Gene paces back and forth in her room, trying to organize her scattered thoughts.
'If I am not inside a game and all these people are real individuals, does that mean that I am actually Siv? Maybe it's a parallel world, a different dimension.'
That makes the possibility of her going back home even more complex. But she still can't understand why all the characters are from Love Game.
"Ugh, I think God is punishing me for the miserable life I led."
She reckons that she might really be dead and this is hell. She smiles at the thought because to her, this place is heaven.
"Damnit."
"Are you alright, my lady?" Veda comes out of the bathroom. "Are you nervous because of the prince's visit?"
'She just had to remind me about that too.'
"Not really," she answers, "Maybe," she adds quickly, wanting to stop the conversation.
"Well, I have prepared a hot bath, I am sure it will help you relax." Veda smiles at her.
"I hope so."
The maid helps Gene take off her dress. She lets her body soak in the hot water and instantly feels the tension in her shoulders fade away.
"Oh yeah, this feels good." Gene closes her eyes and relaxes further into the water. Her eyes fly open suddenly.
'Why didn't I think of that sooner?'
She recalls seeing it in a movie before, she just needs to create the same situation that made her come here in order to go back.
'Brilliant… I hope.'
"Veda," she calls.
"Yes, my lady?" She peeks from the threshold.
"Do we have any Vodka?"
"Vodka? What is that, my lady?" Veda looks at her with knitted eyebrows.
'Oh God, now that I think about it, I haven't had or seen any alcohol since I got here.'
"Tequila?" Gene asks, but Veda just stares at her again. "Whiskey?"
"Yes, but why would you ask about a man's drink?"
'Man's drink? Oh, hell no.'
"Then, what do women drink?" Gene raises a brow.
"Women drink wine, my lady."
'Ok, I can live with that.'
"Can you bring me a bottle of wine, please?"
"A bottle?" The maid's eyes widen. "Are you sure you don't mean a glass?"
"No Veda, I mean a bottle. And make sure nobody sees you."
Veda hesitates for a moment before leaving.
Gene quickly gets out of the tub, dries herself, and puts on the nightgown and robe that Veda has prepared for her. Soon after, the maid opens the door, holding a folded sheet. When she gets to the table, she reveals the green bottle of wine.
"I had to sneak around the chef, he was preparing things for the prince's arrival."
"Good work, Veda." Gene squeezes her shoulder. "Now you can go to bed, I will have a glass of wine and then go to sleep myself."
"Yes, my lady. Have a good night."
"You too."
Gene waits in her room until traffic around the house slowly dies. It is already past midnight. She slowly opens her door, making sure the hallway is clear. Then, she sneaks up the stairs to the roof.
The view is different from back home. It is mostly dark, except for the full moon radiating its light on the landscape.
She notices a ladder in the corner, she climbs it and finds herself facing a beautiful lake in the distance. The moonlight makes the water sparkle like thousands of diamonds. She sits down, enjoying the breathtaking view, then opens the wine bottle.
In theory, all she has to do is to get drunk and trip and fall. She hopes that would do the trick. She can't even remember the name of the movie she saw it in. It sounds like a stupid idea, but the whole situation is too ridiculous already.
'Desperate times call for desperate measures. Let's just hope it works.'
Gene takes a generous gulp of the wine, it is sweet and fruity. It is so delicious that she finished it in a matter of minutes. She sits for a moment, waiting for it to kick in. But the more she waits, the more sober she feels.
"What the hell, is there even any alcohol in this?" She feels the frustration simmer in her chest.
'What does a woman have to do to get drunk in this world?'
She stands up and heads back downstairs. Gene is on a mission. She sneaks into the duke's office. He has to have some liquor in there for when his 'male friends' visit. She can't believe only men drink whiskey.
'Ridiculous.'
She looks around the cabinets and finds a bottle of the brown liquid.
"That's what I'm talking about."
She hurries out of there and walks back up to the roof. The moon looks even bigger than earlier. She takes a sip of her drink and almost chokes because of how strong it is. She smiles.
"Oh yeah, this will do just fine."
After pushing herself to drink half of the bottle, she definitely feels drunk. She is sure that if wine was half as strong, the men of this world would have happier marriages. She laughs at her joke, then she stands with wobbly legs.
'Good, I think this is how drunk I was last time.'
She hears horses and some voices downstairs, but when she looks down she can't see anything. In fact, it was a bad idea to look down, seeing how high she was standing made her dizzy.
Gene sits back down quickly. She also realizes that it was a bad idea to climb up to this area and that she should have just stayed on the lower part of the roof.
She tries to use the ladder to go back down, but her limbs are not cooperating and she accidentally pushes it away from the wall. It hits the ground with a loud thud.
She laughs at her luck.
"Honestly Gene, you need to use your head a little better."
She sits on the edge with her legs dangling. Gene thinks about jumping, she doesn't think that it would hurt that much if her theory fails. And if it works, she will find herself back home. The thought gives her more courage. She pushes herself up again, ready to jump.
"Lady Siv, what are you doing up there?"
'Crap.' She squints her eyes at the dark shadow.
"Who's there?"
The man takes a few steps closer as the moonlight reveals his face.
"Please, step away from the edge," he pleads.
"Prince Brandt?" she asks in disbelief. He walks and stands right underneath where she is. "Why are you here?"
"Have you been drinking, lady Siv?" His voice is lower now.
'I need to jump, I need to try to go back. I don't want to die here.'
"Please move, I need to jump."
"Need to jump?" he questions. "Is it so bad to see your fiancé that you want to kill yourself?"
"I'm not going to die if I jump from here," Gene fires back, which gets a chuckle from the prince.
"Fine," he says as he steps back.
Now that there is nothing stopping her from jumping, Gene finds her legs resisting her again.
'Jump, damnit.'
She closes her eyes and lets go. She braces herself for the pain of the impact, but it never comes. Instead she feels like she is floating in the air.
'Yes. It's working.'
She opens her eyes, expecting a bright light, but she is met with bright hazel eyes.
"Are you alright?" the prince asks her as he puts her down.
"It didn't work." She feels a stinging behind her eyes. "I am still here."
"Where did you want to go, my lady?" Brandt asks with a frown. His arms are still around her as he gazes at her for a moment.
"I can't believe that he's actually here. God, he's so handsome. Look at those eyes, and that beautiful hair, and those lips." Gene could swear she saw his lips twitch upwards as if he could read her mind. "Those lips..." She puts her hand on Brandt's warm cheek.
'This can't be real.. he's not even saying anything. This is fine, right?'
Her head is so fuzzy, she thinks the whole situation is a dream. She inches closer to the prince's face, expecting him to pull away, but he doesn't.
'It has to be a dream.'
Her lips press against his and the softness of the kiss sends shivers through her whole body.
Then, everything goes black.
*********
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