Chapter 1: A Glitch in the System
Chapter 1: A Glitch in the System
Roxie Bennett had always prided herself on being a master of problem-solving. Whether it was fixing a malfunctioning toaster or rebooting an ancient desktop computer, she could always find a way. But as the walls of her tiny workshop crumbled around her, and the control panel on her teleportation device short-circuited for the third time that week, even her ingenuity had its limits.
The problem, of course, was her overzealous enthusiasm. Roxie had been toying with the idea of a teleportation machine for years now, imagining the possibilities of intergalactic travel. The problem wasn’t so much her knowledge—she had that in spades—but rather her inability to follow basic guidelines. Who needed instructions when you could just “make it work”?
And so, one fateful evening, Roxie decided to test her latest prototype. It was supposed to be a quick trip—just a few feet across the room to test the spatial accuracy. But of course, her impatience got the best of her, and she ended up making a few… modifications.
It was supposed to be a short jump.
Instead, the entire room spun in a dizzying blur of color and sound, and with an earsplitting crack, the floor vanished beneath her feet.
“Whoa—this is definitely not Earth!” Roxie blurted, eyes wide as she found herself plummeting through a swirling vortex of blue light and flashing images. It felt as though time itself was warping, squeezing her between dimensions. For a brief, terrifying moment, she thought she might be stuck in an endless loop of teleportation.
Then, with a sudden lurch, the world snapped back into focus.
She landed with an ungraceful thud, her body crumpling onto a cold marble floor. Roxie groaned and pushed herself up, blinking to clear the dizziness. The air around her was thick with an unfamiliar scent—sweet, almost like jasmine, with a faint metallic undertone. As her vision cleared, her jaw dropped.
She was no longer in her cluttered workshop.
She was… somewhere else entirely.
Tall columns rose high above her, their white stone intricate with gold filigree that shimmered in the soft light. Luxurious tapestries adorned the walls, depicting scenes of royal feasts and mythical creatures, and massive windows allowed light to stream through, casting warm glows on the floor. The room was vast, elegant, and completely alien.
Roxie scrambled to her feet, surveying her surroundings with wide eyes. She had, quite literally, teleported into the heart of a palace. But not just any palace—it looked like something straight out of a history book. She wasn’t sure if she’d just been dropped into the middle of a Renaissance painting or an ancient kingdom. But either way, it was far from the quiet, cluttered workshop she’d been so comfortable in a moment ago.
“Okay, Roxie, think. Calm down,” she muttered to herself, dusting off her worn jacket and straightening her frizzy brown hair. “You’ve got this.”
She took a few tentative steps forward, the sound of her boots echoing in the vast hall. That was when she noticed something—someone—moving towards her.
A figure, tall and imposing, clad in a dark uniform with intricate embroidery. His steps were sure, confident, and every bit the regal presence she’d expect from someone in a royal palace. But it wasn’t his posture that caught her attention. It was his face.
He was ridiculously handsome. The kind of handsome that made her feel like she’d walked into a romance novel by accident.
Roxie froze as the man drew closer. His sharp, chiseled features were framed by dark hair, and his piercing blue eyes locked onto hers with an intensity that made her heart skip a beat. He was clearly taken aback by her sudden appearance—he wasn’t expecting a scrappy inventor in an old jacket to fall out of thin air, that much was obvious.
“What… is this?” the man demanded, his voice rich and commanding, with just a hint of confusion.
“Uhhh, well…” Roxie glanced down at herself, her worn, grease-stained jumpsuit and mismatched boots a sharp contrast to his pristine, royal attire. “I think I might have… I mean, I was working on a teleportation device and, uh… you know how these things go.”
He raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed by her explanation. “Teleportation device?” he repeated. “I have no idea how you managed to breach the royal palace’s defenses, but this is highly irregular.”
“Yeah, you’re telling me,” Roxie muttered under her breath. “Look, I’m not from around here, okay? I was just trying to do a simple test run, but clearly, it’s gone… terribly wrong.”
The man stared at her for a long moment, eyes narrowing as though he were sizing her up. Finally, he crossed his arms, letting out a deep sigh. “I am Prince Dorian of Zaylith,” he said, his voice even, but there was an edge to it now. “And you’ve just landed yourself in the heart of our kingdom.”
Roxie blinked at him, absorbing the weight of his words. Prince? Kingdom? She wasn’t exactly sure if she’d just teleported to the wrong part of a movie set or to an entirely different galaxy, but one thing was for certain—this was not the quiet evening she’d planned.
And judging by the way the prince was eyeing her, she had a feeling things were about to get a lot more complicated.
“Uh… sorry?” Roxie offered sheepishly. “I swear, I’m usually much better at this.”
He didn’t reply immediately, but the corner of his lips twitched upward ever so slightly. A ghost of a smile, perhaps. “I’m sure you are,” he said with a hint of humor that surprised her. “But before we discuss how you got here, I think we need to address the bigger question.”
Roxie looked at him, confused. “Bigger question?”
“How we’re going to get you back to… wherever it is you came from.” His tone shifted again, more serious now. “Because I assure you, you’re not going anywhere without my help.”
Roxie stared at him. She didn’t exactly trust him—royal princes had a reputation, after all—but if anyone had the resources to get her back to Earth, it was probably him. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was in way over her head.
She squared her shoulders, ready to take on whatever cosmic oddity had thrown her into this strange world. “Alright, Prince Dorian,” she said, putting on a smile she hoped was more confident than she felt. “Let’s talk about getting me home. But, uh, we might need to fix the teleportation thing first.”
Prince Dorian didn’t look convinced. “You think you can fix something like that? In the middle of a royal palace?”
“I’ll make it work,” Roxie said, grinning. “I’m an inventor, remember? I’m good at making things work, even when they shouldn’t.”
Dorian’s eyebrow arched again. “Very well, then. We’ll see how well your skills can handle… my royal requests.” He gave her a sideways glance, something like a challenge lingering in his gaze.
And Roxie, already beginning to feel the spark of something between them, couldn’t help but feel that her adventure—one full of chaos, royal intrigue, and maybe even a bit of romance—was only just beginning.
