The Lyceum

Except it wasn't.

Strangely he remembered this place as well, a magic school.

And he was a student here, in Wiccan Academy.

This was his dorm, grey walls and iron-alloyed bunk beds, like all dorms, and it was called Fort A.

The boy staring into his face incredulously was Liam, his best buddy and Level mate.

The memories were coming to him, freely, like afterthoughts.

"You sure you're alright man? You really don't look ok to me." Liam said, sitting beside him.

So what had changed?

He sprang out from his bed and rushed to where he knew a large mirror would be waiting.

"Lance!" Liam followed him.

He observed his image in the mirror, he was still himself, brown wavy hair, beige skin and defined chin-bones.

And he was wearing brown robes, with the purple belt.

Nothing had changed, yet everything had changed.

The only thing keeping him from freaking out, was his gratitude that he was still alive, and the fact that he was still himself,

but with a memory from two lifetimes.

He nudged his head against the mirror.

"Dude I don't know what is going on with you, or what you think you're doing, but we have been summoned to the Lyceum. The Lords are here and they're asking to see us. So go get changed as quickly as possible, don't think of bathing, just get dressed " Liam indicated.

The others were hurrying around to get, or keep something back.

The Lords ?

What were they doing here?

"But why? We're not supposed to see them till the end of the summer" Lance responded.

"They're saying something happened."

"What?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out when we get there" Liam said.

****

The Lyceum was a large and vast hall able to accommodate all the students of Wiccan Academy, the staff and guests as well.

It's walls were marble-polished with silver-lined sconces fastened on them and illuminated to give light to the hall.

The floors were stone tiled and huge chandeliers hung on the high steel-wired ceiling and lightened with magic fire.

There were wood-furbished chairs arranged throughout the hall.

The students came in, in their throngs and numbers, from different Forts, dressed in white robes and purple belts and filling the seats.

Lance and the rest of the students from Fort A, went for the seats at the far right of the hall, which were reserved for them.

Liam settled down beside him as the other students took the other chairs.

There were whisperings among the students at his back.

"What is going on?" One asked.

"What are they saying?" Another chimed in.

Lance strained his ears in on the conversation , he wanted any information he could get.

"They're saying someone shifted the time-continuum " Said a brown-skinned boy with large brown hair that curled freely on his face and sky-blue eyes.

What?

Lance turned sharply towards the boy.

He didn't know the boy, he wasn't from Fort A, so what was he doing seated here, instead of joining the other students from his fort.

What had he just heard? "What did you say?"

The boy scoffed. "It's ridiculous right? Who would do such a thing... it's unheard of, if not impossible"

"I guess so" Lance said--trying to not sound too alarmed, and comport himself--before turning back.

No. It wasn't ridiculous or impossible, because he was the one who did it. He disrupted the time-continuum.

He understood it now, everything that had happened.

He had transmigrated between worlds.

He had known about parallel universes and doppelgangers but he hadn't really been a big believer of one.

But here he was, being the very victim, in a world where he also existed , a universe parallel to where he came from.

And he had a doppelganger , which he was now one with.

That explained why he had memories from two lifetimes, two different worlds.

There was a raised platform, a podium, with steel-chairs decked with linen where the staff of Wiccan, the Professors and Lords sat.

A man in his 60s stood up and walked towards the front of the podium.

He had white hair and beards, pale-ivory skin and was clad in a silver ash coat draped over a cream long sleeve fabric.

His name was Professor Trevor. He was the Head of the institution and one of the few professors the academy had.

"Good afternoon to you ladies and gentlemen, the prestigious students of Wiccan Academy. Gathered before you, are the renowned Lords of the various territories and counties in Golredot."

Noises swept through the crowd.

"Now. I know we are not supposed to be having this important meeting at this time" He said, making the crowd go silent. "But a quite serious incident has occurred... Someone has altered the time-continuum. And so we decided to have this meeting, as mandatory and move to other important matters. "

There were murmurs from the students.

Lance shifted in his seat, feeling his palms perspirate.

"Now we do not know who did it, and how it was done, but we've checked for repercussive occurences and found none... and we'll be on the watch out to make sure it never happens again... We only need to ask you students if you noticed anything strange and out of the ordinary so far." His voice became more serious. "If anyone knows, or has seen something..signify now!"

Lance held his breath, his heart beginning to beat rapidly.

What would they do if they caught him?

Would he be sent back? Was he ready to even go back, if it came to that?

He had no where else to go, no one else.

Liam who'd been fidgeting on his seat, gave Lance a sidelong glance and questioning stare.

Then he made to stand, but Lance quickly pulled him back to his seat.

The brown-skinned boy observed the both of them from the back.

But the Professor's eyes--as sharp as an eagle's-- had caught up with the little ruckus, and he focused on the two boys. "Yes, Liam. Is there something you wish to tell us?"