Holy.

  Shit.

  I sat at the foot of my bed, trying to absorb everything Arden told me. He filled my head with everything he could, and it was more than enough to grind my brain gears.

  So this world wasn't Earth.

  Or maybe it was.

  Time travel? Who the fuck knew?

  But, basically, the people who lived here weren't originally from here.

  Where was here again?

  Reial.

  That was it.

  Running my hands over my face, I tried to get my bearings, but my mind was racing. This was wild.

  There were many races here. People from different worlds. Most people who lived here were descendants of people who were brought here a long time ago. However, sometimes new people were brought here, as well. I was one of those.

  Arden said we couldn't go home either. He'd tried everything over the years, but nothing worked. That's what brought him to be a scholar in the first place. He wanted to get home, but he'd eventually learned it was impossible.

  That sucked pretty badly.

  It wasn't like my life was that great back home, but I had friends and stuff. A life. I knew that would sink in eventually, but it really hadn't yet.

  It would suuuuuck when it hit, though.

  Anyway, people like me, the people who got brought here, didn't arrive at the same time periods in this world. Oddly, he did say that most people come from around our time back on Earth. However, Reial's histories contained records of Roman legionnaires and early American revolutionaries, muskets and all, too. In fact, Earth culture had bled into Reial's culture in weird ways. He said I'd recognize those things when I saw that. It was neat, though.

  Toward the end of our conversation, I asked if there was an afterlife. There was.

  Kind of.

  It was a physical place deep under the ground, which people here called the Depths, which was kind of like Hades, but real. He said that people's spirits used to descend when they died, but for some reason, the Goddess prevented that.

  I didn't understand that part at all.

  I slumped into my pillows.

  Apparently, souls were also real here and stuck around after people died, at least for a while. Powerful magic could put people back together, but once a soul was gone, it was gone, and that was it.

  Oh, and I'd been messing up Naya's name. It wasn't Naya. It was Na-Ya, but it was pronounced the same.

  For some reason, elf names were hyphenated, with their family name coming first, their actual name coming second.

  Thus, Na-Ya was Ya of the Na family. Depending on the name, people would say one or both names. Depended on the flow and on the elf's preferences. Made sense. I was learning.

  I heard a bird chirp outside. Following the noise, I looked out the window. A small bird fluttered onto the windowsill and chirped at me. It looked like a cross between a parrot and a hawk. "Okay, you're not from Earth." The animals here were also pulled from all the worlds the people were pulled from.

  That was wild.

  My thoughts kept going, spinning around and around. The people were different, the animals were different, and the plants were different. The moon was different. The sun was gone, but there was a big ass tower that made things work kind of the same. The sky was almost the same. Slightly more blue, I decided as I looked out the window. Kind of eerie, really. If I had enough energy to go outside, I'd check it out more, but that little walk to Arden's room ruined me.

  My family... not that I had much of one...

  Nope.

  We weren't going there, Alex.

  Not today.

  You're in another world, my guy. No time for drama.

  I limped over to my cot and lay down. I just needed some sleep. After a few moments, I felt sleep wash over me.

  ***

  "I wonder if you awake tonight," A high-pitched, feminine voice said as they entered my room. Setting something on my end table, they whispered, "I glad."

  "Ugh." My head was pounding, and my left arm felt like it had gone through a blender.

  Wait.

  What did they just say?

  While their accent was thick, and they were missing words, I was confident they just spoke English.

  I shot up.

  Standing nearby, a thin... girl... guy... I couldn't quite tell. Whatever they were, their head was topped with a long tangle of messy black hair, they were standing beside my bed in oversized brown robes, and they were looking at me with the bluest eyes I'd ever seen.

  After wiping my eyes, I asked, "Wait, you speak English, too?"

  "Yes. I speaking Earth. I am glad you wake, kara..."

  Kara? I remembered that word, but from where? "Do I know you?"

  Something passed behind their blue eyes. They shook their head. "No... not really." They smiled at me as they reached toward my nightstand and grabbed my glass of water. Throwing it back, they let out a satisfied "Ahh," before turning back to me.

  "Yeah, you can drink that. That's fine," I said flatly.

  "Thanks!" Their smile grew.

  "I was being sarcastic."

  "Oh..." Their smile faded. "Sorry."

  My heart shattered! Oh, sweet summer child. "Don't worry about it. Drink whatever you'd like. My water's your water."

  Their grin reappeared. "Thank you, kara. I healer. Need water." Refilling the glass, they handed it to me and said, "Drink now. You need."

  "Uh, that's okay." The impression of their lips was on the rim of the glass. I didn't know where those lips had been! Handing it back, I said, "I'll get a new glass tomorrow."

  "Na-Ya said you baby. You won't die, big baby." They pushed the glass back into my hands. "Drink."

  Taking a sip to pacify them, I then set the glass aside and took my new friend in. They looked similar to Na-Ya, but less feminine. They weren't particularly masculine, either. They were kind of thin and lanky, but their hips were visible through their bulky robes, which threw me off a bit. Their chest was flat, though. At least, as far as I could tell through those big, thick, brown robes they were wearing. Their voice was too high-pitched to be a guy's, and it was melodic just like Na-Ya's, but it was softer. And they didn't have the long ears. Still, the resemblance was noteworthy. They easily could be related.

  "So, uh..." Only one way to find out. "Can I get the pretty lady again? The one with the ears."

  They blushed. "Ass."

  Okay, that was girly. "What?"

  They sighed. "That is mean. You mean."

  I chucked. "Sorry, I was just trying to lighten the mood. Did it work?"

  They rolled their eyes. "Yeah. Haha. Funny."

  That sounded just like Na-Ya.

  They leaned over and sniffed me. "Now, be good. Tonight you my job. Not is like I want be rubbing you. You stink. Stinky." They grinned. "Ew."

  I sniffed myself. I did, in fact, reek. "Yeah... sorry about that."

  "Should be sorry. Move now, stinker." They sat their wide hips on the edge of the bed and waited.

  "Okay." I scooched over and made room on the bed. It hurt to do, but not too bad. That would have killed me a week before.

  Once I made enough room, they pulled a small vial of some red liquid out of a belt pouch and rubbed it into their hands... which started glowing.

  "Um..." How did one ask about magic hands? "What is that stuff?"

  They looked at their hands, then back at me. "Might tingle. Sorry."

  I shrugged. Another night of pain was incoming. "No problem. I'm used to it."

  "I starting now." Reaching out, they took my arm in their slender hands. As they worked on my fingers and hand, I noticed that their movements seemed a little less skilled than the others, but after a few minutes, the tingling started. Then, my headache faded away, and my muscles began to feel relaxed and loose. My scars, which were still red and swollen, softened even more than they already had.

  My new friend was doing a decent job.

  "So, what's your name?" I asked.

  Their eyes met mine. They were truly like twin pools of sapphire. "Tristan."

  Tristan? I knew that name, right? "Hi, Tristan. I'm Alex." Wait... "Tristan? Tristan, Tristan?"

  "Yes?"

  "I've heard your name before!" I said far too loudly. "Were you the one who saved me? You were, weren't you?"

  "Yes. I found you on road. You almost were died. The Goddess..." Tristan hesitated. "She led me to you."

  Flipping my hand over, I took their hands in mine and squeezed. "Thank you, Tristan. For everything. Truly." I'd never meant something so much in my life. "I can't even express how grateful I am that you found me."

  Blushing softly, they hesitated before speaking again. "You are welcome, Alex. I was glad save you, even if you are making me change..." Their blush grew.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  "Change?"

  They shook their head. "Does not matter." Flipping my hand back around, they started working my arm again. "What you doing in future, Alex? Once healed?"

  I hadn't thought about the future that much, but now that I could kick ass and do epic stuff, at least in theory, I knew I'd be out of here eventually. "I want to see the world."

  Their hands froze. "You wish to go out? Adventure?"

  "Yeah!" That sounded awesome.

  Slowly, they sighed. "I see."

  Was that a bad thing? "You don't want me to go, do you?" I grinned. "We just met, and we're already the best of friends!" I was hamming it up, now. "And you'll miss your best friend once he's gone, won't you?"

  "We..." They hesitated again. "We friends?"

  I nodded. "Do you want to be?"

  A soft smile spread across their face. "I think, um... yes. We being friends. I like."

  "Good." I let my grin turn into a smile.

  They smiled back, and for a moment, we fell into a comfortable silence.

  When the moment passed, I asked, "So, how does this work, anyway?"

  "What work?"

  "How long am I allowed to stay here?"

  Tristan shook their head. "This temple is place of healing and rest. You stay as long you need."

  "Oh, thank God...dess. I was worried, but I was too afraid to ask." I laughed.

  "Yes, thank her." Tristan nodded.

  "Back on Earth, medicine can be expensive. Will I owe you all anything by the end?"

  Their brows knitted together. "Why expensive? Healing is for all, no?"

  I shrugged. "I don't know. That's just the way it is there."

  "Huh." They shook their head and kept working. "That stupid."

  "It sure is, Tristan."

  When I said their name, they smiled brightly. Then, the room got quiet, aside from their breathing. After a while, whatever they were doing seemed to be taking a toll on them. Their breathing got heavier, and their face got more and more flushed. Eventually, when beads of sweat started pouring from their head, I pulled my hand free to give them a break.

  "Why pull away? Do I do bad?"

  "No, not at all!" I held my hand up, showing off their handiwork. "It was just getting a little much, you know?"

  "I see." They poured another glass of water and downed it in one go. "I need drink."

  "Drink up. You've earned it."

  After downing another cup, Tristan sighed and said, "Better."

  I looked at my arm. The scars had faded a lot after tonight's session. "So, how do I look? I'm starting to feel a bit better. Do you think it'll be much longer before I can get out of bed?"

  Tristan cleared their throat. "Honest? You were very hurt. It will take a long time for you to heal."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I didn't find you right away. The longer wounds settle, the harder is heal them. You will be here for some time."

  "How long do you think?"

  "I do not know. Patrino thinks three months, but I am not sure. By your wounds, I would guess six. Maybe year, if you weak."

  Six months?

  A year?

  Shit. "What then?"

  "When you heal, you may staying, but you will work along us. But most people go on and find work in towns when they heal. We do not seeing people back much, unless they get hurt again." They laughed. "But do not get hurt again, friend. I may not find you next time."

  I grinned. "Why not? If I get hurt again, you'd get to see me more."

  Snorting, they said, "Too much work. Do not want to carry you home again. You heavy."

  Taking their hand in mine again, I said, "Thank you again for that. You're my hero."

  Their face lit up. "You are welcome! I try!" Sitting up, they said, "Okay, ready for again?"

  "Another round?"

  "Yes."

  I sighed. "Sure."

  They poured another vial onto their hands. Then their hands found my arm for the second time, and the tingling started almost immediately.

  I hated the tingling.

  Trying to distract myself, I asked, "So, uh... Do you go out a lot?"

  Their hands froze. "I..."

  Did they not understand me? "To the towns, I mean. Do you go out much?"

  Tristan shook their head. "Not often."

  "Why not?"

  "Why would I leave?" Their jaw clenched. "It safe here."

  I looked out the window and thought about the world outside of it. "Because there's a big world out there. Don't you want to see it?"

  They let out a slow breath. "I go to Llyn sometimes. See family. Villages, too. That's enough, I think."

  "Llyn?"

  "It's biggest city in Calvareth. That's far as I gone." They sounded deflated. "Maybe one day, farther. If I with right people."

  The right people, huh? "Want to do it with me?"

  Their hands froze again. "I do not know you."

  I turned back to find their sapphire eyes practically glowing at me. "We're best friends, remember?"

  Tristan snorted. "Yeah. Remember."

  "So you're totally happy here? No regrets or anything?"

  "Sometimes regrets..." They deflated a little. "One day."

  That struck a nerve. I had to know more. "So, you're a guy stuck in a temple with stuffy priests and the sick, and you dream of leaving one day?"

  At my words, they looked away. "Ass."

  I was right. They had the same energy after I had to move back home when I got kicked out of college for destroying that guy at the party.

  They wanted out of here.

  I could feel it.

  "When I'm better, travel with me." I extended my hand. "Let's see the world together."

  Tristan stood up and walked down to my feet. "Maybe." Then, they fixed my sheets and whispered, "I am not a gu..." Rather than finish their sentence, they sighed.

  "Not a what?"

  They glared at me. "I am not unhappy."

  I got the feeling that wasn't what they were going to say, but I didn't want to pry. "You sure? From what Arden told me, it's pretty great out there."

  "Well..." Their words trailed off. "Why you asking so many questions?"

  "Sorry. Thanks for helping. You can stop now."

  "Good. Hands smell now. Stinky." They stood up and brushed their robe off. "I will get you more water." They shuffled out, nearly tripping on their shapeless brown robes as they did, then came back a minute later with a pitcher and poured me another glass. "Here you go."

  "Thanks." I got the impression Tristan didn't have a lot of people to talk to. Maybe we really were friends now? "Hey, if you ever want to talk, I'm here, okay?" Why not try to extend the olive branch? They seemed lonely, and I could use a friend. Plus, they knew English. That helped.

  They nodded. "We are friends. We will talk. Now go to sleep. You need it. Varga will be here in morning, and she will not be gentle." They smirked. "I will ask her not to be."

  I groaned. Tomorrow was gonna suck. "Ask her to be nice. Please?"

  "No." Their smirk turned into a real smile. "I will see you tomorrow night." With those final words, they left.

  I felt my heart rate spike. The big lady was coming in the morning.

  ***

  My heart wasn't wrong. All I could think of when Lady Varga healed me was those old jokes about painful massages from muscley Russian ladies named Olga.

  That was me.

  Screaming.

  But man, when she was done, I felt so much better.

  "Bone. Restu nun, filo," she said with the same professionalism as always, but she had that twinkle in her eye that I hated.

  She was making fun of me in her head.

  I knew it.

  "Bonan matenon, patrino." I parroted the words I heard the day before. If I was gonna be stuck here, I would need to learn their language, and fast. I hated not knowing what they were saying.

  A huge smile spread across her face. "Bonan matenon, Alex! En la lumo." With those last words, she left my room.

  The second my door closed, I yawned. Healing really took it out of you.

  I leaned back and was out the second my head hit the pillow.

  ***

  I actually did manage to make a friend. Every day, Tristan and I talked. They were a little guarded and kind of naive, but they were a good person. I didn't like their visits as much as Na-Ya's since they weren't as pretty, but they were great company nonetheless. And they were kind of pretty, in an androgynous sort of way.

  Still, in our time together, which was basically every night, we talked about anything and everything. They were curious about Earth and wanted to know as much as they could about life there, so that's mostly what we talked about.

  However, at the start of the fifth week since I'd woken up, Tristan came into my room, obviously upset one night.

  Trying to lighten the mood, I asked, "What's up, Tristan? Get rejected by a baddie today or something?"

  They sighed. "No."

  Over the past weeks, I'd learned that Tristan was twenty-one, almost twenty-two. The same age as Devon. They just looked younger due to reasons I didn't really understand due to our language barrier, but I absolutely pretended as if I did. I knew it was something about being a "mithlgalen," which apparently meant "silver leaf," but it also meant change, or something. One day, I decided I'd clear it all up. But today wasn't that day.

  Their sapphire eyes met mine. "Tonight, I need my nice friend, not my funny friend."

  "You sure you won't miss my sass?"

  They shook their head. "Not today, okay?" Their English had improved dramatically over the five weeks we'd spent together since we'd been hanging out every night. They'd trained with Arden to speak it over the years, but it had grown rusty. Now, it was coming back fast.

  I scooched over. "Come sit with me."

  They nodded and sat beside me. "Be nice. Just for today, okay?" Their voice was soft and earnest.

  I let go of all the prods I'd readied for that night and nodded. "Of course."

  After rubbing some of the magic water onto their hands, they worked my hand and arm for several minutes before sighing. "Lady Varga says you are doing better. You are healing fast, which is good." Their voice had that edge that people got when they were struggling with something. "I am glad."

  I nodded. "That's good. I'm looking forward to not having to be healed so much." Flexing my fingers, I added, "It stings."

  Tristan nodded but didn't say anything else.

  I tried to give them the space to talk.

  I really did.

  But silences were silences, and I couldn't abide those. "Okay, what's up? What's the matter with you?"

  They ignored my question. "She thinks it will be about four months before you can travel again, but I am still not so sure."

  "Why?" I asked. "Do you think it'll be faster than that?"

  Tristan nodded. "Yes. But I hope it is longer."

  I cocked my head and grinned. "Oh yeah? You'll miss me, won't you?"

  They glared at me. "Yes. I will."

  I couldn't help but lean into that. "Ohh, so now the truth comes out."

  Their face dropped. "Be nice!"

  I laughed. "Sorry."

  With another glare, they said, "It is frustrating, okay?"

  "What is?"

  "I..." Tristan fidgeted. "I, I didn't ask for this." They let go of my hand, stood, and began pacing around my room. "Why did you have to come here?"

  "What do you mean?" I didn't expect that.

  "I... the change..." They ran their hands through their long black hair. "I did not want to change."

  "What change?"

  "I... it's..." They ended their sentence with a long exhalation.

  "Use your words, Tristan."

  They shot me a look. "I am changing, and I do not like it."

  "Is changing bad?" Was this about the mithlgalen thing?

  "Of course, it is!" The frustration was clear in their sapphire eyes. "But I can't. I don't want... that. And it's your fault!"

  "Why me? What did I do?!"

  Something in my tone made them deflate. "I am sorry. You do not understand. You could not understand. It is not your fault."

  I laughed. "You're right. I'm just some asshole who doesn't know a damn thing."

  A smile broke out across Tristan's face.

  I was winning, cutting through the layers of pout to the person beneath.

  "Yes, you are that," They whispered.

  "I'm glad we can both agree on that."

  For a moment, Tristan stared. Then, we both chuckled together.

  When our laughter subsided, I asked, "So, why is changing such a bad thing?"

  Their face turned tomato red. "It is... more than I am ready for..." Running their hands over their face, they whispered, "I am scared."

  "Of?"

  Their blush grew. "Please, no more. New subject. Okay?"

  Fair enough. That was a good push. "Okay, let's talk about something else."

  They sighed. "Thank you."

  "So, tell me about yourself. I realized this morning that I don't know anything about your family. What do your parents do?"

  Their smile faded. "My mothers live in Llyn."

  "Mothers?"

  "Yes. I have two."

  Nice. "Does that mean you don't have a dad?"

  "No..." Tristan's lips fell into a soft frown. Taking a deep breath, they said, "My father is dead. In five days, that will be the day he died." Their voice shook as they spoke. "I am sad about that, too."

  "Oh, shit. I'm so sorry." Great job, Alex. "Want to talk about it?"

  Tristan shook their head. "It is okay. You could not know, and it was a long time ago. I am okay."

  Damn it. How was I going to salvage this? "Uh..." What to say? My sister's face popped into my head.

  Fuck it.

  "My sister died a long time ago, too. I guess we have that in common."

  Tristan's eyes filled with compassion. "I am sorry."

  "It's okay. It happened a long time ago."

  Nodding, they asked, "What about your mother? Your father?"

  "My dad's a cheat. My mom's a drunk."

  "Cheat?"

  "He sleeps with women who aren't my mom."

  "Does he have two wives?"

  I snorted. "No."

  "Ah, I see. What does drunk mean?"

  "He drinks too much alcohol."

  "Oh, I see. I am sorry for that."

  "It's fine." It was my turn to sigh. "I never asked, what with you being a giant baby and all, but why are you so interested in Earth?"

  Tristan smirked. "You are the baby. That is your name in the temple. Crybaby. Na-Ya gave it to you."

  Na-Ya! That sweet, beautiful angel? Nonsense. She would never...

  However...

  That might explain why Lady Varga was always smirking at me. I really needed to learn the language. "Yeah, yeah. That's me. The crybaby." I crossed my arms. "Why Earth?"

  "It... it reminds me of my father." Tristan seemed to brighten up. "He was from Earth, too."

  "Oh, no way!" Wild. I'd guessed that Arden and I really weren't the only two from Earth, but it was interesting hearing about a second-generation person.

  "You remind me of him." Tristan's eyes settled on me. "The way you talk. The way you laugh. It is like him."

  That was kind of sweet. "And that's why you want to learn more about it? Earth, I mean."

  "It makes me feel like I understand him more." They smiled a sad smile. "Through you, I feel closer to him."

  So sweet! "I'm happy I can give something back to you after everything you've done for me."

  "You have given me much, too. Thank you for sharing what you know, my friend."

  "Do you not talk to Arden about this stuff?"

  "Arden is... he makes it too much about studying. With you, we talk and have fun. And we laugh. I like that." They reached out and squeezed my arm. "So thank you."

  Their cool hand felt nice on my arm. "Would you do the same for me about Reial? Would you help me learn common?"

  "Yes. I would like that very much."

  "Thanks! You're a lifesaver."

  "I know." She grinned.

  That was true in several ways, I supposed. "Okay, what's up with Varga? Is she a giant or something? She is strong."

  Tristan laughed. "No. Not giant. She is strong. So is Renard, and Na-Ya is strong too. Ro-Saleh is as well. Perhaps Jorn, if he trained more, and also Maven. Voss, too. They are the strongest."

  I looked Tristan over. "What about you?"

  "I am a junior priest. An acolyte. Nothing more."

  "Why not?"

  "It takes much work, and the Goddess must recognize me first."

  "What do you have left to do?"

  Tristan blushed. "She has given me many visions. All have come true. And now that I've found you, and with the change upon me..." Their blush grew. "I will follow her will when I am ready."

  "I see." I totally didn't. Still, I liked Tristan. I liked them a lot. They were my best friend in the whole wide world.

  Tristan's eyes lingered on mine for a long moment before they said, "Okay, time to sleep." They smiled, stood, and added, "Dormu bone, Alex. That means sleep well, kara." With a final lingering look, they left the room and shut the door behind themselves.

  When their footsteps faded down the hall, I settled back and looked out at the dark clouds outside my window. Sinking into my pillows, I let my mind drift until sleep took me.