Episode One

<System Message: New Character Unlocked>

<Character: Orelei Phillips is now playable.>

<System Message: Would you like to start a new story?< strong>

<System Message:>~yes~ ~no~ >

<Congratulations! You have selected to begin a new game. New story playable: Orelei!>

My head is pounding. That's really the first thing that I recognize as I wake up. For some reason, I think that I should be in a lot more pain than I am.

It's like a word on the tip of my tongue, a memory that's just far enough out of reach that I can't pull it up. 

What happened to me?

I open my eyes, slowly. It's still dark. The straw beneath me pokes through the cotton coverings that make up the mattress which I share with my sister, Eliza. I reach out gently, a smile playing on my face, and I stroke Eliza's long blonde locks. Eliza was the pretty daughter, the child who would marry into royalty. Eliza was our parent's favorite. And, that was alright, because Eliza was our ticket to a better life. There would be no more scrubbing the floors of Corromoth Castle. There would be no more sleeping in the servant's quarters. 

Because fair-skinned Eliza would save us all.

Gentle…fair-skinned…

<System message: Player: Emilia Royes>

With the message popping up before my eyes, my head pounds harder. I cry out, grasping for my hair. I feel my fists knot into the long, disshelved red curls. 

Emilia Royes. 

That's my name.

I do not have a sister named Eliza…and I do not have red curls.

Eliza wakes up next to me as I cradle my head in my hands. Bleary-eyed, she studies me for a moment, her nightgown sliding off her shoulder as she yawns and stretches. "Sister, are you unwell?"

Sister…Which means I'm supposed to me…

Eliza gently touches my shoulder. "Orelei?" She now looks worried. I turn my face up to look at her and I feel the hot tracks of tears pouring down my face. I remember everything.

My name is Emilia Royes. I was thirty-years-old and an office worker in downtown Chicago. I was single and I didn't even have a cat. I worked every possible moment I could to make the money I needed to scrape by. I dreamed of being an author and a mother and I could barely keep a goldfish alive.

Men always cheated on me…and women were somehow worse. I was always immensely unlucky in love…until I found Otome games. In English: dating sims. Dating sims had the perfect men from all walks of life and all realms of fantasy and spice levels.

Want a mafia lover? There's a game for that.

Want to fuck your step-brothers (yes, plural)? There's a game for that.

Want to discover that you're the long lost granddaughter of the crown Prince of some small fantasy country that you can only find by being whisked away with magic? As oddly specific as that sounds…yes, there is a game for that.

So, I played them. 

All of them.

And I was never lonely again. I never felt unfulfilled in love again. Because, if I didn't like the ending, I could always change it. 

And, I would play all of the endings. Good, bad, and perfect. All of them there for my collection. A perfect flowchart and a perfect route each times. I was always victorious.

But, I always did have a soft spot for animals.

So, when I see the cat in the middle of the busy Chicago intersection, I just couldn't help myself. The sleek, black cat with the bright yellow eyes. He was so afraid and everyone just seemed to be ignoring him and I couldn't just leave him there!

So, I ran into the traffic. I rushed at the cat and I scooped him up and I ran further across the street…and I dropped him safely down outside of the alley he was trying to get to. With a grateful purr, he was off! I could go about my day with my short black bob still relatively in place and my navy business suit not even wrinkled!

And, then, a truck hopped the curb.

But…where am I?

<System Message: Welcome to < strong>Queen's Life: How May We Serve The Princess? You have unlocked Orelei's route!>

"I…what?" The messages flash before my eyes again. This time, they don't seem to hurt my head as much with their bright white backgrounds and pink, floral accents. They also seem…oddly familiar…

"I asked if you were alright, Orelei…" I turn to look at Eliza, sitting up very straight next to me now, seemingly oblivious to the screen in front of my face. "Shall I fetch father to see if we can find the healer?"

Oh, gods…that sounds…not good. I hadn't even realized that I had spoken aloud! I smile, nervously. "N-no, no! All is well, sister!" I try to imitate her speech patterns. I am in an alien land and the best thing I can do for myself is the try to blend in.

Where in the world am I?

Eliza smiles, seemingly relieved. "You should get some more rest, Orelei. Afterall, I shall have my betrothal ceremony tomorrow!"

<Scene Available: Betrothal Ceremony>

I blink hard, trying not to shake my head. If the system notifications don't stop popping up like some damn Otome…

Waiting…Queen's Life. The system message said this was Queen's Life. 

Queen's life is the last Otome I was playing before my accident. You play the main character Eliza, a servant in the castle, whom is renown for her beauty and her gentle grace throughout the land. She is supposed to marry the Lord Corromoth, a man whom is older that Eliza by ten years. And, honestly…the animators deserved so much credit for how sexy he was…

During the betrothal ceremony, however, the Lords of the other four neighboring kingdoms show up and argue that they should have the right to compete for the lady's hand so that she doesn't have to marry a cruel, old man.

Lots of smut. Some cool fight scenes…a stat system that's actually easy to follow…

THAT'S why I recognize this screen! I think, suddenly, everything coming together. It's the stat screen for the game! Oh, joy! I'm just dreaming! I'm probably in a coma in some Chicago hospital! Everything is fine!

<System Message: Outfit unlocked - Orelei betrothal dress. Would you like to change?>

So, if that's Eliza…I must be Orelei…the older sister. The spinster at nineteen with the bright red curls and the freckles who is somehow less desirable than the protagonist.

And, now, I have to go out there and be nice and kind on my little sister's engagement announcement day.

I sigh. It's just a dream…it can't hurt to play along.