When Worlds Meet (Violet x ProfessorNV)

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Violet

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When Worlds Meet
*A Sci-fi/Fantasy Adventure*

Astria
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A small Kingdom, settled in-between the realms of Space and Time. Threatened by a new and ever-growing darkness. Citizens have begun to go missing, crops are being destroyed, and livestock is dying. Astria has been plunged into an everlasting darkness, with no hope.. except one prophecy..

When the day comes that the dark one returns
Space and Time will separate
Revealing to us the savior of Astria
It shall be then,
when the true one reveals himself,
The light will be able to conquer the darkness
When the mountain weeps with molten fury,
And water rises to the sky,
two shall cause the rise of the kingdom.

~~~~
Arianna-Astria

The stone was cold against Ari's petite hand. Squinting through the dark tunnel, Ari held her breath as she tip toed up the old, weathered stairwell. She couldn't miss breakfast again or her mother would be suspicious again. As her foot reached the final step she released her breath and hung her head for a solemn moment. 'Come on Ari.. get it together' Ari took a short stiff breath before she quietly pushed open the door to the tunnel and scurried across the marble hallway, not stopping until she reached the heavy wooden door that was her bedroom. Quickly and as quietly as she could she opened the door just enough for her tiny body to squeeze through. After she secured the door behind her she let out a breath of relief, as her head hit the back of the door and she sank to the floor. "Long night miss?" The chirp voice rang through Ari's head. "Ah!" She screamed before bolting upright. "Opps! Didn't mean to startle you princess!" Ari's eyes settled on her hand maiden Lily, and her heart rate began to drop. Lily gave the princess a sheepish grin as Arianna rolled her eyes. "Lily! You know you can't sneak up on me like that!" She hissed as she regained control of her breath. "I'm sorry Princess.. but in my defense.. you're the one who snuck up on me!" She giggled before resuming "I've been here for over an hour waiting on you.. We have to get you ready for the festival today" Arianna walked over to the large crystal vanity and sat down. "Oh crap.. that's today?" Lily nodded, as she began to pass a brush over Arianna's white blonde locks. "You forgot again huh" She said as she laced her fingers skillfully through Arianna's hair. "Yes.. Oh Lily I finally got to wield a sword!" She said excitedly. "Yes thats great princess, please try not to move so much" Arianna stopped moving and sighed. "Sorry Lily.." Lily smiled to the princess in the large mirror "You know I can't stay mad at you Ari" Lily hugged Arianna's shoulders. "But I can't keep covering for you.. And a princess shouldn't be sneaking off every night to learn how to fight! It's just not right! What would the King and Queen think??" Ari sighed and placed her head in between her hands. "I know Lily.. But something is happening.. I overheard Axel and Austin whispering that more citizens went missing.. They're arguing over who should go see what's happening and who should stay with father.. I just wanna be able to defend our kingdom.. if the time came." Getting up from her chair she walked slowly over to the large window and placed a hand on the cold glass. "Something's going on out there.. And I'm gonna find it"

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Name: Arianna Elizabeth Princeton (Ari)
Age: 19
Home: Astria, a small kingdom
Job: Princess by day, knightness by night.
Bio: Born the third child in the royal lineage, she's the youngest and only daughter. She has two twin older brothers Axel and Austin. Ari was never an ideal princess, her nature was much more adventurous then her mother and father would have liked. Arianna preferred sword fighting with her older brothers and riding horses in the fields over tea and cake with her mother and her ladies in waiting. Over the years she blossomed into a lovely young lady and after many many MANY fights with her parents she has grown to accept her princess. After she overheard her older brothers talking of a darkness that was overcoming her kingdom, Ari decided to started training with the royal guard at night. Ari possess the element of light but doesn't know it yet and life as she knows it is about to change forever.
Image: [/dash]

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It was supposed to be just a typical day. Equipment testing for product evaluation at the university. Richard had just gotten back after grabbing some pizza for him and his friend, knowing it was going to be a long day of not leaving the testing room. Today he was helping his friend Samuel work on his latest project, a machine that in theory, should be able to assist with galaxy wise teleportation. He opened the door and called out to his friend who was elbow deep in the guts of his machine, rock music could be heard blaring from the speakers behind him. Richard set down the pizza and pressed pause on the music, letting Samuel know that the food was here.

"Think well make a breakthrough today man?" Richard asked his red haired friend as he grabbed a slice.

"Hopefully" responded Samuel as he wiped his hands of the dust and reaction fluid from his hands. "Today's the last day we're gonna have to really get the metrics down and have a legitimate test. So buckle down sunshine because we will not be seeing any other place than here for a while."

Richard chuckled, and once finished with their food, set to work.

The hours ticked by sluggishly as they worked away at the machine, inputting all the necessary coordinate data and ensuring the correct power levels were used. Finally around 5 p.m. they stood up and evaluated their work, satisfied that now was the time to start an official test run.

"Okay, so we know we can already move people with this without any side effects, I'll volunteer to guineapig this first test" Richard said, packing a small backpack of gear. This was essentially a "just in case" package, containing a comm device, water module, and most importantly, a device of his own creation known as an atom reconstructor, able to deatomize objects and reassemble them into other items of the same atomic structure.

Once Richard was inside the machine and gave the thumbs up, Samuel began the process, setting a predertimined location and beginning the countdown.

All was going well, until the warning sirens went off.

MELTDOWN IMMINENT, CLEAR THE AREA

Went the warning. Richards heart sank, immediately bolting to the exit. Before he could make it out, however, the air locks shut firm, locking him inside as the machine shuddered and roared all around him. His calls for help drowned out by the drone of the failing machinery.

INTERDEMENTIONAL ANOMALY DETECTED

What? This wasn't supppsed to happen! What was going on?! Before Richard had time to realize what happened, the teleportation sequence activated, and the whirring of the machine began, the last thing Richard could remember was a flash of white... then black...
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Arianna-Astria​

Black...White....Black.....White...​

"Arianna Elizabeth Prince!" The shrill voice cut through Ari's ears like an arrow. Her mind snapped back to the present and she lifted her head to look at her mother. "Wha.." She began to ask before her mother, The Queen, stopped her mid sentence. "Arianna.. dear. Please try to focus. We don't have time to be drifting away." She scolded the young princess. "Yes mother I understand.." Arianna said. She had learned that giving up was easier then protesting, it spared her a lecture. "Now, black or white lanters for the festival tonight?" Arianna's eyes fluttered over to the two servants holding up black and white detailed lanterns. "Uh.. white.. it gives hope." Arianna said before looking over her shoulder at the window. "Excellent decision darling, I was thinking that myself, you know the people always need to keep hope...." Her mothers voice drifted off as Ari's eyes fixated on the open sky, past the villages and the "royal responsibilities". Ari couldn't help but think about her talk with Axel, her older brother, that morning. He had said the air felt heavy today, no winds were blowing and the sea had come to a salty halt. He said it had something to do with the sky. Ari squinted to find any fault within the pretty blue atmosphere. "Not a cloud in the sky.." Ari whispered under her breath. Just as she was about to look away and pretend that she cared about color swatches and food samples, her eyes caught a singular cloud. A dark, black.. wait that wasn't a cloud. Suddenly before she could say a word, a bright white flash appeared and blinded her, causing her to turn her head and shield her eyes. The room was suddenly filled with light, illuminating everything it touched. Yet, after a few seconds the light vanished completely and as Arianna rushed to the window she couldn't find the misshaped dark cloud.

'I've got to find out what that was!' Arianna thought before getting up. Her thoughts suddenly ceased as she returned to the present where her mother was dismissing the servants. "Arianna! I'm going to see your father, I'll be back momentarily. Don't. Leave. Is that understood young lady?" She said, her eyes narrowing on the princess. "Of course mother." She said as her mother turned to leave. "What was that light your highness?" Lily asked from her spot behind Ari. "I don't know.. But I'm about to find out." She said as she picked up the longer layers of her dress and kicked off her petite shoes. "Ari you can't go the Queen said--" Lily began to protest, but Ari wouldn't hear it. "Lily, my mother said to pick out lanterns," She pointed at three white detailed lanterns, "I've done my duty.. Now if she asks I was feeling overwhelmed and went to draw a bath. I owe you one" Arianna said as she flashed her best friend smile before gathering the bunches of fabric and hurrying out of the room.

Ari made her way down to the stables and smiled as the stable boy, Ronan, approached her. "Hello Ronan, you're looking handsome today. Did you get a haircut?" Ronan smirked at the princess before replying "What do you need your highness" Ari gave the older boy a devilish glance "I need a horse..preferably my horse" Ronan ran his fingers through his hair before replying "How much trouble will I get in? Hmm?" Ari smirked slighting before waving her hand dismissively "Nonsense I'd never get you in trouble... well much trouble that is" Ronan groaned before begrudging opening the door to a stall. "Fine, but you'll owe me" Quickly throwing together a bridle and saddle, Ronan held the horse steady before helping lift Ari onto the back of the beast. "Please be safe princess.." He said before releasing the bridle of her horse. "Oh you worry to much Ronan" She said with a wink before giving a quick kick and riding out of the stable and towards where the light had come from.

After a quick ride through the nearest village, almost destroying many decorations for the night's festivities. She had eventually made her way to the field. She pulled back on her reins to signal her horse to slow down. She looked causisouly over to the burnt wild flowers and long stemmed grass to see a figure laying in the middle. She gasped and rode closer before stopping completely. It looked like a man.. but why was he out here. He didn't have the pale white skin of her people, or the whitefish locks for her people.. so.. what.. who was he? "Who are you?" She asked, trying to sound as important as she possibly could.
 
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Through the ringing in Richards ears, he could have sworn he heard someone's voice. However everything was so distorted for him that he couldn't tell what was said or who even said it. Wait. If he was hearing a persons voice... was he alive?!

Instinctively, Richard opened his eyes immediately, only to be met with a blazing sunlit day. It caused him to visibly flinch from the sudden bombardment of light and he groaned a bit, muttering "Damn that was bright".

He rolled over onto his side and tried to prop himself up onto his knees, only to realize wherever he teleported, the reaction of the machine took a toll on his motor skills.

Wait... the machine!!! It worked!!!

He reached for his phone, trying to find some inclination as to where he had landed. Blinking through his blurred vision, he could barely make out what the screen said... no signal? That can't be right...

It was then he started to realize, he was nowhere even close to where he was supposed to land. He was in some kind of field... open and vast... no houses or buildings of any kind. His vision still blurry, he finally noticed the figure standing in front of him. Even through blurred eyes, he could make out that it was a female on a horse, but no other details from that. He rubbed his eyes, trying to get them to focus. Slowly his vision returned, and he could make out more of the female in front of him. Pale skin, bleach blond hair, small frame but she seemed strong for some reason. Not only that but Richard went as far to say she looked beautiful.

She looked like she was waiting for something. Perhaps she asked him something? Bringing the strength that he could to his voice, he managed a let out a hoarse "huh?"
 
Arianna- Astria​

"Oh.. My.. Goddesses.." Arianna let out softly. She hadn't even realized that she was holding her breath but suddenly she was feeling light headed. 'What is this.. thing.. person..oh whatever' She thought to herself. She watched him fumble around and pull out a little box, that.. lit up? Arianna was so very confused, her head began to tilt as her mind whirled to make sense of this. Her first instinct was to examine him. He wasn't pale white like her skin, he was fair.. but definitely not as pale as her. His hair was long for a man.. it was a yellowish sort of blonde.. again much different then her. His body was much taller and more muscular then most of her people, even more so then the royal guard. His ears weren't pointed like hers. When the man did turn to look at her, his eyes traveled up her horse and landed on her, he shielded his eyes quickly and Ari could see that his eyes weren't a piercing dark violet color..like her people. He managed to finally croak out an odd sound and Ari cocked her head to one side. He seemed confused. She cleared her throat before asking again "Who are you? Where do you come from?"

She decided, against her better judgement, to dismount her horse. With a graceful sweep of her legs she slid off the shiny saddle and landed on her feet facing him. She remembered she had forgotten her shoes as her feet hit the dirt. "Mother will kill me if I get this dress dirty!" She exclaimed, gathering the dress in her arm, the other arm holding the reins of her horse loosely. Again her eyes settled on this man. He was different then her, that much was true, but she couldn't deny that he was handsome. His clothing had rips in it, exposing some dirt covered muscle. She bit her lower lip softly, as she took this sight in. True, as the princess she had many encounters with handsome men. But none made her as intimidated as he did. She felt her mind beginning to drift off as her eyes traveled back up to meet his.
 
The girl dismounted her horse with noticeable grace, her movements almost seeming fluid. She made some sort of exclamation about her dress, then proceeded to lift it to make sure that it wouldnt touch the ground. It was cute in a sense, if only he had the strength to chuckle. As she got closer, he immediately noticed her eyes, violet... he had never seen anyone with violet eyes before, stunning. His senses came back as he realized she had asked him who he was and where he came from. Taking a deep breath to help steady himself, he managed to bring himself up to a kneeling position. He was feeling his strength returning, though he was still pretty shaky.

"M-my name is Richard... Richard Greenwell. I'm... well I was from the New York Engineering University just within Sector 15... but to be honest im not sure where I am now... My phone isnt getting a signal, though it could have been fried from the teleport jump. You wouldnt happen to know where we are miss? I need to find a phone so I can get a hold of my friend, we were working on an experiment when... oh god... Samuel! I-I need to make sure he's okay! The machine.... I-it was in a meltdown phase... it could have exploded! He could be... oh god..."

The realization came to Richard as he recalled the last few event where he saw his friend. The small burst of adrenaline gave him the strength to stand, albeit with a visible sway. His eyes still held a determination though as he looked at this strange girl with the violet eyes and pointed ears. He had never seen a species like her before... humanoid, but no class of lifeform he had encountered before. "Miss... where are we?"
 
Arianna-Astria
​
Suddenly he was addressing her and her eyes snapped back to attention as he spoke. 'Richard Greenwell' Ari thought to herself "what a strange name.." She said curiously. Wherever he had come from, the landing had been rough on him. Richard struggled to get up to a kneeling position. Her head cocked to the right side again as he explained where he was from. "Wait what is New York University? Or Sector 15? Is that across the sea?" She had absolutely no clue what he was talking about."What is a phone?" Suddenly he was rambling like a maniac and Ari took a step back. Her dress dropping from her hands as her eyes grew wide and skeptical. He was stumbling to get up and his voice sounded panicked. "Miss.. where are we?"

Her eyes watched him cautiously as he swayed to and fro. "We are in the kingdom of Astria, just west of the northern seas." She answered with a matter-of-fact tone. "You're in my Kingdom" She hissed. No matter how handsome this young man was he was still an intruder, a confusing.. cute.. goofy.. intruder. Her eyebrows arched inquizically. "Now what is this machine you speak of.. why is it exploding? Is that what is causing this darkness?" Her eyes grew fearful. Maybe he was the cause of this terrible dark spell. Her mind began to spin in circles. The air hung heavy around them, and even her horse with his overly large ears was beginning to become impatient. He sniffed to ground and hit his clear glass hooves in an angry protest attempt to move the princess. 'My beautiful kingdom must look so strange to him..' She thought, placing her hand on the navy colored horses nose to calm him. Looking to him for any sign of a reaction.
 
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Richards heart only managed to sink further as this girl obviously had no clue what he was talking about. In theory, the machine could have managed to take him to a whole new planet, but he was familiar with a large majority of neighboring planets within the Milky Way, and there was no way the machine had the capabilities of intergalactic teleportation. It's max range would only take him to planets within his own galaxy. It was one of two things, one of which, somehow the machine DID have the range capability, or... well Richard didn't really like what the other possibility was. 'Interdimensional anomaly' was what he recalled the warning relaying before he vanished.

"Darkness?" He asked her, clearly confused. Whatever she was talking about, the machine had nothing to do with it. This was when he began to take in his surroundings. Everything looked so... different. The fauna, the horse that the girl was riding... hell even SHE looked different. Nothing like any being he has seen before. He was obviously in a different world... but where in the universe did he land?!

"Astria? Kingdom?" He said, echoing her words. He hadn't heard of any existing planets that still had kingdoms, but anything is possible. It was obvious that she was treating him as an intruder what with the slight hint of venom in her words. So it was her kingdom... was she the queen? She seemed... young. But then again, he had never seen her kind before, no telling what her true age was. Though she did seem close to his age, young, pretty, and albeit intimidating.

"I'm... I'm sorry for the sudden intrusion... your majesty... but I am being completely honest when i say I have no idea how I got here... and I think if I explained it I would just sound crazy to you. But please know I am no threat to you." He said to her, standing as straight as his shaky body would let him. He still felt drained, he would need to rest to regain his strength.
 
Arianna-Astria
​
As he spoke, Ari felt her body relax. He assured her that he was no threat to her, and oddly enough she beielved him. He could of course be lying but she felt that wasn't the case. Her face relaxed from her stern face to a more compassionate look. "Oddly enough.. I believe you Richard Greenwell of Sector 15." She paused for a second to think briefly before continuing "Although I still don't know where you are referring too" She shrugged lightly before noticing again how shake he was. "We can discuss details later.. let's get you some water and rest." She smiled and approached him slowly before touching his hand. She examined his large hand before taking it in her little hand. "Come on, I'll take you home." She gestured to the horse and tugged on the reins for the horse to lower his body so she could help Richard on. "Good boy Ace." She said as she rewarded the horse with loving pats.

Once she was sure that Richard was secure she hooked her foot on the strip and pulled herself up and over. "Oh by the way. My name's Arianna, call me Ari" She said with a wink "And hold on" With that she whipped the horse around and easily transitioned into a fast gallop. Galloping across the field and through the back ways so that she wouldn't draw attention to Richard. Arriving at the stable shortly after she dismounted quickly and waited for Richard to followed suit. Afterwards she left Ace in his stall, knowing Ronan would be on rounds shortly to untack him. She gave him a quick kiss and told him thank you. He snorted in response before she left. She looked at Richard seriously and whispered. "Okay, no one can know you're here.. and you can't tell anybody about this." She gestured to the book case that suddenly creaked open to reveal a hidden passage.

She took his hand again, leading him up the secret stairwell and poked her head out to make sure the coast was clear. She looked back at him and whispered "Okay I know you don't feel well but I promise I'll let you rest once we reach my bedroom." She looked out again and after a couple servants passed she shoved him out and closed the door behind them and grabbed his hand running through the halls, barefoot feet sliding, until reaching her door and opening it quickly. Once they were inside she collapsed in a heap of giggles before collecting herself enough to say "Okay okay, we're safe go ahead and rest you can use my bed. I'll get you some water" She smiled sweetly
 
Once She said that details could be said later, and offered to take him back to rest, everything went by in a flash. He recalled her saying her name was Ari... it was a cute name and it suited her, but that was all he got to register before he found himself on the horse. The second he was on the horse and she got on, they immediately dashed off, and it took every ounce of what strength Richard had left to make sure he didnt fall off. They went from fields to a town, moving so fast that they seemed like little blurred figures rather than people. Why was she moving so fast? Next thing he knew, they were off the horse and heading into what seemed like a passage behind a bookshelf. Why could no one know he was here? Did her kingdom not like strangers? Then again he is a complete stranger just waltzing into a giant castle with no official invitation. What would happen if he were caught?

Soon enough they made it to a bedroom, where Ari fell back giggling like a child. He would have chuckled too if it werent for the fact that he was so winded from the fast paced hurry to the room. His face did manage to get a slight shade pinker when he recalled her mentioning that this was her room. Alone in a girls room with her with no one else in the castle knowing, now that was a scary thought. However he didnt protest when she said she would get some water and that he could use her bed to rest. It did look rather comfy. With only the slightest of nods, Richard shuffled his way to the bed and half laid half flopped onto the cushion filled mattress. It was like laying on a cloud and he could immediately feel the relief that his aching muscles were begging for. He could feel his shoulders relaxing as he let out a huge sigh, and could only let out a faint "Thank you" just before a soft snore could be heard from him.
 
Arianna
​
Once he was plopped onto her bed he was out like a light. She giggled softly and stroked his hair out of his face. She plucked a glass off the night stand and filled in with the crystal clear liquid. Placing it next to him. She knew he would be out for awhile and she took advantage of this time and slipped out of the room.

She wandered down the hall and into the throne room where her brothers and father were sitting, discussing something in hushed tones. As soon as she walked in their heads popped up to look at her. "Hi Daddy, how are you feeling?" She asked with a little wave. Skipping over to her father she leaned down to plant a kiss on his cheek. Her father smiled up at her and greeted her "Hello darling, I'm feeling fine, and what have you been up too?" He asked questioning her. "I just went for a ride daddy, the village looks lovely today. I'm sure it'll look incredible tonight!" Her father chuckled and replied "Your mother has been looking for you young lady" She pouted and sat next to her dad "Daddy I hate color swatches.." he patted her knee lovingly and replied. "Don't we all" Axel and Austin nodded and chuckled.

"Go find mother Ari, we have some stuff to tell father" Austin said, trying to boss her around. "I'm 19 Austin, I'm not a baby" She protested, glaring at him as she spoke. "She can stay boys, she deserves the truth just as much as you two do." Her father said, patting the spot next to him. Sliding into the seat, she looked at Axel as he continued on. "Well we know there hasn't been rain in 2 weeks, 4 citizens have gone missing, livestock is dying off, and now there is no wind or circulation in the waters." Ari sighed softly. "well that's not good.." Her father and brothers continued to discuss the problems and possible solutions. After a few hours Ari was sent off to get ready for the festival later.

As she walked back to her room Arianna couldn't help but remember an old prophecy her grandmother recited to her when she was little. Lost in thought she quietly walked into her room and shut the door, locking the door behind her. She sat at her vanity and began to re do her hair. Curling her long platinum locks into a cascade of platinum locks down her back. She began to singing softly as she brushed her hair.
 
Richard had slept long and hard once he had laid on the bed, his whole body succumbing to the comfort of the mattress that had welcomed him so warmly. Every now and then his hand or foot would twitch, but other than that he was pretty calm in his sleep. His mind drifted from all the events that had transpired, flashing from the meltdown, to the brilliant white light he saw before blacking out. Things moved slower in his dreams, as if it were waiting for him to see something he didn't notice before. In the flash, he could have sworn he saw the silhouette of a person in front of him, hands reaching out in a welcoming gesture. He felt himself drawn to this person, not scared or nervous, but calm. As he got closer he could swear he heard a singing coming from somewhere, the person perhaps? But before he could reach the silhouette and see who it was, he woke.

Richard blinked his eyes open, feeling more relaxed than he remembered being since he woke up in this strange world. The singing could still be heard, and turning his head, he saw where the source was coming from, it was Ari, singing as she fixed her hair. For the time being he was content just watching her do this, listening to her voice as she continued to fix herself up. She was already beautiful as it was, but watching her like this, calm and happily minding to her own task at hand, it made her even more so.

A quick swallow was enough to let him know of his sry throat, and looking to his side, he noticed a glass of water sitting there. Ari must have left it there for him. Letting out a small yawn, he reached over for the glass and took a long sip from it, feeling the refreshing coolness take over his senses for a short period. He placed the now empty cup back where he had found it and moved himself up to a sitting position, running his eyes with his left hand and letting out a deep sigh. He looked up at Ari and let a small smile escape him. "Thank you again... I owe you one..."
 
Arianna
Ari was so focused on her hair and the soft melody that she didn't even here Richard rustle and awake until he said something. "Oh!" She squeaked in surprised when he finally spoke. She turned to face him and smiled "I didn't hear you get up." As he thanked her for her help she shook her head. "I'd do it for anyone.. that I trust." Her eyes sparkled a bit as she talked. "You don't owe me anything but answers Richard." She said as she got up and prorused her closet of flowing dresses. "I just want to know where you come from and whatever you can explain.." Her eyes danced across the rows of dresses until they landed on a soft lilac tulle dress. She plucked it from the rest and hung it on the hook. Turning away from Richard she disrobed. Astrians felt no shame in their sexualities so she thought nothing as she pulled and tugged the soft purple dress over her long fair body.​

Once the dress was on and situated, the strapless material ran down the length of her body hitting her hips and blooming into a mermaid styled dress with layers upon layers making the bottom fluff lights around her. She pulled her hair to one side and looked over her shoulder. "I'm sorry, do you mind zipping me?" She asked referring to the back of the dress that was hanging open.

She bent over to pluck a pair of crystal clear heels with a little bow on the back of both, slipping them over her feet and fastening them. Listening contently as he spoke. "I figured since you know very little about my kingdom I could show you the festival tonight.. however we have to fix you up so you will blend in more, don't want to draw to much attention.. not at a time like this." She sighed softly.
 
'So she wants answers. Fair enough' thought Richard as she responded to him. As she began searching through dresses, he thought about how he would begin explaining.

"Well" he started, "Where I come from, we don't have kingdoms, we have cities and within the cities, states and countries lead by a head leader along with a group of other members known as a Congress. My... world... is a place of technology and machines, a world where scientific advancements have allowed us to travel beyond the reaches of my world to many others among the stars. I am... was... a student in one of the best universities my city had to offer, I was learning to become an engineer, someone who creates and builds all kinds of technology, looking to advance what we already know with new innovations and improvements on older ones. I was learning to become an engineer for engines, space engines to be exact."

It was around this time that Ari had begun to undress herself, Richards face becoming beet red as he quickly averted his eyes away. How she was comfortable with undressing in front of a total stranger was baffling to him. However he continued his story as he shielded his view from her.

"Before I ended up here, I was helping a friend of mine, Samuel, work on his own machine. He wanted to improve on the technology that allowed people to teleport by increasing the range of its effectiveness. In theory, if the machine worked, it would allow us to travel across our entire galaxy in an instant." Richard let out a small sigh "however when we were testing it, something malfunctioned, and somehow, a dimensional anomaly was created. Instead of taking me somewhere in my known galaxy, I thing I somehow managed to jump the gap between dimensions."

Richard looked up assuming she was finally dressed, and was blown away by the dress she was wearing. She looked stunning. With a smile he added "you look beautiful."

He did have a small look of confusion when she said that he will have to blend in at this festival, and he asked "why do I have to blend in? Would your people not take kindly to me?"
 
"No No, don't get me wrong Astrians are some of the most kind hearted people in all of Westians. However we've been experiencing an.. era of darkness." Ari quickly corrected herself. She took his hand and brought him over to her vanity where she lightly pushed his shoulders to make him sit. "You see Astria, we don't do..technogloy." She began to tend to his wounds and clean the dust and dirt away. "Astria.. we thrive on each other.. and magic." She smiled softly as she powdered his face with a light white dust to make him appear lighter. "We believe in light, in each other, we know each other and we all have a job here."

Moving onto his hair she began to comb through it with her fingers and apply gel in an attempt to tame his lion mane. "So this darkness.. it's causing riffs in everything we know and believe in. Our winds have disappeared.. our seas refuse to wave.. even citizens have begun to disappear without a trace." Pausing slightly she let out a sigh. "I love my kingdom.. I love what we stand for. Adventure and magic and community" She smiled at him. "Want to see something cool?" She asked. Not waiting for an answer she held out her palm and began to trace a symbol lightly over her palms. A ball of light began to form from the center of her hand before she gently flicked the ball into the air, causing the ball to explode into a little firework. "See magic is what we know.. and this darkness.. it's draining us of what we know.." Arianna grabbed a pair of violet contacts. "So were all little on edge.. and you," she gestured to his appearance. "You're different.. you're unknown.. and we fear the unknown right now." She plucked a contact gently from the case and held it on the tip of her finger before blowing it lightly into his eye. The contact settled harmlessly in the center of his pupil. "That's why."

"I'm all done, now just put this on," She said throwing a shirt and tie with a match pair of pants at him. "And meet me outside." She said as she went to leave the room she paused before saying "You take a left at the end of the hall and you should see servants filling out of a door, just follow them and Ill come find you." She threw him a playful wink before disappearing to find her family before the commencement speech.
 
As Richard was settled in front of the vanity so Ari could help make him look more like the locals, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of concern from her story. Not only that, but when she mentioned magic, he couldn't help but feel a little skeptical. That was quickly changed when she demonstrated her own magic with the little light show she made. It opened so many more questions for him, but they would have to wait for later. She went on to explain all of the recent occurrences, the vanishing of citizens, the strange environmental anomalies... he began to wonder just what the source of all this was... and how much more it was capable of.

He could understand her concern for people seeing someone of his kind, and the fact that because he was unknown, it would unsettle the people greatly. As she put the finishing touches on his look, he looked at the mirror to see the finished image. Safe to say he didn't even recognize himself, so he didn't have many worries about citizens singling him out. She handed him over some clothes and told him where to go so she could find him, and he nodded in understanding. "I'll see you there" he responded before she left. He began to undo his tattered clothes and slid in the new garments he was given. Thankfully they fit pretty well and were rather comfortable.

He was just about to slip out of the door when he paused. Looking back to his belongings, he decided that perhaps he should grab something... just in case something went wrong. Waking back, he reached into his pants pocket and grabbed his Atom Deconstor, formally called his ADE (pronounced aid). It resembled that of a small scanner, and was just slender enough to slide into his pocket without much of a bulge. "Best not keep her waiting" he thought as he made his way out. After he was sure the coast was clear, he opened the door and went the way Ari had instructed him. Eventually he made his way to the group of servants heading out toward the festival, and grabbed a platter of food to help him blend in a little. Eventually he was outside, the sun was warm, and the weather was rather nice, much unlike the colder temperatures at Sector 15. He looked from side to side as he waited for a glance of Ari to find him.
 
Arianna remembered why she hated spending "quality" time with her family. Not only was her mother upset with her and would not let her here the end of it, but her brothers were arguing as well. She was rolling her eyes and just wanted to scream at this point. 'Ugh you people drive me crazy!' She thought as the royal family made their way to the balcony to address their people. As soon as the double doors opened the family bickering was silenced and her mother and father stepped out, smiling and waving. Rolling her eyes, she waited for her brothers to take their place next to their parents. As she stepped out of the shadows and walked into the sound of the adoring crowd roaring for her family she put on her pretty princess smile. Holding her head up high to make sure her tiara wouldn't fall off, like it had when she was 12.

"Citizens of Astria.. We are a humble kingdom, we are a strong kingdom, we are a proud kingdom!" Her father's voice boomed over the hushed crowd. It never ceased to amaze Ari how her father, even with his health problems, how he could command such attention and draw such admiration from people. As her father's speech went on.. and on.. and on. She tried to maintain her poise but after a while her feet ached. She began to scan the area beneath her, hoping to catch a look at Richard. She managed to find him and smiled softly before she heard her father say her name. Her eyes drifted back to her father who was nodding to her to start the lanterns. "Oh! Yes!" She said before stepping to the center, picking up the delicate white lantern from the stool. "Citizens of Astria! Tonight.. We celebrate our kingdom, our magic, our roots, our moon who guides us through the darkness." Lifting the lit lantern up, "Let the Festival of the Moon.. Begin!" With that she gently pushed her lantern off into the sky. All the citizens began to push lanterns up to the sky and soon the sunset was covered in purple, pink, green, and blue lights and lanterns. After the ceremony she ducked under a servant and disappeared into the crowd.

Weaving her way to where Richard was standing. "Hey stranger," She greeted him. She pulled her curled hair into a braid and smiled. "Gimme one second." She said and stepped behind a cart and pulled the dress off, revealing a cute sundress. Leaving the glamorous gown, with her tiara on the cart. Blowing lightly she watched the dress and tiara dissipated into light particles and then disappear completely. Turning to Richard she smiled sweetly and asked. "So.. What'd ya think?"
 
When the booming voice of the king was heard over the crowd, Richard looked up to see Ari with her family. Hearing her fathers rousing speech, Richard understood why the citizens were so excited. The kings voice and energy was enough to even give him goosebumps. Soon enough Ari was up next to speak, and soon, she and the rest of the kingdom released their lanterns into the sky, filling the evening sky with a beautiful sight. He couldn't help himself but to smile at the joy her people clearly showed. It was as if the entire kingdom was one huge family.

Before long Ari found him again, and Richard smiled a bit wider this time, happy to see her again. Before they went off, Ari changed to a sundress and (though it still baffled him) used her magic to make her other dress vanish. She asked him what he thought of the opening and he shrugged and gave a small chuckle "it was... amazing. I've never seen anything like this, it's nothing like where I'm from." He said happily. He looked around as the festival was beginning, and with a playful grin he looked to her and asked "so you gonna show me around?"
 
She giggled lightly and took his hand "It's only a matter of where to begin" His hand felt rough and calloused compared to her smooth hand and she didn't mind it. Guiding him through the different vendors she would stop and offer him bites of the exotic cuisine and steal bits of desert herself. "The festival of the moon is time where we celebrate how the moon lights our nights. We rely solely on light to guide our magic and our lives, so the moon is important because its the one thing that provides light during our long nights. We go through a season of almost constant nighttime and the moon begins to shine even brighter during this season. It's important that we honor the moon so it will feed our crops." She explained. Pointing to the large silver ball in the sky, illuminating the village below. "So we as the royal family prepare lanterns and food to honor our citizens and all the hard work they do." She smiled as they kept weaving though the crowds of smiling faces. "It's a great celebration.. it's also when we celebrate the children who are newly born, remember our deceased, and honor our royal guard."

As they approached the middle of the village she looked up at the emerald sky, the lanterns scattered all around like little stars. Her eyes fluttered down to make eye contact with Richard.. before looking away with a slight blush to her cheeks. Her heart rate was up as she leaned into him a bit to steady herself. In the center of the village music was played loudly as couples and children of all ages were dancing gleefully in the center. Chuckling lightly she pointed to her brothers who were flirting with a girl. "See those two boys, they're my brothers. Axel, he's the taller one, he's the captain of the royal guard. And Austin, he's the shorter one, he's a political and diplomatic genius, he arranges all our trade agreements. Together they're unstoppable.. they'll make great Kings one day. " She said proudly. "This festival is also a time to express love to your lover.. which is why they are both facing all over that poor girl. Her name is Rose, my mother loves her, she thinks she'll be a great queen.. if she could ever decide on which brother to date"

Giggling, Ari turned to look at Richard, something about him made her breath catch in her throat. Maybe it was the way he laughed, or the way his eyes glistened under the dim lights of the lanterns. But something about him was just so.. unknown.. so dangerous.. so adventurous. "So.. overwhelmed yet?" She asked him with a slight smirk. She knew his mind must have been whirling around him at this new world. It made her wonder what was his world like, what were his people like, what was family like.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a blast from the sky. A dark fog started to descend upon the village and everyone lost their shit. "Oh. Shit" Arianna said. Dropping Ricahrd's hand she started directing people into the castle. Yelling orders to take cover and run. Everything was happening so fast. Fires began to rain from the sky and lanterns began to spark and blow up. Ari was busy hustling people to safety that when she heard her mother's blood curdling screams she turned to see that her brother Austin was laying lifelessly on the ground. "NO!" She screamed, tears welling up in her violet eyes as she ran over to her brother's body.
 
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To think that Richard had been in this world for less than a day, and already he was beginning to feel that perhaps it wasn't as bad as he had previously thought. Of course he still worried about his friend back home, and the thought of his safety was in his mind, but in all honesty, what power did he currently have to fix that? It wouldn't help to stay worried about the situation right now, especially when he is supposed to blend in with the rest of the people at the celebration. Ari took his hand in hers and he immediately noticed how soft her hand was, if it were his choice, he would hold it forever.

Ari began pulling him through all of the festival, he admired all the handiworks and artistic crafts that surrounded him, seeing all the smiling and cheerful faces. It helped that his new disguise made him look like one of the locals, he wasnt sure just how welcoming they would be especially at the delicate time they were currently in. Richard decided to try the local treats that Ari was giving to him, and couldnt even begin to define the amazing flavors of all that he ate. It was exotic, but gave him a strange nostalgia, like being home during a cookout with his family.

Ari went on to motion to the two boys, her brothers, both trying their best to court the poor girl in between them. He couldnt help but feel humorously sorry for the girl, glad he never had to deal with anything like that in his life. From everything that Ari had told him, he couldnt help but feel almost overwhelmed with just how tightly bound this community is with one another. The way they all gather together to celebrate something that would be seen as a mere energy source in his world, light. To them it was so much more...

Ari asked him a question and it shook him out of his thoughts, and with a chuckle he said "Well, maybe a little". He hadnt quite placed it yet, but there was something about her that made his chest feel lighter than a feather and made his heart beat like crazy. This may not be his home world, but this girl made him feel more welcome than ever...

Suddenly the explosion from overhead went off, and soon the entire festival was thrown into chaos, shadows began descending from the skies, lanterns were destroyed and rained fire down upon the citizens. Ari ushered people to the safety of the castle just as a blood curdling scream could be hear up ahead. Richard looked over to see who he recognized as the queen screaming over the lifeless body of one of Aris brothers, Austin. Ari dashed over to them, and without thinking, Richard followed closely. "We have to get everyone back" Richard said to Ari as they got closer, and with a small pause he said to her "We cant leave him out in this chaos... Im strong enough to carry him back..."
 
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