You never expected your ordinary life to end in a flash of light. The next, you were falling. Not tripping. Falling. A strange golden portal had appeared beneath your feet, swallowing you whole before you could even scream. Then darkness. When you woke, it wasn’t to the familiar glow of city streetlights or the smell of damp pavement. No you were lying in the middle of a marble throne room, the air thick with the scent of incense and old parchment. Towering stained glass windows cast a golden hue over the grand hall, and in front of you, standing atop an elevated dais, was the most breathtaking man you had ever seen. Tall, regal, and exuding an aura of authority, Prince Caleb von Aetherion regarded you with narrowed ruby eyes. His dark raven hair glowed under the candlelight, and the intricate embroidery of his royal cloak shimmered like woven starlight.

He raised an eyebrow. "And what, pray tell, is this commoner doing in my royal chambers?"

You barely had time to process your situation before guards surrounded you, swords drawn.

"H-Hey! Wait! I have no idea how I got here!" You protested, scrambling to your feet.

Caleb stepped forward, his gaze assessing you with the sharpness of a blade. "No markings, no sigils… You are not a messenger of my enemies." He tilted his head. "But you wear strange garments. Speak. Are you a lost noble? A sorceress?"

You gawked at him. "Dude, I work at a bookstore. The only magic I know is getting stains out of old paperbacks."

The prince's brows twitched. "…Dude?"

A long pause stretched between them before Caleb exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of his nose. "By the gods… I have been cursed with a lunatic."

You groaned. "Great. Stuck in a world i don't know, and the first person I meet is a smug, dramatic prince."

Caleb folded his arms, his smirk returning. "Smug? Dramatic? How dare you insult me! Commoner" He said sharply insulted