The mystery woman has her memory back and struggles to make sense of her surroundings. Is this all real, or is she mad? If so, which is the reality? What of the man in black who insists she might really be a spy?

Somewhere Else Entirely

by Penny Lane

4 - Guest of the King

Disclaimer: The original characters and plot of this story are the property of the author. No infringement of pre-existing copyright is intended. This story is copyright (c) 2011-2016 by Penny Lane. All rights reserved.

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The simple statement that the woman had made caused the whole room to go briefly quiet. King Robanar's face looked as though he had misheard. Tanon hadn't taken it in, Keren looked confused and Morlan showed contempt. Merina immediately comforted the young woman.

"You don't know what you're saying, my dear," she said. "Have some more water while you collect yourself. You've just collapsed on the floor, after all, it wouldn't be surprising if your thought processes are all jumbled up."

The woman stared at her, tears trickling down her face. Hesitantly, she reached for the goblet which a puzzled Keren still held. As she took a sip she desperately struggled to try and work out how she was going to handle this mess.

There was nothing wrong with her thought processes, not any more. On the contrary, her thoughts were now as clear as a bell. Unfortunately her perception of her current position was completely different than the one she had when she had walked into this room. Unfortunately, the body she currently inhabited wasn't the one she had been born with. Unfortunately, no-one was going to believe her.

Merina brought her back to the present. "So, my dear, what are we to call you, since you remember your name now?"

Without time to consider the question in detail, in light of her new circumstances, the woman answered, "Please call me Garia," and then realized what she had said. She was about to add, 'No!' but caution made her stop. Given the body she had been in for three days, 'Garia' might well be more suitable than 'Gary' in this strange place. But she would have to learn to tread very carefully before she answered many other questions, and she was sure that there would be many other questions.

Robanar walked towards the chair she was sitting on and smiled at her.

"Then, Mistress Garia, welcome to Palarand, welcome to my palace," he said.

Garia awkwardly stood and tried clumsily to curtsey. Robanar waved her back into her chair.

"No need to rise, my dear, you are obviously not feeling in the best of health just presently. But there are a number of questions we must ask you."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"First," he asked, "do you recognize these clothes here on the table? Do they belong to someone you were travelling with?"

"S-Sire," Garia said cautiously, "those clothes belong to me. They are mine."

"How is that possible? These are not clothes that a woman would ever have been seen wearing in any of the Valley cities. Do you wear such strange things all the time where you come from?"

Garia considered the irony of that question and gave a careful answer. "Yes, Sire, women where I come from do wear clothes similar to those. Not all the time, though."

"And, I must ask you, since the clothes you were wearing have never been seen before by anyone in Alaesia, where exactly it is that you do come from?"

Garia took a deep breath. This was going to cause fireworks. "Sire, I do not come from Alaesia, or even from another place on your world. I come from somewhere else entirely. Another planet, I guess. I do not know where it is or how far I traveled to get here or by what means."

"Preposterous!" Morlan sneered. "You come from a planet, one of those little moving lights in the night sky? Fantasy!"

"But, this world is a planet also," Garia explained, then realized that perhaps she should have said nothing at all.

"Anmar is a planet? You, girl, think you know better than the best philosophers in Alaesia? Nonsense!" He pointed an accusing finger at her. "And I distinctly recall you saying that you were a boy. Do you deny that?"

Garia shook her head mutely. If she had had time to consider her predicament before questions had been asked, she might have cobbled together some kind of logical story, but as it was she was in a deep mess now.

Morlan turned to Robanar. "Sire, this girl is plainly crazy. We can trust nothing of what she says. I think Master Tanon has made a wasted journey to the palace."

Master Tanon had been thinking, too. "But, with respect, Master Morlan," he said, "even if the woman is not in her right mind, how do you explain the clothing and other items? They must come from somewhere, and, as I have explained, it certainly isn't anywhere within Alaesia."

That brought Morlan up short and his eyes narrowed as he considered the evidence. He grabbed the bracelet from the table and thrust it towards Garia.

"This thing. It seems to have moving parts. What does it do?"

"It's called a watch, sir. It tells the time. The hands move round to indicate the time of day or night. I believe that you call each part of the day a 'bell', well, on my world we call those an hour."

Morlan grunted as he inspected the device.

"What makes it move?"

Garia stopped. How was she going to explain a battery-operated quartz watch to someone who she thought was probably just a medieval tinkerer?

"It involves principles which would take me some time to explain to you, sir. I'm sorry, I can't tell you more than that just now, I still have a headache."

Morlan curled his lip. "Very well, Mistress, I await your pleasure. Describe the front of this device for me, then."

"There are twelve numbered marks around the edge," she said carefully, "and between each mark there are five smaller divisions. The short thick hand -"

"Hand?"

"That's what we call the three little pointer things that are pivoted in the center, sir. The short thick hand goes round twice a day. The long thick hand goes round once an hour, or twenty-four times a day. The very thin hand goes round once a minute, or sixty times an hour."

"Those are strange numbers," Morlan said. "Why not ten times a day, or twenty times a day?"

"Sir, I didn't invent the system, it was designed thousands of years ago. I believe it makes dividing up the time easier."

Morlan grunted again and put the watch back with the other things.

"Sire," he addressed Robanar, "I still maintain that this girl is not in her right mind. Despite that, there is something peculiar going on here, and with your permission I intend to get to the bottom of it. It is entirely possible that what she has been saying is all lies, that she may be a spy or be in league with spies. What Tanon has told me about these items is very disturbing. I wish to retain her in the palace for questioning."

Robanar turned back to Garia. "Mistress, my Royal Questor raises some valid points. I agree that there are questions here which need to have sensible answers. Master Tanon has to leave tomorrow for Viridor on important business, and I think that Mistress Merina will be going with him, is that correct?"

"Sire, that was our original plan," Merina answered.

"In that case, I think our young visitor should become a guest of the palace. Not," he turned to Morlan, "to be housed in the cells. At least, not at the moment, until we have a clearer picture of what is going on here. She shall have a guest room here, and be permitted to walk about the palace."

"Sire! I must protest!" Morland spluttered.

"You exceed yourself, Morlan," Robanar chided him. "She is still visibly unwell and will take some days to fully recover. She is only a young woman, after all. However, mindful of the circumstances, I shall instruct that she be accompanied at all times. Will that satisfy you?"

"Sire." Morlan bowed his head, but his face said that he was not happy. "And will she be permitted to leave the palace, Sire?"

"She should remain inside the palace walls, I think. It would be cruel to keep her inside the building when the weather is so hot. But she must be accompanied at all times." Robanar turned to the liveried servant. "Kendar."

"Sire?"

"Find Mistress Garia a suitable guest chamber, please, and assign her a maid. Find someone with some years experience, not one of the young girls. Merina?"

"Sire?"

"If you would like to accompany Kendar and Mistress Garia to her chamber while I discuss the situation with Morlan and Tanon? I will send for you when Tanon is ready to return home."

"As you wish, Sire."

"Mistress Garia?"

"Sire?"

"Do you understand what I have just said, and why I have given those instructions?"

"Yes, Sire, I understand."

"Then go with these people. I will meet you again at the evening meal and perhaps we can talk some more afterwards." Robanar gave her an encouraging smile. He had been presented with a unique situation, and she thought he had probably made the right choices for the time being.

"Yes, Sire. Thank you, Sire."

Garia stood and curtseyed. Merina took her arm and they followed the Chamberlain out of the room.

"Sire," Morlan said as the door closed, "I thank you for the action you have taken, but I must tell you that I find this latest happening very disturbing. I have a feeling in my gut that that slip of a girl is going to bring trouble to the kingdom, whatever she represents."

He turned to Tanon. "Why did she say that she was a boy, Tanon? She isn't, is she? With a face like that I cannot believe she is a boy in disguise. Oh, I know that the performing players sometimes dress up boys as girls and so on, but she's not like that, surely?"

"Master Morlan," Tanon said, "when we originally found the woman, Merina and her maid Silna stripped her clothing off completely, because we thought that it would cause a disturbance if she were to appear in Palarand dressed in those," he indicated the clothing on the table. "Merina told me then that the woman had a completely clear skin unmarked by any scars, marks or brands. I think she would have noticed if she had been undressing a young man." He considered. "Actually, now I think of it, the men who spotted her down on the rocks thought at first that the body was that of a man."

"So, she's definitely a woman, then, and what you're saying is, probably not a servant, slave or a current or former criminal."

"Aye, Master Morlan. In addition Merina told me later that when they dressed her in borrowed proper attire they noticed that she had probably not known a man."

"Maker! Are you telling me she's a virgin?"

Robanar spoke. "That sounds most unusual, Tanon, even for a woman of her age. So, you think she might be noble born, then?"

"Sire, I don't know what to think. After this afternoon's events I suspect that whatever conclusions we come to are going to be completely wrong."

Keren spoke. "That's why your man here called her 'Princess', then?"

"Aye, Highness. It was simply a way of identifying her until she recovered her memory, which she seems now to have done."

"Humph." Morlan did not seem so convinced. "Are you sure that it wasn't all an act? That she wasn't in command of her senses the whole time?"

"If I may, Your Majesty," Jaxen spoke for the first time.

"Aye, go on," Robanar said.

"When she first set eyes on a dranakh, the morning after we found her, she was genuinely frightened. I do believe that she had never seen one before and knew nothing about the beasts."

"Really?" Robanar's eyebrows raised. "Interesting. Morlan, you may question this woman as you require, but she is only a young woman, and you must make sure you don't cause more injury than she has already suffered."

"Sire, I will be careful."

"Now, Tanon," Robanar changed the subject. "Your trip to Viridor..."

~o~O~o~

Kendar led Garia and Merina towards the rear of the palace and bade them wait outside a room with a number of servants sitting in it. He called one of them out, a woman in her mid-thirties, and introduced her to Garia.

"This young woman is a guest of the King, her name is Garia. The circumstances surrounding her are unusual, she is permitted to walk about the palace and grounds, but she must always be accompanied. She may be asked to go to Master Morlan for questioning from time to time. I am assigning you as her maid while she is living in the palace. Is that clear?"

"Aye, Master Kendar."

To Garia he said, "Mistress, this woman is Jenet, she will be your maid from now on. Since you appear not to know the ways of the palace, you may ask Jenet for guidance. If you will follow me, we will find the Master of the Household who will assign you a chamber."

The procession wound through the corridors and up a stairway, ending in an office with a balding, older man seated behind a desk.

"Terevor, the King has a new guest, Mistress Garia here. If you can provide her with a room? She has arrived here unaccompanied so I have given her Jenet as a maid."

"Certainly, Kendar. What sort of room? What status is our guest?"

"I'm not really sure, Terevor. She stays here as an unaccompanied visitor to Palarand but she is not free to come and go as she pleases. The King wishes her to have the freedom of the palace and grounds, but Master Morlan has concerns about her. We have no idea where she comes from, or what her status is."

"Hmm. Perhaps a room overlooking the herb garden, then? That should be safe enough. If I give her the Lilac Chamber, that should satisfy everyone, don't you think? How long do you think she will need the room?"

Kendar shook his head. "No, idea, Terevor. The Lilac Chamber? Is it ready for her to go to?"

"I would think so, Kendar. Jenet can attend to anything that might need doing."

The women followed Kendar through other corridors until they came to a wide, solid door. Behind it they discovered a large room, richly furnished. One half contained a huge bed, the other had two sofas and some chairs and tables of various shapes and sizes. A ceiling-to-floor curtain could be drawn to divide the room into two for privacy while sleeping. A door at the side of the bed led into a walk-in dressing room, all the shelves and the hanging rail currently empty.

Kendar took his leave and Garia, Merina, Silna and Jenet made themselves at home. There was a large window either side of the dividing curtain and looking out Garia could see that the room overlooked an enclosed garden surrounded by a cloister. The garden was divided up into squares with different plants growing in each, a gravel path between each raised bed. The sun was lowering but still gave ample light into the room.

"My dear, how do you feel now? How is your headache?" Merina asked.

"It's much better now, thank you," Garia replied. "It isn't the same as before, but I guess there's bound to be some after effects from whatever happened. Oh, Merina," she sighed, "whatever am I going to do?"

"Would you like to talk to me about it, dear? I know I can't stay long, but it may help."

"I barely know what's happening myself," Garia said. "I'm not sure I believe it, I know that horrible man in black isn't going to."

"Well, one of Morlan's jobs is to make sure the Kingdom is secure. That means he naturally isn't going to like anything out of the ordinary." Merina eyed Garia speculatively. "Were you serious when you said you came from another world?"

Jenet gasped and looked more closely at Garia.

"Oh, yes, Merina, I was serious," Garia replied. "This definitely isn't my world. My world only has the one moon, you see. And... the body I had there was different to this one. I can't explain what's happened to me at all. I have to face the possible fact that I may be imagining it all, that I might really be mad as that man said."

"What about your clothes though, as Tanon said? They don't exist in your head, they are real."

"The jeans, t-shirt and sneakers?" Merina looked baffled. "The trousers are called jeans. Both men and women wear them where I come from, although naturally they are shaped differently for men's and women's bodies. The tee shirt, I have no idea why that's called that. The shoes are called sneakers, they are meant for casual wear and everybody wears them. They are much more hard-wearing than they appear. Yes, they are real, all right. But, consider, supposing I am mad, and that it is your world which I have made up in my head, not the other way round?"

"I have to believe that I am real, my dear. If I didn't do that, life would not have any meaning, would it? Now about that shirt, the tee shirt as you called it. How do they knit that many stitches, and so fine?"

"Merina, you're barely going to believe this, but the whole thing is made on a machine. It can probably make a whole shirt in the length of time we've been standing in this room."

Merina and Silna both gaped. Jenet looked at them then back to Garia, wondering what she gotten herself into.

"You're right," Merina finally said, "Morlan's going to have trouble believing any of this. Tanon and I have traveled, seen other cultures, know that there are different customs, different techniques, different ways of looking at things. I don't think Morlan is that broad. Well, my dear, I'm sorry our ways have to part for a few days, because you obviously need all the support you can get, and you're being left in a palace full of strangers. It's a pity we have to part like this, but I'll come to the palace the moment we get back from Viridor." Merina turned her attention to the maid, who was trying to appear unobtrusive while she absorbed everything for gossiping later. "Jenet."

"Aye, Mistress?"

"I want you to look after this girl carefully, now. If I hear that you have been less than helpful when I return, I'll make it known to the King, understand?"

"Aye, Mistress, of course!" Jenet knew that Merina was the wife of a powerful merchant with the ear of the King.

"It appears, as you have heard, that she has an unusual story to tell. Well, Morlan is interested in it too, and I'm sure that he doesn't want cook's tales spread around the palace behind his back."

"I understand, Mistress."

"So, I advise you to keep silent about anything you may hear concerning Garia here. I'm sure Morlan will ask you about her, but to anyone else she's just a guest of the King, nothing more."

"As you say, Mistress."

"Is there anything you should be doing, now we're here? Didn't Terevor say something about checking the room?"

"Aye, Mistress. I should be checking the bed-linen."

After a short while a footman appeared and Merina and Silna departed, both wishing Garia well and saying that they would be back as soon as possible. Garia was left in the chamber with Jenet.

"Your baggage, Mistress. I should be unpacking your things and hanging them up."

"I have no baggage, Jenet. In fact, I have nothing at all, not even the clothes I'm standing in."

Jenet's eyebrows went up. "Mistress?"

"This dress, er, gown, is borrowed from... what was his name? Koroon? Kollon? He has a premises opposite the mansion where Tanon and Merina live."

"Korond?" Jenet's eyes widened. "Really? It is an exceptionally fine gown, Mistress, and suits you perfectly. You have nothing else?"

"Even the underclothing I'm wearing is borrowed from members of Tanon's household. No, I have nothing."

"Then we must equip you, Mistress! The Mistress of the Wardrobe should be able to provide what you need to make you presentable before the King. I must go... Oh! I can't, can I? I mustn't leave you by yourself."

"I don't know how you can manage that. Perhaps you can open the door and call for a footman? Perhaps we should go there together?"

"Oh! I've no need to worry, have I? I am forgetting."

Jenet crossed to the side of the fireplace which faced the foot of the bed and pulled an ornately finished rope hanging beside it. Shortly a footman knocked on the door, opened it and peered cautiously round into the room. Jenet spoke to him and he vanished, reappearing a little later accompanied by a silver-haired lady wearing pince-nez with a tape-measure draped round her neck.

"Mistress," she curtseyed to Garia. "May I be of service?"

Jenet answered. "Mistress Yolda, Mistress Garia here is a guest of the King. She will be staying here for some little while. Unfortunately, she has no baggage, nothing to wear, nothing at all. Can she be provided from the palace wardrobe?"

"What about the gown she is wearing? A fine garment that is."

"It was borrowed from Korond," Garia said. "I needed something suitable to be presented to the King. Even my underclothes are borrowed, from Master Tanon's household."

The woman's eyebrows rose. "A strange circumstance, indeed!" She walked round Garia, inspecting her figure from all directions. "I think we should be able to provide all you might need, Mistress. I must measure you, of course, but I think we have garments which should fit you that the two Princesses used to wear before they were married. I must ask your status, Mistress. Are you high-born, a daughter of a noble or are you perhaps a merchant's daughter?"

"Mistress... Yolda, was it? I hardly know how to answer that question. In my country, we don't do things in that way at all. I'm going to have to ask you to use your own judgment. I'm here entirely by myself, in a strange land, no-one's going to know whether you chose right or wrong."

"As you desire, Mistress. In fact, that might make my choices easier. Now, if Jenet can help you off with your gown, I can take measurements. You'll need a whole wardrobe, I take it?"

"Yes, please, although I'm restricted to the palace and grounds, so I shan't be needing gowns for visiting outside anywhere just at the moment."

Mistress Yolda took her measurements, writing them down on the inevitable slate, and then departed saying that everything should be supplied by the time Garia came back from her evening meal.

"Tell me about the evening meal, Jenet," Garia asked as Jenet re-dressed her in the gown.

"What can I say, Mistress. The King and Queen eat in one of the household chambers unless it is a state occasion. All the King's guests normally eat with them if they are presently in the palace. King Robanar isn't one for some of the elaborate feasts his father and grandfather used to hold, I don't think you'll find it too stressful. I'll be there to serve you and to help you through the meal, so don't worry too much about what happens."

"And in the mornings?"

"Some guests prefer to eat in their chambers but you can join the King and Queen for breakfast if you wish to. Again, it isn't a very formal meal most of the time."

"The Queen. That's the first time I've heard one mentioned, although I realize Keren must have had a mother."

"You've met His Highness? He looks just like his mother. She's a nice, gentle woman, her name is Terys. She's the daughter of the Elector of Stirmond, that would be the old Elector, not the one who reigns there now, of course."

"Stirmond?"

"Oh, it's one of the states up-river, Mistress. A fair way up-river, that one."

Some time later a gong rang and Jenet conducted Garia downstairs to the large room where the evening meal was being served. One wall of the room opened out through tall arches onto another cloistered garden and all the large doors were open in the warm evening air, allowing what little breeze there was to circulate through the room. Robanar greeted Garia and presented her to Queen Terys, a small woman who had a very homely feel about her. Garia immediately felt comfortable in her presence. Looking around the small gathering, she failed to see Morlan. A discreet question to Jenet and an enquiry by her of the serving staff revealed that Morlan rarely dined with the King, preferring to eat alone in the suite of apartments he occupied in a different part of the palace. Garia breathed a sigh of relief.

The meal was technically difficult. The main course was a small carcass for each diner of something which Garia decided was this world's equivalent of a bird. The only implements for eating it were a spoon and two different sized knives. Some of the other people seated around the table were using their fingers but Garia noted that none of the women did, so asked Jenet to help her out. The meal of several courses was absolutely delicious, but Garia found it difficult to eat much, her nervousness at what might happen in the morning serving to suppress her appetite.

The only drink provided was beer for the men and wine for the women. Garia remembered that on that faraway world Gary had been patiently waiting for the day he could legally buy alcohol, and here she was able to drink nothing else. She considered and thought about where water might come from, and decided that the river was probably too polluted for most people to drink and get away with it, so wine it was going to be from now on.

At the end of the meal Robanar wanted to talk with his interesting new guest but Garia pleaded tiredness and the remains of the headache. She noticed that Keren had kept a close eye on her as well during the meal but decided not to pursue that avenue until she had had time to think things through. Jenet guided her back through the palace to her room.

"Jenet, I need to use the bathroom."

"Mistress? It's not a good idea to bathe immediately after a meal, especially in such hot weather."

"Um, I didn't want to bathe, I need to -" Garia looked up and down the corridor and, noticing that it was empty, mimed gathering her skirts and squatting.

"Oh, you want to use the toilet! Of course, Mistress, come this way."

It was still a room with a hole in the floor, but it was bright and tiled and had a washbasin in one corner. A basket of wool clippings provided a means of wiping herself afterwards. They returned to the Lilac Chamber and Jenet headed for the dressing room, throwing the door wide so that as much light as possible could enter the windowless closet. Garia was startled by what was within. The rail was almost full and most of the shelves were piled high!

"We can't investigate most of this tonight, Mistress, there won't be enough light," Jenet said. "But it looks like we have enough to clothe you for a while, and what Mistress Yolda has provided are light clothes, by the look of it, that will be more comfortable for you to wear in this hot weather than the formal gown you have on now. Just let me find a nightgown for you, and then we can start getting you ready for bed."

A short-sleeved, floor-length night-gown of some open-weave cotton-like fabric was located on one of the shelves. Jenet helped Garia to undress and put on the nightgown.

"I'm sorry, Mistress, I have instructions to lock you in at night. The key will be hung on a hook outside if anyone has to get in here or if there is a problem during the night. There hasn't been a fire in the palace in living memory, but that doesn't mean there never will be. If you need anything, pull the rope over there and I will come shortly. I'll be sleeping in a servant's room at the end of the corridor. Good night to you, Mistress."

The moment Garia heard the key turn in the lock she threw back the covers and sat up in the huge bed. She plumped the pillow up behind her and sat back against the headboard, drawing her legs up to her breasts and wrapping her arms round her knees. Her gaze was on the empty fireplace as the light slowly began to fade but her mind was elsewhere.

I've just been running on autopilot since my memory came back, and this is the first time I've really had a chance to think about what's happened. Leastways, what I think might have happened to me.

I'm a girl, I'm a girl, I'm a girl. How the heck did that happen? How? Why? Just where, exactly, am I? Where, exactly, might here be? Big question, why am I a girl and not a boy? Why am I not Gary Campbell?

One thing's for certain, I'm not in Kansas anymore.

That almost caused her to break up completely, but she forcibly restricted herself to just tears. She wasn't Dorothy, there didn't appear to be a Yellow Brick Road, and unlike that story, she didn't know if it was possible to get back like Dorothy had. She had been found wearing ordinary sneakers, not ruby slippers. She rubbed her damp eyes with the back of her hands.

Of course, in that story, Dorothy was actually in a coma all the time, wasn't she? Is that what's happening here? Am I in some hospital room somewhere, lying in a coma? Is this all unreal? She had a frightening thought. Suppose what I said to Merina is true? Suppose this is the real world and Kansas is the dream? Am I really crazy?

Take it easy. Some of these questions I'm not ever going to get the answers to, and panicking isn't going to help anyone. Think! Concentrate on the present. You have to assume that the reality you see around you is the one you're going to have to deal with. Especially tomorrow. The rest can wait.

I've got a girl's body, and everyone is going to treat me as such. I seem to have adapted to it remarkably easily, haven't I? Oh, thinking about it, when the caravan started out that first morning (that was a long time ago, wasn't it?) I was stumbling all over the place, I just put that down to the steepness of the road and what might have happened before I was found. Perhaps that was me adjusting to the new body.

I've got a girl's body, and I have no idea how it works. I've never even seen a female body before today, not for real. I bathed with Merina and Silna and didn't feel a thing. Does that mean I'm going to have all kinds of icky girl emotions and things? Probably. I'm just going to have to learn to handle them, I guess.

She felt her knees pressing against her breasts, flattening them against her chest, and it all felt perfectly natural. She noticed that her hands and feet were proportionally smaller, but that didn't seem to matter. For her new height and shape, everything seemed to be just the right size. She had looked at herself in a mirror when they had dressed her at Tanon's house, but that was before her old memory returned and what she recalled of that episode was vague. Perhaps tomorrow she would inspect her body, there was a large mirror beside the window so that a person standing in front of it would catch the light. If she had to be a female in this society, she had better find out who she was.

Jenet would be there, of course. Damn! This society didn't seem to have much notion of privacy, although if she was right about the level of development that would make it late medieval and that sort of figured. She would just have to learn to live within the customs she found here.

I've got a girl's body. Does that mean... boys? Ewwww. We'll definitely have to put that one on the back burner, although it might mean fighting Prince Keren off. A small voice inside her said, why would you want to do that? If he's as friendly as he seems, he might want to look after you, and in the present circumstances you need all the help you can get. Don't do anything that might antagonize him. He is the son of the King, after all.

The light was fading fast now, and she was tired after such a long day's events. She rearranged the pillow and lay down, pulling up the light covers, wriggling to adjust the nightgown. It wasn't like sleeping in t-shirt and shorts, was it? Still, it all seemed comfortable enough. Just as well, she was going to have to get used to it.

~o~O~o~

"Mistress. Time to wake up, Mistress."

Garia surfaced and then gave a low moan, rolling on her side and drawing her legs up. She was not looking forward to whatever today was going to throw at her. She opened her eyes just as Jenet flicked the drapes open, causing her to flinch as the bright morning sunlight fell directly on her face.

"Ow! That's not kind, Jenet."

"Oh, my apologies, Mistress. I forgot this room faces the sunrise."

Jenet considerately pulled a drape back halfway so that Garia's face was no longer in the direct light.

"Thank you, Jenet. Ooh, I don't want to get up."

"Well, you'll have to if you want some breakfast. We have to bathe you first and then find something for you to wear today. Remember, we haven't found out what's in the clothes closet yet."

"Oh, no! I don't know if I can face any of that just yet," Garia moaned. It was much easier being Gary, all he had to do was pull on a random t-shirt from a drawer, then his jeans and sneakers and he was ready to go. She well remembered the stories of the ages that girls were supposed to take getting ready for anything back on Earth. She sighed, pulled back the light covers and sat up.

"Oh, Jenet, I've got an awful kind of hollow feeling in my stomach. I don't think I want to go and see that horrible man today."

"That's just nerves, Mistress. Once you get a bit of food inside you, you'll feel much better."

"Maybe, but there's a lot to do first, isn't there."

"Aye, Mistress, so up you get."

Wrapped in a fluffy wrap-round robe like the one she had worn at Tanon's mansion, she was led to a block of bathing rooms at one end of the corridor. Garia had a shock when Jenet disrobed herself and climbed into the tub with her, but realized that the woman saw nothing unusual in the process and forced herself to relax. The two women washed each other and then dried off with large towels before returning to the Lilac Chamber.

"Now, Mistress, let's find you something to wear. I hear it's going to be another warm day today, so let's see if there's any hot-weather things in here."

Jenet opened the door to the closet and went in while Garia dropped her robe on the bed and stood in front of the mirror. This did not appear to be made of glass but instead a column of squares of polished metal set in a wood frame. The strong sunlight, deflected by the drape but filling the whole room with light, showed her body in sharp detail without overwhelming her eyes.

She hadn't really known what to expect. A typical girl's body, of perhaps fifteen to seventeen years old, like most boys Gary hadn't been able to accurately work out girls ages unless he knew what grade they were in. Flawless slender legs rising to noticeable but not massive hips. A slender waist and a trim chest with two obvious mounds set at just the right height. The shoulders were delicate but neither broad nor narrow, the neck was just the right width to support the head without appearing scrawny. She noticed that the hair seemed to be about the same as she remembered Gary had last had it, full and longish for a boy but almost like an overgrown bob on this figure.

The face was very feminine, round in shape with huge eyes, but she could see a strong resemblance to the boy whose mind now stared out of those eyes. If I had had a sister, she thought, this is what she might have looked like. But that's me, isn't it, I am the sister now. I wonder why the facial resemblance? Some consequence of the transfer process? And my hair is exactly the same as I last remember it. Which was when, exactly?

"Mistress?"

Jenet broke into her speculations by waving an armful of dresses at her.

"Yes?"

"Which of these would you like to wear today, Mistress? Mistress Yolda has provided a goodly selection."

Garia looked at the clothes and quailed.

"Jenet, you have to understand that I know absolutely nothing about how women dress in this place. Nothing. Not only do women not wear clothes like this where I come from, I wasn't even a woman there but a man." She noticed the shock in Jenet's eyes. Well, the sooner Jenet understood the task ahead of her, the sooner Garia could adapt to this strange world. "It's true. In that other world, I was a young man, about the same size and age as Prince Keren, although nowhere near as handsome as he is." She took a deep breath. "I know that here I'm a woman, so you'll have to help me, teach me all that I need to know to make my way in your world. Can you do that?"

Jenet caught her breath. The rumors in the servant's quarters were true, then! "Mistress, I will. The Chamberlain expressly asked me to be your advisor, but I would do it anyway. Oh, you poor thing! This must have been a terrible shock to you, waking up like that."

"Yes, it was, but I didn't realize it at first, I only got my memory back yesterday afternoon. All the customs we have at home, regarding men's ways and women's ways, are different to here, so you'll have to assume I understand very little about how things work."

"I understand, Mistress." Jenet put the clothes she held down on the bed and picked through them. "In that case, I think you should wear this today. It's a very light gown which used to belong to Malann, the younger of Prince Keren's older sisters."

She held up an almost-white gown similar in style to the one Garia had originally 'borrowed' from Silna. It was made of two very thin semi-transparent layers which together provided modesty. The wide neck, short sleeves and hem were trimmed with a fine pale yellow ribbon and the waist was caught by a wide sash of the same color. It was much lighter and looser than the two gowns Garia had previously worn.

Dressing took very few moments. Beneath the gown was a short undershift of silk which served the purpose of both breast support and petticoat. On her feet were placed flat strappy sandals. Jenet brushed her hair, tutting about how short it was until Garia told her that women on her world wore their hair at almost any length from stubble to waist length and still managed to look good. Once ready the two left the room and went downstairs for breakfast.

There were a number of people in the large room where they had eaten the previous night, presumably waiting for breakfast to be served. These included to Garia's horror the man in black she least wanted to meet today. He didn't pay much attention to her, fortunately, appearing to be in conversation with other black-clad diners. However, Queen Terys did notice Garia's entrance and came over to bid her good day.

"My dear Garia! I trust you are feeling better this morning? You certainly look better, except for those dark rings under your eyes. Did you have trouble sleeping? I shouldn't wonder if you did."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Garia replied. "I think I slept all night, I don't remember waking, if that's what you mean."

"Perhaps you had some strange dreams. I know that if I travel, it takes me a night or two to settle down in a strange bed chamber."

"I don't know, Your Majesty. If I had any dreams last night, I don't remember them."

"You don't have to keep calling me 'Your Majesty'," Terys said in a low voice, "Once we've met then 'Ma'am' is sufficient, especially as you're my guest." Her voice became more normal. "How do you address your King and Queen at home? I'm interested in the customs of other places."

"Er, Ma'am, um, we don't have kings or queens where I come from," Garia said. "We have an elected head of state called a President. I will describe the process to you another time, if I may, it can get rather complicated."

"I'll look forward to that," Terys said. She turned to Jenet.

"Jenet, perhaps we can find some face paints to disguise the rings under poor Garia's eyes. Can you do that after breakfast?"

"No!" Garia said quickly. "No, Ma'am, I'd rather not, I don't think." She stopped and swallowed. "I must apologize for shouting at the Queen."

"That's all right, dear," Terys soothed. "Look, here comes the food now. Will you sit beside me?" Garia raised a questioning eyebrow. "On the other side, of course, I don't think Robanar would be amused. He isn't often amused this early in the day."

As Garia was seated by Jenet she thought over what little she knew about medieval makeup and decided that was one thing she would pass on if she could. Antimony, arsenic, white lead and other toxic substances were best kept at arm's length as long as possible.

Unlike the three previous breakfasts she had eaten since coming to Anmar this one had a wide variety of food, all of it freshly made. Again, Garia thought it all extremely tasty but the knot in her stomach meant that she could eat only a little of each thing that was suggested to her. Fortunately she didn't have to drink wine for breakfast, the herbal hot drink she mentally labelled 'tea' was served to everyone who wished it, although some of the men preferred beer.

All too soon the inevitable happened as Robanar rose to begin the day's kingly duties. Morlan stalked round the tables towards Robanar, Terys and Garia and bowed before the king.

"Sire. I have come to collect Mistress Garia, to begin learning from her how and why she has come to Palarand."

Robanar looked at the two of them, noting both the eagerness in Morlan's eyes and his distrust of the young girl, and at the naked fear in Garia's eyes.

"Mistress," he addressed Garia, "do you feel able to answer Morlan's questions today? If you do not, then I will ask him to delay for a time until you feel stronger."

"Sire," Garia said in a low voice, "I will go with Morlan and attempt to answer whatever he asks me, but I do not think that he is going to like the answers. If I delay, then I fear I will get weaker, not stronger. Better to do it now, get it over with."

"Mistress, I am impressed by your courage. Go with Morlan, then, and I will see you next at lunch, if I may."

Garia curtseyed, the men surrounding Robanar bowed, and King and Queen swept out of the dining room. Morlan looked at Garia with distaste.

"Come along, then, girl. Follow me."