Chapter 4

In the middle of the night, with stars covering the darkened sky, the balcony door to Rika's room swished open.

Rika cringed as the cold air whooshed in and rolled onto her side, hugging her arms.

"So, this is the saint," a cloaked man entered through the balcony and sat on the edge of her bed. He crossed his legs and leaned his elbow on his knee, head in hand, as he gazed down at her, smirking. "I suppose everything will change now." He reached over and brushed her hair back, out of her face. "You certainly look the part, don't you? Pretty little thing."

Rika twitched, startled by his touch, and opened her tired eyes.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust and his figure, hidden in shadows, to come into view.

"Oh crap." Rika scrambled back on the bed, away from him.

"Did I wake you? Sorry about that." He smiled at her.

I should scream, right? There are bound to be guards nearby. She took a deep breath.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said and put his hand in his cloak.

Crap. Shouldn't I have powers to help defend against... "Who are you? And what do you want from me?"

"We'll be officially introduced soon enough." He chuckled. "And this was simply a meeting, away from prying eyes." He pulled a black rose out of his cloak and held it out to her. "Our destinies are intertwined, so we'll be seeing a lot of each other soon, Saint Rika."

Not wanting him to act rashly because she turned it down, she reached out to take the rose.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her close, his deep red eyes boring into hers under the moonlight, and he kissed her cheek. "I look forward to getting to know you personally."

She froze, eyes wide. Did he just...?

He pulled away, leaving the rose in her hand. "Until next time." He pulled up the hood of his cloak and left through the balcony, sliding the door closed behind him.

Rika stared at the black rose in her hand, her heart pounding. It's my first night here, and someone broke into my new bedroom? So much for being safe in here. A black rose? Wasn't this on the game cover, too?

A game screen appeared in front of her. 'Secret Quest Completed: Meet All Suitors.'

'Reward: Rose Icon.'

Rika stared at it, rereading it a few times. Wait, does that mean he really was the shadowy figure from the game? It didn't say a name, though. She shuddered, thinking about how he snuck into her room. No wonder he thinks our fates are intertwined. He's one of the love interests.

She sighed and lay back in bed, staring at the black rose. It's pretty, but a black rose feels ominous. Who was that guy? Is this the 'icon' reward? I'm too tired to think about this and too wired to go back to sleep.

It'd be nice to get some fresh air, but after he snuck in, it doesn't feel safe to go out there.

Unable to sleep, she dropped the rose on the nightstand and wandered into the walk-in closet.

Maybe I can find something less stifling to wear.

The closet was filled to the brim with long, elegant dresses in an array of vibrant colours.

Did they know the saint was going to be female? Shouldn't there be some pants around here? Some nice joggers to sleep in.

On the other side of her closet, she found a set of frilly nightgowns.

Does everything have to be so extravagant? Figuring it was at least lighter, Rika changed into a nightgown. Gosh, it's so soft and silky, but I'd rather have a regular pair of pyjamas. Feels like I'm barely wearing anything.

Rika sighed and lay back on the bed, eyes closed as she wished to fall asleep and wake up back in her body.

Knock, knock.

Rika's door opened before she could even sit up. Celeste entered, pushing a metal cart with a covered plate on top.

"I've brought you breakfast. You must be hungry after yesterday's excitement." She parked it right in front of the bed and pulled the dome off to reveal bread, eggs, and hash browns.

Rika's nose twitched, and she finally sat up, her hair a mess from tossing and turning, and dark circles under her eyes. "Food?"

Grumble. Her stomach let out a roar.

Guess now that I've settled a bit it's turning into a raging monster. And I guess I am actually stuck here. Rika sighed and combed her hair down with her fingers.

"I'll wait outside until you're done, and then I can help you change." Celeste bowed to her. She spotted the black rose on the side and froze. Her mouth tightened, and she glanced at Rika before scurrying out of her room.

What was that about? She turned and spotted the rose. Oh crap. That can't be good. She probably knows that doesn't belong here. Whatever, there's nothing I can do about it now. And it's not like I did anything wrong.

Rika slowly ate her food, barely tasting it as she thought about the man from last night.

Who is he? And do I need to protect myself from him somehow? I don't want another surprise visit in the middle of the night. I should mention this to Alric, right? But what if I'm suspected of something?

"Arg," Rika grumbled and shovelled more food into her mouth. How can games that are so fun to play be so distressing to live in? Rika pushed the cart with an empty plate to her door and opened it. "I finished..." Rika trailed off, spotting someone in armour in front of her instead of Celeste.

She looked up into Wolfe's grey eyes and froze. What's he doing here? Wait. What the hell is that?! Her eyes widened as she spotted a blue rose icon floating above Wolfe's head.

Wolfe grabbed the handle on the other side of the cart and pushed forward, forcing her to step back into her room.

"What the hell are you doing?" Rika complained.

"Is that any way for a saint to talk?" Wolfe glared down at her.

"I never said I was a saint; you all did."

Wolfe's eyes went straight to the black rose on her nightstand. "Where did that come from?" He walked over and picked it up, holding it out to her.

Okay, so it's definitely not good to talk about it. "How would I know? I just got here last night!"

"The room was set up for you, and this was not one of the items placed in here."

Rika shrugged. "It's just a flower; what's the big deal? Besides, I thought this was Rose Palace and had a Rose Court, so everything is themed to a rose. Doesn't that match?"

His eyes narrowed. "Not a black rose, no. So you either brought it here yourself—"

"I didn't have anything other than the clothes on my back." Which weren't mine, either.

"Or someone else was in here." He looked around the room for anything else unusual. Then he headed to the balcony and looked around outside. "Make sure you keep the windows and balcony door locked, just in case, and I'll be guarding you from now on."

"Excuse me? I need a guard in the palace?"

Wolfe held up the black rose. "This suggests you do. For now, we need to talk to the prince." He grabbed her wrist and dragged her to the door.

Celeste blocked his way, bowing. "Excuse me, but seeing as Saint Rika is in her nightgown, I suggest you let her get changed before leaving this room."

"Fine." He released her wrist.

"And might I also suggest you not drag her around, so long as she isn't fighting you on it? It's unnecessary aggression towards our new saint and won't be seen positively."

Wolfe sighed and glanced at Rika. "Fine. I'll be right outside the door, waiting." Wolfe left, closing the door behind him.

Rika held her head and sat on the bed. It would've been Celeste to tell him about the rose, but she's also defending me. Whose side is she on?

"Would you like to pick out your dress for today, or would you like me to choose for you?" Celeste asked, gesturing her hand towards the walk-in closet.

"Do you have anything else I can wear? Preferably with pants?" Rika asked. Doubt I can get a power suit here, but I'll settle for anything with legs at the moment.

Celeste gasped, her hand over her mouth. "The only pants a lady wears are for horse riding."

"So there are pants I can wear?"

"Are you going horse riding?"

"No; I don't know how to ride a horse."

"Then no, you don't have pants to wear."

Rika sighed, shoulders slouched. "Fine, then I'll wear whatever you pick out. It doesn't matter to me, as long as I can breathe in it. I will warn you, though, if you try to put me in a tight corset, I will cut myself out of it, one way or another."

Celeste's eyes widened, and she nodded. "I can at least accommodate you there." She pulled out a violet and white dress and helped Rika change into it.

How about clothes I can wear without someone helping me? Geez, this is too intrusive.

"There, you look beautiful." Celeste even gave her violet-gemmed earrings to match. "You can keep the collar on; it is the perfect symbol for the saint."

Rika's hand went to her neck. She had noticed it on, but never paid any attention to the rose pendant attached to it. Practically branded, I guess. She followed Celeste out to where Wolfe was waiting.

Without a word, Wolfe took off, only glancing back to make sure she followed.

A screen appeared beside her as she walked. 'Quest: Alleviate Suspicious'

'Reward: Reputation Up'

'Failure: Reputation Down'