ARWIN

  There was an indefinite period of nothingness. Then bright sunlight blinded Arwin. He rocked and rolled in his seat as the car sped through the musical blue field. Instinctively, he slammed on the brakes and twisted the wheel. The car swerved, slid sideways, and came to a halt a hand’s breadth from the bluebeard tree.

  The aristocratic little man living inside the tree opened the door, poked his head out, frowned, cursed until he was blue in the face, and then slammed the door.

  Arwin quietly sat in the car seat. Heart pounding, he tried to bring his thoughts into order.

  He’d been trying to rescue those people. Then there’d been the fire. Then, the blue screen of death. He remembered dying.

  And yet here he was. Why?

  It must’ve been pure luck. His hand must have hit the restart button just in time, and now he’d restarted. Yet he felt no joy, not even relief. It didn’t feel like a victory. After all, he’d died.

  He felt shaken to the core. It was difficult to think. His hands trembled on the wheel.

  Looking out the car window in a daze, everything was just like it had been when he’d first arrived in this world. He climbed out of the car. A bluestone gave a despondent cry, just like it had before. There was the sandalwood tree full of sandals. The field of blue grass made soulful music as the wind blew through it.

  He felt himself falling once more into depression, that familiar, sinking feeling he was becoming all too used to.

  Was this the sum total of who he was in life: a failure? He’d failed to keep his ex-girlfriend’s love and someone’s friendship. He’d failed at living the life expected of him, the life so many others seemed to throw themselves into without question. Coming here, he’d failed to help or protect Bleu and Aoi. Then he’d failed once more with the collared workers.

  Maybe he should give up on everything. What was the point of trying in life if it only led to so much disaster and pain? He’d been restarted in this world out of nothing but luck. Perhaps this was life’s way of telling him to turn around and go home. He’d get a regular job and live a normal life, even if it was alone and miserable.

  A spark of anger flared from within the darkness coalesced around his heart.

  He growled, “No.” He slammed the car door shut and stalked through the blue field and into the forest, only coming to a stop once he’d left the melancholy area behind.

  He stopped amidst the trees and looked up through a space between the branches. There was no smoke over the forest, so the fire hadn’t happened. Probably, all the blue-collar workers were still alive and well. The white collars and the mooner and the belles were hopefully alive and well, too.

  He looked up at the brilliant sky and contemplated the fluffy white clouds floating by. A pair of griffins soared overhead.

  Arwin knew that he was being negative. He knew that it was depression, disappointment, and pain pushing his thoughts around and that he shouldn’t give in.

  He thought about returning to Earth, about giving up on this strange, fantasy world and going home. He thought about trying to live his old life or some version of it, the life that Kelli had wanted him to lead. Find a corporate career or something and force himself to stick to it. His hands bunched into fists.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  He didn’t want that life. Was it so wrong to want to live differently? Could he stay here, at least for a while, and see what he could make of life in this world?

  He thought about the belles and the collared workers. He’d made mistakes, and people had gotten hurt. But he could go back and do it over, do it better, couldn’t he?

  Coming to this place had been entirely unexpected, but he had been looking for some kind of catalyst in his life, some way to get over his bad breakup. Maybe this place was dangerous. But it was a huge change to his existence. A chance to start down a new path. A chance to regain happiness. He refused to let that chance pass him by, no matter how painful or risky. He’d find a way to endure.

  No. He’d find a way to thrive and be happy.

  He turned his back on the way home and faced the direction of the belles and nobles. He was not going to define himself as a failure. He was going to stay and give things another shot.

  Having made the decision, he felt lighter and happier, enough that he could smile again. Armed with a sense of purpose and determination, he set off.

  He found the blue women where he’d met them previously and felt a powerful sense of relief that they were unharmed. He approached as if it was the first time. Conversation with them played out much as it had before. Soon enough, he was heading back toward Azamont’s lands in search of the magical flowers.

  Tricking the wallflower once more, he scaled the wall and entered the magical botanical garden. This was where he began to do things differently.

  Arwin knew that he needed to get the job done before being discovered. Thankfully, he could move with a great deal more speed now that he was sure of what he was doing.

  Then he sprinted to the wall and threw himself over it.

  Hiding on the other side of the wall, he waited in tense silence until he heard the voices of Azamont and the other nobles on the other side. Luckily, they spoke in calm tones and gave no sign of having noticed Arwin’s intrusion nor the theft of the bluebells. It was safe for Arwin to return to his quest givers.

  Bleu and Aoi smoothly rose to their feet at his approach.

  “Arwin!” Bleu cried.

  “Be not blue, blue belles, for I have your bluebells.” Arwin opened the bag and revealed the contents. Much like the previous time this had happened, both women’s faces brightened.

  Aoi gushed in surprise, “You’ve brought the entire plants! You brilliant man! Now we can plant these anywhere.”

  “And enjoy them anytime.”

  Bleu enthused, “Thank you so much, Arwin.” She picked up half of the sack.

  Aoi insisted, “We should plant these immediately, where they won’t be heard or seen by the nobles.” She tilted her head as she looked at Arwin. “Will you come to Blue Village with us?”

  “Not right now. I’d like to see if I can help free the blue-collar workers first.”

  Bleu gasped and stepped forward. “Free them? Really?”

  “That’s the goal. He grinned and waved, and the three parted ways.

  They both called out after him, “Good luck, Arwin!”

  Arwin made his way towards the forced labour camp of collared workers. He avoided notice and circled around to where they’d discovered the mooner earlier in search of the dental key. He was going to need that key again.

  The mooner, nude as ever, lazily reclined in a mossy hollow at the base of a thick pine tree. A few flies buzzed around him, and he slapped at a mosquito. When he caught sight of Arwin, a brow rose. “Yeah? What you want?”

  Arwin gave the man his best smile. “I need that dental key you keep in a very unusual place.”

  “Huh? How do you—“ The man huffed. “Ain’t givin’ you nothin’, buddy. Beat it.”

  “Hear me out. I’m here to help. Your teeth are extremely rotten. They’re blackening and ready to fall out. I’ll bet they’re something painful, right?”

  The mooner frowned. “Maybe. What’s it ta you?”

  “Rotten teeth can lead to heart disease and early death. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll pull those out for you. It’ll hurt; I won’t deny it. But you’ll end up healthier and much more likely to live longer. And eating won’t be such a painful experience.”

  The mooner looked doubtful but also thoughtful.

  “And,” Arwin added, “getting rid of those nasty, rotten things will probably make your smile a lot more attractive. Not to mention dramatically improve your breath.”

  The mooner grumbled, “All right. Ya convinced me. Let’s git it over with.” He vomited up the dental key.

  Arwin went to work on the blue teeth.

  The mooner screamed and passed out twice but remained determined to see the process through.

  Key and blue teeth in hand, Arwin left the mooner, the latter giggling madly with a bloody mouth and scampering about.