In a different part of the Elysian Heights, Shay was searching the common rooms.

They were all empty. Considering the time, everyone was still at school or work. There were, however, a few pieces of trash around that she picked up as a proper, upstanding citizen of Elysium.

The last place to check was the laundry room on the second floor at the farthest end of the west building.

Climbing up the stairs put her at the start of a long hallway. It felt narrow, maybe because of the checkerboard flooring. There weren’t any windows? And the dark bricks gave off a dungeon-y feel.

Oh, and the old ceiling lights flickered ominously. Great~

The squeaks of her shoes echoed as she walked. She almost expected to find spiderwebs or weird bloodstains leading up to certain doors. She didn’t, of course. Yeonha wouldn’t be so careless.

“Heeeelllllp~”

A dull moan emanated from the end of the hall.

Shay puffed up her cheeks.

Was it too late to turn back?

Whatever was calling for help, (if she wasn’t just imagining it...) it didn’t sound like the Prince Charming she was looking for.

But still... she carried on.

The voice must have belonged to another tenant. Everyone at Elysian heights... Tyvan, Heidi, Yeonha-- even Raia; they were all really cool! And... not dAngerous, at all!

Elysium was her safe place.

Ghosts weren’t real.

Vampires weren’t real.

Mosquito Men... that was just a joke-- a private joke just between her and Yeonha.

Yeah.

Shay pushed open the door at the end of the hall... and it creaked on its hinges.

There was a thing in the washer... a long body and two gangly legs.

She closed the door.

She... wiggled her fingers. She took in deep, full breaths as she opened and closed her fists.

What was thAt?

She saw it.

So it was real.

She reached into her bag for her gardening shears. Its weightiness and plasticky texture were a little comforting-- and it was better than not having anything at all.

And she kicked open the door, hopping into the room!

“Helllllp~” the voice moaned.

There was a person stuck in one of the washing machine/dryer stacks. She noticed because there was a butt between their torso and legs.

“Sis?” the voice said in a high-pitched tone, “is that you? I’m stuck.”

Oh, no. The genre had changed.

Shay put her gardening shears away.

“Hold on! Just... I’ll help you out.”

She grabbed the back of the tall person’s legs and pulled, freeing them. She thought she heard a cartoonish pop sound, but that was definitely just her imagination.

Something clattered on the ground-- a pair of dark sunglasses. And that person reached his long arm over to pick it up and place it back on their face.

Indoor sunglasses. Sure, why not?

He looked like a movie star-- no, like an athlete. He swept the bangs of his soft, blue hair to the side, grinning sheepishly. An off-center cowlick stood up near the back of his head that was too adorable to point out.

He wore a long-sleeved white shirt, black vest, black pants, and dress shoes. He looked like he could have been a waiter at a high-end restaurant.

Oh, a snake pin.

There was an iron-colored snake pinned to his vest.

She wanted to ask if he was the Prince Charming she was sent to find, but there was something far more important that she needed to know.

“I don’t mean to be rude... but how tall are you, exactly?”

That person opened his mouth, “Huh. I’m 198 centimeters tall. Oh, or did you want that in freedom units?”

“Freedom units, please,” Shay humbly requested.

“52 cheeseburgers,” he said.

The answer made Shay almost regret asking.

The tall person stood up, the top of his head dangerously close to the ceiling.

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“You must be the new girl,” he said. “Sway, right?”

Shay got up too, dusting her skirt off, “Yeah. I go by ‘Shay,’ though. And you are?”

That person bowed in a really cool way, with his palm in front of his chest and his other arm out.

“My name is Prince Charming,” he said. “That usually gets shortened to PC-- but most everyone here calls me Bishop.”

Ohhhh. Shay was pleased to finally meet the Bishop she’d always heard about.

She pursed her lips, thinking about his actual name.

Prince Charming.

That sounded like a poetic pairing to Briar Rose.

“Is Raia your sister?” she asked.

“Yup!” Bishop smiled.

He stood back up-- too fast and maybe with a little hop, because he smacked the top of his head against the ceiling. He rubbed it for maybe a second, but his smile came back even brighter.

“We’re twins, actually! She’s really cool, isn’t she?”

Shay nodded slowly. It seemed just from his personality, Bishop was the clumsy, good twin and Raia was the cool, evil one.

(Raia did have her clumsy moments, though.)

Bishop hunched over, cupping one hand over the side of his mouth, “By the way, don’t stick your head into the washing machines here. You might get stuck-- which is not actually as fun as it sounds!”

“I uh... wasn’t planning to?” Shay said, “But thanks for the advice?”

He patted the stack he was just stuck in, “Shay, can you do me a favor? What’s the number on this?”

Shay casually glanced over, “It’s number 2A and 2B? Wh...why?”

She regretted asking almost immediately.

The dark sunglasses.

Bishop couldn’t see.

She felt her cheeks burn up and hoped he didn’t hear her last question.

“Awesome, awesome,” Bishop said-- “Washing machine’s broken! Or it’s not working, anyway.”

He crossed half the room in a single step and started rooting through a duffle bag on the table. He took out a roll of black and yellow tape, running his long fingers over it, “This is the emergency tape, right?”

Shay nodded-- which was dumb of her.

“Yeah, it is,” she said.

He tossed the tape-roll over to her and she caught it automatically.

--which made her doubt that he was as blind as she thought.

“Let’s get these taped up!” he said. “2A and 2B... I’ll remember that when I report to Boss later.”

Shay absentmindedly helped Bishop wrap the machines... then she remembered her reason for coming.

“Speaking of Boss,” she said, “Tyvan asked you to head to his office. He said something about an evening engagement?”

“Ohhh,” Bishop said before grimacing, “Was that today? Ah, I can’t make it. I have another job lined up.”

“What... should we tell him, then?” Shay asked.

“It’ll be fine!” Bishop said without hesitation, “You can go in my place! You’ll have fun. It’ll be awesome!”

“Wait, hold on,” Shay held out her palms, “Me? With Tyvan?”

“Yeah, it’s for a business meeting,” Bishop explained. “Dress up nice. Eat some high-end Chinese food.”

“Tyvan’s meeting with a Chinese group?” Shay asked, suddenly nervous. If they spoke Mandarin, she’d probably be okay. But if they spoke Canto...

“D’ah, I dunno,” Bishop shrugged. “Boss mentioned Chinese food. I dunno if y’know, but Boss loves food. Oh, do you know how to use Chinese chopsticks?”

Shay’s mouth widened into a grimace.

“Yes. I do. I’m Chinese, actually.”

“Really? Nice!” Bishop said, “Couldn’t tell by the way y’look-- sorry if that sounds racist.”

“I uh... I forgive you,” Shay said.

“Awesome,” Bishop grinned. “You’ll be P-erfect!”

The way he popped the P of perfect was really cute.

It did sound fun... going for a night out with Tyvan. It sounded like a date. She especially liked the sound of that.

It would be P-erfect.

Oh... but she didn’t have any clothes that could match Tyvan even on his most casual days.

--not that he seemed to have any casual days.

“I don’t think it’s a great idea,” Shay said. “Wouldn’t it be fine if he went by himself?”

“Nope!” Bishop said, “We have a rule: we always have to go to these things in pairs. Tyvan needs a battle-buddy!”

A battle-buddy? That sounded weird. But it might have been a guy thing.

“Hahhh,” Bishop honked. “I guess it’ll be fine if he goes with Raia.”

“I’m going,” Shay said. “I’ll let Tyvan know right now.”

...

Later in the day, Shay sat in the main common room, looking up at the clock.

She’d done her makeup. She put on a fresh, white-collared shirt-- which was her part of her school uniform.

And... she... wore jeans.

At least they didn’t have any holes in them. But it still hurt her soul that they were the only long pants she had.

Then, she had black flats... which didn’t look great with loose-fitting jeans.

--but if she wore her regular shoes, wouldn’t that look too casual?

“You can’t be serious.”

Shay shrieked and tumbled off the couch. Turning around, she saw Raia standing just behind, crossing her arms.

She... looked... professional?

--which was weird.

Her hair was up. She wore a glamorous pair of gradient sunglasses. Her collared shirt was buttoned all the way up to the neck, hiding most of her tattoos. Then, she had a slim tie and a dark gray blazer on top of it all.

Also, she’d taken off most of her earrings as well as her snake-bites. That made the scar on her chin stand out a bit more, though.

Oh, and her septum piercing was turned upside down, keeping it mostly hidden.

That was neat.

And, of course... she had an iron snake pinned to her lapel-- just like her brother.

“Shay... what the hell are you wearing?”