Chapter 3: A Breach Into My World

"Not all apples are red. Not all birds fly. I cannot overemphasize the harsh reality of life to those who live in Fantasy. But for many people, Fantasy is their reality 'cause their reality is either chaos, tragedy, or misery….

Chapter 3: A Breach Into My World

They call me Queen, and they are right. I am a queen in my own kingdom in my High School. Although I am good mannered as many would say, boys flock around me all the time. All of them are begging for my attention all the time. I got the looks, thanks to my father, whom I never knew, and brains from my mother who raised me se well, all by herself.

I was the daughter of a GI who fell in love with my mom, unfortunately he died before I was born. They met at a party hosted by a common friend where my Dad quickly fell in love with my mom. She was witty, he was shy, she was lively, he was reserved. Although my mom dresses and looks like an ordinary lady, my father knew that she was the girl for him. He quickly got her parent's approval, proposed to her and got married. Their love quickly blossomed into a healthy baby girl. However, when my father was deployed in the battlefield, halfway 'round the globe, an IED blew their humvee to bits and all mom got was the benefits, medals, and a flag.

Mom became a tough mama. She put up a little grocery by the corner of our town where we live upstairs. She is thrifty, prudent and kind. She is industrious, disciplinarian, but loving. She would open the grocer early in the morning, and pick up supplies from the warehouses till seven in the evening after she picked me up from school. She trained me early on about house chores and we worked like a well oiled engine. We always ate together, even during lunch. She would always be there whenever I got some school activities. That's why I had to refuse most of the invitations to clubs and organizations. My mom at my side would mean that the store is closed and that time we had no income. 

She never remarried. Although she had several suitors. Whenever a man would ask to date mom, she would usually decline, saying that she has a daughter to raise and a grocery to tend. Some are sincere, some were less so, but none of them compared to dad according to mom. Looking at the men who tried all they could to marry my mom, we both concluded that Dad's a limited edition.

"I do hope that someday you would be able to find a man who would love you like how your dad loved me." Mom would usually say. "For me, no one could ever replace him in my heart."

"Wow! I'm honestly sad that I never got to grow up having him beside me. He could have loved me so very much" with longing eyes I looked into Mom's.

"Yeah. Knowing Him, he would love you so very much." Mom said emotionally. Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. "I never doubted that,"

 So I vowed to her not to fall in love until I met a man like dad. 

So, I built my own kingdom early in primary school. My pale, red hair and stunning looks earned the admiration of many boys even during my kindergarten. Many kids would ask their moms to ask for my name and ask if we could be friends, I would politely say my name and shy away in a corner. In many plays we would do, most of the time they would ask me to be the princess of a fairy tale story. 

When I entered the primary, I refused every offer to be the class muse, that's why they voted me as the class president. I was nominated and the nomination was promptly closed. Mom taught me to read and write early on, so that too became a huge advantage for me over my classmates. They would gather around me as I led them to study, read and write. We would do homeworks together. Some of the boys would bring snacks from home, asking their moms to bake cookies which they would share with me and the rest of the class.

Danny, a gay classmate of mine, was so good at baking cakes and would bring some confections to school to share with the boys. We became good friends because he has a crush on most of my minions. As only the two of us know that Danny's a gay, our pretty little secret was never ever known. We would talk about his crushes as we study together upstairs in our house, giggling and laughing about all the crazy antics he would ever think of. I would gather the boys around and ask Danny to share some snacks he brought from home. The boys would be happy and so is Danny. I never knew I would ever have my own butler.

Danny and I became close friends till High School. My mom knew that he was gay and she's okay about it. I had no problem with any of my classes either. My diligence, and natural fondness to study had been instrumental to my mom's happiness as I usually got honors every year. Although I don't study as much as the topmost in the class, nor get as high scores as they do, my total points, including extra curricular ones, would usually get me an honor spot. 

"Amy, Your mom's here." Danny called to me the moment my mom's truck caught his attention. We rushed to meet my mom at the parking lot with several boys scampering behind us.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Daniels!" the boys greeted in a chorus.

"Good day boys, how's school?"

"Today's awesome Mrs. Daniels. Amy got an almost perfect score in the quiz today!"

A boy from the back exclaimed.

" I even asked her for some answers!" said another one.

"Hey, that's cheating! Who said that? Amelia, who was that?" Mom blurted out.

"Come on mom. Don't mind him, let's go already. Bye Guys! See you tomorrow!"

"Bye Amy! Bye Mrs. Daniels! See You tomorrow!"

"I love you!" a boy from the back exclaimed.

"Hey! Who said that?" I shouted back, shaking my fist in the air. 

All the boys ran away in panic. Scattering all over the place, shouting as they bantered amongst themselves, they giggled and laughed.

So I had a pretty much controlled universe. I am a queen in my own right. And not a girl giggling at the sight of her crush. Though I felt a little bored with this set up, I had recently found an Escape: Ragnarok online!

There , in the anonymity of the internet, I would venture on my own. Work out my own achievements, Strive against the mobs and the multitude of strangers and succeed on my own merit and pure grit. No primadonna powers, no minions, no super supportive mom, no Danny as my sidekick! I will venture into the unknown alone! Although it is guaranteed to be safe and non life-threatening. It is still a bit scary. 

I chose to be gender and identity honest. For one nobody would expect that I am honest with my looks and my name. Most of the players might play as a boy even if they're a girl to avoid bullying, or that they would choose to be a girl even if they are a boy in real life. No one would also even think of using their own names. Who would ever use their own names anyway, except probably me?

I chose to be a lady Swordswoman. I'm not a princess this time. I will be a strong, courageous, dependable, Swordswoman. I would roam the World of Ragnarok on my own. I would fight till the last drop of my stamina. The last drop of my potions and would then use flywings to escape mobs if needed. What more, I may be able to earn some bucks and help mom with the bills.

So I went to Prontera and conservatively and slowly leveled up to Level Ten . I prioritize my Stat Points on Strength, Agility, Dexterity and Vitality instead of luck and intelligence which are the priority Stats for Mages and Acolytes. I went to Izlude, up to the Swordsman Guild at the Northwest pass, beside the Armory. I was surprised that there is no quest to become a swordswoman but I need to gear up and have the correct stats, especially strength, which determines my carrying ability.

So there I was, emerging triumphant from the guild, now ready to venture outside as a new swordswoman. I sold most of my items, even some potions to buy better armor and sword.

I opted to have a two handed sword instead of a sword and a shield to focus on attack points. I confronted my first monster; a Poring. I killed some more Poring then dispatched some Pupa. I tried to kill a Lunatic and I won even though I spent most of my potions and stamina. I felt good. I went back to Prontera, sold some items, bought some items, and bought some potions, a better sword, a better armor and went outside the outskirts of Prontera.

Then, with a smile on my face, I ventured into the Labyrinth Forest. I was doing great! Monsters are dropping like flies around me, I am the grim reaper of monsters! I'm unstoppable!

But then, a Skeleton spawned behind my Back! A Level 10 Monster!! I'm Finished!! I looked into my inventory and I was horrified to see that I've used up all my potions and flywings! I braced for my demise when an audio from a player nearby got my attention!

"Amelia117. Do not be afraid. I'm a priest and I got your back! Just fight and leave the rest to me. I know that together, we will survive this! I'll heal you while you're fighting, use your Aggro to taunt him, and ill make sure that you have more than enough HP to spare. I am sure I can heal you enough to keep you fighting till you vanquish that skeleton! Fight on Amelia, fight on!!!"

Then I saw his username: Benjamin1999.