The Messenger

SELENE woke up with a sore back and a terrible headache. She looks outside the window to find nothing but a snowy mountain and a raging snowstorm. No wonder Selene is freezing. Before completely losing consciousness, Selene was sure that she heard a woman's voice telling her that she wanted to help her. In the end, she asked her to help Dorothy instead. Aside from that, Selene doesn't remember much of anything. She thinks that the woman said something to her, but she couldn't understand it as she was already starting to succumb to the dark void.

Selene thought of several ways to kill herself for many years but never dared. There were several reasons she couldn't do it. Still, after thinking about it thoroughly, everything boils down because she wasn't brave enough. However, Selene never thought she would end up in a car accident while dragging her innocent best friend because of her rotten luck. Living a dull and depressing life, Selene feels relieved that it will finally be the end. Still, here she is, sitting in a hard wooden bed with a roof above her head. She is not even sure if she's dead or alive, although the fact remains that she still feels pain.

Selene inspects her body for any injury but stops short when she feels something different. She quickly got up at the top of the bed, only to discover that she had shrunk. It is not only that, but waves of long bluish silver hair fall past her feet. Horrified, Selene frantically searched for a mirror but couldn't see one. There's only a wooden bed, a single chair, and a small dresser in this little room. Selene is not sure what to feel about this unforeseen predicament.

"What the hell happened?! I need to see myself, and I need a mirror, like right now." Selene murmurs, her eyes sweeping around the room again to find something that could help her deny her suspicions. 

Selene wants to freak out for as long as she wants, as an average person would, but her mind doesn't allow her to do so. Selene has always trained herself to remain calm and rational when thrown into difficult and bizarre situations. It's one of the necessary skills she decided to master. Selene has been trying hard to uphold that practice for many years. However, at that moment, she is already not sure how long she can remain calm in this kind of situation. 

The sudden sounds of footsteps moving in her room's direction made her jump back to her bed to pretend to be asleep. She even out her breathing and smoothened her facial expression. When playing pretends to be sleeping, Selene is confident in her abilities. She'd done it plenty of times when she wanted to play hooky or didn't want others to talk to her. Out of all those times, Patrick had never noticed it even once. She hopes this trick will work on others, especially those about to enter the room.

One moment, she hears the old wooden door creak open, and then she can feel pairs of eyes staring down at her.  "How long does she intend to sleep? It's been two days already!" an exasperated masculine voice asks.

"Don't worry, Kaden. She must have a hard time. She will wake up soon. We just have to wait," an elderly voice replies.

Selene stiffens upon realizing something. At first, it sounds weird and almost nonsensical. The intonation also sounds sharp and harsh in her ears. However, the more she strains her ears to listen, Selene somehow understands it. It's the first time she hears the language, but she already knows what they are saying. Is this the effect of hitting her head? 

The man with the younger tone exhales loudly. "Who said I'm worried about her? I'm worried about us. We don't even know who she is. She might even be one of them. Her presence will put the village's safety at risk." 

Someone walks in the direction of the bed, and she can feel his penetrating gaze as he checks on her face. Selene's armpit is sweating because of tension despite the cold temperature.

"There's no way a child like her is a bounty hunter. I have already checked her body; it has no traces of scar. Her hands and feet have no calluses. Her skin is soft and supple like that of a noble." 

Selene tries to control the sudden gasp that escapes her mouth. It may have been to check whether she's someone dangerous or not, but a stranger touching her body makes her shudder. And how does that loudmouthed man ends up with a conclusion that she is a bounty hunter? And why do they talk about bounty hunters like it's a specific topic in their household when it is something that she'd only read in history books? Where is she? Selene's questions keep popping left and right inside her mind; she's getting dizzy. 

"That doesn't mean she's not dangerous," Kaden still insists, his voice rising in anger.

"And we will know that once she wakes up," the elderly man replied evenly, clearly conveying he already wanted to end the conversation. However, it seems that Kaden doesn't want to let it go. 

"We've been living in secret for many years to protect ourselves. Don't you think that the others should know about this?"

"They don't have to know about her. That is why we took the trouble of hiding her beneath the dead bodies of the beast we hunted last time."

No wonder it feels like she smells different; the smell of blood from the beast must have stuck. Selene gulps when she realizes something. Did the old man say beast? 

"Let's go outside. We shouldn't disturb her, and besides, you have things to do." the old man urges. Selene can feel someone's gaze boring a hole through her body. It must have been Kaden. Fortunately, he immediately left the room right after his companion. 

When Selene is sure that no one is around, she sits straight and pulls her hair in frustration. She doesn't know what to do. It may be wise to talk to her caretakers in this situation. However, Selene does not know how to explain her sudden appearance. If she can't answer their questions, they will be suspicious of her. Selene pushes back her head and looks in the direction of the ceiling when a bluish-silver butterfly gracefully lands at the tip of her nose. With the fluttering of its wings, the room's interior suddenly changes into a landscape of stunning and enchanted forest bathed in sparkling snow. And Selene finds herself standing in front of a colossal white ash tree. Its silvery branches extend into the sky, and its deep silver roots spread into the different parts of the forest. 

A soft, pleasant voice from her right side slaps her awake from her shock. And just like earlier, she's speaking the same dialect she had heard previously. "You're finally awake. I had difficulties communicating with you through your dreams, so I had to wait." 

A gorgeous woman with wavy loose blonde hair and enigmatic golden eyes appears before her. She is wearing a long flowing, pristine white gown that sways smoothly with the wind. The woman saunters elegantly in her direction and stops a short distance away from her.     

She beams at her. "Don't you remember me?"

When Selene tried to speak, the words flowed naturally like a native speaker. She tries to keep a calm expression even though she's already freaking out inside her head. "No, I'm sure this is the first time we met" 

The woman nodded as if promptly understanding the situation. "It must be that sickness of yours. What is it again? Being unable to forget? And I can't even talk to you through your dreams. This is the first time something like this has happened to me. There really must be something different about your mind."

Selene bristles with the comment. She's chatty, even though this is the first time they have met. She's surprised that her voice didn't come out as sharp and biting. "You're right, but I don't like how you phrase it. Do you know me?"

The woman laughs, and it sounds familiar to Selene though she can't remember where she had heard it before. "Yes, we met when you were about to lose consciousness. Don't you remember my voice?"

The brief memory instantly flashes in her mind. It was the voice of the woman who came to help. Selene suddenly grabs the woman's shoulder. "Dorothy! Is Dorothy fine?"

"Yes, she must still be recuperating right now, but her life is not in danger anymore." Relief washes over her, and her grip loosens. Selene finds herself falling flat on her butt. Her legs don't have the energy left to stand up.  The woman hunches down before her until their eyes are within the same level. 

"I upheld the end of the bargain. Now, you have to fulfill my request." 

Selene stares at her in confusion. "Ba—bargain? What are you talking about?"

The woman's eyes grow wide as saucers, and her mouth partially hangs open in disbelief.  Selene gawks, not understanding the change in her expression. The beaming face of the lady grows darker as the growing silence between them continues. Unable to bear it anymore, she stands up indignantly before looking down at her and breaking the oppressive silence.   

"No way! Don't tell me; you think what I did was for free? Weren't you listening?"

Selene summons all her strength to stand up and glares at her.  "How the hell am I supposed to hear you when I'm dying at that time?"

She instantly waves her off as if not caring about her reasoning. "Anyway, that didn't change the fact that I helped you. In return, you have to help me."

Selene deliberately ignores her statement and asks her a different question. "Am I already dead?"

The woman looks at her like she's dumb, and Selene is about to pounce on her to wipe that arrogant expression on her face. Still, she decided to stay composed because it looked like she was the only one who could help her with this predicament.  "No! I saved you from the brink of death and brought you here in our world."

Selene smiles in relief. "Then, I can still go back home," she declares in a confident voice.

"What's this? I thought you didn't want to be in that place anymore?" the woman shot back. Selene is unsure if she's just dodging the question or knows about her that much. However, she has no intention of backing off. Likewise, she is not obliged to answer her question.

"Let me get this straight, I am not dead, but you brought me into your world. I have to help you in exchange for saving us. Then, what do I have to do? I will go home after doing that favor you're talking about." 

The woman laughs derisively. Her innocent face is such a waste because of her shady personality. "Do you think it will be that easy? I hate to break it to you, but you're mistaken."

Selene snorts. "Then, why ask me to do it when you're not confident of my abilities? Don't worry. I'm the type of person who always gets my job done."

The woman made a face before continuing with their talk. "Alright, if you say so. Listen, all you have to do is save this world. Your time limit is until the blood moon rises in the sky to save the people of Albion from the brink of extinction." 

Selene felt like someone had dropped a bomb, and she couldn't hear anything because of the loud explosion. And there she stood, gaping at her in utter disbelief. As if knowing that Selene didn't quite get what she said, the woman repeated it with emphasis. "You are given to task to save this world from the brink of extinction. Since you said that you get things done, I will give my hopes to you. Do not disappoint me." 

When her words finally sank in, it took Selene's self-control not to laugh in front of her savior. "Did you get the wrong person? I mean, are you seriously asking me to do that? I'm just a normal person."

She crosses her arms in front of her chest and looks at her grimly. "Why not? Do you expect the Gods to clean after the mess made by humans? It's only natural that a human will do it."

Selene got the point, but it doesn't mean she had to take responsibility.  "I mean, I'm not even from this world, and you expect me to do it. That is just absurd!"

The woman gave her a chilling stare, and Selene trembled involuntarily. For a moment, she is paralyzed with fear, but then the distressing feeling suddenly vanishes.  "You don't have the right to refuse. Besides, I'm just a messenger given the menial task to ensure you know what to do. The higher beings have a lot on their plate by supervising the other worlds, so this job was pushed to me. This is their last act of divine intervention. And as their representative, failure is not an option. This world's survival lies in your hand."

Selene can't seem to give a retort. The woman standing in front of her with an unknown identity, besides claiming herself to be a messenger, continues to blab on her own without making sure that she's listening. Selene's mind is not just in the right state to comprehend whatever she's saying. Something as broad as saving the world, how the hell is she supposed to do that? Is this a role-playing game or a novel in which her role is to defeat the demon lord? Then poof! Everyone lives happily ever after.  She's just a human with an above-average memory with no special powers and who, by some rotten luck, had turned into a child. As if that's something possible to accomplish with the state that she is in! She's had enough patching up in her life, and they want her to save their world! What the bloody hell is this farce?!

At that moment, it feels like Selene suddenly hears Cordelia's words like a horrible record label. Is this the adventure she's talking about? If this is it, Selene wanted no part of it, which is what she wants to say, but it seems that she has limited choices in her hand. And if she wanted to go back, she had to do what she said. However, how on earth is she going to do it? 

"How am I going to do it? Just telling me to save the world is just too broad. Where am I even going to start?"

"First, you can start finding the people who will stand by your side. You will know when you meet them. And the rest is in your hands. After all, you have to find the answers on your own." 

Selene feels too weak even to reply. She could at least get back to her by spewing strings of curses, but Selene can barely nod in the end. The blonde woman grins, feeling satisfied with her meek answer. Her face returns to her typical lovely and pleasant appearance. "You don't have to worry too much. You are a child blessed by the Gods. You will survive."

Selene grunts in annoyance. Earlier, she kept repeating that it would be difficult, yet she believed she would survive. Selene has been receiving mixed signals, and she can't keep up. 

  "Anyway, my disciple had given something to your guardian that will help you in your quest. He will serve as your guardian while staying here. I believe his name is Kaden. Let's talk about your wish after you finish your job. I will reach out to you again as soon as I can." 

With that, she snapped her fingers, and Selene was sent back to sitting in the hardwood bed from where she'd woken up. Selene groans in frustration. That was just the most tiring conversation she had ever had in her entire life. Selene stills when she realizes something a little too late. She forgot to ask the most important question at that moment. Just why the hell is there no mirror in this place?!