It was the start to quite the interesting day. I didn't get to wear my usual Victorian looking dresses, instead, the maid helped me get into a pair of pants and a simple sleeveless shirt. They were both a dark shade of blue. I also apparently didn't get to wear shoes but the maid refused to look at me when I kept asking for them. Maybe doing a magic test barefoot was a tradition or something…

When I was ready, the maid walked me out of the front door of the manor. It was not an area of the house I knew well. I hadn't really had any reason to leave the house. 

The front of the house was decorated with intricate golden pillars. I studied the little carved soldiers on the pillars as well as what seemed like giant scorpions. Compared to the size of the tiny carved men, they were probably bigger than horses. I hope the size of the scorpions was the artist taking some artistic liberties because living in the same world as giant scorpions was harder to believe than waking up in the body of some kid.

As I was guided into a carriage, I half expected the carriage to be pulled by cool fantasy horse creatures or maybe unicorns but there was nothing in front of the carriage. From where I was standing there didn't seem to be anyone driving.

Maybe it worked with magic? Looking about two feet to the right revealed the conductor speaking to my dad. Oh.

I had not seen him since I walked into his office and even from a distance I was aware of how nervous the carriage driver seemed. I could practically see his palms sweat. 

When we got within ten feet of the two men, my father turned to look at me. His eyes were sharp, almost cold. Was he angry? Last time we spoke, it sounded like he had high hopes for me.

My father walked up to me. He was so tall and unlike me, wearing shoes. I focused on the fancy looking shoes as he passed me. The thin stitches running from the top of the shoe to the back and the vibrant shade of red of the shoes. I focused on them so much that feeling his hand on my shoulder made me jump.

"Good luck." 

And just like that he walked back into the house. I couldn't bring myself to look up until I heard the front door open and close. After he was gone, I looked at the maid expectantly. She was giving me an odd look. 

Before I could scowl at her, she walked up to the carriage and opened the door looking at me expectantly. I don't know what I expected but I certainly didn't expect the inside to look like a car. In the front I saw a steering wheel and pedals, a handle looking thing. The seats were leather and reminded me of car seats with no seat belts. I barely even processed the engine noises and the semi transparent horses in the front until I saw the way the light passed through the fake animals. 

Taking some time to look around (and getting pulled back onto my seat every couple of seconds by the maid) I saw large houses with similar intricate pillars, more weird horseless carriages and a better look at the ferris wheel. The streets were paved, somewhat. It looked like we were on top of a brick wall but I didn’t get a good look because the maid stopped me from opening the carriage window. Looking to the sides of the road, there were some people out in their ridiculous fashion that clashed horribly with the semi-modern surroundings. And there were no animals, no dogs or cats, no birds. The closest thing I had seen to an animal was giant scorpions on a pillar, and those weren’t real or animals. 

I expected to at least have seen a rat or two but I saw nothing. What was the meat I have been eating? Was it people meat? I don’t know how long the drive was but I know that it was probably faster than a real horse drawn carriage. 

Before I knew it, I found myself in front of a dozen random people and what looked like a tall hedge. I looked to all the people in turn expecting one of them to start explaining but all I got were stares. 

Several minutes passed before someone cleared their throat and stepped out of the small mass of people. It was a man dressed like a wizard complete with a pointed hat and beard. He cleared his throat a few times before saying in an awkward raspy voice, “You must be Anastasia, I take it?”

Way too late I remembered that the etiquette lady had taught me proper greetings but in my haste to make a nice quick curtsy, I fell onto my knees. Worst part is I think that I heard the maid stifle a snicker. As if I didn’t hate that woman already. I wiped off the dust with whatever pride I had left and made a better approximation of a curtsy. 

“Yes… sir? My name is Anastasia Salvestro.” 

Wow, I wish I knew the proper way to address wizards.

Looking up I noticed some of the random people, which all had pointy hats and robes, apparently, muttering among themselves. I began to suspect I had botched my grand total of two etiquette lessons until I caught the words, ‘she’s far more polite than we were told. I half expected her to push past us and just get into the maze like the last kid’. Okay, so I did good?

I waited for the whisper conference to end. Meanwhile I half turned to the maid and quietly said, “must you stand next to me?”

In an equally quiet tone she said, “your father-” and I assumed she was about to say that my father had instructed her to stay close to me but I cut her off.

“Go wait by the carriage or something. I don’t need you hanging around me. I don’t need some maid to supervise me.”

I expected her to get mad but instead she turned and walked away. I guess we were in public. The whispers had stopped and I was receiving a few odd looks.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather keep your maid around, most kids would.” one of the members of the wizard crowd said.

“I’m eight. I’m not some kid that needs a nanny to get around.” I said, shaking my head. I heard some stifled laughs but I was unsure which of the mass of pointy hats did that.

After a second or two the older wizard cleared his throat and gestured to the giant hedge.

“This is the maze! I’m sure you saw it in the practice sessions. I would even wager you are sick of it or have some idea that you memorized the layout. Oh, but this is a different maze!” Was I imagining the sinister gleam in the man’s eyes? “This one is bigger. Inside you will find illusions  and obstacles. You will pass the test only if you can find your way to the center of the maze and retrieve an important item and bring it back, of course.”

He chuckled to himself. I, however, was cursing my luck. I had to take over Anastasia’s life four days from the test and not when the practice sessions were taking place! No, the stupid God that trapped me here decided I get to walk into the test with zero practice. Maybe the concern showed on my face because old wizard gave me a pat on the shoulder and a small push forward. A section of the hedge slid down into the ground like some kind of door. I took a few steps forward.

“You won’t need anything more than simple magic, force of will.” said one of the pointy hats.

The magic teacher? I guess that makes sense. 

I took a deep breath and walked into the maze. 

I was vaguely aware that the maze door hedge shut behind me before I saw nothing at all. I took a few blind steps forward. I went over the small amount of spells I knew and the obvious one came to me almost immediately. The first spell I had ever done. I closed my eyes and thought “Light”. I waited for a few seconds, concentrating on a small orb of light just above my palm. I didn’t even have to open my eyes before I saw it. The orb I had envisioned in my head exactly where I had imagined it would be. It was a small light, it didn’t light very far into the maze just the next five or so steps. I took a tentative step forward. Lucky for the text to require one of the four spells I actually knew and the only one I had actually tried. 

The floor was soft and sandy so I could not even hear my own footsteps. I found it almost peaceful.

That’s when I first saw it. About eight steps away and out of the range of my light was a small silhouette. It had to be around my size, a kid maybe. I paused but the kid-shape did not move.

I reminded myself that the old wizard had mentioned illusions but something about the kid was unsettling. I took a few tentative steps forward. The first thing that stood out to me was the orange hair, like the protagonist. No, no way I would find the protagonist just chilling in the middle of a test. I stared, trying to decipher any of her features but she remained a vague shape with orange on top. What was her name? I’m sure Anastasia would know considering how much she hated her. I waited. Expecting the answer to come to me when I realized that the figure had moved. It was not a kid. It was unfolding before my eyes like some kind of paper. It went from four feet tall to eight an and then kept going until it was taller than the maze It had no features, just a plain black and somewhat human shaped blob multiplying in height. I thought back to my list of spells and cast the first one that came to my mind.

‘Fire’

What looked like a small ball of fire left my hand. It went through the thing as if it weren’t there and faded from view. Illusion magic, I reminded myself.

Taking a few short breaths, I slowly walked through the black thing. It was like it wasn’t even there. I took more steps forward until I passed the unnatural darkness that was the thing and was greeted by a wall of fire. A real threat unlike the dark thing. I hurriedly backed away as the fire spread. My back hit a hedge. No, no no! There were no hedges there. I walked in a straight line. There were no damn hedges behind me! I stepped back further. My left hand hit another hedge. I was in a corner and fire was rapidly cornering me. No, it could not. The ground was sand so the fire could not completely corner me. I just had to keep away from the walls and go somewhere that was not on fire!

I took a deep breath. It made my brain feel fuzzy for a second but I ignored it. I ran forward. In front of me I realized the shape with the orange hair was in front of me, running fast as well. I tried to ignore it. Maybe it was the light but her hair was not orange anymore, she was blond. She also had more features. I could see her pale skin and somewhere in the back of my mind I knew I knew her. She turned to me. I saw a pair of brown eyes looking at me with concern but something was wrong. Even while fuzzy around the edges, those eyes were way too human for it to be a mere illusion. I staggered. My lungs felt as if they were on fire. I didn’t know where the fire was anymore. All I could see was the little blond girl leaning over me. No person in this world dressed like her… 

Overalls…

Yes, she was wearing an overall dress.

One world left my lips before a deep darkness fell over everything.

“Leanne”