to reach for his shoulder, stopping him.
"Uh-uh. I would like to see that ticket, thank you very much."
"Sir, I'm Kiel!" He said it like he was a celebrity, which he sort of was. Both in the nonfictional world and his own. "Kiel Gnomenfoot. Savior to all of Magisteria, went on quests for the seven keys . . . ringing any bells?"
The man looked him up and down, like he hadn't heard him. "And? Where's your ticket?"
Before Kiel could respond, Bethany grabbed his arm, pulling him aside. "You didn't tell me we needed a ticket to actually get in."
He frowned a little. "Yeah, we do. I just used to go with the Magister every year, and he always had a ticket. And this other time, when I was on a quest for one of the keys, someone gave it to me for free!" His eyes gleamed at the memory, only for his frown to deepen at the expression on her face. "So . . . I never really knew how to get one."
Annoyance flooded her. She crossed her arms. "Well, can't you just say you're Kiel Gnomenfoot again? He probably didn't hear you the first time. So he'll have to let you in."
"I don't think he believed me. Even if I said it again — things are different, now. I don't look like myself, Bethany. I don't have magic, and I'm not even wearing black!" He made a face. "Or a real cape."
"Why does that matter? Just get us in there, whatever it takes. Convince him somehow."
"Well, I am pretty impressive," he told her, so calmly it infuriated her. "I'm sure I can handle sneaking us in there, if push came to shove—"
She shoved him, hard. "It came to shove when you didn't bring a ticket, and now we might not even be able to get in!"
Kiel gave her an annoyed look. "Hey, we will get in . . . somehow." He'd said the last word quieter, barely above a whisper, but Bethany heard it. The hint of uncertainty caught her off guard.
Automatically, instinctively, he tapped his belt— the spot where his wand-knives used to be— only to drawl his hands back, settling for bouncing from foot to foot instead. He seemed different. More vulnerable, somehow. Not having magic must've been hard for him, Bethany realized. He'd given it up before and had relearned it, but this time he had no choice. His magic, his greatest asset, had been snatched away from him. What Nobody had done to the worlds was hard for everyone, and it was definitely hard for her. She took a deep breath and let it out, trying to swallow her annoyance.
"How?" she asked, exasperated. "It's not like we can just pretend we work there, which would probably get us . . ." She trailed off at the look on his face. He was nodding, a small smile creeping back to his face. "You're not thinking we should—"
"Uh-huh. It's perfect! You know, me and Charm have done a really similar thing, by disguising ourselves as Science Soldiers so we could sneak into Quanterium. This will be even easier, I promise."
"But we don't have magic to give us disguises."
He shook his head. "We don't need it. We'll stick to our other story, except now both of us are working here. We don't need disguises for that. We just have to sound convincing."
Okay, it wasn't a terrible idea. But wouldn't they need tickets no matter what, even if they claimed they were working there? She tried to think of how carnivals worked in her own world, but Bethany had rarely been to any, despite her town having a Fourth Of July fair every year. Though from experience, she was sure you didn't actually need a ticket to get inside. You only needed one to get onto the rides, and as far as Bethany was concerned, she was only here to get the crystal ball, not to actually enjoy herself.
A older couple walked by them, faces wrinkled with age, hands filled with an assortment of baked goods, stowed away in handheld, intricately-weaved baskets. Their eyes were set on the ticketmaster, and Bethany noticed as they walked up, neither made a move to pull out a ticket. Maybe because their hands were filled with so many things, or because the ticketmaster hadn't asked them to yet. Either way, she found herself staring at them, anticipating how this might play out.
"We're here to set up our dessert stand. At booth number six," the one closest to the ticketmaster said, her voice rough and sweet and sounding exactly like Bethany's grandmother. That is, on her mother's side. She was pretty sure if she had any grandparents on her father's side, they were either nonexistent because they didn't show up in the comics, or lived somewhere far away from Jupiter City, because Bethany had never met them, or really learned much about them.
"But we'll be making another trip to pick up the rest of it," the other woman spoke up. She nodded her head behind them, in the direction that a few more baskets were sitting. "We have more food waiting at our broomsticks back there."
By now, Kiel was watching the couple too, his face filled with curiosity. Still, neither of the old women made a move to pull out a ticket, and to Bethany's shock, the ticketmaster smiled at them, handed them two badges, and gestured for them to walk through the entrance. Bethany's eyes widened. Wait, what? How had they gotten inside so easily without any tickets? Was it because they were working here? It must've been, because they'd only been given badges before being let through the entrance.
An idea struck Bethany like a bolt of lightning. It was one that Kiel had suggested minutes before, so technically it wasn't her idea, just a knockoff version of his. Except this one wouldn't require any disguises, nor would it require getting a ticket. Her eyes fell on the baskets of food that lay next to the couple's waiting broomsticks, and the corners of her mouth curved upward. As long as the women didn't come back before Bethany and Kiel did this, it would work perfectly. But they would have to act fast.
"Kiel." Bethany turned back to him, her voice lowered to a whisper. "I have an idea."
A minute later, they were walking back up to the entrance of the carnival, baskets of pastries in their hands. Even though they were covered with pieces of cloth, that didn't stop the aroma from reaching her nose, a blend of freshly-baked bread and desserts she could only picture, knowing she probably shouldn't uncover the basket. But whatever was inside smelled insanely good, and Bethany was tempted to just reach in, grabbing the first thing her hand fell on.
Kiel, on the other hand, hadn't been able to stop himself from trying. Before he could, though, she'd smacked his arm away. They were supposed to be sneaking in, and what workers ate the food they were selling? But despite her rational excuse, the rest of her wasn't far from doing the same. Her stomach rumbled in disagreement, and the mere act of looking at all the baskets made her mouth water. If she gave in and tried to eat something — at least before they got inside — she'd be just as bad as Kiel.
"Whoa there, Bethany," Kiel said to her, his eyes glinting. "I don't have that much money." He chuckled. "Just kidding. Money isn't a thing here."
Huh. Maybe it was because it'd been so long since she'd come to Magisteria, but she'd forgotten that. "You mean the food is free?"
"Yeah, 'cause usually, everyone uses magic to make their own food. We might have to steal something, though, if we want to eat." He nudged the basket her way, letting it bump gently into her elbow. "Better dig in now before it's too late."
Not wanting to give him the satisfaction, Bethany threw him a menacing look. "I'm not that hungry."
"Really? Well, more food for me."
She was about to respond when a voice cut her off, coming from directly behind them. "Good, you're still here! I was worried you'd try to head in without me."
Bethany's entire body went cold. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kiel's expression go from relaxed to alarmed, and she guessed the same thing was painted across her face. She had no choice but to slowly turn around, facing the Magisterian man they'd left behind, who they definitely couldn't have following them when they'd made up a lie about working here. It couldn't have been worse timing for him to show up, when the only thing standing between them and the entrance was a small line of people.
She wanted to groan. Just four people in front of them. After that, they could've made it. Not only did this complicate how they'd get in, but it could also blow their cover. Either this man or the ticketmaster would realize Bethany and Kiel were not only empty-handed, but weren't working here, either. This could go so many ways, and all of them seemed completely, indefinitely bad.
"Oh, hey," Kiel said. He sounded almost unsteady at first, but then he forced a smile, and the confident mask came up again. "You made it! Don't worry, we would never have gone in without you." Side-eyeing Bethany, he flashed her a wink, just for her to see. The gesture made her feel a little better, for some reason. She instantly understood what he meant.
"What's all this?" The man gestured to the baskets in their hands, and Bethany's mouth grew dryer.
"Uh, we're just setting up for the carnival," she blurted out, and even she could hear the edge of impatience to her voice.
"Huh." He squinted, folding his arms across his chest. "I didn't see you carrying those baskets on the way here."
"Oh, we were," Kiel rushed in, a little too quickly. "You probably just didn't notice, with you driving and all." He grinned, an automatic impulse of his, one that Bethany must've observed hundreds — if not thousands — of times. Underneath it all, Bethany could tell it was clouding his nervousness. "But that's okay, we don't blame you for it. It's better that you looked at the road the whole time. Like I always say, safety is important!"
"You, safe?" Bethany couldn't help but say, almost laughing despite the situation. "That's funny coming from Kiel Gnomenfoot."
Though his plastered grin, he hissed, "Shh! I'm trying to make a point."
"You sound like Owen," she said indignantly.
"You sound like my friend Charm. I think you two would get along, she's—"
She wanted to throw something at him. Or strangle him, but decided against it, to avoid ruining the perfectly-arranged food baskets. "I've met Charm!"
He just stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. "Oh, right, you have! Okay, well you kinda sound like her. She likes to yell at me, too."
"That doesn't make any sense! And I'm not yelling. I'm just talking." Okay, she was yelling. A little. But so what if she was yelling? He was being annoying! Really, he was always annoying in some way, but at this moment, it was even more so.
In front of them, the man was quickly appearing more and more uncomfortable. Arguing with the former boy magician probably wasn't the best move on her part. Then again, it wasn't just her fault— it was also Kiel's for contributing. Even if he seemed less annoyed than she was.
"Uh . . . right," their driver said finally. "Yes, I was looking at the road the whole time. Still doesn't explain why I didn't see you holding the baskets before, though. Hmm." He gazed at the baskets in their hands thoughtfully, and Bethany clenched her hands tighter around the baskets' handles, tight enough that her knuckles began to turn white. If she wasn't careful, she might end up with a splinter by the time they returned the baskets.
The line was getting shorter. Two people, now. She tossed Kiel a glance, putting every ounce of How do we get rid of him? into the look. He nodded in response.
"Yeah, you probably just didn't look at our hands," Kiel said, sounding sure of himself. "'Cause you were so busy looking at our faces. I mean, I don't blame you. Being this awesome and good-looking means that sometimes, it's hard not to stare."
"Yeah, just ignore him," Bethany cut in, knowing he could go on and on talking about himself, if given the chance. Not exactly the right way to keep this man from following them. Without meaning to, her eyes fell to the same spot they'd found the baskets. Just then, an idea came to her, and she feigned a look of shock. "Oh no, I completely forgot something!"
"What?" their driver and Kiel asked together. Bethany shot Kiel a look. Not you.
"I think we left a basket — back over there, next to those brooms." She nodded her head in the vague direction of the area. In her best Gwen impression (a sort of bad attempt, with her lingering moodiness), she added, "Would you mind getting it for us?"
The man hesitated for a moment. "Uh, certainly. Since it looks like neither of you have a hand." Bethany felt a wave of relief go through her. By the time he reached the area, looked for the nonexistent basket and headed back, she and Kiel would be inside the carnival. But the relief was felt much too soon, and much too early. He turned around, took two steps, and—
"Hello, you— oh, you two are back! You have tickets?"
Shoot.
"Tickets?" Bethany blinked, then shook her head, hoping she looked more collected than she felt. "No, actually, we're helping set up one of the booths. Two women came by here a few minutes ago. We're working with them."
"Oh, I see! I guess they don't need to come back here to pick up the rest of their things, after all." The ticketmaster's bright smile faded for a moment, and he squinted at them. "You are actually working here, right?" Seeing the looks on their faces, he released a booming laugh. "Just kidding! Right this way, kids. Let me just hand you these badges . . ."
He leaned down, reaching for something underneath the stand he was in front of. Straightening back up, he pulled out two badges for them to take, displaying the words Carnival Worker. Taking it in her hands, Bethany stared down at it, her fingers pressing into the soft fabric of the badge, making the corners stick up. She wasn't sure what she'd expected it to say.
"Thank you!" Kiel began, barely looking at the badge as he haphazardly pushed it against his shirt, where it stuck automatically. "You were extremely—"
"Uh, I'm going to need one of those too," came a voice, and Bethany realized, with a start, that their driver hadn't gone after the fake basket. Uh-oh. "Since they're working here, they promised to get me in for free."
"For free?" The ticketmaster just stared at him in disbelief, only to laugh. "No one gets in for free, not unless you're working here or you have a ticket."
The other man's expression was shifting quickly from surprise, settling for anger. "That's not what these two said."
Bethany narrowed her eyes. "Are you kidding me? You can't blame us! We thought we could get you—"
"No, I'm sure you only said that to get a free ride. Is that it?"
Silence filled the space between them. And then, Kiel released a laugh, breaking it. "You think we were tricking you? Of course not! Like my friend said, we were told by someone we could get you in if we were working here, but turns out we couldn't. But look on the bright side. At least you saw the carnival. Isn't that great?"
Their driver glared at him, looking like he wanted to punch something (or someone— probably Kiel), only to back away. "Fine. I'll go. But only because I have better things to do, like transporting that hay to the other side of Magisteria." Giving them one last dirty look, he turned on his heel and headed back to his hay-filled wagon. Bethany's shoulders deflated with relief.
"I'm just going to pretend I didn't see any of that," the ticketmaster said, as Bethany and Kiel whipped back around. "You do know that anyone who isn't working here needs a ticket, right?"
A smile broke over Kiel's face. "Yep! We do now. Thanks for the heads up."
Before the man could say anything else, he put his hand on Bethany's shoulder, steering her through the entrance. Luckily, they weren't stopped anymore. The ticketmaster must've believed that they actually did work here, which Bethany was glad about. She didn't want to deal with any more delays, not when they were in a rush. And now that they were actually entering the carnival, the only thing left to do was hope Owen had made it, too. If not, how long would it take him to get here? And where was he, if he wasn't here?
This was why she should've gone after him when she had the chance, in spite of what the homeless boy had said. More than anything, she regretted leaving him. What if she could've followed Owen through the puddle? Then maybe they wouldn't be separated right now, but— it didn't matter. She just wanted to know if he was okay, or if he was on his way at all. He could be halfway around the world right now, not even close to the carnival. He could be anywhere.
And not only would that mean Owen was in trouble, but it'd also mean she'd be questioning the crystal ball alone. Well, okay, she wouldn't be completely alone. She had Kiel, but that didn't help too much. Even being near him made her feel a strange twist of anger, only to be combated with a sense of security, a sense of joy, because he was here. If he hadn't rudely decided to lose his memories, the first emotion wouldn't be there at all.
It was like her two sides were battling against each other again, just as they always had. Maybe worse — until they got his memories back of her — she almost preferred to be angry, because he'd messed everything up when he shouldn't have. And it was becoming easier to feel irritated. He'd done this on purpose, hadn't he? Even if it didn't make much sense, even if she recalled, deep down, that Owen had claimed it was all a mistake. That Kiel hadn't meant to lose his memories.
But what did Owen know? He wasn't in Kiel's head! As much as Bethany hoped it had been an accident, she didn't know if she believed that . . . not until there was some kind of proof. Another reason why she wished Owen would show up, sooner rather than later. It would certainly help, because Bethany's irritation had only grown since they'd arrived at the carnival. The sooner he got here and the sooner the crystal ball gave them answers, the better.
Just for good measure, she did another sweep through the carnival. Seriously, where was Owen? All she wanted to do was get to the crystal ball, and she couldn't do that until he showed up. So until he did, they'd have to wait. And the problem with that was that she almost wanted to have fun, to explore this new, magic carnival with one of her best friends. No, she reminded herself, he wasn't her best friend anymore. She was too annoyed to call him that.
And anyway, if she was having any fun tonight, she'd have it with Owen. He might not want to jump off of dangerous-looking cliffs or ride a thrilling, gigantic wheel that floated in the sky, but who cared? Not Bethany. So she'd spend the rest of the night searching for Owen, and probably doing nothing else, because that made way more sense than allowing herself to have fun. Besides, until Owen showed up, she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to relax, anyway.
"That went better than expected!" Kiel said cheerfully, and Bethany was jolted back to reality. She stopped searching for the brown-haired boy with a goofy smile, momentarily settling her gaze back on the one beside her. Tiny balls of light floated aimlessly around them, one coming close to his face, but never touching it. Against the darkness, the glow of them flashed a brilliant yellow against the edges of Kiel's face.
"Yeah, could've gone way better if you knew how to get a ticket first."
There was a gleam in his eyes. "And where's the fun in that?"
"The fun in what? Forgetting to buy a ticket?"
"No, but because we didn't have any tickets, we got to improvise." He glanced at her. "I guess you don't like improvising?"
At his question, her heart squeezed a little. He should know the answer to that. She shrugged, grumbling, "No, I just . . . like being prepared. Sometimes."
"Uh-huh." Then, an idea seemed to come to his head, and he looked eagerly over at her, snapping his fingers. "Oh, you know what? I just figured out what's wrong with you!" He pointed a finger at her triumphantly. "You don't know how to have fun."
"What?" Her eyes snapped to his indignantly. "Yes, I do."
"Which is why," he continued, as if he hadn't heard her. "— it's a good thing that I'm here. To help with that."
Bethany raised her eyebrows. "Hey, I am kind of excited to see the carnival. I'm just more focused on fixing everything Nobody did. Do you know how bad it would be if we didn't do that?"
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean we can't have at least a little fun saving it," he told her, and the familiarity of the situation made Bethany's heart squeeze. "I'm looking forward to seeing what the crystal ball has to say, anyway."
"So it'll have an answer? Like, a definite answer of how to restore everything? Of how to bring back everyone?"
He moved his shoulders up and down. "Usually, yeah! It does." He quickly corrected himself. "It did, when I asked it about the keys. I guess we'll just have to hope for the best."
Hope for the best. Bethany had no idea if there was anything left to hope for, when restoring the worlds seemed nearly impossible. But she held onto his words anyway, despite her better judgement. Because what occupied the rest of her thoughts were doubts. She'd spent her whole life making mistakes, first with losing her dad . . . then all of this. She was so tired of making mistakes, tired of being unable to fix things. Was it too much to ask for this one thing to work out?
Trying to push down her anxiety, Bethany turned back to Kiel, hoping to change the subject. "So," she said. "You wanna know what's wrong with you?"
"What?" Kiel laughed, and Bethany realized — with a weird, elated jump to her heart — how natural that laugh was. "That I'm too wonderful?"
She rolled her eyes. In response, Kiel rolled his eyes right back at her, though with a dash of playfulness. Not for the first time that night, her cheeks felt warm. In that moment, she was only thinking about something snarky or insulting to say, and didn't even consider it.
"Absolutely not." Bethany scoffed. "I would never say that!"
In her line of vision, she caught Kiel's eye. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw he was staring directly at her, smiling in the same way he always had when he looked at her. It took Bethany a moment to realize that she'd been beaming automatically back at him — something she should not be doing after he'd forgotten about her. Feeling a little annoyed at herself, she looked away, allowing her grin to fizzle out.
"Probably nothing, then, because I'm pretty great at everything!" Kiel's head tilted. "Though I am kind of bad at cooking."
"Yeah, you're the worst at it." A smile almost fought its way to her face. "Do you know how many times you almost burnt— well, basically everything in my kitchen?"
Kiel laughed again. "Oh, I don't. But I believe it!"
"And I know how to have fun, when I'm not . . . trying to stop evil, or whatever. You would know that, if you—"
If you remembered me. She cut herself off, her heart dropping down to her worn-out sneakers. She pressed her lips into a thin line, and Kiel must've known what she was about to say, because a flash of guilt passed over his face. Or was that disappointment? Shame? It was none of those, she decided. He clearly didn't feel bad about forgetting her. The only person who got to be disappointed or angry or sad was Bethany, because how could he feel those things if he didn't remember her?
Clearing her throat, she changed the subject for the second time that night. "So, uh, where's the crystal ball, anyway?"
"I've only seen it once, but I know it's in one of these tents." He gestured at the space in front of them, where they were about to pass the first tent. And beyond that . . . beyond that were hundreds of tents. Could've been more. But it wasn't like it'd take hours just to find one tent, right?
Bethany followed his gaze. The carnival was packed with people, each person wearing robes or a cape of some kind. As they got closer, the sounds of talking, laughing, and music grew louder, all blended together into a mishmash of joyous noises. It was becoming difficult not to get caught up in the atmosphere here, especially when everywhere she looked, there was something new and exciting to see. It wasn't often that Bethany just let herself get caught up in the moment, and this was one of those times.
It was impossible not to stare. A few adults in colorful robes stepped around them, their faces painted and eyes shining, waving cheerfully down from where they perched on stilts. Carnival workers stood outside some of the tents, some of which were closed and small, while others were larger, the curtains parted to allow everyone to see inside. Other workers wandered around the carnival, holding baskets much like the ones Bethany and Kiel were holding, only these were larger, filled with anything from flowers to food to colorful scarves.
And then there were contests. Contests for everything. There were stands for gigantic vegetables (Winner with the biggest vegetable gets a magical reward!) though majority of them were too long and heavy to fit on the table, so were propped up with rocks. And it didn't stop there. She spotted a contest that claimed contestants were creating a "new color", something that Bethany was interested in, but kind of doubted was possible. Maybe in Magisteria, but she'd have to see it to believe it— and she didn't exactly have the time.
There was more, too, like a contest to see who could locate a dragon egg first, or dueling contests, or for the more experienced wizards, to see who could alter their spells the fastest. Just as Bethany figured, Kiel had shown interest in all of these, mainly in the last one. But he hadn't wanted to participate — or really, hadn't been able to participate. He claimed it was just because he'd never been very good at altering his own spells, adding in that since Magisteria's magic hadn't been working properly, it wouldn't be a good idea to join.
Not once did he mention the real reason he couldn't participate in the contests involving magic— because not only did he have no wands or spell book, but he had no way of getting his magic back. He hadn't said a word about losing his magic since they'd arrived, probably to seem like he was okay without it. She could tell, though, that the lack of it bothered him— at least a little. Kiel had lost his magic once before, so it wasn't like this was anything new. But if the loss of magic really was affecting him, he didn't show it. And between everything else, Bethany wasn't completely sure he'd open up about it if she asked.
It wasn't long before they came across the stand the women from earlier had talked about, which Bethany only recognized because the baskets sitting on the tables had the same design as the ones in her hands. It also helped that two elderly women were setting up the stand, taking baked goods out of the baskets and laying them down on a table, which had a strange, shimmery glow to it. Not only that, but the legs of the table were nowhere to be seen. They must've not been needed, anyway, because the table hovered a few feet in the air, seemingly by magic. At least if the magic backfired here, the food should still be fine.
Unless it was also made by magic, and ended up backfiring at some point, too. Bethany gulped. Suddenly, the sweet-smelling pastries in the baskets she was holding seemed a little less appealing. For the first time, she kind of understood Charm's dislike for anything that was magic, or seemingly related to magic. Until all the worlds could be fixed, magic would stay unpredictable. Dangerous. Lopsided. Even in a place like this, where nothing seemed to be wrong.
As they approached, one of the women looked over, her movements slow and shaky. For the first time, Bethany actually wished she was helping them out with their stand. Just like the Magister, they seemed incredibly old, so old it could only be magic keeping them upright. The Magister, she recalled, was at least a thousand years old. Maybe without magic keeping him afloat, he would've have a normal life expectancy, living to at most one-hundred.
She wasn't sure of the age these women were, but if she could guess, it was close to the Magister's. The only difference was that neither of them carried spell books or wands, maybe because they weren't consistently studying magic like the Magister had been. And there was another noticeable difference that set them apart from the Magister. While in his old age, he must've become more bitter and villainous, there were no flashes of anger behind their eyes. Instead, they smiled warmly at the sight of Bethany and Kiel.
"Hello, children!" the first woman greeted, placing her bony hands on the table. "What can I get for you?"
"Nothing!" Giving them a smile, Bethany slammed the baskets down on the table, away from where the other food was. "We found the rest of your food and we wanted to bring it. Just to, uh, keep you from going back and forth."
"Yeah, if there's a piece of anything in here missing, just ignore it," Kiel told them, giving them a broad smile.
What? He'd eaten something? Bethany turned to him, alarmed, but the old lady spoke first. "Wow, what nice kids." She grinned back, revealing a few missing teeth. "Thank you very much!"
"Just happy to help." The magicless magician smiled at them, setting his own baskets down.
"I can't believe you ate something," she scolded, as the woman they'd talked to started to unpack the baskets they'd brought.
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Hey, it's not like I have food laying around, now that I'm homeless again. Or magic to make it."
"Mhmm." Bethany burrowed her hands into her pockets. "Doesn't mean you can steal from old ladies."
He snorted.
Waving goodbye, they headed back in the direction they'd been walking, towards the part of the carnival they hadn't explored. But they'd only made it a few steps before Bethany saw it. And once she did, she stopped in her tracks, her breath hitching. The good feeling from earlier fizzed out, and a very different emotion shuddered down her spine. One that she was more used to. Now, only anxiety came surging through her like a train, barreling into her at full speed. She couldn't breathe. This was it.
Just five feet away from where they were standing was the tent. The one that held the crystal ball inside. Next to it, small, wooden signs were rooted in the ground, saying things like "Get your fortune told today!" and "Get the real answer to all your questions!" Bethany thought she would've felt more optimistic now that she was here, about to get answers on how to restore the fictional world, but her stomach only twisted into knots at the sight. Her feet itched to move towards it, but she stayed rooted in place.
Bethany would've been lying if she hadn't felt an enormous lump in her throat, and no amount of swallowing would drown it away. This was it! They could just go in right now and get the answers they needed. And when Owen got here, she'd tell him everything about what they'd found. Something about that didn't seem right, though. At the thought of her best friend, the lump grew bigger. She couldn't go in yet. Not without him. Not after everything they'd fought through to get here . . . it wouldn't feel right.
"You ready?" Kiel asked, his voice soft.
They'd been standing there for a few seconds in silence, their eyes glued on the same thing. Abruptly, Bethany turned her head towards Kiel, staring at his side profile in the moonlight. A warm breeze whipped through the carnival, tousling their hair. She was dimly aware of music playing loudly all around them, but while it'd flooded her ears earlier, she could barely hear it now. Like they were stuck in a bubble, motionless as the outside world went on without them. If this wasn't such an important moment, it might've relaxed her.
"I don't know," Bethany said quietly, and he glanced over, meeting her eyes with a look of understanding. Her mouth felt increasingly dry. "But I think we should wait for Owen. I'm not doing this without him."
Kiel nodded approvingly, appearing a little relieved by her response. "Sounds good to me. I wouldn't feel good going in there yet, either. Owen should be here for this." His eyebrows crinkled. "When do you think he'll get here?"
That stumped her. "I have no idea. He was supposed to be here by now." She looked away, worry gnawing at her. "He said he'd meet us at the carnival, but . . ."
But he hadn't. The constellation was high in the sky, bright enough for anyone to see, and he still wasn't here. Him getting lost wasn't the part Bethany was worried about, because if he followed the constellation, he'd end up here. Unless he couldn't. Unless he was in danger, and there was no way for him to follow it. Meaning that once the sun rose the next day, he'd be lost to Bethany forever. The constellation would be back up the next night, of course, but that was more time than they had.
And it wasn't like she could jump into the exact page he was in, because that wouldn't work anymore. It wouldn't even work if the pages weren't blank, because she still didn't know where he was, or how to reach him. So that left her no options. Either get answers from the crystal ball now, and tell Owen about it later, or wait for him, and get answers together. Since the first option just didn't sit right with her, she'd hold out on going without him. She'd hold out as long as she could, as long as the carnival didn't close before that.
It aggravated her, knowing she could do nothing but wait. But if she knew anything about Owen, it was that he usually pulled through, even if he was in danger. He'd make it. He had to. And Bethany was prepared to wait all night until he did.
Amidst the chaos of portals appearing out of nowhere and the worlds merging, things were feeling more like a fever dream and less like real life to Owen.
What started with the plane turned into more and more things appearing out of nowhere, from people to moving objects. They were coming out of portals just like the one Moira had come out of, and the portals (the ones that were visible to Owen, anyway) weren't closing. Instead, they grew in size, some growing large enough that Owen could see entire landscapes or buildings on the other side, which he guessed were starting to replace some parts of Magisteria. Even worse, he spotted characters from other stories stepping through the portals, sometimes multiple at once.
It was like the world's worst crossover, and Owen was at the center of it.
Clearly, it was getting worse. He could only assume that these portals were appearing in every other story, too, connecting each one permanently. It was only a matter of time before every single world was connected into one main world, combining everything and everyone in it. And if that happened . . . would that mean the stories were just gone? Granted, they were gone from the nonfictional world, and it was a miracle at all that Bethany had still been able to jump into a book.
But would that change? If all the worlds combined, the stories would be gone. This must've been the last phase of Nobody's plan, to make sure the worlds were separated for good . . . and to make sure the stories couldn't be seen by the real world, either. Would that mean that books would just stop existing? That Bethany's powers wouldn't work anymore, because there'd be nothing anchoring the fictional world to the real one?
Owen's brain hurt from all the questions, and he wished he had answers. So much was happening at once, enough to make it blatantly obvious he had to get to Bethany, as fast as he could. The crystal ball would tell them what to do. Or at least, that was what Owen told himself. Doubts had crept into his mind before, but now that all of this had happened, he found himself doubting it even more. Was there really still a chance they could fix all of this, now that things were getting even more out of hand?
They'd been speed-walking through the forest for what must've been hours, though with the panic Owen was feeling, time felt shorter. Moira had been taking things better than expected, but as more and more portals appeared, ripping holes in the universe, he could tell she was growing a little uneasy. Luckily, it was late enough that at this point, anything unusual that appeared was hidden under a cloud of darkness. Mostly.
But Owen knew how bizarre this all must've seemed to her. It was one thing to step through a portal and find a cave full of gold, and another thing entirely to see objects or people appear out of thin air, some that Owen even recognized from books he'd read.
Usually, he would've gotten excited at the idea of meeting all his favorite characters at once, but aside from the damage they'd already caused to their friends' stories, interacting with the main character was too risky. Not that it would ruin anything now, when things were already ruined enough as it was. They were rewritten, so some main characters might even be background characters, or vice versa. Or, they could've just been rewritten to not exist at all, which pained Owen to think about.
It was better to not think about it. Not that Owen could do that, when it was pretty much all he could think about. Luckily, he hadn't seen too many people come out of portals, and the ones he did see were from a distance, far away enough that Owen couldn't have a conversation with them if he tried. Every time he did, though, he cringed, wishing he could warn them to go back to the worlds. But he wasn't sure if that would help, seeing that the worlds were all merging anyway. And even if he could, he really didn't have the time.
Maybe the one good thing of this was that the sun had set, making two things easier. One, it was easier to ignore other stories colliding with this one, because it was harder to see what had appeared in the dark. And two, as soon as the sun had dipped into the horizon and fizzled into dusk, the stars had appeared, more vibrant and numerous than they were back home. It wasn't until then that they'd been able to pick a direction to walk in, because the carnival's constellation had appeared. Finally.
So far, Owen had been able to avoid getting too close to any of the portals, and it helped that they were further away, so he wouldn't mess up anything by accidentally talking to someone. Moira being here— miles away from her own story— was bad enough, and Owen could already hear Bethany's dissatisfaction from here. She probably wouldn't be happy when she saw him, only to find that he'd roped Moira into their mission to get to the crystal ball. But then again, Owen reasoned, it wasn't his fault she was here— and the more help they could get, the better.
But at the same time, he almost wished he could've led her back to her portal, because the panic rising inside him was becoming extremely hard to hide. And not only that, but he didn't know how much longer it'd be before things got worse, and Moira started to question the portals, and the worlds merging, and all the things that Owen would have a hard time explaining. And on top of everything — despite seeming happy enough to follow him with the promise of gold — she had started to question.
Started to question where all these people were coming from— how one second, they'd heard no one from this or that area of the woods, and the next, voices were echoing out to them from the spot. She questioned the loud noise from nearby that sounded suspiciously like a car engine, when it was clear there were no cars anywhere. Then, had gone further to suggest they steal said car, and Owen had quickly batted that idea down.
For a while, nothing else had happened that'd been out of the ordinary. At least— nothing like new characters showing up or planes randomly appearing in the air, which Owen was relieved about. He hoped it'd stay that way, and soon they'd reach the carnival, having run into absolutely no problems on the way. And hey, maybe they would! This mindset was short-lived, however, as a portal appeared out of thin air, directly between a line of trees to the right of Owen. It was close. Too close.
Owen's brain yelled at him to speed up, just in case something dangerous came out of it, and there'd be no time to dodge. Like a monster, or a moving vehicle, or anything that could be remotely large and harmful. Anyway, it was better to hurry. He'd be late to the carnival if he didn't hurry, and at this point, Bethany was probably there already.
But his curiosity peaked, and he found that in spite of his growing anxiety, he made no effort to speed up. If anything, he slowed down, hoping to catch of quick glimpse of whatever was on the other side of the portal. This was the first time he'd seen one so close, close enough that once the brightness died, he could see a new world on the other end of it. What looked like a wall of stone greeted him on the other side, almost resembling a medieval castle. Huh. Well, that actually looked nice—
Without warning, a person came tumbling out of the portal, rolling on the grass until eventually, they came to a stop. Eyes widening, Owen leapt backwards in surprise. As did Moira, who looked just as shocked as he was. She nudged Owen, her nervous laughter reaching his ears. "Did you see a person come out of there, or did I imagine that?"
Owen struggled to respond. "I, um . . ."
His sentence trailed off, his words forgotten as he stared at the person who'd fallen out of the portal. A girl, he realized, with long blonde hair and a blue streak running down one side of it. He shuddered, feeling the strangest sense of deja vu. Something about that seemed eerily familiar to Owen, like something he should remember. But for some reason, his brain couldn't fully put the pieces together.
"Well, that was weird!" she muttered, just loud enough that Owen heard it from several feet away.
Breathing heavily, the girl picked herself up, looking around until her wide eyes focused on Owen. She looked about his age. He'd never seen her before, and yet, she looked familiar somehow. He took in her outfit, which consisted of a faded pink t-shirt and jeans, a fancy cloak hovering comfortably over her shoulders, indicating something like royalty. He didn't have much time to make any connections, however, because the girl rushed up to them. Instinctively, Owen took a step back.
"What's going on here?" the girl demanded.
"Like I know?" Moira said. "I was just about the ask the same thing!"
"Uh, do you know where we are?" The newcomer glanced around, confused. "I've taken portals before, but only to my world." She frowned. "Okay, this doesn't matter. I don't even care where I am right now, I just need to find him."
Owen glanced, with heightening nerves, between Moira and the girl. This was bad. What if this girl was a main character, and he'd be ruining everything by responding? Then again, what part of everyone's stories hadn't been ruined? So was there really that much harm in two possible main characters being in the same vicinity?
He opened his mouth to speak, only to find that the couldn't say anything at first, his mouth was so dry. He swallowed hard, and finally was able to get a word out. "Him?"
"My, uh, friend came through this portal with me, but we got separated along the way. I want to know if you saw him, or heard of him, or anything." She stared at him expectantly, tapping her foot when Owen didn't respond at first. "So? Do you know him?"
"Do I—" he croaked, then cleared his throat. "Do I know him? Him who him? I mean, who him?"
At first, the girl's eyes narrowed. And then, probably realizing that Owen had no idea who she was talking about, her shoulders hunched momentarily. "His name's Jack. He's my . . . he's an idiot. Who's also a prince. Brown hair. Wearing armor with an eye on it. Have you seen him?"
"Wait, Jack?"
Owen recognized that name. Of course, there were thousands of Jack's in books, but only one that was a prince, who also happened to be one of the Wicked Queen's Eyes before she'd been defeated. Suddenly, it all came together. If this girl was looking for Jack, who was a prince, and the portal she'd come through had looked like a castle, and not to mention — the blue streak in her hair, then that meant . . . Owen gasped quietly. These characters weren't just any book. He'd read this before!
Half Upon A Time.
"You're . . . you're May!" he blurted out, much too loudly. Immediately, he squeezed his eyes shut, very much wishing he hadn't said that. Here he was, meeting the main characters of stories and messing things up, blurting out things like the characters' name or their whole backstory. Things he shouldn't be able to know.
The girl stiffened. "How do you know my name?"
Uh-oh.
Quickly, Owen searched for a response. "Because, um, you're a queen?"
This made her look more surprised. "How do you know that?" She glanced over herself. "I'm not even dressed like one."
"Um, no reason! I've just heard of you, because um—" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Moira starting to hold up her taser. Seriously? Eyes widening, Owen slapped it away, whispering, "Stop that!"
"Hey, you don't look like you're from a fairy tale world," May said slowly, and he caught something like suspicion in her voice. "Neither of you." She snapped her fingers, her eyes lighting up. "You're from my world, aren't you! But that still doesn't explain how you'd know I'm a queen, or—"
This was getting more complicated by the minute. Owen forced a smile. "Sorry, we can't answer that! We really need to go, but good luck finding your boyfriend!"
Giving her a quick wave goodbye, he pulled at Moira's arm and took off running. His heart pounded a mile a minute. Luckily, Moira didn't protest, nor did she question why he'd started running away so quickly. Owen swore he heard footsteps coming after them— probably May trying to follow them. It'd been a while since he read the series, but he remembered how persistent she could be. Nonetheless, he expected her to be chasing after them. When he looked over his shoulder, though, he realized she was still standing where he'd left her.
"Boyfriend?" came her confused, if not slightly annoyed reply. "I never said he was my boyfriend! Hey, wait! Come back here! I'm not done talking to you!"
"Sorry!" Owen shouted again. And then, to himself, Yes, he is. That was obviously implied in the last book! But it didn't matter, there was too much else to focus on. It was all so overbearing. Just to make sure they were going the right way, he tilted his head up towards the sky, searching for the carnival's constellation. Some of the stress eased from his chest as he saw that they hadn't been turned around. He was immensely grateful it wasn't cloudy out, or else he would never have known if he accidentally went in the wrong direction.
Well, one less thing to be concerned about. Beside him, Moira gave him a confused look. "What was that all about, SP?"
"Nothing!" Owen said quickly. It was then that he realized just how much his legs were shaking, which if anything, made running a little more difficult. "I just want to get to the carnival as fast as we can, so I figured we should leave!"
"Nope, that's not all. I get it, you hired me, and I'm happy to just not question anything if you double the prices." She looked hopefully at Owen, waited a beat, then sighed when he said nothing. "Alright, then in that case, how did you know her?"
He glanced sideways at Moira. What could he say? That he'd read about May in a book, and knew practically everything about her? No, that wouldn't work. Then he'd have to explain things about Bethany's powers, and the fact that Moira herself came from her own book series, which he'd already had to explain once before. Back then — three years ago — it'd been a little easier, because he'd had Kiel and Bethany to help explain things. But telling the whole story was a lot harder when they were running in a forest at night, instead of sitting comfortably in his mother's library.
"You know how there have been these portals popping up everywhere?" Owen said finally. There was no point in trying to hide it anymore, not when she'd already walked through one. Plus, they'd had multiple encounters with them on their journey, so not talking about it was pointless.
"Uh, yeah! It's the first I've ever seen of that happening! I still don't get how it's happening, but wait, don't tell me everything— I like the mystery." Catching his look, she gestured at him. "Go on, Sad Panda."
"She's from one of those other worlds. Think of it like other dimensions!" He took a deep breath, his chest starting to hurt from all the running. "Except now, they're all connecting for some reason. And I know her because . . . because I've gone to her world before, and I heard she existed from someone else." Yeah, that sounded believable!
He glanced at Moira again, but she'd gone silent, probably trying to work through what he'd said. So Owen continued talking. "This is all so crazy, isn't it? That there's other worlds you never knew about?"
"No, not really."
He felt a twinge of surprise. "It doesn't bother you at all? Think about it!"
Her excited energy from earlier seemed to have faded, at least a little. "I am thinking about it, and okay, it's cool, but it doesn't bother me." She threw her hands up, almost wacking Owen with her taser in the process. "Who cares if there are other worlds? Whatever! That means more places I can steal from, instead of the same banks over and over!" She laughed, and something about her last sentence didn't sit completely right with Owen.
"Wait," Owen began, not even watching where he was going anymore. No way. Was she saying what he thought she was saying? That she'd come here to steal something, or was he overthinking too much? "Are you saying you—"
He had no time to finish his sentence. A bright light flooded the space in front of him, so bright that, at first, he had no choice but to hold a hand over his eyes, trying to block the sudden brightness away. Slowly, the light died, just enough for Owen to see a circle forming directly in front of them. A portal. And it was too close. With how fast they were running and it appearing so unexpectedly, there was no avoiding it.
His heart leaping out of his chest, Owen sucked in a gasp. "No no no—"
Awkwardly, he held his arms out, trying to stop himself, to move away, but there was no time to slow down. He didn't have time to see whether Moira could slow down, either. His momentum sent him sailing through the portal, and a flash of light erupted all around him, only to fade abruptly once he landed on a hard, wooden surface. Owen winced as pain shot up his broken arm, sudden and unexpected. And then, he felt only panic. What had just happened? Where had the portal taken him?
He laid there for a moment, wondering if he was just imagining the floor beneath him swaying. Maybe he was just dizzy from all the running. Wait, could he just turn back around and go back through the same portal? It wasn't like the portals were disappearing as soon as someone passed through them, so that had to mean something. Suddenly hopeful, Owen started to push himself up, simultaneously looking around for Moira in case she'd come through here, too. That was when he noticed the floor beneath him was wet, and a pair of boots were standing in front of him. Boots that were connected to legs.
And then, the tip of a sword touched Owen's chin. "How did you get on here?"
"I've been writing my thoughts down. To clear my mind, to try and figure out my brain . . ."
A/N- Fun fact: tomorrow's my birthday woooo! I'll probably be updating later today or tomorrow since I already have a ton of my next chapter written so uh,,, be prepared :)
also shoutout to my friend Spark for inspiring me to add May djdjdjdkd it was a lot of fun adding her in, even though it was only for like 4 paragraphs. Honestly haven't read huat in years so sorry if I messed up on her personality, I hope I was as accurate as possible writing her haha
