Chapter 145 - How Did You Find Me? (1/2)

Abby was amazed how normal a family life Katie seemed to have considering where they were. All this time she had been worried for nothing.

When they made it to their house, she found that it was a simple dwelling with a kitchen, living room, four bedrooms, and a bathroom. A real bathroom! She thanked her lucky stars for indoor plumbing at last.

”You have a real bathroom!” she practically exclaimed.

Katie laughed and wrapped an arm around her waist because she was too short to reach her shoulders easily. ”I got pretty lucky. Nobles have bathrooms and I insisted on having one when we built our house. I take it you haven't seen a real toilet since leaving home?”

”Not one,” Abby said ruefully.

”You poor thing! How did you adjust? And how did you find me? Start from the beginning; I want to hear everything.”

Al had already left to put the toddler down for his nap but everyone else was seated in the cozy living room as Abby began her story, starting all the way back with how she hadn't been able to handle her sister's death so she went through all of her old stuff.

Al came in and sat down around the time she got to ending up in Shibatsu. He didn't have a clue what was going on and looked to his wife for elaboration.

As Mariela predicted, Katie was amused by how she had literally changed the story. ”…apparently I changed the entire novel back home. The words themselves changed because of the things I did. Abby tracked down the author, who was apparently the only other person who had noticed the switch, and got her to write a line in the end of her copy of the book that transported her to Shibatsu.”

Al snorted. ”Well that's one mystery solved. You did wonder what happened with the author.”

Katie shrugged. ”Now I know. I'm more interested to know how Abby managed to get all the way here.”

”I couldn't have done it without Blaise,” Abby admitted. He jolted slightly when his name was mentioned and she continued. ”I was found by one of his colleagues, another Warrior-in-training. We got friendly during the time I spent there saving up to sail to Annalaias.

”After passing his exam he decided to come with me as a practice run for being a bodyguard and here we are. I wouldn't have made it all this way without him; he jumped overboard to save me when I got swept off the deck by a huge wave.”

Katie gasped and laid a hand on her sister's arm. ”That must have been so scary! I'm so glad that you're okay…and that you're here. I still can't believe it. You found the novel I got stuck in and came after me. What about your life back home? Do you have a way to get back there?”

Abby was offended her sister even thought she would want to go back now that she found her. Especially after all the effort she had put into getting here. She didn't care about the life she left behind! It had been empty and meaningless without knowing Katie was only a text or phone call away.