Chapter 21: Give It To Us Straight
Anna yawned as if she had just woken up from a long nap. She drifted towards Noah’s group, floating effortlessly above the ground.
The guard rushed forward in alarm. “Ma’am! Please be careful! You shouldn’t be out h—”
“Bah! They’re my guests, okay? I’ll be taking them inside the palace,” Anna flashed a cheeky grin.
“But Ma’am, His Majesty won’t be pleased if you do that!”
“Papa is so boring!” she whined. “He’s busy with his Council meeting anyway. Besides, it would be cruel to deny his daughter the chance to play with her toys—I mean, kittens. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“O-oh, um… of course, Ma’am. Please do as you see fit.” The guard bowed and backed off.
Anna turned her attention back to the group, with her eyes eventually zoning in on Carter and Kiera. Disapproval clouded her countenance.
“I don’t recall inviting the two of you.”
“We’re just accompanying them to your palace,” Carter explained.
“How thoughtful,” Anna said dryly. “But your job is done. Now then… Noah, Sophie, come along. We’ll have a lovely chat over some tea at my place.”
Noah faltered. He had only one question: could they return to their world? There wasn’t really any need for pleasantries. But something told him Anna wouldn’t take kindly to such brusqueness.
“Alright,” he said, ultimately accepting her offer. He gave a silent nod to Carter and Kiera, hoping that they would understand. Fortunately, they seemed to get the message, although they looked a little unsure of how the situation was playing out.
“I guess we'll be heading off then. Stay safe,” Carter offered a final word of caution before he and Kiera vacated the premises.
“Excellent!” Anna clapped. “Now, if you would just follow me through this portal… I promise it isn’t a trap this time!”
She extended a welcoming hand. Noah, who was standing slightly closer to her, took it and almost recoiled from the shock. Although her hand was much smaller than his and further masked by a glove, he could still sense the immense magic she possessed through the fabric.
If Anna had noticed his reaction, she didn’t show it. Instead, she gleefully leapt into the portal, dragging him along. He felt Sophie latch onto his other wrist as they were yanked forward.

Noah found himself in what looked to be a small library. The floor was fully carpeted, and they were surrounded by bookshelves. A large portrait of Anna herself hung on one of the walls. The entire room was immaculate, exuding an air of European elegance.
“This is my study room!” Anna said. “Don’t touch anything!”
She pointed at a sofa underneath the portrait. “Please, have a seat while I get us something to drink.”
As the two of them settled down, Anna picked up a teapot on her desk. She poured tea into exactly three teacups placed right beside it, handing one to Noah and another to Sophie.
“Careful, it’s hot. The teapot's enchanted, so the tea stays warm,” she explained.
Sophie took a sip. “It’s really good...”
Meanwhile, Noah’s mind was focused on something else. “You had just the right number of teacups already prepared. Was it a coincidence, or were you already expecting us?”
Anna raised her hands in surrender. “Oops. But let me explain! When we returned this morning, the guards informed me that you two had been looking for me. I wasn’t sure where exactly in the city you guys were, so I could only wait for you to show up.”
“How did you know we were here? I didn’t see the guard call you or anything.”
“Well…” Anna blushed. “I have a Talent Skill called Loc-Alert. I can set it on an area, and it notifies me if anyone enters it. I didn't set it up earlier cus' I wasn't sure if you would be coming, and the Skill drains my MP over time, but since I was informed of your arrival...”
Something clicked in Noah’s head. “Was that how you found out we exited the cave back then?”
“Yup!”
But something didn’t make sense, and Sophie seemed to share the thought. “Why didn’t you show up right away though?” she asked. “You only appeared after Noah saved me from the brink of death!”Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
“You guys looked like you were caught in a sticky situation, with you almost dead and all that,” she shrugged. “I just wanted to see how y’all dealt with it.”
Noah felt his blood boil. After leaving them for dead, she had viewed them as mere entertainment objects even after they had successfully made it out. In fact, she probably still saw them that way now.
However, he did want to ask about Bran. He was the only other classmate who had survived the initial ambush in the Trials, but they oblivious to his current status.
“Did Bran make it out?” he asked simply.
“Bran? No idea who’s that,” Anna chirped. “But I haven’t received any more alerts, so whoever they are, they’re probably dead.”
Noah wasn’t expecting much, but it was still disappointing to hear. If Bran was somehow still alive, he hoped that he would find a way out soon. But otherwise, he hoped his death was at least quick.
“Anyways, I liked what I saw, and you two did make it out alive, which I wasn’t expecting. And Noah, your Talent looks suuuper interesting! Mash all those reasons together, and you get why I decided to recruit you!”
“Umm… me as well?” Sophie inquired.
Anna waved her hand dismissively. “Like I said, you did make it out at the end of the day as well. Also, I had a feeling Noah would be more reluctant to accept my invitation if I didn’t invite you too.”
“Yeah… that makes more sense…” Sophie mumbled.
Anna sighed. “I’m sorry I wasn’t around yesterday, by the way. Papa had to make a sudden business trip to Florwynne, and he told me to accompany him.”
Noah noticed her fidget uncomfortably as she spoke. It didn’t seem like she was outright lying, but he had the feeling she wasn’t giving the full story either. And from her tone of voice, he sensed that her relationship with her father wasn’t exactly amicable.
Still, Florwynne huh? Noah vaguely recalled Alatair mentioning it as the third Kingdom, outside of Mytharea and Vyndamas. He wondered what life was like there compared to the other two.
No, he couldn’t afford to get sidetracked. He was here for one reason, and one reason only.
“Um, is it okay if I ask something a little off-topic?”
Anna glanced at him curiously. “What is it?”
“Is it possible for us to return back to our world?”
The moment those words left his mouth, he felt the tension in the room skyrocket. It wasn’t so much from how Anna might react, but more from the uncertainty of her answer. Off to his side, he could see Sophie tense up in her seat as well.
The smirk on Anna’s face faded. “So that’s what you’re after…” she muttered. She walked over to the window, turning her back on them. “How would you like to hear it? Direct, or…?”
“Give it to us straight, please.”
“No sugar-coating then.” She took a breath.
“You’re stuck here, in this world. It’s impossible for you to return home.”
Her words sent a sudden numbness crashing through Noah.
So it was impossible. He had thought that he was ready to swallow the truth, but hearing it confirmed left him momentarily speechless.
“A-are you sure?” Sophie stammered.
“A hundred percent. No one in this kingdom knows more about portal magic than me.”
It didn’t sound like she was fooling around. The graveness in her voice and the weight behind her words… it really sounded like she was giving it to them straight.
Anna gave them a moment to take in the information before facing them again. “Are… you guys okay?”
“Yeah, just give us a sec.”
That confirmed it. He was never going to see his room, his house, his city, or his family again. He never even had a chance to say goodbye.
Sophie was silently weeping beside him. He would’ve liked to console her, but it was all he could do to keep his own emotions in check.
Meanwhile, Anna returned to her desk and plopped on her seat, resting her chin on her palm. After silently observing them for a while, she finally spoke up.
“I don’t mean to be rude, but now that I’ve answered your question, it would only be fair if you answered mine as well. Would you two be interested in joining my guild?”
The nerve of...
But her remark did snap Noah back to reality. It was probably awkward for her if two of her ‘guests’ suddenly start acting all dejected and sulked in her room. Then again, it was Anna he was referring to. He really couldn’t care less about manners around her. If he forced himself to behave appropriately, it was for his own dignity.
“Actually, the two of us are already in another guild,” he confessed.
Anna frowned. “So the two people earlier… they were your guildmates?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s a shame.” Anna got up and started pacing around again. “A real shame. I really thought we could work something out between us…”
Wait, what was happening? Noah suddenly felt an ominous intensity radiating from her small figure. Also, had the air always been this cold?
The room started shaking. Books tumbled to the floor as the tremors continued. The air around Anna warped.
“Noah…” Sophie gripped his arm.
Fortunately, the whimsical mage seemed to cool down. The room eased back into place, and the worst of it was over.
Anna dragged herself over to her seat and slumped into it, staring dejectedly at the floor. She let out a loud sigh. “So? What guild did you end up joining?”
Was it really safe to answer her? What if she went after the rest of the guild?
Sensing their hesitation, Anna added, “Relax, I’m not going to do anything if that’s what you’re worried about. I’m just curious, that’s all. Besides, I could figure it out myself if I tried.”
Noah supposed that was true.
“We joined Spark Nimbus.”
Upon hearing his answer, Anna burst into a fit of giggles. “Spark Nimbus? Seriously?” She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. “Out of all the guilds, you ended up with them?”
“What’s so funny about that?”
“Oh, nothing, nothing… it’s just really amusing to me how you decided to join their guild over mine! Speaking of which, how’s Tanna? Is she still as crazy as ever?”
For some reason, Noah didn’t like the way she was talking about their leader. “She’s fine… I mean, she did take us in,” he stated defensively.
“Hey! I did offer to take you in as well!”
“Tanna didn’t try to leave us to die though.”
“Oh. Fair point.”
The direction of their conversation made Noah think about something else. “Are the higher-ranked magicians from our world still with you?”
“You mean Marcus and the others?”
“Yeah.” So she did remember their names. Or Marcus’s, at least.
“They’re still here in the palace. We’ve been taking care of them, making sure they get proper nourishment and training to refine their abilities.”
Suddenly, the mischievous glint in her eyes returned. “Ooh ooh wait! I just thought of a great idea! Why not we go visit them, and then have a little sparring session? Matter of fact, let’s make it more interesting! Loser quits their guild and joins the winner’s. How’s that sound?”