"My hand hurts," Aurora said as she, Ruby and Sera sat in the library. While Rita and Lyra, were guarding the door.

"Is it broken?" Ruby asked, taking Aurora's hand in hers.

"I think I punched him a bit too hard," Aurora said with a sheepish smile. "But I don't think it's broken."

"You should have let my knights handle it, silly," Ruby said. "What's the point of calling for help then?"

"Sorry," Aurora apologized. "He was about to burn down the whole library, I had to stop him."

Across from Aurora, Sera kept quiet. She was fidgeting, looking visibly frustrated.

"Are you okay, Sera?" Aurora asked.

"I-I'm fine," Sera replied, hanging her head in sadness. "But it's all my fault."

"No, it's not," Aurora comforted her. "It's all James' fault. Don't worry about it."

Aurora felt relieved that she had decided to check on Sera. She knew that Sera was the only one who had a connection to James, but she couldn't imagine why he would approach Sera. They didn't seem close anymore, especially if he was supposed to be hiding.

Is Nova up to her tricks again? Aurora wondered. It was odd for James to suddenly ask for help from Sera. And the forest he mentioned, Aurora guessed that he and the rebels needed a place to hide.

After all, Aurora had already uncovered all of their hiding places.

The king and the Information Guild were closely watching the Winchester and Wilder families, so maybe Nova was trying to get help from Sera's family instead. But the plan seemed so crude. It was Nova herself who had ruined the relationship between Sera and James.

Still, there could be something else going on, Aurora thought. Something she had failed to notice.

As Aurora was lost in thought, Sera and Ruby's eyes finally met directly.

Each of them keep glancing with hostility.

Ruby, still holding Aurora's hand, smirked, rubbing her cheek with Aurora's hand as if to signal her victory. However, Sera wasn't giving up that easily and tried to grab Aurora's other hand, causing Aurora to snap out of her thoughts.

The air was charged with tension between the two of them, and Aurora felt it bearing down on her. She tried to pull her hand away from Ruby's grip, but Ruby held tight. And the same happen on Sera side.

"Can we just be friends?" Aurora asked, breaking the silence.

"No!" Ruby and Sera replied in unison.

Aurora chuckled. "Well, at least we agree on something," she said, trying to lighten the mood.

Ruby pouted. "The problem's already solved, right? So let's just go." She tried to pull Aurora along with her.

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"No, stay here," Sera said, holding onto Aurora's other hand. "Let's read a book together again or chat."

"Are you stupid?" Ruby retorted. "It's already this late. Aurora needs to rest. Pulling all-nighters is bad for her health."

"Well, that's true, but...it's fine once in a while," Sera replied, a little uncertain.

"You've already made Aurora stay up all night a lot, haven't you?" Ruby challenged. "How are you going to make it up to her if it ruins her health?"

"That's not going to happen!" Sera said, becoming defensive. "It's just one or two hours at most."

"Whatever," Ruby said, determined. "I'm taking Aurora with me."

"No!" Sera protested.

"Uh... Girls?" Aurora interjected, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Can we just compromise and do something else together?" Aurora suggested.

"No way!" Ruby responded. "I don't want to have to share you with anyone else."

"Me neither," Sera chimed in. "I don't want that either."

Aurora let out a sigh. "Alright, I'll do what I want to then." She turned to her maid, Lyra. "Are you still carrying that new deck of cards?"

"Yes, miss," Lyra replied, pulling the deck out of her pocket. Aurora smiled as she took the deck, pleased to see that the illustrations had been changed as she had requested.

Ruby and Sera exchanged glances, watching as Aurora began shuffling the cards. "Lyra, why don't you sit down too?" Aurora invited. "Let's all play together. What about you, Miss Knight?" she added, gesturing to Rita who was standing by the door.

Rita was taken aback. "Me?" she asked.

"Yes," Aurora nodded. "It'll be more fun with more people."

Reluctantly, Rita walked over and took a seat next to Ruby.

"Let me explain the rules first," Aurora said, distributing the cards to everyone. Sera and Lyra were already familiar with the game, so Aurora focused her explanation on Ruby and Rita. And with that, the game began.

Ruby picked up her cards. "I'm not really sure I understand," she said.

"Me neither," Rita echoed.

Aurora smiled. "You'll get it as we play," she said reassuringly.

"That's right," Lyra added. "It's not as complicated as it seems. You'll get the hang of it after a few rounds."

Sera picked up her cards, looking disappointed. "I told you I didn't want to play with Ruby," she muttered under her breath.

Ruby's eyes narrowed in anger. "What was that?" she asked.

"That's enough," Aurora interjected. "Let's just play."

They played for a few rounds, with Lyra emerging as the winner yet again.

Yes, I won again!" Lyra exclaimed, as she ran out of cards.

On the other hand, despite losing, Rita was surprisingly taking it well.

"That was fun," she said. "I had no idea cards could be played like this."

"That's because Aurora invented them," Sera said, puffing out her chest with pride.

Not really invented, Aurora wanted to say, but she kept silent. It was hard to explain, after all.

"Why are you the one bragging about it?" Ruby asked, her tone irritated. "It's Aurora's accomplishment, not yours."

"Why not?" Sera countered. "I was the inspiration."

"What? Really?" Ruby asked, surprised.

"That's right," Aurora said. "But if I recall correctly, you didn't seem too thrilled about the idea at first." Aurora playfully poked fun at her.

Sera felt a warm blush spread across her cheeks.

"I-I mean, I didn't expect it to be this much fun. And you made it sound like it was going to be some sort of gambling."

"I never said it was gambling," Aurora replied with a smile.

"Yes, but--I'm sorry for making such a silly assumption!" Sera apologized, feeling embarrassed.

"I was just joking," Aurora said, glancing at the cards in her hand.

Soon, these cards will go on sale. Preparations are taking some time as they are figuring out the best way to teach everyone how to play. In the end, they decided that every package will come with instructions on at least three different ways to play: playing solo like in solitaire, with two people like in blackjack, and with a group like in Old Maid.

Aurora isn't sure if people will understand from written instructions, so they will try to sell them first. If the written instructions fail, they will need to come up with a new approach.

At the end of the day, Aurora knows this entertainment product is a hit based on how much fun her friend had with it.

They played a few more rounds before deciding it was time to head back. Sera stayed behind at the library to do a final check and lock up, while the others walked together.

Aurora noticed that Ruby was in a bad mood, especially after finding out the card game was inspired by Sera. She wasn't sure what to say, so she walked in silence, followed by her maid Lyra and Rita, both of whom were also quiet.

Aurora and Ruby's room was in opposite directions, so Aurora said, "Well then, see you tomorrow?"

But Ruby grabbed her hand. "Uh... What is it, Ruby?" Aurora asked.

Ruby didn't say anything, instead she dragged Aurora along. "Wait, wait, where are we going?" Aurora asked, feeling forced to follow. Behind them, Lyra and Rita followed in confusion.

"Ruby, hey!" Aurora complained, but Ruby didn't respond. They arrived in front of Ruby's room, and Ruby pushed Aurora inside. She then looked at Lyra and her knight and said, "Stay here," before entering and closing the door.

"Um... What is this all about?" Aurora asked, confused.

"What do you think?" Ruby replied.

"I'm not sure, but I don't think there's any point in being competitive with Sera," Aurora said.

Ruby sighed. "Are you really not getting it?"

"What?" Aurora asked, confused.

"Never mind," Ruby said dismissively. "Just stay here with me tonight."

"If you wanted a sleepover, you should have just told me," Aurora said.

Ruby stared at the blue girl, who seemed nervous and was looking at her carefully, as if she didn't want to make Ruby angry. But Ruby was already angry to begin with.

Ruby doesn't get it either. Ruby doesn't understand why she finds this blue girl so cute. The desire to possess her is similar to her desire to collect gems, but even stronger.

Ruby sighed and opened her room doors. Rita and Lyra were still standing there, unsure of what to do.

"We've decided to have a sleepover," Ruby announced. "Get everything prepared quickly."

***