Before she knew it, the girls found themselves outside of Luke’s house. They opened the door and walked in. Luke was already in the living room with a suitcase completely packed as he continued to add things to his backpack. 

“Hey, it took you two long enough.” Luke said jokingly.

“Whatever.” Alice said. “I’m going to go help her get packed up.”

They walked into the room at the end of the hall where Hallie had slept the night before and Alice efficiently packed everything into her suitcase. 

“I know this is probably going to sound silly since we just met a few hours ago but, I’m honestly going to miss you.” Hallie whispered before a few tears fell down her face. 

“Oh, no you don’t. You’d better not cry. You’re going to make me cry too…” Alice said before she began crying as well. 

Both girls hugged for a few minutes before Alice composed herself enough to say, “You are not crazy, and I feel the same way. Look at the bright side though. You have a little bit of time until they find a way to send you back home, so I expect to hear from you. Send me a letter, a postcard, and hey, if you can, come visit me. 

“Yeah, I will make sure to stay in touch for as long as I can. And when I go back home, I promise I won’t forget you.” Hallie said. 

“I won’t forget you either.” Alice whispered as she hugged Hallie a little bit tighter. 

Both girls composed themselves, now confident that they will both remain friends no matter what, before they walk into the hallway and back to the living room where Luke was waiting. 

“There you are. Are you coming with us to dinner?” Luke asked as he looked at Alice. 

“Can I?”, she asked with a sly grin on her face, “You aren’t trying to take Hallie on a little date before you guys have to go to the Capital?”

“Of course not,” he said with a blush. Immediately backtracking, he says,”She is gorgeous, but I am simply helping her as a friend, anything else would be inappropriate.” Despite his answer, it was evident he had feelings for her, especially as he couldn’t even look in Hallie’s direction.

However, Hallie didn’t see any of his facial expressions as she wasn’t able to look at him either. Fortunately Alice had seen it all, from Hallie’s blush at Alice’s teasing to her look of disappointment as Luke said he wouldn't be taking her on a date. With a small laugh, Alice says, “Come on guys, it was just a joke and I’m ready to eat,” as she drags the both of them out of the door. 

The three of them headed out to a restaurant near his house and spent the next hour enjoying their meals and each other’s company. Afterwards, Hallie and Luke returned to the house to grab their things and Alice headed back home. Hallie and Luke walked in silence to the Teca, where Warlen was waiting outside for them. 

“The train will be at the station at 7:15”, Warlen said with annoyance clear in his voice as he walked away.

“It is only 6:50 and you said to be here at 7,” Luke says as they follow him.

“I’m sorry. That is my bad. I thought that I told you to be here a bit earlier. I wasn't really thinking about the fact that we had to be on time for the train when I told you guys to meet up with me this evening.” Warlen said without turning around or slowing his pace. 

Throughout the rest of the brisk walk to the train station, everyone was quiet. As they arrived, they found that they still had five minutes until the train was due to arrive so they were able to get tickets and board in plenty of time. After getting on the train and picking out their seats, Warlen seemed to visibly relax and he asked, “Are you two excited to be visiting the capital? It isn’t everyday that people are given the ability to visit unless they are scholars.”

“Yeah,” Hallie said. Despite the fact that Luke obviously trusted Warlen, there seemed to be something off about the way he acted and he seemed to be incredibly worried when he thought we might miss the train. It is probably just nerves. I mean, the guy does have to tell the geniuses of the world how he brought me here by accident and doesn’t know how to fix what he has done.

Seemingly oblivious to Warlen’s weirdness, Luke answers his questions enthusiastically. Listing out the many places that he hopes to visit and all of the things that he hopes to learn. Before long, Hallie found herself drifting off to sleep. 

She awoke to Luke gently shaking her shoulder, “Hey, wake up, we’re here.”

“How long was I asleep?”

“A few hours”

“And we have already made it to the capital. It took half a day to the city of Ashka from the farm and you’re telling me it took less time to get to the capital.”

“The train travels fast. You have to remember that we have technology more advanced than Earth’s as well as magic to support it. This train could travel around Earth in a day or so.”

“Is it really that fast?”

“Yes, it is. Now we had better get a move on younguns before we lose our chance to get off at our stop.” interjected Warlen. 

The three of them grabbed their bags and made their way off of the train. Warlen began walking and Hallie and Luke followed closely behind so they didn’t lose him in the crowd of people. 

“What about Pine?” Hallie asked.

“What do you mean?” asked Luke

“We left him at your house alone.”

“I asked a friend of mine to take care of him while I’m gone. He has taken care of Pine before so I’m not worried about it.” 

“Oh, okay. I think I’m gonna miss having him around. He was the first horse I ever rode on.”

Warlen interected saying, “It is probably best that you leave the horse, there aren’t many places to ride them in the capital city as the streets are to be kept as clean as possible. And besides, everything you will need will be found in the Science facility that we are headed to. This biggest Teca in the Kingdom has facilities to support the existence of thousands of people and there are rarely more than a few hundred residing there at one time. 

Hallie was amazed and surprised that that many people would fit all into one building. On earth, it was possible, but sometimes seeing all of the older things and the lack of certain convenience technologies made her forget that this civilization was more advanced than her own. Before long, the Teca was visible. It towered over all of the nearby buildings and Warlen proceeded to give them more information about the place as they approached. 

“It is also the home to our monarch. In addition to this being the official learning place of the great ones, it is also the home and workplace of the king. He relies heavily on the council of us Great Ones. There are usually 3 or 4 here at all times and for the bigger decisions, we are all called in to provide our insight…”

Before long, Hallie began to drown out Warlen’s endless history lesson and focused on the details of the building itself. It was a grand building, with an art style similar to the white house. There were huge columns framing the entrance of the building. The building had countless windows and was clearly well-maintained as Hallie took in the pure-white exterior. Despite the grandness, certain elements made the building seem uninviting. The harsh concrete surrounding the building without any hint of anything other than white and gray gave the building a sterile, lifeless look. The lack of landscaping, while allowing for an easier to maintain building made it seem threatening and felt quite out of place compared to the homey buildings that Hallie had visited in Ashka. It seemed to be quite normal in the capital though, considering that Hallie could count on one hand the number of plants that she had seen upon entering the capital. All of the buildings seemed to be made out of some shade of white, gray or black, reminding her of the bigger cities from back on Earth. 

This place doesn’t seem too friendly, Hallie thought. But Luke doesn’t even seem to have noticed. He seems to be enjoying himself and Warlen is keeping him plenty entertained with all of his random facts. It seems incredibly odd that we haven’t seen any people since getting off of the train though. It seems that not very many people travel through here. 

Before long, the three of them made it to the gate of their destination. 

“Can we get some identification and your pass, sir?” the Guard to the right asks.

“Here you go,” Warlen said as he fished some papers out of his bag. 

“You are clear to go, Great One. What is the business of the others with you.”

“They are with me. It is imperative that they come with me as they are important to my studies.”

The guard on the right nods in understanding as the guard on the left eyes both Luke and Hallie with a look suspiciously like that of pity. The three continue into the grand building, only passing the occasional scholar or servant. Warlen leads the two of them to their own separate rooms and promises to collect them to discuss things in the morning.