When Worlds Collide (MxM)✔

Chapter 3 - Why Am I Here?

It took four days to reach the capital, and during that whole time, Kade was not allowed to show his face.

The day he'd left had been one big ordeal as more officials gathered around to stare at the odd little human, before ordering him to pack everything up and go with them.

Up until now, Kade had experienced a limited view of Terran culture. All he'd known was his life in the unnamed village. It was hard to hear about the world when the topic always veered back to him and his unusual appearance. But now he could finally experience it firsthand.

The carriage that came for him was quite interesting. He'd seen carts before but never a covered one. It was made of wood, with a blue roof, white walls, and swirling symbols along the sides, representing what he figured were the markings of an important Terran.

The bright red creature that pulled the carriage had six legs, clawed hands, and a snout like an anteater. Its body was similar to that of a horse, but it had a short curly tail and round ears. Only two Terrans from the village owned such creatures, and they were rarely walked down the street like this.

He felt a small pang of sadness when he bid farewell to his friends at the halfway house. A group of them had come to see him off, and he tried waving from the window, only for one of the escorts to push his head back in.

The whole trip was bizarre. The carriage traveled well into the night, only stopping for brief breaks. They didn't visit any other villages or markets, and one morning Kade could hear lots of people talking outside.

None of the escorts made for good conversation. They kept to themselves, only interacting with him to remind the human that he must remain hidden. But once they arrived at the capital, he couldn't help but peek out from the curtains.

The buildings here were very different from the ones in the village. These were more square, with shingled roofs, expensive glass windows, and colorful brickwork. The roads were paved, and street lamps with candles stood on every corner.

Terrans bustled through the walkways, looking into shops and chatting. For once, he could see very obvious discrepancies between men and women here, as they each wore a variety of outfits different from the loose white cloth that everyone from the village used. Some even had dresses!

Then someone caught a glimpse of him, and an escort immediately blocked his view.

If standing out in a small village was annoying, then standing out in a city like this would be downright dangerous. So he might as well comply.

When they arrived at the castle, he was escorted to a room and given a change of clothes so he'd be more presentable for the nobles.

The outfit included deep green vambraces and an equally green sash with loose puffy pants. The shoes were black cloth, and around his neck was a beaded green, blue, and black necklace. Topping it off was an aquamarine coat that might as well not even exist with how sheer it was.

An escort gave him a once over, corrected the collar, and tightened his vambraces before he was guided to the main hall.

Two Terrans opened the double doors, and a third led the way as Kade followed down the carpet, right up to the king's throne.

The king had a head of long white hair. It was so long that Kade wondered if the man had ever cut it before, because the various braids were floating around his body, with nothing but a thin crown on his head to keep some of them out of his eyes. He wore a white vest and pants, with a red sash around his waist, and silver vambraces. The intricate swirls under his eyes and along his forehead resembled the ones from the carriage.