1: The Door

Manna Black's life at the Legion and she finds out the real truth behind the lie she was supposed to believe. Everything she thought was fake is in fact real.

I didn’t do anything. I didn’t do anything. I didn’t do anything. What do they want from me?  This is what Manna Black thought as she ran through the underbrush. Her panting became heavier with each passing second, her legs and arms getting more scratched as she aimlessly continued to run.

She turned her head to see if they were still following, but they were nowhere in sight. She knew she was being chased because she could hear the rustling of leaves and their mutter of voices as they communicated with one another.

This wasn’t a normal chase either because the noise wasn’t coming from the ground, but rather from above.  The chasers were flying towards Manna.

“It’s pointless to run!” said one of my chasers.

“We’ll catch you sooner or later!” the other chaser continued.

Manna cursed under her breath and continued to run.

I don’t even know how I got tangled up in this mess. I was minding my own business reading a book by the creek when the chasers appeared out of nowhere. She stared to retrace in her mind how the chasers came to find her but nothing out of the ordinary jumped to mind.  Except for when they found her by the creek. She started to playback the last few minutes in her mind as she continued to run.

The chasers were identical to one another, impossible to tell apart with their appearance. They were hovering off of the ground, their dark purple cloaks hanging loosely from their bodies. They both had white leather gloves that fit their hands snuggly.  They wore dark purple beanies to match their cloak, their eyes were covered by their wispy strawberry blonde locks.  Stitches ran across both of their cheeks and aligned with the corners of their mouths. Their appearance reminded her of ragged dolls.

“Manna Black” said the chaser on the left.

“You have been summoned by our majesty, the King,” said the chaser on the right.

Her eyes widened as one of the chasers said her name. How did they know my name? She thought. Adrenaline began to pump through her body and she could feel herself shaking as everything began to sink in.

“She’s not a talker.” Said the one on the left.

“Are you sure she’s the right one?” asked the one on the right.

“Positive, the King is never wrong.” Answered the one the left.

Manna felt her body begin to move and before she knew it, she started to run. She didn’t know where she was running, but at least she was getting away from the strange chasers.

Manna could hear both of them call out.

“Surrender Manna Black.”

That is when the chase began.

            Manna’s body moved involuntarily as she ran, she knew she wasn’t in any way a threat to them. She had nothing to defend herself with all she had was her phone, keys, wallet, and book.

            Sweat began to form on her forehead and she could hear the chasers getting impatient

            “Sam, we can be noticed if we keep messing around!” said one of the chasers.

            Manna heard a chaser give out a loud sigh, “Yeah I guess you are right. Just be gentle.” Replied the one named Sam.

            “I’ll try,” said the nameless chaser.

She heard some sort of unsheathing coming from their direction.

Oh no, no! Manna began to panic as she realized the chasers were about to attack.

A slicing sound quickly approached Manna as if it slithered through the air. Something wrapped tightly around Manna’s ankle. A string?

            The next moment she was flat on the ground.

            The chasers slowly descended in front of Manna and their faces showed glee as they looked down at her.

            One of the chasers had their hand out towards Manna. Manna looked up, she narrowed her eyes. Her eyes were filled with rage as she peered at her chasers. She noticed that from the index finger of the chaser a small silver string came out from the tip of the finger.

            Manna saw the other chaser point their hand out towards their side and a silver door materialized out of thin air. Manna let out a loud gasp as she realized what she just saw.

            “How the hell did you do that?” She said in alarm.

            “Ah.” The chaser paused and smiled. “What do you humans call it?” The chaser struggled for the word.

“Magic.” Said the other chaser happily.

“Ah yes! Magic! Thanks Alex. Anyways, are you okay?  Any body lesions or unusual pain aside from the slight pressure of the string of course.” Asked the chaser that summoned the door.

            “What do you want from me?” Manna grumbled, her eyes were fixed on the two chasers and she attempted to get up, she began to thrash to try and loosen the string. No luck.

            “No, you stay down.” Said the chaser that had the silver string around her ankle. In that instant the chaser held up both of its hands and small silver strings created an octagon shape. The strings quickly wrapped around Manna. She could feel her body getting contracted by the small strings, even though they were thin as thread they felt as strong as metal.

“Alex, don’t hurt her.” Said Sam.

“I’m not Sam, I’m being as nice as I can.” Replied Alex.

Sam and Alex. Manna looked at both of them curiously, even though she knew both of their names, she couldn’t tell them apart at all, even their voices and heights were almost identical. Even the sex of the individuals was questionable since their voices weren’t masculine or feminine.

“Alright well we don’t want to keep the King waiting. Let’s go.” Said Sam and the mysterious door opened, a bright white light came out of the door as it opened.

Manna got lifted to her feet gently and she could feel the strings below her hips beginning to loosen. They weren’t trying to hurt her the least bit.

“You can walk right?” Asked Alex dryly.

Manna nodded her head and let out a small “Thanks.”

“My pleasure.” Alex replied.

They walk into the door, Manna walked in reluctantly and Alex lightly tugged on her string so she walked faster. Manna squinted as the bright light became brighter the closer they walked to the door. She peered down and I realized that her jeans and t-shirt were covered in dirt. Surprisingly, she still had her small messenger bag with her belongings inside.

As they walked to the other side of the door the light brightened. Manna shut her eyes because of the intensity of the light. She heard the door close behind them.

“5 6 5 3 7” said one of the chasers clearly.

Another door opened in front of them, a light wind swept their faces, they had reached the other side. Alex loosened the silver strings from the rest of Manna’s body. Alex lightly tapped her on the shoulder.

“You can open your eyes.” said Alex.

Manna opened her eyes and let out a small gasp. The place was so elegant, like a castle.  There was a giant crystal chandelier hanging above, the little crystals glistening in every direction. The ceiling was high and dome shaped, it was made out of glass that showed the clear blue sky outside. The walls were a pale shade of pink marble, decorated with beautiful portraits of what seemed like people, a few of the paintings were of mythical sceneries. The floor was composed of giant black and white tiles which reflected the ceiling above.  Huge wooden double doors were at the other side of room, at either side of the door stairways curved away from the door  and to a balcony on the second floor. The giant pillars were partially wrapped by the stairways; the pillars reached up to the tall ceiling that must have been around sixty feet above the ground.

 “Hey, you have it!” Sam pointed towards Manna’s chest and a smirk crossed Sam’s stitched face. Manna hadn’t really noticed their stitches. Both of them had neatly woven stitches starting from the corners of their mouths up to their ears. The stitches looked neat and were subtle.

Alex turned towards Manna to see what Sam was talking about. Alex’s tone was filled with surprise. “How did you get the emblem if you’ve never been to the Legion?”

Manna looked at them with confusion. Manna didn’t know what they were talking about. What was the Legion? Manna reached up to the star necklace hanging loosely from her neck.

“This?” She said in surprise.

They both nodded their head in agreement and said simultaneously “How did you get the emblem of the Legion?”

Manna shrugged lightly. “Ever since I can remember I’ve had it with me.”

Sam and Alex both looked at each other and a huge grin appeared on their faces.

“We fulfilled the mission.” They both spoke in sync once more and chuckled afterwards, their laugh was very mischievous. In fact the more they interacted the more playful they seemed to be.

Manna’s eyes continued to wander the grandiose room, she tried to take in as much detail as possible. Her eyes lingered and then they froze when she felt her heart drop to her stomach.

Someone was watching her, from the second floor behind a giant pillar. She squinted her eyes to attempt to focus them but she couldn’t make out what the person looked like since they were hidden by the pillars shadow.

 “Manna! Oh it is so good to see you.” Manna felt her body getting lifted into the air.

Manna gasped as she took what was going on, she was being held like a toddler in mid air by a tall thin man. His white teeth glistened with the brightness of the room. His smile radiated and his light gray eyes are filled with joy. The man continued to ramble.

“I sure hope you like it here! I know it’s a lot to take in but you’ll learn to love it.” His voice was serene, light hearted with a velvety undertone.

By this point Manna is in complete and utter shock. The man pulled her into his chest and embraced her tightly. Manna felt the air in her lungs escape.

“She is not a toy your majesty.” A said a hoarse low voice.

Manna managed to squeak out. “I can’t breathe.”

“Ah my apologies! You are right Oscar, Manna isn’t a toy.” He set her down. Manna took several deep breaths as she looked at the tall man. He seemed to be no older than twenty-five years old. His raven black hair was sticking out from every direction possible in large spikes. His fair face is narrow and his cheekbones were high and very sharp, the face is framed by sleek black hair that went down a little bit past his chin. His eyes were doe shaped and a pale shade of gray. His eyes made him appear gentle and innocent but there was still a certain edge to him. He had a white mask with a jester hat on the side of his face. The white mask was smiling and looked very cartoonish. His mouth was still in a genuine smile as he looked down at Manna.  His stature was unbelievable he must’ve be around six and a half feet tall.

The man could’ve easily passed for a model if it weren’t for his crazy hairstyle.

Manna felt a light tug at her jeans and peered down.

A panda stood on its hind legs, a two feet tall panda wearing a dark blue tailcoat and a monocle over his left eye. His expression appeared rather bored and he continued to tug on Manna’s jeans.

“Ms. Black? I want to apologize for my majesty’s behavior. I am Oscar the King’s advisor.” His voice was hoarse and low.

A talking panda named Oscar. Manna didn’t know if whether to laugh or be frightened at the circumstance.

“A talking panda.” Manna whispered in awe as she stared at Oscar is disbelief.

Sam and Alex were laughing nearby “She’s in complete shock.” One of the chasers said and continued to laugh.

The tall man put his hand on Manna’s shoulder and he faced Sam and Alex.

“Good work you two. I knew you guys would be perfect for this mission. You are dismissed.”

Sam and Alex both saluted him. “It was an honor your majesty.” They both said in sync. They turned around in unison but then they quickly turned their heads and a smile ran across their faces “We will be seeing you around Manna Black.” They both snickered and scampered off.

So this tall man was the King. He looked too young to be a King, even with his formal black suit he didn’t seem like a King.

“Well Manna,” the King said in a gleeful tone. “We will have plenty of time to talk tonight at dinner, I’m sure you have a lot of questions. Let Oscar take you up to your room so you can get moved in.”

Manna’s eyes widened, yes she had a lot of questions to ask the King, but the last part of his statement really threw her off.

“ What do you mean moved in?” She asked in shock.

The King’s smile widened “Why this is your new home Manna.” He said cheerfully.

“But how is that poss---“ The King interrupted her.

“I’ll explain everything you need to know at dinner.” The King bent down and lightly kissed Manna’s forehead. She felt her cheeks get hot, she bashfully looked down at the floor.

“Well I have to go do King like duties. I’ll see you at five for dinner Manna!” The King turned around and headed for the wooden double doors. 

“You’ll get used to the King’s scatter brain.” Said Oscar.

Manna glanced around once more, she remembered the mysterious person staring down at her from the second floor. She searched for the individual but whoever it was they were gone.

Manna swallowed hard and mustered up the courage to ask a question.

“Where am I?” Manna gazed down at Oscar and he looked back at her.

“In the dimensional gateway Spati Alveum, but more specifically you are in Legion grounds.”

Alternate dimension? The only type of dimension Manna was aware of was the 3D dimension that was shown at the movie theatres.

“What exactly do you mean alternate dimension? I want to go home.” Manna still couldn’t wrap the idea around her head that she was talking to a talking panda. “I am afraid going home is not an option for you Ms. Black. Now concerning the alternate dimensions.” Oscar paused as he realized Manna wasn’t following him.

Oscar began to walk towards the east stairway and looked back at Manna. His shoulder nudged as he motioned Manna to follow him and she followed slowly as she was waiting for his answer.

“Humans aren’t aware of the multiple dimensions this world contains. In fact, the humans are forced to believe that the truth is actually a lie. I suppose its for the safety of their kind and of the other dimension, its quite unfortunate that you, humans.” He paused and looked at Manna with the corner of his eye. “ Are so secluded from the rest of us.” He continued.

Manna blinked a couple of times as she tried to grasp the concept of what Oscar was saying. “So you are telling me that there are multiple dimensions in the world, that the human race is unaware of?”

The panda nodded. “There are very few humans that know about the truth, there are even fewer humans that know about the dimension. You are one of the fortunate, or unfortunate ones, whichever way you decide to look at it that get to witness the truth.”

They reached the second floor and Oscar directed Manna to the right. The wall had multiple wooden doors. The doors had small silver plates with numbers engraved on them.

The truth. Manna didn’t quite understand what he meant by that but clearly there were many things that she was unaware of. Doors materializing out of thin air, people that hover, and talking pandas, it honestly couldn’t get any stranger than this.

“You keep talking about the truth, can you explain what the truth actually is?”

Oscar shook his head. He reached to one of his tailcoat pockets and pulled out a small gold key. His arm extended out towards Manna so she could take the key from him.

“That is something you must discuss with the King.“ Manna grabbed the key from his paw.

“Reach out your other hand.” Manna did as he said and he placed small black box on the palm of her hand. The box was about the size of a square bead. She looked at it curiously. “Make your hand into a fist.” Oscar continued, again Manna followed his instruction. She reopened her hand and a hologram the size of a piece of paper appeared, a map. There was a small red dot flashing on the east side of the second floor.

“The Legion is a big place and easy to get lost in. This is a holographic map. The red dot is your current location. There is a compass on the lower left side corner. You can program the map to any location you are in. It will come in handy. When you are done looking at the map make your hand into a fist and it will shut off.”

Manna closed her hand and the hologram disappeared.

“Thank you.” She said in the nicest voice she had.

Oscar nodded, “Your roommate is currently out on a mission but she is scheduled to return tomorrow morning. Your belongings are already inside, along with a gift from the King himself. Make yourself at home. Don’t forget that dinner is at five o’clock. The King will be waiting in the dinning room of northwest tower. That’s on the tenth floor. Use your map so you don’t get lost.”

Manna nodded in approval, “Thanks again and I won’t forget about dinner.”

“I will see you at dinner Ms. Black.” Oscar turned around and walked back towards the stairs. Manna glanced at the small key in her hands, the design at the top of the key was beautifully engraved with rounded shapes and curves just like the ones on her star charm. She inserted the key into the keyhole and a magnetic force pulled the key into the door. A small beep goes off and the door unlocks. She turned the handle and the door opened.

 All her luggage was there, everything she had at the orphanage, even the pictures of her friends were up on the night stand. The room was simple but very elegant.  The walls were painted a dark blue shade. There was a light in the middle of the room’s ceiling a big window with ivory curtains draping at either side of it. The window had a small ledge to it. There was an old book at the right side of the ledge, it’s probably her roommate’s.  There were two beds in the room at either wall. Her sheets were pale pink and there was a yellow crescent moon pillow on her neatly made bed. There were several posters on her walls and they were all filled with strange symbols and the texts appeared to be in Latin. One of the posters had a pagan symbol. There were a few things on her desk. The desk was at the foot of the bed but Manna didn’t care to look through it because that was probably invasion of privacy. Next to the desk there was a dark wooden wardrobe.

Manna’s side is in the exact same layout as her roommate’s, except that Manna’s desk and closet were empty and her bed sheets were the same ones she had back in the orphanage, a light blue sky color with black lining.

Well at least the bed is made.

Manna sat on the bed and took a deep breath as she registered everything that had happened in the last hour or so. She still didn’t understand why she was here and everything became more complicated the more she thought about alternate dimensions, and the so-called ‘truth,’ that made everything more confusing.

Manna opened her messenger bag and checked her phone, which had no service.

“Great.” She mumbled. How was it possible that there was no service, this place looks civilized and modern. Then she thought about the alternate dimensions and let out a loud sigh.

She laid in bed and stared up at the ceiling.  She heard a faint melody. It sounded like it was coming from the wall closest to her side of the room. The tune of the song was melancholic but yet peaceful, it sounded beautiful.  Manna closed her eyes and tried to enjoy it as she followed its slow beat. A few moments later Manna recognized the instrument that was playing the song, a cello.

Manna wasn’t aware of how much time passed but at least she felt well rested now and her mind wasn’t panicking nearly as much as it was before. When the cello stopped playing she re-opened her eyes.

She checked her phone, to check the time, and it was around two o’clock. Manna grumbled and decided that she should probably start unpacking at least it would give her something to do. She sat back up and looked at the key and small black box that Oscar gave her earlier. The last thing she needed was to lose those items. She took off her star necklace and looped the key onto the necklace. She examined the black box closely and noticed there was a small hole on the box, so she also looped that onto the necklace. Manna curiously looked at her star charm. It had small neat carvings. A crescent moon surrounded by a 12-pointed star with several lines running across each point of the star. There were intricate symbols between each point, Manna searched the symbols online and learned that they were the alchemic symbols for life and death.

Manna put her necklace on and slowly got out of the bed. She started opening the three suitcases. All of her clothes were there, her toiletries, chargers, even the silly stuffed animals were there, and a few miscellaneous items. Her eyes began to sting with tears. She didn’t know how to feel about this whole situation. She was trapped, running away will lead her nowhere, and she didn’t even know where she was. Manna shook her head and tried not to get emotions get the better of her.

Manna grabbed a couple of items of clothing and walked over to the closet. She opened the closet door and her jaw slightly dropped.

There was a beautiful midnight blue dress hanging neatly by it’s straps. The dress had straps that tied at the back, it was slightly low cut and there was lacey in the top half of the dress. The bottom flowed out from the waist down with tiny ruffles lightly falling diagonally, the same lacey that was on the top half lines the entire bottom of the dress. Silver two-inch high heels are next to the dress. A small note was on top of the shoes, and it read “Manna” in neat handwriting.

I hope you like the dress! I made sure the shoes weren’t too high so you could walk properly. Please wear this to dinner, that would make my day!

There was a drawn heart and a small crown at the bottom of the letter. Manna figured that the letter was from the King. Manna couldn’t help but my smile at the kind gesture. She put the note in one of the desk drawers and continued to unpack until everything is put away. During this time she was able to shut her mind and just focus on unpacking.

She stuffed the suitcases under the bed so they were out of the way and sat on the chair on her desk and looked at the pictures of her and her friends. Manna took the picture of the four of them in their graduation caps and gowns.  They were all smiling cheerfully holding out their high school diplomas. Manna wondered how they were doing, it was mid September they were probably all in college by now, Manna was the only one that stayed behind. For one thing, she couldn’t afford college and she wasn’t exactly the brightest bulb in the bunch, at least not smart enough to get a scholarship. So instead she decided to stay at the orphanage to help out orphans like her. The orphanage was the one place she could call home.

Manna set the picture back on her desk and checked my phone for the time. It was almost four o’clock, time to get ready for dinner with the King. 

Manna fixed her hair up into a half ponytail and applied some mascara and blush to look presentable. She put on the midnight blue dress carefully. The dress fitted her perfectly. She put on the shoes and slightly wobbled as she broke into them. Whoever chose the shoes and dress got her the right sizes. She opened the closet door for the full body size mirror.

Manna looked decent. Her straight black hair fell down to the bottom of her rib cage; it always had a boring shape. Her green eyes stared back sleepily as she tugged and pulled on the dress making it look as nice as possible. She did admit to herself that the midnight blue complimented her pale skin nicely. She shut the closet door and made her way out of the room.

The door quietly closed behind Manna. As she was walking down the hallway she remembered the black box on her necklace, she gently closed her hand around it, and when she unclenched her hand the hologram map hovered over her hand even as she pulled away from the box.

Convenient she thought.

The dining room of the northwestern tower on the tenth floor, that’s at the other side of the building. She looked at the map and spotted the little red dot. With her free hand she placed her index finger on the map, wherever she touched it turned green.

Manna touched the map where the northwestern tower was. Right as she did that a small window popped up and showed her the different levels of the tower. There were fifteen floors on the tower. She pressed on the tenth floor. A small window appeared and it showed her an aerial view of that floor. She pressed the bigger map and the small aerial view of the map disappeared. It looked like she had to go through the main double doors that she saw earlier, then she had to take the northwestern elevator that was in the circular room past the double doors. Then she should reach the tenth floor.

Manna closed her hand and the map disappeared. She made her way down the stairs and glanced at the portraits, they were all of people she didn’t recognize and there was something eerie about every single portrait.

The people’s eyes, were frightening. The eye color was like something Manna had never seen, a blood red color with a faded black rims. The eyes were threatening and had a malicious appearance to them. Manna looked away from the pictures and made her way through the large room and headed towards the double doors.

So far the place was quaint, Manna hadn’t seen any other person since Oscar took her to her room. She slowly opened the double doors and it slowly creaked. She made her way through the door.

What in the world is this place? Manna’s eyes widened as she noticed the commotion in the room. Not only was there chaos going on but the layout of the room was surreal, and the people, or could she even call them people?

The entire room was made out of glass so it made it seem like it was outside. The sunset sky brightened the room and gave everything a hue of orange. Four giant towers were at each corner of the room. There was a waterfall in the middle of the room and a small pond with an assortment of flowers surrounding it. The waterfall created small rainbows as the water hit the pond.  There was a bridge going overhead of the waterfall, in fact that bridge split off into six other smaller bridges. Small candles surrounded the ceiling of the room. The floor was made out of the same tile as the previous room, but there were also stone pathways that connected to each tower and onto the center of the room where the pond sat. There was a small red tent near the waterfall. Underneath the tent there was a small bar and a couple of chairs and tables, it seems like some sort of café.

The room was loud because of the waterfall and the people’s chatter. There must have be at least three or four dozen people in the room, but it didn’t seem crowded because of how large the room was. Manna looked up at the bridges and she noticed a creature with silver hair and wings. White beautiful wings, the person was flying through the sky effortlessly. An angel. Manna could feel her face loose color as she realized that there was an angel flying over head, and its wasn’t only just one, there were multiple flying creatures with different colored wings. Manna set her gaze on the floor trying to remain sane. As she slowly moved through the room trying to be unnoticed and honestly trying not to notice anymore rare beings she got distracted, by a fire ball that few inches away from her face.

“You stupid vampire! Come back here this instant!” A girl yelled.

Manna saw the girl, most likely around her age, run full speed past Manna. Her flaming red hair was in low pigtails and her eyes were the color of amber. She was wearing black shorts and a plain white shirt and tall grey boots. Manna could see that she was forming another fireball in her hands.

 She just shot a fireball at someone, at a vampire. That’s not possible, none of this can be possible, this only happens in book and movies not in real life. Manna’s face turned white as she began to realize the insanity of the place.

Her pace quickened and she strictly limited her sight by staring at the floor, and attempted to mute out most the noise and chatter in the room. 

She managed to make her way to the northwestern corridor where a golden elevator was down at the other side of the hallway. The walls were made of the same shade of marble as the room where Manna’s room was. There were several columns running down the hallway. Manna pressed the button to the elevator and stared at the floor just incase something weird happened to cross her sight. The elevator doors opened and she quickly rushed into the elevator.

There was someone inside and as she was getting in the person was getting out. They collided into each other and the force took Manna aback.

“I’m so sorry!” Manna apologized and looked up at the person.

He quickly moved out of the elevator and began to walk away. Manna kept her eyes on him for that split second and then the elevator doors began to close. Right before the doors close completely he looked back at her icily.

Jeez, he had no manners at all, he walked off even though I almost fell backwards. Manna said in her head. She pressed the button to the tenth floor, and the elevator began to move upwards.

She barely caught a glimpse of him, not enough to point him out of a crowd even if her life depended on it. She only remembered his golden hair and his eyes. Ice blue eyes.  

The elevator door opened and Manna stepped out in to a hall. It’s a narrow hallway with bright white lights and marble walls and checkered tile. There is a door on either side of the hallway and straight down the hall two French double doors. Manna made her way down the hallway. Right about half way through she felt a light tap on her shoulder.

Manna felt goose bumps forming from the unexpected touch. She peered over her shoulder to see what touched her. The King is standing next to Manna smiling cheerfully.

“Right on time Manna.” he smiled. “Please come this way.” He gestured Manna towards the double doors and the doors opened by themselves.

“I’m glad you made your way around the Legion fine, it does get quite chaotic at times.” The King chuckled as if he were telling a joke.

“Your, um, Majesty?” Manna said quietly, “I don’t think I fully understand what’s going on, in fact I don’t understand anything that’s going on.” Her voice cracked through mid sentence.

His smile widened, he looked like a little kid with the small dimples that form on his face. “It’s understandable that you are confused.” His tone was pleading and he tried to sympathize wit her.

There was a long narrow table with two chairs at opposite sides and a feast of all sorts set on the table. There was mashed potatoes with gravy, creamy tomato soup, steamed vegetables with butter on top, fresh loaves of bread, roasted turkey, ham wit glazed with honey, and a shrimp cocktail platter.

Manna could feel my mouth water at the site of all these delicacies, the smell was delicious and irresistible, Manna’s stomach rumbled.

The room was also very elegant, but plain, the main theme of it was white. White walls, white chairs, white tablecloth, and a small crystal chandelier with small lights at the bottom center of it. The floor was the same checker tile as the rest of the rooms.

“Please sit.” The King kindly pulled up a chair and Manna took a seat. She placed a napkin on her lap and smiled up at the King.

“Thank you.” Manna said.

He smiled back and took his seat at the other side of the table.

It’s quiet at first as they both placed food on their plates, Oscar lightly tugged on Manna’s dress.

Manna looked down and Oscar had a small tray with two glasses of white wine, two cups of water, along with a pitcher of water.

“Please a take some water and wine Ms. Black. “ Oscar brought the tray closer towards Manna.  She took both of the drinks, even though she didn’t drink, she took the wine out of courtesy.

“Enjoy the dinner I’ve humbly prepared.” Oscar bowed down and headed towards the King to hand him the remaining two drinks. Oscar leaves the room through a small white door on the eastern wall.

“Well we wouldn’t want to let the food go cold. Let’s eat food and then I’ll answer as many questions as I can.” The King began to eat and Manna followed.

The food was delicious, Manna never had anything as delectable as this. The turkey was soft and savory, the vegetables were cooked perfectly and she felt the butter melt in her mouth.  She occasionally sipped her wine but drank water immediately afterwards. Her manners were put to the test during dinner, she tried to be as proper as possible, carefully cutting every bite to a small size, and using the napkin as much as possible.

            They were both almost done with dinner until the King cleared his throat.

“Fire away.” The King set his silverware down. He placed his elbows on the table and rested his head on his hands.

Manna took her napkin and cleaned her mouth. She set it back down on her lap and started playing with it as she was phrasing the question in her mind.

“What is the truth?” She timidly looked up and saw the King chuckle as he tilted his head to the side.

“Everything is the truth. Vampires, witches, angels, demons, mermaids, pirates, elves, ghouls, monsters, fairies, along with many other creatures that humans haven’t come across, or at least they believe they haven’t come across the creatures.” The King looked down at his plate and took a few more bites. He looked  back  at Manna.

“If they are all real how come people say they are mythological?”

“It’s protection, a liability, if that’s appropriate to say. I suppose I can explain the dimensions and gateways. It may make a little more sense.” He took a sip from his wine and stared down at the wine as if there was something inside, as he stared into the wine he began to speak dryly.

“There are seven dimensions. The one you are from, the human dimension, is called Terra.  Terra is blocked off from all other dimensions but that I can explain later since it gets a little tricky. There is Espiritus which is where Angels and Demons reside.  Romania, not your Romania, however, your Romania was named after that dimension. In Romania the vampires and ghouls reside. There is also Salem, witches, elves, and sorcerers live there. Again, the Salem witch trials of the 1600’s were named after that dimension when the real Salem witches tried to make an alliance with Terra and expose them to the truth. It didn’t really end well since most of them got burned at the stake along with several humans that agreed to the alliance. Let’s see what else---” He paused for a moment and twirled his wine glass around. “ Ah yes! There is Artifex, the puppeteer dimension. That’s where the twins, Sam and Alex are from. It’s quite a curious dimension they dedicate their time on making crafts. Actually the dolls from Terra are originally a creation from Artifex. Finally there is Acervus Umbra, the Fallen race, the forbidden dimension.” His voice got deeper and his eyes narrowed as he said the Fallen race. “It’s all in ruins now. That place was filled with darkness and chaos, it got destroyed ages ago by two members of their own kind. Almost the entire race was slaughtered. A genocide massacre, the ultimate taboo.” His eyes were got darker with each word. A tense air built around him. They way he gripped his glass made it seem like he could shatter it at any moment. Manna leaned back on her seat slightly as she noticed his subtle changes of his behavior and appearance.

Almost as if he was in a trance the King blinked twice and he was back to his normal cheerful side. He set his wine glass down and looked at Manna.

“There are also gateways, Spati Alveums scattered across the dimensional plains. The Legion is one of the dimensional gateways.”

“Can you explain what the Legion is?”

His smile widened and he placed his hands on the table.

“ I thought you’d never ask! The sole purpose of the Legion is to get rid of the dark matter that is spread through all of the seven dimensions.  Beings from every dimension are summoned to the Legion to protect the peace between all dimensions. You are the only human to be summoned by the Legion.”

Manna furrowed her eyebrows. “Why me though? I have no special talents, I’m not an athlete, a scholar, an artist. I am normal and plain. Why am I in such an important place?”

The King shook his head and chuckled, “ Oh how wrong you are. You can’t even notice how strong you are. In due time I am sure you’ll notice your true power.” the King then pointed at Manna lazily. “You also have the Legion emblem.”

Manna grasped the tiny star with her right hand and curiously looked at it, Sam and Alex also mentioned it being important. Manna looked up at the King timidly. “I’ve had it since I could remember. The sisters at the orphanage said that when they found me I had it with me.”

The King nodded. “That is quite a mystery, that it is.”

“You mentioned something about dark matter what exactly is that?”

His eyes narrowed and he placed a finger on his cheek.

“It’s the darkness within a beings soul. The more prominent the dark desires the greater the dark matter. One’s soul can be fully consumed by dark matter; I suppose it’s much like evil. If enough souls are transformed into dark matter the Reaper awakens. Once the Reaper awakens, the Apocalypse will happen once more and all dimensions will be destroyed. The Legion’s mission is to seek and destroy all dark matter in order to maintain peace.”

Manna felt her heart sink down to her stomach. “How does dark matter spread?”

“Now that question has multiple answers. The being itself can feed off its own dark matter to create more or it can be manipulated. Let’s just say the lovely Queen of Hearts has a knack for creating dark matter and feeds it to weak souls.” He paused and looked directly at Manna in the eyes.“ The Queen wants to reawaken the Reaper and consume the world in dark matter, she wants to create an empire of darkness and chaos. Her main target to awaken the Reaper is through Terra. Humans are the most susceptible being to temptation. A lot of people in Terra classify them as the seven sins, greed, wrath, gluttony, lust, envy, pride, and sloth. If the Queen takes control over Terra the rest of the dimensions can parish under the Apocalypse and slowly be consumed by the dark matter. We want to avoid that at all costs and stop the Queen from creating her dark matter army. Nevertheless she still manages to influence dark matter through all dimensions. No dimension is safe. ”

Manna nodded my head in approval

“So you are going against the Queen?” She asked.

“Ultimately yes, she has always been hard headed and has twisted ideals. I thought I understood her before but now she’s a lost cause.” He glumly looked at the table and shook his head slowly.

Manna was tempted to ask about his relation to the but at that moment it seemed like the wrong time and that may be crossing the line. The topic clearly put him in a sullen mood.

“I still don’t fully understand everything that’s going on but I want to thank you for clearing up a lot of my questions.” Manna smiled brightly attempting to seem pleased even though inside she wanted to cry out and run away. She was afraid but she knew there was no escape. The King smiled at her warmly in return.

“One last thing Manna, you can not mention the Legion exists to anyone in the human dimension. This is your home now and everything has been taken care of.” He said softly.

“Taken care of?” She asked startled.

“Let’s just say you have been adopted from the orphanage. Plus, you are eighteen years old, you can do as you please.”

Manna nodded, she didn’t know what to say. She knew one thing, this guy really wanted her in the Legion. The King shot her an apologetic look.

“I know this is a lot to take in but I am just asking you to give it some time. You’ll understand why you are here in due time. Just cooperate. I can promise you will be protected Manna. Give it time. And remember, even the impossible is possible so you must keep your mind open.” Manna sincerely smiled, she could feel her eyes sting with tears. She held them back, at least he tried to sympathize with her, which made her feel a little more at ease.

The door at the east side of the room opened and Oscar peeked through the door.

“Your Majesty, you have a board meeting in twenty minutes.” Oscar then closed the door.

The King’s eyes widened “I completely spaced that!” The King got up quickly and walked over to Manna, he politely placed his hand near her. Manna took his hand and he gently lifted her off the chair. “I’m so sorry our dinner has to end so abruptly, I really hope you enjoyed it.”

“Yes I did the food was delicious, and once again thank you.” Manna said politely as they walked towards the elevator.

“ Tomorrow you have to go to Zonia’s headquarters to see your Echo.”

Manna looked at the King with a puzzled expression. All the explaining and there was even more information.

The King laughed nervously. “It will all make sense tomorrow and I am sure your roommate can explain it better than I can. Remind your roommate to take you there when she heads over to headquarters. Come to my office on the fifteenth floor afterwards.” He lightly kissed Manna’s forehead and the elevator door opened.

“Good night Manna and welcome to the Legion.”  He gave Manna a small wave and his smile radiated the room.

“Good night your Majesty.” She waved back shyly and the doors to the elevator closed.

Manna sighed and slumped her shoulders. Tears start to stream down her face, her life completely changed in one day. She wanted to run away but she really had nowhere to go, she didn’t know how to go back home, to her own dimension. She knew that there was no way out, she would have to try her best to cope with this new life. She was afraid, she had no one and was in a place where nothing made sense, she wanted to cower in a corner and wake up from this dream.

She wiped her tears away and looked straight ahead, her eyes were set with determination. She could do this she thought, she knew deep inside that good will come out of this. And maybe one day she would be able to go back to the human dimension. All she could do was prepare for tomorrow.

 

Reviews

[darkness*star1985]

WOW i really enjoyed this chapters.. i can't wait for you to write more i want to know what is going to happen next... but i will have to wait... good work and keep it up!!!! :)

[Cloud Andrews]

Thank you so much for the support :)! I just posted chapter 2 and I fixed the grammar kinks in this chapter >_