I pick up a golden croissant and snack on it.
"You must be really hungry from all the dancing and waiting," Mitsuki says.
"I am a little hungry."
My head starts to ache as I hear a high pitched ringing. I cover my ears with my hands and Mitsuki says something. The crowd's noises rise but I can't make out what he said.
Then there is absolute silence.
I bump into someone behind me and I look around. It's another Mitsuki, but his eyes are green.
"Are you okay?" He asks.
"Hina, are you alright?" Mitsuki asks me.
"This is my brother, Yuzuki," Mitsuki whispers in my ear.
Yuzuki looks similar to Mitsuki, but his hair is wavy, brown. He is a little taller than Mitsuki and his eye color is a forest, jade emerald.
"Hey, Yuzu, how is the party?" Mitsuki asks.
"It's alright. Congratulations on your knightinghood," Yuzuki says.
"Thanks," Mitsuki says.
"The moment everyone has been waiting for has come!" Dad says.
We all looked towards him and listened.
Dad really looks the part as a king.
"Everyone, look towards the balcony!" Dad excitedly says.
We all listen to the sparks shooting into the air and watch fireworks bloom across the sky.
"Are you ready?" Yuzuki asks Mitsuki.
Mitsuki nods and waves goodbye to me.
"I'll be back."
Anxiety slips into my nerves as I watch him walk away with Yuzuki.
I feel lost whenever he isn't around. I don't know what to do when I'm alone. I don't understand how this world works. It's like standing in the middle of a stage and you don't know your lines or actions at the moment.
I listen to the music change from a soft melody, rising into a symphonic song.
The lights dim as two shadows rush to the center of the ball room. Neon lit ribbons traced the outline of their bodies in the darkness. It was Yuzuki and Mitsuki countering eachother's swords.
They elegantly slid their swords against the other's sword and danced around in a circle.
I've never seen a sword dance before.
The crowd watches silently, captivated by the colors of neon lights shining across the dance floor. The glowing blue ribbons flow in the air as Mitsuki and Yuzuki continue to dance.
A hand taps me on the shoulder.
"Aren't they amazing?" Yumeka says to me and smiles.
I nod my head and stay silent. How do I respond without sounding rude as though I forgot she existed? And that I don't know her. I feel so awkward. Her name is really pretty. Nothing compared to my name. Just HIna. But I do love how my name means sunlight.
I continue to gaze at Yumeka. She looks like a prettier version of me, but taller with straight, long, black hair. I like my wavy hair, but it is a little difficult to manage.
"Something on my face?" She asks me.
I shake my head and smile nervously then continue watching the swordplay.
The two bodies in the center of the room each strike a rod against the floor and spin them. Light sparks gold and silver from the end of each rod, glowing circles and ribbons in the air.
As light sparkles against their tan skin, I could make out from the color of his eyes, the person on the right is Mitsuki. His skin is darker than Yuzuki's and his vibrant, cerulean eyes catch light like glass. His eyes meet mine and he smiles. I smile back, hoping the darkness hid my flushed face.
They finish off the dance with more firecrackers, sparking the room in rainbows of light.
Mitsuki disappears into the darkness and I lose track of him.
"Did you like your debut party?" Haru asks from behind me.
"Yes, I've never seen so many fireworks or a firecracker show like this before," I say.
"Me neither. I think this is the first year we have ever done this before," he says.
"I love fireworks," I say.
"Me, too," Mitsuki says.
"Haha, everyone really knows when to pop in," I laugh a little, "You're all stealth ninjas."
"Who, me?" Mitsuki laughs a little.
I nod and smile.
I hear a sizzling sound in the background. BOOM!
Mitsuki slams me down onto the floor.
"Everyone get down and low!" Haru announces and guides people to the exit.
The room is covered in smoke and embers and voices and screams follow the continuous explosions.
Mitsuki holds my hand and pulls me towards him, leading us out of the smoky room.
"What about Dad?" I ask.
"Don't worry, I'll go look for him! Just get out of here first" Haru says.
BOOM BOOM!
I hear myself screaming and crying as I watch my brother's left leg fly off, his knee splattered in blood.
"Get her out of here, Mitsuki!" Haru yells.
I just stood there, shocked at the sight of my brother bleeding on the floor, struggling to stand up.
Mitsuki pulls my arm and swiftly carries me into his arms, placing my face into his chest. I continue crying into his shoulders.
"No! Go back! He's hurt, someone help him!" I cry out.
"We gotta get out of here!" Mitsuki says.
"No…" I cry softly, shaking my head.
More crying and screaming followed the explosions.
"I know this is hard to swallow, but you need to remember we're different from everyone else," Mitsuki says, "We're real."
I look into his eyes, almost as watery as mine.
"Then..why are you crying, too? You don't actually believe that, do you?" I ask him.
He continues to run towards a metallic carriage. The horses are armored in silver, chained to the carriage. Mitsuki helps me in the carriage and drives away from the castle. I watch droplets of water trickle down the windows and listen to the pitter patters.
"Where are we even going?" I ask him.
"While I was away from you after you left to debut, I went into the library to get maps. For now, we should look for my house."
"What do you mean? Like your real house is here?" I asked.
"I know it sounds crazy, but yes."
"How do you know this?"
"Because, I recognize the area. The world simulator probably used some of my memories to recreate the world map."
"But if this is a game, or a simulator, why do we need to run away? Don't we need to stay with everyone to survive?"
"First, we don't know for sure that everyone in the kingdom is on our side. Secondly, we don't know who set off the bombs. It was set on your debut day, so that might mean something. You might be in danger."
"Because I'm a princess?"
"I'm not sure. It might be because of your status. We'll have to look into it. I brought history books and newspapers to help us understand what is happening in this world."
"But, if this is a game, if anything happens to our bodies, won't we be revived or something?"
"Do you really want to wait and find that out? We don't actually know if we will revive in this world or how our bodies and minds will be affected."
"This is too real. The graphics, the sounds. Everything was just fine earlier, but now.. I thought we were just playing a game, but now I feel scared like I'm in real danger. This isn't a fun game. It's really messing with our heads by using people who we know in our lives. This isn't.. This can't be real. But the rain, the food, the music, the feeling of the rumbling under our feet… It's too real to be a game."
"And that's why, I don't want to call this a game. It's a world simulator."
"But if this world is based on your brother's stories, can't we find a way to get a good ending or something like that?"
"Just because a game is based on a story, doesn't mean everything is based on only the story. We know for a fact that people from our lives and places we lived are being simulated in this world. That means there must be more to this simulator than just a roleplaying game. It's possible the role playing might be the main factor of the simulator because we have statuses."
"So, we know we have statuses from the simulator, but do we really have to roleplay?"
"We might have to play our roles to survive this simulator."
"So.. we're heading to your house?"
"Yes, but I checked the map. Some of the terrain is different from my memories, so we'll have to keep riding a little further."
"So, why are we going to your house instead of being with the others?"
"I just.. I don't know who we can trust right now. Do you even know how old we are? Even if our minds are adults, our bodies aren't that strong. We still haven't even honed your magic skills."
"Do we really have powers in this game?"
"I know I do. I don't know about you, but most of the players in this game have magic."
"That's right! You said that you met other players in this game. Can't we ask them for help?"
"I don't think we can."
"Why?"
"Because, a lot of the world has changed from the day I met you."
"Please explain. Wasn't it the same as before? I still met you at your house. Things seemed fine."
"But what about now? You might have just started playing this game, but I've been here for a while."
"How long?"
"In real life, I don't know how long, but in game, about two years."
"Why?"
"I.. think I'm in a coma."
"You look fine to me. Do you mean in real life?"
"Yes."
"What makes you think that?"
"Because, I haven't been able to get out of the simulator and I don't know how I could have survived until now unless someone else is taking care of my body. And that's something I was worried about that might happen to you."
"You think I might be in a coma, too?"
He nods.
"I know this is a little off topic, but will we be safe riding all the way to your house? What if someone follows us?"
"I placed magic on us, like camouflage, so hopefully no one will find us."
"So the game has magic. What else?"
"It's a sci-fi fantasy world. There are swordsmanship, witches, wizards, cyborgs, demons, elves and more."
"Sounds like I'll be studying more than playing in this world."
"Pretty much playing is studying when it comes to games."
"Do we have our cellphones?"
"Do you still have yours? We also have magic phones. They're like smartphones but holographic."
"I mean, I left mine at your house before we slept so I don't know how that works."
"I'm not sure. Maybe check the house when we get inside."
We reached a stop and Mitsuki opened the carriage. I walk out and he holds my hand as we walk to the house, carrying a bag with the newspapers and maps. Does he have to hold my hand? I don't mind it, but I wonder if he's holding my hand because he's scared, too? I can feel his hand trembling a little. Is he cold?
Mitsuki unlocks the door with a key in his hand then we walk into the house.
He turns on the stove.
"Want some hot cocoa?" he asks me.
I nod.
"Here, you can change into these," he says as he places clothes and a towel into my arms.
The house does look a little different since we slept. It seems bigger and has more items and decorations than before. It looks a little more cozy with the house having more furniture and photos on the walls.
I head into the bathroom and change into the dry set of clothes. This dress was really pretty, but when it's soaked, it gets pretty heavy. I should look for my phone.
I walk out of the bathroom and look at the night stand in the room I had slept in. The walls are a navy blue, covered in pictures of planets and moons. No phone here. I return into the living room area and sit down, drying my hair with a towel. I see the room lit with candles, welcoming me with an air of sweet pea blossoms.
"Are you feeling a little better now?" Mitsuki says. I notice his clothes are already changed into a set of black pajamas with white stars, matching mine.
I shrug and say, "A little."
He places a bowl of cookies on the coffee table in front of us and hands me a cup of brown, steaming liquid then sits next to me.
"Are we going to be okay?" I ask.
"I.. I think we'll be fine here. It's just, I never knew the game would go back in years."
"Right, you were saying you met my brother before and trained under him."
"Mhm, and that's supposed to be when I was 21, but here we are far in the past as us, younger. We're supposed to be in the year 2054, but the news say…2042. So I'm supposed to be 11 and you're supposed to be 13. We were put 12 years into the past."
"That's a lot of years we don't know about in the game, plus the history."
"Are you ready to study?" Mitsuki asks, laughing a little.
I nod and laugh a little back.