The shackles around Liz's wrists rattled as the woman came in.

The blonde-haired woman shook her head, getting her mind under control as the other woman entered, the steel bars to her cell scraping against the stone ground as she did so. Liz looked up to see her again, for what felt like the millionth time. Shoulder-length blue hair, golden eyes shining from the darkness that had become all she knew. Ornate armor, along with a beautiful crown atop her head gave the image of a warrior-queen.

Or someone with some serious cosplay chops, Liz hissed in her head.

Liz backed up until she hit the stone wall behind her. The blue-haired woman merely gazed at her for a moment, studying her like one would inspect a piece of meat at the market. A moment later, Liz noticed the cup in her hand, along with a plate with a hard-looking bite of bread.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, her voice distorted as if it was coming from underwater.

Liz's lips thinned. How was she feeling? Well, how nice of her to ask!

"If you must know," Liz began, her voice slow and methodical, "There's an awful draft in here. Maybe you should take better care of your prison cells?"

"Perhaps the cold will still your tongue. Your mockery is wasted, trespasser." The woman replied coldly before placing the plate and water in front of Liz. "You may eat, but you must drink now."

"Or you'll what? Kill me?" Liz replied.

"Not I. That duty will go to our Queen. Whatever hellish tortures she conjures up will be your fate should you refuse."

Liz ground her teeth together as she looked down at the misty water and the piece of bread. This same ritual had gone on for some time, now. The woman in front of her would bring in a cup of water, and maybe a piece of bread or a cut of cheese, before demanding that she drink the water first. The water itself had a coppery taste to it, almost like somebody had bled into the cup before giving it to her. At that moment, all she wanted to do was be at home. Maybe grab a bite to eat at McDonalds or Burger King or anywhere. She'd take fast food over the molding crap she was being given in that god-forsaken prison cell.

How she ended up in said prison cell was the one thing she'd pondered in her time there. How long had she been there in the first place, she wondered. Weeks? Days? Years? Time seemed to slow and speed up at random intervals, leaving her completely unable to tell when the last time she saw sunlight was. All Liz remembered was walking out of the front door of their house, and the next thing she knew, bam, right smack-dab in the middle of a giant, spooky throne room, complete with a massive head glaring down at her the moment she entered.

Liz recalled the last words she said to her mother, and felt herself grow nauseous. She hadn't felt hungry in days, it felt like. Or was it weeks?

"Drink," The blue-haired woman demanded. "Now."

Liz stared into the water given to her and felt her stomach sink even lower. It wasn't just the taste that was getting to her; something was wrong with her. She could feel it. With how much time she spent in that cell, and how little she'd eaten, she should've been nothing but pale skin and bones, barely kept together. That wasn't the case. With every cup of water she drank, she felt stronger. With every sip, she felt her muscles revitalize, her skin regaining its color. She didn't even feel like she needed the little piece of bread.

Unless the woman in front of her and the invisible monsters that followed her were pumping the water with some serious juice, something wasn't right. Poison would've made her feel weaker, not stronger. A part of her wondered why they were even playing these games. Why not just kill her? Why not just end it? Was it fun for them?

A small kernel of anger sparked in her chest, but she quelled it for the moment. Steadily, she took the cup and downed the water in one-gulp. The coppery taste swirled down her throat, and she had to keep herself from gagging.

"You know," Liz coughed, "If this is your way of killing someone, it could use some serious work."

"Our lady has plans for you, trespasser," The woman replied, continuing to stand in front of her and study her.

Liz had to keep her lips from drawing back into a sneer. "You keep saying that but I've got no idea what those plans are. Why even keep me alive? Why keep me here? What're you bastards planning!?"

"It is not my place to know, neither is it yours. What can a pawn know of the plans of the Queen?"

"A chess analogy? Oh, so sophisticated! Aren't I lucky I got put in here by a bunch of golden-eyed classy morons. Are you gonna monologue in front of me soon or do I have to draw it out of you?"

The woman stared at her for several seconds, and Liz felt the hot-blooded snarl that had slowly etched itself across her face vanish. In its place, the woman donned a smirk. A toothy one that sent small shivers up Liz's spine.

"That tongue of yours does you no credit, fool," She hissed, her smile turning vicious, "I wonder, will our Lady punish me for cutting it out of your filthy mouth? Hmm. Best not to tempt fate on that front. Rest assured, trespasser, our Queen's protection will only keep you safe for so long. Mind your tongue in the future."

"Make me," Liz slumped back against the wall, "What else can you take from me? I've already lost everything. Everyone. Anything you do to me will be a mercy."

The blue-haired warrior-whatever stood silently for a moment before walking forward. Liz tried to move farther backward, but all she did was press herself as flat against the wall as she could manage.

"I may not know our Queen's plans," The woman snarled, "But what I do know is that you are being given a great honor. An honor one such as you hardly deserves! But, it is not my place to doubt our Lady. How long you live or whether you'll die in the vast, frozen wasteland of Nohr, remains to be seen."

"Yeah, a real great honor to be trapped like a rat in a cage…" Liz mumbled as the woman drew back, flicking a stray strand of aqua blue hair behind her ear.

"More than you know, Aberration. More than you know. Our Lady has killed for far less insulting infractions," The woman spat. "Were it up to me, we would parade your body across all of Valla, before sending your innards to the surface as a warning. None should have done what you did and lived."

It was not easy to get Liz well and truly angry. Annoyed? She was always like that. But angry? Pissed off? Not so. She struggled to not surge forward and deck the blue-haired bitch in the face. It would've resulted in her death, certainly, but then again, was she looking for anything less?

In the end, though, she kept her fiery thought to herself and watched as the woman stepped way farther and to the open cell door.

"I don't even know what happened…" Liz whispered silently, taking in a shuddering breath. "A-All I did was walk through the door…"

The woman stopped and twisted her head back, far more than Liz thought was possible. "It is far too late for regret now. It is over."

The blue-haired warrior-queen left, and Liz was left alone with her thoughts once more.

There was no choice. No rhyme nor reason. All of it happened within the blink of an eye.

She found herself in a strange place, completely devoid of the usual greenery she expected. It was a castle, like ones from all those old places in Europe. The throne room was massive, reaching so far back she couldn't see the end of it. A purple carpet laid out before her, as if she was about to walk out on it like an award-winning actor from Hollywood. The ground was cracked and broken, with molten pools of sparkling something filling in massive holes. True to the name, a throne stood empty before her. Towards the back, it glared at her.

A mask, bigger than anything she had ever seen. She took a step back, but each footstep sounded like a gunshot, or a grenade going off. And the mask heard it. Its eyes opened, revealing emptiness, but she could feel the coldness. The raw anger and madness behind it, kept at bay only by a pitiful intelligence.

TRESPASSER.

The title echoed in her skull as the mask moved forward, revealing a massive, worm-like body. A golden glow formed pupils that looked down at her as she cowered.

This was wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. What was she doing there? She had school, she had friends to talk to, texts to respond to, how was she-!?

AS THE QUEEN OF VALLA, A SENTENCE YOU TO DEATH.

The words rampaged through her skull, feeling as if it was turning her brain into mush. The mask descended, its mouth opening to reveal an empty, black, toothless maw that swallowed her whole.

She didn't even have time to scream-

Liz screamed when she awoke, and the sound was accompanied by the ungodly screeching of metal against stone as something whacked her across the back. She inhaled dust and coughed up a storm as she rolled to the ground, her mind trying its best to get ahold of itself. Once the dust had settled, literally, she took several deep breaths, wiping at her dust and sweat covered forehead-

The clanking of chains caused her to do a double-take. Her blue eyes stared down at the wrought, rusty metal that clasped and trapped her wrists, and followed the chains that connected them to the wall.

Only, they weren't connected to the wall anymore. They had been torn away from the stone. Somehow, they had been completely separated and she was able to move around with ease.

"W-What?" Liz questioned loudly, looking at her hands for a moment. She moved them around, feeling as if the chains weighed nothing. She distinctly remembered testing them when she first arrived, and they were as solid as, well, iron. Why was it they felt as if they were made of styrofoam.

Liz looked around her cell, as if she expected someone or something to come running for her. There was nothing, no footsteps, no sound of clanking metal, nothing.

Did… Did I do that?

She stood up, looking over to the door that had imprisoned her for so long. Liz flexed her fingers, pressed her lips into a thin line, and moved toward the barred cell door. Grasping two of them, she tested herself. Lightly, she shook the bars, feeling and hearing the sound of metal lightly scraping against stone again. She progressively shook them harder and harder, the sound growing louder and louder as the bars slightly bent with each push.

C'mon! C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Get me outta here!

With one final, massive screech of rusty metal, the door gave way, breaking off its metal hinges and slamming to the stone floor with a mighty 'wham'. Liz looked down at the iron door, her mind completely blank at the display of her own, newfound strength. Whatever thoughts she had became muddled as the sound of the chains she still wore scraped against the ground again. Blearily, almost robotically, she pried at the clasps around her wrists and pulled. With no small amount of effort, they gave way and came off, but the fact she was able to do it at all worried her.

What's happened to me?

Liz decided to shuffle that thought away for later. In the meantime, she had a prison to escape.

When Liz first arrived in Valla – that's what she remembered it being called. Personally, she would have called it 'vertigo-causing hell pit' but that might've scared off the tourists – she had somehow ended up in the middle of a giant castle, and moments later had been broken by invisible monsters with gold coins for eyes. When she exited her prison, the light of an off-balance sun shining down upon her and nearly blinding her, she bore witness to what Valla truly was.

It turned out her earlier, sarcastic remark on her arrival was pretty damn accurate to the world that she found herself in.

Valla was dreamlike. Well, perhaps a better term would've been 'nightmarish', but until something really horrible happened, she was content with 'dreamlike'. The land was awash in light, basking in it as if the very soil was alive. It was like looking down a spiral, and the land itself was wrapped around it. Bits of islands tapered off into steep cliffs that led to nothingness, and when Liz turned around, she finally got a good look at the castle she had been imprisoned in, and was currently escaping.

Liz felt herself grow nauseous, far more than she had before, just staring at it. A tattered spire would be the most effective way to describe it, with bits of broken stonework and shattered windows looking out over the alien landscape.

Liz nearly fell over when she felt a pulse come from it. It echoed in her mind, and her ears were filled with white noise as she scrambled over the dirt, regaining her footing and looking back at the double-set of wooden doors she had pushed open with ease.

Something's wrong.

It was too easy. Way too easy. There were no guards on her way out, she felt nobody's eyes watching her as she escaped. It was as if she was just being let go. She couldn't even see any glowing golden eyes within the depths of the dungeon. No fellow prisoners, nothing. It was as if the entire world had become dead.

Liz shook her head as the pain from whatever had happened faded away. She didn't want to shuffle more to the side, but until she was either dead or safe, she had to. And if she was dead, well, at least she wouldn't have to worry about it anymore at all.

With that in mind, Liz wearily began jogging. She had no idea where to go, no idea where there even was beside the name. She was completely, and utterly, alone.

That did not last long.

Liz had been traveling for what might've been less than ten minutes before a set of eyes opened up in a forest, looking at her as if she was a rat. Her own eyes widened at the sudden attention, and her brisk jog meant to conserve energy opened into a dead sprint.

"Well…" She panted to herself, "Here goes nothing!"

She had no idea to what extent she'd been… modified. But she was not going to ignore what she had been granted. She'd take any advantage she could get. If the stupid invisible bastards didn't like it, well, they were out of luck, and perhaps Liz was swimming in it.

There were second thoughts when a second pair of eyes, then a third, then a fifth, then a twelfth opened open and chased her from the darkness. In her opinion, she was making good time all around, considering she'd gone through weeks of malnourishment, but in the end, she could only go so far.

Liz did not go out of her way to corner herself. Who the hell would? But there were only so many places to go when the world itself seemed to be floating on an endless expanse of white emptiness. The creatures that followed her were completely silent as well, and beyond their eyes, she had very few ways to see them before they'd almost grabbed her. Despite her newfound strength, she had a feeling if one of them got to her, it'd be game over. Kaput. Dead.

Not that she seemed to have very many options.

In the end, every escape route had been blocked off, every possible hidey-hole and corner covered by the invisible monsters. Liz turned around and backed up, her heels at the edge of one of the towering precipices that dotted Valla. Her breath left her quickly as she felt her skin pale. One turn of her head and she was face to face with certain death. When she turned it back around, she was met with a death of a very different, likely more painful kind.

…Guess I'll be home soon.

It was a bleak hope, one born in a hopeless situation, but as the golden-eyed monsters marched their way toward her, the sound of clanking metal following each of their footsteps, it was the only one she had. The only one she could cling to. What kind of life was it that she had lived there anyway? A prisoner. An experiment for whatever the hell the blue-haired woman from before was doing.

Was death not preferable in that situation?

Perhaps if she'd had more time to run, she wouldn't have been pressed to jump.

But there was no choice.

Liz glared at the invisible monsters and mockingly raised a hand to her forehead in a salute. "Congratulations! Have a nice life, you introverted bastards!"

One of the creatures, apparently realizing what she was about to do, surged forward and attempted to grab her by the neck, but she was already over the edge by then. Liz watched as the world fell away beneath her. The cliff sped past her as she descended into the white below. She closed her eyes, hoping that whatever came next would come quick-

-Or it wouldn't.

It was a strange feeling at first, the air itself had become unnaturally humid the farther down she fell. Liz dared not open her eyes, just in case the bottom, or lack thereof, of the bottomless void was close. When she attempted to take one last deep breath, however, she found her lungs filled with water.

Liz's eyes shot open as she saw nothing but a vast blue expanse falling in front of her. Her momentum slowed, but she still shot through the water with surprising force. For a split second, she looked down to see a crack near the bottom of the seabed, slowly draining bright light. Or was it a riverbed? Based on how unsalty the water was, likely a riverbed.

Not like she had much time to process that fact as she tumbled through the water, her body screaming for a gasp of air that would never come. Not until she reached the surface. A deep sense of vertigo crept into Liz's body as she flew out of the river, like gravity itself had realigned all of a sudden, and the next thing she knew, she was in the air again. Droplets of water and the sound of a splash echoed in her eardrums as she finally let out a piercing scream. Soon enough, she fell back towards where she came from. It was like a demented water park ride, only without the fun. She splashed right back down, her back feeling as if it had struck concrete as she hurriedly flailed her limbs around, attempting to gain balance.

Liz broke through the surface, this time much gentler. She gulped at the air for all that it was worth, feeling as if her lungs would explode at any second. When her eyes finally opened, she was face to face with a sky filled with stars, with a pale, small moon hanging lowly over them all, casting an alien light upon the water.

The moon doesn't look like that.

Shaking her head, Liz moved toward the shore, or where she thought the shore was. A forest greeted her there, she could see, with trees with jagged branches and sharp leaves. It wasn't the most comforting look, but it was far more familiar than Valla's ungodly vertigo-causing landmasses.

Crawling onto the muck, Liz grasped at anything that gave purchase. She slid along like a slug through the mud, before rolling onto her back.

Liz didn't know how long she laid there, completely vulnerable to anything or anyone that came by. In all honesty, she didn't care, and by the time she had come to her senses, she let out a small chuckle.

Said chuckle steadily grew until it turned into full-blown laughter, almost cackling until the tears started to stream down her face. Liz couldn't tell if she was laughing or crying, or both, and she couldn't find it in herself to really differentiate after a while. She just laid there and laughed and laughed until her throat burned and her eyes were red.

When the laughter finally subsided, she felt empty. Liz couldn't even summon the will to move when she heard the sound of clanking metal alongside footsteps.

"Right there," A voice said, a gravelly male one. "There she is. She popped out of the water and then just laid there and laughed. Scared away all the rabbits."

"You're sure?" Another voice said, this one softer and distinctly feminine. "She just… burst out of the water, as you said?"

"Yes," The man intoned, "She scared me, and I thought you would be interested."

The footfalls stopped just short of her head, and Liz tilted until she saw who exactly, though it was alright to interrupt her existential crisis. A man and a woman looked down at her. The man had short blonde hair and tanned skin, and had perhaps the scariest face she had ever seen. Coupled with the intimidating black plate armor he wore, and Liz felt every instinct in her demand that she crawl away as fast as she could. If only it were so easy!

The woman was much smaller than the man. Long, flowing blue hair trailed behind her along with deep blue eyes. What she lacked in stature, though, she made up for it in sheer iron. The woman looked as if not even a mountain could move her.

"Hey guys," Liz croaked out, feeling either a gentle sob or another fit of laughter deep in her chest. "How's it going? Wonderful night for stargazing, huh?"

The man and woman exchanged glances before the woman tilted her head back to the forest. The man silently nodded before trudging away, his armor clanking loudly with each step.

"I do not know who you are or where you have come from, but it is alright. You are safe now," The woman said gently, circling around Liz and kneeling. "Can you stand?"

"I dunno. I haven't tried!" Liz giggled out, slowly rising her back out of the muck. "I'll tell you what, though, these clothes have gotten really, really uncomfortable. Also, I've been wearing them for I don't know how long, so do ya think you've got some to spare?"

"One thing at a time, my good lady," The woman replied, "Do you have a name?"

"Hah! Who doesn't?" Liz coughed back, turning her head. "Don't answer that. It'll only make me more depressed. My name is, uh, my name is Elizabeth. Though please just call me Liz. I hate it when people call me by my full name."

The woman raised a brow. "No surname?"

"It's Wright, alright? Elizabeth Eleanor Wright. If you use only the first letters it spells EEW, so please just call me Liz- Why're you so pale all of a sudden?"

The blue-haired woman stood up and turned to the river where Liz had come from. "…Your last name is Wright?"

"Yeah. Why? Is that a curse around here or something?" Liz asked sincerely.

The woman shook her head. "No. It just reminds me of somebody I know. Since you have been forthright and honest with me, I will tell you my name. I am Lucina Lowell, a mercenary traveling these lands."

"A… mercenary?" Liz looked her up and down. "You look like a princess. Like one of those Disney ones, what with that crown and that armor and- Jesus, that's a big sword."

Lucina merely smiled. "Well, I have no idea what 'Disney' is so I will take your word for it. You're not familiar with these lands, are you?"

Liz barked a laugh. "Gee! What gave it away? Don't worry, I'll just sit here and sleep and get muddy. Maybe they'll find my body in a few hundred years like with that one frozen guy over in Europe. 'Most Well-Preserved Woman in Another World'. I like the sound of that!"

Lucina didn't laugh, but she did do that thing that was almost a laugh. The blue-haired woman sighed before approaching Liz once more. "Well, there are certainly better places to sleep than on the ground, you know." She offered a hand. "Here. Give me your hand."

Whatever mask Liz had put on cracked slightly as the smile she wore over her face broke into a small frown as she looked down. "…Will you tell me what's going on?"

"To the best of my abilities."

Liz nodded, closing her eyes for a moment before taking Lucina's hand. With surprising strength, the swordswoman raised her to her feet. Liz let out a breath as she leaned down, propping her upper body up using her knees.

"J-Just gimme a second. Head's still swimming," Liz shook her head. "God… Before I go anywhere with you, and I know I am because I doubt you don't have a camp set-up around here, can you at least tell me where here is? 'Cause all I know about where I come from is that it's a piece of crap. All vertigo-looking landscape and light."

"Believe me, Lady Liz, this place is the exact opposite of where you have come from," Lucina chuckled, "We are in Nohr, in the Forest of the Forlorn. Light rarely finds its way here, but you may find the darkness less to your liking in due time."

Liz groaned. "Perfect."

Liz followed Lucina through the woods. The swordswoman hadn't been lying when she said light rarely found its way there; the canopy blocked even the light of the moon from reaching the ground. Just enough trickled in to ensure they weren't encased in pure black, but Liz had to stick close lest she lost her way in the gloomy foliage.

What I wouldn't do for a hamburger right now…

Before long, after ducking under errant branches and nearly tripping over gnarled roots, Liz spotted a lot in the darkness. A campfire, from the looks of it. Surrounded by four canvas tents. Makeshift walls and a clothesline completed the look, bringing images to Liz's mind of when she went out camping with her family years prior.

"Lucy!" A voice said as someone got up from their place on a tree stump. "Hah, you're back! So, what did ya find? Anything good? Maybe something shiny?"

Lucina shook her head. "Nothing of the sort, Charlotte. Unless you count blonde hair."

"Blonde hair? Wait…" The woman, apparently named Charlotte, looked behind Lucina and at Liz. She was tall and wore fur-padded leather armor, and coupled with her pale skin and long, flowing blonde hair, she looked the part of a delicate flower. Liz would have almost believed it herself if she didn't see the massive axe strapped to her back. "So you found a layabout, huh? Benny was all agitated earlier and now I guess I can see why. Come up out of the water, did she?"

"That she did, and we're taking her with us," Lucina intoned, "I'll not leave a person behind in these woods. Not at night."

"Okay, well, that's all nice and good but do we really need anyone else besides us four?" Charlotte questioned loudly.

"You are free to tell her she is not welcome, should you want. It is her decision whether or not she wants to stay. But my mind is made up. I'll not leave her behind to be made food for the barghests."

Charlotte's face scrunched up and Liz had to hold back a giggle. "Well… fine. Anyways, hi there!" Charlotte bounded up to Liz and quickly took her hand in hers, shaking it with such strength Liz almost thought she'd rip her arm out of its socket. "My name's Charlotte, although I guess you knew that from Lucy! Hehe! It's so nice to meet you!"

"U-uh, likewise," Liz replied uneasily, wary of the woman's sudden change of attitude.

"Aww, shrinking back like that already? Look, I know how I can be sometimes, but don't worry about it! Hehe, aren't you cute?" Charlotte cooed, her smile almost splitting her head in two.

Liz felt a blush creep up her cheeks as she looked away. "I'm all caked in mud and haven't eaten anything filling for I dunno how long. How can I be cute?"

"Who said you can't be cute with all that? It gives you a rustic look!"

Liz tilted her head and opened her mouth to say something before Lucina interrupted their impromptu compliment session. "Charlotte, where did Benny go? And has Shura come back yet?"

The blonde-haired warrior shrugged. "I dunno. Benny went out to go find the rabbits again. Think our newcomer's entrance scared him off. And as far as I know, tall, dark and handsome is still out there scouting ahead. At this point, if the wildlife doesn't end him, I think a roving band of Faceless might."

That doesn't sound good.

Lucina pursed her lips and nodded. "I need to talk to Liz for a while. Would you mind if you…?"

Charlotte waved her hand. "Eh, don't worry about it. Was just about to get some beauty sleep anyway. Make sure not to wear her out on her first night, alright?" Charlotte winked.

Liz sported a healthy blush at that, while Lucina remained completely stone-faced. "I'll be sure not to," She replied easily, so much so that Liz almost balked. "If we get to be too loud, don't hesitate to let us know."

Charlotte stretched, and Liz tried her best not to stare. "Hah, don't worry about it. I've gotta feeling I'll sleep like a log. Nighty-night!"

With that, the blonde-haired warrior snuggled underneath her designated tent and drifted off, leaving Liz and Lucina basically alone. Lucina sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I apologize for my companion's lack of manners. But believe me, things could be much worse."

Liz shivered. "I just came from a worse place so that ain't saying much."

Lucina stared at her a moment before nodding and pointing towards a tree stump. "Please, have a seat. I realize it may not be the most comfortable arrangement but we weren't planning on staying here for long."

Liz moved to sit down and almost found herself barreling over the stump. Her legs were much more tired than she thought, but she was able to sit down comfortably after a moment or two of flailing. Lucina sat opposite of her, trying not to laugh at her predicament.

"Are you alright?" Lucina asked, a small smile on her lips.

Once Liz had settled, she let out a groan. "Nah, I'm fine. Ya know, once you get out of being imprisoned for God knows how long, you just kinda get used to it."

Lucina's smile vanished when Liz said that. "Indeed. Do you know where you were imprisoned?"

"Someplace called 'Valla'. Never told me that but they kept saying that name and I just thought that's what it was called," Liz answered, "And what's the big idea? Aren't I supposed to be asking you questions? I'm the one who got sent to who knows where, to a place where people wear full metal armor and use swords! The hell is this, medieval times!?"

"I'd ask that you keep your voice down, friend," Lucina whispered, gesturing to Charlotte's sleeping form. "She is much like a bear when it comes to sleep. I would not wish to wake her. I understand your frustrations, Liz, and believe me when I say that you are safe so long as you are free from your bonds and around us."

"…Do you know what happened to me?" Liz asked, a spark of hope appearing in her blue eyes. "Please, tell me. If you know anything-!"

"I know not why you appeared, or why you were whisked away from whence you originated," Lucina said quietly, lifting a hand up to stop Liz. "I do know the place where you claim to come from, however. Valla, a kingdom lost in the land between worlds, just below our feet. I know of the circumstances surrounding it. What happened to you while you were there?"

Liz shivered again, feeling as if her bones were trying to escape. "I dunno. And I don't wanna remember. Can we stop talking about this, please?"

The blue-haired mercenary looked as if she was about to press further, but thought better of it at the last moment. She acquiesced, nodding her head. "Of course. My apologies. Perhaps it would be better if Valla laid forgotten, but unfortunately, its existence will one day be revealed, whether we like it or not."

Liz tilted her head. "What do you mean by that?"

Lucina shook her head. "A story for another time. Anyway, I recall you wanting to know where, exactly, you ended up. As I said, we are in Nohr, a landlocked kingdom. We're in the Forest of the Forlorn, in Nohr's south. My band and I are tracking down a group of bandits that have been terrorizing the local population for months now."

Liz grumbled and placed her head in her hands. "God, I really am in the middle ages…"

Lucina let out a dry chuckle. "I don't know what that means. Which, really, is a familiar feeling. It was not so long ago that I came here myself, although I imagine my transition was far smoother than yours, even if it began with bloodshed."

Liz hung her head low, feeling as if something was thrust upon her shoulders while she was barely able to lift it. She looked up after a moment. "Why do I do now?" She asked, "I've got no place to go, I still don't know anything about where I am, I…"

"You may stay here. With us," Lucina said quickly, "I would never forgive myself for turning a blind eye to someone in need, and it is clear that you need both guidance and protection before you are able to live on your own."

"Live? Why live?" Liz said, shrugging.

Lucina raised a brow. "Excuse me?"

Liz sighed. "Nevermind. I, uh, thank you. Really. Taking me in on such short notice like that is… well." Liz folded her hands in her lap. "I'm really glad I met you when I did. If not I probably would have died on that riverbank."

"Think nothing of it, friend. Finding and helping people seems to be a rare talent of mine." Lucina raised to her feet. "Now, I believe it is time we turn in for the night. I'll help you set up a sleeping area and then I'll go look for Benny. As for Shura, well, I am sure he can find his own way."

Benny must've been the guy Liz upset when she came about. Charlotte said as such. Meanwhile, she had no idea who Shura was, and at that moment, she didn't really care. All she wanted to do was finally get some rest.

After about an hour or two, Liz was on her back, in new, clean clothes, and trying to drift off to sleep. There was no sleep for her that night, though. Not any good sleep. That would become a theme for her; constant sleepless nights and wandering thoughts. No matter how long she kept her eyes closed, no matter how much she willed it, whenever she began drifting off, her thoughts would instantly return to that light-filled land below, the clanking of armor as she ran from the invisible monstrosities, and the smell and taste of copper as she downed another cup of murky water.

Somehow, her veins ached.

And so it begins.

So, a few things to get off the docket, I edited Fates extensively. It may not show up too much in these beginning chapters, but there're so, so many things I have changed. My ultimate goal, however, was to keep the basic shape of it, as well as keep the characters as close to their canon selves as was possible. For characters like Xander, all I will do is make them more consistent. For characters like Azura... well, we'll get there when we get there.

As you can see from this chapter, though, things will be changing right off the bat. For those of you who haven't read Aberration, another one of my goals is to make it so you can enjoy this story without having read that one, even though this is technically a sequel fic. Everything that needs to be explained will be explained within the story itself, aside from some minor things. Besides, this doubles as a Fates rewrite as well as an OC-Insert.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep up the consistent update schedule, but rest assured, since this fic is likely to be shorter than Aberration, I can promise you that I will finish it!

I think that's all I have to say here off the bat, so I'll just go ahead and wrap up this entirely too long AN, lol

Here's a link to our Discord server: discord .gg/9XG3U7a

Hope to see you guys soon, and welcome back!