Alvin carefully made his way to a chair, and sat on the edge of it to avoid knocking over the pile of papers that was already there. Ginger jumped to the back of the chair and sat there. Abraham paid no attention to the mess, and moved around fluidly- it was almost like watching a dance as he stepped across piles of stuff until he finally reached his own chair. Then he sat down, and faced Alvin and Ginger.

“Now, I’m sure ye have lots of questions, so please, begin.”

Alvin hesitated a moment, deciding on what question to ask first. “Where are we?”

“Ye are in the land of Arcadia. The year is 1803.”

“Arcadia?” Alvin made a puzzled expression. “I don’t think our history books talk about an Arcadia existing during the 1800s.”

Abraham nodded. “I see. It’s just as I feared. Thanks to the efforts of Lucifer, our kingdom will be lost to the sands of time. Regrettable, regrettable indeed.”

“How did we get here?”

“I summoned ye.”

Alvin’s eyes widened, and Ginger hissed in shock. Abraham smiled. “Yes, I summoned ye. Heh, all the books I went through to find that spell. I lost quite a few years of my life doing that, I feel.”

Alvin jumped up. “You summoned us here?! Why?! It’s because of you that my sister is gone, and my girlfriend is a cat! Why did you bring us here?!”

Abraham stopped smiling, and looked at Alvin with an expression of morbid seriousness. “Because ye are the only ones who can save this land from the wrath of Lucifer.”

“What? You saw what happened out there, right?! We tried to stop him from taking Alice, and that’s how Ginger got hit! We can’t save the land from him!” Ginger hissed in agreement.

“Yes, ye can,” Abraham said. “Ye have the knowledge. Ye read the book, correct? The book that details what is to happen over the next several days. That book was the key to the spell being activated.”

Alvin swallowed. “Actually… Alice was the one who read the book. Ginger and I didn’t.”

Abraham’s face darkened. “And Alice is the one who took the princess’ place, is she not?” Alvin nodded. The wizard sighed. “That’s… unfortunate.”

The room was silent for a while. Alvin sat back down, and then asked another question. “Why did Alice take the princess’ place? Why did Ginger take the farmer’s daughter’s place?”

“The spell summoned your spirits, not your bodies. Ye needed hosts… shells, so to speak, to exist in this time. Alvin, ye took the body of a young homeless wretch; Ginger took the body of Amelia Wilkings, and Alice took the body of Princess Salatea. The spirits that once inhabited these bodies have been safely secured within a pentacle I’ve created. When ye return to ye own world, the spirits will return to their proper places.”

Alvin felt shivers run down his spine at the thought of inhabiting another person’s body. “But how do I see Ginger instead of Amelia? How does she see me instead of that… wretch?”

“It’s all in ye mind. Ye see Ginger as Ginger, for she is Ginger. Ye can probably see her right now, even though her body is the form of a cat.”

Alvin glanced at Ginger, and nodded. Ginger rubbed her head against his cheek. Abraham stood up and rummaged through stacks of paper, looking for something.

“I summoned ye to save Arcadia with the knowledge ye would have of the future. In a cruel twist of fate, ye sister is the only one with that knowledge, and that vile Lucifer has her. Regardless, ye must travel to Lucifer’s home, save ye sister, and destroy him. It is the only way ye can return home.”

“You can’t just return us home now?” Alvin asked.

“I could, but ye sister would remain here… and Ginger may take her new form with her…”

Ginger yelped. Alvin groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding. Wait… if you wrote the book, don’t you know what happens?”

Abraham gave a small cheer and pulled a scroll out from a pile. “I’m afraid not. I cast a spell on the scroll to write itself as the events played out, and for it to make its way to ye.”

“Great.”

“It is not great. Now, I believe the best course of action for ye to take is to visit the witch in the Forest of Idle Fantasies. She should be able to revoke the curse Lucifer put on Ginger. After that, ye should rescue Alice; ye may have to escape with her and leave Lucifer alive, but that is fine, ye can go back later and finish the quest.”

“Thrilling.”

“Ye should spend the rest of the day here, in the castle. We’ll outfit ye with armor, weapons, and supplies for the journey. Do ye know any magic?”

Alvin shrugged. “A little, but I don’t think it works in this place.”

Abraham raised his eyebrows. “Ah, magic hasn’t died out yet in your time?”

“Not yet… it’s kinda close, though.”

“I see. Hmm, very interesting. But I digress. Come! We must act swiftly; Lucifer is trained in similar arts as I- he may see through Princess Salatea and see ye sister’s spirit within her, and thus realize he has been tricked. The faster ye leave, the better.”

Alvin stood up and lifted Ginger into his arms. “Wait, wouldn’t that make him come here to find the princess’ spirit?”

Abraham paused. “Aye, wise observation. Could my pentagon withstand his power…?” He stood there for a moment, deep in thought. “I’ll have to come up with another protection.” He shook his head and scribbled something on a spare scroll, and handed it to Alvin. “Go to the armory. Show this scroll to anyone who asks about ye- it explains that ye are with me.”

Alvin bowed his head. “Thank you.”

“May the gods permit ye a safe journey.”

Alvin left the room, Ginger in his arms and the scroll in his hand. He walked down the stairs, his mind going over the things they had learned. “I have to say, this is all quite surreal,” he said to Ginger. “And very sudden, too… the way he talked, I don’t think we have much time… he knows more than he’s letting on.”

Ginger nodded her head in agreement. Alvin sighed. “How about you? Are you okay? Wait, dumb question.”

[word count for the day: 1,072]

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Feel free to explore."If the solar system was brought about by an accidental collision, then the appearance of organic life on this planet was also an accident and the whole evolution of man was also an accident. If so, then all our present thoughts are accidents... I see no reason for believing that one accident should be able to give me a correct account of all the other accidents."
- C.S. Lewis