Chapter Text
A long eventide in the hot summer heat, Gloreth glares at her mother for what feels like the seventh time in the past day.
“You do not know what the right path for me is, this is my life!” Snapped the young adult at her mother, who loomed over her in a hostile stance.
Her voice breaking as she spoke, she continued.
“I never wanted to lead, I never wanted to slay the "monster”! I just wanted to be happy. To have friends! Was that too much to ask?”
This only upset her mother more, her father holding her mother back by the arm.
“Friends? Friends like the freak you called a friend?” Her mother spat, words cold on her lips.
“May I remind you, she destroyed our village. Irreparable damage to our people, done by a monster that you brought into our home. The darkness from which she came only spreads, and you need to be strong enough to stop it.” Gloreth’s mother put on a compassionate front, one she only put on when she needed something from her daughter.
“Can you really call yourself strong right now?” She turned her nose up as she spoke, staring downwards at her daughter.
Unwilling to hear more of her mother's words, she ran into her room and slammed the door. She was 20! 20 years old and still living under her mothers rule that masquerades as her own words to the people of their village.
As she curled into her mattress, frustrated with the past fight, Gloreth felt herself slipping into a strange dream. A mysterious giant, dark, wispy, creature came to her, and she rested her hand on it. It reminded her of an old friend, a friend long gone.
She lived her young adult life doing what others wanted of her, following her parents instructions to keep the monsters away. She stroked the fur(?) of the strange creature. She didn’t want to hurt Nimona. After all, Gloreth was only a scared child.
She just wanted it all to stop, and go back to the way things were. She wanted to apologize. A tear fell from her face, landing on the being she was now holding in her arms. Its eyes went pure white. The white light consumed her, enveloping the empty room. Suddenly, she felt as if she was falling. Closing her eyes tightly, she attempts to hold the creature close, but it vanishes into a shimmering red dust.
The white faded into a fast-moving scene, as her eyes adjusted she noticed the blinding sun and the trees below her. She sees a speck of a man in the distance, as she nears the ground.
Oh lord. She’s going to fall on him.
“LOOK OUT! She screams down, but only to see some success as the speck looks up and starts to scramble around. It would almost be comedic… if she wasn’t falling possibly hundreds of feet from the sky.
That was her last thought before she felt a cracking noise, possibly coming from her own body, as everything went black.
Ambrosius was having an odd day, to say the least. His boyfriend supposedly kills the queen, he attempts to arrest said boyfriend, his program’s director is now on media blast for also apparently killing the queen? Then the director claimed it was all a hoax and that his boyfriend’s evil sidekick is also the monster from Gloreth’s story. Great. He’s having a fantastic time. This day couldn’t get any weirder.
Long story short, Ambrosius is now going on a long walk in the woods in the very little time he has off pacing rapidly back and forth. He hoped it would allow him to think at least the tiniest bit clearer about the situation before proceeding to talk(?) to his boyfriend(?).
In the midst of his pace, his thoughts are suddenly interrupted by a distant scream. He draws his sword, looking for the source of the voice, but can’t seem to place the location. Realization dawns on him, as he looks up to see a blond haired woman falling from the sky.
His first thought is to catch her, but realizing the speed she’s going at, that would likely injure them both, and not help either party. He can at least lighten the blow, or so he thinks. As he runs around trying to place a location in which she’d land. He makes a mental note to criticize the institute for not telling him to prepare for moments where people fall from the sky. It seems to be an odd occurrence in his life as of recently.
As he was caught up in his thoughts, he heard a loud Thunk! From the bush next to him.
“Oh SHIT!” he exclaims, running over to the bush. He hears a groan and breathes a sigh of relief. She’s alive at least. That’s something.
She bolts up, and he feels a wave of familiarity of the woman's features wash over him. He runs to help her up.
“I am so sorry madam, are you alright?” He rushes to her side to assist her in standing properly.
“Thank you…I believe I am.” As her head darts around to the surroundings, he realizes she seems to be wearing odd clothing. Almost like the clothes he saw the people wearing in the scroll.
Ambrosius then notices her staring at him, or rather, his armor?
“Excuse me, but… could you tell me where we are?” “
“The last thing I remember is dreaming, there was a strange creature.” she puts her palm to her head, as if she was deep in memory, “And now, I’m here.”
“That’s strange, to say the least. We’re in the woods outside of the capital.” he makes sure to hold his knightly demeanor. At her confused look he clarifies, “Around the east district, slightly closer to the edge of the wall..?” She must’ve hit her head pretty hard; he thinks to himself.
“Wall? What wall?” Her eyes widen as she looks behind her, seeing the city's horizon. “No, that’s…Impossible!” Quickly turning her head to Ambrosius, she speaks louder and more clearly than he’s ever heard her speak before, as she grabs his arm. “Sir, I’m sorry, but could you please tell me what the year is? The date? What is the wall? Where are we?”
At her flurry of questions, Ambrosius can feel his head start to spin.
“I think… I might have time traveled.” Eyes wide, she speaks in a small voice.
Ambrosius felt shocked, but then a thought came to him. The golden hair and eyes matched his own, the way she stood felt similar to that of his mother's when she was younger, her clothing matched the city's statue, the similarities just kept adding up. This couldn’t be some kind of joke, could it? A trick from the shapeshifting monster?
“Your name?” As the knight spoke, the young maiden looked up at him. “M-May I ask your name?” he stammers out, voice feeling unsure of itself suddenly.
“It’s Gloreth, sir knight. Gloreth Goldenloin.”
Wow. He was totally wrong about this day. It can get so much weirder.