A Royal Heist

I take my position across the hallway from Bryanna. The young engineer working on a government project would never have believed in a year, he would be invisibly running through a castle. Bryanna taps the wall, the signal to move to the next section of the hallway. Eventually, after dodging guards and a close call after hearing Princess Elizabeth's voice echoing through the building, we arrive at the knight's headquarters. After carefully dodging hustling knights, Bryanna and I ended up side by side on top of an empty table in the corner of the room. 

Bryanna whispered, "Exciting first time in a castle, huh?"

"Is there someone or something we should be looking for?"

"There should be a knight squad assigned to dealing with the bandits. You go right, and I'll go left. After thoroughly searching, let's meet back at our makeshift camp."

I step down from the table and head to the far right desk, carefully reviewing documents, eavesdropping on conversations, missing pets and lunch plans, and trying to switch shifts—all mundane and unimportant. I tried not to get discouraged, but the thieves and kidnappers outside of their walls seemed insignificant compared to the everyday life of living in a castle. I decided to look at one more desk before rendezvousing with Bryanna.

The document on top instantly caught my eye: "Lamaria Mage Clan report on the mysterious teleportation portal detected." I quickly skimmed its contents. It describes a sizeable magical energy release on the day I was found outside Lamaria. Some witnesses reported seeing a large hole opening in the sky and something falling from it.

I had to compose myself; I could feel my magic control slipping and almost fell backward. Did the Wormhole Project succeed? The explosion looked like a failure, and since I traveled dimensions, it should still be categorized as one, but in the end, a wormhole did open, and at least one person passed through successfully. I wanted to speak to Bryanna about this. Was she aware that I wasn't from this world? I quickly looked around the room before stealing the report and leaving the castle.

When I returned to the tree where Bryanna and I spent the night, I saw her waiting for me.

"Did you find anything?"

"I couldn't gather any information about bandits. Did you find the knight in charge of clearing out the forest?"

"No, I didn't, but why did you mention not finding details about bandits?"

I sighed and reached into my cloak to retrieve the document. "Did you happen to see a portal opening before finding me?"

She took the document and read a few lines before going pale. "I'm sorry, I wasn't sure how to tell you, and I didn't want anyone in Lamaria to know you could open portals like that, or even if you didn't make it yourself, the mages would run all kinds of tests on you."

I sighed and turned away from her, not because I was upset but because I didn't know what emotion to show her. I was grateful that she wanted to protect me and relieved she was ignorant of the true nature of the wormhole. I took a deep breath and turned back to Bryanna.

"Alex, I'm-"

"You don't need to be sorry; I don't remember where I came from, and having a bunch of mages from the capital interrogating me wouldn't have restored my memory. I understand why you didn't say anything before and why trying to bring it up a year later was awkward."

Bryanna relaxed and took a step closer to me. "Thank you. I guess that is why I immediately connected to you. We both were in a place we didn't belong."

I smiled at her and reached out to take her hands. "Then let us renew our promise to find those close to us who are also not where they should be."

Bryanna started to lean closer to me but then let go of my hands and cleared her throat. "Um, yes, well, we can get something to eat and then search for more kidnapped girls tonight. I would hate for the unwed princesses not to have a mysterious amnesiac to propose to."

I smiled and changed my appearance again. "Maybe we will get lucky, and the bandits will find us first." Bryanna smiled back and transmuted into her disguise. She took my hand, and we walked back inside Lydon's walls together. After exploring the city for about an hour, we decide to stop at a restaurant for dinner. Bryanna was able to relocate some of the knights' funds into her bag so the meal would be from them tonight.

The room was elegantly decorated despite the building's plain exterior. We ordered a couple of salads for appetizers, and I ordered a steak. I had not had a steak or grilled meat in the past year. Bryanna ordered a fish dish. I would ask her to try some to diversify my food experience. 

The waitress was bringing our salads when we heard a loud bang. I looked to the front door and saw it on the floor; four armed men were standing atop it. They stood to the side while a tall and very muscular man in armor from head to toe walked in.

"Hello, good people of Lydon." His voice was deep, booming, and frightening. "We are the Woodland Bandits; we have come to collect a deterrence fee."

A group of knights stood up from their table and confronted the men. "Deterrence fee? What are you dissuading?"

The men chuckle, and their leader sticks up his hand. "Now, boys, it's only fair that our dear knight learns what his generous offer will be used for. The deterrence fee will prevent the impending siege of Lydon from the powerful Woodland Bandits. Our Bandit King will allow your city to thrive under his protection. What is a few coins between men?"

I rolled my eyes. Bandit King? That was the most creative name they had? I guess, as a bandit, imagination isn't required. Bryanna looked stunned, but our waitress hadn't moved. After hearing enough of the man's rant, I concealed myself and went around the side of the bandits. I watched the knights grow angry and draw their swords. However, they weren't in full armor, and I could tell this armored man was out of their league.

It was time I tried a new trick. The project I was working on in my old life involved creating portals to send people or supplies anywhere in the world instantly. Once I became proficient in magic, I wanted to overcome the limitations and disasters caused by my last teleportation device. I could only get teleportation to work if I left some of my magic behind.

I extended the strings from my fingers and touched the four men's feet, leaving a small amount of magic behind. I drew both of my swords and teleported to the first group. I stabbed both through the heart simultaneously. Then, I teleported to the other group and thrust my swords backward to face the armored bandit. 

"What the hell was that?!" The man drew his broadsword from behind himself and turned around. I was now entirely black, a shadowy figure covered in his men's blood. I stood tall and firm but still looked unintimidating compared to this man.

"I go by World Healer; I cleanse the world of those who would blemish the world and harm the innocent."

The man only laughed, though it sounded like a loud, jarring roar. He quickly swung his sword, which cleaved me in half, or at least it would have; I was stretching my strings all over the restaurant, leaving little pieces of magic. Once I was ready, I wrapped them around my swords again and waited for his strike. I could have instantly put him down, but I wanted the witnesses to tell the tale of the World Healer.

First, I kicked out his left leg and slashed in between the armor on his right leg. He fell with a thud before screaming and twisting wildly. His broad sword made a large gash in the wall and smashed a table. Second, I cut off his hands. They fell to the ground, still gripping his sword. His scream went from rage to a terrified as he stared at the bleeding nubs. Finally, I put an end to his yells by separating his head from his torso. 

I looked at Bryanna. She had a stunned expression and hadn't moved an inch. I teleported to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. 

"Hey! There are going to be others in trouble. We need to move."

She shook her head and instantly transformed into her all-black camouflage. "You're right. I'm sorry. Let's go."

I rush out of the restaurant and head towards the farmer's stalls in the poorer area of the city.