The young boy led Christian back through the grand rooms and echoing corridors, back to the cozy room that seemed to be his. The light still played through the window, now falling on the bottles causing small rainbows to form on the wall. From outside a clattering and clinging sound came, as well as commands being shouted. 

Someone had been into the room while he was gone. An assortment of clothes lay folded over the back of a chair, they hadn’t been there before. Also, a sweet smell of lavender spread through the room. It reminded him of his mother, she would sew small pouches and fill them with dried lavender and place them in his sock drawer. He realized if this was real he would never see her again. He sighed, a heavy feeling spreading through his chest.

The boy that had led him came into the room after Christian and closed the door behind them before standing to attention next to the door. He cleared his throat before he began.

“I am to be your page.”

Christian turned to the boy. “What does that mean?”

“I will be your servant, help you in any way I can. As you see, some clothes have been brought that you can wear this evening at the banquet."

Christian mulled this over as he looked at the boy. “What is your name?” 

“Adam sir.”

“And what can you help me with?”

“Anything that you wish for, information, helping you get dressed. Anything at all. It is a great honor that our majesty has given me. Only second to serving the king himself,” he said eagerly, nodding his head.

“And how old are you?”

“Thirteen sir.”

Christian sat down on the bed, bent over with his elbows propped up on his knees. He sighed and looked at the boy who stood there waiting for any command that he would give. The king had mentioned that he was born in the year 1980 and was fortyfive years old, could this really be 2025? 

“What year is it?”

“It is the year of our lord 2025.” Adam looked a bit confused at the question but answered it willingly.

“And where exactly am I?”

The look on Adam’s face was one of doubt, he needed to calm him. Just in case Adam thought he was some kind of imposter. They might not burn witches but imposters…

“As a witch I know many things but this place is new to me. Anything that you can share will be of use.”

This seemed to encourage Adam who told him all kinds of things. Within a brief span of time he found out that this was truly Stockholms castle, but not the Stockholm he knew. The king was Edward the tenth. Everything seemed to be completely different, the Swedish royal family that he knew didn’t exist in any form. He wondered if parallel universes existed, maybe that was something that Stephen Hawking had spoken about. The face of the girl from the train came to him again, she had been wearing a funny t-shirt with the face of Stephen Hawking. 

Adam interrupted their talk by saying, “I think it is time to get dressed, sir. I will help you. And once you have become more settled, I will get a tailor to come and measure you and make some more suitable clothing.”

Christian let Adam dress him in the clothes that lay there. Once he was dressed Adam pointed him to the mirror that stood propped up against the wall next to the bed. It was not as clear as a mirror usually was but he could see his reflection well enough to note that he didn’t look too bad. He wore a white shirt with wide puffy sleeves, over that a vest in a moss green silky fabric. His pants were a matching moss green and went down to just under his knees and were also slightly puffy in a, and then he had knee-high stockings. Adam tried to make him wear a pair of pointy black leather shoes that turned out to be much too small. Christian reverted to his ordinary shoes.

“Why can’t I wear my ordinary clothes for this dinner?”

“Those?” The boy pointed at the clothes that he had hung into the closet. He seemed to compose himself, straightening and puffing out a breath. “I’ve been trained in how to dress myself as well as people of different rank. I have also been taught about fashion through the last century and never have I seen anything so plain. A man should show off his status by being bold in his choice of fabric and color. But you need not worry, I will help you.”

Adam seemed quite earnest, as if this was of utmost importance. Christian liked clothes, especially expensive clothing. He twisted and turned in front of the mirror looking at himself. He could get used to this. Maybe a cape. He smiled at himself and brushed his fingers through his blonde hair.

“We will let your hair grow as well, a man with such fine hair should wear it long,” Adam said.

Christian could feel a blush creeping up his neck. No one had commented on his hair quite in that way since he was a child. His mother had always told him his hair was gorgeous and that women would be jealous of him, but it had always felt rather ridiculous. 

Another thought came to him. He needed to get onto the problem with the king. 

“Can you tell me what the king eats daily?”

Adam frowned a few moments before speaking, “I don’t know exactly what he eats but you can see what his dinner is like this evening.”

“And does he exercise?"

“What do you mean?” Adam asked.

“Sports, running, lifting weights…” he trailed off as he saw Adam’s puzzled look. Most probably no one exercised in this world unless they worked in a field or something.

“Never mind.”

“He used to ride, but since he was crowned, he only rides in a carriage.”

“And when was he crowned?”

“In the year 2021.”

Christian mulled this over. The king was very young compared to the way he looked and felt and considering that Christian wasn’t a doctor he couldn’t really help him medically. But there might be other options.

“I believe I am ready for dinner,” he said.