They were definitely not in Scotland.

Cat showed her new friends a map. There were names of kingdoms on it, and cities, none of which Evelyn and Brianna could recognize. They were apparently in the Capital city of this so-called Kingdom of Terra, which Cat described as “one of the most prosperous kingdoms on this side of the world.” But if it was so prosperous, why hadn’t the others ever heard of it before?

It was Brianna who first realized what was going on. She asked Cat to name her the continents.

“Well, there’s...” Cat counted on her fingers. “Eurasia, Mexica, Incania, Murria and Yorubalia.” With each name she said, Eve’s eyes grew wider. Eurasia? What about the Americas? Or Africa, or, or... what the heck was that about?

“Thought so,” said Brianna. She took a ballpoint pen from her pocket, walked to the table, and started drawing on the map. She drew lines over the land which completely ignored the political divisions of those kingdoms. Rather, Brianna’s lines reshaped the land into some... remarkably familiar shapes.

Evelyn watched, dumbfounded, as her own country emerged from the lines Brianna drew. Everything matched: the mountains, the rivers, the shoreline, everything matched. And in the place where their hometown would be, that’s where the Capital of the Kingdom of Terra was located.

“Holy shit!” exclaimed Evelyn, as it dawned on her. As it turns out, Brianna’s spell hadn’t transported them to a different country. In fact, geographically, they might not have moved an inch. They were simply on a different version of reality.

“I guess finding a way back home is going to be harder than I thought,” Brianna declared. She sighed, and sat down on the mattress again, burying her head in her knees.

“Well, isn’t it better like this?” Eve asked, with uncertainty. “I mean... we’re basically home, already. We won’t have to take a bus or a plane. All we need to do is to figure out how to undo the spell you cast.”

“If you can do that, then please, be my guest,” said Brianna, scornfully.

“I know a way,” said Cat, surprising them both. “If undoing a spell is all you need, you could just consult with a witch. You see, I’m going to see a witch myself, to break my curse. Why don’t you two come along? I’m sure that we could get both our problems solved, that way.”

Evelyn looked at Brianna, to see what she thought of that matter. Her stepsister had both eyes closed, and her head rested against the wall. She seemed to be lost in thought. “Sure,” she said, at last. “I suppose we will. Thanks, Cat.”

Cat smiled, and then bit her bottom lip nervously.

“I mean... there’s just one little problem,” she declared. “You see, I’ve been trying to get out of the castle for a few days now. It’s... been a challenge.”

Evelyn furrowed her brow. “Why? Are you lost?”

Cat snickered. “Oh, nothing like that. I know the way out, it’s getting there that’s the problem. You see, I’m not exactly on very good terms with the castle guards, at the moment. I... might have broken a law or two.”

Eve laughed. “You need help getting the pigs off your scent, sis?” she asked Cat, amused. “Well, I’m down, just say the word.”

Cat furrowed her brow, utterly confused. “What did she say?” she asked Brianna, in a whisper.

“She means she’s a criminal like you,” Brianna explained. “And that she wants to help you.”

“Oh, right...” said Cat, nervously. “Well... that makes things easier... I guess.”

“So, what’s the plan?” Eve asked. Cat nodded, took some large sheets of paper from inside the wooden chest and unfolded them on the table. Blueprints. Cool.

“There’s three ways out of the castle,” she explained. “The main gates are heavily guarded. Nobody gets in or out unseen. It’s not really an option, unless you can get rid of the guards. Now, here...” she pointed at another section of the blueprints, “...are the service doors. The main gates are for the noblesse, most of the castle staff only ever uses these other doors. It’s also how they get food and supplies into the castle. Not too many guards, I suppose, but there’s still all of the castle staff to get past. And finally...” she switched blueprints. “...there’s the sewers.”

“Which is where you found us,” Brianna completed.

“Exactly,” said Cat. “Now, normally there wouldn’t be any guards down there. But it seems the King has put more people on patrol after... well, me, to be honest. So now there’s three guards stationed in the sewers at all times.”

Eve chuckled. “They really want you, huh?”

“You have no idea,” Cat replied, sighing.

“Why don’t they patrol the corridors, then?” Eve wondered.

“They do,” Cat explained, “but I have my tricks. Just in case you’re wondering, we’ve passed by four guards today, on our way back to this room. You never saw them, and they never saw you, because we kept to the shadows, like I told you to.” Eve looked at her with incredulity, and the taller girl guessed exactly what Eve was about to ask. “Yes, it’s sorcery,” Cat declared. “But it only works in the innermost areas of the castle. It would be wonderful if I could use it to get out, but I can’t.”

“Can’t you escape as a cat?”

Cat laughed. “I wish. My f– I mean, the King has ordered the entire guard to bring any stray cats found in the castle directly to him. His Majesty is one of the very few people who are aware of my curse.”

“So you were trying to escape through the sewers tonight, right?” Brianna asked. “And you couldn’t because of the patrols, so you came back?” Cat nodded at both of her questions.

“It’s not too simple,” said Cat. “But maybe we could create some sort of distraction, long enough for us to slip through.”

Brianna smiled deviously. “Don’t worry,” she said, “I have a better idea.”

—

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Eve whispered. She and Brianna were wearing servants’ uniforms, with aprons and everything. Eve walked by her stepsister’s side while the blonde pushed a service trolley down the castle corridors.

“Trust me, I saw this in a movie,” Brianna whispered back. Eve scoffed. If anything, this made her even more uncertain about the whole thing.

“What’s a movie?” Cat asked them from inside the trolley. They both shushed her.

The three of them got through the great hall just fine. The people there didn’t so much as glance at them. Brianna fit right in. She strode with confidence, but also discretion, and seemed to have basically incorporated the identity of a handmaid. For the less attentive eyes, she might even be able to blend into her surroundings. Whereas Evelyn stood out much more. She had removed the nose ring, and the long sleeves of that uniform helped hide her tattoos, but there wasn’t much you could do about that hair. Judging by the curious looks she was getting, Eve figured undercuts and green hair weren’t a very popular style in the kingdom.

They were almost at the service doors when a tall man decided to stop them. He was one of those prim and proper types, and was wearing a staff uniform. But his cravat was black rather tna white, and his buttons and cufflinks were gold. Evelyn took that to mean that he belonged to a higher level of hierarchy among castle servants.

“Halt,” he said. Brianna begrudgingly stopped the trolley, and Evelyn remained still by her side. The man squinted his eyes at them. “I don’t remember you,” he said.

“We... are new, sir,” Brianna replied. “We just started this very morning, sir.”

The man considered that information for a moment. Evelyn could barely breathe. He was going to see right through them, she knew.

Evelyn saw him smirk in contempt. “I suppose with all this turmoil in the castle, Lady Dahlia may have forgotten to fill me in on all the new apprentices,” he said, mostly to himself. “I’ll ask her about it, in the evening. Now, tell me your names.”

“I’m Bri—” Brianna stopped herself short. What’s wrong? Evelyn thought. It’s not like anyone would figure out who they were from their names, right? But… maybe she intended to give him a false alias? “Bree,” she continued. “My name is Bree, sir. And this is my stepsister... Gertrude.”

Oh, how Evelyn wanted to kill Brianna, then.

“I’m Gertrude, sir,” she told him, while glaring daggers at her stepsister.

“Your accents are peculiar,” the man remarked. “I take it you’re not from these parts.”

Oops. Of course he would catch on to that.

“Err, no,” Eve told him.

“We’re not, sir,” said Brianna.

“We’re from...”

“The North.”

“The South.”

Eve winced. She and Brianna had just contradicted each other.

“We have lived in many places, sir,” Brianna argued. There was no way in tarnation this guy wasn’t going to realize they were lying, was there?

But to their surprise, it seemed there was.

“I suppose this explains the accents,” the man said. “You, girl,” he pointed at Brianna, “seem like a competent young lady. You, on the other hand,” he said then, pointing at Evelyn, “...I shall have to talk to Lady Dahlia about your case. We really must be short-staffed if she’s hiring riffraff like you. And goodness, what have you done to your hair?”

The trolley rumbled, of its own accord. Both girls’ hearts skipped a beat. The man furrowed his brow, and looked at them sideways. This is it, Eve thought. It’s over. Damn, she knew it had been a terrible plan right from the start. She even started contemplating the idea of tackling the man, then, so that Brianna and Catherine could make a run for it.

The man opened the trolley doors. His eyebrows went up with surprise, and he took a black cat from inside.

Seriously, Cat?

“Now... what is the meaning of this?” the man asked, sounding severely displeased.

Brianna stuttered. “I– I’m terribly sorry, sir. This is my mother’s cat. It escaped her house this morning, and followed me to the castle. I suppose that’s just how much the little critter adores me.”

Cat stared at Brianna, and Eve could swear she saw a look of incredulity in the feline’s eyes. If they hadn’t been in such a delicate situation, she probably would have laughed. Brianna took no notice of it.

“I was just about to take it back to my old mother, sir,” said the blonde. “Oh, my poor mother! Ever since my father died, this critter has been her only companion.”

The man looked between the black cat and Brianna a few times. “Fine,” he relented. “But make it quick. And this cat has better not come back here anymore, or I’ll make sure that you two don’t come back here anymore.”

“I understand,” said Brianna, with visible relief. “Thank you, sir.”

The man dropped Cat on Brianna’s arms as if he was disposing of a dead raccoon. Brianna and Evelyn started walking toward the doors.

“No, no, no,” said the man, stopping the girls in their tracks. “Just Miss Bree. There’s no reason this should require two people. You, Gertrude, are coming with me. We’re going to do something about that hair of yours.”

Evelyn whimpered.