Episode Two

<System Message: New Quest Unlocked!>

<System Message: Ready yourself for the engagement party.>

<System Message: < strong>

< - bathe

< - style hair

< - make-up done

< - don betrothal dress>

<System Message: Failure to complete this quest can result in consequences.>

These messages have only been popping up in front of me for a few hours and I am already beginning to get tired of seeing them. Was I not supposed to know that these were the things that I needed to get done? 

I ponder over what the consequences may be as I wash myself off with a cold bucket of water. Eliza had, of course, gotten to use it while it was still warm. I had to help her style her golden locks into braids that were piled atop her head, just like they had been in the game. Her wide blue eyes shone with hope and naivety as she gushed about how she would soon have servants to do this for her. That she would soon be the Lady of Corromoth Castle.

I don't hazard to correct her. This Eliza seemed much less apprehensive than your character had been in the game. I remembered playing one of the routes and Eliza was always concerned about marrying the Lord Corromoth. It was an arrangement made by her family and not what she wanted. She did not want to marry an old man.

Albeit, twenty-seven isn't really all that old. In my former life, I had been thirty!

I take the rag from the water and begin to drizzle it on my skin. I shudder as the cold droplets run over my naked flesh. I really missed modern plumbing…and I had just gotten here. The worst part of the entire situation for me was that I wasn't sure exactly how I was supposed to be interacting with everyone.

The only things I had figured out so far were that the "System" was sending me quests and messages, I apparently could access an inventory where certain items were being placed, and I was playing Queen's Life. 

But, I wasn't playing Queen's Life…

I was, but, I am Orelei…

Orelei who is the older sister.

As I finish bathing, I try to recall what I know about my character. I needed to know how to act. If I knew how to behave, no one would get suspicious of me. I mean…unless they're simply NPCs…maybe they had set dialogue options for certain interactions?

The "System" checks off "bathing" from my active quest as I put the wash cloth back in the cold bucket. 

I am never going to do that again. If I had to marry the first rich man in this game who showed interest in me, I would do it just to have warm water. Eliza always got to take lavish bubble baths in the game.

I would die for a lavish bubble bath right about now. 

I try to remember how Orelei had her hair done at the engagement party as I grab up my thin white shift from the chair I laid it on in the bathing chamber and slip it back on. I don't remember much about her. She was just "the Older Sister" to everyone in the game. Always in the background, but, no one ever really looked at her. I vaguely remember people accusing her of being cruel, but, I never played any of the bad routes to see that. When I played as Eliza, Orelei had always been kind to me when I played.

Though, I think I remember some mention of her death in one route and another route sees her left destitute and begging. 

I sigh. Well, I guess I'll have to avoid the choices that could lead to one of those outcomes…

I look into the mirror, finally accepting that I have no idea how Orelei's hair was styled in this scene. I blink, trying to awaken the System Screen…but, I see nothing. I guess that's something I have to figure out, too.

My hair curls naturally in loose, fiery ringlets in this fantasy land. Men in the game commented how Eliza was so much more beautiful than her sister…but, I look at the face that's reflected back at me with her pale skin, her freckles and her emerald eyes…and I don't understand how a comparison could even be made. We are two, completely separate beings…

And I know that Orelei is beautiful. 

I made a choice that seems to be low maintenance for the party and begin to braid two sections of hair before I twist them up behind my head and leave the rest of my hair down. Simple enough, easy enough…I can work with that.

The System Screen reappears, this time, marking off "Style Hair".

<System Message: Warning: This choice will have consequences. Would you like to proceed?>

< >~yes~ ~no~>

"Wh…?" What is it talking about? "My hairstyle has consequences?" The System does not respond. It just keeps blinking the arrow on the word "yes".

I shrug. "I'm not exactly sure how my hairstyle is going to affect anything…so, yes."

The System Screen disappears. That was strange. Eliza's hairstyles never had consequences…

I skip the make-up phase to put on the dress that Eliza brought me. It is a dress of a variety of shades of brown, but, of course this isn't abnormal of peasants. And, especially not abnormal of us as the Lord's servants. The colors were not ugly, but, I did wish that there were another outfit that I could wear instead. As I walk to the counter where Eliza laid one of her old dresses, which would likely fit me, as she was much more voluptuous, even if I were taller, the System flashes again.

<System Message: You have already obtained Orelei's Betrothal Dress. Would you like to wear this outfit instead?>

I feel my eyebrows pull together. In front of me is the dress that Orelei wore in the game. It is old and used, though beautiful. As it must be. It was the best their family could afford. Eliza got the new dress, specifically given to her by the Lord Corromoth. 

I bite my lip. Maybe the system is glitched. The dresses surely must be the same. 

"No," I say, mildly curious. "Um…don Orelei's Betrothal Dress?" It responded to me verbalizing "yes" and "no." Perhaps this would work, as well.

A quick shimmering feeling overcomes my body and I am suddenly wearing a deep green dress crafted of velvet and silk. The hems are decorated with golden embroidery, more fine than anything the Phillips family would have been gifted in their entire lives…and, more fine than Orelei would have ever had. I gasp as I see myself once more in the mirror. The dress hugs my curves in all the right ways, thanks to a deep brown leather vest that is laced over the top. The changing process was so wonderfully easy, as well, thanks to just telling the system what to do, I was actually not regretting the fact that I was somehow inside a medieval fantasy game.

It is so much more beautiful than anything that Orelei wore when I saw her in the games. Maybe it was a reward? Clearing other routes often gave you different items and advantages during a new playthrough….

<System Message: This choice will have consequences. Would you like to continue?>

I roll my eyes and scoff. "You gave me the dress, game. You're going to have to deal with the consequences." I go over to the small assortment of surprisingly modern cosmetics. "It's just a dress. Yes."

More flashing and then the disappearance of the System Screen. "Ridiculous," I say, my own voice sounding foreign and strangely conceited. Was Orelei mean in the game? Am I mean now? I try to tell myself that it is perfectly normal and rational for people- me - to be irritated if they were to materialize in a strange land in an equally strange new body of what was once on your screen as an anime character.

What if I become the villain?

With shaking hands, I smear blush across my cheeks and a lipstick that's as close to my natural color as I can. I use something I hope is mascara on my lashes. I put black liner on in a wing to make sure my eyes pop. This is fine.

I refuse to be a villain. I just need to take a breath. Get a grip. Everything will be fine.

I hear a gasp behind me and a very high-pitched voice squeals, "Orelei! Where did you get that dress?"