Chapter 1

Cassidy waited in that room for a few hours, she could tell that thanks to her phone, watching the hours tick by, as well as watching her phone battery drain. Why didn't she spring for the battery pack...? Cause she was stupid enough to think 'I don't need it! this is a new phone!' She groaned a bit at the stupidity of her past self. She grumbled a bit to herself about how stupid it was to think she didn't need it. Granted, it seemed her battery drained faster, probably trying to find a signal somehow. She did try some of her offline apps, mainly trying to pass the time. though that was draining her battery even faster. At this point, she really didn't care. "Plus, if they are just extravagent larpers, one of them probably has a phone with their stuff in a locker room.." She mumbled as she still sliced the fruit on screen. It almost seemed like they had forgotten about her. She was about to get up and start knocking on the door to see what was going on, when the sliding doors slid open to reveal a man with a rather regal looking kimono. He stepped into the room, flanked by guards, and followed by a young woman who looked absolutely terrified. Judging by her clothes, she was a lower class. Maybe a merchant or something?? The man in the regal kimono sat down opposite her at the table, his look unreadable. Though, and Cassidy wasn't sure, she thought she saw some sort of curiosity in his eyes. He said something in Japanese that Cassidy couldn't understand. He looked at the girl who sat in between him and her. "W-who are you?" The girl stumbled through the English, she didn't seem like she had been speaking the language long. "Cassidy Bishop." She answered, slowly so the Girl could get the sounds. He asked another question. "U..Um... How...." she paused trying to remember how to say it, "How did you get here??" "I... Don't know." she could tell by the look on the mans face that he could understand that, and he didn't seem to like it. Oh Cassidy really hoped that this wouldn't end with her getting her head cut off. She rather liked her head attached to her body. "I'm sorry." "...." The man spoke a bit more, for a little more, seeming to be more questions. "Where are you from..? Your clothes are..." The girl paused to remember the word, "Strange, for English speaker." "Um. America." Cassidy said, figuring short sentences would be the best way to go about this. This was all too weird, and her heart was already in her stomach with the notion that this was actually happening. That these weren't just... Elaborate larpers."I.. Don't think I am from this time." She could now hear the word magic being thrown about. Cassidy didn't know if it was magic or not. All she knew is that this wasn't.. Right. She had been just exploring the ruins of this manor before she thought she heard someone drowning and went to help them. Now that she looked at the guy though, she realized something... **He looked just like the noble lord from the castle guide book**. "...."She worried the inside of her cheek. This wasn't good. The Man, who she now assumed was the Lord Hidone, held up his hands for silence as he stewed over everything he had just learned. "......." He then spoke again. Judging by the noises the surrounding people made, it seemed to surprise them. The girl even more so. the Lord looked at the girl, expecting her to translate. So, she did. "The Great Lord Hidone asks you to stay here then. Until we can get you home. Even though you saved his son, you-you must earn your keep... W-... What can you do??" "..." Cassidy didn't expect that. She didn't even have time to think on it. She just said the first thing that came to her mind, " Teach English!" That seemed to give the Lord something to think about. And he nodded, saying something more. The girl translated. "Then you will be my son's teacher. Since you will need help in the manor, this merchant girl will be your servant. "and with that, the Lord stood and left the room. The girl still seemed shocked, but there was an underlying happiness.. The guards said something again, and she just smiled.. "... Please follow us to your room." She said, standing as did Cassidy. Cassidy couldn't help but feel a bit bad as she followed them. It was obvious this wasn't what this girl had planned, but she seemed happy. Then again, being in a nobles house, you probably had a chance to get higher in the world. So, maybe this wouldn't be too bad..?? As they came to the, admittedly, rather nice looking room. The guards left her and her servant, god that was a weird thought, in the room. She bowed to Cassidy, "Thank you for this chance to move up. I am Miyajima Nao. I hope to serve well, Bishop!" "Um.. Please, call me Cassidy." Cassidy said, honestly a bit awkwardly. She couldn't really believe that she was here. A small part of her was still really hoping this was a dream. How the world could she have been sent back in time?! What about her parents? Her family and friends?? Would they even know what happened to her? Or did she just. Disappear from her current time, erased as if she was just.. A mistake..?? She sighed, kneeling down, putting her face in her hands. Nao was quick to kneel by her, "Are you ill Bi.. Cassidy?" Nao asked, even though she seemed a bit awkward at calling Cassidy by her first name, it was what her higher up requested. "No.. I'm just... Tired." "I'll set up your bed! I'm sure they'll drop off a schedule for you tomorrow. I'll try and translate it!" "..Thank you Nao." ------ Surprisingly, Cassidy slept rather well, normally she was waking up every few hours, but not this time.... But she still woke up feeling exhausted... Maybe it was just her passing out from adrenaline. She didn't know. All she knew was that she felt like she got hit by a truck. She partly hoping that when she opened her eyes, she'd be back in her hotel room, or even a hospital room. but.. Nope. It was the same, admittedly, beautiful room that she had fallen asleep in after Nao had made sure she was comfortable. Nao being her 'servant' was a whole other can of worms anyway. One she would have to deal with, but she was grateful to have someone to help her through this. Nao bought in food, a simple breakfast it looked like. At least Cassidy wasn't allergic to anything... And at least she ate pretty much everything except brussel sprouts and she was pretty sure those weren't in like 18th century Japan. When Cassidy was able to use the chopsticks without help, Nao smiled brightly. "You can use chopsticks! That is great!" She said, setting down her own. She then pulled out another box, this one large. "And here! Clothes! It is a kimono. You cannot walk around in those strange clothes.. You'll stick out too much. I will help you put it on!" 'Not like I don't already stick out..' Cassidy thought, but nodded. Again, she found herself being grateful for Nao's help. She had been going to rent a kimono after she had gotten done with the ruins. Well. That still checks another thing off her list of things she was going to do in Japan. "Thank you, Nao." Nao then pulled out a sheet of paper. "This will be your schedule with the Prince! Lord Hidone request you do two lessons a day with him." She said as she handed the paper to Cassidy. "Today, you're allowed to gather your energy since a lot has happened for you. So, we can go to the library and collect materials! As well as get acquainted with the castle." Cassidy quirked an eyebrow, "You are much more confident speaking than you were yesterday." "Well. Getting called to the Lords house was shocking and confusing, even more so to be told that I was moving up to the Lord's house. No longer just a Merchant girl." Nao smiled, "Even if I am a servant of someone from a different time, apparently. It's still more than I could hope for. With my father, I could only hope for a marriage to get me away from my family. But now, I am far away from them!" She spoke as if it was the simplest thing in the world. ".... Cassidy." She still sounded awkward using Cassidy's first name. "Yes?" She asked, putting down the rice bowl to take a sip of the tea provided. "I noticed you holding onto a strange book yesterday. What was that??" Cassidy pursed her lips. That was the guidebook about Hidone Castle. But... Should she show them?? Wouldn't that risk messing up time or something?? It.. Couldn't hurt, right? She pulled her bag over from the bed side table. Her phone, and other things were in there. Her phone was long since dead now, so no use in pulling that out... "It's a guidebook." She said as she pulled it from her bag, handing to Nao so she could look at it. "Where I came from, this castle... it was in ruins pretty much. No one apparently knows the true reason it fell to ruins." Nao flicked through it, seeing what she could read. "...Huh.. We... Probably should not show the others in the castle this.. Yes?" "Probably a good idea." Cassidy nodded. She pulled out the other guide book, this one having phrases that were easily translated. "There's also this one. I'll probably keep it with me until I'm better at Japanese.. It has some simple phrases translated." She handed it Nao, so she could read that one too. "Oh fantastic!" Nao smiled, "This will help you a lot I think. I can try and teach you some Japanese? We can do it during your off periods with the Prince!" Maybe she would be friends with Nao. She seemed so helpful, and so willing to try and make stuff easier for Cassidy. She couldn't ask for anyone better. Not that she would. Cause having a servant still admittedly weirded her out. Sure, her parents were rich, but... They never 'showed off'. Cassidy lived in a simple house with them, had to do chores to get an allowance, but was encouraged to go for whatever made her happy. Even if she struggled in school, they worked hard to get her diagnosis of ADHD too.. They did everything they could to help her, such as helping her travel to decide where she wanted to teach. She hoped they were ok... And she really hoped that whatever happened to her, just... Erased her from the present, or well. Future. That way at least, her parents wouldn't be sad. She was making herself sad again, so she shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts, "Well then Nao, I'm glad to have someone who seems like such a great teacher already." She smiled and Nao smiled back. "Of course!" Nao said, "I'll be helping you however I can, Cassidy!" ---- Cassidy's day had been fairly easy. She and Nao went to the library, and gathered some materials to start teaching the Prince English. Nao also told her names of places in the castle, and the Prince's name. Hiroshi. Seemed he was a quiet boy anyway. At least, that's what Nao had been able to get from the other workers in the Manor. It seemed Hiroshi was a bit.... Different.. But Lord Hidone was fiercely protective over his son and did not condone others speaking badly of him. "Well. Here's hoping teaching will help him." Cassidy said as she finished writing down the English ABC's. Them and the phonetic sounds were as good a place to start as any. She hadn't written with a brush before, so it was interesting seeing how her hand writing transferred to that. She made a mental reminder to check how many pens she had in her bag. Thank god she always bought more pens from every shop she was in. So, if anything, she had a precious supply of ink pens. Though she'd only use them if she really struggled in reading her hand writing via the brush. 'Plus,' She thought as she set the paper over to dry in the sunlight, ' Less chance of me messing up stuff in the timeline.' ---- Later, night had fallen, Cassidy still had the door to her room open so she could see into the garden. It really was beautiful. She hadn't had the time the other day to check it out, considering what had happened. So, now, she was finally able to actually just. Look at it. She could see fireflies starting to come out. "...." She stood, "Nao, let's catch fireflies." Nao tilted her head. "I'm sorry?" Cassidy took her hands, "Come on~ Let's catch some. It's always fun." "I-I wh-... ok...!" Nao said as she followed Cassidy outside. Soon, both of them were giggling and laughing as they caught and released the little glowing bugs. "Oh I haven't done this since I was a child! Father always said you had to leave childish things behind...!"Nao giggled as she watched two of the little bugs crawl on her hand before flying off. Cassidy laughed, "As someone from my time said, When I became a man, I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be grown up. It's ok to have 'childish' fun every once in a while~!" She said as she cupped her hand around the small bug again to bring it down so she could see it. The two caught some more before Nao nudged her and bowed a bit, Cassidy quickly mimicked her, seeing Lord Hidone. When he returned it both still giggling a bit went back into Cassidy's room. "Ehehhe~" Cassidy laughed a bit, "That was fun. It's good to be childish every once in a while." she said looking at Nao. "Yeah.. "Nao nodded, still smiling as she shut the door to Cassidy's room, "it is~!" ------ The next day, Hiroshi's first lesson was going to be after breakfast, in that same room that they had made her wait in when she first got here. Cassidy and Nao went to make sure it was all set up properly while they waited for him. While they waited, Nao told Cassidy some of what she found out about the young prince. "He apparently really likes anything related to the sea. They had to copy the books for him from the library, because he refused to bring them back." Nao said as she doubled checked the list of things Cassidy wanted to work on in this lesson. "Maybe we can make it about the sea, and stuff related to it? That might make him more apt to pay attention, I suppose." Cassidy nodded, "That should be easy enough. I'll start with only the first four letters for this lesson, then the next four for the next and so on. That way we get a handle on the alphabet first." Soon, the young prince came in. Both Cassidy and Nao introduced themselves, Nao helping in translation. "" Cassidy smiled as she pulled out the letter cards she had made, "" When Nao translated her question, the boy was hesitant, but Nao suggested a word and he repeated it with a nod. "" Nao asked with a smile. Cassidy nodded, "< That is does! So A for Anchor. B for......?>" She held up the corresponding letter card. ...... Soon, they had the prince singing along with them to their ABCs that they had right now. So far it was a for anchor, b for boat, c for crab and d for dock. Seemed making it more about the sea made the boy more interested as each passing minute he seemed to be sitting up straighter and trying to listen more whenever Cassidy spoke. "" Cassidy said, getting the papers to help with this lesson with Nao still translating. When time was up, Hiroshi almost didn't want to leave it seemed. He wanted to learn more English. "We'll have another lesson before dinner, ok?" Nao said. Hiroshi nodded excitedly and bowed slightly, which they returned, before he left. Cassidy laughed a bit, "That went better than expected. I need to write down the whole alphabet like this then. Let's see if we can make this aquatic alphabet.. Hmmmm... I think I have another idea too. I'll draw it up after lunch. Rewards help in my time too, so just in case making it all sea based doesn't do the trick, having something to get at the end will help too." "What will you draw then??" Nao asked as she helped Cassidy gather their materials to put on the shelf since this would now be their English room. "A sea turtle. I really hope I remember how to draw them from memory ahaha~" Cassidy said as she began to draw the turtle, trying to make it as if it was swimming so that it would look prettier. Luckily for her, it seemed to work pretty well. At least, that's what Nao said, but maybe she was just being nice. The real test was when it was given to Hiroshi after his last lesson of the day. "It's a gift for doing so well!" Said Cassidy, smiling as Nao translated it. When the boy opened the folded paper and smiled so brightly, Cassidy knew she had done well. He kept talking about it, she could tell that much at least, and was showing it to his guard. This was the most excited she had seen this boy so far and she had to admit it made her heart sore. It made her heart sore even more when he gave a small bow and said thank you. Nao assured him it was no problem and soon the boy rushed off with his guard so he could get to dinner. Cassidy laughed a bit as she helped Nao to clean up their little classroom. "I'm going to have to get better at drawing sea creatures. Maybe I can make him a puzzle with these pictures.. In my time we have things called infinity puzzles, where no matter how you put the pictures together, it finishes the puzzle..." "Oh that sounds like fun! If you do that, may I help you??" Nao asked as she made sure the papers were put securely on the shelf before she and Cassidy would go back to her room to get dinner themselves. "Of course! I'll need all the help I can get if I'm gonna have a drawing for him at the end of each day, ehehe~ maybe next time we can do jellyfish?? They can be all sorts of colors though..." "Oh I can get us some colored paints! That way we can add some.... Oh what is that word.... Spark??" "That's right! Spark... I think that'd be really nice for him." Cassidy smiled as they walked, the air turning a bit chillier as it was starting to go from day to night. She looked up at the moon, finding her mind drifting back to her parents. Did they even know??? Did anyone even know that she wasn't in the right time anymore??? If anyone did... Was there even anything they could do to help her? She felt herself getting sad again. She missed her mom, her dad. The hugs her parents would give her. She missed her cat Snowball and the way he'd shed all over her favorite hoodie. She missed smelling her moms roses outside her window-.. "Cassidy..?" Nao's voice ripped her from those sad thoughts. "Are you ok?" Nao asked, looking concerned. "Are you... Thinking about your family..??" "...." Cassidy's throat was really dry. She realized tears were brimming in her eyes. She was quick to bring up her hand to wipe them, but Nao stopped her. "If you're sad, Cassidy... Be sad." Nao said, "My mother always said it's never good to hold tears in as if you are a dam... Because every dam can break under enough pressure." Cassidy let out a wet giggle, "Your mom is smart." She sniffled, ".... Do the kitchens have sweet things..? Like... Chocolate??? Or just sugar...?"She smiled a bit as Nao patted her hand. "I'll check. But lets get you to your room first yeah? You need to get comfortable if you're going to be sad." Nao said. "Miyajima Nao, where have you been all my life? I needed a bestie like you in the future...." "What does Bestie, mean?" "A great friend.." "Well. Now I can be your 'bestie' here!"