Chapter 14
14
ARYA
I marched through the labyrinthine maze of metal scaffolding, enormous metal boxes called cameras , and strange contraptions that loomed over me like ominous, foreign beasts. The towering artificial lights burned my eyes, flinging harsh shadows that flickered and danced as if mocking me. Every few steps, someone bustled past me, shouting strange words into tiny devices pressed against their ears or wheeling around massive pieces of equipment. No one so much as glanced my way, which was infuriating.
“This entire land is a wretched pit of noise and stupidity,” I muttered under my breath, crossing my arms over my chest as I stalked forward. “They build these absurd contraptions to do the work of men, yet no one has the common sense to post proper signage. Where are the bloody servants when you need them?”
A man carrying an impossibly long pole nearly clipped my shoulder as he passed. I twisted out of the way at the last minute, seething. “Oh, yes, by all means, don’t mind me. I’m only the daughter of the Minister of Rites! ” I hissed after him, though he either didn’t hear or didn’t care.
I spun on my heel and took another turn, only to be met with a giant painted backdrop of an enormous cityscape. I scowled at it. “Why would someone paint a city when they could simply go to one?” I reached out and poked it, my brows shooting up when my finger nearly went through the flimsy material. “It’s fake?! What kind of deranged nonsense is this?”
My frustration mounted with every passing moment. I had been wandering for what felt like hours, though the cursed devices these people carried could have told me otherwise. I had no idea where Angie had gone, but that didn’t matter—I would find my way out of this ridiculous place on my own. I did not need help.
Except… I was lost.
“Fine,” I huffed, turning sharply down another path. “I will find my own way, and when I do, I shall never set foot in this ghastly place again. If Angie wishes to keep me here, she’ll have to drag me back by force, and I shall bite her if she tries. Yes. I will bite her.” I paused mid-step and considered my choice of words. “I do not think I have ever bitten anyone before. Perhaps today will be a first.” I resumed walking, muttering all the while. “And if she dares to make me enter that monstrous moving carriage again, I will fling myself into the nearest ravine. Oh, do they even have ravines here? What a dreadful world this is! A world without proper ravines into which one can dramatically hurl themselves!”
Before I could contemplate the tragic deficiency of dramatic ravine-related options, a familiar voice cut through the noise.
“Arya!”
My scowl deepened as Angie jogged toward me, looking somewhat frantic.
“There you are! Do you haveanyidea how long I’ve been looking for you?” Angie huffed, stopping just short of me and bending over with her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.
“Oh, I’m sorry; did you get lost, too?” I snapped, glaring at her. “Welcome to my world! Oh, wait, no, I’ve been forcibly removed from my world and placed in this insufferable one!”
Angie straightened and slowly exhaled. “Yeah… okay, Ikindadeserved that.”
“Oh, did you ?” I mocked, crossing my arms. “Perhaps it has something to do with the outrageous lie you told me? The lie that you would return me to my land, perchance?”
Angie sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Alright, look. I screwed up. I shouldn’t have lied to you about getting you back to… Elaria.” She hesitated slightly before saying the name, as if testing how it felt in her mouth. “I panicked, okay? You were about to burn your entire reputation to the ground, and I was trying to stop you from making things worse.”
I stared at her, my body rigid with tension, before I exploded. “I do not have a reputation to protect!” I bellowed. “I am not this ‘Cat’ person you insist I am! How can you all be so blind?! ”
Angie frowned, and her expression shifted from exasperation to something more serious. “What are you saying?”
I shoved up the sleeve of my shirt and thrust my bare arm toward Angie. “Look! Look at my skin! You told me this Cat person hadwhat you called tattoos on her arm. Well? Do you see any? ”
Angie’s lips parted slightly as she stared at my pristine, untouched skin. “…Well.”
“Exactly!” I declared triumphantly. “I have never had marks on my skin! In Elaria, only criminals are marked! Why would I , a noblewoman, ever tarnish my own flesh?”
Angie’s brows furrowed. “Okay, but… that doesn’t prove anything. You could’ve had them removed before the accident.”
I groaned. “Youfoolishwoman, why would I do that? Why would I go from being some…some stunt person to acting as if I’ve never heard of such a thing?”
Angie stared at me, her eyes scanning my face as if seeing me for the first time. “Okay,” she said slowly. “Let’s say—for just one second—that Ibelieveyou. Then tell me what happened. How did you get here?”
I drew in a sharp breath. “I was on a boat. It was storming. I was there with my sister, Gianna, and our servants. And… the Third Prince.”
Angie arched a brow. “Third Prince?”
“Yes, third prince,” I said, rolling my eyes. “He is my sister’s lover, or whatever nonsense they claim. I was going to push Gianna overboard.”
Angie blinked. “Wow. Rude.”
I ignored her. “The storm worsened, and the waves became violent. Before I could do anything, I slipped. The wind took me, and I fell into the water. That’s when Isawher.”
“Who?” Angie cautiously asked.
I hesitated. “I thought she was a reflection at first. But now… I believe it was her —this Cat person. I reached for her, but something pulled me down and I lost consciousness. When I woke, I was in that horrid room with tubes in my arm.”
Angie’s face paled, her fingers pressing against her temples. “So, wait— wait —you’re saying that my best friend Cat is now in your world? In Elaria?”
I lifted my chin. “That is precisely what I am saying.”
Angie let out a strangled noise before pacing wildly. “Oh my God! You mean to tell me that Cat—who has zero experience in this fantasy world of yours—is stuck there, and you —who wouldn’t know a cell phone from a potato—are stuck here? ”
“Yes,” I said simply. “That is what I’ve been trying to explain to you.”
Angie groaned and dragged her hands down her face. “This is insane. This is so insane.”
I smirked. “Finally, you see reason.”
Angie stopped pacing and met my gaze. “Okay. Let’s say you are telling the truth. That means we have to figure outhow you two switched places.”
I sighed. “Yes, obviously. You are rather slow, aren’t you?”
Angie narrowed her eyes. “You really are a pain in the ass, aren’t you?”
With a smirk, I tilted my head and eyed Angie with a slow, assessing glance. “And yet, here you are, chasing after me like I’m the crown jewel you’ve misplaced. Are you sure you don’t have an attachment?”
Angie scoffed but didn’t deny it. “Come on, princess, let’s get out of here before Monica finds you again and actually murders you.”
I let out a dramatic sigh. “Very well. But I am not getting in that cursed metal beast again.”
Angie grinned and led me toward the exit. “Oh, you so are.”