"My....my name is Lynn," she replied to Mei, her voice in stutters. Lynn hadn't been this afraid in her 18 years of life.
Mei nodded, "Thank you for helping me before. No one does that for people like me these days."
Lynn almost spluttered, she had done nothing to help. She was more than capable enough to take down those boys; Lynn had been idiotic to step in.
"I just couldn't stand them insulting you. I'm glad that you are fine." Lynn phrased her words carefully in response.
The said girl seemed satisfied and said, "Would you like to come to my house for some tea? I want to properly thank you."
Lynn couldn't refuse even if she hadn't done anything, because her legs already followed Mei, and her lips were dry, she wasn't sure herself if it was due to dehydration or the overwhelming feelings she experienced in this new place.
As she walked further down, she noticed the starkly contrast between the cottages from before, and the ones here. The cottages here were much smaller, and were either a dull brown or grey. To Lynn, it screamed depression and desolation.
Noticing her change in expression, Mei said, "I live here; it is very different to the rest of the city. We are all the outcasts, for different reasons. With no where to go, we created a place here, just for us. Even if others look down on us, we do our best to live on and become stronger."
Lynn bit her lip, and then asked, "Why are you different...from the others?"
Mei turned and smiled sadly at Lynn, her eyes clouded with deep thoughts, "Because I am a mutt."
"What is that?" Lynn asked.
Mei raised an eyebrow and replied, "It means that I am not of pure Virtus blood. My parents are from two different cities, and they gave birth to me."
Lynn nodded, starting to understand the way things worked here. What she didn't realise, was that Mei was starting to get suspicious of this strange girl who didn't seem to understand this place at all.
They suddenly came to a halt, and Lynn saw the dull grey cottage Mei lived in. As Mei uttered something, the door automatically opened, and shut immediately after they both walked in.
The inside of the cottage was cosy and small, there was a small table and two chairs, she assumed for dining. On the walls were pictures of Mei and another male, both with happy smiles on their faces.
Mei beckoned her to sit down on a chair, and with a snap of her fingers, a cup of hot tea appeared in front of Lynn.
Before Lynn could say anything, Mei said softly, "Say, Lynn, where are you from?"
Lynn froze up, and it was silent for a short while, before she replied Mei, "I am not from here, if that's what you were asking."
Mei hummed a little and then said, "I came to that conclusion by your strange attire; not one of the six cities wear such clothing."
Lynn sighed sadly, this was the normal clothing she wore back at home, the clothing Mei was wearing was the strange one in her opinion.
"Mei, what time period are we in currently?" Lynn asked.
Mei raised an eyebrow again and replied nonchalantly, "Well we defeated the dinosaurs three decades ago, so we're currently in the Period of Peace."
Lynn's heart sank...she had really gone back in time, as she had come to the conclusion. It wasn't surprising as she noticed there was no electricity at all, and by their ancient-like clothing, Lynn knew she was no longer in modern day 21th century. The problem was; this was not the past she would've expected....there had never been any mention of such a time in history classes or in any of the history books. Why was everything so...confusing?
And could she even tell the girl in front of her, all this? Would she even believe her?
"Since you helped me out before, Lynn, in return, I will not ask more about your background. Instead, let's get you out of your clothing; I have some spare robes and dresses."
Lynn nodded, and watched the girl's shadow disappear. She had wanted to ask if she could stay the night, but she did not want to bother the girl any further. More so, she had to figure out herself how to get out of here and return back home.
"Do they fit fine?" Mei asked as she waited for Lynn to get dressed.
Lynn came out of the small room she had been changing in, and smiled gratefully, adjusting the robe. She was a little clumsy whilst wearing it, mostly because she had never worn such clothing before.
"Yes, they are perfect. Thank you." Lynn replied politely. Lynn smiled, a little uncomfortably, as she was not used to talking with such formality, although Mei seemed to be no less younger than her, the whole atmosphere of this world screamed formality, therefore she abided it.
Mei's hand reached out to pat her on the back, and she said kindly, as if Lynn was a child, "It's fine, you can act normal with me. We, here, really don't care much about politeness or status, then again, we are the lowest of the low, what can we do about it?" She sighed and led Lynn down to sit on the small, worn out, wooden chairs where the table was in the small room.
A silence passed between them, but Lynn was quick to let curiosity override the silence, asking, "Can you tell me a little bit more about this place? The class system?"
"There are three classes in Virtus. Of course, every city has different class systems, but I assume you're asking about this city, Virtus, so I will go into detail about it."
Lynn nodded, her curiosity rising as she was still so foreign to this place.
"As you know alright, the lowest class system is us, some of us are mutts, which are half-blooded Virtus, others are Diu, the people who were born without powers, and have been abandoned by their family. There's also the Anonymous, who have no identity token, with no where to go, they reside here as authorities never come to check here anyway."
Lynn nodded, processing all the given information. Then...Lynn would be categorised as Anonymous, since...she was not a part of this city at all.
"Then, the Middle class make up the majority of the city. They are distinguished by their wide-brimmed, black hats, and plain-coloured robes that range from different colours, but never the luxurious ones such as gold, black, purple, royal blue and red. They are the merchants, the fortune-tellers and the warriors. They can become high class through becoming part of the Royal family. This means, they must become an official, they have to take a magical test, and then be entrusted with political matters in Virtus, then they will be upgraded to the high class. The high class are easily distinguishable by their luxurious robes with the different patterns, the males wear short hats, and females have their hair adorned with accessories. They are the officials, which can be male or female, and the family of these officials also automatically become high class. This is why many middle class families spend so much time and effort to cultivate at least one child who can become an official. However, the magical tests are enduring and difficult, the success rate is very low, and competition is high. The most successful ones normally have powers of telekinesis, mind-reading or time control. This is why many officials, in the end, are made up of the same families who have these powers."
Lynn was now beginning to understand the structure of this world, it was like any other ancient world really. Except...these people had powers.
"Then...what is the royal family that you mentioned, classed as?"
"The royal family is of course, the top of the social ladder. They are the ones born with tremendous powers that are impossible to overcome. These powers are led down the bloodline, which is why the royal family have been leading the city of Virtus for so long. They are strong, and born with this power, and they have the authority to protect our city from other cities. We worship them, and are grateful for their protection, that we can be one of the more developed cities."
"Powers...." Lynn muttered in response, "does everyone here have powers?"
Mei nodded, "Everyone. Powers are passed on from your parents, you wouldn't have a person with the power of light give birth to a child with the power of water. Two people with the same powers will automatically give birth to the child with that power. However, it becomes more complex when there are two different powers involved. Normally, the more powerful ability is given precedence, but when there are two equally powerful abilities, there is a possibility that either the child will get no powers, or, obtain both. The royal family, however, are blessed with more than one power. This ensures that their offspring will always have at least one power, no matter what, which is why their bloodline is so strong."
Lynn nodded, "This is very complex. Very...different to where I came from."
As memories flashed in her mind about her family, and her friends, Lynn suddenly remembered that she had left her pendant in her old clothes. The pendant that reminded her of home.
"Mei, could you get my old clothes for me quickly. I left something important in the pockets."
Mei nodded curtly, hastily bringing it over to her. Lynn sighed in relief as she fumbled with the pockets to produce the gold pendant in her hands.
Mei stared in surprise as she saw the pendant shining in Lynn's hand, but she did not say anything.
She only looked on, as Lynn placed it in her robe carefully, whilst smiling back at her innocently.
Hi,I hoped you enjoyed this chapter ! Will be updating regularly from now on, thank you for your comments and love!
Bailin
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