Another World Read online

“Stop,” the girl interrupted, holding her hands out in front of her get my attention. “Do you breathe when you speak?”

  “I’m sorry, I tend to ramble when I’m nervous,” I admitted.

  “Now that I understand. How about we start from the beginning?” the girl asked me, and I slowly nodded. “Good. My name is Sageri and I’m the apprentice to the Sorceress Egina, high advisor to the Lord Peru.”

  “Peru, like the country?” I asked her.

  “What? Seriously? I said all that and that’s the part you focus on?” Sageri wasn’t chastising me, she giggled instead.

  “It’s the only word I recognized that made sense to me,” I told her.

  “In a strange way that makes sense. But no, we do not have a country named Peru, just a Lord,” Sageri told me.

  “And you are a witch?” I asked, unsure if I’d heard that part correctly?

  “I am a sorceress’s apprentice. I have a lot of training before I become a full sorceress. And you are?” Sageri sat down next to me, arranging her skirt around her.

  “Madison, apprentice to no one, and barely able to make it through high school,” I replied.

  “Now I know how you feel, because I have no clue what you just said.” Sageri and I both laughed.

  “Madison, apprentice to no one, what are you?”

  “You keep asking me that. Why?” I finally asked.

  “You sound like a girl, and you have delicate features that make you very pretty. But you are wearing trousers and your hair is shorter, like most males in the kingdom.” I had never been complimented and insulted in the same sentence, but I guessed there was a first for everything.

  I paid close attention to Sageri and noticed her hair was not just long, it was almost to her waist. She wore a dress that had several layers. This place was straight out of a medieval festival.

  “Are women not allowed to wear pants here?” Would I be stoned for wearing pants?

  “It is not a crime if that is what you’re asking, we just don’t. Why would anyone want to wear something so uncomfortable and itchy when you can wear soft gowns? Can I assume you are a girl?” Sageri asked, getting closer to me.

  “Yes, and by the looks of it, a really bad one.” I pulled my knees up to my chest.

  “Oh, thanks to the Goddess!” Sageri shouted. “My mistress would kill me if she knew I had a male staying in the house.”

  “Staying? Me?” I searched around for a way out.

  “At least until tomorrow. It is dark now.” Sageri got up and walked towards the far wall. She opened the wooden window and a deep, blue sky, filled with stars, twinkled at me.

  “How long have I been out?” My legs felt like jelly, but I made my way towards the window. It was daylight when I saw my reflection at the lake.

  “It was midday when I found you,” Sageri explained. “It took me most of the afternoon to find a rider and bring you back here. I gave you a few herbs for the ride because you were moaning with each step.”

  “Sageri, I need to get home. My family is probably worried about me.” If they even noticed I was gone.

  “My mistress can help, but like I told you, she won’t be back until next month,” Sageri said. “It’s late Madison, and you need rest. You had a long day.”

  “How can I rest? I’m in another world with no way to get home.” The high-pitched tone in my voice made Sageri squirm next to me.

  “Yes, but panicking is not going to help anyone,” Sageri told me. “We have another bed in the supply room you can sleep in, and tomorrow we can try to figure this out.”

  “Okay,” I agreed, but inside I wanted to scream like a madwoman. That would do nothing to help me, so I held it in there.

  I followed Sageri through a set of double doors into a fairly normal living room. Besides candles lighting the place, it looked like a cabin you would find at a campground. The house was clean, and wooden chairs with large cushions were invitingly arranged in front of a large fireplace.

  “Wow,” I mumbled as we walked around the house.

  “This is our living area,” Sageri told me. “You were in our shop. Men are not allowed back here, so I had to make sure what you were before offering refuge. This is going to be your room for the night.”

  Sageri stopped on the farthest side of the house in front of three doors, then pointed to the one of the left.

  “The mistress’s room is the far one and I am right next to you,” Sageri told me. “We normally use this room as a supply room since we rarely have guests.”

  Sageri opened the door to the supply room. A small bed rested against the far wall with a dresser and chair sitting right next to it. The other walls were covered in shelves filled with all sorts of strange herbs and jars.

  “Here, chew on this tonight.” Sageri handed me some weird leaves from her pocket. “Don’t be afraid. It will help with the pain and allow you to sleep better.”

  “Thank you,” I told her.

  “Good night.” Sageri left the room and closed the door behind her.

  I sat down on the bed and chewed on the leaves. This was not my idea of getting out of the city. I had wanted to go home, not leave the planet. The room twirled, and I had just enough time to glance down at Sageri’s magic herbs before I dropped onto the pillow and fell asleep.

  The warm rays from the sun tickled my eyelids, waking me up, but I didn’t open my eyes right away. Fear kept them shut, at least until I took a few deep breaths, then opened one at a time.

  Oh no…it is real.

  I was still stuck in this old-fashioned world with no way to get home. I covered my face with the pillow and prayed it would all disappear, that when I came out from under the pillow I’d be back in my bed in the city. How insane could I be? After months of praying to get away from that hell hole, now I wanted to go back? My grandmother warned me to be careful what I wished for because it might come true. Next time, I’d make sure to be more specific with my wishes. I wanted to end up in Kansas, not another world.

  Hesitantly, I tossed the pillow aside. Just like I feared, the supply room greeted me once more.

  What do I do? I had two options: stay in this bed and whine for the next month or get up and do something while I wait to be sent home. Option one sounded so miserable and sad, so I immediately dismissed that one. A month of hiding was not my idea of living.

  Get up Madison! You always wanted to go on an adventure. Here is your chance. Pep-talk over, I needed to face this world.

  I dragged the sheets off and found I slept in a long nightgown. My clothes were neatly folded on the chair by the wall right beside my shoes. On the table sat a basin and a pitcher. It seemed Sageri had been busy after I fell asleep.

  Making my way to the chair, I picked up my clothes. They were clean and had a mint scent to them. From what I had seen, this place had no electricity or modern appliances. That meant Sageri washed my clothes by hand.

  Who does that for a stranger?

  Sageri had gone out of her way to take care of me. I needed to stop pouting around her house. I would make the most of my situation and be as helpful as possible. On the table, I found what looked like a vintage version of a toothbrush and a green paste. I made a mental note to be sure to always carry toothbrushes with me just in case I ended up in another world. Snorting at my thought, I grabbed the toothbrush and paste from the table, repeating the old saying, “When in Rome, do like the Romans.” Time to step up and be Roman.

  Cautiously, I brushed my teeth using the paste, and to my delight it tasted like peppermint. Sageri also left me a soft wash towel and another container with yellow powder. Oh great, it seemed a shower was out of the question. I did a quick smell test of my arm pits and I reeked worse than a raccoon. Thank God for summer camps in Kansas because they’d prepared me for this moment.

  Without a watch, I estimated it took me less than thirty minutes to clean up and get dressed. Cleaning yourself with a washcloth was tedious work, but at least I didn’t smell like a decomposing corpse anymor
e. The supply room didn’t have a mirror, so I did the best I could with my hair. After a few minutes of fighting with it, I realized I was stalling. Time to face the world, regardless of my appearance.

  For some strange reason, I felt like I was breaking into Sageri’s house. I opened the door a crack and eyeballed the living room. An empty room greeted my gaze, but the windows were open, the sunlight casting a golden glow through the whole room. If somebody would have told me a witch and her apprentice lived here, I would have never believed it. Although, were they actually witches, or just medicine women? Since waking up in her shop, I had not seen anything magical. Sageri had tons and tons of herbs and weird concoctions, which led me to believe they didn’t practice witchcraft, only medicinal healing.

  I crossed the living room and decided to head outside. The idea of searching the rooms felt too intrusive for my taste, so I would wait for Sageri to find me.

  The living room had a door that led to a gorgeous garden. I had never seen something so beautiful and vibrant. Flowers covered the area, every color imaginable assaulting my gaze. The place even had a small pergola to one side with vines dripping from it.

  “Oh little ones, come out and play,” Sageri sang from around the corner of the house.

  I followed her voice and found her in the middle of another garden covered in bees and insects, a large basket on the ground beside her.

  “Sageri, don’t move! I’ll kill them.” I took off my shoe to attack the flying army.

  “Madison. Relax. They are my friends.” Sageri extended her arms and hundreds of insects descended on her.

  I changed my mind. Sageri was definitely a witch.

  “If you start spinning in the air, I’ll start running,” I told Sageri and she giggled. I was glad my discomfort amused her.

  “You are dramatic,” Sageri said, her tone like that of a person talking to their favorite pet. I had no idea if I should be offended, but oddly enough, I wasn’t.

  “Goodbye, my friends,” Sageri told her flying companions, then she gave them a soft whistle. As if on cue, they all departed.

  Watching all the insects scatter, I pressed my lips together and nodded. “That was impressive.”

  “Communion with nature and all life is the first lesson my mistress teaches,” Sageri told me as she cautiously stood up and grabbed her basket. “I see you found your clothes.”

  “Yes. Thank you, but you didn’t have to wash my clothes,” I said, rushing my words.

  “Madison, you couldn’t walk around here naked,” she told me, stepping towards me. “I feared my clothes would be too big on you and we don’t have any trousers in the house. Why do you wear those?”

  “Everyone wears them where I come from. Can I help you?” I asked, hoping to change the conversation.

  “Sure.” Sageri handed me the basket. “It’s almost midday and you missed breakfast, but luckily, you are in time for dinner. Let’s go.”

  On our trip back to the house, Sageri stopped here and there, piling more veggies into her apron.

  “I slept all morning? I’m so sorry.” I never slept this much back at home.

  “It wasn’t your fault. I gave you enough potions to knock you out for a while.” Sageri did not sound ashamed at all.

  “You did that on purpose?” I fell behind her a few paces, questioning her motives as she bounced down the garden towards the house.

  “Of course, silly,” Sageri said over her shoulder. “You are not from here and you already had a horrible allergic reaction to who knows what. I laid out incense around so you would inhale them. That should help prevent any more reactions to this world, so you are welcome.”

  “Wow, thank you.” I was at a loss for words in this world. Now all I had to do was pray I didn’t start mutating and grow a second head thanks to her.

  “Are you coming?” Sageri asked from the doorway. Not even realizing it, I had stopped moving.

  “Yes, sorry about that.” I rushed after her. When I made it to the house, I couldn’t find Sageri. “Where are you?”

  “In the kitchen,” Sageri said.

  Unfortunately, that didn’t help me since I had no clue where the kitchen was located. “Where?”

  Sageri stuck her head out of the wall next to the supply room.

  “Oh God.” I jumped away from her floating head.

  “Get in here, silly. It’s only a spell,” Sageri ordered, and her head disappeared from the wall.

  I reached the wall Sageri had disappeared through. It appeared solid, but Sageri had just moved through it. My hand touched the wall, going right through it. It felt like running my hand through water but without getting wet.

  “Madison, hurry up. I need the basket,” Sageri demanded.

  God, don’t let me die.

  “Holy Cow!” I screamed when I crossed to the other side.

  “You have holy cows in your world?” Sageri asked from across a large kitchen with a wooden table in the center.

  “What?” I asked, finding my bearings.

  “You just screamed that.” Sageri pointed at me.

  “Oh no, just a phrase,” I told her, handing her the basket.

  “Such an odd phrase,” Sageri said.

  Now that she pointed it out, it was weird.

  “How is that wall possible and why do you have it?” I gave the wall one more glance. From this side, it was just a door with a clear view to the living room.

  “It’s an illusion the mistress created to separate the house,” Sageri explained. “Meals are important to her and she likes the privacy. It also gives us a sanctuary in case of uninvited guests.”

  “That is impressive,” I told her in a soft tone as I stared at the wall.

  My mind tried to wrap itself around the idea of a place where magic was real. I’d just walked through a spell, but I still couldn’t believe it.

  “Madison,” Sageri said in a loud tone.

  “Sorry.”

  “You do that a lot. I recommend keeping your thoughts focused on the present or you are going to miss the real world,” Sageri said, pulling veggies from her basket.

  “You are probably right,” I replied. My grandmother used to tell me something similar. Grandmother believed we would lose touch of the beautiful moments if too focused on the past. “How can I help?”

  “You are in charge of peeling and cutting.” Sageri handed me a knife and the basket back.

  I was going to be here forever. She had over twenty pounds of small veggies in the basket.

  “Who are you making food for?” Unless I missed something, Sageri was making food to feed a platoon.

  “As part of our job, we feed those who are bed-bound or in need,” Sageri told me. “Today we have about fifteen houses to visit before supper, so we must hurry.”

  “That is really nice of you guys,” I replied, peeling a vegetable I had no idea what it was. The only thing I recognized were the potatoes. The rest, all a variety of different colors, were foreign to me.

  “Everyone in the kingdom has a job once they pass their childhood years. This is part of mine. Which brings me to a small problem.” Sageri moved to the opposite side of the kitchen to wash her herbs in a large bowl.

  “Oh no, that doesn’t sound good,” I said, trying to multi-task.

  “Since you will be staying for the next month, we need to find you work,” she told me.

  My heart rate increased. I didn’t want to do that. “Can I just help you around here?”

  “Unfortunately, no, only approved apprentices are allowed on the grounds for long periods of time,” Sageri said in a calm voice.

  “Are you kicking me out?” My words came out like a squeal.

  “Madison, breathe. I’m not doing such a thing.” Sageri rushed to my side and grabbed both of my shoulders. “I have a plan. You will stay here. We can make it official. Nobody would question you being here for a few days. Right now, all the masters have selected apprentices.”

  “Is that supposed to make me feel be
tter?” I asked, rocking back and forth.

  “All the masters have, but not all the knights.” Sageri had a wicked smile on her face that was a bit frightening.

  “Would a knight take a girl for an apprentice?” I knew nothing about the rules in this new world, but Earth’s history taught me that type of work was not normally done by a woman.

  “Normally, no.” Sageri covered my lips before I could protest. “Shhhh, and listen up. You don’t look like any of the normal girls around here. You even wear trousers. The knight I have in mind is a bit unique. He hasn’t been able to keep a page for the last three years.”

  “Unique how?” I asked.

  “You will see,” Sageri said, going back to her food. “We will go after our deliveries. Now let’s make us some dinner before we head out.”

  There was no point in worrying. Instead, I put all my nervous energy into chopping veggies. The constant motion was soothing and distracting all at once.

  Sageri was an incredible cook. Her meals reminded me of my grandmother’s cooking. Everything was homemade and mouthwateringly delicious. We were done with the cooking faster than I imagined and I had a great time in the process. Sageri made roasted vegetable, wild rice, and a non-leavened bread that almost tasted like Naan. She explained that as part of her training she was no longer allowed to eat meat. The sorceress allowed eggs and milk. This translated that none of their patients ate any meat while they were recovering. Becoming a vegetarian was not on my list of things to do when I woke up this morning, but I was now living like the Romans, so sacrifices had to be made.

  As part of the healing process, Sageri added a special ingredient to each meal. She made an extra meal to drop off to the mysterious knight. It seemed food was the way to every person’s heart, regardless of the world. With my limited knowledge of medicine and magic, I tried to assist her. If Sageri decided to give up being a witch, she would make a great teacher or chef. The best part of helping Sageri was being able to taste her creations. Nine out of ten were incredible. I was grateful she had at least one bad one, or else I would have had to deal with a perfect hostess.

  Delivering the meals took a lot longer than making them. I had no idea how Sageri was planning to get these done all by herself. The containers were heavy and the distance between the houses was far. Sageri was excited since today was the last day she would be delivering meals to seven of her patients. We each had large carrying bags filled with the meals. The families were excited to see Sageri and were cordial with me. Nobody asked any questions. The witch probably had such a deadly reputation that nobody bothered to question her apprentice’s actions.