When Two Different Worlds Collide

Chapter 1

February 21, 2951

Buckingham Palace, Westminster, London, United Kingdom

Princess Eva was sinking fast, floating through a vast sea of dreams. Her heart hammered in her chest, and she flailed her arms, adrift in a stream of false consciousness. Eva blinked, and she was seated on the carpeted floor of the grand entrance. Everything was completely clear, from the antique relics to the marble pillars, except for the guests that buzzed around the palace, not paying attention to the confused princess in the middle of the room. They were hazy and warped.

Eva balled the fabric of her dress into her hand, moving to stand up, but one guest was polite enough to offer the princess a hand.

"Here, let me help you."

Once Eva was standing, she looked up at the stranger, and she was shocked to find eyes such a magnificent cerulean that they seemed otherworldly.

"You should be more careful, Rubytop." The nickname was unfamiliar, but Eva sought comfort from his saccharine and concerned voice. "You look pale. Are you alright?"

"Yes?" Eva replied. It came out more like a question, which she hadn't intended, but she was unfocused and disoriented. Eva didn't think she had seen this man before, but his stare tugged at a faint part of her memory. "Thanks for the help," she managed to choke out, still dazed.

He nodded and let go of the princess, starting to leave. Before he had turned his heel to depart, Eva stopped him, trying to identify the recollection. "Do I know you?"

Those innocent words stopped him in his tracks, and he looked over his shoulder, turning back around to face her. The sweetness that had tinged his voice changed to a dark and intrigued tone that made Eva regret the question. "Oh. You don't remember?" She tensed, and he started to walk away, flicking a lock of hair from her shoulder in the process, but not before saying: "Oh, you'll remember soon enough."

Eva rushed after him, stopping him at the grand staircase with a tight grip on his wrist. "Who are you? Won't you tell me?"

A surprised look passed over his features briefly, but it was gone as fast as it came. "You'll have to find out on your own. I can't force you to remember. Until then, I'll only remain in your dreams, Your Highness." With those parting words and a bow, the peculiar man started to fade, and Eva found herself grasping onto thin air.

"Your Highness? Princess Evangeline?"

The princess jumped as the voice, which belonged to her most patient and devoted tutor, as well as her royal advisor, Augustine, pulled her out of her boredom induced state. He was the only one in the palace who still called her Evangeline, to her dismay. When she caught sight of his displeased frown, Eva fiddled with the chain of the necklace at her collarbone. She couldn't suppress the daydreams that always seemed to occupy her mind when she was bored. Now was one of those circumstances.

The princess and her advisor were in the Blue Drawing Room, where they met every morning at exactly 0630 AM, no sooner, no later. It was one of Eva's favorite rooms in the palace. There were plenty of things to catch her interest, after all, with the large fireplace located at her right, and the elaborate patterns on the rug that looked like the flowers in the garden. On the walls were exquisite portraits of her ancestors, dating back centuries ago. Eva continued to study the room she never tired of, propping her chin up with a hand to gaze outside the enormous, curtained windows of the Drawing Room. Birds soared across the sunny blue sky, playing a game of chase among the cottony clouds. Oh, how she wished to be as free as them! Eva did not enjoy being trapped in the palace walls.