Chapter 3: Festivities

As the queen's image faded away, I seemed to lay there for what seemed like hours. The ground felt heavy, and the sky seemed to push me down against it. I coughed, spluttering the white stuff. Then, I stopped. It was like I was drained of energy. Was I asleep? Was I dead? The sound of the chilling wind seemed to dim, and all I could see was pitch black darkness.

After a long while, the darkness seemed to clear. I couldn't hear the howling wind anymore, but I still felt cold. My blue tunic was slightly torn on one of the shoulders, and I had lost one of my shoes. I opened my eyes, and the white stuff had gone. In its place was a puddle, and I was soaked. I pushed myself upwards, and stood for the first time. I stumbled and fell over again. How long have I been here? I thought, and where is here? That rock said it was Weyer or something… Must be somewhere abroad.
I felt kind of dizzy, so I sat down for a while before attempting to stand again. I took a look at my surroundings. The most noticeable was a glimmering red light to the north. I was halfway up some kind of Snowy Mountain, so I climbed it to get a better look. I slipped though, and fell into more white stuff. At this point I was annoyed, so I cast Gaia by accident.My tunic turned yellow. It always did that when I cast something. Gaia didn't help- it just started an avalanche. Good job I had my tunic! Without that I would've been crushed! It formed a shield around be and the white stuff bounced off me. Thanks a lot, weird powers. They got me in trouble again. I decided to burn away the white stuff, so I could climb without it bothering me. My tunic turned red.

"Flare!"

The white stuff burned, but changed into water! Not quite what I was expecting. Is all of Weyer like this? Wonder how they survive here…

I had to dodge between small 'rivers' as I called them, and this time I managed to climb to the top, with the help of the fire power. I looked at the light, and it seemed to rest upon a tall building. Not as grand as the palace, but it looked magnificent. Then I looked to the south and spotted a small village. Yes! I thought. I'm saved!
I slid down the mountain, and set off in the direction of the village. But I spotted something. It looked like a large, fuzzy animal. It was eating a dead deer. It was disgusting. I'd never seen anything like it. I didn't have a weapon, so I took another path.

The journey to the village was long and exhausting. It took many days on foot, and I just realized: days here seemed shorter than days at home. Just how far away am I? When I finally reached the village, there seemed to be some kind of celebration. It was quite late, and I could see the stars in the sky. I approached the town, and there was someone by the door. He looked like a soldier, he held a spear, but he had no amour. His face was blue!

"Hey traveler! Welcome to Prox! You picked a great time!"

"Prox….? Never heard of it…"

"Yeah, most people don't know either, we're so far north. The party's today!"

"Party? For what?"

"Don't you know? For Felix! Saving the world!"

"Nope. No idea."

What did he mean, saving the world? It was already safe last time I checked! Unless… Was Narcissa gone?

"You know! He lit all the lighthouses! Too bad he can't be here, though. He said he's going back to Vale"

I was amazed by what he just said. He spoke of two legends only the royal family knew, as if they were common talk now! The lighthouses and the holy village! They were only myths though, and I belived that until now.

"How do you know that…?"

"He told us!"

"No, how do you know about the lighthouses and Vale?"

"Hey, you look pretty worn out. You should get some rest at the inn"

I couldn't disagree: I was cut and bruised, my tunic was still torn a little and my shoe was missing. I let him lead me through Prox; it was a nice town with an igloo here and there. There were occasional fireworks, but upon closer inspection people were firing balls of fire into the sky. There was food, drinks and music, but I was too tired. It all looked fantastic. Almost all the people had blue faces, which I found weird. We arrived outside the inn.

"Well here you go. Have you got any money?"

I checked my trousers. I found ten kopis. Nowhere near enough…

"No" I replied guiltily.

"Don't worry kid. I'm sure they'll be kind enough to let you in for free"

And with that he left for the party. I watched him leave, and join in the singing and dancing. I then turned round, walked over to the door and pulled it. It was jammed, and I had to pull it at least four times before it swung open. I walked in, and there was nobody at the desk straight ahead of me.

"Hello?" I shouted.

They must be at the party, I thought. I took a quick look around the room. There was a roaring fire a little left of the welcome desk. Near that was a wooden staircase going downstairs. I walked over to the fire and 'defrosted' myself.

Why is everything in here wooden?

I saw two wooden tables, and one of them had an old fashioned gas lamp on it. I walked over to the table and sat down. There were many red rugs in the inn, and one circular green and yellow one. At that moment, a blue haired woman walked up the stairs. She looked at me and said:

"Oh, sorry if you had to wait, I might be losing my hearing"

"Can I stay here?" I replied.

"Course you can. Its 200 coins for a room. Would you like to stay?"

200 Coins? Weyer was weird.

"I only have 10…"

I pulled out my kopis. She seemed startled and after a short pause she cleared her throat.

"My goodness, I didn't know you were a millionaire!"

"Huh?"

"Only millionaires have those coins! Worth 10,000 each, you know. From ancient times… My, my, my."

I meant 10 coins, but if they're worth 10,000... That's even better.

"So… Can I stay?"

"By all means! Stay for free! We would be honored to have a millionaire stay here!"

"I'm… not a millionaire… What kind of place is Weyer?"

"Weyer? You mean Weyard. But why would you say that?"

"I come from a different country. I'm not from Weye- I mean, Weyard." I explained.

"My goodness, don't you even know that…?"

I shook my head.

"Weyard is the name of the world, you poor thing."

Huh? The world? The lady walked out of the room,tutting, to the party I suppose.

"No, the world is called Théa… Unless… Oh my god!"

Had the queen really sent me to another world? A white and cold world? I don't like it here. I wish I could go back to all the people I know… Lyon…Queen Felon… I even missed the palace, with its glittering marble floors. But then I remembered the animagi. Had the queen sent me here for my own safety? All these thoughts were annoying. What did the lady mean? my coins were from ancient times?

I should get some rest, I realized. I stood up, walked across the room (the wooden floorboards creaked and cracked) and walked down the rickety stairs. I couldn't hear the music anymore as I descended, and I was amazed: The walls were built of solid blue crystal! There were four beds, and torches hung from the wall. I picked the bed with a green pot next to it. I jumped on, and with a few thoughts lingering in my head, I lay there. I was asleep within minutes.