My bed was especially soft. The bed on the airship was comparable to my bed at home and I’d liked it, but this one was on another level. It was both firm, but super cushiony. The blanket on top of me was heavy as well and it was what I’d imagined something like a weighted blanket would feel like. Nice.

“Are you awake?” An unfamiliar voice. My eyes reflexively sought him out. Sitting on a chair beside my bed was a man with giant circular glasses and a kind face. His silver hair was a tangle of curls that fell down to the top of his shoulders. He was wearing a white coat just like-

“Are you a doctor?” My voice sounded weak. Why?

“Yes, I am one of sorts. Do you remember what happened yesterday?” He spoke softly. The image of blood gushing down my chest reappeared. Oh.

“Sort of… I don’t understand what happened though.”

“Don’t worry, I already know what caused yesterdays event.” His voice strangely had a soothing effect and the traces of anxiety still threatening to take hold were held at bay. “Let me ask you a couple questions first, is that all right?”

“Yeah, Sure.” I don’t know why but I liked him.

“You’re name is Madam Jasmine Lancaster, correct?” I nodded. “The Duke informed me that you’re not from this world, is that correct?” I nodded again. If Eclis trusted him, then I suppose I would have too. “And this body, it isn’t your original one, am I right?” I agreed. “Hmm.” He looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Then Madam Jasmine, I’m afraid to say you’re suffering from soul sickness.” He smiled warmly, as if to assure me that everything was under control. “In essence, your soul is rejecting this world and in effect this body. Don’t worry though! There are several things we can do to ensure your safety. First though, I wanted to ask you several personal questions. Would that be alright?”

“Sure.” I smiled at him.

“Have you thought about what you want to do, now that you’re here?” I considered him for a moment. “Take your time, from what I understand you’ve only been here a week and you’ve experienced a lot of changes in environment.” The answer was pretty easy for me though.

“I want to go home.” I thought I saw a flicker of sadness cross his face, but it was gone so fast that I questioned if it were really there to begin with.

“I see, have you thought about that a lot since you’ve come here?”

“At first…” He continued to smile warmly at me. It felt like I could pour my whole heart out to this man. “At first, not really. I didn’t really have time to dwell on my situation, I guess. Now that I’m here, everyone keeps saying this is my home and,” my voice cracked, “And its not. I already have a home. I have a family and I miss them.” Tears began to spill across my cheeks. The heart wrenching pain I was hiding from was finally being acknowledged and I had no power to stop it now. “I’m so scared wondering what’s happened to my body at home. Every minute that passes here I worry that I might die there. What will I do if I can’t go back? I’m trying so hard to look on the bright side but I’m just so scared.” Crushing my eyes closed did nothing to stop the flow of tears now that they were released. I bit my lip to keep myself from sobbing.

“I understand how scary that must be.” They weren’t just empty words; I could see the empathy in his eyes. He looked like he was struggling with what to say next, but resignation soon entered his figure. “But you needn’t worry over such things Madam.”

“I don’t?”

“No. While time may be passing here, time has stopped in your home world.”

“It has?” Hope re-entered my voice. Every ounce of indecision he had in his eyes finally fled.

“It has. For now, I wouldn’t worry about how to get home. Dwelling on the fact that you’re not from here, or that you want to leave, will only worsen your condition.” He smiled, “Instead, leave those details to me. I am the wizard of this palace, and if anyone can figure out how to get you home it would be me.” If he were the wizard of this palace then that would mean-

“Are you Michael?” There was only one recognized wizard at Eclis’ side, though it was hard to imagine this man was the very same. In the book Michael was cold and hateful towards Julia since he blamed her for the injuries and pain Eclis went through. He wasn’t exactly wrong to do so either.

“Oh, so you have heard of me then?” This is the same person?? It just wasn’t possible to reconcile the man in front of me with the man described in the book. For one, they didn’t look similar.

“You’re… Not what I had pictured.” My answer made him laugh. My curious peer prompted him to explain.

“While I’m not sure how I’m described in this ‘novel’ I can assure you I am in fact Michael. Not many people know this but I’m a changeling.” His playful wink made me smile. A changeling only appeared once in the book as an assassin for Julia, they posed as her stepmother to get close too her. It was crazy to think that so many nuances about the various side characters were never explained.

“So, you think you can help me get home?” While I didn’t like him in the book, my mind was already made up in person. He was so nice.

“I believe I can, though I need you to do something for me in return.” His smile grew bigger when he spotted the look of suspicion in my eyes. “One, I need you to set a goal for yourself here. Something you wish to work towards.”

“A goal?” It sounded too easy, and he didn’t gain anything from it.

“It could be a hobby or something as simple as learning a new skill. Focusing on something will help prevent another episode like this from occurring again.” Oh, it was his ‘prescription’. I relaxed a bit.

“Ok, that’s doable. Anything else?”

“Make friends.” Huh? At the sight of my blank stare he continued, “Your soul needs to form attachments to this world, friendships will help counteract the attachments that are calling it back home.”

“I don’t really want to form any attachments. It’ll just make things harder for when I leave.” Even though I was mumbling he could still hear me.

“But aren’t goodbyes supposed to hurt?” The laugh lines around his eyes were quite cute when he was smiling like this. “Since you’re already here, wouldn’t it be better to thoroughly enjoy the time that you’re given. If you push away everything you could care about, you’re just denying yourself the right to live.” Oddly, his words didn’t sound like they were just for me.

I sighed. “You’re right…” My grin came back finally, “You know my dad once told me it was better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. I think I understand where he was coming from now. Even if it means a painful departure in the future, enjoy the present.”

“Your father sounds like a wise man.”

“He was.” The anxiety plaguing me was finally gone. For the time being at least. The reprieve was still welcome either way. “Thank you… But is it really ok to just leave things too you? I’d feel better if I were at least helping find a way home.”

“Ah, I understand how you feel. It’s hard to leave something so important like this in the hands of a stranger.” He thought for a moment, “Then how about this, just for now, relax and focus on being in the present. In a week I’ll call you to my tower and I’ll prove to you then that you can trust me with this. Is that ok?” His sincerity reached me.

“Then I’m in your hands Michael… Or, how should I refer to you?” In a world where titles and honorifics were everything it was very confusing for me.

“Just Michael is fine.”

“Then just call me Jazz too.” Michael looked surprised and made to object.

“So, you’ll let a man you just met call you Jazz, but it was a problem for me to?” I yelped. Lounging on a chair on the other side of the bed where I hadn’t noticed him before was Eclis… And he looked mad.