Here's how this is going to work. This is written as an otome game format. You play a part in how this story goes. It will read as a story for the most part but requires your participation at key points where I will offer choices on how to progress the storyline. Most popular choice wins and continues the story. Not all chapters will require participation. Now here's the disclaimer. I do not like writing in first person, so bear with me if it's cringe worthy. I also normally write on the computer which has more resources for my use, therefore I apologize beforehand for the drop in quality; I hope you will still enjoy this work of fantasy. Fantasy (yes it needs sparkles) as this is otome, and will be ridiculous in all sorts Part 1 I sighed as I made my way to my computer. Working as a freelance writer for the local papers was anything but exciting. Work was sparse and the thrills were even more so. My correspondent with 'The Daily News' had just informed me that they didn't have any work for me this month. My stomach rumbled and I looked down dejectedly. Would I be able to make it this month? My cursor hovered over my inbox. I had refreshed it a hundred times today with no news. I squeezed my eyes shut and clicked it. If no work came in, rent would be tight... "You've got mail!" the automated voice chirped and my eyes sprung open. Could it be? The address was unfamiliar and the email had no subject. I clicked on it and scanned it curiously. Hello Madame, I have a proposition for you... I am in possession of a ticket to a very important event that normal people may not attend. However, I am extending this invitation to you, provided that you write a series of articles detailing the occurrences thereof. You will receive adequate compensation for your troubles. Interested? Please reply post haste, and we shall proceed. -Werner Blinking I pushed my chair away from the computer. How odd. I waved it off as a scam immediately but my stomach grumbled again and my eyes drifted over the last section. Compensation... What would it hurt? I at least would get some amusement from this prank. Well mystery man, I shall play your game. I quickly hit reply. Re: no subject Werner, I accept your terms thus far. Please enclose this invitation, and I shall prepare my things immediately. I laughed as I hit send. My amusement was cut short however as the automated voice quickly announced "You've got mail!" cheerily as ever no sooner than I had replied. I refreshed my inbox and clicked the email. Subject: Your invitation Attachments: 3 Madame, Congratulations on joining the team. I shall be your correspondence during your trip. Please pack adequately for one week. Enclosed in this email is one plane ticket, your lodging information and of course, your invitation to the event. I will email you soon with further instructions on how the articles shall be sent to me and when. You leave first thing tomorrow morning, please prepare. I look forward to hearing from you soon. -Werner Clicking the attachments my breath caught in my throat. Indeed there was a plane ticket, a hotel confirmation page and the invite... However the invitation's headline hit me like a ton of bricks. In sprawling golden script it began ~Cordially invited to attend the Centennial Royal Ball~... And that's when I began to wonder what exactly I had gotten myself into.
Yes, it's a brain ramble. And totally flighty unlike HSotD. Btw..... I am writing a chapter of HSotD right now. It will be up within an hour. please stick along for the story
I lived in the small coastal city of Corsac. Our chief export was merchandise made from local pearls gathered from the sea. We were governed by one of the five kingdoms that made up our great land. Once a year there was a Royal Ball that joined all the kingdoms together to celebrate the peaceful existence we had come to enjoy. The Royal Ball was a weeklong party held on the aptly named Isola del Paradiso for the royal families and their guests, in which they held many processions and feasts. It was a dream come true of course... However, since the event had major celebrities in attendance including the five crown princes, invitations were only sent to the most prestigious of people. Some of course were sold or used in high traffic contests, but those were rare and did not extend to the more illustrious goings-on of the Royal Ball. The invitation that sat serenely on my screen was not one of those. It was a personal invite from the Kingdom of Delphino, home to the crown prince Van Orcella. Corsac fell in governance of Delphino, so I knew the royal seal well. My mind raced at the legitimacy of the invitation. Was this an elaborate prank? Who would spend money to send me there just to turn me away? It couldn't be real. But it couldn't be fake! I found myself robotically moving to my room and dragging clothes from my closet at a frantic pace, flinging them into a suitcase on my bed. It wouldn't hurt to go to the airport, right? Even if it's a fake ticket, I can't pass up the opportunity to write on a scoop like this! Every freelance reporter would die to attend the Royal Ball, with or without compensation. Even celebrity reporters weren't allowed normally past their gates! My suitcase packed I hurriedly printed the tickets and invitation, noting the individual number in the bottom corner. 36 of 50. I had heard the royal families each chose attendees to grace their presence. Was that what this meant? Another email arrived just then and I checked it eagerly. 'Madame, Concerning the articles, I require nothing more than a daily report for the week of the ball. You arrive early and leave promptly on the conclusion of the ball. I am sending you your return ticket. Of course I expect you to be on your best behavior, as you are representing me. Please use the name Werner as you arrive. No doubt you have questions on who I am or why I chose you, but this is not your concern. Please take your laptop with you and contact me at 8:00am every morning for further instructions. Have a good time, Werner' I closed my laptop and packed it in my carryon, and readied myself for bed. Indeed I was struggling to understand the circumstances which I had been dealt. Only a bit earlier I was wondering how I would pay my bills, and now I was being whisked to the Royal Ball a la Cinderella, where no matter what I wrote on I would make good money. The ticket said 6am was the departure time and it was nearing 9pm now. I had to get to sleep. I would need a taxi in the morning, and I'd need to prepare my writing tools, and did I pack that red dress I wore to events? My mind was racing as fast as my heart was pounding and I stared up at the ceiling trying to will myself to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be unimaginable. How little did I know.
The taxi ride was a quiet one. It was so early in the morning that barely a soul was out and about. The night air was cold as it often was this late in November. There was a light fog rolling in over the road as the taxi bumped through the night, eventually pulling off towards the airport. There were a few sleepy passengers standing in line as I dragged my bags behind me. Since I had my ticket already I went to check in my bags and the woman at the counter seemed to be studying me, as if she recognized me. “You don’t need to check any bags. This is a private flight... Please go on ahead. Security will check them,” she said to me. She seemed disappointed when I hurried away. After passing through security, I headed towards Gate F6. There were people passed out in the chairs while waiting to board. It really was early after all. I kept walking until I saw F6 ahead. Unlike the other gates there was no one there. I double-checked my ticket, but this was the place... My destination Isola del Paradiso... It wasn’t that hard to believe no one would be going with me. I felt a cold rush through my body. Standing at the desk the woman took my ticket and ushered me towards the boarding bridge. There was a man standing in a crisp suit and he took my carryon from my bewildered hands. “This way miss,” he said and walked on ahead, lugging my other bags as well with practiced ease. I followed dutifully. I could see the plane from the bridge and was shocked. It was very small and had the Delphino seal on the side. I boarded the plane under the suited man’s gaze. He looked young, but serious. His white gloves held my bag gingerly as he followed and placed it in an overhead compartment. My other bags followed and were tucked out of sight swiftly. The plane was unlike any other I had ever been on, although I had never been on anything but coach before! It was the penultimate in luxury, soft white leather seats so spacious I could stretch out comfortably on them. It only had the one section and I counted six seats. I was the only passenger, besides the man in the suit who took a seat across the aisle and didn’t look at me further. The flight was only a few hours, and would mostly be across the water. I drifted off into sleep as the plane coasted into the air. I was jolted from my jumbled dreams by the gloved hand on my shoulder. The man’s dark blue eyes were piercing into me. “Ma’am, we have arrived. Your ride is here.” I gasped and sat up. “My… ride?” I said, still confused from sleep.
The man took my bags up again and exited the plane. I quickly gathered my coat from the seat next to me and pulled it on, hurrying after him. There was no airport on Isola del Paradiso, so I had to carefully navigate the steps they had rolled out for us to exit the plane from. Once my feet touched the ground I turned and saw a limousine waiting nearby the plane. The man with my bags was putting them into the trunk and then he faced me, opening the rear door. I blinked in surprise. I hadn’t been informed I had a ride. I felt my cheeks flush as I sidled into the limousine, sitting on the plush seats. Was this what a VIP felt like? The man ducked his head down to me before he shut the door, “Welcome to Isola del Paradiso, and on behalf of the Royal Family of Delphino, we welcome you, Ms... Werner.” My eyes widened as I noticed for the first time the royal seal was emblazoned on his lapel. His cuff links also were emblazoned with the seal. Before I could ask any questions he had shut the door and the car was pulling away. The man had called me Werner... My breath caught in my throat. I really would have to pretend to be Werner! Although that man didn’t seem fooled from the way he had paused, even if it had been done so delicately. The limousine stopped shortly after I got in and when the driver opened the door I was greeted with the grandeur of the Hotel Calla. Standing there was a man with a nondescript face, who approached me immediately upon my exit. The driver had walked back to get my bags. “Werner?” he asked in a puzzled voice. “Y-Yes,” I lied. “Charmed,” the man said, taking my hand in his and kissing the back of it lightly. He didn’t seem all that charmed. Or fooled. How was I going to pull this off? “Right this way,” The man turned on his heel and walked into the hotel, ignoring my confusion. I quickly followed, trusting the driver to know what to do with my bags. The man took me inside, and kept on at such a fast pace I couldn’t even take time to marvel at the splendor of the hotel interior. Bypassing the front desk he took me to the elevator, and ushered me inside. I followed meekly, wondering what was happening now. The elevator stopped on the third floor and he walked out and down the hall a little ways before he stopped at a door and unlocked it with his key card. “U-Um,” I started. “I’m sorry but who are you?” The man looked back at me blithely and gestured me inside. I gulped and walked inside, taken aback at the size of the room. It was bigger than my pitiable apartment. Everything was so lush, I couldn’t help but gawk. The door closing behind me startled me and I whirled around.
The man looked at me curiously. "You follow any strange man into their room?" he asked, a grin crossing his face. I felt foolish immediately. "Of course not!" My cheeks heated at his words. "Don't get upset, it doesn't do your face justice." The man handed me the keycard. "Here's your keycard." His deep grey eyes studied me as I took it from his fingers. "I'm sorry to say this so early in the morning, but I've been given instructions to take you out." "Take me out?" I asked, feeling warm again. The nerve of this man... "Excited?" He teased. "I meant to receive proper clothing. You cannot attend then ball like that. Now that you've seen your hotel room I'm sure you are ready to see the island." I couldn't argue with that. Although it was infuriating to be led around by this man, I followed him from the hotel room. A short drive later by private car, we had arrived at the town center. While Isola del Paradiso was mainly a meeting place for the Royal Ball, the guests that visited often arrived so early due to reservation constraints that they grew bored without something to throw their piles of money at. Thus, the town center had been created. Although it was called a town, it was really a faux village of expensive boutiques and cáfé's. Even though it had been created with such misguided purpose, it was beautiful all the same. The man who still hadn't introduced himself and deftly avoided the subject every time I approached it (reluctantly allowing me to call him Nathan), behaved most gentlemanly during our shopping trip, taking me store by store until I found something I liked. I at last had seen a rather plan yet still stunning light blue dress made of a fine material that sparkled ever so slightly in the light. It was perfect. "Kind of Cinderella-like, don't you think?" My associate teased. I ignored him. "You said 'until I found something I liked', and I like it," I said, feeling a bit like a petulant child. "It's fine," Nathan reassured me, picking it from the hangar with his long slender fingers. My eyes automatically went to the price tag, a habit from pinching pennies back home. They promptly bugged out. "No wait!" I half shouted, startling the other patrons in the boutique. They looked over with glares that could pierce stone. "What is it?" Nathan asked, surprised at my outburst. I blushed again, embarrassed at my reaction. "Please put it back," I begged. "It's far too much..." "Nonsense," he said, waving his hand. "I've been instructed to buy you whatever your heart desires, and cost is no issue." "This one is fine," I said desperately, picking up a plain black dress. Then I saw the price tag and recoiled in horror. "I mean..." He laughed. "Please stop it. It's fine Ms. Werner." The infliction on the name wasn't lost on me. He knew I wasn't Werner. He walked off before I could stop him and paid. I noticed the shopkeeper seemed to know Nathan, but their interaction was so brief I felt as we left the store that perhaps I had imagined it. A sudden commotion across the small hand laid cobblestone street caught my attention as we exited the shop. A bunch of women were shrieking at a painful decibel. At first I thought it was panic, but I soon realized it was excitement. "Equix's prince!" One of them squealed. "Here! Of all places!" Another said. Nathan, whom was following me with the bag suddenly had a cold expression on his face. I was startled by the sudden change, as Nathan normally seemed so cheerful. He was undoubtedly serious. As the women parted, I saw a very tall man with broad shoulders standing with a bored expression on his face. Although he was decked out in exotic furs to combat the cold, he didn't look like the man that would wear them. He had short light brown hair spiked up, almost the hues of the furs he wore, and dark sunglasses on. Even though he was physically imposing, his aura was even more so. This was the Crown Prince of Equix?! My heart fluttered. In person they seemed so far from human, I wondered if I would be able to handle it. Standing in my plain black coat and slacks I must have been an odd sight, among all the women that were flocking by him, decked in jewels. He seemed to peer over the rim of his sunglasses and I saw Nathan stiffen out of the corner of my eye. Then the Prince began walking towards us! "Let's go," Nathan said under his breath, gesturing to the black car that had been parked beside the store. I hesitated... Decision Time <Stay where you are> <Leave with Nathan> Please pick only one. Choices will expire in 24 hours from now. Popular choice wins and advances the story.