Skye knew she probably shouldn't do this, but she knew how she got when she was stuck indoors for too long. So, she grabbed a cloak from the closet in her new room and put it on. Pulling the hood over her head to shade most of it, she escaped out of her window and scaled down the side of the guild.

Landing on the ground with strong feet, she relaxed slightly and took a deep breath of fresh air. She then slipped out of the alley and went into the crowd of people. Her eyes scanned around and really tried to get a grip on where she was.

Based on the architecture and the lack of electricity, she knew it was before the industrial revolution, and she wondered if that was even a thought anywhere, considering magic was real.

She couldn’t help but laugh at herself a little thinking about that. Magic. As crazy as it was, she was inclined to believe it. This wasn’t a mold trip; she would be down from it by now if that was the case. She really had walked through a magic portal, and she was coming to terms with it.

Walking through more streets, she couldn’t help but gawk at all the horses and livestock, the stench and sight burning itself in her mind as she watched someone buy a goat and get really happy about it.

Turning down another street, she found herself in a market. She saw stalls selling anything from food to jewelry to fabric. It was all just so fascinating. And even if she didn’t have money, she found herself spending time at each individual stall to really study each one.

The jewelry was all hand crafted and nothing like the mass produced product she was used to seeing. Real glass beads and hand painted ornaments covered the table and she smiled. There was just something so nice about handmade things.

Moving on to the next stall, she touched a few pieces of clothing, and even if the fabric wasn’t the best, it was also hand crafted.

She moved on to the food stalls and she couldn’t help but feel her stomach knot seeing how little each person really had, and she felt even worse that she couldn’t give anything to help.

She turned to leave when she came face to face with a horse and she jumped back. “Sor–”

“Watch where you’re going!” the guard on the horse shouted. “The king is coming through!”

Skye glared at the guard under her hood and rolled her eyes, but her curiosity took over. She had never seen a king before. She looked over to an open carriage and her eyes landed on the king. Her fight or flight immediately kicked in when she saw him.

He looked sick, like his entire figure was sunken in and his color was muted. But despite that, he sat proudly and with a stern look. The kind that dared someone to step out of line.

She felt a terrible shiver rush through her and she instinctively reached to her side, confused as to why, wondering if she was hoping for a sword.

Tearing her eyes from the king, they landed on the woman sitting next to him and her cheeks immediately lit up red. She had never seen anyone so beautiful before, and she assumed that this was the princess briefly mentioned before.

Her instincts immediately calmed and she smiled as her arm relaxed when she looked up at the princess. Her heart fluttered when the two of them made eye contact and the princess smiled at her.

She waved slightly and grinned back, and in a split second everything isolated onto the princess and her hazel eyes. A hint of recognition crossed over Skye’s face and she tilted her head slightly. But before she could question it anymore, the carriage fully passed by her and didn’t show any signs of stopping.

Letting out a soft sigh, she put a hand to her chest and felt the need to know more about the royals. So, she turned and left the market and made her way back to the guild, climbing back up into her window. Skye then took the cloak off and tossed it onto the bed before rushing down the stairs and making her way to Antony.

“Antony?” she asked before sitting next to him.

Antony looked up from his book and smiled. “Skye, it’s nice to see you out of your room.”

“Yeah, sorry, I just needed some time to process my situation,” she said before clearing her throat. “Can you tell me about the current royal family?”

Antony immediately tensed when Skye mentioned them. “What exactly do you want to know?”

“Everything? Why the king seems like a corpse and how the princess is, personality wise and things like that,” she said, going slightly red.

Antony looked at her confused. “How do you know what the royals look like?” he asked, raising a brow.

And in that moment, she realized she had been caught red handed and she looked down. “I may or may not have snuck out of my room and explored.” She tensed and prepared herself to be struck or yelled out.

But she was once again caught by surprise when Antony only laughed. “Now you’re thinking like an Anderson. Did the royals see you?”

She looked up at Antony confused before shaking her head. “Well- sort of? The princess and I made eye contact. But the king was just looking forward. And I don’t even think the princess recognized or knew who I was. If she did, she didn’t care. She even smiled at me.”

Skye said the last part fondly, a smile spreading across her face as she rubbed her arm gently.

“Ah, I see. The classic forbidden love story,” Antony said before gripping his shirt over his heart and dramatically falling back against the table. “The romance! It’s so strong yet so out of reach!”

Skye rolled her eyes, but she laughed slightly anyway and gently whacked his arm. “Oh, hush you. It’s not romance. I just want to get to know her better.”

Antony grinned and snickered at her. “Uh-huh. Sure.”

“I’m serious! And besides, what would I say to her? Hi, my name is Skye Anderson, your family's mortal enemy who just came through a magic portal and has no idea how to live without technology,” she said as she mockingly held her hand out for a hand shake.

Antony snickered again. “I don’t know, that opening sounded perfect,” he said before clearing his throat and speaking in a higher voice. “Oh my, miss Anderson, your chocolate skin is just so perfect,” he then shook her hand with his own dainty one. “Won’t you sweep me off my feet and whisk me away from my tyrant of a father?”

Skye looked at him surprised, and before she knew it, she was laughing. For the first time in years, she belly laughed. A happy and strong sound as she wrapped her arms around her stomach. “Holy sh*t, that was hilarious!” she said through her laughter.

And finally, for a moment, Antony’s shoulders fell from his ears and he smiled watching her laugh. The contagious sound spread to him as he gave a mock bow. “Thank you, that had to be one of my best performances.”

River then walked up behind Antony. “I don’t know. I’ve heard your impression of me is pretty good,” they said with a sly grin and crossed arms.

Antony jumped and turned. “Ah! River, you know about that?”

“Oh yeah, Antony. You’re not as slick as you think you are.”

Skye just laughed again as the two spoke. Both Antony and River looked over to her with a smile. They had missed the comforting laugh and smile of an Anderson. It was refreshing.

River then spoke again. “I heard you asking about the royals. Does this mean you want to learn more about this world?” they asked with a raised brow.

Skye carefully calmed down and she nodded as she wiped her eyes of the tears that had formed from laughing. “Yes. I figured if I’m going to be stuck here, I may as well learn about where I am.”

Antony smiled. “Did you learn anything during your time out?”

“Well, I learned that the economy is less than thriving. That it seems food is scarce amongst the lower classes. And seeing how full certain stalls were in the market, people don’t have the money for clothes and jewelry, which makes me think the king is not running the kingdom well,” she said simply, like she had learned from a young age what a good kingdom should be. She then continued, “It seems to me the king isn’t delegating money to the right people. Keeping the money from the people who need it and giving it to the people who don’t need it. A Prince John scenario from the classic story Robin Hood, if you will.”

Antony and River shared an odd look, and Antony shrugged. “We don’t know who Prince John is, but King Phillip is doing exactly what you described. Only giving money to the people who stand behind him and keeping it from the people who have no voice.”

Skye shook her head. “That’s something I’ve never understood in history. Kings being embezzlers or tyrants. It’s possible to have a comfortable lifestyle as a royal while still delegating money to every corner of your kingdom. Not sure how really, I can just feel it in my gut. He could have a happy and thriving kingdom if he just stopped thinking about himself for two seconds.”

River smiled softly. “You sound just like your ancestor,” they said before going slightly red. “Sorry, I don’t know how you're really feeling about all of that right now.”

Skye looked at them a little surprised, but she couldn’t help but smile.

“In all honesty, things are starting to make sense in my life now. I never knew my parents, and any memory before four is just gone. I was told that I was found on the side of the road confused and scared, always asking for my mom and dad, but they were never able to find them. All I remembered was my name, and then the family that took me in made me feel like my name was nothing and that I was nothing. So, I never really looked into it.”

Antony tilted his head slightly. “How odd… I’m sorry the people who raised you made you feel like nothing. No one deserves to live through that.”

“It’s okay really, I finally got out and I was starting to get a handle on my life. Though this has definitely complicated a few things,” Skye stated as she rubbed the back of her neck lightly.

River hummed and thought for a moment. “Well, if you want to start learning more, how about we start bringing you along for missions? Do you know how to fight?”

Skye’s eyes widened slightly and she shook her head. “Not really? I only know some self defense things. But I used to frequent the gym, which is a place you could go to work out,” she explained, knowing they probably wouldn’t know what the word gym was.

Antony grinned. “Then River and I will train you personally. But for the rest of today, I’ll fill you in on the royals.”