Tea Scenes: A Bready Baker Collection

Out of Place

Her magic had flourished in the new world. She had awoken in a bar and joined a party setting out to slay a dragon. As the one to deal the killing blow of the excursion, through sheer luck alone, the people made her mayor of their small town, and she turned it into a kingdom. They agreed to call her queen. She got married, had kids, grew old, and lived happily ever after. Until she died. She closed her eyes with a smile on her face, knowing it would be the last time she saw her sweet son's face. He had grown into a handsome young man and looked just like his father she had thought to herself. Her dying thought.

"Lillian Mirabelle Garcia!" Shouted the teacher.

Lillian's head popped up from her desk and she looked around the room in shock. Everyone was staring at her, she had died. Hadn't she? Was it all a dream? All those decades of life she lived?

"Please refrain from falling asleep in my class Ms. Garcia." The teacher at the front spoke. Lillian looked at her, trying to remember her name. It came to her easily.

"Yes, Ms. Skinner," Lillian speaks firmly, it takes the teacher by surprise as she had been a soft-spoken girl before she left. This must have been the moment. The moment she was transported to that wonderful place where she was crowned queen and had all she would ever need, it had to be a lie, a dream. Lillian went to flip the page of her notebook with her left hand, a fluke as she was right-handed, but an important one.

Her husband... her beautiful husband whose hand was adorned with a ruby red as blood, to match his vampiric eyes. "Her Count" She called him. She said it was from a fairy tale. He drank the blood of enemies in war and animals in peace, and though he could not blush his eyes would dart when embarrassed.

The ring! She was wrenched from her thoughts when she realized what the ring's presence meant. It wasn't a dream. She was staring at her hand when she heard a voice, a familiar, melodic voice, as sweet as honey but as firm as a mountain, the voice of Arthur Omalar, "Madam Skinner-"

"I understand you're from a foreign country Mr.Omalar, but for the last time, it's Ms.Skinner."

"Of course, my apologies... Ms.Skinner. But, I do not have the book."

"Oh! I forgot it's your first day here. You can share with Miss Garcia over there."

Lillian didn't dare look over. It must be a coincidence She thought to herself Maybe I had the ring beforehand maybe my dream was influenced by the new kid may- Her stream of thoughts was interrupted by a cold hand on her shoulder.

"Oh good, you do know who I was speaking of."

"Of course." Arthur smiles at the teacher. Lillian risks heartbreak by looking up at him. Her breath catches at the familiar sight of blood-red eyes and his pallid pallor, pale as snow, "Why would I not know?" Arthur continues. She looks over at his left hand and notices he is wearing his ring.

"I'm sorry?" Ms. Skinner asks.

Arthur chuckles, "Nothing, an inside joke from my old home."

"Oh. I see." Ms. Skinner smirks. "Well then, now you two can share the book until Arthur gets one." Ms. Skinner turns her attention to the class as a whole and leads an analysis of the text.

A few minutes go by before Arthur whispers to Lillian, "Where the hell are we?" His voice is panicked and heavy with worry, "Where are our children, our home? Where is our kingdom?" Of course. His carefully practiced facade of a king. He was always good at that.

"Calm down, Arthur." Lillian reassures him, "By gods, you're worse than I was."

"What?"

"Do I need to reassign Arthur, Ms. Garcia?" Ms. Skinner when noticing their conversation.

"No ma'am. We're fine, Arthur here was just asking about American culture ma'am. Right, Arthur?"

"Yes, there's a lot more umm..." Arthur stares off looking for a word, "Ah! Cars. There are a lot more cars."

"Oh. Well, that's good to know, however, I would appreciate it if you two could focus on the class for now."

"Yes ma'am," Lillian answers for him. Her thoughts raced about cars and trains and every modern amenity she's been missing for the past 60 years.

The bell rings for dismissal shortly after and Arthur nearly jumps out of his skin at the relentless noise coming from the strange box on the wall. He grabs Lillian by the arm and drags her towards the exit, but she stops him, "Trust me. That door is more problematic than you might think. Come on, this way." She drags him towards the bathrooms and then stops between them. Her old friend, Oscar, steps up beside her. When she sees him she nearly cries with joy, "Oscar!" Lillian jumps up to wrap the six-foot man by the neck.

"Hey, Lillian-" He's bewildered at her response to seeing him.

"Could the three of us have some kind of meeting in the boy's restroom?" Lillian asks.

"Uh- yeah? Who's-"

"He's my husband," Lillian answers before Oscar can even finish his question.

"Meeting. Now." Oscar's face has darkened with rage and confusion.

"Come on!" Lillian drags Arthur behind her as she follows Oscar into the bathroom.

They enter the handicapped stall and before Lillian can get a word out Oscar slams Arthur against the wall, "Alright you foreign freak, what the hell did you do to her!?"

"Oscar, stop it! He didn't do anything! We've been married for 53 years!" Lillian shouts.

Oscar drops Arthur and turns to Lillian, "Lily, honey, you know I love you, but you are 17!!"

At Oscar's words, Arthur steps forward and Lillian is quick to notice, "Relax Arthur, Oscar's gay. And yes I know I'm 17 but 40 minutes ago I was 68 years old on my death-bed," Lillian starts crying, "surrounded by my three kids who had all grown up with him at the end of the bed looking the same as the day I had met him and I died staring at our son the spitting image of him."

Oscar blinks a couple of times at the sight of the emotional Lillian and turns to Arthur, "Have you been kidnapped?"