#4 Fancy Dresses and Alternate Dimensions: Legends and Cliches

We ran through the brightly lit inter-dimensional space very quickly thanks to Molly's giant zipper, which I was forced to hold yet again and which seriously needed a leash or something.

"What kind of dimension are we going to?" I asked.

"You should be familiar with it. There are fiction books in your world written about places like this--places with strange creatures and powerful weapons."

"Oh, so a fantasy world."

"Is that what you call it? In any case, this dimension is called Secoria and any and all prophecies, legends, and myths about every other dimension are created and told here."

"Of course. And the elves keep them all in scrolls in their great library in a magical forest."

"How did you know?"

I rolled my eyes, but I didn't have time to say anything. The zipper suddenly yanked us up and opened a narrow slit through which I could only see a bright, cloudless sky. Molly climbed out first and jumped down, still holding onto my wrist. I had no choice but to follow her lead.

As we slowly floated down, I was stunned by the landscape. It definitely looked like all the fantasy lands I'd read about. I could see huge mountains to my left with clear rivers flowing from the valleys. To my right were villages scattered along a flatter area stretching out into the distance, and beneath us was a dense forest that looked almost impenetrable. A couple minutes later, we landed in this forest on a tree branch that was as wide as a car. The place was covered in thick foliage and intertwining branches; the sun's rays hardly reached down this far, but I could see an entire network of wooden bridges, staircases, and houses. There were even hollowed out areas in the trees where strange blue lights glowed, giving the forest a mystical aura while providing more light.

"We must wait for Locrio. He is one of the Dimensional Guardians in this world. He's seen our arrival, so he will be here soon."

We waited for maybe five minutes. Elves silently scurried in and out of the wooden structures. They definitely saw us, but they didn't raise a fuss or even stare for an abnormally long amount of time. They were obviously used to seeing people who clearly weren't from their world. Then, a blonde elf wearing a white robe made his way toward us by hopping from tree branch to tree branch. He landed nimbly in front of us, hardly making a sound.

"Molly, it's good to see you again," he said with a serene smile, bowing slightly. Then, he turned to me. "And who are you, young lady?"

"Amber," I said politely, although the inside of me was groaning. This guy, this elven race, and everything about this place was so predictable. This Locrio guy was probably gonna guess why we were here and then invite us to follow him to the Super Secret Elven Library.

"Amber, I see. You must be here to read the Legend of the Fabric Healer. Allow me to escort you to the Super Secret Elven Library."

I burst out laughing. This was so ridiculous. The fact that he said "Super Secret Elven Library" with a straight face made it even better. Unfortunately, I was the only one who was amused.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," I said between breaths, trying to calm my laughter. I looked up at Molly and Locrio, expecting the elf to be angry, but since he was a typical stately/wise/serene elf guy, he only smiled at me.

"No worries. I am perfectly aware that we have some customs which are humorous to those from other dimensions. Please follow me."

Locrio leapt away on the tree branches; Molly and I held onto each other as we jumped off the branch and floated after him under her parasol. I briefly wondered why we didn't just use the fancy network of wooden stairs and ladders, but then I realized that this method was quicker. Some of the elves waved to us as we passed by, but mostly they paid us no mind. We might as well have been part of the background.

A few minutes later, we reached an area of the forest that had the thickest trees I had ever seen. They were bigger than city skyscrapers and unlike the stairs and structures in the other part of the forest, these were made of an ornate material that looked like marble. Everything was embedded in the trees and it was all interconnected. We landed in front of the central tree, which had huge carved doors that must've been a hundred feet tall.

"Here we are," said Locrio. He approached the door and touched it with one hand. There was a brief flash of blue light and then the doors slowly creaked open.

We stepped inside a vast arched hallway that looked like it belonged in a mansion. Large paintings hung on both walls, but we didn't stop to look at them. We walked quickly through a series of nice hallways until we reached a massive room filled with bookshelves that reached all the way up to the ceiling. They were so full, I was surprised they didn't topple over from the weight.

"So, what we need is the Legend of the Fabric Healer. . ." said Locrio. He closed his eyes, took a slow, deep breath, and held his hands out in front of him. His lips moved, but I couldn't hear what he said. Seconds later, a scroll popped out from one of the high shelves and flew into his hands. He opened it and began reading.

"This is a rather long story, so I will summarize the important parts. You are not the typical hero with a Terrible Secret Past who must accept Destiny, so you do not need all the details. This legend is one of the oldest and most important ones we have. Thousands of years ago, when people were just beginning to travel between dimensions, there were no Dimensional Guardians or boundaries or anything of the sort. Soon enough, however, Direct Links started forming and entire worlds were destroying each other. People were dying and it was all very chaotic. Eventually, someone arose with the ability to fix all of this and bring the worlds back to normal. This is the Fabric Healer. Essentially, one arises every so often in the course of history known during a time of great need in all the dimensions. The last one to appear lived over a thousand years ago. This is the longest gap we've ever had without one, but every time we think we have one, it turns out to be a false alarm. All Fabric Healers so far have been named after gemstones and they are the only ones who can sever Direct Links without consequence. Some of them have even been able to restore dead dimensions. There's a preliminary test to see if you are really a Fabric Healer. You simply try to use the magic or powers in a world other than your own."

"She's already done that in my world," said Molly, "but isn't there a particular spell in this world that awakens the abilities?"

"Ah, I was not aware that you had gotten that far. Very well then. This is the final test. If she can successfully complete this spell, this will prove it for sure. Our false alarms in the past have been able to use the powers of one or two other worlds besides their own but cannot do anything here. Secoria is the only world with this awakening test."

Locrio and Molly were completely calm, but I was starting to feel nervous. I hadn't done anything noteworthy in my life and suddenly there was a chance that I was the center of the universe. I know that sounds selfish, but there is seriously no other way to put it. That's how everyone around me was acting and it wasn't like I wanted all of this anyway.

I sighed. "So, what's the test?"

"Hold your arm out," said Locrio. I silently obliged. "Now, repeat after me. Resurrectio."

"Resurrectio."

Some insanely bright light flashed over me and I felt energy shooting out of my body. The best way I can describe it is that it felt like I was exploding, but I knew I wasn't going die. After a minute, the light went away and I felt normal again.

"Did it work?" I asked.

Molly and Locrio didn't respond, but by the ecstatic looks on their faces I guessed that it must have.

I sighed. Fantastic. I'm now the Super Special Chosen One destined to save the world. I really thought my life wouldn't be so predictable, but I guess we all can't get what we want.

Molly suddenly threw her arms around me and held me in a tight hug. When she pulled away, there were tears in her eyes.

"You can help Natasha now," she said. "You will help her, right?"

I didn't know what to say to her. In fact, there were a lot of things I didn't know, such as why this entire thing seemed like it was ripped out of every fantasy novel in the history of ever. Goodness, if things were gonna go like this, couldn't they be less cliched?

"Fine," I said, not at all thinking about what I was getting myself into. Plus, I'd never seen Molly so worked up. I felt bad for her. "I'll help you." But I really don't know what you expect me to do.