He was both amazed and annoyed how quickly she extinguished both the flames in her hand and the fire that kept the both of them in a lit, warm area. Perhaps she didn’t do that on purpose. Perhaps that was merely because she was just in so much pain talking about a past she managed to survive.

Lee: That’s…sorry to say so blatantly but I’m so sorry that must’ve been rough.

He grabbed a piece of wood from the nearby pile and placed it methodically onto the smothered flames

Lee: Accendo

Sparks of flames reignited.

Lee: So you can see these so called wavelengths off me?
Monique: You and the people you’re with.

He looked surprised.

Monique: Can’t you see them too?

He pondered that question for a while. Yet, the while lasted longer than expected and since it had been more than a while since they’ve last spoken the air between them was a lot more awkward. But how can he ask questions he couldn’t even fathom? Like, how long had she been feeling that way? Were monsters appearing before he and his friends arrived? And if so, why weren’t they told? Why was no one at the Dragon’s Nest aware of a person such as her. They had gotten plenty of cases of people ending up in different parts of the galaxies who didn't belong, yet no one had ever heard of her. Silence accumulated in the cave. He didn’t know what to ask and she didn’t know how to converse. As she looked down, avoiding his eye contact once more, he got up and stretched his legs.

Lee: Well I suppose we’re now at some form of predicament.
Monique: Wh-what do you mean?
Lee: For starters, we’re going to have to wait till daylight to see where we are at. No point in tiring ourselves right now. And I’m quite curious about you Ms. Monique Obviously.
Monique: HEY! That’s not my last name!

She pouted.

He laughed.

Lee: Yeah but, you’re not in that sad mood right now.

She blushed.

Monique: D-don’t go trying to flirt with me.
Lee: Heh, I don’t even know if that would be considered flirting however, I do have a proposition for you.
Monique: Yeah? What is it?
Lee: Well, I don’t want to test out how far you can teleport. As in, I don’t want to risk trying to teleport to a different world if I am assuming that what you’ve insinuated is that we’re still in the same world…
Monique: You would assume correctly.
Lee: And since my only way to teleport to anywhere is now with my friends back at the villa, our only chance would be to wait till dawn, see where we are, and rendezvous where I am supposed to be and get you out of here.
Monique: And how would I know you won’t just ditch me when the opportunity arises?
Lee: I would not have just listened to your whole sad origin story if that were the case, besides what kind of asshole would do that.
Monique: I can name more than I’d like to count. And I know at least five of them were there probably giving your friends a run for your money.
Lee: I would like to disagree. That blonde girl whose hairs stick out like antennas who saw you, Alexis, she tears people to literal pieces with her bare hands. I’ve seen it once. It was kind of cool.
Monique: Well how do I know you’re not just blatantly lying to me?
Lee: I wouldn’t have lied for you otherwise. Could’ve just given you to Doctor-whatever-his-face-was at the door then and there.
Monique: Why didn’t you?
Lee: For the same reasons you didn’t just up and teleport away when you had the chance. You’re…interesting. I don’t just want to get to know more about you, I want to also get you out of here. To a place where you feel like you do belong.
Monique: I only stayed because I didn’t want the chance to get a way
Lee: What chance?
Monique: The chance to see if my gut feeling was right. If you were like me. But why would I ever think for a moment you’d want to help me? Get me out of here? And back into that cage? That place that has nothing more than pain and suffering for me.

He shook his head.

Lee: Look, I may not know what that’s like, but I do know what it’s like to feel like you don’t belong. I know what it's like to feel like the whole world is rejecting you and there’s no longer a home you want to return to. Because all you can hear is this screeching in your ears and no matter where you run to, it’s always the same. I know what it’s like to want so desperately to want to leave but you can’t until you finally meet the right people. So here I am, the right person, reaching my hand out to you. If you want, we can get out of this fucking world. You can go somewhere where there’s nothin’ but soft melodies playing in your ears and you’ll be nowhere near those cunts who’ve made you suffer for so many years.

For once, she didn’t have any snarky remark to tort back. For once, she sat there silently, tears forming on her face. He got down to her level, wiping them off her face.

Lee: Sorry, didn’t mean to make you cry.
Monique: It’s…it’s weird. Why do I feel like I can actually trust you?
Lee: I intend to have that effect on people.

He chuckled a bit.

Monique: I-is it a promise? You promise to get me out of here?
Lee: Yeah. I promise. I solemnly swear to get you out of here.
Monique: And where do you intend to take me? If you don’t mind me asking.

Lee pondered for a moment.

Lee: Wait right here.

He went out, searching high and low through the forestry around him. He then came back with some twigs and rocks and started to methodically place them in a circle of some sorts.

Monique: What are you doing?
Lee: Magic. Haven’t you heard of that? Do you even have that in this world?

She slightly nodded.

Monique: Didn’t know anyone else who could do it.
Lee: Well, I’m not really an expert. My sister, Karin? She’s so well advanced for someone her age. She could cast thirty different spells all at once and still have enough time to make up a new one on the spot. I however, flunked out of the academy and instead have mastered the ways of the sword.
Monique: There’s an academy?
Lee: Hell yeah there is. The best one there is to teach you all sorts of crazy things. There’s also multipleu schools that teach you specific aspects of magic.

As he finished setting up the final touches of the symbol, he started producing more firewood on each side of the cave, setting them on fire which caused the entirety of the area they were in to light up. He then utilized a very sharp edge of a stone to cut himself, dropping bits of blood onto the symbol.

Lee: Repetir Memoria Visione.

The light produced from the flames started swirling around, creating images of a world not known to anyone on this Earth. Her eyes sparkled in excitement.

Monique: I-is this real?
Lee: I am using the memories of my time on Eridelium. The place I hope you can call home one day. It’s a place only the misfits go. The people who don’t really belong anywhere can belong there.

She saw fairies flying from place to place, oceans that were as clear as day where sirens and mermaids would pop out to play. Ogres were spotted hiding in a forest that looked as if it were stretching onto forever. Like a storybook coming to life.

Monique: I can really call this place home?
Lee: I don’t see why not.
Monique: And they won’t find me there?
Lee: No, it would be impossible. You probably can’t even teleport there yet. The magic that surrounds and inhabits that world is utilized to also hide it from everyone else. You can only gain access to it through people like me.
Monique: People like you?
Lee: Yep, my job is to take the people or things that don’t fit into one world over to a place that they do belong to. Sometimes, it also involves eliminating certain monsters or targets that have violated some laws or whatever but essentially I am just a courier. Or rather a teleporter.
Monique: Who doesn’t have anything to teleport him anywhere.
Lee: Hey, I already said that I am not very good at magic so for people like me who can only do this low level of magic, we get a special little app on our smartphones that allow us to teleport from one world to the next. Or one place to the other.
Monique: And where is it?
Lee: I left it behind because I was worried about you.
Monique: Oh…
Lee: Yeah. Had me worried there for a second. Want to tell me about those people who were chasing you since we’ll be here for a while?

Monique

He had already opened up to her so much about a world never seen before. A world she couldn’t even reach by proper means. She knew it was fair, but the question remained how much information should she share? Would it be too much? Too little? What seemed fair?

Monique: I-uh.
Lee: Just share what you’re comfortable with.

She stared back at the fire as Lee sat next to her, tending to his newly made wound. She ripped a part of her already torn shirt and used it to bandage his hand.

Monique: I’m not sure if I can remember it all to even talk about it. Some of my memories are pretty blank, and I think it had a whole lot to do with someone mucking up my head. Like, I can distinctly remember running away when I was 8, and again when I was 10 but I don’t remember where too and who I was with. But I do remember the person who essentially turned me in was more or less the same guy. I just grew to distrust a lot of people and for the life of me, I can't figure out why.

Lee frowned a bit. She sat back down, this time however, she was sitting closer to him.

Monique: I was brought to this Organization called Twilight Baleful. They essentially took in orphans, foster kids or abandoned kids who showed any potential dangerous powers and trained them as weapons. We would work as agents for any company or country that would hire us. Sometimes it was for espionage, other times it was for instigating wars. They always said I was the best at what I could do. Terraforming environments, teleporting behind enemy lines, all that fun jazz any kid does in childhood essentially.
Lee: You didn’t want to live that kind of life anymore, did you?
Monique: How could anyone want to live that life? You were only worth anything if you could bend to their will. And if you couldn’t? If you didn’t do as you were told or if they found out you saved an enemies life it meant weeks, even months of torture. You were punished for having morals. So yeah, I wanted out by any means. But I couldn’t just kill myself to get out you see.

Lee stared at her with sorrow in his eyes.

Monique: I wanted to do anything to leave. Anything. But even if I teleported somewhere else they just found a way to get me back. It’s like I’m stuck here and I can’t really leave. I want to get out of here. I want to go to that world you showed me but I realize now that it’s just a dream. A dream I’m not even allowed to have.

Bursting into tears, she curled herself back into a fetal position.

Lee: Hey…
Monique: Just leave me be. I know deep down inside I know you are not lying to me but I know that even if I go there, I’m stuck here. I’ll always be stuck here.
Lee: No, you won’t. You won’t be.
Monique: And how can I trust that? How can I know that it won’t be like the other times?
Lee: Because, we’ll find out what curse was placed on you that causes you to stay and we’ll get you out of here.
Monique: W-what?

He pointed at the glowing purple swirls that were on her feet.

Lee: Those are curses someone put on you

She looked at it, studying it a little more.

Monique: H-how how did these….
Lee: I think when you teleported they appeared. As if almost signaling to someone where you are. I mean, the symbol of that particular curse looks really familiar but again, I flunked out of the academy. I think my sister knows more.

She grabbed Lee’s collar.

Monique: Where can we find her!?
Lee: Whoa, whoa whoa. I don’t even know where we are. And its not going to help either of us to go looking for civilization when it looks like the middle of the night. Let’s just rest up for now and see where we are in the morning.
Monique: And what if they come now? While we are asleep?
Lee: Well for starters, they were dealing with my friends. And they don’t really back down for anyone. So that’s going to take them a whole long ass while. And another, I think we’re far enough away that they can’t get here in time. Let me ask you something, do you know anyone else who can teleport like you do?

She shook her head.

Lee: That’s good. Then we now know even if they try coming after us it’ll take them a while.

He gently pushed her away.

Lee: So, let’s get some rest.
Monique: I’m sorry.
Lee: It’s okay. Even if they do get here, I’d also kick their ass.
Monique: I don’t know if I believe that. They’re a lot stronger than that monster you tried fighting earlier.
Lee: Hey. I was distracted okay??
Monique: By what?
Lee: Moments before you literally popped into my life, I was protecting a family. Any movement or move sets I had would’ve possibly put them in danger. I couldn’t really risk that.
Monique: You were protecting someone?
Lee: Yeah, that’s part of the job.
Monique: Haaah. So, what? You’re going to protect me too?
Lee: If you're really unable to hold your own, yeah. I’ll protect you too.

Monique could always tell or sense when a person lies. It was the way their body shaked, the way their heartbeat would suddenly spike every time the blurred truth came out. Yet at this moment, she found no lies came from his lips. That every word he spoke was ever the more truthful. For the first time, in her whole time of existing in this world, she finally found a small spigot of peace. And she hoped there wouldn’t have to be a price to pay for it.