25. Truths
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***Sylvia***

I came to with a massive headache. As it turns out, sleeping on the hard iron floor of a big birdcage was very uncomfortable. I had Alec as a pillow at least, but…  

Oh no. Alec! To my relief, he was still breathing. That had to be a good sign, right?

“Alec!” I hissed. “Are you ok!?”

My companion groaned and opened his eyes. “Never slept better,” he joked sleepily. “Why, are we still alive?”

“It seems like it. Maybe my big sister’s spell wasn’t as dangerous as miss Kei made it out to be.”

Alec sat himself up, eyeing me suspiciously. “Humor me Syl. How old are you?”

I tilted my head. “Are you sure you’re okay? I’m twelve. Same as you, right?”

Alec’s eyes widened. “Oh no…”

“What? Is something the matter?”

He was becoming increasingly panicked as I watched him. “Syl, you’re nineteen,” He said almost desperately. “You’re a sophomore in college. Please tell me you’re messing with me! You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

I stared at him blankly. What had gotten into him all of a sudden? “What’s a ‘sophomore’?” I asked. “You’re using big words I don’t know again…”

Alec didn’t reply, other than with a look of despair. What had happened while we slept?

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash from the front of the warehouse. A mechanical marching followed shortly after. Then, silence.

“What just happened?” I asked just as a pair of shots rang out. It sounded close, maybe just outside the door. Hopefully, it’d stay out there. We were unarmed, so we couldn’t defend ourselves even if we wanted to. 

Alec focused on his pendant. “Nina and Kei aren’t nearby,” he reported. “But who else would try to get into this old storehouse?”

We both looked towards the door apprehensively. As if on cue, it creaked open, but instead of a set of guards, a young elf crept in. Her silver hair flowed around her as she moved, ending at her lower torso. She was wearing a long, dark green tunic and black pants. I caught a glimpse of Starlight’s guild emblem on her right sleeve. Her facial features shifted to and fro as she scanned the room. She looked a lot like miss Kei, actually. But she never mentioned having a little sister my age, did she?

It didn’t take long for the elf’s emerald green eyes to lock onto mine. Her face scrunched up momentarily before a flash of recognition dawned on her. 

“Found you!” She exclaimed. She tossed one of the anti-cheat guard’s weapons behind her before moving quickly to our cage. “Are you two okay?”

“We’re fine,” I told our mystery savior. “Thank you, miss… um…”

Our rescuer laughed. “Good one, Sam. Augh, wait, sorry, you go by Sylvia now. Point is, you don’t recognize your best friend?”

I stared at her bewilderedly. “I really don’t know who you are,” I protested. “Are you one of Starlight’s new members?”

Alec, on the other hand, went wide-eyed. “Karyl?”

“Ding-ding! See, Alec gets it!”

“How did you…?” he began in response.

“A certain troublemaker’s character sent me an SOS message,” she replied, playfully giving me a pointed look for some reason.

I turned away from the strange newcomer and whispered to Alec, “Do you know her?”

There was a nervousness in his eyes I couldn’t quite place. “Sylvie, you-” 

“Hey, that’s a cute nickname! Can I call you that too?”

I grinned back at the weird stranger. “Sure! Um, I’m really sorry, miss Karyl. Have we met before?”

Karyl frowned. “Okay, now you’re starting to scare me. We have known each other for practically our entire lives, right?”

 Alec stopped his friend from pressuring me any further. “Let’s sort this out after we’ve escaped. Do you have a way to get us out of here?”

“Oh right!” She exclaimed. She produced a spell scroll from her back pocket. “Nina said you two knew how to use this.”

“I got it!” I replied. “Grab my hand through the bars, and I’ll get us outside.” Once we were all in position, I checked my pendant and teleported us in the general direction of my big sister. The world went kinda fuzzy for a moment, then suddenly we were in some back alley by the docks.

“Woah, that was weird,” Karyl said as she stumbled to regain her balance. “But good job, Sylvie! We’re way clear of that warehouse now.”

“Where are we supposed to meet everyone?” Alec asked.

“They said they’d be waiting in the shrine plaza. Come on!” Karyl urged us along. She took a few steps down the street before she turned around to face me. “You’re not off the hook yet, Sylvie. We’re having a talk as soon as we’re safe.”

I just nodded, not wanting to upset her any further. Talk about what? Nina never mentioned her, at least as far as I remember. Alec recognized her, though, so was she from the other world?

“You ok, Syl?” Alec asked me.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I answered. “Do you know what I did that upset Karyl?”

Alec breathed a long sigh. “Look, you probably don’t believe me, but you’re from our world. As far as I know, the two of you are- were- are?- best friends.”

I tilted my head. “Alec, I’ve lived here my entire life. You know that, right?”

He sighed, “I- yeah, I guess I do. Let’s meet up with everyone and we’ll talk more.”

***

I heard two familiar voices arguing as we approached the plaza.  “Nina, please listen to me for a second!”

“I am listening, Kei. But why would you even suggest something like that?”

“Big sis!” I called, running up to Nina and tackling her with a hug. “Is everything ok? Why are you arguing with miss Kei?”

“Sylvie! You’re safe!” Nina squeezed me until I ran out of breath. “I was so worried!”

“Yeah, Karyl saved us! But then I made her mad, I think?”

“I’m not mad at you, Sylvie,” Karyl said as she and Alec caught up to us. “Well, okay, I am, but it’s not your fault, I think. Your memories got changed, right?”

Nina frowned. “What? You too, Karyl?”

“Me what?” She replied, clearly confused.

“Kei’s been saying weird stuff like that all morning,” my sister grumbled. “We practically raised her together, Kei. Why do you think she’s from the other world all of a sudden?”

“Nina, I swear I don’t know what you’re talking about. Alec, Karyl, back me up.”

“Well-” Alec began.

“Hey, no outnumbering me!” Nina interrupted. “Come on, tell her Sylvie!”

“I, uh...” This was supposed to be a happy reunion, not an intense staredown! Why was everyone arguing with each other all of a sudden?

“Um, Nina, Kei?” Karyl asked tentatively.

“What!?” They responded with equal annoyance.

The young elf winced, but held firm. “Can we put aside your… family squabble until we’re safe? Either I’m paranoid, or I’m actually hearing that marching sound in the distance.”

Both their eyes widened. “Well, at least one of us has their head on straight,” Kei said. Let’s get to the shrine before someone gets kidnapped again.”

***

To say the short walk to the shrine was tense would be an understatement. The five of us remained silent as we climbed the hill. Nina and Kei were walking especially quick out of either paranoia, anger, or a combination of the two. Thankfully, we didn’t run into any guards on the way, but their walk was more of a jog for us kids. Alec, Karyl, and I were pretty winded by the time we made it to the top of the hill.

The shrine itself seemed pretty standard. It was a large square split into four courtyards by short, stone white fences with little blue roofs on top. I’d imagined a big shrine like this to have higher walls, but looking at the city sprawling out beneath us, I understood why whoever built the place chose to leave them low. The courtyard we entered had several stalls selling various charms and offerings for worship. This connected to two gardens: the one on our right for marriage and other ceremonies, and the one straight ahead featured a large pond with a small bridge and a torii gate on either end. And finally, our destination: A small haiden in the center of the courtyard diagonal to the entrance. There were a few trees and flowers, but much more sparse than either of the two gardens we just passed. The goddess’ abode wasn’t all that fancy, but it seemed like a very cozy place to live. There was a very fancy rope dangling from a bell in front, which was usually rung to send prayers to the goddess.

“We finally made it,” Alec breathed.

So this is it,” I said, not bothering to hide the sadness in my voice. “This is the last time we’ll all get to talk like this?”

My sister gave me a reassuring pat on the head. “We can still talk to everyone after they go back, little sis. And once I complete this spell, maybe they can come visit again!”

“Nina, Don’t forget who she is,” Kei told my sister. “She needs to go home with Alec and Karyl.”

“For the last time, Kei! Sylvie’s one of us!” Nina argued.

I could ignore it once, but hearing your parental figure trying to send you away over and over was beginning to hurt. “Do you really want me to leave, miss Kei?” I asked bluntly.

“You only arrived here a week ago with me, Syl!” Alec shouted. “Please, you have to remember!”

Our bickering was interrupted by the ringing of a bell. Karyl was holding the rope while glaring at us. “You all just need to shut up for a second! Can we have a civil, adult conversation about this?”

The sound of a heavenly new voice made us all jump in surprise. “I agree, miss Karyl. I’d like to hear more about this situation you all have ended up in.”

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