[Julius]: "Hah?"
Julius stares blankly at Lisa, whose hand is still placed softly on his shoulder to ground him from the confusion that he clearly expresses in his eyes.
[Lisa]: "Julius? Why did you collapse? What's going on?"
His hands clutch at the hospital gown's blue fabric on his lap, hard enough for his knuckles to turn white as he drags his gaze back to colossal structure before him, the inner palace of Cataphrania, the center piece of the grand kingdom.
[Julius]: "I'm dreaming, right? This is all just a big dream or something."
Lisa retracts her hand as she takes in Julius's delusional state, hearing a heavy sigh from behind as Lucille steps forwards.
[Julius]: "Woah- Hey!"
Holding Julius by his collar, Lucille picks him up and drags him along as more and more eyes land on them.
[Lucille]: "We don't have time for this, you're just making a scene, hurry up before we leave you here again."
[Julius]: "Wait, just wait! Let me go!- Ah!"
A sharp sound fills the air as Lucille lets him go and slaps him with the back of her hand, holding the crate with one arm effortlessly, and leaving a bright red mark on his cheek, and shutting him up immediately.
[Lucille]: "What the hell is wrong with you?!"
Julius stands still in the middle of the street, holding a hand up to his stinging cheek.
[Julius]: "I... I don't know."
[Lucille]: "Well you better figure it out. Look... You're clearly not from around here, anyone could guess that just by looking at your ridiculous clothes, but I already told you that we're trying to help. People are already looking as it is, so shut the hell up and get your shit together or we'll have to ditch you."
Lisa ducks her head as Lucille's tone takes a sharp, venomous edge. Julius averts his gaze from hers as he drops his hand in defeat, agreeing to push his confusion to the side.
[Julius]: {She's right, all I'm doing right now is making a fool of myself. Maybe right now I should just accept that I've woken up here, wherever here is. I need to find out more right now, gather information, I need to meet this Muriel person.}
[Julius]: "S-Sorry... I'm just so lost. Could you at least explain what this place is? Magic... Capital?"
[Lucille]: "We don't really have the time for that."
[Lisa]: "Oh! I'll tell him! Don't you worry about it Lucille, lets just finish getting the supplies, I'll tell him on the way."
[Lucille]: "Fine... We've only got one place left to visit, just a small place on the way back."
Julius rubs the red mark that lingers on his face from the hard surface of Lucille's hand, watching her walk in front of the two with the heavy crate still in her arms.
[Lisa]: "Okay! Julee."
[Julius]: "Huh? Yeah?"
[Lisa]: "Lets start with how much you already know, that's a good start, right? What do you know about Cataphrania?"
[Julius]: "Cataph- um... Nothing?"
[Lisa]: "Nothing?!"
[Julius]: "Nothing. Sorry."
A small huff is heard from Lucille just in front, still glancing back with a protective eye over Lisa, even as she walks a meter ahead, not wanting to be seen next to Julius.
[Lisa]: "Jeez, where do we even start? Um... Well, Cataphrania is the magic capital, it's the largest kingdom in all of Meriddia."
[Julius]: "Meriddia? Is that a country?"
Lisa looks at him with confusion as she walks beside him, looking upwards and holding her hand to her chin in thought.
[Lisa]: "Julee, where are you from?"
[Julius]: "I'm not sure where this place is, I've never seen anything like it... But I come from a country called America."
[Lisa]: "Ahmericah? I've never heard of that before. Are you from some small island or something? Oh, Lucille, maybe he's from Votharim."
Lucille continues to walk through the streets, guiding the pair through large crowds and walking past countless stores and vendors.
[Lucille]: "That's impossible. Even if he was, he'd still have some sort of education about Meriddia."
[Julius]: "I'm sorry, but... I'm still confused."
[Lisa]: "Meriddia is the continent we're currently on, it's the largest in the world! So, yeah, I guess you could call it a country."
[Julius]: "Right. when you say magic capital... What does that mean? That burst of fire in the alley before, was that magic?"
Julius tries to remain calm as they talk about the foreign concept, but after accepting his fate, a strong sense of curiosity washes over him.
[Julius]: {Magic has always been a thing in my world, but only just a fictional idea. My favorite shows and manga all have some sort of magic in them somehow. But this... Where the hell have I ended up?}
[Lisa]: "You're scaring me a little now, Julee. How do you not know magic?"
[Lucille]: "Maybe he's just dumb."
[Julius]: "I'm not dumb! I'm just... Not from here, I guess. I can't explain where I'm from right now, or how I got here, I just need to know more... Please."
[Lisa]: "Hmm... Okay! If you really do know nothing, then I'll give you the biggest bestest explanation ever!"
Lisa takes a strong, confident stance pointing her finger in the air with a proud smile, catching Julius off guard at the heavy switch from serious to casual she took.
[Lisa]: "We're currently in Cataphrania, the magic capital. This kingdom has been around for generations, led by the royal family, the Castellans."
[Julius]: "Castellan?"
[Lisa]: "Mhm! The last name Castellan has been around for hundreds of thousands of years, it's thought to hold a special connection to magic itself, since all the people carrying Castellan blood is almost guaranteed to be strong."
[Julius]: "And when you say strong..."
[Lisa]: "Yep. The Castellans are thought to be the strongest sorcerer bloodline of the modern era. Cataphrania's current king is even thought to have the strongest magic of any living person."
Lucille listens to her explanation too, using Lisa's teachings as a way to make sure her education has been paying off, and that the information has stuck with her, and she gives a very small, faint smile filled with pride, being one of the people that taught Lisa during her private homeschooling sessions.
She guides Lisa and Julius into another alleyway, much larger than the countless others that they had passed. This alley was paved and lined with small stores and tall lamps that lit the pathway. Julius stared at the lights, observing closely how they let off an ethereal golden light, seemingly lit by small stones within the casing that glowed without any explanation-- or at least no explanation that he was used to.
[Julius]: "What are these lamps powered by?"
Lisa smile widens as she prepares to continue her lengthy explanation, showing a somewhat strange joy coming from how clueless Julius is, expressing her delight for teaching him.
[Lisa]: "Mana Catalysts. It's a real fancy name, but it's pretty much just a rock covered in paper with symbols on it. They hold a very small amount of fire magic in them, just enough that they glow like that."
[Julius]: "Fire magic... Mana Catalysts?"
[Lisa]: "I'll probably need the help from Lawrence to really explain how magic all works if your that clueless, but I can try my best at teaching you."
[Julius]: "I heard that name earlier. Who's Lawrence?"
Lisa gets a sparkle in her eyes as Lawrence's name is mentioned, and Lucille looks back at the two, still walking with the crate in her arms, filled with various items and supplies from their trip.
[Lisa]: "Lawrence is my mom's servant!"
[Lucille]: "Using the word servant makes it sound like he's a slave. He's like an assistant and caretaker for her, like a butler, but... I don't know, closer?"
[Lisa]: "Mh, mh! A butler. He also maintains our manor's yard, it's always so green and perfect! He does an amazing job!"
Julius listens to her descriptions of Lawrence, even hearing Lucille chime in for it, now knowing that this person must be pretty important for the group.
[Julius]: "Will I get to meet him?"
[Lisa]: "Of course you will! We're going back to our manor so you can meet my mom, and Lawrence is always by her side."
[Lucille]: "Don't expect too much from him. He's not very open to conversation, or even emotions. He's loyal to Miss Astoria, and that's about it."
[Julius]: "A-ah... Okay. Lisa, you um... Who exactly is your mother? She has a maid, and a butler, and you keep mentioning a manor. She seems pretty... Well... High profile?"
The loud street starts to fade further into the background as they delve deeper into the alley, slowly approaching a large storefront at the very end, and Lisa takes another proud stance, similar to before.
[Lisa]: "Mom is Cataphrania's Overseer of trade affairs. She manages all the merchant guilds and trade routes in the whole entire kingdom! Isn't it awesome?"
[Julius]: "W-wait, really? You're taking me to see someone that high status?"
[Lisa]: "Of course, I know she'll be happy to help you! Just um..."
[Julius]: "Just what?"
[Lisa]: "Well... Mom can be a bit... Intense? It's not really important, I just hope she doesn't embarrass me in front of you."
Before Julius even gets time to think about what Lisa just mentioned about her mother, the group finally stops walking, and the air is broken by Lucille talking back at them.
[Lucille]: "We're here. You can tell him anything else later, we need to get this stuff back to Miss Astoria before sundown."
[Lisa]: "Mh!"
Lisa smiles and nods with her fists up to her chest, and Julius looks forwards at the large store that lies before him. As Lucille walks into the store, Lisa stops moving to look at Julius, who stares at one of the signs out front, holding his hand lightly against the black ink that stains the wood.
[Lisa]: "You okay Julee?"
[Julius]: "...Why can I understand everyone, yet I can't read this?"
[Lisa]: "What do you mean? I'm a little confused."
[Julius]: "We're speaking to each other just fine, but I can't read any of the signs or writing from here. Does everyone use a different language to write? Isn't that a bit confusing?"
[Lisa]: "Julius you're... You're speaking that language right now though."
Her words hit him like a punch to the gut, and he retracts his hand to look at her with a confused and delusional expression, opening his mouth several times to speak, but nothing comes out.
[Julius]: "W-... What?"
[Lisa]: "The language on that sign, you're speaking it perfectly."
[Julius]: {I'm what? I'm speaking English. Everyone is. This world isn't right, I don't belong here.}
[Julius]: "I-... Right."
He takes another defeated look, accepting another out of place comment about him, and another wave of confusion washing over him as he looks back at the sign for a moment, then starts to move again.
[Lisa]: "Is everything alright?"
[Julius]: "Yeah, lets just... let's catch back up to Lucille."
[Lisa]: "Mh!"
She nods with a determined expression and stance, replacing the look of concern and confusion she had mere seconds ago, and the two head inside.
The second Julius enters the building, he is hit with a strong smell, an indescribable scent that he can only associate with things such as wood, smoke and dust, as if the room he had walked into was hundreds of years old.
[Julius]: "W-Woah."
Julius stops just past the heavy wooden door at the entrance to look around, taking in his surroundings. The room isn't too big, around 10 meters in every direction, but it's packed tight with shelves and displays, each looking as if they could fall apart any second now from age damage.
The shelves are filled with a large variety of objects, ranging from small trinkets to large, fancy ornaments and adornments. Lucille places the crate down on the front counter where she talks to the store owner, and the wooden box she held slams, shaking the whole desk and filling the room with a loud thud.
[Julius]: {How heavy was that crate?! She held it with one hand earlier when she slapped me, like it weighed nothing!}
[???]: "Lucille! How ave' ya been?"
[Lucille]: "- - -"
[???]: "Good talk as always! I've got the parchment out back, but I had a really hard time getting that ink Muriel requested in her letter, I got the best match I could to its color, come round', it's a bit of a heavy stack, so I'll need ya' to carry it."
[Lucille]: "Mh."
The man at the front wore incredibly fancy clothes, covered in a fur lined coat, but it was made of a strange leather like material Julius had never seen before, and the fur was a strange cream color, with an unfamiliar texture.
[???]: "Oh! Little Astoria, I got ya' this!"
[Lisa]: "Hm?"
The man shuffles around behind the counter before pulling out a small, metallic sphere that he tossed to Lisa. Julius moved closer to get a better look, and see's that the sphere has a clear outer shell with movable pieces, revealing the complex and intricate design in it's center.
[Lisa]: "Ooh! Thank you!"
The man throws a thumbs up before following Lucille out the door behind the counter, and Lisa immediately starts to fidget with the metal sphere, leaning against the wall as she focuses on it and moves it around. It looks to be some kind of puzzle, one that involves spinning it around as the inner components shift and click together.
[Julius]: "There's so much stuff here. What kind of store is this?"
[Lisa]: "All kinds of cool things is sold here, like this thing! Take a look around if you want, I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
Lisa sticks her tongue out slightly as small clanking sounds fill the room, coming from the puzzle sphere she holds, not once taking her eyes off it while speaking.
Julius slowly paces along the isles of shelves, dragging his finger along the wood softly, and looking at the dust build up in his hand from a simple touch.
[Julius]: "There's no organizing or anything. Do I just look around for random stuff?"
Julius glances back as Lisa doesn't respond, too focused on her intricate puzzle, and he chuckles as he walks down the isle on the far side of the room, looking down at the displays that shine in the dimly lit room, reflecting the soft light like a small sea of silver.
He slowly reaches for something that catches his eye, a pocket sized locket with a hexagon shape. Holding it in his hand, he rolls it around as the light reflects off it. The locket takes a bit of effort to open, as if it hasn't been used in years, and it produces a small clicking noise as Julius reveals its contents.
Inside the time worn, silver locket, is nothing but a simple mirror on its upper half. It's reflection is faded, but still very clear, and he stares into it, seeing himself in the small item. His black hair that parts at the middle into short bangs, his unique gray eyes that he got from his father, and the vibrant blue of his hospital gown.
[???]: "Heya! Whatcha lookin' at?"
[Julius]: "AGH!"
The store owner throws an arm over Julius's shoulder, scaring him with the unexpected loudness and touch, causing him to drop the locket back onto the pile of silver trinkets.
[???]: "Woah, didn't mean to scare ya' there! You a new friend of Lucille's?"
[Lucille]: "Absolutely not."
Lucille walks out from the back room holding a large pile of neatly cut parchment, a premium paper even for the best of writers in Julius's world, along with several bottles of ink on top.
Julius looks back at her with a hurt face as the man's arm remains around his shoulder, glancing back at her. His hair was short and black, and he had a rough, scarred face.
[Julius]: "A-ah..."
[???]: "Agh, been there bud, she warms up, don't ya' worry. I'm Barrick, the owner of this store. That mirror caught yer' eye, did it?"
Julius looks back down at the open locket as Barrick picks it up and hands back to him, both of their eyes on it.
[Julius]: "Oh, I was just looking around... I didn't know what it was."
[Barrick]: "Keep it. Don't mind helping out a friend."
[Julius]: "Wait, really? Are you sure?"
[Barrick]: "Course' I'm sure! Go on, take it. Might need a bit of oiling though, that one's quite old."
Julius hesitantly takes the locket, looking down into its mirror before closing it and holding it in both hands.
[Julius]: "Where did you get it?"
[Barrick]: "Agh... I'll be honest with ya'... Its got a pretty grim history. Used to belong to a noble woman from a kingdom far north of here, one that existed before Cataphrania did, place called Aurelia. Not sure who had it before she did, but her village was tragically invaded by a sudden pack of beasts, thought to be a coordinated attack from a sorcerer with the power to control em', and unfortunately no one survived. This locket was found on her body after the attack."
[Julius]: "Magic beasts? A sorcerer who could control them... A person did that? Why?"
[Barrick]: "World's full of evil, kid. After all the years that past, it made its way here, to me. Just try not to think of its origin, and it's a pretty cool thing to own. Or ya' know... Do think of it, if it adds any value to ya'."
Julius swallows heavily as he look back down at the piece of dark history that he holds in his hands, and slowly puts it away in one of his loose pockets.
[Julius]: "I'm sure that information is going to haunt me forever now, but uh... Thank you, for letting me have it."
Barrick gives a playful slap to Julius's back, and laughs, he finally lets go of his shoulder and stands back up fully.
[Barrick]: "Agghh, you'll be right, friend!"
A loud thud is heard again as Lucille sets down the heavy pile of parchment and ink in the crate, easily taking up the rest of the available space in it, and picking it up effortlessly.
[Lucille]: "Come on Julius. We need to meet back up with Yuri to get a ride back."
[Julius]: "Ride back where? The manor?"
[Lucille]: "Yes, the manor. It's about an hour away from the kingdom, so let's go."
[Julius]: "Mh, right!"
Lisa finally looks up from her puzzle and runs up to Lucille, looking back at Julius to make sure he catches up.
[Barrick]: "Tell Muriel I said hi!"
[Lucille]: "Mhm."
[Julius]: "Thanks for the locket, it was nice meeting you."
Barrick gives a dismissal wave of his hand, but his smile and chuckle betrays his reaction to Julius's kind greeting.
[Barrick]: "Agh, it's good to meet ya' too, kid. Have a good trip."
Barrick waves at them as they leave the store, and only Julius and Lisa wave back, Lucille looking ahead despite her obvious ability to hold the crate with one hand.
Turning back around to leave the alleyway, Julius takes out the locket and flicks it open again, requiring both hands, staring down into it, mostly to just remind himself that he's still real amongst all the confusion.
[Lisa]: "Whatcha' got there Julee?"
[Julius]: "Hm? Oh... Just a small mirror, I picked it up and he let me keep it."
[Lisa]: "Ooh, you got something too?! That's awesome! Barrick is so nice, isn't he."
Julius chuckles slightly as he smiles, his gaze flickering back to the locket, choosing to keep its dark history to himself, and he looks at his reflection in the faded and scratched mirror.
His face has scuff marks all over it, and his cheek is still slightly red from Lucille's hit earlier, but the mirror grounds him, brings him back to reality-- or at least whatever this new reality is for him.
[Julius]: {An afterlife? Did I die in that ambulance? My head still hurt like hell when I got here, but from how I feel, I think it's gone. My tumor, is it really gone?}
Lisa pockets her puzzle sphere into her dress as she glances up at him with concern as he stares at his reflection, holding his hand to the back of his head.
[Lisa]: "You okay Julee?"
Julius drops his hand, and looks back at her. He closes the locket with a loud click, and smiles with a determined look, letting out a confident sound.
[Julius]: "Mh!"
---