I AM THE AUTHOR

CHAPTER ELEVEN 

"So, two rooms?" The cashier asked, and I reached out to grab the keys. "split up! See you later~" I said, pushing the keys into Levi's hands and bouncing off before anything more could be said. I was beaten, and needed sleep, considering the day before I and woken up on the most uncomfortable mattress ever. As I sagged face-first into her bed, I breathed in the smell of laundry. Nice. 

"I guess this is where my itchy mattress days end. Right on time, too, I think the food festival is tomorrow." I muttered to myself, becoming a blanket burrito and flipping over to stare at the weird stains on the ceiling. Oooh, that one was in the shape of a jellyfish. 

Anyway, take some more context. The food festival: one of the most iconic festivals here in the Jubelian Empire. Every year, a person is chosen to wear an angel costume and sing in front of an audience. This person is known as "first blood" because they also have to make a small cut on their palm. If they do it well enough, the spirits of the dead will emerge to feast and chatter with the living. And, guess what? I intend to be the person chosen to sing. I'll worry about that tomorrow, though. 

Tommrorw? Yeah, tomorrow came around faster than I expected. "So, what today?" Levi asked, seeing me trudge downstairs. "Today, we have to make sure I get selected as the first blood for the festival. Then there should be a couple of noble houses that approach us." I said, covering my mouth as a yawn took over. "But, Cor…? Why do you want to be a noble so bad? you already have plenty of money." Levi said, gesturing to the sack of coins next to him. Oh, that's true. Levi didnt know about Zal. 

"Well, I need to help someone out. I have my reasons." I said cryptically. It was actually to meet Zal, the male protagonist of "English Rose". Which you might have gathered by now. And, his tragic backstory started when the Ruthim Empire (remember them? the sworn enemies of the Jubelian Empire) smuggled their explosive waste under the palace, and the palace went boom boom. In the chaos that followed, poor Zal got kidnapped (cos he's the son of a duke) and got 2 powerful curses placed on him, since his family was terrible and didnt come to save him. A typical tragic character. 

"But not on my watch!" I said, determined, waving a fist into the air. Levi stared at me quizzically, and the fist quickly went down. "Oops. I said that out loud. Anyway, one step at a time! Let's go, my sidekick!" I said. 

"Sidekick…?" Levi asked, wounded.