Amy

“I…” I hesitated a moment, glancing at Clara before deciding to switch to mental communication. Not out of distrust, or anything, but rather due to the absolute certainty that she would feel obligated to comment on the matter. ‘It’s not as if I don’t think I’m good enough, or some such. Not really, anyway. It’s just that I don’t think I can truly be who she wants me to be.’

Please, Amelia scoffed. I don’t even need lie detecting to see through that one. If you had any self-worth whatsoever, you’d be doing your best to make the girls you’re crushing on happy, rather than insisting that they’d all be better off without you.

‘T-that’s… I never said I liked any of them!’

As if you needed to. An image flashed through my mind - Amelia, rolling her eyes as she stared into the camera - assumedly the one built into my monitor. You’ve been getting flashes of my emotions, even when I try to hide them - did you think it wouldn’t work in reverse, when you aren’t even putting in the slightest effort to conceal them from me?

I opened my mouth, then closed it, and opened it all over again before suddenly realizing that my mouth wasn’t even playing a proper part in this conversation in the first place. ‘I’d know if I liked them. And I don’t.’

No?

‘No!’ I insisted. ‘Not like that, at least… they’re just… friends, I suppose. If I can even call them that, considering the fact that Bridgette is always spying on me, while Firanna’s made it quite clear she’s only with me due to her father’s orders.’

Oh please. Do you have any idea how whiny you sound right now? “Oh heavens above, help me - I’m surrounded by women who are bound by societal roles even as they make every attempt to get to know me better.’ And don’t think I didn’t notice that Pauline wasn’t in the roster - I’m quite sure she’s keeping you around for only her own sake. She’s not exactly proficient at plotting, you know - as embarrassing as that is to admit, considering all she’s done to foil my various plans…

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. I would have followed that with a nasty retort of my own - assuming I was capable of coming up with one - but it was at that moment that Clara curtsied, looking past me and towards the entrance of the dining room. “Good morning, Lady Firanna”

“A curtsy?” Firanna asked, arching an eyebrow in surprise. “My my. Could it be that you’ve finally accepted my place in this household?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Clara lied, her face the perfect picture of demurity. “Have I not always shown you the respect you deserve?”

“The respect you think I deserve, perhaps,” Firanna replied, narrowing her eyes at the maid as she turned her gaze towards me. “While you’ve certainly curtsied to me before, you’ve largely stopped since I’ve moved in, only treating me politely in front of the Queen… Could it be that you were, perhaps, warning Amy of my arrival?”

“Does it matter?” I asked, finally forcing myself to turn around and face her. My cheeks were still a little red from my argument with Amelia, and my heart was beating a bit faster than I’d have liked as I looked at her. That, combined with what Amelia had said about me having some form of feelings for the various girls trying to woo me, led to a sudden intrusive thought - what, exactly, would those pouty lips of hers feel like if they were ever pressed against my own?

“Are you alright?” Firanna asked, a touch of worry creeping into her tone. “You’re looking at me funny.”

“I-it’s nothing,” I replied, shaking my head to clear it. I didn’t know why my thoughts were even drifting in her direction to begin with - even if I were to take Amelia’s words seriously, there was no way I could possibly be falling for Firanna of all people. She was the one I knew least, after all - and the one least interested in me, for that matter. Yes, we were engaged, but I had serious doubts as to whether either of us would actually be willing to go through with it when all was said and told. And, again, she had no interest in me to begin with!

I know we haven’t known each other long, Amelia remarked, but somehow it feels quite like you to fall for the one you can’t have.

‘I haven’t fallen for her!’ I mentally screamed back, gritting my teeth. ‘If I was interested in anyone, it would be Pauline, obviously - not that I’m worthy of her attention, in the first place, really… If she ever saw my original body, I’m quite sure she’d be entirely turned off by the mere sight of it.’

Probably, Amelia confirmed, without a shred of sympathy. But so what? You’re in my body now, after all - a distinctive upgrade, so far as I’m concerned. Not that I intend to let you keep it, of course, but it’s not as if I have any plans to stuff you back into your old one or anything. I’m more likely to keep you in a jar, as things stand - though, if you were willing to cooperate with me, I might be willing to shove you into the body of some maid or another instead. Either way, I don’t see what your old form has to do with anything, seeing as it and Pauline are literally worlds away from one another in any case. Even if you did somehow manage to get back to it, Pauline still wouldn’t be there to witness it.

“Alright, now I’m sure something is wrong,” Firanna said, her frown deepening. “Looking off into space is one thing - I’m used to you behaving oddly, at this point, and the ditzy look goes well with the bunny ears you’re sporting in any case - but to go utterly silent and then scowl without a word… What in the world is going on?”

“It’s nothing,” Clara said, putting herself between me and Firanna. “My Lady had a bad dream, earlier - we were discussing it when you came downstairs, and I’m afraid her mind still lingers on the subject.”

“Is that so?” Firanna asked, clearly unconvinced as she looked me up and down. After a moment, though, she simply shrugged. “Well, whatever. As long as you don’t get yourself killed or disgraced, I don’t really care what sort of trouble you get yourself into. Just keep me out of it, alright?”

“What happened to wooing me?” I asked, only to regret it a moment later when Firanna shot me a heated look and smirked.

“Oh, I haven’t forgotten that little plan, don’t you worry.”

I gulped. Part of me wanted to let things go with that - to let her leave, so I could continue arguing with Amelia in peace, and then perhaps join her for breakfast. And yet I found myself speaking anyway - though whether it was from fear of letting her continue unchecked, or a simple stubborn need to win at least one argument today, I had no idea.

“You do realize that there’s a difference between seducing someone and wooing them, right?” I asked, eyeing her critically. “And even if you did manage to get me into bed with you, it’s not as if I’d instantly become a puppet or a plaything, no matter how good you are in bed.”

“That’s… I…” Firanna’s cheeks turned scarlet. “You think I would… w-who said anything about s-s-sex, you slut!? I’ll have you know my first time is reserved for Bridgette, and no one else! That was my plan even when I thought I was going to get married off to some distant prince, you know, so I’m hardly going to change it for you now!”

I blinked. “But… all that about getting me wrapped around your finger - I mean, you obviously don’t intend to put any effort into getting closer with me emotionally, so what was I supposed to think?”

“I was planning on turning on the charm, of course!” Firanna all but screamed back at me. “I have all sorts of people fawning over me all the time, you know? And I never have to ask them about their days or i-invite them into my… bedchambers… or anything like that! I mean, isn’t being around someone as pretty and powerful as me reward enough for most?”

“If all you’re after is shallow fair weather friends who will ditch you the moment it becomes inconvenient for them to be associated with you, maybe,” I replied, frowning at her. “And what’s with all the stuttering over sex talk? I thought your mother was a prostitute.”

“Mother is mother,” Firanna said, her cheeks turning bright red. “She says whatever she wishes to say, whenever she wishes to say it, and hardly cares for whether it turns everyone else’s cheeks red or not. But just because I’m used to her saying things like that doesn’t mean I say or do any such things myself - most people wouldn’t even dare bring things like that up around me, you know…”

“You mean… The only person you’ve ever talked about sex with is your mom?” I asked, trying to wrap my brain around this.

“W-well, of course,” she huffed. “Mothers are meant to be embarrassing, after all. Everyone else has enough good sense to know that princesses are meant to be chaste and such, illegitimate or not.”

“What about princes?” I asked, thinking about Jethroo. She might be in the body of a princess, now, but that certainly wasn’t how she’d been raised.

“How should I know?” Firanna asked. “We don’t talk about things like that. Though… I suppose I’ve never actually heard any rumors of Daphne doing anything like that, either…”

“Huh…” I frowned for a moment, wondering if Daphne perhaps had a surprisingly innocent side, just like her sister - not that it really mattered much, in the end, seeing as how she only saw me as an enemy in any case.

“A-anyway,” Firanna said, clearly desperate to move on. “I still intend to woo you, alright? I just… don’t see what that has to do with concerning myself in your business.”

“Quite a bit, Lady Firanna,” Clara interjected. “Generally speaking, most romantic couples are quite close. They take interest in each other’s hobbies, share each other’s burdens, and do their best to learn everything they can about the ones they love.”

“Really?” Firanna asked, pursing her lips together. “It’s true that I’ve always taken quite an interest in what Bridgette is up to. That’s why I memorized her schedule, after all. And I suppose I did learn everything I could about the various rules of honor and knighthood and all that - mostly because I was curious whether there was anything I could use to keep her by my side… I watched her train a lot, too, come to think of it. Not that she ever knew I was looking at her in particular, of course - I was always careful to frame it as if I were simply taking an interest in the knights who protected us, rather than wishing to view her efforts in particular…”

“That sounds more like you stalked her than anything,” I pointed out, causing Firanna to flinch.

“Th-that’s… I mean… What was I supposed to do, when just being near her made me all tongue twisted? When the mere thought of having her eternally by my side felt like a fantasy I would do anything to realize, and yet could never realize, so long as her loyalty remained to the crown and my sibling over me? I was going to be sent away, while she’d keep living her life in this kingdom, by Daphne’s side. It’s only thanks to recent arrangements that any sort of future is possible between me and her at all, so…”

“So you didn’t try,” I realized. “Is that why you acted so strange around her, before, despite having known her for so long? Considering how quickly you got over it after you started living together, I can only assume that you never even put in the effort to act normally about her before…”

“I… It was simply nice, to be able to feel like that around her,” Firanna confessed. “To have my heart beat so fast, and my tongue twist and my whole body swelter - you’d think it would be horrible, and in some ways I suppose it was, but… it was better for her to have a childish image of me, and me to have an idealized crush of her, than…”

“Better that than allowing it to turn into anything real, knowing it could never be fulfilled?” I suggested.

Firanna nodded, meekly, her cheeks bright red. “Why am I even telling you this in the first place? And without a screenstone, no less.” Her face paled. “Oh no. There’s no screenstone! And we said Bridgette’s name so many times - including just now! Oh, no, there’s no way she doesn’t know we’re talking about her, at this point - do you think there’s any chance she decided not to listen in? It’s only snippets, as a rule, unless she chooses to focus on a conversation.”

“I suspect she’d be here, if she had,” Clara said. “Though I would suggest bringing our your screenstone now, if you’re so worried.”

“Me!? Amy’s the one who should have put it out in the first place, if she wanted to talk about such sensitive matters! To think, she would talk about all that… that…. bawdy stuff, without even putting up some form of privacy protection…”

“I don’t have one,” I said, glancing at Clara. She shook her head, apparently not wanting to admit that she had her own - one that she must have turned off and hidden when she noticed Firanna coming down the stairs, I belatedly realized, seeing as how the princess would have been on the other side of the barrier if she hadn’t.

“You don’t have one?” Firanna repeated. “But you’re… I mean, you were - or, I guess it’s more that you’re inhabiting Lady Amelia’s body, but… Still. I’m quite certain she had a screenstone in her possession. A personalized one, no less.”

“A black diamond,” Clara confirmed. “With the Duke’s seal inscribed. I’m fairly certain my Lady had it on her when she first arrived, and subsequently left the house - but it is my understanding that she lost it, alongside her spatial bag, during that same outing.”

I grimaced, my mind flashing back to that night - to the feel of cold steel piercing my throat, and warm blood coursing down my body. It was arguably the closest I’d come to death since arriving here - though the fact that it even had competition in the first place, so soon after my initial appearance, was worrisome in its own right.

Probably best not to think about that…

You lost my bag? Amelia demanded. Do you have any idea how many valuable things I stored in that? Not to mention the bag itself - shadow-aligned storage bags are rather rare, you know.

‘Can’t I just make a spell for it, or something?’ I asked. ‘I do have an open slot for it, you know.’

You’re going to have to find some time to explain to me what exactly these ‘slots’ are, and what exactly you’ve been doing to my core - but we can discuss that later. Suffice it to say that such spells are generally more trouble than they’re worth… Though I have a worrisome suspicion that you won’t let that stop you, in any case.

“You’re acting weird, again,” Firanna remarked, eyeing me. “Care to share what’s going through your head?”

“I was thinking about maybe creating a storage spell of some sort for my next main spell,” I replied, deciding to go with at least partial honesty. “Though maybe that’s a bit too narrow an idea? Something more along the lines of a general shadow melding would likely allow for much the same thing, and give me a lot more to work with besides.”

“You want to use a spell that will take you into the shadow realm?” Firanna asked, sounding simultaneously annoyed and concerned, somehow. “That’s… Hmm…”

“What’s wrong?” I asked, a little concerned. “What’s the shadow realm?”

“Well, I was going to say that it’s something for you to talk about with your teacher,” Firanna admitted, “but since I’m apparently supposed to be getting to know you better or some such, I’m now thinking that we should have a conversation about it ourselves at some point, regardless… Still, there’s something more important to concern ourselves with at the moment.”

“Something more important?” I asked, shooting a glance Clara’s way in the hopes of gaining a bit more insight. She merely shrugged, though.

“Much more important,” Firanna confirmed, with a sharp nod. “Considering both your habit of saying private information without a second thought, and the terrible precedent it sets to allow a noble family’s heirloom remain in the hands of criminals, there’s really only one thing we should be focusing upon right now - getting your screenstone back.”

~~~Author's Notes

Not entirely sure how I feel about the title, but I'm rather fond of the chapter as a whole - even if it did go in a completely unexpected direction, and thereby make a total mess of my plans by bringing up the stolen screenstone and it's potential retrieval both earlier than I intended and in a way that completely divorces it from the original context I had planned for it...

That's just how this series goes, though - I sit down to write a simple scene before moving on to what I think will be the main event, only for said scene to spin wildly out of control and become an event in and of itself... Not that I'm complaining, of course~! (I mean, I am, but only in that 'an author is allowed to grouse about her own story' sort of way. I'm actually pretty pleased with how things turned out. c: )