[Take, Enemy]

  Rose starts to concentrate, she wants to talk to Giulia about a villianess role but she needs a princess first. She concentrates on that infinite blackness from which characters emerge, fully formed. Then she calls out, not with her voice but with her mind. Is there anyone who would like to play princess? Please come to me now, for a brief interview and then a possible immediate role.

  “Hello I’m looking for a princess, no experience necessary, must be virginal or able to fake it. Hello”

  “Hello, Rose. I’d like to be considered for the position.”

  “What’s your name dear?”

  “Celeste Castillo but everyone calls me Cece.”

  “I’m sorry Cece, you are gorgeous and just what I had in mind for the part, but for this part you need to be at least eighteen. The princess is going to be working with a very handsy, borderline sexual abuser of a director. Once you..”

  “Excuse me Rose, I’m twenty four.”

  “Look Cece, all my friends say I’m naive, but I didn’t just fall off the turnip cart.”

  “Here I have picture I.D. a driver license, credit card. I own a company with twenty plus employees. Here’s my business card. But if this is some porn game or novel or movie, I’m not interested anyways.”

  “No it absolutely is not a porn anything, I can’t believe you’re twenty four. Wow, you must have some great genes. Anyways the story is about the making of a Villainess Game, the director is trying to make a generally female genre rated pg, pg13 game into an R rated game aimed at thirteen year old boys. He is going to be a nightmare to work with. There is going to be a bodice ripping scene, I expect he’ll want to do that to the villainess not you but I can’t guarantee that, he might prefer you. If you are not interested I understand entirely.”

  “If my bodice does get ripped, am I supposed to stand there for twenty or thirty seconds for the male gaze or would I be allowed to cover myself immediately?”

  “Oh, immediately and right afterward you’d go to human resources to file a formal complaint, wearing the evidence of the assault. Any other questions?”

  “How soon before you start writing?”

  “I hope to start this morning, I have the villainess all picked out, I just need to check her availability.”

  “What do you need from me, Rose?”

  “Well just a quick chat, I need to know you or it comes across in the writing. Tell me a little bit about your company. What does it do?”

  “It’s a bio tech firm. We do gene editing. We are trying to defeat aging, but so far our only success is reversing aging appearance. For many people that is the goal what forty, fifty, sixty year olds wouldn’t want to look sixteen. I began treatment a year ago. Here’s my picture before the first treatment without makeup, the only makeup I have on today is eye liner.”

  “That’s incredible, even with the picture I.D. it’s hard to believe you are eighteen let alone twenty four.”

  “Thank you. But that’s not my dream, this was a lucky side effect. That will make the company hundreds of millions if not trillions of dollars. But my aim is to reverse aging, to save my parents, and all parents' lives. Everyone's lives. I lost my grandfather when I was fifteen. I vowed not to lose another.”

  “That is very, very impressive. Last question: why do you want to be a character in a story? You sound incredibly busy and dedicated.”

  “The company is stuck right now, we’re poised to make a fortune but my goal hit a dead end. No matter how we manipulate this gene the best we can do is change appearance. So being stuck I need to step back from the problem, do something else let inspiration strike me. When I least expect it. I was going to just take a trip, but being in a story would really take me out of myself. Force me to look at things through a new perspective, that forced shift might loosen an idea that proves useful in the lab. Oh and it sounds like fun.”

  “Perfect, I just need to check in with the villainess, will you be available later today Cece?”

  Rose concentrates her mind again on the void from which character emerges, this is easier, she knows Giulia. Once she has a name, an image the characters respond more rapidly.

  “Hello Giulia, Giulia hello.”

  “Hiya Rose, I wasn’t sure you’d call me back in.”

  “Why was I unfriendly to you?”

  “No, not at all you just didn’t seem to be interested in a story about gamblers.”

  “Well today I’m not, I want to do a twist on the Villainess game. You’ll play the Villainess, I just found the perfect character for the princess and I just realized I forgot to ask her a crucial question. Do you mind some closed door sapphic scene or scenes depending on chemistry?”

  “No of course not, I’m bi. So I may very well enjoy them.”

  “Cece would you mind coming back, I have one more question.”

  “Hello Rose, what did you want to ask?”

  “I forgot to ask, Do you mind a closed door sapphic scene or scenes depending on chemistry?”

  “Not at all, I’ve always been curious but never had the opportunity to explore it with the right person.”

  “OK great, our first scene is Giulia with the director in the living room set.”

  ***

  The Villainess and The Princess

  You’ve both entered the program. You're in a mansion ballroom with a polished marble floor, chairs against the walls. The floor space is for dancing.

  “What’s your name, babe?”

  “It’s Giulia.”

  “I don’t like it, sounds foreign lose that name, you're now Gigi. Got it.’

  “Yes sir”

  “Milly tell the costume artist, this dress is all wrong. I told her the villainess has a plunging neckline just below the navel. Gigi is dressed like a princess. Gigi has been used, abused and thrown away by the hero. I want her costume to reflect that, if the artist can’t do that I’ll just get an A.I. to do it instead. Tell her those exact words Milly, you got it?”

  “Sir the rating boards”

  “Milly I don’t give a damn about the rating board, this is for the DLC where we make our cash and this game is going to be the best Villainess game ever. Every horny pimply faced thirteen year old boy is going to pay out big time, enter the code and the A.I. generates nude videos. A.I. is great; we don't even have to pay the characters extra for the DLC. Tell that to that ‘artist’ and hurry back. I have a job for you this afternoon. Got it.”

  “Got it sir”

  “Gigi, go to costumes and get into the new dress then hurry back.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I’m back sir, I told the artist what you said word for word sir.”

  “Good Milly, here’s five hundred bucks take that rating board guy to the strip club down the street. Give him three hundred in ones, as much liquor as he can drink. Just keep him out of here this afternoon. Got it?”

  “Got it sir.”

  “Somebody get the hero.”

  “I’m here boss.”

  “Good, what's your name?”

  “Robert, but I go by Bob.”

  “No, no, that’s no good. Your Captain Lance Surge. Got it?”

  “Listen Lance we have the bodice ripping scene with the villainess coming up. I want that dress torn in two understand, I want to see lots of naked bouncing juggling skin. You get an extra grand each for the nips if they’re visible. You like money right Lance. You're a big boy that should be easy for you. Got it?”

  ***

  The costume node, a couple folding screens, costumes draped over the top.

  “Hi I’m Giulia, now Gigi. I’m here for a different costume.”

  “Hi, I’m Alice, the wardrobe art director. I already got an ear full from Milly. Well I know why the little tyrant didn’t like the dress, he was afraid that the bodice ripping scene won’t give him any gratuitous nudity. Well I’m here to guarantee that it won’t. Just step behind the privacy screen and take off all your clothes. We’re going to paint a dress on you. Try to rip that, tyrant.”

  “I’m not sure I want to go near that guy wearing only paint.”

  “No worries, let me paint you, then it’ll be your call after you look in the mirror, we can always put you in the dress he wants after I paint you.”

  Just then Cece came in.

  “Alice the director wants me in the red dress instead of the blue.”

  “Of course he does, the man has absolutely no taste, no taste at all. Cece, have you met the Villianess Gigi, Gigi, meet the princess Cece.”

  “Oh boy we’re the alphabet girls, Cece.”

  “I know we’re supposed to be enemies, but I hope we can be friends Gigi.”

  “I agree, I’d love to be your friend. Want to run lines in my dressing node after my costume is finished?”

  “Yes, I’ll be waiting for you.”

  ***

  Inside Gigi dressing node. Cece can’t help but nose around, she finds Gigi’s quiet beauty intriguing. She wants to learn more about the woman. So far she’s found a few decks of cards and eight six sided dice. She’s just randomly rolling the dice, when painted Gigi enters the node.

  “Wow, it’s hard to believe that is just paint. Gigi, the shadowing, the hemline down the side, such attention to detail. It takes a certain body type to pull that off and Gigi you are that type.”

  “Thank you Cece, I wouldn’t mind seeing you in paint, maybe I could roll around on you later. Of course I wouldn’t want to stain that beautiful costume, we’d have to do something to prevent that.”

  “I could wrap myself in plastic. Gigi.”

  “I was thinking more about removing layers rather than adding them.”

  “Hmm, that does sound more practical, are you a practical girl, Gigi.”

  “I can be if it gets me what I want.”

  “What is it you want?”

  “Right this minute, I want to read the final scene you play with the hero. I’ll be the hero you be you.”

  “Wait, there’s no dialogue in this scene, what are we practicing?”

  “The Kiss.”

  She went over, took Cece in her arms, tipped her back and began kissing her. Seconds later, a loud knocking on the node door.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Gigi, the director wants you on the set”

  “HMMM, I’ll be right there.” Yells. Quietly to “Cece I’m going to need help getting this paint off later. I’m afraid it got into all my nooks and crannies. Could you possibly give me a hand?”

  “Gigi. If there will be more kissing like this, I’d love to rub the paint off of your nooks, they are very fine nooks and delicately caress the paint off of your crannies."

  “Thank you Cece, I look forward to it. Now to see what that pig of a director wants now.”

  ***

  Back in the ballroom.

  “Well it’s about damn time, though the outfit is a bit of an improvement. Alright, Lance, dominate her back her right up against the bookcase, trap her there, she has nowhere to go. That’s it, pin her there. If you want that two grand we gotta see the goods, rip that bodice wide open."

  “Arg”

  “Lance rip it open, you have her pinned, just rip you pinhead.”

  “I can’t my hands just slide off.”

  “What’s going on here? I was told that there was to be no programming today. What was that strip club supposed to be a bribe. Milly you’re going to take the fall for this if you don’t talk.”

  “Sir, the director gave me five hundred dollars and told me to take you to the strip club down the block, give you three hundred dollars in ones to tip the girls and get you liquered up. At all costs I was to keep you out of the program, for the rest of the day. While the director had the programers make secret DLC content, that would be unlockable for the pimply faced boys who would be buying this.”

  “Director, you’re fired, if you are not out of this program in thirty seconds, I’ll have declared you a bug and put the A.I programmers in debug mode. You have 29 seconds.”

  The director quit the program.

  “Milly please find the art director”

  “Yes sir, Can I ask a question sir?”

  “You’re not with the ratings board, they don’t have access to our programmers. Just who are you sir?”

  “I own the studio, please get Alice for me.”

  “Yes sir.”

  Milly and Alice arrive in the ballroom node.

  “Mr Blessing sir, what are you doing here sir?”

  “Right this minute Alice, I am trying to save this game.”

  “I understand.”

  “Look Alice I just fired that arse of a director, is this game worth saving?”

  “Absolutely, the two leads have marvelous chemistry, if you give me two days I’ll deliver you a bestseller guaranteed.”

  ***

  Alice instructed them to take the evening off and get to know each other. Cece did indeed rub all that paint off of Gigi’s nooks and crannies that evening. Meanwhile Gigi tried to rub as much of that paint onto Cece as possible. Gigi anticipated rubbing it off Cece’s nooks and crannies. It turns out they both are very good and very thorough paint removers. They even planned a weekend of painting and removing once the game was completed.

  The next day, Alice handed them new scripts. After a complete rewrite the story barely resembled the game they were hired to make. But neither of the actresses objected in the least. Lance Surge wasn’t as happy. The bodice ripping scene, in fact all of his scenes had been culled. He had only one more scene in the finale.

  Cici and Gigi interactions only got stronger and more intense as the programming continued. A few of the programmers had to take ‘breaks’ after one of their more memorable interactions.

  Finally they were ready for the finale.

  “Let’s begin the final scene, Lance has Gigi pinned against the book shelf. Begin programming.”

  “I took you before, and I’ll take you again anytime I wish you whore. You couldn’t stop me before, you can’t stop me now, nobody can. Soon I’ll be a prince, ”

  “You’ll never be a prince, guards seize this man, I want him tried for sexual assault. You just heard him admit as much.”

  “Yes Princess Cici.”

  Gigi begins to cry, Cece leads her to a love seat and they both sit down facing one another.

  “How did you learn the truth Princess?”

  “Stop calling me princess, my name is Cece. I got to know you, how wonderful you are. Nothing like those hateful rumors that Lance spread about you. He’s going to prison for a very long time, forget about him. I want to talk about you, I’m down a fiancee, thanks to you. What are you going to do about it?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “For a Villainess you are awfully naive. Just kiss me Villainess, kiss me.”

  Programmers roll credits.

  After credits roll cut scene of Lance in a dungeon cell, straw in the corners, rats scurrying about.

  The End

  Teaser reel of Gigi, Cece clips.

  Coming Soon The Villainess 2 A Royal Wedding

  “Rose, are we really going to do another one?”

  “Well that depends on you too, I certainly enjoyed doing this one. But it won’t be right away at any rate. Would you both like to do another at some time in the future?”

  “Yes, positively”

  “Count me in this was great, I thought you cast me as the Villainess because that’s how you saw me”

  “Giulia, I never considered you a villain. I’d never heard of this type of game before so I wanted to write a story about it. Plus I’ve read many articles about the video game industry and misogynists. That's why I made the director such a caricature. I had what I thought might be an interesting story about a gambler, but I haven’t worked out a plot yet.”

  “Well, I’d love to do another story with you and after hearing Cece call me Gigi, I think I’d like to keep that as my ‘stage name’.”

  “Sure if that’s what you’d like, Gigi, no problem. See that even misogynist’s get things right once in a while. Cece, I’d love to do a story where we subvert the Princess trope. Again I need to come with a plot but I’ll definitely be mulling it over. If either or both of you have some free time now I’m planning to go to my friend’s tea house and bakery. My treat.”

  “Rose you are an interesting person, I’d love to go have tea and biscuits, what about you Cece.”

  “Count me in. I think you're both rather fascinating.”

  So I pulled them both from the story into the backroom of the bookshop.

  “Where are we?”

  “This is where I work, Enigmatic Parchments. It’s a magical bookstore, I’m apprenticed here. Come on, I'll introduce you to my coworkers, then we’ll go for tea.”

  We walked out to the store proper. Opal was bent over her drawing, Sparky sat perched at the counter.

  “Gods, did my apprentice actually come to work early and do some work without my asking. Naw, I must be dreaming.”

  “Cece, Gigi, this is my Grandmaster Brightspark but call him Sparky and this lovely young lady working away here is my senior apprentice Opal.”

  “Charmed to meet you both.” Sparky said.

  “Hi” said Opal shyly before returning to her drawing.

  “We’re going to the tea house would you like to come Opal?”

  “No thanks, I’m working on my drawing. Would you please get me a sweet bun.”

  “Sure sweety, Sparky you want your regular order of donuts?”

  “Yes, Rose. Thank you.”

  “We’ll be back soon.

  ***

  The teahouse was crowded but McCracken and Eldara were seated together with just enough room for us.

  “Hello McCracken, Eldara. I’d like you to meet two new friends Cece and Giulia”

  Giulia whispered. “Hey, you just introduced us like we were real people.”

  “You are a real person, stop whispering, it's rude.”

  “Cece and I are fictional.”

  “So am I.” said McCracken

  “Are you his author, Rose?”

  “No, although I am friends with her. McCracken’s visiting, he staying with me and my girlfriend, Opal and her sister Ruby in Sparky’s tower.”

  “Hi Rose, what can I get for you?”

  “I’d like a sweet bun to go for Opal, three dozen donuts for Sparky, I’d like a jasmine tea and sweet bun for here. Gigi, what would you like?”

  “Plain tea and a donut please.”

  “Ruby this is Cece and Gigi new friends of mine, Cece what would you like”

  “Jamine tea and a donut please.”

  Giulia said “You did it again, Rose.”

  “Did what?”

  “Introduced us like we were real people, I thought we were friends, why are you trying to get us in trouble?”

  “Giulia, I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I promise I’m not trying to get you in trouble. Ask Eldara or McCracken if I said anything, that could possibly get either of them in trouble. What did I say that is bothering you?”

  “When you introduce us you didn’t tell the real person we were fictional.”

  “Why should I, it’s none of her business if you don’t want her to know.”

  “It’s the law.”

  “It’s not a law here. Giulia. Cece, is it a law in your world?”

  “It’s not a law but fictional people like myself in my world would be avoided and if we tried to pass ourselves off as real we’d be ostracized.”

  “Giulia, what’s the penalty for breaking the law?”

  “Banishment and they’d have the author remove the convicted fictional from all their books.”

  “Well like I said, I think that is awful and it’s not a law here and none of us will out you so stop telling people your fictional unless for some reason you want them to know. First it’s none of their business. Second, you have every right to your privacy. I would never go up to a person and request their parentage and no else should either. You both are always welcome here in Emain Ablach or any of my fictional worlds.”

  “Wait, were you both in one of Rose’s stories today?”

  “McCracken, what did I just say about privacy?”

  “Look Rose, they already blurted out that they were fictional and I told them I’m fictional so the cat is out of the bag.”

  “Who would put a cat in a bag, they should be put in a bag.”

  “It’s a saying, Rose. I’m interested because I was only a character for Talbert and I’d be interested to see your creative process. So ladies tell me how was it, working for Rose?”

  “I very much enjoyed it, the way she talked to us before the story started, we got to know one another, this is only my second story but I very much want to work with Rose again.” Cece said.

  “Rose, do you talk to all your characters before the story begins?” McCracken asked.

  “I did it for my novel, but it took years and I kept bringing in characters one or two at a time. For a short story I talk to the main characters. Usually twice the first time to meet them and see what kind of story they’d be a fit for. I met Gigi the other day and we had an interesting chat that sparked an idea. I met Cece today for the first time but knew right away that she’d fit into the story I was planning.”

  “Gigi, how about you, have you worked on a lot of stories, if so how was Rose different from other authors? If you don’t mind talking about it. Happy Rose?”

  “The other day when we met and today have been the best experiences of my life as a fictional character. I started when I was eight years old. The author made me the foster child of a mobster / casino owner, who I called da. He had me selling cigarettes and cheating at cards for him. The same author used me time and time again as a mob girlfriend, wife, hooker, gambler, casino employee. Rose was the first author ever to ask what kind of character I’d like to be. I felt like I was treated like a real person. I very much hope that she asks me to be another of her stories. The answer would be a yes every time.”

  “Thank you both, for saying such nice things about me.”

  “I want to be in one of your stories, Rose.”

  “No, Paula already moved here. I don’t want to come between you and Talbert.”

  “Talbert’s coming for the play, I’m going to ask her to tell you to put me in one of your stories.”

  “Men don't usually have the easiest time in my stories. The two main male characters in our story made out really badly. If I was going to do a story with you I’d have to think up a plot that was pro men somehow. I don’t even know if I could do that.”

  “I want to be in one of your stories, Rose.” Eldara said.

  “But I’ve never written a story with a person I knew well before writing the story. Juliet is like a sister to me but I didn’t know her before I started writing her.”

  “See that’s why I want to be in a story you write, Rose, you just said plain as day Juliet a fictional character is like a sister to you. I swear I’m talking to Talbert.” McCracken said.

  Eldara spoke up. “I want to be in one of your stories because my girlfriend thinks fictional is somehow less than real, I’ll prove real can also be fictional then the reverse must also be true. Don’t do it for me Rose, do it for Paula.”

  “I’ll… have .. to .. think about it.