The Outlanders

Princesses, Prophecies, and Probabilities

JACKIE

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?

I don't know exactly how many times I've asked myself that question in the last twenty four hours, but I know I've found myself asking again. It's bad enough that I haven't completely wrapped my head around the idea of being in Laethora, and now I'm being told that I'm this guy's daughter. Now I know I'm adopted, taken into the home of Martin and Gabriella Velasquez at way too young an age, that I don't even recall the names or the faces of my actual parents. Dad always did say I was made out of wedlock. And my biological mother was left to supposedly take care of me, but wasn't financially stable enough to. That's about all I know in regards to my family outside of the Velasquez's. However, this man, the King, who looks absolutely nothing like me, and someone that I've never seen before, and someone who doesn't even call his world the same way that I do, claims to be my father. Or at least he's referred to me as his daughter. I should be pulling my hands away from him, but I'm too confused to move.

Mars takes a step forward, puts an arm in front of my chest and pries me away from the king. "Don't touch her." He says, while it isn't a trait of my boyfriend to be so defensive, he is when he thinks something's actually a threat to me. All the soldiers move to their feet and point their frighteningly sharp swords at us. Mars, specifically.

Lane jumps in, both of his hands raised. "Hey! Hey! Easy with the swords, boys!" He has no power here, but he still talks as if he does. Kasper, on the other hand, does nothing. Watching, his foot tapping away, and I can tell he wants to do something, but too afraid to act. I don't blame him, I feel the same way. It's become rowdy, and the space for us to breathe and move around has gone smaller. My claustrophobia kicks in, and I shrivel backwards, effectively pressing against Kasper while Lane and Mars try and make sure they don't get stabbed.

"King Sarhius, please tell your men to stand down." Willow speaks, completely unperturbed by the swords directed at her. "Unfortunately for Laethora, these folk aren't dangerous." Sarhius considers her words, but acts like he didn't actually want the guards to actually harm any of us. "They're the Outlanders."

"I'm well aware." There's a certain deepness to his voice, that I could almost imagine his chest to be a dark pit that echoed words all the way out his mouth. At the same time, a joviality to his tone that reminds me of a thinner Santa Claus. "It's taken twenty three years, but--" He takes my hands again, but this time I pull away. Sarhius doesn't fight it. I don't know if it's because he's realized how much of a creep he's starting to sound, or because he understands the confusion, and knows why I act the way that I do. "--my daughter Cirris has found her way home."

Amidst all of this, Lane still finds the time to snigger.

If the whole of Cassinvarya were nearby, we'd all probably be glaring holes into his chest.

"Cirris?" Willow asks, and turns. "This is Cirris?" She's heard of the name before, but I haven't. I have never. Nor did I ever even feel the slightest inkling of who, or what Cirris was.

"I think you have wrong person." I admit, backing up a few steps, and feeling Kasper move with every single one that I take. "I'm not from here." I feel so close to panicking again. My resolve grows weaker no matter how much I fight it. My mind's always been stronger than my will, but my mind likes to think. Sometimes it's for better, but sometimes it's for worse. I tend to overthink, and I know I'm doing it again. Laethora is a world far different from earth, so I figured that as long as I don't get invested in anything it has to offer, I don't have to feel like I've resigned myself into believing that there's no way back home. There always is. If there's a way to get here, there's a way to get out. It's just a matter of figuring out how. "My name is Jacqueline Velasquez, I'm not Cirris, I'm sorry."