This is a public service announcement.
Do NOT play with the fifteenth Chosen One in any magical card games.
He makes ALL the rules and also is GREEN and UGLY
(A poorly rendered portrait of Tinkletonkle Rattail was on the paper.)
Avoid at all costs. DO NOT play any of his CARD GAMES.
Flyer distributed after the fifteenth Chosen One cleaned out several nobles for all they were worth.
----------------------
The market district wasn't like anything Gwyn expected. It was cramped and crowded, shoulder to shoulder. Reminding Gwyn of an underground mall she went to when she was younger.
Artero, Elise, Rodrick, and Gwyn went in and out of several stores, but, unfortunately for Gwynevere, nearly all conversations went something like the first one of the day.
"You really think she should wear that?"
Elise scoffed and turned away as if the dress Artero held were the most hideous thing she'd ever seen.
"What's wrong with it?" Artero asked, genuinely confused.
"First of all, the colors don't match. Second, they don't complement Gwyn's natural beauty," Elise said knowingly.
Artero clicked his tongue.
"What do you suggest then?"
"Well, obviously this."
Elise removed a green-and-gold dress from the clothing display.
Artero rolled his eyes.
"Oh. Of course, you choose Sylvian's house colors."
"What? Gwyn looks gorgeous in dark colors. Like you know anything about fashion."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Mr. 'I always take off my shirt to hide my abhorrent fashion sense'," Elise quipped.
Artero glared at Elise.
"That's not even close to my real name."
Elise sighed.
"It's not supposed to be."
Meanwhile, Rodrick and Gwyn stood by, watching the drama unfold. Sometimes the former couple would argue through the link, and it would appear to any outsider that they were having an angry staring contest.
It was as if the kiss they shared never happened. Yet, Gwyn was still unaware of that moment they shared.
"Are they always like this?" Gwyn asked.
Rodrick shook his head, a slight smile crossing his face.
"I'm just happy they're talking again. Young Master barely left his room. Servants complained about an awful noise. Some think it had something to do with the plumbing, Madam."
"So I've heard."
For the rest of the day, they all went to various stores. Where, by the dozenth store. Gwyn saw something peculiar on a mannequin in the window display of a store.
"Hey! Wait a minute... That's my shirt!"
She ran into the store, and a near carbon copy of Gwyn's attire was in the store's display window. It was on an elven mannequin in a flattering way. But underneath the display, it said "SALE" in big bold elven script.
Gwyn approached the counter.
"So, you're the one who took my clothes?!"
"Um... what?" The teenage elf said boredly.
"I said, you are the one who took my clothing! Where did you get that outfit anyway? Hmm?"
Gwyn pointed to her earthly clothes.
"What? No… lady, I just work here," The elf said, not even looking up from the book they were reading.
"Then who took them? Why are they in the window?"
"Are you going to buy something or not? I'm trying to catch up on the latest issue of 'Whispers of Love' over here."
The elf held up a risqué novel.
Gwyn blinked, then shook her head.
"Who took them? Why do you have my clothes?!" Gwyn shouted.
The teenage elf finally looked up. Acne covered nearly every inch of their face.
"Oh," the elf said in understanding. "Are you talking about those ugly clothes up front? You can buy them for a single gold. People hate that Chosen One anyway. Ugly and stupid is what everyone calls her."
Gwyn nearly leapt over the counter.
"Ugly and stupid?!"
Rodrick held her back.
"I'm sorry. What Madam meant to say was that she is going to be leaving."
"I clock out at seven, dude. I couldn't care less," The teen replied. "Yeah, they have a bard group on the front of it. They look totally lame. Probably suck as much as that Chosen One, that's why no one's bought her clothing yet."
"I'm going to fucking kill you!" Gwyn shouted.
Rodrick had to hold Gwyn back as he pushed her out of the store. Gwyn cussed out the employee the entire time.
"How dare he slander the good name of My Chemical Romance! The Black Parade is one of the best albums of all time!"
Gwyn paced angrily outside the storefront, looking at her clothes on display with anger and wanting. She noticed there was a parodied version of her band shirt, with elves on the front instead of the human band members.
"Ultra Mega Sickness?! Who are these guys anyway?! Is that another band?"
Her face was pressed up against the glass, staring longingly at her shirt and missing home. She especially missed her music.
Everyone else awkwardly stood by while Gwyn had her mini-meltdown.
"Yes... Anyway. Is that a famous music group where you're from?" Artero asked, trying to defuse the situation.
"Yes, they're like... the best band ever," Gwyn said.
For a moment, she was insulted that Artero had never heard of them, but then she remembered she was in another world, and laughed to herself.
"You're quite passionate about them, aren't you, Gwynevere?" Elise asked.
"It's not so much that I am passionate about them, just… It's rude, ya know? How could they deface their merchandise with no care! And if they have this, do they have my other clothes somewhere?"
Gwyn stared at them expectantly. Last-minute shoppers looked at Gwyn with disgust, but once they noticed Rodrick in his shining red armor. They quickly continued onward.
"Well, let's keep looking for an outfit that fits your taste, Madam," Rodrick said urgently. But then he paused. "Actually." He turned to Elise and Artero. "Both of you go home for now. I think we may be able to find something without you two around."
"What? Rodrick? Why?" Elise asked desperately.
~Not me, right, Rodrick?~ Artero asked through the link.
"No debate. I am king, and I say—depart!"
He raised his voice. Gwyn hadn't heard him speak like that before. He stood mightily, flexing an aura of immense pressure that felt as though he could crush them with the snap of his fingers.
Both Artero and Elise looked at each other with a hint of fear in their eyes.
"Guess we'll see you later, Gwynevere."
Artero tried to sound as pathetic as possible, to see if his knight would forgive him. His tactic was unsuccessful.
They both turned and walked away as Elise gave them a polite wave.
"What was that just now?" Gwyn asked the Royal Knight.
"Oh, I know how they get. We would've never found anything if they stayed." He chuckled. "Plus, I think I deserve to see you first in whatever magnificent attire we will pick out."
Gwyn was fond of the idea, but she didn't know where Rodrick was going with this.
"Why do I have to go to this 'Ela Lunaris' festival anyway?"
"You don't," Rodrick said plainly. "But if you don't, you won't be around for the next one." He looked grim. "We all may not be around for the next celebration." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "But, I will be there, and you will as well, along with the two Royals. We will make the most of it and have the best time we can."
Rodrick could feel Gwyn's hesitance, but he pulled her into a strong hug. His armor was slightly warm from the heat of the sun as it touched her face.
Gwyn didn't know whether he intended to do this, but it was the same hug her father would give her on a difficult day. She had to stop the tears before they formed.
Rodrick then spoke again.
"Plus, won't it be a nice surprise for the Royals? I actually have a superb fashion sense. I know we'll turn heads, even if they're hateful ones."
"Let's do it then!" Gwyn pulled herself from the knight's armor. "What do you have in mind?"
~
"You know, this is all your fault," Elise said to Artero as they walked back to the Gilded Towers.
"My fault?" Artero looked offended. "You were the one threatening me with murder if I forced Gwyn to wear any clothing you felt was 'hideous'."
"Arty, you do realize? I am a woman. You are a man. Did you notice nearly everypiece of attire you chose would have Gwyn exposing her breasts in one way or another?"
He swallowed hard.
"I'm sorry, I was just trying to help," Artero said weakly.
"Don't start this now. You know, your mom told me you used to piss the bed until you were seventy-six? Is that true? Mr. 'No-shirt, rippling muscles', is a little piss baby?"
Artero's face instantly turned red at the mention of his childhood pee behaviors.
"I am not a piss baby!"
"You look like a piss baby, look at how red your face is," Elise said mockingly.
Artero was fed up with her insults. Why did her calling him 'Arty' still cause his chest to ache anyway? She was cruel, he thought.
"Oh, so now we're using childish insults?"
"I think we are," Elise snapped.
They stood in the market center, staring daggers into each other's eyes.
"Let's not forget about the time you burned off all your hair practicing fire magic, and you had to go see a hair specialist to grow it back, but when it did, your hair was curly for a month."
Elise nearly fell backward, stunned.
"So? You said I looked cute with curly hair."
"You looked like Jimbleweed."
"A Jimbleweed?!"
~
"I hope those two didn't take us abandoning them too hard."
Gwyn looked through a clothing rack that seemed to go on forever. New clothes would appear from nowhere as she pushed them down a long line. Eventually, the clothes would loop back to the original piece she started with.
"I'm sure they're fine," Rodrick said. "They used to get along really well."
"Yeah, I know they used to date," Gwyn said.
"Oh, they used to be childhood friends. Well, briefly at least."
"Briefly?"
He looked reminiscent.
"When Artero was in school in his later fifties, he would always talk about this beautiful blonde girl."
Rodrick inspected a piece of dress that might look good on Gwyn, held it up to her, then shook his head and placed it back.
"Oh? Blonde? Are you sure you aren't talking about Anastasia?"
"Positive. Elise is a natural blonde." He let out a soft laugh. "The Sylvians all are."
Gwyn recalled the King who had radiant blonde hair.
"So they used to be friends then?"
"Well, here is the thing. I don't think the Young Master realizes that Elise is the same, shy, blonde girl from his past."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, she dropped out shortly after her parents realized a royal princess couldn't cast magic effectively." He held up another dress. "Could you imagine the damage that would cause to their family if people knew about that?"
"Absolutely not," Gwyn said, referring to the dress. "Who cares if people knew about her condition?"
"Well, when your family is running a whole continent on the verge of collapse, it's kind of a big deal that the royals produce competent heirs."
"I still don't understand the big deal."
"There are a lot of unruly politics that go on behind the scenes," Rodrick said knowingly. "But that isn't important. My point being, Madam. You aren't the only one constantly being judged. I am glad Artero has taken a liking to you. But if it wasn't for him, I don't know if we ever would have connected."
Gwyn remembered him bragging in class to literal children and smiled.
"Yeah, you were a bit of a..."
She didn't finish the sentence.
Rodrick only smiled.
Gwyn stopped looking at clothes and thought about what he had said.
How much did I not know?Were there really so many moving parts going on? Have I been just swept up in events I ultimately have no control over?
Some time had passed before Gwyn spoke again.
"Thanks for not hating me, Rodrick."
"I'm here for you, Madam. Now, what do you think about this one?"
The Royal Knight and Chosen One spent the next several hours shopping until night eventually came. Rodrick paid for everything and made sure Gwyn had the perfect outfit that even Gwyn herself admired.
During this shopping trip, the Chosen One concocted a plan.
She'd have Rodrick stand watch outside her room at the Gilded Towers to shoo away the Royals.
Yet they'd have no idea where Gwynevere truly hid, eagerly waiting to surprise them both.