*Elle's POV*

I woke to the sound of someone shouting. It was a girl, but different from the usual female shouting I heard. I wasn't sure how long Marcus— or Marcellus, I guess his name is— had had me locked up here, but in that time I'd heard so much shouting. Obviously, some girl here really got upset when things didn't go her way.

I'd heard shouting about a dress being the wrong size, shouting about what was served for dinner, and even— more recently— shouting about a dragon. This shouting, however, was much more relatable.

"I said let me go!" The girl shrieked, her voice growing louder. "Take me back to the palace this instant! I will not stand for this kind of treatment!"

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, wondering what time it was. It was hard to tell in this windowless dungeon. As the shouts came closer, I pushed myself off the cot I'd been occupying and walked over to the door of the small room, curious about the commotion.

Just as I reached the door it swung open, and a girl in a green ball gown was tossed in. She stumbled and tripped over the hem of her gown, falling in a heap on the floor.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, feeling a bit stupid. Obviously, whatever was going on, she definitely wasn't okay. I held a hand out to her, but she stood quickly on her own.

She brushed the dirt from her gown and put her hands on her hips, glaring at Marcellus, who I hadn't even realized was standing in the doorway.

Following her example, I straightened up and glared at him as well.

Marcellus only smiled. "Elle, you're awake, good. This is Princess Rainette of Lumina, your new roommate for the time being." He bowed mockingly to her and she scoffed, turning her head to scowl at the wall. "I would love to explain what's going on, but I need to report to Seraphim. I'll be back after that, probably, so you can take this time to get to know Rainette. As you can see, the princess is a bit temperamental, so good luck with that." Without another word he shut the door, once again trapping me in darkness.

Well, at least no I wasn't alone.

I turned to look at the girl— Princess Rainette, he'd called her.— She seemed younger than me, but she was also quite a bit taller than me. Of course, I was short. She stood motionless with her arms wrapped around herself, her glare still fixed on the rough stone wall.

"Uh... hi," I said, trying to be friendly. "Your name's Rainette? That's cool. There was a character on an episode of Doctor Who with a name close to that, but I didn't like her because she was totally trying to steal the Doctor away from Rose. Of course, I won't judge you for that, since it's only a name... and she's fictional." Obviously, being locked up with no one to talk to for the past four-ish days had taken a toll on my already pitiful people-skills.

The Princess finally turned her attention away from the wall to stare incredulously at me. "You're a bit of a simpleton, aren't you?"

After a beat of silence, I nodded seriously. "It would appear so."

Despite the insulting thing she'd just said, Princess Rainette smiled. "You can call me Raini," She said, "What's your name?"

"Elle," I replied.

"Of?"

I thought about the question for a second. Should I try and make a location up or just tell her the truth. "Pennsylvania," I answered. I was sick of lying.

Raini tilted her head, "Pennsylvania? I'm not familiar with it. Is it near Gallifrey?"

I blinked, caught off guard. Did they have Doctor Who here? "Um... no."

Raini pursed her lips and nodded, seeming bothered by something. "Well," she sighed, "I suppose it doesn't matter anyway. We are here now, no doubt at the mercy of that vile Lady Jacintha."

Maggie! She's seen Maggie! My eyes widened and I all but shouted, "You know Lady Jacintha?"

"Unfortunately," Raini grumbled. She moved to sit on the edge of the cot, perching perfectly straight and dignified, before seemingly remembering where she was. Her shoulders sagged. "If your Pennsylvania is nowhere near Gallifrey, how are you familiar with that woman?"

Confused and slightly offended by the disgusted tone Raini used whenever referring to Maggie's alter ego, I answered harsher than I meant to. "She's my best friend, practically my sister."

Raini laughed coldly, "And yet she's got you locked up as well?"

I shook my head, "This isn't Mag... Lady Jacintha's doing, it's King Seraphim's. Jacintha would never side with him, she's too good."

"Good!" Raini shouted, rising so suddenly from the cot that I stumbled back a few steps. "Good? I don't know who you're speaking of, Lady Elle, but it's obviously not Jacintha. She killed my mother!"

"...what?"

"She. Killed. My. Mother!" Raini repeated, emphasizing each word individually. Her brown eyes, which at first glance had looked warm and innocent, now glinted with a wisdom and thirst for vengeance well beyond her years. "She played her role so convincingly. Stole the heart of my brother in moments, deceived even I into thinking I'd gained a friend, and then once she'd won us over so completely, she took away all we'd ever had! Her dragon destroyed our palace in order for that monster to make her escape, and while I mourned my mother her charming friend lulled me into a strange sleep and carted me off here. Lady Jacintha is evil!"

Her words were cut off by a pitiful sob and before my eyes the vengeful princess transformed into nothing more than a sad, scared young girl. She shrank back onto the cot, her body shaking lightly.

I wanted to comfort her, but no matter how I played the scene out in my head it just didn't add up. With the way Raini described her, all I could picture was a heartless, power-hungry woman, laughing wickedly as she soared off on the back of a dragon. There was so much wrong with that.

First of all, even if it were possible, Maggie would never own a pet dragon. She'd always hated lizards and anything even remotely reptilian. Along with that, she was just as scared of heights as I was. It was bad enough for me when I rode inside the plane— imagine flying outside of it!

And Raini referred to Marcellus as Maggie's friend? I knew the types of people Mags associated with— Me! —and I knew for a fact that if she knew Marcellus, she would despise him. She wouldn't want to associate with him, let alone be friends with him.

I shook my head furiously. "No, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry all of this happened to you, but that can't be right. You've got the wrong girl."

Raini looked up at me, her eyes red and puffy. "Or maybe you don't know your friend as well as you think you do."

Her words unnerved me, but not as much as my thoughts. What if she's right? What if a month here has completely changed Maggie into a person I wouldn't even recognize? Would this new Maggie be capable of manipulating others? Would she have it in her to murder a queen in cold blood? Shaken, I changed the subject. "Where were you taken from?" I asked Raini.

"Lumina," she responded, her face wilting into her hands.

Oh! "You're Casimir's sister," I realized. Casimir was a familiar character from the Shadows of Light series, as he was the main character from the second game. He was the son of King Jareth, the main character from the first game, and followed in his father's footsteps perfectly. In the game he was a wonderful prince, suave and collected, and wise beyond his years. How had Mags reacted to meeting him, I wondered?

"Yes," Raini smiled a tiny bit, though it was a sad smile. She didn't ask how I knew about him, but then again, he was the prince; everyone knew about him.

I sighed, finally sitting on the cot beside Raini. "You know he's going to come for you, right?"

"Yes," she said again, nodding, but then suddenly she burst into a fresh fit of tears. "But I don't want him to!"

Confused, I asked "You don't want to be rescued?"

She shook her head frantically, "Don't you think that's what she wants? Why else would she have me kidnapped if not to lure Cas to rescue me?"

Her logic made sense, but not her wording, "She?"

"Jacintha, of course!"

Aaand we were back to that. Obviously, I'd have to tell Raini everything in order for her to understand that Mags would never kill someone. "Look, Raini, I know you think it was Jacintha that killed your mom but—"

"I saw her, Lady Elle." Raini moaned into her hands, clearly as fed up with this as I was.

"But Lady Jacintha isn't even her real name. And she— we —aren't even from this world," I continued over her interruption.

Raini slowly turned to face me, her eyebrows raised in silent question.

Am I going to cause a paradox? I wondered, by telling a video game character about the game they're from? "Jacintha's real name is Maggie. Maggie Darrow. We found this realm on accident one day just a little over a month ago— In my back yard, actually— and someone from here came and kidnapped Maggie in the middle of the night. I've been trying to reach her since then to bring her home. She's a very normal teenage girl, I swear." Normal as a multi-fandom gamer girl can be, I mentally noted, "She cried once when we were twelve and she accidentally stepped on a grasshopper she'd named Sir Jumpsalot. She not only wouldn't have killed your mom, she physically couldn't have."

Pleased with my speech, I smiled, but my smile fell when from the now open doorway Marcellus laughed.

"What now?" I glared.

Marcellus shook his head, still laughing quietly. "Nothing, nothing. It's just ironic." Before I had a chance to question him, he held up the bundle of fabric he was holding. "I brought a change of clothes for the princess." Marcellus shrugged, then turned his attention to Raini. "It might be a bit big on her, I had to make do with what I could find. Our seamstress has apparently gone awol."

"I will remain in my gown," Raini sniffed, fixing Marcellus with another glare. She could glare at him all she wanted, because that jerk definitely deserved it.

"Suit yourself," Marcellus shrugged. He set the bundle of clothing on the edge of the cot and leaned ever-so-casually against one of the walls of the small room, seeming completely unbothered by the fact that both girls in this room would happily dismember him if given the opportunity.

Silence hung in the air, and I took that opportunity to ask the question that had been bothering me since Marcellus had arrived. "What's ironic?"

"Hm?" He responded quickly, but then he registered what I was asking and his smug smile slid into place. "Oh, just the fact that you-- the one with the least amount of information on the happenings of this Realm-- were defending Jacintha's actions to the girl who's been most effected by them."

"But I'm telling the truth, Maggie could never kill anyone!" I insisted.

Marcellus chuckled, "She could and she did. I mixed the poison myself."

I shook my head, my throat tightening with tears and uncertainty. "You're lying."

"I don't know how to say this in simpler terms, Miss Carter." Marcellus spoke slowly, "I gave Jacintha two glasses, she had complete control over which to give the queen, and she knew death would be the result of the glass meant for the queen. She made the choice of which glass to give Amaranth, and she had an escape method prepared."

I shook my head as he spoke, refusing to accept it. He was lying, he had to be. "Maggie would never."

"Maybe Maggie wouldn't, but a month cam change someone more than you might expect. Magdalyn Darrow, your innocent friend, is long gone. Jacintha Carlyle, the murderer, is running rampant. And we need your help to stop her."

My head was spinning. This couldn't be true... but could it?

Mags, where are you? ...Who are you?