“Jehanne, are you sure we can do this?” The Dauphin and I were walking side by side down a winding path in the garden.

  A breeze swirled around us, sending ripples through the sea of blossoms around us, swathes of swaying red, white, and orange lilies, bobbing tall stalks of purple irises, and sprays of vibrant lavender here and there.

  And over that sea of pastel a palatial castle stood in the distance.

  It was a picturesque scene, one straight out of a cutscene from the game.

  But I was there, next to him, my boots sinking into the forgiving dirt with each step. The scent of lavender punctuated the air—whiffs of fresh, floral herbs. Pollen drifted in the air, along with the whirls of loose petals that settled upon my ponytail.

  He turned to me, and seeing his large, pleading eyes made me weak. He looked so vulnerable in his floppy, oversized surcoat, like he was a child begging for validation, even though he was older than me.

  “Of course, Your Highness. It is the will of God that you’ll take the throne. That I’ve been told.” Those words were the only words I could say in response, no matter how hard I tried to twist away from them.

  He wrung his hands together. “Good, that is good to know. I will give you the detachment that you ask for, and pray for your success.” Those soft, gentle brown eyes took hold of mine. “And for your safe return as well.”

  His hand reached out, hovering over mine, and he gave me a worried smile. “You’re far too young for this endeavor.”

  My chest tightened. I was always susceptible to the effect that he had on me. Whenever those eyes clouded over, and gazed out longingly over the sea of vibrant colors, I felt compelled to comfort him, and promise him the world.

  And yet, I knew that behind those innocent-looking eyes was something cold and calculating. His smile as his hand hovered over mine didn’t hold true warmth.

  I knew that when the enemy surrounded me and my men, no order was given to break us free. My allied generals would watch from a hill in the distance while we were swarmed.

  Was it the game’s script, or did someone give the order? Only one person had that power.

  In my death cutscene in the game, he had refused an offer to pay for my ransom, coldly turning away. Had that happened in the world as well?

  I wasn’t sure, but I could see it.

  For so many lifetimes, I wanted to scream at him as we stood there in that garden, to demand he promise never to betray me… or leave me behind.

  But whatever hidden flag or condition that was in me held me to just those words.

  I knelt down before him in my men’s shirt and pants, and placed a hand over my chest to give him my oath amongst the flowers.

  But inside was a primal wail…

  Why must you abandon me? And leave me to burn!

  —

  “Jo, come back to us. Are you okay?” Beatrice dabbed at the corner of my eyes with a handkerchief. Her hand cupped my cheek, her gentle eyes studying my face. “We can take a break. I will get you some warm milk.”

  “No.” I placed my fingers on her arm. “The girls are almost done. Let them finish up. I’m not doing anything but sitting here.”

  My eyes shifted to the honey-haired maid to my left, holding a small black mascara brush in hand. “I’m sorry for ruining your work, Claire.”

  She scoffed. “It’s not that hard to reapply.” She wiped my face with a damp cloth. Drawing closer to my face, she whispered as she delicately ran the tip of the brush over my eye, “are you sad because of your prince, Jo? Is he spoiled and mean? I heard royalty can be like that.”

  “No, it’s nothing like that.” I couldn’t shake my head and instead held myself still so that I wouldn’t disturb Claire’s brush as it traced over my bottom eyelid. “He’s nice, a little innocent, maybe…”

  That innocence stirred up memories of another man who seemed so vulnerable and innocent, and to whom I had been so susceptible.

  Were the same calculations at work behind Tomas’ eyes as well? He was so kind and polite. Perhaps he hides it well. They all do.

  “Is it The Duke and The Duchess? We were all so worried after what happened last time.” A tall, dark-haired maid whispered from above as she pushed a jewel encrusted pin into my hair. She was Miona, the maid whose uniform I’d borrowed for my disguised maid adventures around the House.

  I was eventually caught by Mama and was made to apologize to Miona for stealing, but she just laughed it off.

  “No, my Lord Father and Lady Mother were nothing but kind to me. I just broke down for no good reason,” I murmured, remembering how Mama had carried me back still sobbing after my meltdown in front of the two of them. I only now realized how bad it must have looked to the staff. “I was… just being over-dramatic.”

  “Jo. If you need to… get away for a bit.” Nellin, another dark-haired maid whispered from below me. She had just finished sewing lace over the skirt of my gown and was kneeling beside me, her face lined with concern.

  She did a quick side to side glance and added, “We could hide you… My family runs several decent inns.”

  “I could bring you sweets from my family’s shop,” Miona volunteered.

  Claire pulled the brush from my eyes and joined in as well. “I will make sure your needs are taken care of.”

  I blinked. The words slowly sank in. These girls, none of them could be older than fourteen, but they were still old enough to understand that even aiding a Duke’s daughter in a runaway could put their entire family in jeopardy, not to mention their lives.

  And they are still willing to risk it, for me.

  My lips trembled and I bit them still.

  I thought I was just having fun, running around with the girls as our laughter echoed down the halls, joining in on their banter and teasing as they helped dress me, even trying to dress them in turn, and of course, all the times I pretended to be one of them and jumped in on the chores.

  It was just for fun, but I’ve made friends.

  Back in the other world, I’d gotten to know my fidèles, and they were willing to die for me, but I always had a nagging doubt in the back of my mind: that they were faithful because of the game. And it turned out to be right.

  Here, they were just friends who cared.

  I don’t want them to risk anything for me, just caring is enough.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  I bit down harder on my lower lip as I closed my eyes to hold back the weight of tears.

  One of the girls held my hand.

  —

  I guess being betrothed to a royal prince meant I needed to have my own birthday party again. There were the usual overly-extravagant piles of food on the various island serving tables. In our grand ball room, guests in their finest tip-toed around each other with guarded words where Ben and I had run around with abandon.

  We had crawled under chairs draped with tablecloth, pretending we were pirates in ships or adventurers in caves. We’d even brought our dolls and snuck in food from the kitchen.

  That’s right, Ben and I played house.

  Over six hundred years, three for every lifetime. I would start at sixteen, and be burned at nineteen, sometimes a little earlier, others a little later. A few runs I didn’t even make it to the flames. It was war after all.

  So many eons, and now playing pretend family with a nine year old.

  The thought made my cheek burn, eliciting more gasps from onlookers as I walked beside Ben.

  It’s his fault! He’s the one who always asked that I pretend to be the Lady while he was the Lord, or the princess and the knight, and all our dolls, our attendants, and court friends.

  No one asked to pretend to be a village farm girl with her village brothers and sister. Definitely NOT!

  For some reason, the sight of me blushing made him straighten his back and swell with pride. Now the same height as me, he looked passable as an older brother in his black, glossy uniform jacket when he presented me to various esteemed guests.

  This was supposed to be our father’s role, but by now everyone had resigned themselves to the fact that neither he nor I could stand the sight of each other.

  It’s just too painful.

  Even Elise had given up and let The Duke get away with his usual cursory introduction of me before quickly slinking back into his seat on the dais, his shoulders slumped.

  Our eyes never met.

  Elise had found other ways of asserting herself. She took Mama’s place behind me and was now escorting us in her prim and proper, grey gown, with her bump very much prominent as we made our rounds.

  “Thank you, Your Highness, for coming to celebrate my fifth birthday. It gladdens my heart to see your face once more.”

  I placed a hand over my heart and sank into a low curtsy. To welcome him, I had been dressed in a light lilac-colored dress, my skirt and bodice had trims of sparkling silver lace to match the Consort’s hair and her taste in dresses.

  She was again resplendent in blinding silver and gold.

  “Josephine..!” Tomas blurted out before catching himself. After a quick fearful glance toward his mother, he addressed me stiffly. “I’m glad to see you too, betrothed.”

  “Second Prince Tomas!” Ben snapped at Tomas as if reminding him of the proper way to speak. “First Consort Evelyn. I, Lord Benjamin de Bloomcrest, would like to offer the two of you our warmest welcome to this celebration of my wonderful sister’s birthday.”

  Evelyn swept forward before Tomas could respond. “How nice. You’ve done quite the work with these children, Elise. My congratulations. House Blackstorm must be proud.”

  Elise’s green eyes were ice when she responded. “I’m sure my father, the Earl, is still thankful for your help with the arrangement. But I’m a Bloomcrest now. These children were already proper by the time I arrived. I merely provided simple guidance.”

  A chill seeped into the air from Elise's words and gaze. The Consort, momentarily caught off guard, raised a single, incredulous eyebrow.

  “One should take care to remember their roots, Elise,” she warned with a soft hiss. “Especially when one comes from a branch house. You need to guide them well.”

  I sensed Elise closing in on me from behind, her fingers clasped over my collar bone as her voice coiled around me. “I seem to recall House Contellas being a branch house in the not so distant past. As you know, Bloomcrest is a proud and ancient Ducal House. One that I’m sure will soon regain its former glory.” Her hand squeezed my shoulder. “And in this one, the blood of our House runs strong… along with royal blood.”

  I knew I had royal blood because of the ring, but was my mother actually a royal princess?

  —

  “Our mothers are certainly fearsome,” Tomas mumbled as we strolled through the garden.

  Instead of lilies and irises, here red roses and orange tulips swayed to the gentle breeze.

  “She’s my step mother.” I drew my hand over a sprig of baby’s-breath that had woven over some roses. The scents of all the flowers were so intoxicatingly fragrant.

  “I’m sorry. I heard that you and her don’t get along,” he said in that timid voice he used with Anthony. His eyes were large and vulnerable just like the Dauphin’s.

  The thought made me shiver despite the warmth of the midday sun.

  “Did your mother tell you that?” I didn’t like how Elise conscripted me into their fight, but it was already clear to me that the Consort was behind the attack on Ben and I, and most likely was involved in other schemes against our House.

  “I…” He waffled, his eyes bouncing back and forth between me and my hand stroking over the baby’s-breath. “I can’t say.”

  I nodded. “Tell me Tomas, can you promise to be truthful with me?”

  He stared, and behind his golden eyes I could sense the wheels turning. It seemed that this time, I was not bound to any script. But I was also no longer Joan, and I was no longer trapped behind the rage over my fate.

  I could finally step back and look from behind the Dauphin’s and the Prince’s eyes. This was their life, they had to survive in a world of constant intrigue and paranoia. Of course they too would deceive and scheme.

  To appear weak where one was strong. To draw in the prey with your false vulnerability.

  “Our feelings matter little in this whole thing. It is what it is. But if I’m going to be stabbed it’d be nice to be told ahead of time, even if I can’t do anything about it. And I won’t hold it against you.”

  “I would never…”

  I put a finger to his lips and smiled. “Remember what I said, be truthful. I can tell from your eyes that you’re smart enough to know you cannot keep that promise.”

  He doesn’t have that bar above his head when I look at him. Perhaps he isn’t a love interest, but that’s highly doubtful.

  “It’d be… just between us?”

  A light, melodic laugh escaped my lips, surprising even myself. “A shared thing, just between us? I’d like that. I just ask that you hold nothing back, like I said, I promise I won’t hold it against you.”

  A pair of hands cupped my ear and warm air swirled within it. “Mother told me that they left you alone here and treated you badly, and that I should win you over by being nice to you.” His words and breath tickled my ear.

  There, he told me. It wasn’t anything new, but it was something shared.

  I knelt down so that we’re at eye level with each other. “Thank you, My Prince. This makes me feel better.”

  “Can you call me Tomas?”

  I lowered my gaze. “Thank you Tomas. If you wish, those I’m close to call me Jo.”

  Tomas’ head shot up, and his eyes sparkled. A green bar flashed now over his head.

  Wait, that’s all it took?!

  “Jo, my mother told me to give this to you after I told her Anthony gave you a ring.” Tomas held up a gold ring in his hand. “This one is actually a magic ring! It’ll allow us to talk once in a while.”

  “So that you could be nice to me?” I teased with a smile.

  “Yes, and learn things from you. Mother wants it for that. But…” Tomas turned his head bashfully lower. “I’d still like to talk to you.”

  I plucked the ring from his hand and raised it up to the sunlight. Like the other ring, this looked just like a regular gold ring.

  Identifying it revealed.

  It certainly looked interesting.

  Is this the way people communicate here?

  It was not something I heard about before, but I’d been rather isolated. On the other hand, if this required 50 [Mental] to use, I doubt many would be able to.

  In any case, it seemed harmless enough.

  Tomas’ grin broadened when I slipped it on.

  He held up his hand to show a mirror of my ring. When he moved his ring over mine, an image of his face appeared in my view before quickly shrinking into an icon, and then disappeared.

  “I don’t know if you can use it or not. But now, I can use this to contact you once a week!” He announced, his face flushed with excitement. “All I have to do is to think of your face. Just please keep it on!”

  So, Tomas has at least 50 [Mental].

  Those eyes, they are very much his eyes.

  I turned to gaze out over the sea of rippling colors. The breeze had picked up, and howled past me.