"Viola Doyle, as I live and breathe," I said. "It's been six years but it doesn't feel like it."
I looked her up and down, man this girl sure stood out from a crowd. She had that typical Cassalian Alabaster-white skin but with these adorable rosy cheeks. Her purple eyes were as round and sparkly as ever.
While her big Bambi eyes were cute, that awkward Bambi gate that accompanied them was unfortunate. I had noticed it when we were growing up but thought she'd outgrow it after puberty brought some muscle in. She was too skinny and those long stick-like legs of hers seemed to always be bending inwards like a newborn foal- something that utterly horrified the trainer in me.
I tried to assess the cause of her pigeon-toed stance, staring hard at her lower legs to see if I could gleam answers from her bone structure. It was concerning that she was already sixteen and her bones hadn't righted themselves, if it persisted much longer her only options would be surgery or dealing with some terrible foot health down the road.
Yet the more I looked, the more I couldn't see a single reason why she was standing this way.
"Is something wrong?" She asked.
"Oh, uh, I'm very sorry for staring," I said. "I just noticed you have some minor intoeing."
"Intoeing?" She asked.
"Your legs are turned inwards, does it cause you any pain?"
She glanced down. "Oh I just stand like this because it's cute. It's how the protagonist looks in all of her art and I'm supposed to do everything exactly like the game entails."
I masked my horror at how bad this intentionally bad posture was for her. Though it was like having a friend who smoked, they don't need you telling them what was good or bad for them.
"Is that dress also from the game?" I asked, glancing over her curiously dressed-down attire.
It had taken me a second to place the look but I realized it resembled a uniform of a private highschool- but like, a high-class medieval version. She wore a crisp white dress shirt tucked into a long, navy chevroned skirt, her whole outfit pulled together with a big red bow tied around her collar.
The ensemble was cute but a little out of place with all these girls in formal summer dresses.
"Yeah," she said. "It's the uniform of the priestess."
No wonder she was attracting so many looks. It probably didn't help her obvious social anxiety any. Given how little interest she'd shown in me on the past, she had to be pretty on-edge to be clinging to me, the only familiar face she could find.
There were audible mutters all around. If you listened you could hear things like;
"That's the priestess?"
"She's so plain!"
In what world? It was like putting Taylor swift in glasses and calling her plain-looking. That's right 'You Belong With Me,' none of us bought it.
Viola was understandably quiet this whole time, clearly straining to hear every piece of gossip about her. I'd imagine it's hard not to listen when everyone is openly talking about you.
I took a little pity and tried to distract her. "So this is your favourite game?" I asked. "Why don't you give me a tour?"
"After the opening sequence," she said, "it should start any second."
I tensed, the last time we were in a 'sequence' she hadn't warned me about, I almost died. My eyes shot up to the sky, expecting a horde of those nightmare birds.
"It's not going to be like that," she said. "The opening sequence serves to introduce a bunch of the main characters."
"Oh," I said, relaxing a little.
There was suddenly a murmuring, the chatty kathys that had been gossiping about Viola up until this point shifted their attention.
"Is that her?"
"Oh my, it must be, she looks so regal!"
We turned our attention to the doors that lead into the garden.
The first thing I noticed was the scarlet hair, no longer held in those childish curls, flowing straight and free in a ponytail reaching her lower back.
"That's the villainess," Viola needlessly explained. "We met her when we were five if you remember."
It had been a while since a saw Gwen, we still wrote frequent letters but the whole 'demon war' thing made it hard to meet up. She had definitely hit puberty hard since we last hung. Her chest was MASSIVE. Bolder than me it seems, her emerald dress had a deep square cut, leaving little to the imagination.
She was hot as heck, My legs began to move towards her so I could pay my compliments.
"Ug," Viola said. "in all of the forums for the game, she's the second most hated character in the polls."
The gossiping girls continued. "I don't understand, who is that?"
"She's the Daughter of Duke Gallagher and fiancé to the crown prince."
"Okay, now we can leave," Viola said.
"What?" I asked in surprise.
"The sequence of the game is: the villainess gets introduced, then the protagonist slips away from the party where she catches the tail end of the knights' training session."
"Alright..." I said, "lead me too it then."
We headed away from the party center (but not before I downed the rest of my champagne flute to grab another- I'd be feeling that soon)
We ended up back in a less public area of the castle greens, right up to the junction where trim gardens gave way to more natural-looking grass and wildflowers.
There were many spectators that had trickled over like us, beautiful girls with faces concealed by fans.
There was a whole language built around fans here, just like in the Victorian era, and just as annoyingly complicated as the handkerchiefs. It seemed the principle rule for matters of the heart was to never actually say what you were thinking. It seemed to me like such an unnecessary work around.
The girls in front of us were chattering animatedly.
"They're all so handsome! I wouldn't even know who to go for!"
"This is the exposition to some of the male leads," Viola said, "so listen carefully."
So the strategic placement of gossiping girls this whole time had been a device for plot establishment. It seemed like lazy storytelling but whatever.
"Prince Luther is easily the most handsome man in the whole kingdom!" One girl said.
"Agreed!" Another said. "But he's already engaged to lady Gallagher..."
"As if we'd have a chance with him anyway~ his beauty is too transcendent!"
"He's so perfect he's practically untouchable but I'm still such a fan!"
It wasn't hard to recognize Luther out in the field. With his shiny blond hair and bright teal eyes, he always looked a little like he was glowing. Or maybe he was, he did have light magic.
He was sparring with Lucas, who clearly had still yet to reach puberty which was a shame for him since this rose ceremony wasn't something that was likely going to happen again while he was in his prime, it was only ever held when a first prince came of age.
"But what of Prince Lucas?" One girl said.
"The second prince?" The lead girl asked. "Well, he's pretty charming too."
"Definitely the cute type!"
Well maybe he'd clean up here after all, I had underestimated the boost in popularity just being a prince gets you.
"Personally, I find the Duke's son Reid Gallagher the most alluring!" A girl who had been sitting a bit away pitched in.
The girls in front of us giggled uncontrollably. "He is quite the sweet talker," one of them agreed.
"He's too much of a womanizer for me but they say his swordsmanship is unparalleled!"
Reid wasn't too far away either. He glanced over to the group of girls that were congregating to watch and winked seductively. perhaps too distracted from the matter at hand. A number of soldiers in heavy armour circled him. They looked tense with their swords already drawn in anticipation while he had barely bothered to lift his own. When they pounced, he fell them all with barely a trace of effort, delivering only one well-placed strike to each crumpling man.
Ladies fanned themselves uncontrollably.
He had gotten tall. His red curly hair had been impeccably tamed and styled in thin ponytail. Like with the princes though, he was more 'beautiful' than 'handsome' which was a bit of a letdown.
"It's a little too early to take on me gentlemen," he said and they skulked back to the more distant reaches of the training grounds. It was easy to feel a little bad for them. Compared to him, they were at least twice his size, a reflection of the muscles they had carefully toned in their training. Magic really wasn't fair.
In that further distance, where I had watched them depart to, more soldiers were training. Their drills looked a lot more intense and a little less 'for show'. None of them were wearing the royal red jackets, the exertion from their drills having forced them down to t-shirts and skins. Men hacked at dummies, ran obstacle courses or railed against one and other in two-person combat.
A brown-haired boy finished the course by scaling a wall and gracefully tumbling to the ground.
He stood up and even from here it was evident he was entirely drenched in sweat. Like- ran through a rainstorm level wet. Another man pat his back in support and handed him a flask of water which he gratefully downed. He used the last bit to splash on himself to cool down and... okay there, wait a second.
Was this guy actually hot?
I nudged Viola perhaps a little too hard.
"What?" She asked.
"Do you know who that is?" I asked, pointing to the boy. "Is he also a target?"
Viola looked out. "No, he's just a mob."
"A mob?" I asked.
"Like a non-important character that fills up the background art," she explained. "Either way he's definitely not from a noble family, that scar across his cheek proves it... actually..."
She squinted to look a little closer. "I do recognize that one sort of. There's a part in the game where there's a security risk and every girl gets assigned a private guard. Usually you end up getting guarded by the guy you have the highest heart rating with at the time but if you go for one of the non-fighters, or you don't have a good score with anyone, he's your default guard.
I hummed thoughtfully. "So what's he like?"
"I don't know," she shrugged. "You end up sneaking away while he's guarding your room to go and meet whichever guy you're going after. I guess he seems kind of bland and super by-the-book from his tiny bit of dialogue. They don't even bother drawing him with a full face I just remember the scar that made him stand out a little from the other faceless guards."
"Briar Bell!" A voice interrupted us and I turned in delight to find Gwen standing behind us.
"Gwen!" I squealed and hopped up to give her a tight hug. I pulled away to admire her dress up close. "You look so great!" I gripped her shoulders in disbelief then gestured to her chest, "when did you get THESE? I'm so jealous!"
She shook her head. "Now Briar, we're in the royal palace, try to be at least a little proper."
She sat down gracefully next to where I had been sitting leaving a large enough gap between her and Viola for me to rejoin.
As I sat, she gave me a sidewards glance. "Still, I appreciate the compliment. Despite your insistence on that short hair, you're looking pretty good as well."
I leaned back a little to give her a clearer view next to me. "You remember Viola of course?"
Her brow furrowed, "I can't say I do..."
Viola had been giving me quite the look but she turned timidly to Gwen. "I- I was at your first tea party."
"Oh right, of course," Gwen said in recognition. "Viola Doyle, apologies for forgetting, it has been a while."
"Right..." Viola said awkwardly.
She continued to stare at Viola, her eyes scanning her up and down. "Hmm, so you're the so-called priestess of heart. I never would have guessed it would be you."
Viola looked down at her feet and Gwen glanced away. "Apologies, my manners escaped me there."
The girls in front of us, oblivious to Gwen's arrival continued to gush over Prince Luther.
"So ladies," she said leaning forward and a cold chill seemed to almost visibly run up their spines. "What do you think of my fiancé? Quite striking is he not?"
The girls, deeply embarrassed, quietly trickled away with murmured apologies.
"Literally," I agreed and when no one got my joke I explained it like the lameass I am. "You know.. because they're doing swords practice... and they are striking stuff."
No answer.
"He is literally striking."
There was a moment's silence.
"I'd keep away from comedy my dear," Gwen finally said.
"You're not the first person who's told me that," I said with a cheeky grin.
There was some commotion out in the field and we redirected our attention. It seemed like practice was wrapping up. Soldiers were dropping their practice swords back in buckets in relief and the prince's knights sheathed their gilded weapons.
I scanned back out to the more distant fields for that soldier boy I had zoned in on earlier.
He was still hacking at a training mannequin with a determined look across his face and I couldn't help but admire his dedication.
"Briar," Gwen said. "I'm not exactly sure what you're looking at but take this."
She had handed me a fan. "A lady must never reveal her intentions on her face."
I took it but no sooner had I taken it than the man had dropped the sword in fatigue and stepped back. He used the bottom of this shirt to wipe at the perspiration on his face- revealing a CUT figure. That was one vicious v under his lower abs- especially for me to have seen it from so far away.
Unconsciously, I bit down lustfully on the fan's handle.
"BRIAR!" Gwen cried in complete outrage and quickly flew her own fan over to hide my face from the field. "Are you even aware of what kind of message you are sending there?" She asked with red cheeks.
Well if putting the handle to your lips meant kiss me.. and I was chewing it instead... it might mean...
He removed his shirt all together to fan himself.
Take me now on these steps you hot stranger. I thought, biting the fan even harder.
Gwen glanced down at my once again empty champagne flute. "How many of these have you had?" She asked.
"Enough," I admitted.
Of all of the guys that had been out practicing, the one I had my eye on had been the only one who had not been sending quick glances to the audience of single women. Meaning, I never got to catch his attention before he started packing up.
"Well look who it is!" Another very familiar female voice said while approaching from the field. I turned in disbelief. "CLARA!" I called and pounced on her.
She held me in her arms rather easily what with her reinforcement magic. She laughed a little as I nuzzled my face into her wavy blue ponytail.
"It's been sometime," she said, letting me down gently.
I gave her an approving look over. "You never said you got accepted into the prince's knights! How could you?!"
She giggled now. "I wanted it to be a surprise. It felt like too big of news to share in a letter. Perhaps we three could celebrate properly later?"
Clara had become a blue-haired bombshell. She looked so much better in a knight's uniform than a dress- it just suited her so well. Then again, it was probably tailor-made for her. There had never been a female knight before so it stood to reason there had never been a female uniform before.
It had its own flair for sure.
"How have I known you this long and yet never knew?" I asked in despair.
"Never knew what?" She asked in alarm.
"Never knew you had this amazing butt!" I exclaimed, lifting the coattails of her uniform for emphasis. What a crime it was always hidden under those massive skirts.
"Briar!" She squealed backing up and holding her vest back down with giddy laughter.
Gwen gave her a meaningful look that she thought I hadn't seen and gestured to my glass again.
"I'm not drunk!" I protested and then paused as I took stock of myself and the warm hum that hung over me. "Not that drunk."
I looked around for Viola to back me up but noticed with some surprise that she had slipped away.
"Wait," I said. "How did I not see you practicing out there?"
"I'm not so desperate to show off," she rolled her eyes. "We don't usually train so close to the garden's edge, I think all the men just wanted to put on a show." She sighed. "It's so stupid."
"What is?" I asked.
"Sorry," she frowned. "I am so happy you both are here. I just think it's ridiculous we are going through with this ceremony while we are literally at war. This whole thing is a massive diversion of focus."
I huffed. "I hate how right you sound. Now I can't ask you what I wanted to."
"What was it?" She asked.
I glanced over at my mystery hunk, still pulling equipment together and running the bundles into the nearby storage shed. "Who exactly is that meal over there."
She followed her gaze to where I was pointing. "Oh, Captain Sheppard? He's actually a pretty impressive person."
"Captain?" I asked.
"Yes, he's not one of the prince's knights- only nobles and people with magic tend to get that honour but he's doing incredibly well for himself for his social standing. The youngest ever to be made captain of a squad I believe."
I gave him one last intrigued glance before Clara told me to give up. "He won't look over here," she explained. "He's a bit of a warhorse, I can't imagine him letting himself get distracted while working... Not like a couple other idiots..."
"BRIAR IS THAT YOU?" Lucas sprinted to me like a puppy zoning in on a familiar face at the park.
"Prince Lucas," I said. "It has been too long!"
We had written for a while when we were kids but it had petered out and stopped abruptly when the demon lord attacked.
"Right?" He exclaimed. "I'm sorry I never asked you how your tenth birthday went! Things just got so bad and it seemed wrong to send messengers out into danger with frivolous letters!"
"I get that. Well it was a long time ago now though, it hardly matters anymore."
"I still want to know!" He said. "You were so excited about preparing your dance- did it go well?"
"Duchess Doughty said it was the best she'd ever seen," I said haughtily.
"What kind of magic did you get?" He asked.
"A little bit of fire and a little bit of ice and yet not enough to actually make fire or ice," I said. "It was frustrating at the time when I was literally being attacked by monsters but it's great now- it means I never get too hot or too cold."
"That would be useful," Gwen agreed. "Oh!" She said and I tried to spot what she was seeing. It was Luther approaching.
"It is good to see you three together again," he said.
"It's good to be the three of us together again!" I agreed, hugging my two best friends close. "This is going to be quite the year."