Odeen moved to perch himself back on his throne, looking Ruby over with cold and calculated eyes. "She will pass for Safire. Ensure she speaks the language well enough for the ceremony. Now that the runaway 'princess' has returned, we can speed up the ceremony. Above all, ensure that she knows the correct protocols. We don't want a repeat of what happened with your blunder."
Jasher laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck as he took Ruby by the shoulders, guiding her out of the throne room. "Of course not, sire. After my mistakes, I've learned how to navigate this world much better. I'll ensure that Ruby is well-equipped to take your hand. Even if it's a sham."
Odeen nodded in approval, leaning back against his throne to watch them leave. "You'd better hope that's the truth, Jasher. For all our sakes, you'd better hope that's the truth. Keep me updated with her progress."
Jasher bowed, shoving Ruby from the throne room, before he let out the breath he didn't realise he'd been holding. Ruby waited in curiosity, her brows raised. "Well? Are you going to tell me what the fuck that was, or are you going to continue to leave me in the dark?"
Jasher tensed, averting his gaze as a rogue bead of sweat rolled across his forehead. "I'm unsure about that just yet – do you know any forms of martial arts?" With the look of utter bewilderment that Ruby shot him, Jasher had his answer quickly. "Alright, good. I won't have to fear for my life. Let's start from the beginning. Come with me."
Ruby was once again following Jasher from behind, her mind heavily occupied with questions that only one person could answer. She was taken into his private room, finding it much smaller and less luxurious than the one that she was placed in when the king essentially kidnapped her.
Ruby waited for no invitation, sitting against Jasher's bed with her arms crossed. "Well, I'm waiting on these answers that will clear everything up. You wanted to start from the beginning? Let's. Where the hell are we?"
Jasher cleared his throat, taking a seat beside her. "First and foremost, we are in the kingdom of Ocerania. This world is opposite to our dimension. Nexus, the being from the Inbetween, is tasked with holding the two worlds close together. We borrow from one another's life force. Nexus can never let the dimensions touch, but if they were to drift too far apart, both worlds would die."
Ruby stared at Jasher as though he'd gone crazy. "This is one hell of a fever dream. That old lady must have drugged me somehow." Ruby leaned forward, rubbing her temples in irritation. "Alright, let's say I somehow believe you. Who is Nexus, and what the hell is the In between?"
"The Inbetween is the space... between our worlds. They connect our universe with this one. Nexus is a cosmic being who abandoned his body centuries ago to roam the void freely. While his body is left to keep the two worlds just far apart enough to thrive, his soul wanders through the melodies of the cosmos, allowing him to bridge the two worlds."
Ruby's eye twitched as her head began to pound. "Right, the melodies of the cosmos, gotcha. And why do you know all of this? You said that I can't go through the Inbetween, so how did I get here, then?"
Jasher lit up. "Ah, I don't know exactly how he does it, but I do know how you're here. When I was sucked into the Inbetween, I met Nexus. He said I had been in the wrong place and the wrong time and jumped into a travelling tear. That's a rip in the fabric of our universe that travels at alarming speeds. It's as thin as a sheet of paper, and if you go through it at just the right time, you're sucked into the Inbetween. You, however, were sent here."
"Right, and who, pray tell, sent me here exactly?" She turned to look at Jasher, finding his expression suddenly warped with fear and concern. Ruby's taunting expression fell to shock. "What is it?"
"You were sent here to fix what Nexus did. He never explained exactly what he had done out of boredom. But I do know the person he answers to, Serina, was pissed. Apparently, when things lined up the best, it was up to him to repair the damage he inflicted upon you. I don't know much more than that, but I do know that Nexus has been calling for you from the Inbetween for a few years, and you never answered him."
"I've never heard anybody call for me. This is becoming increasingly confusing the longer it goes on. I have more questions than answers, and you're not being clear with any of the information." Ruby groaned in frustration.
"I know that it doesn't make any sense. It took me a while to figure it out myself." Jasher chewed on the inside of his lip as his thoughts swirled, uncontained. "Okay, Nexus is a powerful being. He apparently broke a few laws that the others who dwell inside the Inbetween didn't like. He can only fix his mistake by bringing you here, since you're 'incomplete'. You can't go into the Inbetween without his help, and you can't be fixed until you hear his call and acknowledge him. The only way you can get into the Inbetween is if you acknowledge his call. From there, he will teach you how to enter the Inbetween from a travelling tear. Like I did. From there, he will explain the rest."
Ruby scoffed, standing from Jasher's bed. "So I'm meant to hear this random person calling me, go 'I'm coming!~' and magically transport into the dimension between ours? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense."
Jasher sighed weakly, holding his wrist up. Tattooed into his wrist, wrapping around it entirely, was the image of dark mountains. Beneath the ink was the simple word 'Inbetween'. "This represents what I lost, what I found, and the way to get back home. Nexus explained his call. It sounds like an echo being lost between towering mountains, yet the sound is dull enough to make out if you listen closely enough. It's like an echo that's been bounding for years, waiting on the ears that were meant for its call."
Ruby sighed weakly, lying back against Jasher's bed. "So I just have to hear his call? Well, I've never heard his call before, and I've been in pitch silence before. So why haven't I heard it before?"
Jasher shook his head. "You probably have. More than likely, you just wrote it off on the house settling or a strange, unexplained sound. Had you listened, you might have been brought to the Inbetween. Or maybe his call only works in this universe. I don't know."
Ruby shook her head in dismissal, sighing deeply. "Whatever you say, loony bin. I am 'incomplete' and he wants to complete me? Nah – like I told that old lady, I don't need saving. Wait... she wasn't wrong about the handsome redhead, though. Shit, what else did she tell me? The Inbetween calls, that my life is going to change? Fuck I wish I paid more attention."
Jasher seemed surprised. "Someone told you about this place? I've never heard of that happening before... regardless, after the travel, you're imbued with the magic of the cosmos, so you might find yourself feeling stronger or more agile than normal. Magic exists here on a cosmic scale, so you will feel more powerful after the transition."
Ruby hummed, staring at the ceiling as the information was beginning to make her feel queasy. "Maybe that's why the fall didn't kill me. Alright, well, I'm superpowered now. Great. I don't think I can handle any more of this info dump. It's not making any sense to me."
"I don't blame you for feeling overwhelmed. Nexus is some kind of prankster. Whenever he gets bored, his idea of fun is fucking with the two worlds. He wondered what would happen if he took an artifact from our world and dropped it in here. It fell from the skies and the people saw it as a sign from the heavens, a divine artifact."
Ruby's brows rose fast as the connection made an alarming amount of sense. "Wait! That's why there's a giant rubber duck statue out in the courtyard?! Because some cheeky deity decided that he was going to fuck with this world?" Jasher nodded in agreement. Ruby's eyes narrowed. "He hasn't done that with our world, has he?"
Jasher merely shrugged, brushing his hands through his hair. "I don't know. The rubber duck incident was all he could brag about. But around here, there are strange, magical things that are good at hiding. I wouldn't put it past him."
Ruby chuckled in amusement. "My apologies to all the Bigfoot conspiracists." They shared a light-hearted chuckle. "Man, this place is wild. I don't think I could handle any more groundbreaking revelations right now."
"Before you tap out, I have one last thing to talk to you about. And I need you to remain level-headed. Murder is still illegal here." Ruby turned to Jasher with a raised brow. "Uhm – I kind of agreed that you'd marry the king in a fake wedding."
Ruby shot up from the bed, her head whipping toward Jasher with wild, panicked eyes. Her breath wavered in her throat as she leaned in closer, speaking low and slow. "You're going to want to fucking pray that I heard you incorrectly."
Jasher backed away swiftly, holding his hands up in defence. "Just hold on! He isn't interested in marrying you! Your name won't be on the marriage certificate, and we've been permitted to speak with the wizard's order! They will be able to find the link between our worlds, and we might be able to get home! It's the only lead we have. Just think about it as though you're a mannequin, standing in for the bride that can't attend her own wedding... Ruby?"
Ruby stood slowly, looking down at Jasher with murderous eyes. "Stand in?" She scoffed. "A mannequin for someone who can't make it to their own wedding? You mean I have to pretend to be a princess who speaks another language in front of a kingdom that sees me as this runaway monarch, who abandoned her duties because she didn't want to wed their king. Have you already agreed?"
Jasher backed away, sliding off the other side of his bed as he broke out in a cold sweat. "Look, it's not ideal, I know that! But if we talk to the wizard's order and they know of a way to send us home, it won't even be your problem to deal with! We'll be gone before the king even marries you! SAFIRE! Before he marries Safire."
Ruby stepped around the bed, approaching Jasher will a chilling aura. "Did you already tell the king that I would be Safire's placeholder or not?!" Jasher hung his head. Ruby's eyes grew wider with a look of sheer warning. "Run." That was all that needed to be said.
Jasher did not wait, taking off into a sprint to leap over his bed and break out into the castle's halls with Ruby hot on his heels. She chased him from the castle, screeching about his betrayal as Odeen watched from the window with an unreadable expression.
He turned toward his viceroy with a dull sigh. "While she certainly looks like Safire, she has a long way to go before she begins acting royal. Her bond with that knight might be problematic. It could be seen as scandalous that they're always by one another's side, speaking a language we cannot grasp. He seems to be adamant that she is not the princess. What do you think, Vatic?"
Vatic glanced toward Odeen with a quizzical expression. "Sire, I have been your second-in-command for many years now, and not once have I seen you fret so feverishly. Of course, they'd be close if they were truly from the same world. They have much in common in terms of shared experiences. In the case of Jasher, he has learned experiences from our world. A princess and her knight have always been known to be close, so I'm assuming you dislike that they're close as individuals. Having another who simply knows his way of life would be thrilling. How long was he here again? 7 years. Perhaps he's been lonely this entire time."
Odeen's eyes narrowed, watching Ruby take Jasher down with a tackle, shoving his face into the dirt. "I suppose you're right. Jasher has never given me a reason not to trust him, so I suppose I must. And that young woman – Rhudy doesn't seem to be a traitor. Though keeping my guards raised has never failed me."
Vatic nodded in agreement, turning away from the window. "Sire, I assure you that this is nothing more than a knight from another world, meeting another from his world. I have believed his tale for many years now, and I will continue to do so. After my years of studying language, I have never come across the tongue that he spoke. Now there's another who is fluent. It's far from a coincidence."
Odeen sighed, continuing to watch from the castle. "Still, I was quite rude to her in my assumption. Perhaps I should make amends. If we're going to pull this ruse off, we should work together amicably. Prepare a fruit basket and flowers for me. I'll win her favour and convince Rhudy to follow our plan somehow."
Odeen sighed, watching Jasher struggle to contain Ruby's fury from the window, leaning his head back against the cold stone as the two bickered and fought. "Such a strange young woman she is."
-End of chapter 4-