I’m a Human among Fey

I don't even dream as I keep waking up for a few seconds every few minutes, just to look at Hildi and then fall asleep again. When I wake up for the final time, I feel a bit light headed but still rejuvenated.

"Mom…"

"Yes?"

"When I can walk again I'm going to visit my grave without you."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I died Hildi…I reincarnated, Pavel told me."

"Wait, hold on Sammy, you're going a bit fast here. So, the reason you looked so distraught was because Pavel told you you died and reincarnated?"

"Yes…I'm not even Sammy anymore, my real name is Eleanor."

Hildis' eyes widen a bit before saying, "I never thought so deeply about it but you thought you were using your true name this entire time, right?"

"Well….A nickname based on it, yes."

"Never, ever, tell anyone you wouldn't trust with your life your true name ever again, you understand that? Not even a nickname based on it. Understood?"

"Y-yes but can you tell me why not?"

"You saw what you did to that human boy right? By using his true name, you managed to overpower his autonomy and force him to leave. Your true name is like a key to your soul, once people have it, it empowers their influence over you. Whether it be domination magic, curses, locating, it doesn't matter, they all get empowered when they know your true name and choose you as their target."

"Huh…It's a good thing I didn't even know my true name before then, huh?"

"Yes, it's my fault for letting it get this far though…I keep assuming you know things just because you act so mature and keep forgetting you're a baby…In fact…If you're reincarnated that means you're barely three months old! You…How…You…You need to be nursed! How are you even alive without mothers milk!?" Hildi yells while jolting up in bed, "Wait…Just anatomically speaking, blood is created in the same place that mothers milk is…Your body must have substituted mothers milk by consuming mana from blood instead! I have heard of rapid adaptations in the cases of abandoned babies but this…Or is it because of the flesh prison ritual? Also, wait a moment…Sammy, do you even know that my true name is not actually Hildegard?"

"I…What? You're a little all over the place right now. Uhm…I guess I knew on some level but I also forgot about that."

"Wait…Why am I even talking about unnecessary stuff like that, you need to eat!" She jumps up from bed, "You must be starving! How did you even survive this long between meals!? Wait…It's probably an adaptation you developed…Where like a snake you gorge yourself to prepare for long periods of hunger. No wonder you pass out so much! You go into energy conservation mode!"

"We already more or less knew that though, right?"

"Well…Well…Yes! But the circumstances make it a whole lot worse! I…I've been starving my own child…I'm a horrible mother!"

"Get yourself together Hildegard. You're being more distraught than your child." Pavel says sternly.

"Oooh just you wait, till I show you how distraught I am! You don't think that there was any point during the two months of my child nearly dying that you could have given me that information!?"

"I was not allowed to tell you."

"But you were allowed to tell her!?"

There is a bit of pause before Pavel says, "No…I wasn't. This one time I…Chose to against her majesty's wishes."

"Tsk, fine. You're off the hook but I'm still angry at you. More importantly though, should I hire a wet nurse!?"

"I'm not going to drink breast milk. I absolutely refuse, no fucking way, I'd rather keep drinking from deer."

"But you have drunk cow's milk before. Why would you drink the breastmilk of animals but not of your own species?"

"Because it's weird. I don't care if this makes me a hypocrite, I'm not doing it Hildi."

Visibly rattled, she says, "Fine…I'll keep finding you animals to drink from for now…But it's a lot healthier for you to-"

"Not doing it. Absolutely not."

"Okay…So was there anything else important Pavel told you?"

"He said that neither he nor the queen know anything about why or who put me in this flesh prison. Apparently, he knows my parents but is not allowed to tell me who they are but they're good people and would find a way to get me out of this flesh prison if I let them find me by taking off my necklace. But I'm not going to do that, because that will mean losing you."

Hildi then goes silent for at least a minute before saying, "I think you should go live with your real family."

"What are you talking about? You are my real family!"

Walking back over to me, she puts her hand on mine, "Sammy…Listen to me. You deserve to be safe and happy. I love you but if your parents can give you love and affection, as well as free you from your flesh prison, then it's better for you to stay with them than me."

"It can't be better if I'm without you!"

"Sammy, ultimately I will respect your decision but I need you to know something. You are going to live for a very long time. So long that you can't even imagine it. You have lived fourteen years being abused and forced to live as a human boy. It's been three months and you have already come to love me. Even if it takes 300 years, you'll probably come to love your parents and forget about me, while there is no guarantee that 300 years from now you'll even be freed from your flesh prison if you stay with me. I'm also in a dangerous line of work, I could die on the job and leave you without a parent for about 200 years until I reincarnate. It's just objectively better for you to leave me and go be with your real family."

Holding her hand tightly, I respond, "Hildi…No… Mommy, even if I only had one year left to live I'd want to spend that year with you rather than an eternal life without you. I lost my first life to my own father without ever being happy, I'll gladly choose the certainty of happiness that is living with you even if I'm in danger, rather than the uncertainty of being with people I have never met just because my life would supposedly be better. Because who knows, even if my life is better with them, some random event could happen to make me destitute. So I'm definitely choosing you."

"Alright but if you ever feel like meeting your parents come to me, we'll figure something out, maybe we can even find a solution that lets me stay with you."

"Sure, I'll tell you if I want to do that."

"Is there anything else? Any more life changing information I haven't heard yet?"

"I don't think so. But you still haven't answered if I can go visit my grave alone."

"Oh yeah, can you explain what you're thinking there?"

"I feel like now that I know that I'm dead it's going to give me some closure."

"And why do you want to go alone?"

Looking away, I answer, "Because…A mother should never have to see her child's grave."

"I appreciate that you're looking out for me Sammy but I can't let you go alone. At least take Pavel and AbBEE with you while I wait outside the graveyard in case anything happens."

"Wait, you'll actually allow me to go?"

"Well, it's a lot more reasonable of a request than going alone through the city and you have a good reason so I'll allow it…Can it wait until you can walk again or does it need to be now?"

"It can wait."

"Good, then let's start your walking lessons."

We then spend the rest of the night practicing walking and the Fey language. I'm able to stand up by myself now but I don't feel like I learned much when it comes to the Fey language. Though I do think it's getting easier to understand when words actually start and end. Then, in the morning, I go to bed, slightly exhausted but happy.

Opening my eyes I'm in the cabin again.

"Oh no, not this again…I like dreaming! I have fun dreams, I don't want to be awake in my dreams too! You hear that brain!? Sigh So what am I gonna do now?"

I'm not sure if it could understand me or if it was a coincidence but the black moth that the shadow lady left for me is still here, lands on my nose and flies over to the door.

"You want me to go see her again, don't you? I guess besides being creepy she didn't do anything bad to me and I don't have a way to wake up or at least go back to normal dreaming yet so maybe hanging out is a good idea…"

Cautiously, I walk over to the door and open it. It's still just pitch black outside…
Maybe it only changes once I take the first step?
Taking a cautious step outside I'm suddenly lying on the castle corridor floor again.
Damn this small soul body…I guess that's not getting better any ti- "Kyaaaa!!!"
I can feel my heart jump the second I look up and see the red eyed shadow lady on the ground before me, just a few feet ahead, staring at me.

"Damn it lady! At least warn me before you start being creepy!"

The dark moth lady tilts her head before saying the Fey word for 'Come'. It's one of the few words I know because Hildi says it so often.

I don't really have anything else to do and I was prepared to meet her again, so just slightly conflicted, I crawl towards her. It's very tedious because I move so slowly but hey, at least I still have my legs this time…When I'm about halfway towards her, she disappears before almost instantly reappearing right in front of me.

"Eek! Damn it lady! If you keep doing horror movie stuff like this I'm going to die of a heart attack!"

Tilting her head in confusion again, she pets my head until I calm down. Afterwards, she picks me up and moves into the garden, where a door appears before us. When it opens, just like with my door, I can only see darkness behind it. The shadow lady carries me through it and the moment we pass over the threshold, the scenery changes. We are now standing in what looks like a planetarium with a starry sky above a snow covered playground that looks like a winter wonderland. There also seems to be another person in the room. A buff cold elemental of some kind, with a long white beard wearing a red suit with white fur and black spots sewn on it. He kind of looks like a younger and fitter version of...Wait a second…No…It couldn't be…

"Santa!? You're real!?"

"Hohohoho, Kuʻu kaikamahine maikaʻi, hele mai i ka makua kāne!"

He totally is Santa! He even has the laugh!!!

"Shadow Lady, bring me to Santa!"

Tilting her head once more, she just looks at me.

That damn language barrier!
Trying to use more universal gestures I point at Santa and back to me repeatedly. It seems like she gets what I'm trying to say as she carries me over to Santa who gleefully picks me up, gives me a hug, then kneels down on one knee and puts me on his lap, he even has snowflake shaped pupils.

HOLY SHIT, IT'S TOTALLY HIM!!! What should I do now? Should I tell him my wish for Christmas? No that would be weird, it's summer right now…But what if this is my only chance? Wait he doesn't even understand what I'm saying so would it even matter? Eh, who gives a damn he is Santa he probably will know either way!

"Santa, for Christmas, can you bring me a tier zero magical artifact that dispels magic? I know I've not always been a good kid but this present is not just for me, it's so my mother and I can live happily in the future."

Hoping for a response, I stare at him but he seems to completely ignore me and instead looks at the numerous playground utensils before seemingly deciding on a huge slide. He picks me up, starts laughing and puts me on the slide. Unlike the slide at the valet area this one is actually fast and fun! He then giddily carries me around the playground trying out different things like swings, ziplines and more, making me feel genuine joy for the first time in a while, which makes me break out in laughter and as I do, I wake up again to Hildi shaking me awake.

"Sammy, you need to take a deep breath, okay?"

"Huh, wha-?"

"Just take a deep breath and exhale."

A little confused, I do as she says and shortly after, AbBEE comes back into the room saying "It stopped."

"Wait, what stopped?" I ask Hildi.

"You were making it snow. Usually that's not a problem but since we're in hiding and it's the beginning of summer I had to wake you up and stop you."

"I…Made it snow?"

"Yeah, I'm not even sure how big of an area you made it snow in. From what my ticks are telling me it seems that you covered at least the whole town. Probably even more."

"Wow…I did all that?"

"You sure did…Did you dream anything exciting?"

"Yeah, it was a fun dream! The shadow lady brought me to see Santa and we had a lot of fun!"

"The what? And who is Santa?"

"Oh yeah I didn't tell you yet," I quickly give her a run down of the dreams I had today and yesterday.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
"At first I thought it might actually just be a dream but now I think that the shadow lady is an actual person, possibly aligned with the white queen. Do you think it's something to be worried about?"

She lets out a sigh and brushes through my hair, "No, I don't think so. Though like always, it's best to not blindly trust people."

"Huh, to be honest I thought you'd be more concerned about it."

"Not in this case. I'm glad you're enjoying bonding with them…Now go back to sleep, it's still the middle of the day."

"Okay. Love you mommy."

"I love you too..."

Over the next two weeks, Hildi and I keep practicing walking and Fey-Speak while at night, the Shadow Lady appears in my dreams, sometimes bringing me to meet Santa and sometimes just playing games with me by herself.

Finally able to walk again, we ride the carriage down to the commons. Once we stop, I stand up with a smile and say, "To adventure…Huzzah!!!" and jump out of the carriage narrowly avoiding a huge pile of horse poo.

"Ho man…That was close."

"That's why I keep telling you, look first then get out," Hildi says slightly exasperated, "So Sammy, what are the rules?"

"Stay with AbBEE and Pavel, listen to them when they tell me something and under no circumstances go anywhere else."

"Good, the graveyard is just around the corner, I'll wait here."

"Alrighty, see ya!"

"You're awfully excited for someone visiting their own grave." Pavel says.

I wait until I'm out of earshot of the carriage to answer, "I'm not really excited. I just didn't want her to worry."

"So, what's the plan then? Are you just going to look at the grave and leave?"

"I have no idea. I guess I kinda expect some form of closure. I tried not to think about it the last few days but me being dead means that I have left my family and friend behind forever and I don't feel like it has sunken in yet. So, if I am going to have some sort of breakdown, I'd rather have it be without Hildi seeing me…"

"Hmm I think I understand."

"Oh and before I forget, I wanted to check in with you before I activate my soul seeing eyes. Is it okay for me to use them while you're here? Do I have enough mana?"

"Your body no longer needs mana to regenerate so it should be fine."

"Okay sounds good…Soul seeing eyes, ON!"

Looking around at the people walking down the sidewalk, I can see many souls in different shapes and colors. It's a bit confusing and overwhelming at first because I can't see their bodies anymore. Just blurry vaguely humanoid shaped souls in different colors wandering the streets. There is one weird thing about them though, most of them seem to have some sort of chain around them.

"Hey, Pavel?"

"Yes?"

"What do the chains mean?"

"It means that they have made a soul contract, so when they die their soul goes to their master."

"Wait, so all these people sold their soul to someone!?"

"More like given it up for free but yes. They're religious followers, their soul goes to their God when they die."

"Hmm…So that's what that looks like. Kind of creepy."

It feels a little weird to walk through the streets like this, since I can still see the rest of the city normally, with a few exceptions of some soul spots on walls or the ground and the occasional small rat or bird soul coming in and out of view from the corners of my eyes. Then, after a short walk, I go around the corner and nearly feel myself blinded looking at a shining bright yellow building.

"What's that Pavel!?"

"That's a church, the graveyard is behind it."

"Oh yeah I guess I never asked, who or what do they worship?"

"They worship three deities, the leader, named YHWH, a spiritual being called 'the holy spirit' and their human God Jesus."

"Wait what…Hold on a second…Are you saying Christianity exists here too!?"

Completely baffled, I turn off my soul seeing eyes and he's right. This looks like a road side church.

"How…Do religions exist in all worlds and dimensions?"

"Some do, there are multiple places where they do and don't exist."

Completely baffled, I go towards the church. It really does look just like a normal church in a rural area.

"Make sure not to get too close or you'll get hurt."

Standing in front of it, it seems closed but not locked. When I put my hand on the door to open it , I feel a burning pain in my hand.

"Ouch! What's wrong with that door?"

"You're Fey, you can't enter places of worship of deities at war with your kind."

"And you don't think you could have told me before I burned my hand!?"

"I literally did tell you not to get too close!"

"No you didn't!"

"Yes I did! You were just in your own world again. Don't blame me for not listening!"

"Mmph, fine."

AbBEE speaks up, "Do you want me to lead you to your grave now, my Lady?"

"Yes, I'd appreciate it."

She then leads me past multiple gravestones, some very well decorated with flowers and candles, as well as past a few older people grieving their loved ones.

"We're here, my Lady." AbBEE says pointing at a gravestone.

The grave seems quite fancy. It has a giant headstone as well as multiple flowers around it, though most are already wilted. Looking at the inscriptions, it says 'Sam Gardner Memoria De valens vivat tamque vestri'.

"Your memory lives on? That's written in latin…How do they know latin? Date of death…April 12th 1349 A.D.!? No it can't be…Did I not die and go to a different world!? Is this…The past!?"

"More like a past, comparative to where you died."

"What? What are you talking about!?"

"It's not the past of your world. Backwards time travel is not possible, it's just one of endless worlds similar to the one you grew up in."

Feeling my legs give out, I kneel down in front of my grave, pulling at the roots of my hair just to see if I'm really awake.

"My lady are you alright?" AbBEE asks concerned, putting her hand on my shoulder.
Too shocked to answer, I just stare at her, when suddenly she gets a pained expression on her face as blood streams out of her eyes and nose before she disappears into nothing.

"A-AbBEE?"

More screams come from all around me as all the grieving people suddenly collapse and fall on the floor, rapidly decaying until nothing but dust remains.

I'm about to scream when Pavel puts his hands over my mouth, "Don't make any noise. Do not move from here, if anyone walks by, pretend to be dead. Nod if you understand."

I nod.

"My presence here will just alarm them, I'll go to Miss Hildegard now. Under no circumstances must you play the hero."

He lets go of my mouth and disappears. I then hear footsteps walking through the gravel paths opposite to my gravestone so I quickly react by playing dead, trying to breath as shallowly as I can.

A raspy deep voice breaks the silence and says, "Is this enough to prove my credibility or do you still believe me a common demon, pastor?"

"N-No I believe you Sir Archlich."

"So, you wish to create a mutually beneficial contract?"

"Y-Yes, b-but should we speak out here? What if anyone overhears?"

"Besides you, I sense no life here. So go ahead, speak."

"Faith in the church has been in decline lately as hedonism and money are now the gods of the people. I ask you to bring a plague upon the people that only we can heal and together with the power of faith and the deaths of the heathens I want you to resurrect Adam. It is a win-win situation. You get to kill thousands of people in exchange for only reviving one man. The first man, who's only sin was to give into the temptations of the perfect woman. With him as our leader, we can finally reclaim our place in Eden!"

"Hmm and what will happen to our pact if you die through the hands of our enemies?"

"That will not happen, because I have found a weapon strong enough to kill the immortal. The Spear of Longinus is in our possession! With it, neither Fey nor Demon will stand in our way!"

"Hmm…That is indeed a mighty weapon, yet it is useless in the hands of those unskilled."

"Do not fret about that Sir Archlich, for the knight's Captain and half his troops are members of our inner circle. Our order has been working in secret for hundreds of years while the false church has grown fat and complacent. I assure you, we are ready."

"Fine, I accept your terms pastor."

I can then hear the snap of a finger as the piles of dust reform back into humans. They look sickly, their eyes are glazed over and they start coughing heavily as they walk out of the graveyard.

"Thank you Sir Archlich, I'm sure that once my plan comes to fruition there will even be a place for you ready in Eden."

"I do not wish for paradise Pastor, I wish for nothingness."

There is a bit of silence before the pastor walks towards his church and under his breath whispers, "One day we'll get rid of you too monster."

I can feel my heart racing, my legs are weak and I'm afraid.

If I can kill him now, can I save the people from the plague? It killed 50% of humanity in my timeline, can I save them? No, I must save them. I'm sorry Pavel, Hildi. I am not going to listen once again.
My entire body shaking, I stand up, dagger in hand. Every step I take, my anxiety increases and yet, I do not make a sound when I walk. Looking down, it seems most of my body is covered in the black substance from my arm. Stalking closer, I'm now in range and he hasn't noticed me yet. Holding my breath, I charge at him and ram my blade right in his back only to be repelled by a golden hue knocking me back on the ground. When I look up, there are two golden spectral angels pointing spears at me before disappearing.

"Kekekeke. Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus, acknowledging your power and sovereignty. I pray for your divine protection over me and my loved ones. Surround us with your angels and create a hedge of safety around us. Guard us from harm, both seen and unseen and keep us secure in your loving care. I trust in your promise that no weapon formed against us shall prosper. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen." The Pastor prays as the golden hue around him returns and he turns around.

"I knew I couldn't trust that monster, it seems there are still demons about. In the Name of Jesus Christ, our God and Lord,..."

As he chants another prayer I try to stand up, only to have my hands and feet pierced to the ground by golden crosses.

"...Strengthened by the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of Blessed Michael the Archangel, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and all the Saints and powerful in the holy authority of our human father Adam, we confidently undertake to repulse the attacks and deceits of the devil…"

I can now see a golden sword from the sky materializing above me.

Having adrenaline pumping inside of me, I am reminded of being pinned to the tree by the Elf in the trial and despite the pain press my hands and feet through the cross, cleaving them in half, blood pooling around me. I prop myself up on my split feet ignoring the pain, the shadow surrounding me now moving over my face, I charge him. There are multiple black tendrils coming from my body blocking the summoned angels protecting him.

"God arises; His enemies are scattered and those who hate Him flee before Him. As smoke is driven away, so are they driven; as wax melts before the fire, so the wicked perish at the presence of God. Behold the Cross of the Lord, flee bands of enemies. The Lion of the tribe of Juda, the offspring of David, hath conquered. May Thy mercy, Lord, descend upon us. As great as our hope in Thee."

Another golden cross is summoned behind him, pushing me away like a heavy storm but before I can be blown away, I lunge at him and hold onto his leg. When I feel my grip loosening, ice comes forth from my hand that slowly grows over his leg and allows me to keep holding onto him.

"We drive you from us, whoever you may be, unclean spirits, all satanic powers, all infernal invaders, all wicked legions, assemblies and sects."

The sword above me now starts slowly descending as the form of a golden angel slowly materializes above it holding its hilt, while the ice on his leg has now crept up to his groin. I then hear footsteps running on the gravel and I feel a pull on my leg. Trying to hold on as much as I can, the pull gets harder and I feel my grip loosening as I get blown away but instead of hitting a wall or gravestone I get caught by a person.

"Mommy?"

I can hear a small explosion as the Pastor starts coughing heavily, dragging himself inside the church. There is a smell of pepper and chili in the air as the crosses and sword slowly fade away while I'm being carried away. Things then start to get blurry. My heartbeat starts to slow again. Delirious, I look at my hand and see it slowly regenerating before things go black again.

When I start to wake up, I hear the sound of someone walking through leaves. Opening my eyes, I'm being carried by Hildi through a forest.

"Mommy?"

Hildi looks both angry and sad when I open my eyes.

"Pavel told you not to play the hero didn't he!? Why don't you ever listen and take care of yourself!?"

"I…I wanted to save people…"

"You're three months old! Go save yourself for once! The world's fate is not laying on your shoulders, you're a kid. Stop acting like a hero!"

Tears drip down from her face as she adds, "You could have died permanently…The scars you got from this will never heal Sammy, no matter how strong your regeneration is, because your soul itself was attacked. Just so you know, I'm never, ever letting you do things by yourself again until you're at least 300! Understood!?"

"Yes…But I-"

"No buts! 300 years! You understand!?"

"Yes…"

Looking down at my hands, there is a nasty scar going down from the middle of my hand up to slightly under my wrist.

"Where is Pavel? And what happened to AbBEE, is she dead?"

"Pavel said he'll come back when we're in the Feyrealm, provided that you are awake by then, as for AbBEE, thankfully she just got forcibly banished into the Feyrealm. It will take her a few days to recover but she'll be fine."

We silently continue moving for another ten minutes or so before stopping at a circle of mushrooms. Hildi then looks around before entering it. In the blink of an eye, our surroundings change. We are now in an open snow covered field. But before I can familiarize myself with my surroundings, I feel some weight on my chest as Pavel pulls me by the color and yells at me.

"How many times do we have to tell you to not get yourself killed!? That was THE Archlich. The embodiment of death. Didn't I tell you just to play dead!? "

"I did!"

"Then how did you get yourself in this situation!?"

"Well…The Archlich made a contract with the pastor to unleash a plague on the world that can only be healed by the pastor and his cult. Apparently the pastor wants to resurrect Adam, the first Human created. Pavel, I think I know what plague he is talking about. It wiped out 50% of all humanity in my timeline. I couldn't let that happen, I had to stop him! So I tried to backstab him but it didn't work…"

"And what the fuck makes you think that you, a damn baby, could stop a person who made a contract with THE Archlich!?"

"I-I just thought even if there is just the slightest chance to succeed that I have to do it!"

"YOU. ARE. A. CHILD!!! Your mother is an assassin! If you had just played dead and told her when we picked you up, then you could have let her handle it. You wouldn't have been in mortal danger and the pastor wouldn't have been alarmed about other people knowing of his plan!!!"

"I…You're right. I was so blinded by fear that I didn't think rationally and put everyone else in danger."

"And yourself! Stop always valuing others before you, your life matters!!!"

"But it's only one life! If I can save others by sacrificing myself then I should do that right?"

"Heck no! First and foremost you save yourself! Your life has value!"

"What value!? I haven't done anything to give my life value!"

"Before I continue this…Sammy, what do you think the value of life is?"

"Whatever you can contribute to society."

"So a living being that has no value to society is worthless?"

"Yes."

"Wow, what a sad view of life. To base your worth solely on others…Sammy, listen to me. Your life is the most important thing you have. Only with it, can you enjoy the beauty of life. What good is a better world for the many when you are not there to see it?"

"I dunno. I guess… I don't think that I'll ever have a good life so it's best to make sure that at least others get to have one. Besides my sisters sometimes taking care of me I never really had anyone that cared about me before Hildi and you. Well…There was one…My dog Buddy, but he died not long ago."

"And ever since you reincarnated you have found a mother that loves you, a queen that adores you and a soldier that deeply cares for you. Even if you didn't value your last life, you can value this one."

"I…I guess you're right."

"Look, you're not gonna change such deep seated insecurities in one day but keep that in mind for the future, this life will be great."

"Okay…"

Hildi then stops at a pile of dead leaves and says, "We're here."

"We're…Where?"

"The Silent Leaf headquarters." Hildi answers, then digs a bit into the ground and opens a hidden trapdoor, "I can't carry you and climb down the ladder, so I'm going to jump down. Get ready."

"Wait whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"

We fall down what must be at least four flights of stairs in height before perfectly landing on the ground creating a huge booming noise on impact.

"Holy shit, are your legs okay!?" I ask.

"Please, this height is nothing to worry about."

Man…She's so cool.

Looking around, there is nothing here besides what looks like a full treasure chest.

"Are we here for that money?"

"No, the money is just bait in case someone finds this entryway and wonders why there is a hole in the middle of nowhere. The real reason why we're here is this…" She then pushes in wall bricks in a leaf pattern and a hidden door opens. Behind it is a long hallway.
When we get to the end an eye slit opens in the door, "Identification."

"Agent Rue." Hildi says and puts some sort of badge through the eye slit which closes shortly after.

I whisper to her, "Is Rue your true name?"

"No, it's a codename based on a plant."

"Huh."

The eye slit opens again "It says you're on parental leave. Why are you here?"

"Because I have a code black I need to report."