Chapter Two: Culture Shock

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Carlos slowly cracked open an eye. Immediately, light assaulted it, and he was forced to close the eye again. He groaned a little.

"Where the hell am I now…?" he thought as soon as his mind could form coherent thoughts again. Surprisingly, he could still recall touching the glowing wall, and how warm it felt before the brilliant flash overcame him. He shifted a little, and then realized something. He was actually in a bed! For most people, this wouldn't have been a surprise, but Carlos could not remember the last time he had been able to sleep anywhere but out in the street in an alley somewhere. He tried to open his eyes again, and succeeded in withstanding the light this time.

"Some social worker must've found me, or whatnot. Could've been a lot worse."

He slowly sat up in the bed. He looked around. The room was very old-fashioned, even to Carlos. Stone walls surrounded him on all sides, except for one that sported a window. He could see the door on the opposite side of the room. It was wooden and finely crafted, like something out of the early Renaissance. Having seen doors crafted like that in churches, Carlos guessed that was where he was. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind, and his hands went to his hips. To his horror, his primary weapons were gone.

"Damn them!" he thought. He turned his head to the side. There was a nightstand, and a chair nearby. Carlos sighed with relief when he saw the chair, for his coat and knife belt were hung on it. He decided it would be prudent to go ahead and leave. However, as he started to get up, a knock came at the door. Carlos considered not answering, but decided that it would be okay to let the person come in.

"Yes?"

The door opened. A young woman, dressed in terribly old-fashioned clothing, entered.

"Oh! You're awake. We were concerned after what happened."

Carlos raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's a nice change. Usually, people don't even bother." He got out of the bed. "But hey, thanks for the room and board. I'll be going now." He put his coat back on, and picked up his knife belt. He was about to put it back on, then stopped.

"Um…you guys don't mind if…?"

"Hmm? Oh, those. It's not a problem; we have people with their own weapons coming through here all the time. Just…try to keep them put away." She smiled at him.

Carlos nodded, and put his knife belt back on. "So, which church is this, anyway? First Presbyterian?"

The woman gave him a confused look. "Church?"

"This isn't a church? Weird…then what's with the old-school décor?"

The confused expression remained on her face. "Old…school?"

Carlos sighed. "You know, old-fashioned, out of date, not in style anymore?" He had very little patience for people who didn't bother to familiarize themselves with current lingo.

"Oh, I see. Well, it is an old castle. Quite old indeed."

Carlos nodded. "Yeah, I'll bet…hey, wait just a second." His eyes narrowed in a questioning manner. "Did you just say 'castle'…?"

"Yes, this is Indels Castle."

Now it was Carlos' turn to be confused. "Indels? Where's that, somewhere near Long Beach?"

"Um…actually it's in Bale, the capital of Serdio…"

Carlos chuckled. "Okay…look, I admit it. I'm more familiar with East L.A. than West L.A. Cut the crap and tell me where I really am, okay?"

"…I'm not trying to deceive you. It's true. This is Indels Castle, in Bale."

Now Carlos was getting irritated. "All right, that's it. I'm out of here. I'll find my own way back to where I usually hang around." He sniffed the air suddenly. "That's odd…"

"What is, young man?"

"The air…it's cleaner than it should be." On an impulse, he went to the window…and nearly lost it. Outside, he could see a small, simple town, rather than a gigantic city. "You've got to be kidding me…!"

"Are you all right?"

He turned back around. "Yes…I'll be fine. I'll just sit down for a second…" He plunked himself down on the chair, muttering curses in Spanish to himself.

"One minute, I'm in East L.A., the next, I'm in the goddamned Middle Ages. Beautiful. Just BEAUTIFUL!" Suddenly, a voice came from inside the hallway.

"…I just want to get a look at that guy! You don't see someone fall out of a hole in the air everyday, y'know!" The voice was that of a young girl. Carlos cringed a little at the high pitch. Something about that voice made him not too eager to meet its owner…a thought that was reinforced when she burst into the room.

"Hi!!" While the young woman had been wearing an old-style long dress, this girl was wearing an outfit right out of a lame sci-fi flick. It was like a cross between a ballerina's outfit and a belly dancer's outfit. Also, her hair was a shiny platinum color. Carlos shrugged it off, assuming it was just a dye. The girl ran up to him all of a sudden, so fast that he didn't even have time to react.

"Hello? Hello, hello, hello!" She waved a hand in front of his face. Carlos finally got up to speed and raised a hand.

"Cut that out, it's-" Before he could finish his sentence, she cut him off.

"What's your name, anyway?"

"…Carlos. Carlos Martinez."

The girl cocked her head. "Interesting name. Mine's Meru. Where ya from?"

Carlos sighed and turned his head. "Somewhere in East L.A."

"Never heard of it. Must be some other continent. I'd better take off now. You might want to come down and talk to King Al. Hey, maybe he knows about the place you're from. Take it easy!" She got these words out and left so fast that Carlos didn't have time to respond.

"That was really, really weird. Meru…sounds kinda Japanese. Ah, well." He sighed and stood up. Not quite sure what to do next, he chose to do what the girl had mentioned, talk to this king guy. He turned to the woman, who had not moved since Meru entered the room.

"Can you take me to the King?" he asked, feeling really ridiculous as he said it.

"As a matter of fact, I can. King Albert is in his library right now. He usually doesn't mind visitors…though he may be a little questioning of your method of arrival."

Carlos blinked. "What do you mean?"

"…I think the King can explain that to you."

The woman led him down a flight of stairs. It was just like being in some movie. Unlit torches adorned the walls at strategic points. Upon reaching the bottom, she took him through several more hallways. Just as the walk began to severely grate on Carlos' nerves, they reached the library.

"Dios mio…" Carlos' jaw nearly hit the ground. He had never seen a collection of book so large in his life! The stacks were unbelievably tall, and seemed to stretch past his field of vision.

"Your Majesty?" called the woman. "Are you in here?"

"…Yes! What is it?" The voice was somewhat smoother than Carlos had been expecting. It sounded like a young man's voice, not an aged man's.

"I've brought…him."

An audible sigh could be heard. "I see. I'll be right there." They didn't have to wait long for Albert to approach. He had blond hair, and carried a book in his right hand. He seemed somewhat…uncomfortable in his obviously royal clothing. He looked Carlos up and down.

"Well, I suppose there's no reason to be rude. I'm Albert, King of Serdio." He extended a hand to the teenager. Carlos shook it, but wore a slightly confused look on his face.

"No offense, Your Kingliness, but…should I be bowing instead of shaking your hand?"

Albert chuckled. "I dislike formality when it's not needed. You can call me Albert…but try not to call me Al like Meru does all the time."

"Very well. Might I ask what exactly happened when I showed up here?"

Albert frowned. "You literally dropped in on the throne room. It was some kind of energy circle. Just formed in the air…right above the heads of some important guests…"

Carlos sighed. "So that's why you're a bit pissed at me. Well…"

Albert shook his head with a smile. "Forget it. I guess it was just the really awful timing that angered me most. Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name!"

"Carlos Martinez," said the dark-haired boy.

"Tell me…how old are you?"

"I'm seventeen, going on eighteen…I think. I lost track of the dates a while back."

"Ah. I hate it when that happens. Look…you might want to head over to the town. Get yourself orientated, you know? If you wish, you can come back here once you're finished."

Carlos nodded, though he was a bit surprised by this man's generosity. He was sure it was impossible for any sane human being to be this nice to a teenage street orphan.

"Okay. Um…now, how exactly do I get out of here…?"

Albert laughed. "Miss, can you show the young man the right way?"

"Of course, sir. This way." She led him out of the library and down the hall. As they were leaving, they heard Albert call out.

"Just so you know, I did not design this castle!"

Carlos sighed, and let a small chuckle escape his lips. There was but one thing on his mind.

"Why in the hell am I getting a feeling that I'm going to get more involved in this world than just crashing at the local castle…?"

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NOTE: Sorry for the poor quality of this chapter. I need to dig out my copy of LOD again…