Music: Tsukiyomi theme chiptune variant
This is a two part mini chapter covering two different stories with some world building, so don't skip.
Healing
Ray was still mostly in bed. Norman wouldn't let her do a lot of heavy lifting, and she had strained the wound by trying to help Instro, so her punishment was akin to being grounded by the fatherly butler. Therefore, bed rest was most of Rays days this last week.
"Pwah, bored bored bored. I am so bored." Ray flopped back on the pillow and covered her eyes with her arm. She had read all her books, even that novel, and wasn't allowed out to go buy more. She wanted to go to the bookstore, or the mall dome and just walk around. Being cooped up made her stir crazy.
Ray looked at the cane beside her bed, and it struck her then, the cane looked much like a smaller shepherds crook, but also, "It looks like a black conjurers cane from the Final Fantasy game series. Hmm, I wonder if I can cast cure? Nah." Ray rolled over in her bed and tried to rest, but nothing would come of that.
"Ok fine. I guess I'm just bored enough to try it." Ray got out of bed and stood up slowly, walked to the middle of the room, and got into the 'healers stance' from FFXIV. "Ok I move my hands and arms like this, raise the cane above my head and…" She got into the proper position, did all the arm movements, and, "Cu-"
The door swung open and Dorothy was there, holding a tray of food and Ray's medicine.
"-re." Rays voice died out, and both girls stared at each other. The cane was held at arm's length above her lengthwise, so it bisected Ray's face. She went from confident and having fun too embarrassed real quick. But tried to recover by sounding disinterested. "Um, this isn't what it looks like."
"I'll tell Norman you're doing better then," and Dorothy turned to leave.
"No Dorothy wait I need my medicine!" Ray hobbled after the quick walking gynoid.
NO SIDE
It began with a letter
The mail came at it's usual time, Norman brought in the letters, but today there was a parcel that needed signing for, by Ms Ray. He had her come down for it.
"Oh, this looks official." Ray sounded mildly excited. "I wonder if my application got approved?"
"Application for what?" Roger peeked out from behind the morning paper, up early for once.
"Citizenship, remember? You're the one who told me to apply." Ray shook her head in disbelief.
"Oh right, well open it up and see then." Ray did as Roger requested and inside were various documents. The long and short of it was that she was approved, had been given a card and her documents stating she could 'legally' work in the city and own property, but something else was in the package.
"Huh, but why would...?" In the package was another sealed letter, from Gordon Rosewater! "Well, I'll read it after breakfast. I don't want Dorothy lecturing me about reading at the table." Ray tried to sound jovial, and Dorothy's eyes narrowed at Ray's thinly veiled insult.
"At least you attempt to be polite." And with that Dorothy chose to ignore Ray for the rest of the day. Not that Ray cared, she had much more pressing issues.
After breakfast and work for the day was done Ray went to her room and opened the letter. It read as follows:
Dear Ms Law,
I humbly request your presence at the main Farming Dome at your earliest convenience. You need not come alone, but you might find it easier to do so. We have much to discuss about your presence in the city, and how many things have changed.
I will be waiting for you at my farm house,
Gordon Rosewater
A summons, from the 'god of Paradigm' himself. Well, dethroned god or king, or whatever. Point was, he wasn't in charge anymore, but he still knew more than that son of his whom was currently at the helm. Ray put the letter in her pocket and got dressed to leave.
"And where do you think you are going young lady?" Norman was at the door, like he knew her intentions.
"Out."
"You are still in trouble you know." He didn't sound amused with Ray's evasiveness.
"Yes, but when the king summons you, you had best go." Ray showed Norman the envelope the letter had come in, but not the contents.
"Ah, was that what that letter was about then? Very well, please be back at a reasonable hour."
Ray took the bus to the rail station, the rail to the farm dome stop, and wasn't prevented from entering whatsoever! She had thought it would be so much more difficult to get at a previous president. 'Or perhaps my world is simply too violent.'
Gordon was indeed at his little wooden cabin, rocking away. "Fine weather today isn't it young lady? Then again, life in the domes always has nice weather."
"Un huh, gonna tell me why you called for me?" Ray was almost at the point of collapse, she had left her cane at home like an idiot, and had to walk here without support. She attempted to play it off by putting her hands in her pants pockets, and taking a kind of bored and defiant stance.
"Why, you of course. Come sit, you must be exhausted. Do like like tomato juice?" Ray grauffed at the question. "No, well either way come and put your leg up."
"So, what about me is so interesting you had to summon me here?" Ray sat down on the porch and propped her leg up to alleviate the pressure walking had caused. "Didn't we already discuss it before?"
"I have no idea what you mean, young lady."
"Yeah sure, whatever. Can you get to the point this time? Norman's mad that I left the house when I'm technically grounded."
"Hm, well if you insist. Truth is I feel what I told you before put you in a rough position, and you took the words too critically." He stopped rocking. "When I said that your way home wasn't easy, I did not mean you had no way back at all."
"What?" Ray shouted and stared at the old man as if to melt him, "You… you could've told me that sooner. I've been so depressed over everything."
"Be that as it may, your very existence has changed the world irreparably. There is no going back to before you were here. And furthermore, I am not sure how, or if, you are capable of changing it further. You are a unique existence, unlike another young lady."
"Uh huh, ok I'm not sure I completely followed that, but you're trying to say that if I keep just being here the way things are supposed to be won't?"
"Indeed." The wrinkles around his eyes obscured them somewhat, but Ray got the sense he was staring into her soul.
"So I can warp the story to my needs?" Ray was skeptical, it all sounded like hogwash to her. 'There's not way he's going to let me play goddess.'
"That would be dangerous and might get you killed. Already the world sees fit to remove you." Gordon looked at Rays hurt leg.
"Ok, so I can change things minimally and get myself out?" She squirmed under his gaze, finally he seemed like the king he used to be, somehow while wearing a farmers getup. 'As I thought, he's not gonna let me do as I please.'
"That would likely lead you to a path homeward." Smiling at her, Ray finally relaxed.
"Alright, then say I know the dangers, and still make changes anyways, can I use those changes to prevent further attempts on my life?" Ideas were forming, and Ray had a stroke of brilliance. 'Maybe... Just maybe.'
"That I am not certain, but you may try."
"One last question then. Do you know how I got to Paradigm City? I can't find any leads anywhere I look, as if someone hid them all." Ray was peering out at the wheat field that surrounded the cabin, somehow feeling nostalgic for the fields back home.
"My dear child, if I knew that I would have returned you to whence you came already." Ray felt something akin to existential rage at those words. She felt her face flush red with anger, and took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself down. While he couldn't see her face, he understood just why Ray was angry. The person she thought might know something had no answers at all.
"Ok. I'm going to head home, then. This was rather exhausting." Though Ray was tired, she also had renewed vigor. There was a way home, and she could change the story! 'That means I might be able to…' A wide, malicious grin set upon her features, looking for all the world like a villains madness when all the pieces in a plan came tumbling into place like Tetris blocks. "There's no place like home!"
We Have Come to Terms
And here I said it would take longer to get chapters out. Well this one got in my head and I had to write it out.