"Do you think we were too harsh with Artero?" Elise asked.
"Nah. He went kind of hard on you, I mean. How would he feel if someone wrote a fanfic about him?" Gwyn asked, hoping she wasn't a victim of Ollaz, too.
"I suppose he would just—be awkward and pretend it didn't exist."
Elise let out a small chuckle. The women decided to take a break and look for Artero. Rodrick's armor clanged behind them.
"That sounds like the Young Master," Rodrick said. "You know, one time he got a love letter in the mail, and he asked me to read it because he thought girls were 'icky.'"
"Artero? Thinking girls are icky?" Elise laughed. "He doesn't seem to feel that way now."
Gwyn thought of the time she'd spent with the Prince in private and silently agreed.
"Where do you think he went?"
"Hmmm." Elise came to a halt. "Well… he didn't come here often, and this place behaves strangely when you travel alone, so there is no telling where he ended up."
"Want to get some food then?" Rodrick suggested. "I'm sure he'll turn up eventually."
"Should I send him a message?" Elise asked.
Gwynevere pondered for a moment.
"What? And tell him he's won the contract again? Nah. I think he probably wants some alone time."
~
Artero made eye contact with Anastasia, who was trapping him against the tree. His back was warm from the bark. Sweat began to bead through his shirt.
"So? I heard you broke up with a certain someone recently."
Anastasia traced her hands up his sides, lustily looking in his eyes.
"Yes… That's true, Elise and I broke up."
Artero felt her breasts press up against him. His body responded with enjoyment, although he felt little pleasure from this situation.
Anastasia spoke in a soft, curious tone.
"Have you found a date for the Ela Lunaris Festival yet?"
"Not yet… but I plan on—"
"Why don't you go with me, huh? I know it's been some time since we've been together, but that was before. This is now."
She pressed her lips up against his neck, pecking soft kisses against his stubble.
"I'm kind of seeing someone…" he said pathetically.
She grabbed his cheeks.
"Oh… are you now?" She put her hand up against the front of his pants, feeling his stiffness. "Because this is saying you miss my body."
~
The party approached the cafeteria.
"How can you suggest food, Rodrick? You ate all twelve of those peach pies you brought for Gwyneveres's wedding ceremony."
"Slept it off." He bristled his mustache. "I just thought—"
He narrowed his eyes and stopped suddenly walking.
Gwyn continued on without them.
"I, for one, am hungry so."
"The Young Master's in trouble, we have to—"
Gwyn's face was immediately filled with concern, her mind jumping to the worst-case scenario.
"How? What's going on?"
It was only after Artero warned Rodrick of his predicament that the knight learned he was not to alert Elise or Gwyn of his situation. However, it was too late, and Rodrick spilled the truth.
"Oh… uh… nothing! Nothing is wrong. Artero is actually um..." he looked around frantically, but no viable excuse came to him. "Writing some fan fiction of his own! He felt really inspired by that fellow you were telling me about, so we can just—"
Unfortunately for Rodrick, he made the women even more curious and skeptical about the situation.
"Rodrick, what happened?" Gwyn asked urgently.
He only responded with silence.
Elise rushed up to the knight.
"What are we waiting for? Let's go help him!"
Rodrick nervously stepped out of the way.
"Uh, I don't know if this is something you can help with."
"Where is he, Rodrick?"
Elise wore a stern expression, and the knight seemed to soften.
"He said he was in the garden, but he has it under—"
Before the knight could finish the sentence, Elise stormed off to the gardens, Gwyn falling close behind.
~
"Come on, Arty… I know you miss me."
She softly kissed his neck. He didn't want to hurt her. But he knew this situation was growing worse by the second. He didn't want this in the slightest.
"Anastasia…" He put his hands on her shoulders, trying to push her away, but she wouldn't budge. "I am not interested in going to the festival with you."
"Why not? What… is there someone else you're interested in?"
She wore a hurt expression, giving him puppy-dog eyes.
"No… I mean… yes, there is, but."
She leaned in close, overpowering him.
"Who is it?"
"I can't tell you."
"And why not?"
"Because it doesn't concern you."
This seemed to strike a chord with Anastasia.
"It doesn't concern me?" She let out a soft laugh. "I am the daughter of the most powerful elf in all of Keceo; of course, it concerns me!"
She was nearly shouting. Artero turned to face her.
"It's fine, Anastasia… I know someone who may want to."
But she pushed her lips against his.
~
"Artero!" Elise shouted, finally finding the Kosmairian Prince.
"I'm sorry, sir," Rodrick said, out of breath. "I tried to stop—"
But what the party saw shocked them all.
Artero was kissing some blonde-haired elf. Gwyn recognized her as the girl who had punched her on the field trip.
Has he moved on to someone else already? Was Anastasia really his girlfriend?
The woman pulled away from her kiss with Artero. She tossed her hair over her shoulder.
"What? He was practically begging me to kiss him."
"Not true at all."
Artero was finally freed from her grasp and returned safely next to Rodrick.
"What are you doing here, Anastasia? You aren't a scribe."
Elise glared at the woman, knowing her history, and this wasn't the first time she had made a move on Artero.
"Arty over here was looking lonely, so I gave him some company." She gave an innocent smile. "What? Are you here to break up with him again? Or maybe get back together?"
"She put her lips on mine, I swear it."
Either way, Elise was furious.
"You have no right to call him that, Anastasia."
"What, Arty? Does that make you upset? Arty, Arty, Arty." She repeated the pet name over and over again, mocking Elise. "If you are going to defend him so much, why did you break up with him? I was just scoping what was on the market, and I like what I see."
~She was using a strength incantation. I couldn't free myself from her.~ Artero said to Rodrick through the link.
Rodrick reached for the hilt of his sword.
~That explains it. I'll cut her down, Young Master!~
Artero put his hand on Rodrick's.
~Don't!~
Elise was only growing more furious by the second. Anastasia knew how to push the Princess's buttons.
"If you knew what was good for you, you'd leave Arty and me alone to pick up where we left off."
Gwyn finally stepped in.
"He obviously has no interest in you."
Gwyn was face-to-face with Archimedes' daughter. Although the Chosen One didn't like to admit it, Anastasia was stunning.
Why was she acting like this? Why now?
"What did you say, weak, pathetic, no good, Chosen One?"
Then something surprising happened.
To certain residents of Keceo, especially those in academia, it was known better than to interact with the daughter of Archimedes.
Avoiding her was often the best-case scenario.
But Gwyn wasn't entirely aware of this fact. Right now, she was blinded by her fury, raised her fist, and punched Anastasia square in the nose.
A collective gasp escaped everyone.
"I said, he has no interest in you."
Anastasia only rubbed her nose, seemingly unaffected.
"Wow, Chosen One. I knew you were stupid, but I didn't realize you were suicidal."
"That's funny. I'm going to do a lot more than that if you keep harassing my boyfriend."
Gwyn knew full well she was bluffing.
Anastasia went wide-eyed, and so did Elise.
Elise was surprised that Gwyn had already made up her mind and forgiven Artero for his outburst yesterday.
"Boyfriend?" Anastasia laughed. "You have to be joking. Why would he date some nomage when he could be with the daughter of one of the greatest casters who ever was?"
"Because what you have in beauty and magical ability, you lack in every other desirable quality."
Anastasia bit her lip. She looked as though she might kill the Chosen One, then and there.
But then her face went still. She let out a deep breath and took a step back from Gwyn, bowing. When she raised her head, she spoke.
"Gwynevere Grim, was it?" Anastasia asked, her tone shockingly calm.
"Yeah. Don't wear it out," Gwyn said coolly, still on the defensive.
Anastasia let out a deep sigh.
"You came to this world without a home, without a place in it. You have found solace somewhere, it seems." She took a quick glance at Elise and Artero. "But you will never be free here. Not while I live. You will never have a home here on Keceo."
A gust of wind blew through the gardens. The gust soon became a furious tempest. Flower petals and leaves stirred into a tornado. The winds nearly blew them all away. Whenever the wind ceased, Anastasia was no longer present.