Over the Void

Chapter Two: Lost and Found

Breathing heavily, Royal came to a stop behind Esther deeper in the woods. While he did his best to get his heart rate back down to a reasonable level, Esther poked her head around cautiously, as if looking for something. Whatever it was, she didn't see it. She pulled her head back and came over to check on Royal, who was now lying flat on the ground.

"Hey... Are you ok?" He poked his head gently.

"I'm, uh, yeah, I'm ok... But can we uh, rest for a bit? I uh... wanted to ask you a few things." Royal picked his words carefully. There was no delicate way of approaching his little conundrum.

"Hmm?" Esther sat down and looked attentively at Royal, as he hauled himself into a sitting position. "What's up?"

"Oh gosh, where to start..." He said, thinking for a moment. "Where... Am I, exactly?"

"We're in Umberwood, the biggest forest in Venthyr. How come?" She asked, making a cutesy curious noise.

"How do I put this... Have you ever heard of Colorado, or the United States?" Royal asked, very slowly and carefully.

Esther stopped and thought. She had her suspicions, but this was a bit beyond those. "No... Are they your home?"

Royal nodded, realization setting in properly. Wherever he was, this wasn't even Earth anymore. But how? Why? All he had were questions nobody could answer.

"Yes... They..." He chocked on his words, unable to continue. "I'm scared, Esther. This world isn't my home..." He shivered from the phantom breeze of panic.

Just to stop, as small arms settled on his back. "It's ok. We can be scared together." Esther said softly.

Together... It was something Royal had wanted for ages. A companion, a good friend. He would take it. "Th-thank you." He tried to smile. But his stomach rumbled first. His internal clock said he should have eaten hours ago.

Esther, despite herself, giggled. "Hungry? I'll find something." She went off into the brush for a short while, taking her basket. Royal was left to think about life, and other things. Fortunately, Esther was back soon, a big basket of blue fruits.

"Here you go! Go on, take one. They're yummy!" She smiled sweetly, already scarfing one down herself.

"What are they?" Royal asked. "They look like pears, but blue..."

Esther didn't bother asking what a pear was. Instead, she just gave Royal the answer he sought. "They're called Manafruits. They're juicy, and they help charge magical energy in a pinch. They get used a lot in potions too."

Royal processed this new information, before tentatively biting into one. It was indeed a meaty fruit, with lots of juice all the same. His stomach seemed to dislike it, but it was palpable. All in all, he felt better.

"Thank you." He said graciously. Esther just nodded lightly. She felt giddy just being on the receiving end of some common decency.

"If you uh, don't mind..." Royal began. "Could you tell me more about the world?"

Esther thought for a moment, before getting a stick to draw in the dirt. "This world is known by most people as Seltzaria, and it has four major continents. Venthyr, where we are now, Espira, the east, where the humans live, Lordran, which is full of caves and mountains, and Aria, the north. It looks pretty in books..." She trailed off for a moment. "Everyone in the world is said to be a child of Seltzaria, and all the scary things that lurk in the dark come from the void, deep inside the world. Apparently there's a legend that you can walk right into it, from the deepest caves in Lordran. It's really creepy!" She said.