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After she died, Lizzie was left wandering between worlds.
There were many that were yet to be, but she was more curious about the one that had already been.
The grass was greener than she’d thought it could be. Like in her world, how it had been in the beginning. Like how she had been in the beginning.
It was the end of spring. She could feel it in her bones. But it felt much too cold for the start of summer, like the world had breezed past even autumn and gone straight from spring into winter. Still, there were flowers blooming everywhere. She picked some as she walked.
After a while, she came across an odd wooden structure. She stepped inside, and that’s where she found him.
He was sitting crisscross at an enchanting table, paging through the book of enchantments.
When he heard her footsteps, he looked up from his book. His eyes were green, green, green.
It was… a good color on him.
He shut his book, looking up in surprise. “Hello, stranger,” he greeted. “I haven’t seen you around before. It’s a small world, you know. People don’t just come from anywhere.”
“Hello, stranger,” she sat delicately on the edge of his table. “I’m from another world. A small one, like yours. I’m only passing through.”
“I see,” he said. “That’s a shame. A world like ours could use someone as lovely as you.”
She smiled. “I think with someone as lovely as you yourself, you’ll be alright.”
He laughed. “You’re far too kind.”
“Me? No, I’m not kind at all.”
He shook his head.
Lizzie started to weave the flowers she’d picked into a crown. “Could I have your name, stranger?”
“Of course,” he said, smiling at her. “My name is Ren.”
Lizzie smiled back. She tucked the name somewhere inside of her chest. The folks in her world had not nearly been so giving. They’d known not to give her anything, not without protections in place.
When Ren- her Ren, her knight, hers- had given her his name, she’d kept it close to her heart. It was still there, still and steady and warm. Cleo had never given theirs, and neither had Bigb, nor any of the other Reds. She wondered if the others in this world would give her theirs.
It was a stupid thing to do. Her Ren, though- he hadn’t been stupid. He’d given it to her because he wanted her to have it. That meant more to her than she’d ever been able to tell him.
“You can call me Lizzie, if you like,” she told this Ren. The stupid one.
His smile brightened. “Lizzie! What a lovely name.”
Her Ren had said the same thing, though in many more words.
She found herself getting lost in conversation with him. He was easy to talk to, not at all wary of what he was saying and what she would do with his words. He was unlike anyone she’d ever met before. In her world, they’d all been weary and wary since the very start. In this world, it seemed they hadn’t learned to be afraid yet.
Even knowing what game they were playing, he seemed optimistic about the other players and his enchanting business. He was shocked when she told him about her world’s singular enchanter.
“Surely, the smart thing to do would be to take it for yourself and then use it for profits. I know Renchanting would certainly be in business if it had the only enchanter in the world.”
She laughed. “What do you think we did? That thing was stolen so many times. It was never in the same place for more than a few days, really.”
She told him about the other worlds she’d visited.
“There was one- have you heard about the red strings of fate? There was one world where they had those. They played the game like you, but each player had a soulmate. Every hurt they felt, all the pain and all the pleasure was shared between two.”
“That’s terrifying,” he said softly. “But- also beautiful. A bond like that.”
“There was another world that was on a time limit. Each player had a certain amount of time to live- once the timer ran out, they were out of the game. Killing and dying would give them more time or take it away.”
“That one is terrifying. Thinking about time ticking down like that…” He shuddered.
“This other world was built around a statue. The statue gave the players tasks, which they had to complete while they played the game. Completing their tasks granted them rewards. Things to help them win the game.”
“That certainly sounds useful,” he mused.
“There was another world that kept on changing. They had new rules they had to follow every so often, new things they had to get used to. It was… very chaotic.”
“That does sound chaotic,” he laughed. “I don’t think these folks would do very well with that.”
“And this other world…”
He hung onto every word she said, looking up at her like she had planted every flower and painted the wings on every butterfly. They sat for hours, talking about everything and nothing. They sat until the sun was setting.
Lizzie hummed. “I should be going. I hate to stay in one place too long.”
Delicately, she placed the flower crown she’d made atop his head. He reached up and ran a finger over the petals. The setting sun turned the whole world golden, made Ren look like he was gilded.
“Will I see you again?” he asked. He sounded- vulnerable. Not at all like the king she knew he would be. He sounded Green. He sounded like a dog.
But she knew he wouldn’t be that way much longer. The Red King would make a wolf out of him yet.
“Probably not,” she told him. “But I have faith in you, stranger. You’ll be exactly who you’re meant to be. Have faith in yourself.”
“Have faith in yourself.” Ren smiled up at Martyn from where he was kneeling on the altar. His hands were shaking, his knuckles white on the handle of the ax. “Don’t hesitate.”
“Don’t hesitate. I’m looking forward to what you’ll become.”
With one last wave goodbye, Lizzie continued her wandering.