I do as she says. This mysterious girl pulsates with an otherworldly energy that sends shivers down my spine. I feel like I ended up in a bad copypasta, and I pinch myself even as I sit down, facing the newcomer with Grandpa's letter in my hands.
She chuckles at my gesture. It's the most beautiful laughter I have ever heard, and my heart aches to hear it again…
No. I shake my head. I have to stay focused.
"Now that is a fun little trick. No, you are not asleep, my dear friend. And this is not a dream."
Though I am afraid it can quickly become a nightmare.
"Who are you? How did you enter my house? Was it you before, back in the bushes?"
She quirks one of her perfect white eyebrows. Her skin is pale, but there's something strange about it… not just pale… it's like she has a filigree all over it, as if she applied one of those fancy Snapgram filters. I can see the faintest cracks and the light seeping out of them. It looks like… I glance at my ring. It looks just like the light through the flower-shaped gem.
The same muted iridescence, the same faint rainbow, the same silver glow that looks like it's eating out the light surrounding it and spewing out darkness.
"I am not the person you should ask for about the state of your bushes. That is beyond my care. As for how I came in, I just stopped staying outside. I suppose that works well enough, doesn't it? Don't you do the same when you move, my friend?"
"I… I am not sure that's how it works."
"Perhaps. But we are not here to discuss anything. You want me to give you answers about all this. About… your ring."
"Is he going to be fine?" I glance at my Principal.
"I am sure you do not really care if he suffers a little for all the trouble he gave you for the past few years, do you?"
"I… I suppose I don't."
I am thankful I don't have to look through his browser history.
"Now, let's go back to the task at hand. What of this ring, this little trinket your Grandpa gifted you in a grand gesture of generosity? And what are you going to do with it?"
I raise my hand and peer at the ring. The 'unlight' effect it displayed so far seems to only grow stronger the more I am in this mysterious girl's presence.
Whatever she is, she seems linked to the ring. And maybe she knows Grandpa as well…?
"Listen, at this point why don't you just start explaining? I'm tired I can never get a straight answer out of people today." I hand her the letter. "He said something about the ring bring lucky, but I am now sure there's more to it."
"There is a lot more to it," she agrees, moving her silver eyes through the letter. A chuckle as she reaches the end. "Your Grandpa is always so dramatic. He tried to warn you about the worst without saying it out loud. I suppose I can let it slide. Now, as for how that ring works… you must have felt it by now." A pause as she raises some of her fingers.
"Up to four females. The effects will strengthen over time. You can make the effects permanent if you keep the ring on for three days. And you can indeed take the ring off one time only without losing its effects… forever. If you do that twice…" She leans back against her 'chair' and the Principal lets out a satisfied groan. "Well I suppose we will not have anything else to say to each other."
"Alright, and what's the catch?"
She blinks, the smile growing dry on her lips.
"You are not even going to let me finish sweeten the deal for you? My friend, you drive such a hard bargain. Very well. A customer's satisfaction in my first priority, after all."
Customer? A customer implies a transaction. And if this is a transaction of some kind…
"The ring will sanction its use after the time to forge the new contract has expired. At the end of that time, it will claim your soul."