Page into your world

Left alone, an awkward atmosphere enveloped the two.

" Ummm… Thanks" 

"It was simply something I was requested of." 

"By who?"

"No one that you should be concerned with at the moment." He said with a polite smile.

"Follow me, Miss."

Nicholas led her out of the hall into a corridor decorated with tapestries. As they passed by, she curiously examined each one: one was of two figures painted white and red shaking hands, the other showed the same figures separated weirdly sinister like miasma and the rest were similar showing those two figures.

Soon they arrived in front of a door. He opened the door and inside was a table and two chairs. Similar paintings to the ones before were also displayed on the walls; it seemed that these people were art fanatics. 

"You may take a seat" Blossom sat opposite him. She was ready to go home and wanted to know about the route they were arguing over.

" So how do I get home?"

" I will tell you in a moment, Miss Blossom, but first, I will introduce you to this world."

"This world? I am no longer on Earth?"

" Yes. By this world, I am referring to where we will be going in the next couple of hours."

" So where am I?"

"This is the Holy Sanctuary of the Narrators. As for the exact location, that is strictly confidential."

"Narrators?" She was confused. By narrators, was he referring to storytellers? Was he implying every person she had met was a storyteller? Even that aggravated Freeman? Immediately, a weird image of Freeman began forming in her head.

"As in, you are a bunch of people who tell stories for a living?"

"Why give this place such a grandiose name? Why not Story World?"

"Story World?" Nicholas was speechless. From the trial, he had thought of her to be quite docile and not talkative at all aside from that little outburst she had in the end. Who knew she had such a strange mind?

"We narrators differ from the common sense of your world" He decided to straighten out her thinking. " In fact, during your stay, you should probably not relate any similar things to what you know from your world."

"Oh? Then what do you guys do?"

"We distribute stories written by people from your world."

" So a publishing house?"

" If it helps you understand." He sighed

" So the stories I have written are distributed. Where do they go?"

" The world we are going to. When stories are distributed, the natives of the world are entrusted to destinies based on their Fate"

" A strong Fate level means one can become a Main Character or a Supporting Character. As such a low Fate means they cannot have a destiny and are only Extras."

"Is Fate something like talent? You have to be born with it ?"

" Yes and No. A native can increase their Fate through special means."

"If an Extra has a high enough Fate, can they become a Main Character?"

" No. It's impossible. It would be too late. Anyway, these three(MCs, SCs and Extras) are the three main groups in this world."

" By distribution, do you mean these natives become the actual characters? You mean I will meet Xander!"

" Yes but refrain from grandiose expectations. He might not be the same as how you wrote him."

"Why not?"

" These natives are people. The different experiences they face shape their personalities. The personality you assigned to him only comes into effect when it's time to fulfil his destiny during the Act."

 Blossom understood.

These natives are like actors embodying the traits and actions of the characters they are assigned to. So if one of her characters is nice in the story that does not mean they're nice in real life. Similar to thinking a celebrity is kind just because they have acted as a kind person before.

" The central power is the Fated Cult."

"Cult?"

" Yes. And if we ever happen to encounter a member, we should proceed with caution." He said seriously.

It's time" He said after looking at his pocket watch. She followed him to a different room; a room full of mirrors of different sizes and shapes. 

"What do I do now?"

"Isn't it obvious? Just walk through." She was sceptical; if she walked through the mirror wouldn't she just bump into the mirror?

"Won't I get hurt"

" No you won't, " he chuckled.

"So it's magic. Will you follow after?"

"Yes. First, here is a ring"

"That's so forward" Her words left him speechless and he let out a sigh.

" Stop being delusional. It's a charm so we won't be separated "

" That can happen?"

" Yeah. Just wear it on your pinky. When we reach there, we will most likely land in the same place."

" Wait, land? What do you mean by a–" Her words were cut off as she was pushed into the mirror.

Time seemed to stop as shards of glass surrounded her. Suddenly a blinding light emitted by the ring shone on a path made of glass surrounded by a dense fog. At the end was a door with an engraving of an open book. She walked on the glass path and opened the door.

She stepped in and immediately noticed that something was wrong–she was falling. Blossom screamed, flailing her arms and legs crazily. 

It felt like she had been falling for eternity when with a splash, she plunged into the water. It seemed she had crash-landed into a pond. She lay on the grass, waiting for the Sun to dry her clothes.

When her clothes were somewhat more comfortable to walk in, she started looking for Nicholas. 

She looked at the ring. 'How does this work again'. The ring was supposed to make sure they landed in the same area but she couldn't see him anywhere. Did he get lost?

Or maybe she was the lost one. A terrifying thought popped into her head. What if he decided to abandon her here?

Suddenly, she heard some rustling from a nearby bush. Curious, she peeked through to check. She was startled to find a mouse with a top hat and bow tie. Weirdly enough the mouse seemed familiar to her. The mouse turned to her.

"It's nice to meet you again, Miss Blossom." The mouse spoke.

"Sir Nicholas!"