3. She’d been on the road for some time, never stopping in one place for long. Her siblings had been with her for some time, but they’d eventually drifted off. Now Hero was a Family Sim without a family, aimless and lonely but driven to keep walking by the compulsion that had sent her away from her home.
4. “ Hey, miss?” Hero jumped and nearly forgot to land again when a woman standing in front of the next shop spoke to her. “ Sorry, what?” said Hero. “ You look kind of lost, young lady. Like you need something new and exciting in your life.”
5. Oh, no, thought Hero as the woman started a spiel that she’d obviously learnt by heart. “ Interdimensional travelling is the new frontier in tourism. Ever wanted to go to Bluewater Village but been held back by the plague? Not a problem! Go to a Bluewater in another universe that’s plague-free! How about Veronaville? In Dimension 68, Titania actually said yes to Oberon! Imagine that!”
6. Hero flinched a little. The saleswoman had inadvertently reopened a barely-healed wound by mentioning Hero’s grandmother and the man who had killed her. Hero’s family had also been intimately involved in the Bluewater Plague.
7. Then she really thought about what the woman was saying. She could go anywhere. Anywhere. Somewhere beyond the reach of the North Forest. Somewhere she could be safe and maybe finally set down some roots. Where, though? Bluewater Village was out of the question. So was Veronaville, Strangetown… so many places.
8. “ Not Bluewater or Veronaville, but… Belladonna Cove?” The saleswoman’s face fell ever so slightly, then perked up again. “Sure! There’s one that’s not so different from here, but,” she evaluated Hero’s obvious mixed alien and elf heritage, “free of the North Forest. Completely.” This made up Hero’s mind. “Count me in. When can I leave?” “ We have a shuttle leaving in about four hours. You’ll need to be back before that, though, since you’ll need a briefing on the rules of causality and such. It’s a pain, but a pain necessary for the fate of the space-time continuum.”
9. “ Fantastic!” Hero grinned broadly, then ran off back to where she’d left the van to grab her suitcase. In her excitement she almost forgot to keep her feet on the ground. The woman watched her go, all trace of her saleswoman’s smile gone.
10. She pulled a small cell phone from her pocket and hit the speed dial.
12. “ You’re sure it’s her?” “ Little blonde, alien eyes, trouble remembering gravity exists? I’m sure.” “ Have you sent her to Dimension 68?” “ Couldn’t do it without breaking cover. She’s going to 84, though, that’s fairly close.” “ Good. I’m on my way – have the express ready.”
13. “ Consider it done.” Raashell flipped the phone shut, and absently brushed at the hair that was covering up her long, pointed ears.
