The dawn of the evening arrived, and with it, a picture most disagreeable.

“Why is she coming?”

Venomous spit uttered by the mouth of an exasperated viper. That was the reception Annalise gave Elena upon learning the latter would be coming along to the White Blade Ball.

The voluptuous woman was painted in red from head to toe; red hair, red lipstick, red dress, red heels. The dress accentuated her hips and left exposed her long arms and legs. It was far more sexually charged than one would expect from a good-mannered aristocrat, and Elena could not disguise the lechery that fueled her gaze.

“What are you staring at?” Annalise protested with narrowed eyes, covering her cleavage with her arm.

Dang, she does have a nice body. Shame she’s such a bitch.

Observing the female body with a mixture of both envy and lust. That was a common practice for Elena in her previous life, who intuitively knew she could do so without arousing suspicion the way a man would.

Of course, her feeling envy for another’s body right now was only due to old habits, as her current body could look just as erotic as that of Annalise. Maybe it was because she didn’t care as much for the event as she did, or maybe it was just the way she liked to dress back then informing her attire today, but Elena dressed far more modestly in comparison. A light-brown, puffy dress with long sleeves. She too wore heels, but they were far less tall and chosen for comfort over appeal.

Then again, maybe I could fix her.

“Elena is coming because I want to. That’s it.” Charles said, attempting to shut his fiancée up. He was straight and to the point with her, almost cold. He failed to show much affection for the woman he was one day meant to marry.

Annalise, who already only rarely blessed Elena with her gaze, cast aside her eyes while crossing her arms. “Am I really supposed to spend such an important festivity with the likes of her?”

“You can stay if you want,” Elena joked.

“Hmph. To think I will allow my fiancé to dishonor my name, taking such a foul being in my place.”

With crossed arms and a raised chin, Annalise expelled an air of both arrogance and stubbornness. She lightly stomped the ground with her heels, to show she was firm on her stance.

Both ladies growled like hounds, their ire approaching their boiling point. It was only inevitable for an insult to soon break free out of one of them.

Before that could come to pass, the sound of steps would be what would break that deadlock.

“Please, Annalise”—Charles strolled up to her, then slightly raised her chin with his right hand, while his left arm enwrapped her hips— “you have no reason to fight with Lady Elena. You know my heart beats only for you.”

Having her soul plunged into by those green eyes of the Prince, Annalise deflated, her speech beginning to falter.

“A—a—apologies, your Highness.” Annalise, who seemed deeply love-struck, suddenly glanced at Elena with a devilish grin on her face.

That pride quickly gave way to shock, once she caught sight of Elena, who showed no signs of displeasure at the currently unfolding events. Instead, she had a smirk of her own. She even gave an ironic thumbs-up.

Maybe they deserve each other.

“Oh, there he is.”

The three of them were standing by the entrance to the Royal Palace. They were waiting for Mr. H to deliver them to the Cathedral where the ball was meant to take place. Driving the same horseless carriage from the last time she’d left the Palace, Mr. H parked right before the trio and got off, opening both the front and back doors.

“Prince Charles, Miss Annalise, Lady Elena, welcome aboard.”

“I hope you don’t mind bringing a Marked along in your vehicle.”

“Annalise, you know how Sir Hitler is, doesn’t look down on anybody,” said Charles, to the sound of Elena cringing.

“Well, considering how badly it fared last time a Marked got inside, perhaps he should be more wary of who he lets ride his car.”

“Nonsense,” Mr H shouted with the full strength of his lungs, “I have no concerns for such trivialities. After all, the Royal Family provides me with the best insurance the Kingdom can buy!”

The carriage had some parts without proper paint, and was filled with scratches all over the place. This was probably the result of being targeted by those protesters, as well as being caught in the crossfire of Cordelia’s spell. Or crosswater, in this case.

“Now, get on. Let’s not make the Goddess wait.”

“sigh Very well.” With the prim and grace appropriate of a noble, Annalise got inside first, raising her bare legs.

Before he could follow, Elena elbowed Charles on the arm. “Wow, quite the snazzy performance there, Mister Prince Charming.”

“tsk. I only played a character from a book I’ve read. She might be a bigger hassle than most, but no woman can resist a Prince out of a novel.“

“Didn’t seem that successful on me.”

“Indeed. And that’s what I find so intriguing about you, Elena. How you’re able to resist me.”

He spoke with fierce passion, worthy of the lead of a romance novel. Despite this, Elena inspected his body from top to bottom with narrow eyes and a grimace.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Maybe if your pants fit you properly, I’d be more interested.

Albeit he wore a fancy black suit and was well-groomed for once, he failed to measure to Elena’s idea of a proper Prince. His pants were a tad too short, leaving some skin exposed right before his shoes. Elena was not usually one to get caught up in such small details, but when thrown into his otherwise posh look, those little nitpicks stood out like a sore thumb. Charles’ Prince Charming persona was a farce; and as long as the man remained the way he was, a farce would be all it’d ever be.

“Anyway, shall we proceed?” he said, inviting her to get inside the vehicle with a motion of his arm.

“Wasn’t waiting for your order!”

With a roll of her eyes, Elena sat on the backseat, next to the pouting Annalise. Muscle memory took over, as the motion of her body was well-practiced. It was an amusing thought. In a world of fantasy and magic such as this, the mundane often became the oddity. Thus, there was something uncanny in the fact that she was basically getting ferried somewhere by car; despite resembling a carriage, the lack of horses to pull meant what she was sitting was, by definition, an automobile. The seats were even arranged the same way as a modern car, two seats on the front and a longer one at the back.

“Let’s head out,” Charles ordered Mr. H, who sat to his left with his hand on the wheel.

“Isn’t the King gonna come with us—OUCH! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU”

The wheels hadn’t begun turning yet, and there was already conflict in the backseat. Wearing a pompous look, Annalise had just slapped Elena with the side of her fan.

“Ignorant leech! Are you so ignorant as to not know the customs of this Holy Land? The Monarch must arrive first, climbing up the hill on foot. That is the Ritual of the White Blade.”

Annalise concealed her sneer behind her open fan, but Elena could nonetheless picture it to the detail. She growled in response, giving a glare that burned with the might of a thousand suns.

“You’re one to talk about being a leech, Ms. Noble who never worked a day of her life!”

A brief silence. “Oh no, here we go again…” Charles muttered under his breath.

The pattern of a flower that was carved into the fan took its leave, as Annalise closed it, the frame of the closed fan acting as a wall that separated each of her eyes, each burning with the intensity of rubies. “Excuse. You dare speak libel of me, who rose among the ranks of the Meritocracy? You, who was raised by rats, making a living out of the spoils of hard-working folk, dare lecture me on the virtue of my work?”

Words made of hot gas. That was all Elena’s ears could make out. Even more so than Charles, Annalise was a person whose image had already been crafted in Elena’s mind; that of a snotty noble, who claimed superiority just for being born on a golden cradle. So long as she wore that pristine skin that had never seen a day of work, there was no argument her putrid mouth could spout able to change that picture.

“Ladies, that’s enough!” Charles cried out. He sighed, then added, “Goddess, this will be a long night.”

It was your prerogative to bring us both.

Both shushed, they looked away, each in the direction of their respective windows. If arguing was disallowed, then cold indifference would be what they’d show one another. No other possibility remained, as both sets of eyes considered their opponent to be unworthy of their presence.

The vehicle began to move, soon exiting the Upper district of town. Despite not knowing the layout of the city, it was obvious when the realm of the common folk began. The architecture she saw at first was elaborate, palaces of multiple floors and with lustrous gardens. Once they reached poorer areas, the houses became smaller, and they often lacked in proper maintenance, with stellar features such as broken windows or missing doors.

Elena remained with her gaze glued on the world beyond the door. Last time she got on a carriage, she’d been too occupied with the precious girl who accompanied her within the walls of the vehicle. Now, the half of the seat to her left was a void that could not be stared into, else she risked boiling alive by the fastidious presence that called itself a woman. Therefore, she passed the time by observing the sights the capital city had to offer.

Strategically, it was also a good idea. She needed to learn all she could about this world if she hoped to survive—not that she needed to survive, but minimizing death was always a plus.

“There are a lot of fountains,” she pondered out loud.

“Indeed,” answered Mr. H. “It was a big achievement of Your Majesty’s reign to install at least one of those on every single plaza in the capital. Now most of the city has access to clean water.”

“Really? Do they clean them very often ?” Elena asked, thinking back to the dreadfully dirty waters of her world’s fountains.

“Ho ho ho!” Mr. H visibly cracked up, maintaining his grip on the wheel. “The fountain manages that on its own.”

“Wait, really?”

“A waste of Water Crystals, if you ask me,” muttered Annalise, still staring out the window. Albeit she’d given her opinion, she had no desire to participate in the conversation. She was simply giving voice to her view, as she deemed herself incapable of having a perspective without worth.

Mr. H continued his explanation. “The Water Crystal inside powers a mechanism that removes the impurities found within saltwater. The infrastructure can be expensive, but it provides a boost to the people’s quality of life. If the latest census is to be believed, all homes in the capital have access to potable water.”

“That’s incredible!” Elena remarked.

“Of course! And what’s more amazing, is that its widespread use was spearheaded by none other than Your Highness himself!”

Elena blinked rapidly, in confusion. “Wait, are you serious?” She glanced at Charles’ back, mouth wide open.

The prince brought his palm to his hand.“Silence!” Charles scolded.

Elena was bewildered, yet also happy. If his words were true, this kingdom had managed to develop an efficient system for giving its citizens potable water—with Charles being the one to thank for it.

“Come on now, your Highness! Is it really out of place for a servant like myself to hand out some well-earned praise?”

“I am not King. All praise should fall upon my father.”

As those two argued back and forth, there was a contradiction that began to build within Elena’s heart. A contradiction that did not actually exist, as both facts were not in opposition to one another. But within her mind, they were two pieces of knowledge that fused like water meshed with oil.

This world, which cursed some of its children with an evil as heinous as slavery, also featured virtues that excelled those of her original world.

Ahead in some ways, behind in others. To one who thinks of progress as a linear climb, such a conception was beyond real.

Elena shook her head. She realized it was presumptuous to reach conclusions. This was, after all, the Capital City of the Kingdom. Who knew if these conditions were equal throughout the rest of the land. And besides, no amount of infrastructure, no amount of pretty roads, could make up for the worst injustices that humanity could muster.

But regardless, there was something euphoric, in knowing her view on things could be challenged, if even slightly.

Her hollow eyes stared at the back of the seat in front of her. There, Charles was sitting with his forehead with the glass. She couldn’t see his face, but the solemnity of his view was still evident.

Maybe I could even change my mind on…

Before her thought could even finish, her eyes diverted on their own onto Annalise, as if possessed by a demon. Coincidentally, their unspoken truce seemed to have come to an unspoken end, as their gazes, which should never have crossed, challenged each once again.

No. Some people are beyond forgiveness.

That was the conclusion she’d arrived at, drawing on those snake’s eyes for evidence.

There were people in this world she could simply not see eye-to-eye with. Whose hearts were impure, full of a malice only humans could muster.

This was a truth she had to remember; to sway from that path meant to abandon who she was, her ideals that were hers and hers alone.

With that reflection under her breath, she recalled her memories of Charles, and reaffirmed her stance on them.

I fucking hate these people.