Sophisticated

With her eyes unblinking as if in a trance, Ava sat on a public seat furniture for hours, ruminating over the same train of thoughts and questions.

Some passerbys thought she was mentally ill. But Ava couldn't care less. For all she knew, she was sure she didn't want to have anything to do with any of them.

It was no wonder everything, at least the buildings and the city's urban setting, was exactly like she envisioned in her description of Luxeville based off her first novel.

And even the sun had no effect on her or 'anyone' else because she hated getting sun burnt or hot, hence her description of Luxeville reflected just that as well. Bright sun, with no heat effect.

_

Ava was a writer of novels of average merit. The fact that she was signed an author under Euphoria came as a big shock to many and to some, an upset.

It also explained Vincent's harshness towards her. She wasn't attractive by physical description, at least to most people, and so there was no speculation of her using her body to secure the job.

When she got signed up, her writing quality was sort of mediocre. But that however, did not mean Ava was a bad writer. She improved in every facet of writing progressively. But to people who hated her, that was asides the point.

Growing up, Ava had always wanted to become a musician, but her dreams couldn't come to light because her parents were poor till they died mysteriously when Ava was just 18.

Ava had to fend for herself. She schooled and still got a part-time job. Her mother taught her the value of education, so there was no room for compromise.

Ava studied Business Administration and graduated at the age of 22.

She had to settle for that course, not because she wanted to, but because she had to. That was the only course she was opportune to study the year her parents died. There was no guarantee she was ever going to get the chance to study if she turned down the opportunity back then.

After she graduated, she worked at a middle class restaurant as a waitress. She had no passion for Business Administration. Her attitude and character towards people attracted them to her and the restaurant, to a large extent.

She always wore a smile on her face, the one that looked genuine. Despite her physical appearance and the high number of body shamers in Monte Ista, Ava was never caught wearing a sad face, and so a lot of people admired her for that. But somehow, Ava had her 'morning routine' to thank for all of that.

The effect of positive words.

A few months after, fate, having mapped out her future, pushed the director of Euphoria Novels, Helena Mars to the restaurant where Ava worked.

Surprisingly, for someone as conceited as Helena, her interest in Ava was spontaneous. It was unexplainable to Helena herself, but she tagged it under her admiration for Ava and inclusivity of women and girls of different description in Euphoria.

Little did she know that she was only a tool.

Ava passed all tests and requirements to qualify to become an author, but that raised brows. Employees and collegues wondered how she managed to do that, given that they felt she didn't deserve even an interview slot, which was unfair.

But almost 3 years and 4 novels later, Ava became above par in her own right, and even ranked top 60.

The answer to why she ranked top 60 and was still living in a trench town, was a mystery to even Ava herself. She did receive a good pay, but she could barely make good use of it. Her salary and wages was like water in a basket.

That however, did not stop Ava from pushing. She worked hard, because like her mother Cecilia would always tell her, when she was still alive, '... anything worth doing, is worth doing well.'

And so Ava was fully committed into writing, which became her passion later on. But asides that principle, Ava was fully devoted in writing because of something else.

From adolescence to adulthood, Ava never knew what it felt like to have someone say 'I love you' to her. At some point, she was so sure her heart had already grew numb in that sense.

But, she also never wished to confess her feelings to anyone as well. Not because her heart grew numb, or because there was no handsome dude in all of Monte Ista. But most of them either despised her, or wanted nothing to do with someone like her. She had too many tags owing to her physical look, something she had no say over.

And so because she was left to feel like an inferior person, Ava felt she was worthy of no one's love and affection, asides her parents'. But that didn't mean she would have smiled to every Dick and Harry that approached her. Ava's father Francis, didn't fail to instill the importance of a person's character in her. Both Francis and Cecilia always reminded her that love was not all there was to a relationship.

That helped Ava set a standard in choosing a person. However, if it boiled down to dating someone, Ava would rather remain single. She didn't think she was worthy of even her dream man. Her self esteem was poor in that sense.

And that reflected in her first novel. How?

While Ava was growing up, with the aspiration of becoming a musician, she would always infuse her life experience in the lyrics of the songs she wrote.

And so when she started writing, her first Novel was about a CEO, the literal man of her dreams. He had everything she wanted him to have, except a stable emotional life. The female lead, which she designed to be like her, was the frustrating type.

Her male lead, Darien, loved her but she didn't feel she was good enough and would always push him away, in the harshest manner - or so Ava wrote.

But as for Prince Kinsey of Duskhill, he was designed the brother of Prince Caspian of Auroria, the male lead of her third novel.

But how did they all come to life? How is she in their world? Transmigration doesn't exist in real life so...how come? A lot of questions with no one to answer.

With a lot on her mind, Ava was still maintaining her stiff position. Until a boy that surprisingly caught her attention walked past her. She couldn't help but look at his back which disappeared in a couple of seconds as he took another turn.

Looking away, Ava finally sighed. Then she returned her gaze to the phone she was holding. 'There is more to this AI' Ava thought.

Just as she was about to tap on the screen, her stomach rumbled, reminding her she had not eaten for as long as she could not even remember.

'But what am I gonna eat? Is the food even real? Ugh' Ava groaned inwardly before she facepalmed.

Seeing that she had no other option, she tapped on the screen so she could talk to Keys.

Holding the phone up, she spoke into the speaker "Keys." Ava called out.

" Hi. I'm keys and I'm your Virtual assistant. How can I help you today?"

" Listen, I don't have time for games. You and I both know that you're not a random AI." Ava replied.

" Why do you say so?"

" How else can you explain 'I told you so' huh?"

" I am an Artificial Intelligence and I'm not programmed to engage in arguments."

" But you're programmed to answer questions, aren't you?" Ava asked. " It depends." Keys answered.

" You're programmed, so it shouldn't." Ava countered with a smirk as she looked at the screen of the phone.

" Then I'm going to answer 'I don't know'. It's as simple as that." Keys replied, causing Ava to scoff. " You're such a smart and intelligent AI. I mean, you reply curtly like a programmed Virtual assistant does." Ava remarked sarcastically.

" It's obvious you already know. There was no need keeping up with the act, I'm not a fool. Besides, I know you're being sarcastic with your last statement." Keys replied.

" Then what was the 'I have a dream' Wiki about?" Ava asked.

" Make believe."

" Wow. Just wow." Ava said with a scoff, still in disbelief about everything that seemed to be reality.

After a while " Can I ask you a question?"

" I've been programmed to assist you." Keys replied.

" What the heck is wrong with you? Why are you still keeping up the act?!" Ava asked in frustration, while passerbys thought she was furious with someone over the phone.

" Make believe." Keys replied.

" But you just admitted to not being a real AI." Ava complained. But Keys did not speak till a man walked past where Ava was sitting.

" That's because someone else was nearby. 5 feet away, precisely." keys replied, as Ava mouthed an ''Oh, I see."

" And I never admitted to not being a real AI. I am artificial intelligence, but unlike any you've seen or heard."

" Can I ask you a question Keys?"

" I answered that question the last time you asked." replied Keys.

" Do you know what happened to me? How did I get here?'' Ava asked, with the expectation of getting an answer. Ignoring Keys response.

" I don't know." Keys answered curtly.

" But do you_"

" No, I don't."

Just then, Ava's stomach rumbled again.

" 009, Winsteria street, Belle LV." said Keys.

" Huh."

" The address to your house." Keys replied.

" How can you say that wh_"

" Quiet." Keys hushed. Ava on the other hand raised her brows.

" I'm trying to detect a_"

Keys paused suddenly.

Raising her head, Ava looked by the left and saw three women approaching her. They seemed to come from where the boy took a turn.

" I think that was Prince Kinsey." One said in a 'whisper' Ava heard from where she was sitting.

" What is he doing there?" another woman asked.

" I wonder if the King is aware he's been all over the place lately." the last woman said before they walked pass Ava who pretended to be busy with her phone.

" Do you think I should go check that out?" Ava asked Keys.

" It is not in my description to advise you." Keys answered curtly.

" You know I could just throw you away." Ava said gritting her teeth.

" I can not advise you to do otherwise.'' Keys replied.

'' I hate you!" Ava groaned before she stood up and headed for that direction. Her foot hurt a little, giving that she had been sitting for the longest time, so she leaped for a while.

After a few steps, Ava found herself staring down the lane she believed Kinsey had gone. Drawing a deep breathe, she continued walking. After about 30 seconds later, Ava halted when she saw a young man pacing back and forth with a smile on his face and his hands behind his back.

But he wasn't just any young man. Ava recognized he was the 19 year old Prince Kinsey of Duskhill.

A 5'5 Feet tall young Prince, who had brown curly hair that barely touched his neck, defined and smooth face contours, white teeth and the figure of a potential editorial model.... of course it had to be Prince Kinsey. The kind, academically intelligent but gullible Prince, Ava remarked inwardly, looking at the Prince who hadn't noticed her presence.

' If he's here for what I think then I must stop him..'