So, my first story. Involves Reisen and self-insert as main characters, currently. Suggestions welcome, let me know if I'm writing Reisen wrong or something, etc., etc.
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The first thing Reisen noticed was the voice. It wasn't Kaguya's, nor Eirin's, nor Tewi's. Nor did it belong to anyone else she knew. She couldn't make out any words clearly. She was pretty sure it was getting closer, though.
...Where was she? She was on something soft, she knew that much. Wherever she was at was rather dark, but it looked-- And felt-- like she was lying on a bed. It wasn't hers, either.
Where -am- I?She could hear the voice getting closer. She tried to get up, but the moment she sat up, she felt dizzy and fell backwards.
One more time, maybe... She tried again, and again, and again, and again, but she couldn't sit up, let alone stand. Then she heard a click and the door opened, and the lights in the room slowly came on. It was gradual, and she could clearly see the room now. And the person who had opened the door.
?You are awake, then??
Reisen didn't answer her. The girl-- as she could see fairly clearly now-- strode over to the bed and slid a couple of pillows under her, propping her up a bit.
?I will go prepare you a meal. Please, wait here.?
Before she could ask, though, the girl turned and left the room, the door clicking shut behind her. She pulled the blanket up and noted the bandages. And that she wasn't wearing her own clothing anymore.
She shrugged off the seemingly endless amount of questions for the time being and looked around. This was clearly nowhere in Gensokyo. At least, not that she'd seen. There were all kinds of strange things scattered about, a stack of books to the side of the bed on a small table, and a bright... Thing... Up on the ceiling. She wondered what it was. Maybe she'd ask later. Looking at the stack of books though, the cover of one caught her eye and she picked it up.
?The Phoenix Transformed,? She read aloud, admiring the artwork on the front. Oddly, there was no Phoenix on it. There was a Dragon, and three humans, but why wasn't there a Phoenix? The title of the book was confusing her. She opened it up and flipped through the first few pages until she came to one with a lot of words on it.
This must be where it starts, then...'A little more than a year ago Tiercel Rolfort and Harrier Gillain had been ordinary boys looking toward an ordinary future. Harrier had been ready to embark upon the Apprenticeship that would eventually lead to him succeeding his father as Harbormaster of Armethalieh Port,'
Harbormaster? What was that? And where was this Armethalieh? 'and Tiercel, like most of his age-mates, would be attending Armethalieh University before taking his place in the thriving bureaucracy of the Nine Cities.'
She'd barely started and she already had words she didn't know.'But that was Before.
Tiercel's interest in ancient history had led him to a series of increasingly terrifying discoveries. First that he was able to wield the power of the High Magick, something that had been forgotten in the Nine Cities for nearly a thousand years.'
High Magick? It wasn't any kind of magic -she- knew...'Second that having done so led him to experience visions that he came to believe were a warning of a return of the Endarkened, the creatures defeated by Blessed Saint Idalia and Kellen the Poor Orphan Boy over a millennium before.'
The door clicked, and she looked up sharply to see the girl from earlier enter with a small tray of food. She peered at the back of the book and smiled. ?Mercedes Lackey wrote that one. Good series, that is.?
?Eh...? Series...??
The girl nodded and showed Reisen the front cover, pointing just under the title, which she read aloud. ?Book Three of The Enduring Flame...?
?Yup! That's the last book.? She set down the tray on Reisen's lap, and took the book from her, sliding a small slip of paper in between the pages.
Now that she had food in front of her, she was really hungry. It seemed like a few slices of cooked meat of sorts, a small cup of water, and to her surprise, a small helping of carrots. She immediately started eating, and the girl sat on a blanket laid out on the floor, watching her with a grin. ?Two days does something like that, doesn't it.?
At that, Reisen froze.
?TWO DAYS?!?
?... Right. Um... Making this short... I was out fishing this morning and then I heard something fall and then I went to go see what it was and had to carry you back here, and you were kinda' hurt, so I did my best with that, and went to wash the blood out of your clothes, and... Um... Yeah, you've been asleep for two days.?
Reisen calmed herself as best as she could. ?Could you tell me where I am, exactly.?
?You aaare... In the eastern part of Colorado.?
?...Colorado...??
?You're not from around here, are you...??
She was stunned. She wasn't in Gensokyo anymore, she was sure of that now. There wasn't any place named 'Colorado' there. She let herself fall backwards onto the pillow mass.
? So she wasn't going to be able to see Eirin. Or Kaguya. Or even Tewi, troublesome as she was.
?... Are you alright??
?...No... No, I'm not...?
?Right... Um...? The girl got up and rummaged around in a drawer under the bed, pulling out a pair of pants. ?Here, you can put these on if you'd like, and I could probably get you a shirt too if you want, and...?
Reisen took the pair of pants and looked at them for a moment. They were probably a bit big for her, but she put them on anyways, and took the shirt the girl had just handed to her and put that on as well.
?... Excuse me, but... I need to lay down again...?
?Alright then.? She closed her eyes and felt herself lay flat on the bed as the pillows holding her up were removed. Then she heard the girl lying down on the blanket beside the bed.
"
You can have the bed. Don't worry about it.? It was almost like she knew what she was thinking at that moment. So instead she simply nodded, and tried to go to sleep. She heard a quiet click, and what she assumed was music came on, and she really was tired...
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More tomorrow, maybe. Zombie girl needs sleep now.
