Welcome to Gaia! ::

“Just water for now, please.” Maybe once her stomach settled, she could think about food, but at the moment, her mind was too tangled to even consider it.

Natalie felt as though she had been wandering through a dense fog, her thoughts clouded by the shock of what had happened in the alley. How could touching a simple-looking mirror trigger such a transformation? Her rational mind grasped for an explanation, but as a creative writing teacher, there was only one answer that fit… magic. Not cheap parlor tricks or slight-of-hand illusions, but the kind spun from myths and legends in fantasy novels.

In a daze, she wandered towards the couch and sank into it. “I have questions, but I don’t even know where to start.” Her voice held a note of frustration at the situation while her expression wavered between confusion and helplessness.

After a moment, she sighed. “I guess the best place to start is with what happened, then how, and maybe why.” She had no doubt more questions would come up as Sadie began offering her answers as promised.

As much as she wanted to say that all that made sense, Natalie felt even more confused by the explanation. “So what you’re saying is that some of the stories my students might be writing may actually have some truth to them…” It was more of a statement than a question as the realization struck her at some similarities she saw between creative elements in students' stories who were not in the same social circle.

“I’m just a teacher, I don’t understand why I’d be chosen to be a Knight… or Page as you called me.” The titles sounded so medieval. “It’s not as if there was someone there to ask me if this was something I wanted to be a part of.” The alleyway had been completely empty, no formal conversation or recruiting interview. “I don’t know who left the mirror there or who to even give it back to.” There was no ‘return to sender’ option when she picked it up.

“What is the purpose of me being a Page, or of you being a Knight?” She said she’d been at this for a long while now, but doing what exactly, under whose orders… and why?

So many questions were flooding through her mind that it was hard not to just let several slip through at once while still somehow maintaining her composure and not freak out.

“So… there are children out there… fighting monsters and playing vigilante…” Each sentence was a pointed comment. A deliberate statement as each piece of the puzzle snapped into place. Natalie knew she was nowhere near completing the whole picture, but this was a disturbing start.

“It sounds like something that people should be aware of and not conscripted to joining.” Volunteer for fighting, and make informed decisions before being given a weapon. “Is there a leader and meetings, or teachers and classes we’re supposed to go to?” Like a Monday morning huddle of passdown information between security guards, where they figure out who’s who, what’s what, and where the threat is.

”I don’t want to fight. Are there consequences if I choose not to hold the mirror again?” Natalie would address the comment about Wonders later, whatever those were. But for now, she needed to know if she’d be branded a traitor or AWOL and lose her home or be kicked out of the country if she decided this was not for her.