My Name Is...

CHAPTER FIVE: My Name Is...

—'Saint Verdana', a beloved statue that was once a silent witness to Arcadia's history, now danced with life as the people of Chromestown held their breaths.

Quinn continued to ogle at the girl in his arms. Her long cascading red hair and gorgeous garden eyes were shining afore him. She had small patches of band-aids tugging to her skin from her forearms to her legs.

'She's...real,' he awed, disbelief and fascination etched on his face. 'She's actually real...this is crazy.'

"Uh...hi?" The crimson-haired girl awkwardly waved to him.

The shaggy-haired paladin blinked repeatedly and raised a faint smile. "H-hey, I mean...hi."

"Can I...get up now?"

"Oh, uh...right." With her small arms, she disentangled herself from Quinn's hold and slowly stood up on her bare feet. She surveyed over unfamiliar faces, and only a trace of confusion was seen. The world in front of her was a kaleidoscope of colors and shadows. The light springtime breeze brushing past her skin and ashy raggedy dress.

"What is this place?" She aired to herself, before gazing at the Emerald Legacy's presence for the first-time. "Woah, is that a freaking sequoia?! It's HUGE, dude! It's big as a skyscraper!"

Paige cautiously approached, her hand resting on the hilt of her sheathed blade. "We should be the ones asking questions. Who or...what are you?"

"Uh..." The young woman tilted her head, her red hair cascading down her shoulders. "I'm kinda...foggy on memory to answer that. Can either of you guys tell me where I am? I feel a little...lost."

The two paladins exchanged a glance and then back at her. "...uh, you're in Chromestown." The shaggy-blond paladin answered.

"Uh-huh. And...what state is that in, might I ask?"

"...the Galisboro Region?" Paige proclaimed. "Specifically, you're in the Arcadian Republic."

"...right. Okay...? Never heard of that before..." 'Verdana' knitted her brows, her eyes narrowed with confusion. She glanced around, absorbing the sights and sounds of Chromestown. "You don't think that's somewhere in...North America, do you?"

"...North America???" Paige quirked her eyes at the strange name.

"No offense but I'm pretty sure a name like that sounds made up. I mean, I wasn't really good at Geography back in high school but still..." 'Verdana' murmured to herself.

She gazed upon the folks dressed in the strange ye'olde theme of a medieval period, an era almost like the 1600s. "So is this like a DND fair? How far did I end up here? And I don't even remember ever coming here. Or...did I? Jeez, what happened to me?"

Quinn, slightly puzzled by her words, answered bluntly. "Well, you were a statue five minutes ago, but...now you're not."

The girl's eyes fluttered with incredulity as she whipped her head at her surroundings then back to Quinn. "A...statue," she repeated, her voice carrying a mix of bewilderment and disbelief. But then chuckled it off. "Oh, I get it now. You're trolling me. Ha ha, really funny. But seriously, what happened?"

"...'Trolling'??? What does that mean?" Paige quirked, confused, earning an awkward shrug from Quinn.

"Let's see. Where was I last time? Uh...I was at a...uh..." the statuette girl paced her footing as she tried to recollect previous memories, events. But they came out as all static for some reason, scratching on her brain like a fork on a ceramic plate. The red-haired girl pressed her temples as she tried again. But it was the same result, her mind was stark blank. All she could recoil was that she was stuck in a deep dark place, unconscious for what felt like days.

Now, she woke up to a place she doesn't know. "Huh, funny. I really can't remember. What did I eat last night?"

"Uh, Paige, what do we do?" Quinn whispered.

"I don't know. You talk to her." The two paladins watched in silence as she tried to gather her thoughts.

Quinn cautiously walked up to her, finding himself face to face with the bewildered guardian. "Uhmmm...hey, uh. Verdana?—"

"Could you wait? I'm trying to think—Dammit! This is so annoying!" She groaned aloud before taking a step forward from the tree's area into the crowd. The townspeople slowly stood further back, aware of the statue's awakening while greeting her with a mixture of 'oohs and ahhs'. They marveled at the resplendent red hair and beauty that adorned her. Her long tresses cascaded to her hips as she walked past them. Unbeknownst to her, with every step she took - forced the gaps of stone pavements to spring green grass and rising plumes of flora. Leaving behind a trail of blossoming plants.

Quinn turned to Paige, similarly surprised. "This...isn't your usual day, huh?"

The raven-haired swordstress shook her head. "Absolutely not."

"Oh dear..." Mayor Elsinore, left as aghast as Verdana had sprung back to life wasn't what he foresaw would happen. This meant something deep for the history of Arcadia and everyone in it. 'If tales of Saint Verdana's reawakening spell danger for us, then I'll have to alert this to the Church!'

Quinn sprinted after the radiant redhead, Paige attempted to follow suit but something clenched onto her sword to stop her. "Huh? Yes, Mayor?"

"Ms. Simmons. No matter what, don't let Saint Verdana out of your sight." The petite old man warned. "And be very cautious."

"Hm? Why?"

"Something like this has become strangely unprecedented, something that we cannot even fathom. I believe you should take her to Sterling City. The Church must know about this as well. Watch out in case something happens."

"The Church?" Paige stared then noticed the serious stern. She looked back at her comrade with the strange girl who left the flourished path of green.

"Understood, Mayor." The swordstress accepted the task and marched away. The Mayor awhile, sighed dismally before gazing back at the dead space where the statue used to occupy. As the day continued, the statue girl began wandering on the cold, stone pavements of Chromestown.

Watching her magic frolic as flowers bloomed in her wake, Quinn caught up with her, attempting to strike up a civil conversation. "So, uh, Verdana. Do you remember anything at all? Like, how you became a statue, or...why you're here?"

"Oh uh..." She paused, her emerald eyes reflecting a mix of confusion and curiosity as she thought. "Well, I'm kinda drawing a blank. It's like my brain is...washed. The last thing I remember is blacking out. The rest is all so fuzzy, like a dream slipping away. You know that feeling, right?"

"So you don't...remember me?"

"Eh? I mean...I do feel as if I've seen you somewhere before. But now...I dunno. Maybe it's just false thought."

"Oh..." Quinn furrowed his brows, confused. He saw her just last night, she was desperate to be freed from her nightmarish hole. From the souls drowning her into the white abyss. And now, it's as if the event never happened at all, nor does she recall him. He was left puzzled.

"Lady Verdana, if I may ask!" Paige swiftly sped up to the two and joined the conversation - flicking her glasses up the bridge of her nose with an interrogative glint. "Do you know why you were bound to the Emerald Legacy in the first place? Were you cursed and placed here by someone? Surely something must've triggered you to be brought back to life. Did you meet the Gods in your prime? Are you a God yourself?"

"That's a ton there, Paige." Quinn queried.

"Uhm..." Lost, 'Verdana' off-mindedly uttered. Her mind remained preoccupied from the babble as she searched around for anything familiar. "Which way is the nearest Internet Bar around here?"

"Huh...Internet...Bar??" Quinn tilted his head at her.

"Yeah. You know? Where the desktops are, free Wi-Fi, social media? You know, where information of the world is. Don't you have it here?"

"Uh. No. We don't have...that."

"Great..." she groaned, face-palmed - taking his words as if they weren't around in the area and were only found someplace else. "Do you at least have a phone I could use?"

"A...Phone? What is that?" Quinn scratched his head, turning to Paige, also shrugged in confusion before turned back to her. "Could you maybe...describe it for us?"

"Uh? A device we use to communicate, play games and look on social media? Come on, you can't be that backward."

"We have communication crystals. But they're mostly for Paladin use only. Yet, that could not be the device what you speak of." Paige exclaimed.

"Jeez..." 'Verdana' sighed annoyedly, assuming the two were playing characters of a fantasy epic. She feels like the place was an entire Renaissance fair for many who love to dress up as folklore characters from novels. But she didn't really like the stuff of fantasy. In her eyes; this was a geek's world. "I guess I'll have to go along with this then. This...'Arcadia' wonderland you guys made up."

Quinn chuckled. "It's a bit different from wherever you came from, huh?"

"Whatever thoust say." She jokingly smirked at gunslinger paladin and rolled her eyes. "Weirdo..."

As they preambulated along the streets, the rubicund-haired girl grew blithely fascinated of the town's old architecture and shops. With vintage old signs hung above doors and the astounded gazes of every person passing by. "Sheesh. What place doesn't have tech? You guys have a strict no-device policy here or what?"

"Do you...have any clue what she's talking about?" Quinn whispered over to Paige, earning a shrug. "How should I know?"

A rumbling noise echoed between them, the girl flinched and held her empty stomach. "Oh man, I'm STARVING! Why do I feel like it's been days since I last ate? Say, you guys don't...suppose you know a good food joint around here? A...'ye'olde' McRonald's or something?"

The two blinked for a moment and Quinn answered. "Food? Yeah. There's one place we know near by. Follow me."

________________________________________________________

—Paige, Quinn and 'Verdana' paraded into a restaurant and sauntered towards an empty booth in the corner.

The red-haired girl drifted over to a seat and sat across them, while admiring the place with subtle intrigue. She saw barstands occupied by burly men holding wooden jugs and equipped with large weapons like axes and swords. Most tables had people talking discreetly, while some caught sight of the red-haired girl in silence.

"Yep. You guys sure kept everything in the old timey era, huh?" She pointed out. "Gotta say, everyone's costumes look almost too real. Even the axes."

Quinn chuckled. "Well, this 'old timey' place serves some of the best food in Chromestown. The roast Ground-Boar is something special."

'Ground-Boar?' 'Verdana' pondered, confused.

A waiter blissfully walked over to them with a blissful grin. "Hiya! And what can I get you lot?"

"Yeah, can I get any meat you guys have with a can of Red Krull?" She asked.

"Oh! We do have our grilled Ground-Boar special! But...what is a...Red Krull?" The waitress questioned.

She quirked a brow at the maid. "You know, as in soda? Like Bepsi, Phanta, Doke? And you have fries, right?"

"So...da? And...Fries? I'm afraid we don't have such things here, sorry."

"Seriou—oh, for the love of..." The girl groaned and rolled her eyes annoyedly. She assumed everyone here was deeply committed to their roleplay. "It's fine! Just some juice or...ale, I guess? Whatever you dorks have."

"Right away." The waiter nodded and walked away. She noticed the whole place has so much antiquity, setting right into the theme of an archaic period. 'Verdana' couldn't help but look out at the big tree that engulfed the town, which was visible even from inside the restaurant. It was all surreal to her, wondering how a fair built such a realistic tree like that. Which area could this place be? She couldn't help but think she wasn't in the States anymore, perhaps Europe - but with a touch of vintage. "Yeah, this place is definitely giving England."

The food she ordered had arrived, and Paige decided to pay on her behalf. "Hmm. This stuff really smells so good. Is this pork?" She ripped a piece of the meat and began devouring it. Her eyes alit in flavored ecstacy as she continued eating her whole plate empty.

"Woah, talk about a big appetite," Quinn murmured to the swordstress.

"That...was delicious. Better meat I've ever eaten. BUUUUURP!" The girl belched out loud, loud enough that it even sent rippling shockwaves into the nearest glassware.

"Heh..." Quinn couldn't help but snort. "She's hilarious."

"Anyway..." the red-haired girl turned back to Paige talking to her. "We believe some things need to be discussed with you, Lady Verdana."

"Oh right..." 'Verdana' agreed and begun the first statement. "Well uh, first off. Where can I find the exit off this place? Because I'm not the type of person to be in this cringey geekfest, no offense." She asked with quoted gestures.

'...Geekfest???' The paladins thought, confused at her strange lingo.

"And two, you said I was a statue. What did you mean by that? Is it another metaphor for being stoned? Because, I don't do substances. I mean...I don't think I do. Do pills count?"

"We meant what we said." Paige flickered her glasses again. "You're Saint Verdana. A statue that withstood the test of time. But now, you miraculously came to life—"

"Look look look, can you just...drop the LARPing already?"

"...lar...ping?" Paige perked at the red-haired girl, confused.

"Yeah! Drop it. It's getting annoying. I know I'm far from being a saint, and I know I'm at some lousy Ren Con, and you're just making up shit along the way..." she exclaimed. "I mean. How was I a statue? I'm pretty sure I was alive. I know I blacked out and somehow ended up here. I just...don't know how."

"We don't know ourselves either..." Paige answered. "You just...hatched before our eyes."

"Yeah, right. That's pretty definitive. If this isn't a Ren fair, then what year is this then? Last time I checked, it's still 2022, not 1670."

Quinn and Paige stammered their eyes wide at the girl. Silence heavily stewed around them.

"What? Why are you guys looking at me like that?" She asked, her brows creased.

"The year now is 3022, of our Xakheian Calendar. The year you spoke of, was a thousand years ago."

"...huh?" A bewildered gaze swept across 'Verdana's' face.

A silent thought of time had gone off during a deep, dreamless sleep? To think, a millennium had slipped right through her. She refused to believe it. "That can't—no. This has to be a prank. Quit messing with me. Im getting out of this place!"

Her body began to shimmer and flicker out green stardust, blooming newborn plants from under her feet and on the table where her hands touched. Realizing it now, she tumbled back on her seat, clenching on her chest as she heavily panted. "W-wh-what the frick?! What did I just do?!"

"Woah, Woah, Woah...calm down," Quinn tried to assured her.

"This place is insane!" 'Verdana' rose from the booth and looked around the restaurant, at the people. They weren't in costumes at all. They were real, carrying actual weapons. Her eyes scoured for something that related to her sanity, to prove this all wrong. But as the revelation sank in, so did her fears.

'She's radiating Arcane Energy...' Paige knitted her brows. Which was an astonishing occurrence for her. She then heeded the Mayor's words with caution. 'She's too dangerous to be here...'

"Who are you people?" She shot accusingly.

Quinn got up from his seat, his tone empathetic. "Hey, I know it's a lot to take in—"

"It...can't be a thousand years! I was...I was somewhere. I was..." She repeated. The power she emitted - forced the green to spontaneously grow around her. The restaurant all stopped to witness it and gaped. She caught their eyes and she shuddered back.

"Get away from me! S-stay back!" She forced herself to think back to where she was. Who she used to be. Who she was with. But there was only emptiness. And it was slowly scaring her, which made the flora force itself to grow even faster. The restaurant was slowly getting engulfed by the growing vines and grass, much that the customers began to flee.

Paige unsheathed her sword and began dicing away the vines, but there were too many of them for her to fend off.

Quinn kept being pushed back but forced himself closer to the frightened girl through the tough swarm of flora. "Verdana, stop—"

"STOP calling me that! My name is...is..." She paused, taking a moment to reply. And, nothing. Even her own name, she can't seem to grasp. She hugged herself and crouched down. The coldness of her memory loss, wrecked her mind into a deep panic and made the nature around her to frenzy.

"I...can't remember! Dammit, why can't I...I know my OWN name, right?! I know it! I DO!" Quinn stared at her, frowning before her state of panic. But for some reason, it felt like he did know her name. She was the girl from his last dream. He had the same look as her, same red hair, green eyes. But she doesn't remember anything.

He looked back down at the crying girl, kneeling towards her.

"Hey. It's okay."

Quinn wrapped his arms around her in a protective hug, ignoring the thrones of vines pricking his skin. He hoped the hug would calm her down but nothing happened. His eyes then caught something peculiar, located at the back of her shoulder.

It was some sort of an inked text inprinted on her, much less than a tattoo. He carefully swept her red hair to the side and found the text as a strange font. Or rather a coded glyph. It was hard to deciper but to Quinn's eyes, it seemed to spell out a name.

His eyes softened as he brought the hug even closer. "...Maeva."

The girl froze stiffly as his voice reached her ear, forcing the nature to stop spreading as well. She slowly glanced back and faced the blonde-haired paladin with pain-stricken eyes. The same eyes he saw her in his dream. "...What? What did you just say?"

"Maeva. That's your name, right?"

She knitted her brows and stared into the distance as she absorbed the name, her eyes trembling but soon turned into acceptance. The nature that she transpired began to fade and flicker away into sparkling green stardust. The restaurant was still in shambles.

"I...yeah, I think that sounds right. Yeah, my name...is Maeva. Yeah..." she whispered. "I remember."

"Good, then we can call you that." Quinn pulled away from the hug and grinned at her. "Are you alright now?"

"Yeah." She nodded and held her aching head. "But...I still can't remember anything else. Everything is just...messy. What really happened to me?"

"That's okay. I understand this is overwhelming for you right now," Quinn places his hands on her shoulders. "Give it time. You'll figure it out again."

Maeva seemed unsure of that. "I...guess. But, am I really in the future? Why is everything so...weird? Is this place even the United States?"

"What's the United States?" He mindlessly questioned.

"The Mayor suggests we take you to the Chruch. They should know what to do." Paige exclaimed.

Quinn's eye twitched at the very mention of the Church. He crossed his arms, annoyed. "Tck."

"She is clearly too dangerous to be around the public. This has just become a mission on itself." Paige exclaimed.

"Come on. Are we really doing this?" The shaggy-blond male debated. "Can't we keep her?"

"What can we do with her? This matter is now extremely important for the Church to know, perhaps even the Arcadian Assemblage."

"Ugh..." Quinn groaned.

"You'll be in our care for now, Lady Verdana." Paige nodded.

"Uhm...okay?" The girl shrugged.

"And with the Sin Wielders popping up at the same time, I can't say it's a coincidence..." the swordstress added.

"We should head out as soon as possible."

"But first..." Quinn interjected with a grin and turned to Saint Verdana—now named Maeva.

"...we might want to get the little lady better clothes."