#6 Fancy Dresses and Alternate Dimensions: "I'm Going to Save the World. . .And Stuff."

When we were back in the library, I slumped to the floor and ran my fingers through my hair. I had a massive headache and all this dimensional traveling was making me hungry. Specifically, I wanted a giant steak, but I wasn't sure if steak existed in Secoria. Molly sat next to me and stared at me. Her face didn't overtly express anything, but I could see the subtle changes now more than ever before. In fact, she never looked so transparent and vulnerable.

"You need to know what you face now--what we all face," she said. "The book will help you, but it won't give you all the answers. Each era is as different as the Fabric Healers who appear in them."

I nodded weakly, barely taking in what she said. My main concerns at the moment were sleeping and having something to eat. I didn't expect to be so weak, but I've since learned that it comes with the territory and gets better as I get stronger (okay, that's the only time I will say anything that corny. I promise).

"You are sick," said Molly, grabbing my arm. "Why are you sick?"

I laughed lightly. "I'm just tired. Don't worry."

"Then we shall prepare a hearty feast!" said Locrio, his voice echoing like an announcer for a stereotypical medieval king.

"Is it a Feast of Celebration to Honor the Arrival of the Fabric Healer?"

"Why, I never expected you to be so familiar with our customs already," said Locrio with a pleased smile.

I rolled my eyes, but it only made my head hurt more. Locrio offered to prepare a guest room for Molly and I, meaning I had to stand up despite my complete lack of energy. I forced myself to do it anyway by thinking of fluffy pillows and the hope that I would remember a really awesome dream my subconscious would have. The elf led us out of the library with his hands clasped gently behind his back and his robe fluttering in the momentum of his gait. The guy carried himself like a fancy host--a butler even. I suddenly remembered Jives and shook my head. I really needed sleep.

By now, the sun had set completely and those blue lights in the trees were brighter than ever. In fact, they nearly washed everything out like the blue tint that appeared whenever Molly show up. It felt like I was walking through a dream, but that didn't surprise me since we were in a stereotypical elven forest. Locrio took us through the winding network of connected staircases and bridges until he finally stopped in front of a round building that fit the thick tree like a ring around a finger.

"This is the finest guest room in the Super Secret Elven Forest," said Locrio, extending his hand toward the door. "Inside, you will find a bed so comfortable that--"

"You had me at 'bed,'" I said abruptly, walking past him and letting myself inside.

It looked like I had stepped inside a country home, except there were books and paintings against the wall instead of deer heads. I was also overcome by the sweet scent of freshly chopped wood, but that's about as much as I cared to observe before making a bee line for the bed standing a few feet away from me and plopping face down into its fluffy goodness.

The next time I opened my eyes, Molly was sitting next to the bed quietly sipping a cup of tea. She was poised and elegant--you wouldn't have guessed that this girl helped keep the dimensions from chaos.

"Oh, you have stopped sleeping," she said.

I sat up and ran my fingers through my hair. "Stopped sleeping." Well, that was one way to put it. The good news was that my headache was gone, but now I was ravenous.

"The feast is still an hour away," said Molly, "but I made you a muffin because you said you were very hungry." She handed me a small plate with the darkest, thickest chocolate muffin I had ever seen. It was glorious and beautiful and so delicious. I ate that sucker in ten seconds flat. If Molly's fancy society thought that rude, she never showed it. In fact, she seemed endeared.

"I think we will be okay with you as Fabric Healer," she said.

"Oh yeah? What makes you say that?"

"You will not be easily influenced by our enemy's perspective."

"Well, I don't know what it is the first place. Something about making all the worlds one giant thing, right?"

"Correct. The Grand Master's philosophies are opposite of ours in a sense, or at least it seems that way."

"Okay, that's the third time I've heard that name. Who is that guy?"

"We're not sure if The Grand Master is a man or woman or if it's one person or many people. All we know is that everyone who follows The Grand Master wishes for all the dimensions to become one world. They have been told that this is the only way to achieve true unity between the worlds, but they neglect all the dead dimensions that exist because of the very methods they wish to use."

"Well, that witch didn't seem to care about the consequences of Direct Links."

"No, they seem to act on the principle that a few sacrifices for the greater good is the proper way. They would see Natasha as a noble martyr for their cause instead of a victim."

"What, did they kidnap her when she was little and take her to another dimension on purpose?"

Molly set her teacup down on a small table beside her. "No," she said with a sigh. "Natasha has an invisible piece because of me. I'm to blame."

I stared. "You didn't--I mean, it was an accident, right?"

"Yes," Molly said softly, "but it's still my fault."

Things were a bit clearer now. Molly had a personal reason to save Natasha despite the fact that Natasha never listened to her. Unknowingly causing someone's death is a heavy thing to deal with, but Molly was doing everything she could to stop it. No one could blame her for that.

"Well, I'm here now and it's not like we're sitting around doing nothing. I mean, at the moment we are, but if I'm destined to save the whole universe or whatever then I think we can save one person."

Molly smiled. "You are a good Fabric Healer."

Okay, okay. Just let me figure out how to actually be one first.

I got out of bed and stretched, popping a few bones here and there. Molly stood and picked up her dishes.

"So is there some kind of special costume I get to wear as Fabric Healer?"

"That will be presented to you tonight. What you're wearing now is acceptable."

"Are you sure I don't need some kind of fancy dress or something?"

Molly shook her head. "Amber, you are the Fabric Healer. Nobody expects you to follow anything outside of your own customs. They will not be angry with you."

It sounded like another one of her non-insults, so I shrugged it off and wandered around the house until I found something resembling a bathroom. If I wasn't going to wear something nice, I could at least make my hair look decent. I stood in front of a watery, reflective surface that waved gently enough to look like a regular mirror at first glance. Of course, I was in a magical fantasy world, so everything had to be shiny and flowing.

Surprisingly, my hair just needed a quick brush through before it was nice and straight again, so I just combed it with my fingers a few times. A few of the burnt red strands snapped off and wrapped around my hands, but I just shook them away. I took another good look at myself and noticed my eyes were more of a mixture of amber and gold than they usually were. In fact, I distinctly remembered never having any gold in my eyes whatsoever. Furthermore, the gold looked like shards pointing toward my irises.

"What the. . .how did that happen?" I said, stretching my eyelids and leaning in closer to the watery mirror to get a better look. "Weird."

I remembered that spell Locrio had me say and how it made my eyes itch. That must've been it. Somehow, these gold shard things made it so I could see Fabric, which was starting to get annoying by the way because as pretty as it was it made everything look gridy.

When I left the bathroom, I found Molly adjusting her hat and brushing the dust off of her dress. She turned to me with a smile and said, "You look lovely."

"Um, thanks. Listen, why do I have some gold crap in my eyes?"

Molly approached me and leaned in very, very, close to examine my eyes. "They are not crap. They are shards."

She literally thought I had crap in my eyes. Fantastic.

"It is likely related to being the Fabric Healer. You can read about it in the Guide."

"Which I don't have at the moment."

"Locrio will give it to you tonight."

We left a few minutes later via Molly's parasol. It was a good thing she knew where she was going because all the trees and the bridges were starting to look the same to me, especially in the dark. Apparently, this feast was a big deal because a throng of people were making their way to the Super Secret Elven Library. Why we were having a feast in a library was beyond me, but it likely had something to do with mixing pleasure and knowledge. That and the Fabric Healer is traditionally recognized at that very spot in Secoria, but I'm getting ahead of myself. A good number of those people were clearly not from this dimension. I saw a few people dressed like Molly, some with goggles and leather flight helmets on their heads, a couple dragons, and a velociraptor, which confused me to no end.

"Velociraptor?" I said.

Molly laughed. "Oh yes, that would be Vincent--or at least, that is what he tells us to call him. His real name is apparently very difficult for humans to pronounce. He is very charming and a good conversationalist."

We landed right behind him and followed his gently swinging tail to the library's center room where there was a long table set up with a stark white table cloth and at least fifty tall chairs around it. As soon as Vincent hobbled off to greet some friends of his, Molly and I were exposed. Suddenly, everyone turned to stare at us and I felt like running away.

"Oh my," said Vincent, his voice rich and slightly giddy, "had I known the Fabric Healer was right on my tail, I would have shown her my face instead. Forgive me, madam." He bowed and I stuttered. I mean, a velociraptor was talking to me instead of chasing me down and trying to eat me. More than that, a velociraptor was existing in the same time period as me.

"Where are my manners?" he said with a gasp. "I haven't even introduced myself. My name is Vincent, Dimensional Guardian of Triassica. It's a pleasure."

"A-Amber," I said softly. I felt so awkward talking to a dinosaur and everyone else's stares weren't helping.

Thankfully, Locrio appeared and I had never been so glad to see him. He walked toward me briskly and put his hand on my shoulder. "These are all the Dimensional Guardians who could make it here on such short notice. Ordinarily, we would wait a few days for the feast, but something urgent has come up that we'll need to handle immediately."

"Why? What happened?" I said, feeling a brick drop in my stomach.

"It's related to our run-in with Octavia earlier today. I will explain at dinner on behalf of all Dimensions."

"Do not worry," said Molly, grabbing my arm. "we will all work together."

Honestly, that made me feel better. Molly was always the type to point out group effort. She still is.

"Molly, it's good to see you again," came a voice from behind us. We turned and saw a tall young man with brown hair wearing a tuxedo and a top hat. He wore a monocle on his right eye and carried a black cane in his left hand. Molly let go of my arm and stared at him while I suppressed a laugh because her face was so flushed.

"Good evening, William. It is good to see you too."

"As always, your beauty outshines that of any other lady I know," he said with a smile, then caught himself, cleared his throat quickly, and touched the brim of his hat. "My apologies. That statement was much too forward."

Poor Molly was frozen in place, squeezing the handle of her parasol and looking away from him. I knew she was frantically searching for something to say, but after a few seconds nothing happened and William left with a bow.

"It's been that way for many years," Locrio whispered with a chuckle.

Molly tugged at my arm and then looked at me like a toddler who was very saddened by the fact that she couldn't open the little bag of Cheerios her mom gave her for a snack. "I wish for William to say those things all the time," she said.

"Then just walk up to him and say that."

"But. . .I am afraid."

"Afraid of what? The guy called you pretty."

"I do not want to be too. . .forward," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "And saying such a thing would reveal that I--I have. . .feelings for him. Many feelings."

Flustered Molly was adorable. I wanted to give her a hug and tell her to write him a love letter so she could put it in his locker tomorrow morning at school, but she was looking at me like she expected me to know anything about romance and help her out. Well, I guess if I was supposed to save the universe from destruction, I could play matchmaker.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with having, uh, many feelings for a guy."

"I am afraid he does not have many feelings for me."

Locrio and I gave each other the same "Yeah right" look. I'd seen first-hand the way William eyed her, his expression soft and his smile reaching both ears. If social protocol didn't prohibit him, he probably would've reached out and touched one of her curly pigtails. Guys like doing that for some reason, even if they're wearing fancy suits.

"Honey, I'm sure he has thousands of feelings for you."

Molly's eyes widened. "Thousands of them? I did not even know there were that many!"

Locrio laughed. "Well, it seems that everyone who can make it is here, so perhaps we should take our seats and begin."

As we walked over to the table, I leaned toward Molly and said, "Step one. Sit next to him. Go before someone takes your spot."

Without a word, she shuffled ahead and sat next to William, who smiled politely and kissed her hand.

"I know how this goes," I said with a short laugh. "It'll be a long time before anything happens between them. That's how it always goes."

"That and saving the universe tends to push romance to the side more often than not," said Locrio.

"Well look at you pointing out the predictability of this situation," I said.

"I read it all in the Guide," he said. "Here is your seat, Fabric Healer Amber, right at the head of the table."

Boy was I special.

As soon as I sat down, everyone fell silent and gave me their full attention. I looked to Locrio, unsure of what to do (especially since that velociraptor looked creepy when he stared) and he thankfully began the speech for me.

"Welcome, my comrades, to this gathering of the Inter-Dimensional Alliance of Harmony and Order. I am IDAHO chairman Locrio."

Idaho. Dimensional liberty and potatoes had something in common.

"Tonight we are here to honor and officially instate our first Fabric Healer in one thousand years: Amber." He paused and everyone politely applauded. "I apologize for calling this feast on such short notice, but as you know we have much to attend to and the quicker we officially announce the Fabric Healer's arrival, the quicker we can reinforce our dimensional alliances. Just today, Octavia the Witch almost got away with stealing The Fabric Healer's Guide to the Universe." Locrio paused for a moment to allow for the dramatic gasps. "Clearly, The Grand Master knew of Amber's position before we did and is trying to stop her from realizing her powers. We've already had to deal with an unprecedented amount of dissent from the public. For the first time in recorded history, people are doubting the Dimensional Guardians and the Fabric Healer. We must prove to our generation that we are on their side." Locrio looked at me and smiled. "Amber, will you please stand."

I felt like I was about to be inaugurated or something. Actually, Locrio's political sounding speech wasn't all that encouraging and I wasn't sure how I felt about being a political figure either. I stood and glanced around at all the eyes facing me. I took a deep breath and then started my pathetic excuse for a speech.

"Um, I'm Amber." My mouth was dry and everyone looked like they were expecting me to say something profound. "I'm going to save the world. . .and stuff."

Applause. Had I not been shaking from nerves, I would've raised an eyebrow at these people's taste in speeches, but I guess since I was the Fabric Healer anything I said was great no matter how awkward it was.

"I still don't really understand what's going on, but I know that people are in danger. I know that I can do something about that, but I don't know what it is yet." I paused and thought of Natasha. If Molly wasn't so worried about her, I probably wouldn't have cared, but then I wondered how many other people unknowingly had invisible pieces attached to them and how many other pieces of Fabric were unhealthy like the one I saw at Octavia's house. Suddenly, I felt the urge to stop it all and to stop it now. "Even so, I promise to do everything I can to help. If I was meant to do this, then I'll be able to."

I had no confidence in those words, but everyone applauded. Locrio then presented me with a shimmering green cloak. "This is the Fabric Healer's cloak passed down through every Fabric Healer in history from first to last. The previous Fabric Healer to wear this was Jade, who reunited the Inter-Dimensional Alliance of Harmony and Order after a terrible war. It is now yours. Please put it on."

I slipped the cloak around my shoulders and fastened it at the neck. It suddenly grew warm and with a quick flash the color changed from green to a brownish gold. The Fabric in the room became much brighter and I could see better than ever before how the colors on the grid matched the colors of the objects they rested on. White Fabric was on the table cloth, black Fabric was on Molly's dress, gray Fabric was on Locrio's cloak--the stuff was everywhere, but I couldn't see it on anyone's body. I wasn't sure if that meant people didn't have Fabric or if it was just that everyone present was a Dimensional Guardian and therefore special.

"And now, Fabric Healer Amber, here is your instructor. From all the Fabric Healers before you comes The Fabric Healer's Guide to the Universe. Take it, read it, and learn well."

He summoned the massive book from its place high up in the shelves of the library and set it down in my outstretched arms. It wasn't as heavy as I thought it would be, and it didn't feel like it was going to fall apart despite the fact that it looked so old. I thanked him and set it down on the table. We took our seats and Locrio called in the servants to start bringing the food.

It really was a grand feast, but it had the air of a celebration in the midst of a violent storm. I could feel the momentum building as I ate. The world was turning and in theory I had the ability to spin it one way or another. As I looked at all the people enjoying themselves, I couldn't help but speculate at what we would go through together. Yeah, I was definitely going to save the world. . .or something.