WOES OF THEIR WRETCHED.

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<div id="game-title">Game Title</div>\ <div id="title-links">\ <<link "New Game" "Start">><</link>> | <<link "Load Save">><<run UI.saves()>><</link>> <<link "Settings">><<run UI.settings()>><</link>> | <<link "Credits">><<script>>Dialog.setup("Credits", "credits"); Dialog.wiki(Story.get("Credits").processText()); Dialog.open();<</script>><</link>> </div>

''| Last updated : july,5,2025 & wordcount : 43k'' Check out my blog (main n wotwm-blog) on tumblr. | main/most seen warnings, there are more warnings that you can see below. If anything will bother you or trigger then please leave and take care of yourself. (every chapter will have a trigger warning show up before you continue playing but you can't skip the chapter, sadly..) Graphic depictions of blood and gore. Depression. Rape. Abuse. Forced Marriage. Morally questionable behavior and more. Genre: psychological, horror, romance. note | you will not be able to pick the gender of your child, you will have a son. the main character will start off as a bad parent towards their son and later on the game, you can still be a bad parent or try to be a great, how you choose will affect your life, other characters, and your son's life. ''FEATURES'' =Choose the person you wish to be, customize your name, gender, sex, sexual orientation and appearance, you can also choose what kind of parent you want to be; loving and caring or unloving and uncaring as well with choosing what kind of lover you wish to be; loving, lying, manipulative, toxic, healthy… =Choose your endings and life : There are bad and happy endings for anyone. Yourself, Your Son. It's all up to you, what you can get. =Build or break your relationship with characters such as ros(romance options) and your son. Even though you can help them, there is no way to make everyone happy but it’s your choice to pick who can be or not. =Romance anyone of the eight romance interests and 6 secret romance interests(and a few that would be seen as conversational)…but some are not really romance options, a few might die, betray or reject you… will you pick the right ones and be possibly happy? ( 14 ros in total and 4 flings ) <hr> [SEXUALITY] - this won’t be set but you can avoid flirting or romancing a certain group(ex. If you’re interested in women, avoid male options) but be warned that some characters will push themselves onto you(like romancing you) but you will have an option to flirt or not with any characters and none of the romance options will have a pre-set sexuality but rather mc-sexual but if you like then you headcanon but canonally they are mc-sexual. [FLINGS?] - There are 4 flings possible, that aren’t any romance options and they will remain as flings, these are the options if you wish to have flings, they will be shown in the next page under the section of flings. (maybe) [CHOICES] - depending on your choices; you can be healthy or unhealthy towards any of the romance options but they will also be unhealthy or healthy towards you as well because none is perfect and some of them(like around two) will be fake romance options where they can die, betray you or reject your feelings.. | meanings [NSFW] - Indicates a choice leads to some explicit content with a character. If you see this next to a choice then you will have an option to not choose that or you can. [♡] - This means flirting so if you don't want to flirt with certain characters, you can dodge these choices, pressing on these choices will be a romantic choice for the character. [𓁿] means not main character’s pov [𓁹] means main character’s pov ''MAKE SURE TO READ ALL OF THESE BEFORE PLAYING (first timers)'' <hr> <<button "Prologue Part One" "Pro 00">><<set $chapter to "Prologue Part One">><</button>> <<button "Trigger Warning List" "Warnings">><<set $chapter to "Trigger Warning List">><</button>>

demo: prologue part one

by Pearlvds

"to those who've wretched me against the woes of the children's cries, shall they burn and rot in hell until their flesh is disolved by the all the seven demon lords; Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, ''Satan'', Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Belphegor.."

<<set _menuPassages = ["Gods, goddesses, deities and history", "codex", "you"]>> <<if !_menuPassages.includes(passage())>> <<set $returnTo = passage()>> <</if>> [[Gods, goddesses, deities and history]] [[Codex|codex]] [[You|you]]

(appearances of characters... not entirely in order) : as characters for prologue part one, more characters will be added here in the codex while the game updates : the important characters. main cast. '' THE VOICE'' //the voice is something or someone that has been with you ever since your mother had died when you were ten years old. your mother had the voice inside of her mind for a long time when her father was killed, this voice seems to be from your mother's side and it says it is a demon.// ''EMIL AUGUSTKINGS'' //your child, you had no interest in him, born out of force and no love for him, but you realize that you can take your revenge - a possible heir of the throne, your ticket to revenge. An young boy, he has light brown skin, he has gold eyes. He is short in height (4'0). His hair is dark green and short that reaches to his ears and it is neatly combed. His body is skinny and petitle. // ''ESME DAWN-BALDASSARE'' //your brother, despite younger he has taken care of you, he is your sweet brother and he loves you and Emil. your his only family left and he is yours, he doesnt do much but stays at king leif's castle at your request. he had an accident at a young age which made him more dependent on you.// ''CERES WREN'' //he is your cousin, you remember him but just a small bit, he is your cousin, he was shy, really shy and quite naive but now he has changed.// ''FAYETTE IRVINE'' //a dancer, a woman who has bern brought into a work of dancing and more, she is often brought by the king to perfom - she often dances and has her own personal room despite her work, she is seen with kids. She cannot give birth to her own, she once said.// ''MOTHER ALCOTT'' //your mother, none hardly used her name in the castle, she was like a curse - she had died when you younger, around 8. Just taken away by your father and his gaurds.// ! <<button "PROLOGUE PART ONE">> <<script>> Dialog.setup("prologue part one"); Dialog.wiki(Story.get("pr1chars").processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</button>> (more upcoming buttons once more chapters get released.) <hr> <<if $returnTo>> <<button "Return">> <<goto $returnTo>> <</button>> <</if>>

<h2>KING LEIF'S CONSORT.</h2> the consort baldassare whom belongs to king leif. <hr> ''Personal Information'' ''$name'' 'dove' augustkings-alcott (previously; baldassare) Age: 21 ; in the present {chapter 1} Timeline : You were 10 years old when your mother died and when you had to move in with the man named Leif. (prologue part one.) You were 14 when you had to marry him and when you had your child, your son whose name is Emil, you didn't name him, you couldn't. (prologue part two.) Gender : $gender <<if $trans == "true">> You're transgender, people had judged you; dirty looks, their eyes will shame you for what you had decided but despite this, many use your name.. In the past, none did but none knew you, in the present; people use your name; the desired one. <<elseif $trans == "false">> You're cisgender, people would judge other people for what they're, changing their genders to something else would get people mad, disdain towards the person. Despite this, you never did but you can feel stares on you; people will dislike you no matter what. <<elseif $trans == "nonbinary">> You're enby, it's weird and you can feel stares on you; dirty and curious feelings towards you. You never did feel like a woman or a man, this felt like the right choice for you, in the past; people would use whatever you liked but you can still felt stares, people nowdays do; you're the consort of the cruel man, they have no choice. <<elseif $trans == "enby">> You're enby, it's weird and you can feel stares on you; dirty and curious feelings towards you. You never did feel like a woman or a man, this felt like the right choice for you, in the past; people would use whatever you liked but you can still felt stares, people nowdays do; you're the consort of the cruel man, they have no choice. <</if>> Pronouns. $he/$him/$his/$himself Titles : $mr/$master/$mister Height : $height "the consort whom lays and rots in the room of their soul and body" " a parent to the child named Emil." their $body and their wonderful skintone is ''$skin'' and they have $hair and the length is ''$length'' as well of their eye color which is gold. a gift from the gods, a child who will have great fortune and luck in their life but it seems that the gods have doomed you. ''More information...'' when you get nervous or anxious, you begin to $calm and your dominant hand is $hand, why of course it is. ''NSFW information'' Their body is attractive, with their ''$chest'' along with with their gentials which is a ''$gential'', this what makes their body so attractive to the ones who adore it. *comment had more information about variables as the story moves on. <hr> <<if $returnTo>> <<button "Return">> <<goto $returnTo>> <</button>> <</if>>

Thieves are just mindless slaves to the demon of greed, Mammon. A sad and poor excuse for people to forgive themselves after their wrong doings. “The demon lord, Lucifer, made me do it!" "The demon lord, Asmodeus controlled and twisted my mind into the lustful thoughts!" Was all this made by the lords to categorize people who are the opposite of heavenly virtue? However, for whatever reason, they are still—and will be—seen as filthy, thieving people. No matter where they come from, anybody can be a thief. An adult man or woman, a child, and a teen. Anyone. Wick-minded people, who think of stealing from other humans. Therefore, for all the reasons and examples, why is one group of people not regarded as thieves? Wealth and nobility are not thought of as thieves. The ones with power, of course. They're odd. They take everything, including nations, young women and men to marry, and lives of the countries;the people who live in there, the soldiers. Who is the one to say that they’re not thieves? Lord Brutus is a thief. He stole her from her kingdom, stole her from her home, her family, her friends, and her future. Changed her name to the title 'consort', as if making fun of her, mocking her. He had stolen many things, mainly her happiness that a mere child would dream of. The purpose of his actions is justified by lust and for women to bear his children; possible heirs. He stole her name, which was a part of her identity and could be used to recognize her or anybody else. He was careless with her name. She was deemed ‘the court’s whore’ or ‘King Brutus’ consort’ and maybe other names, but those two are the ones he uses. She hates how everyone looks down at her, their eyes judging her. How dare those filthy nobles judge her, they had all done worst things. In the bowels of hell, it was handled and dragged in the dirt with such carelessness. Since she was the oldest of her siblings—her two sisters and her other sibling...—and would have likely found a nice man to lie and rest with, she doesn't believe the title of "consort" is appropriate for her. She had a bright future ahead of her as the heir. She, Bellamy were forced into many of the tortures; childbirth, marriage, those guards of the palace, betrayal, the name-calling and those wretched jokes. Those were the tortures she had to endure throughout this pathetic life. The horrible child she vowed to despise until her body was decaying beneath the mother of the earth, the child she had brought into the world for Brutus, the child.. She had to give birth to that child. That damned. ''[[Though it was hard to hate and feel guilty.]]''

<h2>CONTENT WARNING.</h2> This interactive fiction is aimed towards an 18+ audience due to its mature themes. This game has dark/taboo subject matters that would be seen as triggering and disturbing. If anything on this list bothers you, please do not play, your mental health is more important. These warnings will show up before the chapter starts. <hr> //(warnings)// ''Abandonment.'' ; common and will be seen and mentioned. ''Assault.'' ; common and will be seen from different perspectives. ''Addiction.'' ; very common on different characters povs and mc’s pov but will very much be seen where it depends on choices that you make for coping mechanisms. ''Abuse.'' ; very common and will be seen/mentioned, coming from different characters and possibly even yourself. ''Animal Cruelty.'' ; rare but is seen in some povs or also depends on your choices in the story. Body Shaming and Bullying ; common and will be seen and mentioned by yourself(possibly) and different characters. ''Child Abuse.'' ; very common and will be seen and mentioned where it happens to different characters/yourself and you can also possibly be the abuser again depending on your choices. ''Child Marriage.'' ; common and will be seen and mentioned in the first chapters of the game. ''Cursing.'' ; rare but will still be seen because I find myself cringing a bit when I write curse words in stuff. ''Classim.'' ; common and will be seen and mentioned throughout the story. ''Death.'' ; very common and will be seen throughout the story. ''Drug Use.'' ; common for some different characters’ povs but more seen if depending on your choices and coping mechanisms. ''Depression.'' ; very very common, the main character will go through this and it's seen. ''Gore.'' ; common as the game gets further in but is seen in some characters’ povs. ''Grooming.'' ; common and used in the two meanings; predatory and military. ''Infidelity.'' ; common since you are married and can romance people. ''Incest.'' ; rare/common, it depends on your choices and how you see relationships between characters(ex. how one romance option acts with their cousin and one romance option being your step-son legally by marriage to the king) ''Killing.'' ; very common and will be seen throughout the story, done by other characters or by you. ''Mental illness.'' ; very common and will be seen throughout the story since mc does have a mental illness(mainly depression) and other characters(ros too) will have mental illness’. ''Misogyny.'' ; very common/rare since the women around those times were not as respected and mainly heirs would want to be sons and it will depend on your mc’s gender, female which it will be seen alot and that mc is acting out, and a bit less with male mcs. ''Pregnancy.'' ; very common and there will be a scene about mc’s pregnancy and childbirth in the first few chapters, aswell with other characters. ''Pedophilia.'' ; common and is mentioned that mc(young, around the age of 14) was married to an older man and also how other consorts/characters got married or something traumatic happened to them. ''Prostitution.'' ; very common and will be seen throughout the story with one of the romance options being a prostitute. ''Rape.'' ; very common and will be seen/mentioned throughout the story, with how mc got pregnant also with other consorts/characters. There will be attempts seen in the game which you can choose to stop or let it happen but regardless it will be stopped and no real-rape scenes will be written but heavily impiled… ''Religious themes and Trauma.'' ; very common and will be seen throughout the story with some of the characters and how you can choose how you see religions. ''Self-Harm.'' ; very common and will be seen throughout the story and this will be one of the coping mechanisms but self-harm can be any ways, emotionally, physically. ''Suicide and Attempts''. ; common and will be seen throughout the story, this will also depend on your choices. Where you can attempt or possibly one of the romance options can die. ''Sexual Content.'' ; very common and will be seen throughout the story where you can engage with characters. ''Sexism.'' ; very common and will be seen throughout the story and this will affect both male and female mcs, where people will see male/female mcs as weak and acting out and not masculine/feminine enough. ''Toxic Relationships.'' ; very common and will be seen throughout the story; you can be toxic towards romance options and even your own son.. ''Transphobia'' ; this will only be seen in prologue part one but less seen with trans mcs in the later chapters since nobody knows in the past or doesnt bother to know your past self. ((some of these might changes and will be updated as more chapters release)) [[back|Start]]

<hr> FEMALE NAMES ➔ Catherine ➔ Lyra ➔ Arabella ➔ Aloysia ➔ Yvaine <hr> MALE NAMES ➔ Ciro ➔ Neven ➔ Constanine ➔ Emrys ➔ Cassiel UNISEX NAMES ➔Devery ➔ Addis ➔ Osyth ➔ Misae ➔ Valentine <hr> WEATHER NAMES ➔ Raiden ➔ Ciela ➔ Laine ➔ Audra ➔ Corentin <hr>

<h1>WOES OF THEIR WRETCHED. </h1> // | “You will be getting your revenge, no matter what the cost is and whom you have to use..”// <hr> A recommended 18+ interactive fiction (that contains disturbing/dark subject matter that is not for everyone). Nothing in this story will be historically accurate. Woes of their wretched (wotw-if) is where you play as a consort of a cruel king, Leif. You are going to get your revenge for yourself and possibly for other reasons but you will play as a consort and a parent. | 18+ themes such as described nudity, graphic depictions of blood and gore, depression, rape, abuse, forced Marriage, morally questionable behavior, toxic and unhealthy relationships, child abuse, and more(you can check out the full warnings in the trigger warining list) | note : if you have some coding tips; please tell me. If you find any bugs/grammars please go to my account on tunblr which you can find in the sidebar (share). <div class="More information">[[More information|Start]]</div> <<link "Load Save">><<run UI.saves()>><</link>> <hr>

<<fadein 2s>><span class="logo"> <img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/d2e542a9eb0fdec4574ca78fc81299a6/tumblr_n6pxyvF0Jw1s5jjtzo1_500.gif"/> </span><</fadein>> <<timed 4s t8n>><span class="game-start-timed"> <<link "Click here to continue" "Menu">><</link>> </span><</timed>>

<<radiobutton "$example" "example">> example<br> <<radiobutton "$example" "example">> example<br><br> <h2>example.</h2> <hr> = header [[ - example | example]] <<button "words" "passage">><<set $variable to "passage">><</button>>

$albertfes /* General MC/PC characteristics */ <<set $mc to {}, $pronouns to {}, $hair to {}, $skin to {}, $body to {}, <<widget "PronounsSet">> <<if $mc.pronouns is "She/Her">> <<set $proset.they to "she", $proset.them to "her", $proset.their to "her", $proset.theirs to "hers", $proset.themselves to "herself", $proset.plural to false >> <<elseif $mc.pronouns is "He/Him">> <<set $proset.they to "he", $proset.them to "him", $proset.their to "his", $proset.theirs to "his", $proset.themselves to "himself", $proset.plural to false >> $1outfit /What pronoun set are you most comfortable with?// * <label><<radiobutton "_pronouns" "She/Her">>She/Her</label> * <label><<radiobutton "_pronouns" "He/Him">>He/Him</label> <<link "I'm male">> <<set $gender to "male">> <<set $he to "he">> <<set $him to "him">> <<set $his to "his">> <<set $himself to "himself">> <<goto "Intro">> <</link>> <<link "I'm female">> <<set $gender to "female">> <<set $he to "she">> <<set $him to "her">> <<set $his to "her">> <<set $himself to "herself">> <<goto "Intro">> <</link>> <<link "Pick Red">> <<set $choice = "red">> <<goto "NextPassage">> <</link>> <<link "Pick Blue">> <<set $choice = "blue">> <<goto "NextPassage">> <</link>> <<link "Pick Green">> <<set $choice = "green">> <<goto "NextPassage">> <</link>> <<if $choice == "red">> You picked the red option! <<elseif $choice == "blue">> You picked the blue option! <<elseif $choice == "green">> You picked the green option! <</if>> <<if false>>This never shows.<</if>> <<if true>>This always shows.<</if>> <<if "$___">> <<else>> <</if>> <<set $a1 = "wraith" >> <<set $a2 = "abyssal" >> <<set $a3 = "celestia" >> <<set $a4 = "sol" >> <<set $a5 = "dius fur'ne" >> <<set $a6 = "yes" >> <<set $a7 = "arc" >> <<set $a8 = "virgin" >> <<set $a9 = "no" >> <<set $a10 = "damned" >> <<set $q1 = "kitten" >> <<set $q2 = "brutus" >> <<set $q3 = "legal" >> <<set $q4 = "puppy" >> <<set $q5 = "palace" >> <<set $q6 = "wraith" >> <<set $q7 = "i like dogs" >> <<set $q8 = "my name is" >> <<set $q9 = "wedding" >> <<set $q10 = "woes of their wretched" >> <<set $d14 = "known">> $Esmegift

https://www.tumblr.com/pearldvs - pearldvs on tumblr https://www.tumblr.com/woesoftheirwretched-if - woesoftheirwretched-if on tumblr

She recalls a time when she loved a man in this unfortunate kingdom, a man whom she cherished and longed for deeply. A man. She could laugh. The individual she once believed she loved was a man who served to defend the Lord, Lord Brutus. The lord title fits him, a devil. A devil of lust. The man known as Albert De-Bellmort. A cruel man. How stupid of her to love. To be blind by his seduction. His love. Albert... A knight--he had blue hair and a stubble--, he was handsome. Her feelings for him were profound; she felt she could completely trust him with her life, envisioning a future together. Yet, like many childhood dreams—she had—, this one faded away. She was a foolish woman who followed her childish thoughts at night as she attempted to flee with the man without knowing what he was actually planning. Maybe her behavior was childish because she was deprived of her childhood, and her actions had repercussions. Poor childish girl. The man who deceived her betrayed her trust and affection solely because Brutus had arranged a deal with him. The knight will get everything he wants, including gold, time off from the battlefield, and other things the knight desires. A selfish act--an act of greed, a sin claimed by the demon lord, Mammon. The guards had taken her away again. Apparently, it had been the knight—the very man she once loved—who’d worked with Brutus all along. The strategy to trick the woman, however, was unknown to the guards. They all act smart though a simple plan couldn't hit them in the head. They just found out when her child was crying in the crib, no sight of the woman that they wanted to use as a toy was nowhere to be seen. Their eyes glancing at the child, the woes of the small one. Crying for their lost mother. Brutus had said that he would have left her with little consequences, a mere punishment of being locked in the dungeon then her room for a few days, no food or water. Though that changed when his other knights found out that she tried to escape, he did something more cruel, he said to her. “O’ my knights are more important than a lowly whore.” A whore. That is what Bellamy is to that man and the whole court. A whore. How distasteful. All the pain just because of the child, the child who cried out in the night for the mother who belonged to them. All the suffering just because of the child. An idiotic motive for receiving a harsher punishment than was meant for Bellamy. She would often tell herself that the kid, whom she had never wanted and who had caused her so many problems in her life, had destroyed her life. A child that she had named but no longer uses the name, she calls them “Wretched”. She left disgusted when she called her child the name that they were given. A wretched dog. Though she calls the child a ‘dog’ she doesn’t know why, she used to love dogs growing up. Her love for dogs was always strong as a young one, but maybe it dispersed when she shed her petals. She began to hate dogs. No such thing can have loyalty or be called a 'man's bestfriend'. Her child was much like a dog, grabbing her legs; her ankles. That damned barking--crying--as they whined for her attention. She never wanted a child, a cruel man for a husband, pleasing men, getting used as a court jester, name-calling. She never wanted any of these. She hates her life, it’s pathetic. [[Bellamy looks down at her skin.]]

Although in this life, she would not be perfect or loved by many. This is her life; a horror, a tragedy, a crime to the entire earth. She never wanted to be a breeding cow for a poor barbarous man. A man who probably couldn’t even tie his shoes. A man who can’t say sorry even if it kills him. He's more pathetic than she ever was. She—Bellamy—just wanted to be happy with her family and friends, she did not wish to gather the attention of a lustful demon—a man—whose name is Brutus. She did not mean to get her family killed and get her siblings out on the streets; stripped from their titles. She wasn't aware of the dangers of lustful stares. She did not mean to get anyone’s attention to her. She was just a mere teen, a girl who wanted to continue dreaming, spending time with her mother, father, and sisters. She loved her old life. She wanted it back. It would slip through her dainty fingers. No matter how she tried to grasp it. Nothing in her life would let her dream of it once more. She never had control of her life, this current one. She never did. Brutus controlling her every move, her body. More people came into her life--uninvited--and began to control her, she could never have control of herself or someone else but she did. The only control she had was over her child. The poor child being controlled by a woman who was broken like a fragile vase, a woman with no love for herself or her own child, just a broken toy. A dead rose. The guards and Brutus had destroyed a lovely rose, leaving it. Those wretched guards, how can they be so called friends with Brutus. It’s simple. They aren’t friends. None can be friends with that man. She could never believe or think that anyone would be willing enough to be called A friend of Brutus. The man—Brutus—had called her a thief, a thief? How can a man like that call her a thief? The voice in her head, an illness, a curse. Her mother had the same thing when she was small, none of her siblings had it. It was just her. Her mother would talk to herself and would often harm herself but she never did hurt anyone else; she just harmed her family, emotionally. Her mother is a strong woman, Bellamy couldn't handle the voice, it turned her like Brutus. Hateful man. She hates that she is becoming like him. A man who hurts other people. All because of that stupid voice in her mind. The voice that would mock her every action, her looks, her voice, anything. The voice would sound the same way as Brutus did, threatening her in that horrible voice. The voice said it was a demon, it said no name but said that they would always be there, mocking them with the voice of the one who haunts them. It would be Brutus and sometimes that child of hers. She began to wonder, what was her mother's voice? Was it Bellamy, herself? Her father? A completely different person? That question won't be answered. Bellamy takes a sharp breath when the voice pounds inside of her head. //A thief//. The voice said. Now mocking her, instead of backing her up. It sounds just like Brutus, the man who haunts her. She rubs at her eyes. It hurts. She knows why she is being called a thief. A woman accuses Bellamy of stealing her jewelry. A ring to be more detailed. A wedding ring. The woman had cried to Brutus. Her cries were loud during the break out. Squealing was heard as well. Like a pig. “She stole my ring! She stole it, my Lord!” She cried to the man. Bellamy wouldn’t; she claimed. She said that she would never want a whore’s ring. [[The whore’s name was Betsy]]

Why is Bellamy treated worse than Betsy, Lord Brutus, the concubines and the ones who sleep with him? Why aren't they treated or called a whore. Why is she the only one called and deemed a whore. She hates all of them: the servants, Brutus, the slut, the slut's son, and the ''wretched child that she once bore in her womb'' [[Her hatred will not end not even in death.]]

Brutus will come for her. She is aware of his punishment, a punishment for an accusation of stealing. Stealing from the king's favorite cumdump. It's stupid. She knows that she will face a very harsh punishment. //It will end in death.// The voice says to her. She knows and agrees with the voice, though she knows that the voice will be passed onto her child. The same curse in her mother than passed into Bellamy than into her child. Her child, a living sin of lust and rape. Why did she have to get stuck in this horrible life. //He will protect his whore.// The voice said once again, it does not sound like Brutus anymore and instead it sounds just like a demon would. Deep, rumbling. Controlling, monsterous. She had always wondered what the Voice's real name was. Perhaps she will be spared from the mystery and be told. As she thinks, the leering thought of her death comes back to her mind. The punishment leaks back into her mind. She will probably get punished badly, tortured, then killed. She will regret it if she goes down without a fight. It's a worthless thing to do. She tried it once, and it ended the same way how it always would--with those stupid guards--but she wanted to try. She never wanted to die in a pathetic way. Pathetic. She is pathetic, she is fully aware of it, she knows she is pathetic. //"You are pathetic, just a little girl trying to hide her feelings by acting tough".// The voice says again. No matter what she does, the voice always seems to mock her. Whatever choice she makes, it will always mock her. No way of pleasing this demon. The only thing that would please the demon would be Bellamy's pain. "Pathetic to die by a bratty, spoiled boy. Who does not deserve to be called a man, a king." No matter what she does now, the future knows that she will die. She shall await for her sad and pathetic death by those boys would not kill her swiftly, though she wishes they would. But they never cared about what she had to say or what her opinion was about. They only cared about themselves and their ways of life. Their disgusting bodies. This will be a kind that Bellamy is happy to miss out on. She speaks underneath her breath. //Sectatores eius avaritia, superbia et peccato corrumpantur, morte dolorosa patiantur et moriantur.// [[the woman's journal has been found]]

There’s a journal in her drawer, Lady Bellamy’s Journal. It reads; <hr> //“I have told one of the nearby kingdom’s king, His name Is Leif. A man who had tried to take me in as his bride or consort, a cruel man I had heard about. I told him about Brutus and his acts. I want him dead, I want the whore dead. I want everyone dead in his kingdom, I want my sister to live a good life. I promised him...that wretched child. A cruel thing but my sister, said that he would make sure that my sister will live a happy life, filled with gold and does whatever she wants. I know he will because that man had always wanted me, he will probably want my child as well. It’s cruel, that child will live a life filled of lies, and dread. I am sorry, my child. I am not strong enough to love you, I am only strong enough for my sister, you deserve a better mother, a better life, a better future.”// <hr> That’s what her journal says, it ends with that. Though her journal was filled with emptiness, nothing except this page had some emotion; despair and regret. His heart could not care for the emotions, the woman or the woman’s child but he did care for the threat made by the woman. His hands grip the journal, the pages daring to rip due to his anger and hatred. He had ripped many of lives just by his anger. His anger is reasonable, a possible threat to his kingdom, he could less about that woman’s future to death or the child that she beared, a worthless wretched child. Brutus never cared about that damned one. Brutus, a man full of pride. He will make sure to defeat Leif before he will fall to Leif’s defeat. He will not accept that Leif will defeat him. He is to prideful for that. [[prologue; part one.]]

<<fadein 2s>><span class="fade-in"> <h1>PROLOGUE PART ONE</h1> ''BALDASSARE'S KINGDOM'' //10 years old// ''warnings''; heavy child abuse, graphic details of blood and gore, death, body horror, swearing, mentions of mental illness; depression, heavily Impiled sexual abuse, reilgious themes/trauma, mentions of vomit, nonsexual nudity, body shaming, attempted assault </span><</fadein>> <<timed 4s t8n>><span class="game-start-timed"> [[the beginning of your life]] </span><</timed>>

𓁹 “My child..” The voice of the person that greets you fills you with dread--a taste of fear waves over you. Even though you know that she never called you her child--she never once did--, your body still freezes when it recognizes the voice. You can feel butterflies inside of you, it makes you feel ticklish but you realize that you cannot move, control yourself. This feeling is weird, no matter how you try to gain control; it doesn't work. Your view changes due to your eyes constantly moving around. The world around you is just fog--it's a thick layer of foggy mist--which its deep gray sheets is just surrounding you. Your eyes continue to move but your body cannot. The mist is covering everything in front of you, beside you, and most likely behind you. You feel your stomach twist. You feel scared for some reason. Your breath quickens. Your hands begin to move as you try to calm yourself down. You quickly think of what you always do when you get too anxious. <hr> ➞ <<link "Play with your hair">> <<goto "Play w/ Hair">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "Bite your fingernails">> <<goto "fingernails">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "Play with your clothes">> <<goto "play cloth">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "Lick your teeth">> <<goto "lickin' teeth">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "Take deep breaths">> <<goto "breaths">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "Hum a song">> <<goto "hum song">> <</link>>

You would always choose to bite your nails, your teeth chewing into it as it was a way for you to calm down, your mother would slap your hand when she would catch you. She said that it was disgusting and non-noble of you. She wanted a lot from you.. Is this correct? <hr> <<link "Yes">> <<set $calm to "bite your fingernails">> <<goto "continuation">> <</link>> <<link "No">> <<goto "the beginning of your life">> <</link>>

You would always play with your hair, twirling it around your finger or pull on it as you would just distract yourself. Your mother would always slap your hand when she caught you. She said that it would be a bothersome act in front of other people. (only possible if you plan to have hair) Is this correct? <hr> <<link "Yes">> <<set $calm to "play with your hair">> <<goto "continuation">> <</link>> <<link "No">> <<goto "the beginning of your life">> <</link>>

You would always hum a song, any song that would be one you heard once when a jester comes or dancers are coming through the kingdom, your mother would get mad and slap you on your face or arm, saying it is childish. She wouldn't allow you to listen to music, she said that it's a waste of time. You could hear her say that monsters might take a liking to it and take you away forever. Is this correct? <hr> <<link "Yes">> <<set $calm to "hum a song">> <<goto "continuation">> <</link>> <<link "No">> <<goto "the beginning of your life">> <</link>>

You would always lick your teeth, your tongue just running along of your teeth, dragging it but sometimes it would annoying your mother. She would slap your face or your arm to make you stop. She disliked it because she said that she could hear you. She would mumble about monsters who prey on the small and weak ones. Is this correct? <hr> <<link "Yes">> <<set $calm to "lick your teeth">> <<goto "continuation">> <</link>> <<link "No">> <<goto "the beginning of your life">> <</link>>

You would always take deep breaths when you get anxious or nervous, just inhaling then exhaling is something you would do but your mother gets annoyed by it and would slap your chest, arm or even your face. She said that deep breaths would be to loud, annoying the possible spouse you get. She often said that people might hurt for breathing to loud, she also says that it exposes you. Is this correct? <hr> <<link "Yes">> <<set $calm to "take deep breaths">> <<goto "continuation">> <</link>> <<link "No">> <<goto "the beginning of your life">> <</link>>

You would always play with your clothes, no matter what you were wearing either messing it up or just trying to tear it apart, your mother would slap your hand often because of this. She often said just to leave it alone, that it's annoying. She would mumble how there are perverts out there, monsters who prey on the weak and small. Is this correct? <hr> <<link "Yes">> <<set $calm to "play with your clothes">> <<goto "continuation">> <</link>> <<link "No">> <<goto "the beginning of your life">> <</link>>

Your chest is pounding just like the drums that you'd heard when your father talked to his kingdom filled with his followers—you could only guess that it's his followers—and the loud sounds of the drums would always make you feel that your heart was beating not so normally. You have no idea where you are, but you feel a cold breeze. Your body turns, but it stops, then it makes your head turn, tilting just a bit to look behind. You are filled with dread and nervousness as you begin to $calm. The more you look at the woman, you begin to notice that it's your mother. The more disfigured she looks. She has a distorted face—it’s horrible, like everything isn’t where it should be—and her body is thin, so bony and thin that you can see her ribs. Her bony fingers, her thin cheekbones, her deep-set eyes—eyes aren’t so accurate because one of her eyes is missing— although her appearance isn't as before, there is still a sense of familiarity. <<cycle "$reactionmomded">> <<option "Mother still looks beautiful despite her horrible look.">> <<option "Mother looks horrible, it's scary why does she look like this?">> <<option "Mother looks different, you're not really sure what to say, the words won't come out.">> <</cycle>> Everything about her appearance just seems more disturbing as you carefully look at her more. Everything is wrong about her. Her mouth is wide open like a snake—you remember seeing a book about snakes. It had fun facts, and apparently it can unhinge its jaw—like it's about to swallow you whole. You can feel your mouth try to gulp, trying to swallow spit and your saliva, but you soon find out that it's hard to do, even as a simple task as that. You begin to look at her body, your eyes go up and down on her body; you notice how her knees bend. The way she walks is unnatural. You can't explain but the only word that comes in mind is a toddler trying to learn how to walk. Your eyes stop when you notice how many bruises are on her skin. Your mother never had this many bruises on her skin, she would hide the scars and bruises underneath clothes and powder. She would also hide your bruises after her punishments. It would be itchy but you never complained in front of your mother. If you did, she would just give you a smack or two for complaining. She looks different, just all bloody and bruised, just completely different. Despite all of these changes, she is your mother. You’re going to be fine, right? Your mother wouldn’t hurt you, right? She does harm you but this situation feels different. You feel like this time she will gladly give you more pain than ever before. You hope that she won't think of hurting you in that way. Perhaps she won't. You could only hope so. [[POP!]]

You flinch for a second due to the loud sound she has produced. A loud groan that has a mix of mumbling as well. Your eyes look all around you, where did it come from. There is no way that it came from her, right? That sound was unnatural and impossible for a human to make. It was loud, could it be her yelling but your mother only yells once she gets mad towards you or the servants. She never has made a pop noise when she yelled. Is she mad? Your eyes clench hard as you try to remember the last time you saw her. Yesterday or maybe a day or two ago. You saw a horrible sight. The sight was your mother looking down, her hands behind her back, her hair messy and some hair had been pulled out---from what you could see from your bedroom. She had a bruised lip along with a bloody face. She often did look harmed but it was never this bad from what you can remember. Her leg was bruised, and she was just wearing a robe. It seemed teared. She despised her clothes having a tear on them. Her hands were bloody as well… you think that you saw some guards with bruises as well, you believe that you saw some blood on their hands and faces. You saw a guard holding his stomach with some blood dripping off the wound. As you try to remember more, you can't because of a noise. A beastly growl is now heard from the woman whom you call mother. It's inhuman, it sounds like a beast. You freeze up for a moment. Her mouth opens once again while her mouth opens her jaw begins to look more unhinged. You began to hear another growl. //Are you scared of your own mother?// She speaks, it sounds different, but it's her voice. You're surprised that she can speak since her mouth is bloody that droplets keep coming out of her mouth. Her jaw is wide open like it's being held just a bit before it snaps right off. Her harsh glare is trained on you, not moving her eyes like an owl. Just staring at you like you have a sin written all over you. Her body is pale, so incredibly pale. Just like a corpse--you remember seeing a corpse when a funeral was held for your grandmother. Her body felt cold and dry, she didn't move at all. Your mother just scoffed next you. It was your father's mother. Your own mother said that you shouldn't care about an old hag. Your mother growls once more; this makes you shiver. Her feet move as she takes one step ahead of her, her shoes are gone, and it's just her bare feet, her feet looks bony and equally bloody as the rest of her body. She takes another step ahead of her, her bare feet hitting the ground but then you hear a loud snap. You shudder in fear and uneasiness when you realize that her leg is broken just by a simple step ahead of her, a sharp piece of her bone is sticking out. The white bone which now lays in its blood. The sound of her leg breaking was loud. You have never heard a bone break so loudly, it hurts your ears. You remember that mother broken one of your legs before, it was never this loud. It was just your screams that were loud. You wince when you see her broken leg. She comes closer, which just makes the noise just pop even more. You shudder as even more bones break; her leg breaks even more and somehow her arm as well. They stick out like thorns on a rose, many thorns in a rose brush. Beautiful but dangerous. Even more blood comes down her face, her arms, her hands, her neck, and even down to her legs—inner thighs and outer thighs— until it reaches down to the ground. Some of the blood cling to her skin though most just drip and fall to the ground. It leaves a bloody puddle. Your head lifts back until your eyes are staring at her. Her bony fingers point at you—her bony and long index finger. You feel when you see that her finger breaks, and it just snaps with ease like the bone is soft due to all the blood. How can she break all her bones this easily? You feel ill once more. Her broken index finger just points to you. She opens her mouth to speak, she takes a few breaths before doing so, then a small weak gasp comes out. //You made me this way, you wretched child.// Her voice is becoming more weird and unstable, it sounds deep and more demonic. You look at her eyes but realize that her face is darkening. It seems that only two small eyeballs are staring at you. Your mouth widens in surprise but you can't speak. No words come out. The sight makes you shiver as you begin to $calm, but it does not seem to work as a sound of laughter appears, but it seems to be heard from everywhere around you. It's mocking you. The laughter reminds you that when your mother used to talk with noblewomen then they would point at you and laugh--or were they laughing at her or perhaps you and mother. //You wretched dog, you ruined my life, you deserve every punishment that I haven given you.// Punishments. She said that punishments will take care of you well. She would always say that; saying that if you didn't stop your childish actions than she would have to punish you, and you would stop doing whatever you did, so maybe it did work in a way. Your eyes close and open, turning to look back at her, the laughter slowly fading away as you pay attention to her once again. She takes another foot closer towards you, but when she does take another step. It's a horrible sight. When she does. A wet, bloody thing drops to the ground below her lower half where her crotch should be. Your eyes widen once it makes a sound. It cries and cries louder as your ears ring louder. You remember hearing those cries during a ball, when a noblewoman had her baby in her arms. It sounds like a baby, it cries. Is it a baby? It has to be. More blood goes down her legs. Why are her legs dripping so much blood? Your head spins. You feel anxious. You began to $calm but nothing works. You can't calm down, why? Why? Her mouth opens, it looks like it is being held by a thread. A measly thread. Her jaw is wide open. [[you dread the words that come out her mouth]]

<span class="shake">“IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU. YOU WRETCHED DOG. IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU. YOU WRETCHED DOG. IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU. YOU WRETCHED DOG. IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU. YOU WRETCHED DOG. IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU. YOU WRETCHED DOG. IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU. YOU WRETCHED DOG.”</span> //You are a wretched dog.// <span class="shake">“IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU. YOU WRETCHED DOG. IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU. YOU WRETCHED DOG"</span> //wretched dog.// <span class="shake">''IT'S BeCAUSE OF YOU. YOU WrETCHED DOG. It'S B3CAUSE OF YOU. YOU WRETCHED DOG. IT'S BECA4SE OF YOU. YOU WRETCHED DOG. IT'S BECAUSE OF Y0U. YOu WRETCHED DOG. IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU. YOU WRETCHED DOG. IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU. Y0U WRETCHeD DOg.'' </span> //you wretched human of a child.// <hr> ➞ <<link "Block Your Ears">> <<set $reaction = "block your ears">> <<goto "NextPassage">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "Stare At Her">> <<set $reaction = "stare at her">> <<goto "NextPassage">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "Cry and Plead">> <<set $reaction = "cry and plead">> <<goto "NextPassage">> <</link>>

<<if $reaction == "block your ears">> The sight of her makes you feel squeamish. The feeling is weird, it makes your legs feel wobbly, while your stomach feels like there are bugs inside of it. Just moving around inside of you, it adds more to your anxiousness. The feeling adds a new one, a feeling of pain. It begins to hurt even more. It feels like someone is just constantly punching your stomach. Your small hands go to your stomach and grasp on the clothing you wear. It doesn't nothing. It hurts but the noises and sounds you hear is bothering you. You think that is the main cause of your anxious feelings. Blocking your ears should do you good. Your palms go straight and flat as they move on top your ears, holding them there to keep the noises out while you can see the woman in front of you moves closer; seeing her bloody footsteps that lay behind her. Your hands press harder. //That won't keep you safe.// You open your eyes and see Mother. Mother always hated how you blocked sounds with your hands. She said it was childish and not an adult thing to do. She would always slap your hands afterward, then after she pulled on your ears, it would hurt. She would then scream in it, her voice made you feel like you were bleeding. Everything she was done, all you could hear was ringing. A constant ring. Never leaving until a few hours later. Your mother still wouldn't make a face or any emotions, just a blank face as she did punishment to you. She never showed emotions in front of you unless it was anger or just a stoic face. You grit your teeth against the bottom ones as well, but it hurts while you do so, your fingernails digging into your skull. The action hurts even more. It hurts. You can faintly hear more bones creaking and breaking, she is coming closer towards you; your chest hurts more. It feels like your heart wants to escape your body. You want to escape. You begin to find out that it's hard to breathe while she takes another step closer. You pathetically grab at your chest. You can hear a very faint growl once more, you just push harder against your ears. It's silent for a moment before you can hear faint noises once more. You can hear her voice just faintly and lightly, you cannot hear a word she says, but she seems to be mumbling. Eyes shot open up once more as you stare at her. Her body is still a mess; still dirty with many types of liquids; a red liquid, a yellow stain, some brown liquid and you can see dirt on her. Why is she so dirty? "Do you think that she is going to change her appearance?" You're not so sure but you do kind of wish that she did. "Do you actually love her?" The voice speaks to you. You're not so sure how to answer this question, since you always tried to look at your mother with love, but now it seems hard to do so. //Do you truly love her?// It asks once more. You can faintly hear cries which come from the bloody fetus that is still on the floor. The stomach of your mother begins to look weird, like it is changing shape. Your throat hurts, and it burns once you realize that you have almost vomited. Is that what a baby really sounds like? Is that what you sounded like when you were just a baby? You have many questions currently which distract you from this situation. Your lungs hurt and your chest tightens, which makes it hard to breathe. Your legs begin to become more wobbly just by the second. Still trying to protect yourself from the nerve of distress. You want to protect yourself from fear but everything feels slow. You feel like something bad is going to happen to you, your head begins to hurt like sharp punching pain had appeared and your hands hurt despite no harm being done to them. //Are you glad it hurts?// Everything hurts, but it also gives a sense of comfort. Why can't you just be normal? Why do you have to be this way? Cold—deathly icy— hands are on top of yours, and it has a plan to peel off your hands. Her bony and bloody fingers coat your skin with red as she touches your $skin skin-tone. You try to move away, but you cannot move due to fear; your legs stay still and wobbly as you hear mumbling. "You wretched dog." This voice is clearer, and it loses the voice of your mother, then changes to a demonic tone. Wretched dog. She always said this to you, 'wretched dog'… why did she call you wretched so often? You aren't a dog, dogs are animals, and you aren't sure why? //How does it feel to know that you made your mother a whore?// The voice is clear inside your mind, and it does not try to sound like your mother. Instead, it sounds like your father. You feel tears, it burns your eyes as you try to hold down your hands, but she keeps trying. It hurts. Mommy, please stop. <<elseif $reaction == "stare at her">> Her hands are still bent weirdly from the broken joints in her fingers. Her dainty digits are coated with her blood; her chipped nails ruined due to whatever attacked her. Your gaze drifts from her twisted fingers to her chest but as your eyes move around; they don't stop. It focuses on her legs once more.. The bloody fetus is still down on the ground and it gets slowly dragged when your mother walks. The fetus cries, moving its small arms around; waving. The sound of the baby crying is loud but it just gets more louder. Your ears began to hurt. You can see a cord connecting the baby to your mother as it goes underneath her dress; you remember seeing that in a book labeled 'childbirth' in the library. Your hand goes down to your stomach, you feel rough for a moment. //Why do you bother to act tough? In truth, you aren't.// Her mouth seems to be moving but you cannot understand. No words come out; it's only gurgling, like a clot of blood is in her throat. Your eyes then go upwards and it stops at her crotch. You notice a huge patch of blood, it goes through her white nightgown. It’s dirty with blood, dirt and yellow stains. It looks like filth. You blink before your eyes go more upper. It stops at her chest, her chest is hardly going up and down to breathe. You can see her ribs even through her clothes. She groans. Her clothes are ripped. Mother would always freak out when she saw a single— it does not matter if it was a small—tear. She seems different, but the truth is that, do you really know how she really is? You may not know her true self, but you know that she hates uncleanness and messes. If she were here, she would hate seeing this woman like this. //She would hate to see you like this as well.// You exhale, blinking and you let out a deep breath. You try to prepare yourself for another gruesome sight. Your eyes go more upper at her neck. It’s covered in blood, dirt and there's a cut on her neck that makes her head look like it’s about to fall off–It looks like it was recently cut, strings of blood and muscle are holding it together–as you continue to look, you can see the inside of her neck. You feel queasy. Your mind racks to move your eyes, but you cannot, you're feeling scared. You feel scared for some reason, an emotion called scared. Your eyes finally begin to lift and move towards her face. It's bad. Cuts, bruises on her face. It’s all red, covered in blood. Her nose looks destroyed, one part is half gone. You focus more on her face, mostly her lips, since it captures your attention. You notice her lips are dry, chapped. It is bloody as well, some of her skin is gone around her lips. Blood is pouring out of her mouth, dripping out. Some of her teeth are missing, you notice black spots where her teeth should be. She would always take care of her teeth and she would brush yours if you didn’t. You remember when you saw her teeth often when she bit her fingers—she never smiled so you never saw her teeth just stay still—when she was nervous. She bit you as well a couple of times because you broke one of her vases. //How does it feel to know that you made your mother a whore?// She comes closer to you due to this action. The feeling of bravery is once gone. Your eyes hurt and you can feel them burning. The tears threaten to fall. Your chest tightens then it becomes hard to breathe, your chest is hardly moving up and down like a normal being. It does not move. It’s hard to breathe, your nose hurts as she comes closer. You can feel sweat going down your face. Your legs soon become wobbly, they shake like a wet dog. Your leg is shaking and you feel threatened to fall, but you do not dare to risk it. You stay up, your eyes daring to close, but you soon feel her bony and cold hands on your shoulders. <<elseif $reaction == "cry and plead">> The sight of her and the feeling of dread, you gulp—the sound of it is loud—while doing so, your throat hurts. Your eyes begin to burn as tears threaten to fall. The feeling of dread, it returns again—a feeling of butterflies appears in your stomach. You began to feel sweaty and clammy; your fingers twitch. She does not say a word to you, but it’s just her index finger pointing at you. It looks weird due to her finger being broken and crooked. Her skin color is now pale and blueish gray. Her normal skin color is now gone just the color of red—blood—now stains her skin. Your skin would be red as well when your mother punishes you too hard. You can feel your small hands curl up into fists while it curls, you can feel yourself about to cry. The tears are about to fall. Your mind begins to hurt, your throat hurts and feels clogged. A sound manages to let a word slip off your throat. It’s not the sound of yelling or anger, but it’s a sound of fear. It's a pathetic sound. A sob, then it’s another sob. A wave of feeling pathetic hits you; it drowns you. //That's no surprise.// The drowning of feeling pathetic hits you but you can feel another wave coming--a wave full of dread and despair--; it will drown you as well. Mother would always teach you not to cry, no crying, since she often said that it’s childish and a waste of time. She never cried, not even in the moments where you saw her bloody and messy. You hate disobeying her, it always ends with pain. //Mother… will punish you for your childish ways… // She hates your childish acts, saying that you will need to mature and that your life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, there will be no happiness for you. She would say. Another sob comes out. You blink, trying to get the tears away from your face. You think that she looks at you in disappointment, but she will always look at you in disappointment. It didn’t seem to change. Why are you so pathetic? You begin to cry, the sobs coming out of your mouth, just falling and falling. Your chest burns and your throat hurts. There is no pattern to your tears and sobs. You feel even more pathetic. “Mother! Please!” You scream; your throat hurts. You sob. She just looks at you, not speaking a word. Your eyes burn and they become blurry. You cannot see that well anymore. It is just blurry, the fog hurts your eyes as well. It hurts. It hurts. Why does it hurt? Pain. Your mother has only taught you pain. It's confusing. Why is mother like this? Why couldn’t she love you like any other mother could? Were you being bad? Your mind hurts, it feels like pain. It feels like someone is just hitting your head with a metal bat. //How does it feel to know that you made your mother a whore?// You feel another sob threaten to come out, but you feel like you shouldn’t. You try not to cry but a sob leaves you. “Mommy please! Mommy! P-please do-don’t hurt me!” You scream and cry. Your throat hurts. “M-mommy!” You cry, your hands grip your clothes.You cannot stop crying or stop the sobs leaving you. Mother always hated you calling her ‘mommy’, saying it’s childish and not fit for a possible lover and heir. //Mommy? Are you serious?// She always spanked you, slapped you, put you in the coal bin, tied you up in her closet, in the dungeon with crime-doers. Even though she does not look like herself, she looks at you with anger. She would, every time. She comes closer, her bloody body coming closer towards you. You cry harder while your legs hurt and wobble. She does not say a word, you hear the baby cry still. Her hand reaches out to you but this time you do not want her love or touch. Not this time. <</if>> Then something happens, you feel something grab you but it's neither cold or bony…. Your whole body shudders, it feels like it might shut down. Your hands clench; your eyes widen as you take deep inhales. [[you gasp]]

A wet cloth is on your forehead, it feels damp. //Obviously, it does. Use your brain// You feel the cloth moving away from your forehead, you stir for a bit before you try to open your eyes. You cannot. You blink but once you try to blink again, you feel the damp cloth once again. It is placed on your eyes, and you can feel it gently rubbed on your eyes. It softly rubs your eyes, which allows you to look around. A soft exhale escapes your body, your chest relaxes. You breathe normally now. You see your bedroom, it's a fairly big room; drapes in clothes, your bed is full of pillows–you always place one beside you. The reason being that you always just tell yourself that it was your mother. The two blankets that lay in your bed which make it weigh like a knight’s armor. You close your eyes. “Mm” Your voice sounds dry, and it hurts to speak, like you've been screaming for a long time. Maybe you did. You do not know if you did scream out loud during the nightmare. Your head is turning its gears as you look around. You hear the sound of someone knocking, they want in. <hr> [[Try to speak, let them come in.]] [[Ignore the knocking, don't let them come in.]]

She once got so mad at you when you accidentally broke one of your father's vases. She nearly killed you. You felt scared in that moment but in the next moment, you felt confused but comforted. You remember her humming to you after that. She said that love deserved not given to those who are not worth it, not the ones who are crying and not doing stuff to earn the love. You always hoped to earn love, her love. She never said that you were deserving of her love. Maybe you weren’t, but you always hoped so.. Why couldn't you be enough for her? Are you stupid? What's wrong with you? Are you broken? //Yes// You snap back out when a gentle touch on your nose brings you back. It was by the woman--Besty. You notice that she often did this with Esme, touching his nose. Your mother would just flinch and make a disgusting face when she noticed them. She would often drag you away from the two. She hated seeing Esme and Betsy together, saying that Betsy was dooming her son. Dooming him to be weak and pathetic. Your mother often said that Esme is a worthless bastard, whatever bastard means… One of your servants said that Esme is your younger brother, and you are his older sibling. It isn’t nice to call him ‘a bastard.’ Though mother says that you shouldn't care about what lowly servants think. She often encourages you to call him a 'bastard'. If he is called a bastard, and you are called a wretched dog, why don't people stop calling you a wretched dog? They always stopped people or themselves from calling Esme, a bastard. You snap back to reality. You see Betsy, smiling at you with her wide and big smile that showed off her dimples, it fitted her nicely, you would say. Mother would disagree. She always looked pretty, but if you said that, mother would be mad. She continues to hold out her arms and hands to you, just waiting and smiling at you. She wants to hold you, holding you like a mother should do. She smiles. She isn't your mother. Why is she doing this? For a moment, you feel something… It's a confusing feeling, your heart feels weird. It's hard to find what emotions you are feeling… Love? Envy? Hatred? Or simply nothing or everything? ...? <hr> ➞ <<link "Hold Out To Her">> <<set $betsy = "hold out to her skank ass">> <<goto "mc and betsy">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "Slap Her Hand Away">> <<set $betsy = "slap her bitch ass">> <<goto "mc and betsy">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "Do nothing">> <<set $betsy = "emo">> <<goto "mc and betsy">> <</link>>

<<if $betsy == "hold out to her skank ass">> You blink at first, wondering what she is doing. Your eyes just train on her as you go closer towards the end of the bed. She watches you. //she is probably watching in disgust, there's a 100% chance she is.// Your small arms hold out to her, you just stare at her as she smiles and brings you closer to her body. Her arms easily wrap around your body as you feel yourself getting lifted. Your mother never did this. You remember asking her to carry you when you were younger, your feet were sore. It was always sore. She would just push you away with a swift motion of her palm. Your feet would end up having blisters, it was painful but you feel comforted being near your mother. Betsy smiles as she hums. You cannot recognize the song that she hums. //Maybe you were covering your ears too much. That could be a reason why.// You lay your head against her chest, you feel warm.. It's a weird feeling that you aren't used to. Your head rests on her chest while you look around your bedroom towards the big window. It's covered by a black curtain. It makes your room completely black. Your mother always kept you inside unless there was a ball happening. //you're like an ugly bird; none wants.... hahaha// Hands are on your body, one on your bottom to hold you and one on the back of your head. It keeps you secure in her hold until you reach where she wants to take you. It feels oddly safe. <<elseif $betsy == "slap her bitch ass">> Your hand lifts as you slap away her hand. She flinches at first and blinks. Her eyes stare at you, then narrowing. She mutters some words, you hear a faint 'bastard' underneath her breath. //You're a bastard. The only person willing to give you attention and you slapped her hand away.// She lets out an annoyed sigh but she goes back to her smile. Her smile is different which you can tell in a slight small change. Instead of gentle, it's more like hatred and disgust. She quickly shakes her head and shakes her index finger. "My oh my, you should be more careful. You have nothing to fear, child." She says, just smiling, but you have a feeling that she wanted to say more to you. You don't say a word when she backs up, away from your bed as she claps her hands together. You get startled when her palms meet. //I wonder if she wanted to slap you right now, I would enjoy to watch it and perhaps join in if I could.// You shiver due to the voice's words. //Teach you a lesson or two, see your face all bruised and red/// "We have to go to the bathroom, follow me so i can get you cleaned up!" She is back to the chirping, happy tone in her voice. You just blink. She called you a bastard underneath her breath but she seems happy now. She makes a motion for you to follow her, you just move around until you are at the edge of the bed, your legs dangling off. She is near the bathroom door, weird. You did not notice her or any servants coming in. They are quiet like a mouse. You get off the bed, your feet touching the soft carpet. It feels fuzzy and ticklish at the same time. //How would it feel after your feet were cut off?// She sighs, waiting. You look around your room once more. Your eyes drift off to the window, it's huge and draped in black curtains. Your mother always kept you inside of your bedroom, never letting you out. She would sometimes. During dinner, but recently, she made you eat in your bedroom. She would also let you out during the--some--balls that happen in the castle. You take another step as you go towards Betsy, your eyes going away from the window. Your hands wring together. <<elseif $betsy == "emo">> You just look at her, she smiles still, but you notice her lips and eyes twitching. Your mother used to do that when you messed up your chores, work, and whatever you did she didn't like. //Trying to protect yourself from the pain? Hiding your emotions, how tough you are.// She tries again, but you still do nothing. Then she drops her arms on her sides, giving up. She flicks her thumb on her pointer finger quickly as they make a dry snap sound. She lets out a deep sigh, her smile gone. She mutters and you can hear her say… "Ungrateful bitch…" She says underneath her breath, but you wonder if she wanted you to hear it. She adjusts her ash blonde hair, you watch as her ruby eyes look around the room but they land on you. Her eyes are narrow as she rolls them. //I would say those words out loud to you, no shame.// You ignore the voice's words to you. Your mother always wanted you to hear what she says about you, slapping your head and yelling it in your face when you just ask what she is talking about. You would try your best to stay quiet but it was hard to do; small whimpers would leave your mouth. Betsy just makes a motion for you to go towards her. She stands near a door. That leads to your bathroom. The bathroom, // I bet your silence would be nice once she drowns you.// Your legs dangle for a second before you get on the floor, your feet touching the fuzzy carpet. The huge window catches your attention, your mother would say that she always wanted to push you out of it or jump herself. Your eyes move away from it as you go towards Betsy. She does not say a word to you, and you do not either. The silence between the two of is deafening, a pin would break the tension. <</if>> She leads you to the bathroom. It was a short walk to it. The air smells clean and floral. There's a soft but damp fog in the mirror as servants–maids– are standing to their side; rigid, stiff. They do not look you in the eyes. They never do. Mother would slap them if they ever looked at you--or her-- in the eye. Though she always did enjoy the attention sometimes.. Mother is a confusing woman. Their heads are up, looking straight, not moving, not even their stare. No movement coming from them. Do they also look at you with hatred? [[Probably]]

Mother said that everyone dislikes a child; none likes children. Will you like your own children in the future, or will you be like your mother? You hope to not be like your mother; you love her, but she does not treat you lovingly. You will be kinder and more loving towards your future child. You’re sure of it. You don't want to end up as your mother if this moment feels amazing and safe. You hear the sound of water splashing, you blink and shudder for a moment. You are staring at the water in the huge tub, your sleep wear is taken off. A maid or Betsy probably had it taken off of your body, you didn't realize. You realize that you're tense, you look around the steamy room but nothing seems to please you. You're confused. Where is Mother? Is she safe? Why did she look like that in the nightmare? As your thoughts go on, you begin to $calm. You feel hands on your body as you are gently moved around like a puppet into the water. It's hot. Your body heats up, a sharp pain hits you as you sit in the water. The water reaches your chest, you softly tilt your head as you lean back. The water is soapy. Eyes blinking, you look around before Betsy grabs your head and begins to clean it. Her hands washing your head She smiles at you before she speaks. "A proper cleaning always begins at the crown, dear." Her smile is soft but there is a sense of anger and disgust. She touches your head. Touching it as she feels your..<<listbox "$temptHair">> <<option "brown hair">> <<option "blonde hair">> <<option "black hair">> <<option "ginger hair">> <<option "blue hair">> <<option "purple hair">> <<option "green hair">> <<option "bald head">> <</listbox>> hair. Her hand is gentle and soft. [[You look at her while she continues to touch your head.|ConfirmHair]]

<<if $temptHair == "brown hair">> Your hair is brown—well it looks dirt brown. It reminds you of the time you ate dirt in the garden. You were starving; mother hadn't fed you in days. It was a horrible day but the dirt tasted quite good. It made you feel sick afterwards... <<elseif $temptHair == "blonde hair">> Your hair is blonde. It reminds you of wheat which you saw some once; it was almost the same color as our hair. A man was stealing it from a merchant’s stall while you stood behind the castle gates. The man was beaten by a sword, he had blood. You got dragged back in by your mother... <<elseif $temptHair == "black hair">> Your hair is black. It reminds you of your mother. Some days she would comb it gently; other days, she let it tangle into knots. Jasmine said it looks like a crow's feathers. Mother would tighten her grip on your face, it hurts but you got used of it... <<elseif $temptHair == "ginger hair">> Your hair is ginger. It reminds you of oranges and the talks about ginger from the kitchens. Chefs talking about it, you're not sure what it is but it must be a kitchen joke. Mother would stare at it and she says that she felt like she saw it before, she then mumbled Brutus. You're not sure what she might by that... <<elseif $temptHair == "blue hair">> Your hair is blue. It looks like the sky on clear days. Mother told you your grandfather had hair like that, once. You never met your grandfather. You wish that you did meet him, maybe you would've been closer to mother. You remember looking outside your window after mother's punishment, you could see blue but it was mostly red due to the blood dripping down your face... <<elseif $temptHair == "purple hair">> Your hair is purple. Grapes come to mind—your father's favorite fruit, you think. You tried a grape once, you almost choked on it; mother had slapped your back, it left a mark. He had purple hair, too. Mother hated it. She once tried to cut all of yours off. She did succeed, you had a bald spot on your head, it got covered while your hiar grew out again... <<elseif $temptHair == "green hair">> Your hair is green. Like your aunt’s, if you remember right.. You saw old picture of her but she was surrounded by three more people; it read "My siblings". You never did met them. It makes you think of the trees in spring, and the way grass smells when it's new. You remember smelling it when mother used to smash your head in, your nose would hurt afterwards... <<elseif $temptHair == "bald head">> Your head is bald. You've seen others with bald heads too. Some looked proud and normal. But some looked sick; their skin pale and their eyes sulken. It made you nervous, mother said it was an illness, she said that you don't have an illness... <</if>> Is this correct? <<link "Yes, this is perfect.">> <<set $hair to $temptHair>> <<goto "NextScene">> <</link>> <<link "No, I want to pick again.">> <<unset $temptHair>> <<goto "Probably">> <</link>>

Her hands are soothing against your head. Her hands are gentle as she touches your $hair as she softly touches it with her hand. Her fingers are smooth and perfect, the ring that she wears does fit her finger snugly and it looks great on her skin. "You're quite pretty, I would say." She smiles. You cannot tell if she truly meant it or not. You just blink and say nothing, you hear her sigh and out the corner of your eye, she is frowning. You cannot tell if it is at you or yourself, maybe the mess that the water is creating or splashing her with. Your mother always hated washing you, she would just give up and leave. Sometimes she will try drowning you. You passed out once, you awoke to your mother slapping you. <<if $name == "Bellamy">> You're aware that you share the name as your mother; you're not sure why she would name her child as the same name that she has but she would call you Bellamy; she wouldn't like you to call her by her real name though. She didn't stop you from calling her mother, that has to mean something right? <</if>> She never showed you love even when you needed it the most. Despite all the things she has done… you feel something towards her. It feels like <<cycle "$mother">> <<option "Hatred">> <<option "Love">> <<option "Nothing">> <<option "Confusing">> <<option "Rotten">> <</cycle>>.. [[You feel something towards her, it's hard to tell with emotions..|feelings]]

<<if $mother == "Hatred">> You feel hatred towards her for all the things she had done to you. That's how you feel about her. Hatred. There are no more words to it. //do you? you love her, you liar.// <<elseif $mother == "Love">> You feel love despite the things she did to you, you still feel love towards her.. It's weird but you feel love. Is that bad? //you're such a mama's dog...haha...// And that's how you feel deep inside as well. That is how you feel about your mother. <<elseif $mother == "Nothing">> You feel nothing, it's a confusing feeling but that is how you feel about your mother. Nothing, you cannot tell yourself how to feel. //is that how you really feel, no need to lie around me.// <<elseif $mother == "Confusing">> You feel confusion, your mind wonders, it wanders. It's all confusing, do you hate her or love her; do you feel ill around her or simply nothing at all? It's confusing. //are you confused when people look at you with hatred, I hope not.// <<elseif $mother == "Rotten">> You feel ill towards her, she did horrible stuff to you. Everything she has done towards you just makes you feel ill. //she feels ill around you, if I met you in person, I too would as well.// <</if>> You know that deep inside you feel love. It's extra confusing now, you still love her. She's your mother, you know that… You know she does not treat you like her child, you know that. You still love her though, even though you feel something else as well. [[A warm sense hits your body]]

You flinch when water hits your entire body, you blow air out, then you see Betsy smiling as she washes your body, then your head. You flush a bit, your mother would always shame you for your body. She would poke at your body, pinch, slap your body, degrade you. Would Betsy also shame you? She doesn't, she does not say a word about your body, she does not shame you. She just stays quiet. Was she a nanny before? She talks once she is done. "There we go, all nice and clean." Her voice is back in her comforting, gentle tone. She just smiles. She has her hand out, and she grabs onto your hands. “She helps you out. Grabs a towel. Dries your head. Your body. Still no words. Your eyes are on her head, her hair is well-kept. Her hands are on your body as she dries it, touching your neck and goes lower than back to your head, drying it. She touches your $hair and smiles gently. You have sudden thoughts about your nightmare, you shudder lightly. "Get the child ready for breakfast, the clothes, and make sure that child is there." She says, trying to whisper to one of the servants. One of the servants looks at you, her eyes narrowing. She looks like an older woman--perhaps around 40? She claps her hands and says something in a different language to the other workers. You really can't understand. "Yes why of course, Mirsell." You hear one maid say; you don't pay attention that much. Your mother never bothered teaching you a different language, she just taught you English since she said that your father speaks it better than any other language. One of the maids came up to you and gently led you out of the bathroom. Your body feels damp, the towel weirdly clinging to your skin. It feels weird, you shiver for a moment. You just stand there in front of your mirror. Your eyes are on it, looking back at yourself. Mother always had a cloth over her mirror. She even broke it once when a maid took off the clothes that covered it. She covered yours as well, saying that you will have no need to look at yourself. Betsy or a maid probably took it off. You get a better look at yourself. You're here. You look at your $hair in the mirror, then you look at your own eyes, it's gold. A gift by the gods. You had father's attention for a short while, but when you did, your mother would tense and stiffen whenever he would come close. You look back the mirror, staring at your body.. Your hands touch your <<listbox "$tempBody">> <<option "skinny body">> <<option "lean body">> <<option "average body">> <<option "chubby body">> <<option "plump body">> <</listbox>>, you just stare at it... How is this your body anyways? [[You look back at the mirror|ConfirmBod]]

<<if $tempBody == "skinny body">> You look at your body shape, it is skinny. Your mother would always starve you for a while. She said that none wants a fat person to marry. Though, she would still talk about you for being skinny, like a corpse. //You’d make a perfect corpse.// Your throat tightens. You're hands clench by your sides. <<elseif $tempBody == "lean body">> You look at your body shape, it is lean. Your mother would always look at your body, she said that she should starve you so she can make you skinny for a better chance of marriage. She would talk about your body shape, how ugly it is. //Is she wrong?// Your fingers clench without you realizing. You feel sweat on your palms. <<elseif $tempBody == "average body">> Your shape? Average. At least, that’s what you tell yourself. Despite this, your mother would say that you should be skinny, a better chance to get married. She would always comment about it, saying that people would find it weird, not too fat or not too skinny. //You're average...Sad.. I hate average people.// Your throat feels tight. Why should you care, you can't help yourself but care about the voice's opinion about you. <<elseif $tempBody == "chubby body">> You look at your body shape, it is chubby. Not quite so plump but just chubby. Your mother would always shake her head, she would look at you in disgust, poking at your fat. She often would say that she should starve you. //She should have starved you. That’s what she said... and I agree.// Your fingers clench. You're eyes stare as you shudder for a moment. <<elseif $tempBody == "plump body">> You look at your body shape, it is plump. She would roll her eyes whenever you would try to look at the mirror, she would grab your fat, pinching it. She said that starving would bring you the right mindset. //You think you’ve got the right mindset now?// Your throat tightens. You keep looking at yourself but you feel ashamed. <</if>> Is this correct? <<link "Yes, this is perfect.">> <<set $body to $tempBody>> <<goto "clothes">> <</link>> <<link "No, I want to pick again.">> <<unset $tempBody>> <<goto "A warm sense hits your body">> <</link>>

The maids do not say a word as they continue to move around. You just blink and continue to stare at yourself. Your hands begin to wonder, pinching your body, like how your mother would. She always pinched you very hard so that it would leave a bruise. One time, she pinched hard, and her nail went into her skin. You bled. She just scoffed and left you alone to wash her nails. You had to clean the blood yourself. You hear the maids whispering... You stop and try to listen more better, the maids whispering to themselves in a harsh yet quiet hushing tone. You hear some of them talking quite loudly. "Bellamy's child, how sad!" "No surprise, she left her child to rot here." You pretend you don’t hear them. "Bellamy was always weak." "She was no match for the pressure." You try not to react to their words. "She left her wretched one here." "I would too, if I had that one as my child." You just stand there, like a statue, hoping to vanish. Some of them do not even bother with whispering, they just continue to work. "How could she leave her…." <hr> <<link "Son (cisgender; he.him prns ''!warning, normal warnings'')">> <<set $Title = "son">> <<set $gender = "cisgender male">> <<goto "SetGender">> <</link>> <<link "Daughter (cisgender; she.her prns ''!warning, normal warnings'')">> <<set $Title = "daughter">> <<set $gender = "cisgender female">> <<goto "SetGender">> <</link>> <<link "Son (transgender; he.him prns ''!warning, transphobia'')">> <<set $Title = "son">> <<set $gender = "transgender male">> <<set $trans = "true">> <<goto "deadname">> <</link>> <<link "Daughter (transgender; she.her prns ''!warning, transphobia'')">> <<set $Title = "daughter">> <<set $gender = "transgender female">> <<set $trans = "true">> <<goto "deadname">> <</link>> <<link "Child (nonbinary; they.them prns ''!warning, transphobia'')">> <<set $Title = "child">> <<set $gender = "nonbinary">> <<goto "SetGender">> <</link>> <<link "Child (enby; ey/em prns ''!warning, transphobia'')">> <<set $Title = "child">> <<set $gender = "enby">> <<goto "SetGender">> <</link>>

<<set $secondsLeft -= 1>> <<if $secondsLeft > 0>> <<timed 1s>> <<replace "#countdown">>$secondsLeft<</replace>> <<include "Countdown">> <</timed>> <</if>>

Betsy was the woman and claimed “whore” by Bellamy. Betsy was considered a whore since she had been married to three men, all noble and promising. She divorced two of them while her third husband had died. She would leave once a new toy caught her red ruby eyes. Bellamy had claimed that she did not care about taking a ring that was brought by a wicked and cruel man such as Brutus, claiming that she took hers off right away, and she didn’t leave her room for a week—when allegedly the ring went missing— and did not want to go near Betsy to not catch any diseases. Sexual diseases or rather just any diseases. Betsy had once said that she did not want a child despite her unending love for Brutus. Surprisingly, she does not have any children with her ex-husbands. Well, untrue to her words; she did have a child with Brutus. It turns out that she did have other child before having that son of hers. Perhaps that lost child came from her second or third husband--it was hard to tell--or even perhaps a stranger. That last rumor couldn't be possible. Betsy loved riches and often got disgusted just being near poor people. Bellamy heard some rumors about Betsy's firstborn--or perhaps that one isn't even her firstborn--and the rumors said around the palace would be deemed as nuts. Betsy killed the child since, apparently. The child was getting too much of her husband’s attention. Betsy had always been jealous of children, even during childhood with her siblings. She did not like the fact that people would take her attention away. People could tell how her eyes narrow when a child even gets near her. Betsy would always cry that she is--and still is--a good mother when some of the noblewomen told Betsy during a ball that Brutus held. Betsy would cry and just cry until the noblewomen would shut up and just comfort the crying woman. She acted like a child. Perhaps Brutus liked it how Betsy would act like a child. Bellamy just wonders if any man likes when their partner acts like a child. Does it give them a feel of control and power? How disgusting. Betsy, who acts like a child is raising a child. [[That son of Betsy, what was his name again?|She did have another child.]]

That's right his name was Esme or something like that. Betsy's son. Another possible heir to Brutus’ throne, she loves that child. Dolling him up, always near him. She loved him with all her big heart; which is what Betsy often said when in a talk about her son. Could that child even been a heir to Brutus? The whore's son is a bastard. Most bastard children just get thrown away. Esme, a bastard boy. How would his life turn out in the near future? Why is Esme considered a bastard, Bellamy knows the answer to that. Well it started out when Brutus had killed Betsy's former husband when he found out that he–Brutus is He– got Betsy pregnant. Betsy was married to a different man, her third husband. She had a belly though everyone knew it wasn't his. Betsy's third husband was infertile. Bellamy can admit that she is surprised that Betsy's ex-husband had allowed Brutus into his castle and as well his wife. Brutus does have power but to let that man inside your home and inside of your wife's hole is just plain nuts, a lot of loose screws. Maybe they had a deal because she remembers overhearing Betsy say that her ex-husband did know about the affair, perhaps Brutus' wealth, power, and fake promises? Though, Brutus seems more fond of Betsy rather than all the other willing women he has lined up for. Bellamy couldn't get why those women want to marry Brutus. They would also be thrown away. Just used for pleasure, that is what Brutus sees in every women. None of them are called whores for that when they willingly present themselves as a toy for Brutus. [[so...]]

Bellamy's skin was a pretty color as she was told, clean and perfect... Not anymore, now it's unclean, dirty. She can barely make herself to care for her skin tone which is <<listbox "$skin">> <<option "fair">> <<option "ivory">> <<option "tan">> <<option "brown">> <<option "dark">> <</listbox>> Her skin looks a bit ashy and scarred than how her skin originally was. [[She wonders if in another life or universe that she would be truly loved by all.|certainly in another life she would be perfect and loved by many.]]

''THIS IS THE END OF THE DEMO'' //part one prologue 0.5 ; ends here ....// The next update will be the full prologue part one and if you want news or follow me than make sure to go check tumblr ! Press on the share button on the side bar which has links that go to my two different accounts but if you want to see the usernames here! This is for grammar mistakes, suggestions and bugs reports as well! (talking about my accounts) //@pearlvds on tumblr n @woesoftheirwretched-if on tumblr!// THANKS FOR PLAYING, $name ! ''Special Thanks to my English teacher and my older sister who currently is studying English courses in College!'' for helping me to read, rewrite and just give suggestions.

''GODS, GODDESSES, DEITIES AND HISTORY'' //Gods = male deities// //Goddesses = female deities// //Deities = nonbinary / no gender// Information will appear once you decide to learn more. <hr> * **Deity Wraith** is a highly worshipped deity in Baldassare's Kingdom. There are two churches devoted to Wraith—one in the town and one within the castle walls. Wraith is the most worshipped of all deities. * **Demons** — They are called *Abyssal* or *Lord* (regardless of gender). Most people refer to them as *Abyssal*, since nobles also use the title *Lord*. The lower classes often call nobles *Abyssal* or *Lord* mockingly, as they see nobles as demons themselves. * **Divine** — The parent of all gods, goddesses, and deities, as well as the creator of all universes. Divine is the most worshipped yet least spoken of, as people find it uncomfortable to discuss the parent of every god and being. * **Goddess Iza** — The Goddess of Love, Marriage, and Fortune. She is the second most worshipped in Baldassare's Kingdom. Weddings and ceremonies are often held in her honor, themed according to her liking. * **The Damned** — A term used for sinners or the ill. Commonly used for the poor. * **Dius Fur’ne** — The Lord of the Underworld and of Sin. He was deemed a traitor after ruining the lives of humankind. He was slain alongside *Gaia*, the deity of humanity. They died together, in love—both condemned for their sins, for destroying life, and for betraying their parent, Divine. <<if $p01wraith>> * **Deity Wraith**, a beloved and ancient guardian, has watched over mortals for ages. Their eyes never leave humanity, ensuring none fall into sin. * Wraith has taken many spouses—brides and husbands alike—symbols of their boundless love. These chosen are blessed with white hair and marked by a solar system sigil upon their necks. > “Deity Wraith will save those who pray and believe. Those who do not shall be cast into hell. They are our only true savior, not those other gods or deities.” > — Quote from the Church of Wraith <</if>> <<if $talking == "bride">> * **Goddess Virgin** — Rarely spoken of, for her existence is considered taboo. She was born between the realms of Divine (heaven) and Hell, known as the goddess of Future and Fate. She is shunned for channeling her powers through living forms—humans (often infants), plants, or animals. > “May Goddess Virgin protect you; may she live within your name, your blood, your mind—bless.” > — Prayer from those who still worship her <</if>> <<if $metcuz>> * **Aislinn** — The Goddess of Dreams, Visions, and Rest. The sacred tree once found in Brutus’ kingdom was blessed by her. She is seldom known, seldom spoken of. Ceres prayed to her often—his eyes shone with quiet reverence when he did. <</if>> <<if $worship>> > “Dear Deity Wraith, may thou who blesses the souls of the damned turn them into reborn and redeemed. Curse those who do not pray or sacrifice unto you, O Great Wraith, with death or illness.” > > “O Great Wraith, please bless my soul.” > — Traditional blessing to Deity Wraith <</if>> <<if $egift == "Deity Wraith 01">> T <</if>> <<if $egift == "Goddess Iza 01">> *To be added.* <</if>> <<if $egift == "Goddess Virgin 01">> *To be added.* <</if>> <<if $egift == "God Arc 01">> *To be added.* <</if>> <<if $studygod>> * **The Old King — Arc** | The old King Arc (not to be confused with the God of Animals of the same name) was the most powerful ruler in Baldassare’s history. He lived to be 110 years old, believed to be blessed by Deity Wraith and Divine. During his reign, he conquered several small kingdoms: Spaintail, First-Regions, and Pinewillow. * **The Wicked Queen — Celestia** | Known as *the Wicked Queen* for aborting her heirs, the children of King Arc. She made a pact with Lord Annis, a demon, and bore a cursed child—sickly and voiceless. For this sin, she was burned alive before the public. * **Divine’s Blessing** | Divine blessed the lands of Baldassare through Bewin, mother of King Arc. She claimed to have seen Divine before her son’s birth, after which the kingdom flourished. * **Demons and Titles** | *Abyssal* and *Lord* are titles for demons. Their use varies between kingdoms. Nobles often use *Lord* as a title, though it confuses and offends some, as it is associated with demonic heritage. * **Demon Pregnancy** | A child born of a demon and a human is called *Damned* or *Wretched*. Such children are burned alive, and the human parent tortured until Divine deems their death rightful—sometimes after centuries. | If the child’s other parent is a divine being, the punishment remains, though the child’s fate varies—they may live or be cast into hell. * **Curses of Demons** | Forbidden tomes describe dark curses cast by demons upon any mortal. Each curse requires a price—blood, virginity, body parts, wealth, or even children (for demons to raise or consume). * **Birth of the Damned Demons** | Two demons were born of goddesses. | *Abyssal Lord Lucifer*, child of Goddess Sol—her worship diminished after his birth. | *Lord Annis*, child of Goddess Virgin—his existence made her a taboo. Virgin herself was born of Gaia and Dius Fur’ne, the fallen lovers. * **Divine’s Importance** | Divine gave life to gods, goddesses, deities, and the universe. They ask not to be called *Parent*, but they are the origin of all creation. We must always think of and honor our Divine. <</if>> <hr> <<if $returnTo>> <<button "Return">> <<goto $returnTo>> <</button>> <</if>>

<h1> DEAD NAME </h1> Before you continue on with the next scene. Since you're transgender. What is going to be your deadname? ALSO this doesn't have to be serious not all. ''WARNING : this going to be seen more in prologue part one and people will use your deadname, some will but some won't. This will only be seen in prologue part one since people won't know your past / deadname in the future chapters.'' <<textbox "$deadname" "">> ↺ <<button "Name suggestions">> <<script>> Dialog.setup("Dead Names"); Dialog.wiki(Story.get("Dedname").processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</button>> [[All done with this|SetGender]]

Honestly, I have no clue because it's up to you, but here are some suggestions.. *note if you want you can use your own (dead)name or just make any up. ''MALE'' ALEX BECK JOHN ''FEMALE'' ANNA BECKY JUSTINE ''NON SERIOUS'' CHICKEN FROG POPEYES

characters : prologue part one ''BETSY DAWN-BALDASSARE'' //she is Esme's mother, your step mother, your father's wife - she always did try to get close to you before her life ended.// ''BRUTUS BALDASSARE'' //he is your father, a man who cruel and often uses his wives as a toy to share or show off, your mother is a poor woman that wasn't shown off or adored with gold but instead used and passed around with him and his guards.// ''CIGAR LOVEMARS '' //she is a women that is Brutus' niece(adoptive), she is living with him after her parents had died, she is seen laughing with other noblewomen but also is seen near her servant, Neptune.// ''JASMINE ROSETURN'' //she is an older woman that you met when you were younger, she would visit the kingdom to check up on her younger sister, a consort of your father's. she would take care of you when she would come over and you used to have a childhood crush on her but in present not anymore, she treats you like one of children. She is now married and has two kids..// ''GOLD IVE'' //She is one of the servants' child, she has been around you very often and is very happy and joyful, she seems to be watching you for a while..//

<<widget "goMenu">> <<set $returnTo = passage()>> <<goto _args[0]>> <</widget>>

<<if $Title == "son" && ($gender == "transgender male" || $gender == "cisgender male")>> You’re the son of Lady Bellamy, using he/him/himself pronouns and you will use terms such as: mister, master, Mr. <<elseif $Title == "daughter" && ($gender == "transgender female" || $gender == "cisgender female")>> You’re the daughter of Lady Bellamy, using she/her/herself pronouns and you will use terms such as: lady, mistress, miss, Mrs. <<elseif $Title == "child" && $gender == "nonbinary">> You’re the child of Lady Bellamy, using they/them/themselves pronouns and you will use terms such as: liege, mastress, mx, Mx. <<elseif $Title == "child" && $gender == "enby">> You’re the child of Lady Bellamy, using ey/em/eirself pronouns and you will use terms such as: liege, mastress, mx, Mx. <</if>> Is this correct? [[Yes, confirm|yes gender]] [[No, go back|clothes]]

You're her $Title <<silently>> <<if $Title == "son">> <<set $boy = "boy">> <<set $he = "he">> <<set $him = "him">> <<set $his = "his">> <<set $himself = "himself">> <<set $mr = "Mr">> <<set $master = "Master">> <<set $mister = "Mister">> <<set $sibling = "Brother">> <<set $parent = "Father">> <<set $spouse = "Husband">> <<set $niece = "nephew">> <<elseif $Title== "daughter">> <<set $boy = "girl">> <<set $he = "she">> <<set $him = "her">> <<set $his = "hers">> <<set $himself = "herself">> <<set $mr = "Ms">> <<set $master = "Mistress">> <<set $mister = "Mrs">> <<set $sibling = "Sister">> <<set $parent = "Mother">> <<set $spouse = "Wife">> <<set $niece = "niece">> <<elseif $Title == "child" && $gender == "transgender female">> <<set $boy = "girl">> <<set $he = "she">> <<set $him = "her">> <<set $his = "hers">> <<set $himself = "herself">> <<set $mr = "Ms">> <<set $master = "Mistress">> <<set $mister = "Mrs">> <<set $sibling = "Sister">> <<set $parent = "Mother">> <<set $spouse = "Wife">> <<set $niece = "niece">> <<elseif $Title == "child" && $gender == "nonbinary">> <<set $boy = "child">> <<set $he = "they">> <<set $him = "them">> <<set $his = "theirs">> <<set $himself = "themselves">> <<set $mr = "Mx">> <<set $master = "Mastress">> <<set $mister = "Mx">> <<set $sibling = "Sibling">> <<set $parent = "Parent">> <<set $spouse = "Spouse">> <<set $niece = "nibling">> <<elseif $Title == "son" && $gender == "transgender male">> <<set $boy = "boy">> <<set $he = "he">> <<set $him = "him">> <<set $his = "his">> <<set $himself = "himself">> <<set $mr = "Mr">> <<set $master = "Master">> <<set $mister = "Mister">> <<set $sibling = "Brother">> <<set $parent = "Father">> <<set $spouse = "Husband">> <<set $niece = "nephew">> <<elseif $Title == "child" && $gender == "enby">> <<set $boy = "child">> <<set $he = "ey">> <<set $him = "em">> <<set $his = "eirs">> <<set $himself = "eirself">> <<set $mr = "Mx">> <<set $master = "Mastress">> <<set $mister = "Mx">> <<set $sibling = "Sibling">> <<set $parent = "Parent">> <<set $spouse = "Spouse">> <<set $niece = "nibling">> <</if>> <</silently>> You are a $gender who uses $he/$him/$his/$himself and you use $mr/$master/$mister titles as well. [[this is correct]] [[No, this isn't correct|SetGender]]

How could she leave her $Title?" "Is it surprising to ya? She didn't always like her $Title." You try not to let them see your face. "Still, I thought that she would have run away with that one, but nope." "Don't ya be surprised, sweet thang." Your throat tightens, but you say nothing. Your eyes start to burn. They continue to talk, and a maid stops behind her as she coughs. Everyone stops talking. She gently taps you forward toward the waiting maids. <hr> ➞ <<link "A light blue frilly dress with puffy shoulders and the dress reaches up to your knees, white knee socks and dark blue shoes; seen as feminine">> <<set $outfitone to "a light blue frilly dress">> <<goto "Mirror">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A light blue suit top with dark blue trousers and the bottom of it looks like bells, black shoes as well; seen as masculine">> <<set $outfitone to "a light blue suit with trousers">> <<goto "Mirror">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A light blue robe that is fully dressed to the floor with a dark blue slash, black flat shoes to keep the outfit matching the others; seen as neutral">> <<set $outfitone to "a light blue robe">> <<goto "Mirror">> <</link>>

<<if $gender == "cisgender male" and $outfitone == "a light blue frilly dress">> They look at you with a questioning look but they do not voice their thoughts, one of them just scoffs. <<elseif $gender == "cisgender female" and $outfitone == "a light blue suit with trousers">> They look at you with a questioning look but they look like that they want to voice their thoughts but none of them says anything. <<elseif $gender == "transgender male" or $gender == "transgender female" and $trans == "true">> They look at you, some seem proud; one of them nods and smiles. You can hear one of them say "$deadname finally is wearing the proper clothing." Another one says "It's a good thing that $deadname is finally how nature intended to do supposed so." You feel icky but you ignore their words. <<else>> They nod their heads and the other two maids leave as other maids undress you and then helps you get dressed. <</if>> The other maids start to help you wear the outfit you chose. You remember when mother used to come around in the mornings. You hardly had any say in what outfit you wanted. Your mother would pick outfits, throw or burn clothes that you wanted to wear so badly. She said that you cannot get all the things you want in life. That is why she burnt and threw away the clothes. You ever so wanted. You look back at yourself in the mirror, you smile slightly before your smile is gone. You looked like yourself—just for a second. You gulp, afraid that someone will take your happiness away— your mother will always take stuff away from you when you smile about it— and you look around, just encase that your mother will pop out and ruins this moment. [[you hear one of them say your name…]]

<h1>what is your name?</h1> <<if $trans == "true">> If you couldn't tell, this is different from the deadname section. <<else>> This is where you can name yourself, finally huh? <</if>> ↺ <<button "Name suggestions">> <<script>> Dialog.setup("Names"); Dialog.wiki(Story.get("Passage Name").processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</button>> enter your own name... <<textbox "$name" "">> [[yes that is your name]]

"Heir $name, we have to go to the dining room, as Lady Betsy ordered so." One of the maids say, the rest of them take it as a sign to leave, they walk out like a army. [[bellamy and her wretched child]] <<linkreplace "dont want to read it?" t8n>>\ [[skip this and move onto the next scene.|Back at the kitchen]] <</linkreplace>>\

𓁿 That child, Lady Bellamy, had always claimed that her child is wretched. The older servant could tell that Lady Bellamy would always shudder when she said 'her child'. Bellamy, a poor woman. Despite the trauma she laid upon her child, she is still a wicked woman and that her trauma should not excuse her behavior towards her child. The old and wise maid thinks. That woman is lucky to give birth and have children. The old maid always adored having children with her husband. Sadly, she never did. She would pray to the gods, she even prayed to a deity, Wraith. Deity Wraith, perhaps she should have prayed to the God of Fertility instead... She had always hoped for a miracle, nothing came. She is 46 years old now. She and her husband both decided to stop trying to have children. It was a sign that it was not meant to be. Her hands are nervously wiping on her apron, she smiles to herself. She always loved children.She smiles softly, thinking of the child’s name: $name. A poor child but still strong. She remembers taking care of this one young woman. Her name is Wendy Bellwon. She was pregnant, the maid was thirty-two years old when she met the nineteen-year-old lady. Taking care of the young woman, despite not being related anyway, she treated the lady with delicateness. Like how she would have treated her child. Then, fourteen years later, she is forty-six years old. The child recently had his birthday, just two weeks ago. His name. Oh, she loved his name. Sona. The boy was born nice and healthy as well. He would call her 'Nana'. She loved it and her husband did as well. They had their own little family despite it not being blood-related. Her, her husband, Wendy, Wendy’s husband, and Sona. She loved her family, though she did still wish for her own child with her husband. [[Back at the kitchen]]

𓁹 You feel nervous. Your mother used to bring you breakfast—sometimes—but when she didn’t..., and a maid would bring it to you, then the food would end up everywhere, the plate broken. Your mother was screaming at the maid, as the maid would end up in tears. A few maids would try to give you meals, but it stopped. None would try it. Your mother probably yelled at all the servants. You have never eaten with your father before, not with Lady Betsy or your brother either. You just ate by yourself in your dark, cold bedroom. You wonder how your father eats. The big hard wood door opens. As soon as it does, you are met with a sight; the dining room is huge, a big wooden table that looks like a stick with chairs. There are many chairs, the walls have curtains, banners, paintings. It looks pretty, the cobblestone walls, it would be painful to hit your head against the wall. Your eyes are back in the middle of the room, you can see Lady Betsy. She is sitting next to her son. Esme. Esme looks younger, he is younger than you. He is six but turning seven in about two days. You remember hearing crying at night when he was a bit younger. Your mother was always mad. Even a little thing would make her scream in anger. Esme looks more like his mother than father, his hair is purple but you notice some ash-blonde highlights that look like his mother’s, the same red ruby eyes. You see your father, he still has the same purple-colored hair. You remember seeing him in his paintings, though that is the only thing you know of him; just his appearance. Your mother never let you around him, she never said why. If she married him, and he is your father, then why won’t she let you see him? You realize that some women are also sitting down in the chairs, sitting near your father. They are all wearing the same clothes; you can see some of the women's chests, some of their chests are well-endowed and ranges from that to small. They are focusing on him, they seem to be feeding him grapes. Their hands just go from the bowl to his mouth. Your father—a man you barely know— is sitting down, just eating until the door closes behind you. Your father’s eyes stay fixed on his plate, but his jaw stops moving for a second. You notice that his fingers tap on the table. You flinch when it makes a loud sound. You blink as they turn their heads and turn the door. The women begin to look at you, their eyes going up and down. They are looking at your clothing. <<if $gender == "cisgender male" and $outfitone == "a light blue frilly dress">> They look at you with a raised eyebrow and confused look, they look up and down at your clothes. Noticing that you are wearing women's wear, they just hum while you can hear one of them scoff, then someone whispers "aw, $he looks soo cute!" You can hear them giggling afterwards. <<elseif $gender == "cisgender female" and $outfitone == "a light blue suit with trousers">> They look at you with an raised eyebrow and confused look, they look up and down at your clothes. Noticing that you are wearing men's wear, they just hum while you can hear one of them scoff, then someone whispers "aw, $he looks soo cute!" You can hear them giggling afterwards. <<elseif ($gender == "transgender male" || $gender == "transgender female") && ($outfitone == "a light blue frilly dress" || $outfitone == "a light blue suit with trousers") >> They look up and down, nodding. "Why do people change genders? The gods give it to them for a reason, why change and basically degrade the gods? How disrespectful.." You hear one of the women say. "Maybe that child had realized and changed their ways of disgusting behavior." You hear another one say. "Didn't your father change his gender too—just like that wretched one?" One of them whispers. Another woman elbows her and mutters, "Shut your trap, Liz." <<else>> They say nothing but their eyes continue to go up and down and you can hear one of them hum, maybe in acceptance or not. "That outfit looks quite dirty." You hear a whisper. "Do you mean that the child looks dirty?" You hear another whisper which is followed by a chuckle but they notice a stare from your father. His jaw tightens as he glares at him. They jump slightly and cough. The women nod before going back to what they were doing. <</if>> Your father does not turn his head. He just eats while the woman whisper and continue what they’re doing before you walked in and the door closed. He continues to eat; you notice lots of foods on his plate such as eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, syrup, fruits, mashed potatoes. [[you hear someone call your name]]

<<if $tempthand == "right hand">> You use your right hand, this is the hand that you often use. You use your right hand — the one your mother insisted was the 'correct' one, she often would say that left handed people are made by the devil who are the living sin. She would often said left-handed people were shaped by devils, born to sin. A child of hers would not be one of them. When she did say that; you would smile. She considered you as her child. You would giggle and kick your feet after she said it. You felt loved despite just a name-calling towards you. She would glare at people who would use their left hands, scooting away and moving you away as well. <<elseif $tempthand == "left hand">> You use your left hand — even though it always made her furious. Your mother would scoff and glare at you, her hands clenching and her eyes twitching in anger. She said left-handed people were shaped by devils, born to sin. A child of hers would not be one of them. She would say that after she was done slapping and harming your left hand though despite the pain. You smiled. She considered you her child. That made you smile even despite the pain. She called you her child.. She would smack your hand with her fan or a ruler---sometimes a belt---when she would catch you, saying that you are a worshipper of a devil, a sin. <</if>> Is this correct? <<link "Yes, this your dominant hand.">> <<set $hand to $tempthand>> <<goto "nextie">> <</link>> <<link "No, I want to pick again.">> <<unset $tempthand>> <<goto "Back at the kitchen">> <</link>>

<<if $hand == "right hand">> You start to use your right hand, you let out a breath of air which you begin to inhale then exhale, your eyes slowly move towards Betsy, is she judging you, perhaps you held the fork wrong or maybe she isn't judging and just nodding her head. <<elseif $hand == "left hand">> You begin to use your left hand, you swallow as you stiffen in fear and a sense of dread hits you, your legs gently wobbly in fear as you look besides you. Looking at Betsy, she looks at your left hand, you fear that she would smack you or your poor hand. <</if>> You use your $hand and you look at her, trying to see her reaction, will she say something about it. She looks at your $hand once more but then looks away, just simply nodding. You let out a small sigh before you grab the fork with your $hand, your eyes quickly go up to your father’s seat where those strange women still sit next to him. You look back at Lady Betsy. She seems focused on her food but her smile is curled like normal but it seems forced, her smile seems phony. Esme does not look up or at anyone, his eyes briefly goes to yours, he shudders for a moment then looks away. Betsy continues to eat, you look at the food and open your mouth. You hum in delight not to mention you eat faster. You never had food this good before, it’s yummy. You continue to eat, your fork letting food drop as you eat more faster and faster. You lose touch of the world as you begin to eat and eat, At some point, the fork slips. You don’t even notice. You’re using your hand now, fingers digging into the food. The texture is strange—slimy, warm, sticky—but it doesn’t matter since it’s more better than what you had before, you crave more. [[Esme looks at his older sibling]]

“$name!” You hear a cheerful voice, she waves you over, smiling. It’s lady Betsy. Her clean hands are waving you over. You hesitate. Your mother used to trick you like this; pretending to be kind, just to watch your childish hope and then correct it Lady Betsy stares at you and her eyes twitch before she waves you over once more. You begin to walk closer towards her. The feeling of dread makes you begin to $calm. She smiles and points to a seat next to her. It’s open and you notice your sibling. Your brother. He sits next to her. He is quite small, his cheeks are chubby and a dark color, his head is kept down. “Say hello to $name, Esme.” She speaks to her son in a strict yet gentle tone. The boy looks up at you, his cheeks are red and he looks flustered. “Uh… hello..” His voice is small yet gentle. “Sorry, he is sick and may not be so talkative.” You nod your head and sit down. Without losing her smile, she snaps her fingers…, then a pair of maids come which begin to place a plate full of food; your mother never let you eat this much. “Go on, eat.” She says, looking at you mostly at your hands. You stiffen and look at the fork, was she really going to let you eat? You hope the food tastes as good as it looks. Lately, everything has looked good — maybe too good. Your nose is sniffing the aroma of it; She does not say anything about this. Your hand reaches up, and it touches the fork. You look at your <<cycle "$tempthand">> <<option "right hand">> <<option "left hand">> <</cycle>>; [[You let out a shaky sigh as you hold the fork in your hand.|confirmhand]]

𓁿 Esme blinks, he can feel sweat go down his face, he stares at his older sibling, the wretched child that mother talks about to him. She is different when his older sibling is around, she used to say bad stuff about $him but she doesn’t do it now. Esme swallows. Then tries to swallow again, he stares at $name. $he is devouring the food, not bothering to use the fork, just $his bare hands. Esme just gulps before he looks to his mother. His mother has a strained smile on her face, the ash blonde hair like his, he wished he looked more like his mother. His mother makes a clicking sound, he blinks then he looks back at $name, $he is digging into the food, the area surrounding $name is a mess. Esme looks around the room, he notices that some chairs are missing, some other consorts. Esme sees his father, the man is simply watching his other child, his $Title. Esme notices that the group of women near his father, they seem to look disgusted by the way $name eats $his food. "Ew, what a pig.." He can hear one of the women say, Esme just sweats nervously. Mother grabs $name by the shoulders gently which makes them stop, Esme watches as she orders one the maids to clean up then his mother bows to his father. His father just looks at the woman then the child. He's silent. Brutus still doesn’t respond instead he looks around once more. Just looks at her. Then at $name. Brutus shakes his head--dismissively--and Esme’s mother tells one of the older maids to get $name away from the room to get cleaned. <<if $trans == "true">> "Please get, $deadname away from here. That child must get cleaned." His mother says, he is a little confused, isn't $name a $boy? But his mother used $name, yesterday why is she using the name; $deadname now? <<else>> "Please get, $name away from here, $he must get cleaned." His mother says. <</if>> The maid takes $him away from the dining room, Esme stares for a moment, his cheeks are now back to his original color, he does not smile while his mother gently lifts him on top of her lap Esme looks at the door, his mind slowly drifting as his mind is officially wondering, ignoring the words from his mother or her touches. [[You’re being a messy child.]]

𓁹 You’re being led away from the dining room, your face heats up due to the embarrassment that has arisen. How could you just feast with no manners, if mother was here…. Mother. You snap out of your thoughts and see the maid. She was one of the maids that came by and she was the older woman from before, the one who was speaking in a different language. This was the woman. You look at her while she walks around and you look in the mirror, instead of wearing $outfitone, you are now wearing a plain navy blue robe that reaches down to your feet. The maid does not say a word as she wipes your mouth, your hands felt dirty but now it feels clean, at least it feels clean. “There we go, Heir $name.” She says, her voice has an accent to it. //Your mother is in hell, now. Stop worrying about her// You hear the voice, you stiffen but the maid does not notice, she fixes her apron and gets ready to leave the room. She curtsies before she leaves. The door closes behind her. You exhale and start to $calm. “n-no… she isn’t..” You whisper, trying to walk to your bed, the voice lets out a chuckle. It sounds like Mother but it also sounds like your Father. It’s confusing. //Your Mother sucks cock in hell like what she was meant to do.// Your eyes start to burn. You try to cover your ears but it won’t work, the voice is inside of your head. You start to shake your head sideways, shaking it ‘no’. //And it’s all because of you~// You begin to cry, the sobs coming out as you shake your head, you get up from your bed and begin to run out of your room, you do not know where but you need to go somewhere. The voice laughs and laughs. //It’s all because of you// The laughter stops for a moment before the voice speaks once more. //Open your eyes, trust me, honey bear// [[You open your eyes]]

You look around. You’re quite surprised by where your feet have brought you. You find yourself on a bed—cold to the touch, covered with silk and velvet blankets. You realize you’re in a bedroom you’ve been in before It’s your mother’s bedroom. You look around the room, you blink while you sniff, you slowly get up. Your hands come up to wipe away your tears. Your head is turning so you can see better. You can see the room a bit more. Her bedroom is messy, the curtains have tears on them along with the dresser that is on the floor--it seemed to be pushed down. You slowly get off the bed, your flat black shoes hitting the ground as you walk closer towards the dresser, you kneel as you look at the ground. There are clothes, broken glass and papers all over the floor. You squint your eyes and see a paper, it has a color of gold on it. It’s interesting and alluring to you. <hr> ➞ <<link "Check out the paper">> <<set $bellpaper = "the paper">> <<goto "secret">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "Don’t check it">> <<set $didnt = "didn't check">> <<goto "secret">> <</link>>

<<if $didnt>> You feel a pull, something grabbing onto you, it makes you look back at the paper, you have to check it. <<else>> You look at the paper, biting your lip, this paper is alluring you to it for some reason. <</if>> You look at the paper on the ground, your hand aches to grab it but in the end, you gave in. Your small fingers grabbing a hold of the paper. A knot tightens in your stomach. You want to $calm but you resist the urge to calm yourself. You expel a breath of air out of you, you sniff before you pick up the piece of paper that has a thin coat of gold. You stick out your tongue while you see the top of the letter which reads ‘‘JOURNAL ENTRY 666. YEAR 1390 SPRING’’ You notice that it is the last page that was written, this must have been recently because you notice a tear on the page and it looks wrinkled. You swallow before you continue to read. <hr> //“I have told one of the nearby kingdom’s king, His name Is Leif. A man who had tried to take me in as his bride or consort, a cruel man I had heard about. I told him about Brutus and his acts. I want him dead, I want the whore dead. I want everyone dead in his kingdom, I want my sister to live a good life. I promised him...that wretched child. A cruel thing but my sister, said that he would make sure that my sister will live a happy life, filled with gold and does whatever she wants. I know he will because that man had always wanted me, he will probably want my child as well. It’s cruel, that child will live a life filled of lies, and dread. I am sorry, my child. I am not strong enough to love you, I am only strong enough for my sister, you deserve a better mother, a better life, a better future.”// <hr> ….. [[….]]

You flinch and you turn your head towards the door, you shudder in fear and dread. What happens if the person comes in and finds you, you gulp and look around. You have <span id="countdown">$secondsLeft</span> seconds to choose! ➞ [[Hide underneath the bed|Bed]] ➞ [[Hide behind the curtain|Curtain]] ➞ [[Hide in the closet|Closet]] <<set $secondsLeft to 10>> <<include "Countdown">> <<timed 10s>> <<goto "TooLate">> <</timed>>

<span class="shake">what, what, what, what, what, what....</span> <<fadein 2s>><span class="fade-in"> What.... Mother? What did mother do? Why? Why? Who is leif? Why mother? Were you a bad child? You're sorry.. You begin to feel scared. </span><</fadein>> <<timed 4s t8n>><span class="game-start-timed"> [[Before you can do anything else, the door opens.]] </span><</timed>>

You gasp, your arm hurts. Your mouth widens to yell out a yelp, you quickly grit your teeth. You open your eyes to see a guard, he pulls on your arm, it’s painful. The air feels heavy. You begin to feel worried, a very intense feeling is strangling you. It feels painful, you grit your teeth and try to ignore the pain. It hurts when other people do it rather than your mother giving you pain. It felt more comforting. Her painful actions towards you would give a sense of comfort, it’s strange. It’s weird. Why do you feel this way? Why does her painful ways feel more better than other people’s painful ways towards you. The guard’s big hand is gripping your face, it hurts. You whimper as you try to leave his painful actions. You grunt in frustration, your eyes wandering the room. You feel like the room is closing in on you. //Are you scared what he can possibly do to you?// You do not want to answer the question, you continue to move around which isn’t working so well since his hard grip is still on your arm and chin. He looks at you, his glare makes it extra painful, he looks angry and there is a glint in his eyes, it’s weird but you can’t understand it. You’re the bitch’s $Title? I could tell by yer eyes—just the same gold eyes. He speaks, you whimper once more as you try to leave his grasp, he spits on your face. Your face turns into a disgusted look. You feel scared, unsteady legs. You can hear your racing heart, your swallow breaths. “I always wanted to cut the bitch’s eyes out, just imagining how much those eyes of yers could make.” He says, his grasp on your chin gets more painful. You look at him, your eyes squinting. He just laughs and his fingers dig into your skin. <hr> ➞ [[Try to escape.|It dont work.]] ➞ [[Don't try to escape.|It dont work.]]

You freeze, your legs stay wobbly just for a second before you dive underneath the bed. You huff for a moment, your legs still sticking out from under the bed, it fills you with dread. You hurry and make sure that your feet are underneath the bed. Your legs are shaky despite you laying on your stomach, your breathing is heavy. Your calf hurts; why does it so much..? Your fingers tremble against the floorboards You cover your mouth as you let out a huge exhale but you cover your mouth as you crawl on your stomach more towards the center of the bed, you stiff as you see boots. The boots are heavy, and you hear labored breathing. <<fadein 4s>><span class="fade-in"> your chest is heavy, you can't breathe. Your chest is pounding, you can hear your own heartbeat, it hurts. Your lungs hurt, Why couldn’t you hide better? Please, don't hurt me.." You whisper.... You close your eyes and bite your lip; please, please keeps running through your brain. </span><</fadein>> <<fadein 6s>><span class="fade-in"> You can see shoes coming closer towards the dresser, kneeling to pick up the piece of paper that you left. You recognize that it is a guard by the gloves and the pin. You freeze and hear grunting. "The paper that bitch left moved, I wonder where you are, little dumb bird." Fear grips you as you freeze. </span><</fadein>> <<timed 4s t8n>><span class="game-start-timed"> [[You feel a hand on your arm...|TooLate]] </span><</timed>>

You freeze, your legs stay wobbly until you manage to force yourself to run towards the curtain even though its torn, you do not care at the moment. You let out a soft whine as you try to hide your feet, your legs from the view of the person's.You cover your mouth, but your chest still heaves—you can’t stop breathing hard. Your breath hitches. Your fingers twitch near your mouth. You try to keep yourself quiet. <<fadein 2s>><span class="fade-in"> Your chest is heavy, you can't breathe. Your chest is pounding, you can hear your own heartbeat, it hurts. Your lungs hurt, why couldn't you hide better.... " Please, don't hurt me.." You whisper.... </span><</fadein>> <<fadein 4s>><span class="fade-in"> You can see shoes coming closer towards the dresser, kneeling to pick up the piece of paper that you left, you notice that it's a guard due to the gloves, it has a pin on it. You freeze and hear grunting. "The paper that bitch left moved, I wonder where you are, little dumb bird." You go still. You cover your mouth but you can’t stop breathing hard. You hear the curtain rustle—someone’s pulling it aside. </span><</fadein>> <<timed 4s t8n>><span class="game-start-timed"> [[You feel a hand on your arm...|TooLate]] </span><</timed>>

You freeze, your legs stay stiffen due to fear, your eyes quickly look around the room as you dart towards the closet, only one side is hidden due to the other door is wide open. You inhale, your chest hurts and just inhaling makes it harder to breath. Your chest heaves as your breathing grows heavier.. You squeeze yourself tighter behind the door, hoping—praying—they didn’t see you. You cover your mouth as you let out a huge exhale but you cover your mouth as you can hear some-one walking, the footsteps are big and loud; You close your eyes in fear. <<fadein 2s>><span class="fade-in"> your chest is heavy, you can't breathe. Your chest is pounding, you can hear your own heartbeat, it hurts. Your lungs hurt, why couldn't I hide more better...." Please, don't hurt me.." You whisper.... </span><</fadein>> <<fadein 4s>><span class="fade-in"> You open your eyes and peek out. You can see shoes coming closer towards the dresser, kneeling to pick up the piece of paper that you left. Your hands tremble as you press against the wood, willing yourself invisible. You notice that it's a guard due to the gloves, it has a pin on it. You freeze and hear grunting. "Someone found the paper that bitch left?" Your body locks up again. You can’t move. Your $body trembles, pressing itself against the door. You grunt softly as you try to calm yourself down without moving too much. </span><</fadein>> <<timed 4s t8n>><span class="game-start-timed"> [[You feel a hand on your arm...|TooLate]] </span><</timed>>

He doesn’t let you go and his grasp gets tighter, you whimper due to the pain. He grunts and pulls your arm closer to him, as your chest touches his stomach. You whimper and try to leave once more. You have to escape. A noise catches in your throat. //Don’t worry, it’s not your time yet.// The voice says, it makes you open your eyes as you come face to face with the guard, the guard has a stubble and he looks angry with that another look that you cannot explain. Your knees weaken. You feel your bladder tighten—you might pee if he doesn’t let go. <<if $trans == "true">> He looks at you with disgust, staring at your $body then $hair, His stare disgusts you—you feel even worse under his gaze. People often look at you with that same expression but his.. It seems worse. <</if>> He grunts once more and you stiffen once you feel something against you, You can’t tell what it is—or what he’s about to do. <<if $gender == "cisgender male" or $gender == "transgender female">> You can hear him mumble something underneath his breath. "I really don't do guys." You shiver at his words. <</if>> You can feel whatever is poking you. You start to whimper loudly then you can sense a sob threatening to come out. Your eyes begin to hurt, you want your mommy. Mommy….. Please…. Help…. Mommy…. “Help me…” [[The door opens once more]]

The guard pushes you away onto the floor. You hear another pair of heavy footsteps, you look towards the door where the light comes into. You see a huge man, he has a long--with fur on the collar--coat on. As the man comes closer, you notice that it is your father. You stiffen—your body floods with fear. Then, a shaky sigh escapes your throat. In-front of you. He saved you. //He did, didn’t he?// Your mouth is agape, it’s your father in-front of you. He is right there. //Did he save your mother though?// You do not answer the voice nor do you want to think about what the voice says. You always wanted to see your father, you never saw him just from the painting, a passing or this morning. The guard bows, he seems different when you were alone with him. Your father looks at him then you, he raises his hand; you begin to sweat by this action. Your father does not do anything and brings his hand back down. “Knight Allis, what were you doing?” His voice cuts into the air. His voice is rough and deep. The knight who was full of pride is now a man who is trembling. “I just caught this child here, in the room where you wanted nobody in.” The knight says. <<if $name == "Allis">> He has the same name as you? You feel icky after that. <</if>> Allis trembles, his hand behind his back quickly clenches. “I am sorry, Lord Brutus for trying to handle a punishment by myself.” He says. Brutus is your father’s name. Brutus grunts and walks past the bowing knight, the knight does not make a movement. His eyes go over to the dresser, his eyes land on the papers and the fallen items. He sees the paper that has a small thin coat of gold. “Are you sure that my child has known about it?” He asks, the knight lets out a small chuckle. Your father scoffs for a moment and looks back at Allis. “I am sure that child has.” Knight has spoken, he has spoken. <<if $gender == "transgender male" && $trans == "true">> He looks at you “Daughter, tell me now—did you see that paper?” Your father asks you. Daughter? You can feel your heart drop when he calls you 'daughter' instead of son but you feel nervous to speak to him. <<elseif $gender == "transgender female" && $trans == "true">> He looks at you “Son, tell me now—did you see that paper?” Your father asks you. Son? You can feel your heart drop when he calls you 'son' instead of daughter but you feel nervous to speak to him. <<else>> “$Title. Tell me now—did you see that paper?” Your father asks you. <</if>> You feel uneasy and become rigid once he has mentioned it. You look away before you look back at him. You feel that he might be angry if you did say yes, or he will let that guard do something to you. You shake your head no, he stares at you. He opens his mouth to speak. “Say it with words, child.” You begin to $calm as you nod your head and speak. “N-no. I did not..” He must be talking about that paper.. You lied. And he knows it. But he says nothing, his eyes are like swords; cutting into your body with deep slashes. He just stares at you, he lets out an exhale. He sighs not before he comes closer and his hand is placed on your back, he gently moves you away from the knight and closer towards the door. “Go now, child.” [[You leave the room]]

You leave the room, but the guard and your father stay behind in your mother’s. You look back behind you as the big doors close. You stare at the door. The doors are big and they seem to be made out of wood that is dark, you do not know much about trees or nature. Your mother never bothered with teaching you of those stuff, she did teach you about poison and natural stuff that an heir has to learn. You blink. Your hand clenches. You hear your father’s voice in your head. He saved you from that man, what could’ve happened if he were not there. You do not want to know. The bang echoes through the hall. It makes your heart skip—it sounded like a door slammed shut. Your chest is heavy like that door had just shut your heart in and out of your body. You look back up at the door. <hr> ➞ <<link "Listen to them">> <<set $truebrutus = "BrutusBad">> <<goto "Hear">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "Just leave">> <<goto "You want to leave.">> <</link>>

You bite your lip before you continue to look inside the keyhole but you cannot see that well so you gently open the door,…it creaks a bit, but it’s hidden… by the yelling of your father. You can see him standing where the knight should be, he is looking down at the man. The guard stays silent while your father’s voice grows louder and louder. Anyone who would walk by mother’s room could probably hear father’s loud voice. “You should stop acting out of your sinful ways, anyone could’ve caught you while you were in a lustful mood.” He speaks, his voice is booming. He sounds mad. “I am sorry, Lord Brutus. I shall not act in lust.” The guard speaks. Your father shakes his head and you can see him lifting up his arm but but when it comes down, there is no smack, he must have left his arm on the knight’s shoulder. You try to move around to get a better sight, you decide to open the door a bit more, …it creaks a bit more but father still does not seem to notice. You can see more. The knight is still bowing and the arm is on his shoulder. Your legs are wobbly as you can feel like something bad is going to happen. “It doesn’t matter, Leif is going to come and we have to focus on him, not children.” Brutus says as he lets out a deep sigh, and the guard Allis just nods and slowly lifts his head and he doesn’t notice you but keeps staring at your father. <<fadein 25s>><span class="fade-in"> “You can have the child after we defeat Leif.” Your father says. The guard grins. “Really?” Your father nods. “Yes, you can. You and your friends, as a trophy.” He speaks . Your breath catches. You don’t know what “trophy” means but the way the guard grins makes you sick. “Just don’t break this toy like the last one. You want to scream. You want to disappear. </span><</fadein>> <<timed 30s t8n>><span class="game-start-timed"> [[You want to leave.]] </span><</timed>>

Your legs stiffen but you move anyway. You start walking, as if everything is normal. <<if $truebrutus>> You feel sick, what… //Your father is a cruel man, isn’t he?// The voice sounds more quiet like a mouse. You just nod your head, why would your father say that. You do not want to see that guard again… You do not want to meet him or his friends, you gulp and your hands clench into a fist. <<else>> Every emotion is hitting you like a carriage has run you over. You feel sick. You don’t know why, but something heavy is sitting inside you. //You are naive but maybe they like that, haha… Bad time?// The voice sounds like it is mocking you. You do not answer the voice, you’re confused. You look down at the ground and you feel bad then you feel a need to run. <</if>> You start to run, breaking into a sprint. Your chest is heavy, you feel scared. Your legs are controlling you, you just want to leave. Your chest is heavy. Everything feels closed. Your legs hurt, your calves. //Watch out.// You let out a confused sound—then everything goes black. You hit the floor hard Your bottom hurts. [[Are you okay?]]

You blink, you feel nervous. You just clench your fist then look up. You see a woman with Black hair; you can see some pink in her hair. She looks down at you. //Everyone does.// “Jasmine?” You know her, you remember seeing her. You can feel your cheeks heat up. She smiles and kneels, facing you. She smiles and looks behind you, her eyes narrowing. She quickly softens her expression again. “Aw, $name…” she says, brushing your hair. “You’ve grown so much since the last time I saw you.” She speaks, you feel yourself turning a darker color on your cheeks but you can still feel fear. She smiles. She reaches up and touches your $hair. You smile but it’s a weak one. “I am sorry, $name.” She says, she slowly gets up and then helps you to get up. She is an older woman, her younger sister is a consort of Brutus. You believe her name is Brandy. Jasmine would come to visit and she would love to play with you or just hang around you, she was close to your mother. You know because Jasmine often would hang around your mother and she often had a soft look on her face. It almost seemed loving. Your mother would only show up to pull Jasmine away from you but you don’t believe that she was angry towards Jasmine but towards you. She would look at you with eyes that made the air feel dense and tense. Your mother would always be in a good mood after Jasmine left though it would be gone in a minute or two. “What’s wrong sweetie?” She said, she was one year younger than your mother. <<cycle "$areyouokay?">> <<option "You sniff and look at her; you feel yourself about to cry, the tears about to fall.">> <<option "You sniff and look at her; your chest is beating but despite the fear, you can fear anger.">> <<option "You don’t feel anything—and yet, there’s a sadness that doesn’t make sense. It confuses you..">> <</cycle>>She has a frown on her face. <hr> ➞ [[You tell her]] ➞ [[You keep quiet]]

You bite your bottom lip in fear, you decide to tell her because she never got mad at you before though it might change now but you feel safe around her. “I went into mother’s room… I met this man…. He-… tried something with me.. I uhm.” You stop and bite your lip, she narrows her eyes and grabs your shoulders. “What man, $name.” She speaks. It doesn't sound like a question but rather a command. “His name was Allis…” You speak in a low voice, she looks at you and her grasp tightens. “Did he do anything to you?" She asks you. “n-no… Uhm, my father stopped it before he could do anything..” She lets out a sigh. Her head shakes. You remember what the journal entry had said, the letter that your mother had written. You wonder if you can talk about it, you decide to. “I saw mother’s journal… She had written something, it was about a man named Leif.” Jasmine stares at you. Her glare makes you shudder but you trust her. Your stomach twists. <<cycle "$reasonw">> <<option "You're not sure why you feel this way, you just feel nervous. Scared.">> <<option "It's a confusing emotion that is happening in you, anger or fear?">> <<option "You feel empty and not sure what to do when you feel your stomach twist.">> <</cycle>> “She said that the man was coming to war with this kingdom..” You say, you look at her face. Trying to see her reaction. “War, huh?” She just says and shakes her head. <<if $truebrutus>> "Father told the man something as well! He wanted to do something to me!" She closes her lips. "After they won once they won, Father said that the man can have me!" Your voice is urgent. “After they won the war, Father said the man could have me…" Your voice turns soft and quiet but you shudder once more but with anger. You can feel tears going down your face. "I don't want to leave you, Jasmine!" Her teeth grit against each other as she lets out a shaky sigh; shaking her head. <</if>> “I see..” She holds your hands, she closes her eyes and you can hear her mumbling some words, she sounds like she is saying a prayer. You’re not sure if it’s for you, or for what’s to come. After some time, she pulls her hands away and pats the top of your $hair. [[“You should rest, darling.”]]

You just stare at her. You don’t want to say a word about what happened. Your stomach twists with that heavy, sick feeling, and the thought of talking about the guard, or the room, makes you feel ill in a way. “Are you okay?” Jasmine asks. Her voice isn’t sharp, not demanding—just soft, just worried. You hesitate. The truth knots in your throat, too heavy to lift. You can’t explain it, so you just nod and whisper, "Yes. I am…" Your voice is shaky. She shakes her head. She clearly doesn’t believe you, but says nothing. Her hand comes up and softly touches your $hair. She narrows her eyes, not angry—just seeing too much. You freeze under her touch. She doesn’t speak. She just looks at you. And somehow, that’s worse than words. <<cycle "$fearornah">> <<option "You hate how people look at you with pity, it makes you feel nervous and angry.">> <<option "You feel scared about how she looks at you, is she actually feeling bad for you or is it a fake?">> <<option "There are many emotions swelling inside of you, it's like a storm inside of you; your mind is wondering.">> She bites on <</cycle>> “You can tell me, I know that something is bothering you.” You still don’t say a word, she sighs—it sounds disappointing— which makes you scared. You want to speak, but your voice refuses to leave your mouth. [[“You should rest, darling.”]]

𓁿 She watches $him, $name. Jasmine feels sorrow for this child, the child of Bellamy. Bellamy was a weak woman, though she is in love with her, Jasmine knows that she is weak. She’s been weak for a while. No—longer. She’s always been weak. Saying 'a while' is untrue, Jasmine knows it. Bellamy has been weak for her whole life, just a weak poor woman. Oh sweet $name, Jasmine wishes that she could’ve protected $name from the dark world but Bellamy would never allow that. Bellamy would always say that she wanted to expose $name. Jasmine remembers the conversation with ease. It's a loop that plays in her mind. Bellamy insisted that $name should see the darkness of the world—feel it, live it. Jasmine hated how Bellamy would talk about it every time they met. Bellamy had brought up that topic once again. Bellamy said that she wanted her child to know the dark places in this world, prepare $himself for anything, torture, pain. Despite everything, Jasmine still longs for the warmth of Bellamy’s arms, even if they were always pulling away. She hates the fact that she fell for a wretched woman. Jasmine exhales slowly. Her feet ache, but they carry her forward—back to Bellamy’s room. The one where they made love— as she comes closer, she can hear Brutus’ voice. She can guess that man is still in the bedroom, Allis. [[She will confront that man for good this time]]

𓁹 You walk away, you feel dirty. Unclean. You do not want to go to your room, he might find you there. The feeling clings to you—like grime beneath your skin. //You’re about to become more unclean.// You can’t scrub it out. You want to ignore the voice, you stop and go down a hallway. Your footsteps echo across the marble floor, hurried and uncertain as you see two big glass doors, it leads to the library. You enter the big room full of books, you can see an old woman sitting in the middle, books piled around her. You’ve been here before with mother, she brought you here to study on a book, the title was called ‘poison’. You walk away until you go towards a corner, you ignore the look by the older woman. You see a big book, it catches your eye due to the bright violet color. It has golden undertones to it as well. Your stomach begins to turn as you come closer. You reach out for the book and it’s about a deity called “Wraith”. You’re aware of the deity, mother used to pray to Wraith when could hear her. You managed to pick up the big book, it is heavy. Your legs go wobbly due to the weight. Maybe you can pray to Wraith, to bring your mother back to you. The book. Could your father be a worshiper of the Deity Wraith as well? You’re not sure how to feel about it, to be honest but your mother would make you pray or sometimes which is rarely make you go to the church in the kingdom. <hr> ➞ <<link "You believe in Deity Wraith">> <<set $worship = "wraith">> <<goto "Passage">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "You do not believe">> <<goto "Passage">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "You’re not sure">> <<goto "Passage">> <</link>>

You stare at the book--trying to study it in silence, you just look at the title. Trying to gather your thoughts about it. <<if $worship>> You do believe in the Deity Wraith, you’re sure about it. <<else>> You’re not sure about this Deity, You never seen this so called Wraith. <</if>> You sit down but before you can, you hear a whimper then after a sob. You look around the room. Sobs, it’s a sob. It's loud but the person seems to be trying to stop themselves from crying. You used to do the same. You place down the book and go towards the sound, you peek over the small shelf and see a small boy. It’s Esme. You blink and he seems to be crying, his hands are covering his face, you can see a small pout on his face. <hr> ➞ [[Comfort him]] ➞ [[Leave him alone]]

You just stare at him before you shake your head at his actions. You take one more look at him but you feel him grab your wrist, you let out a startled yelp. You just fall down to the ground, your back hitting the floor as your head swirls. The room spins as your head hits the floor. Esme’s tear-streaked face hovers above you, upside down and flushed. “You blink, trying to focus—he's still upside down, still watching you.” You squint trying to get a better look at him. He seems desperate, like he doesn't want you to leave. You can see his tears, his red eyes, his flushed cheeks. [[He sniffs.]]

You watch him quietly, then step closer. He is still sobbing, he doesn’t lift up his head. You come closer towards him and you kneel, trying to get a clearer look. His hand suddenly grasps your wrist—and you fall, hitting the ground hard. You let out a soft hiss in return. Your knees burn in pain so does your wrist and elbow. You see his face, he looks heartbroken--weak--as he stares at you. He sniffs; hes asking for you without saying any words. You feel startled. You were never needed. You can see tears, you can see his red eyes. [[He sniffs.]]

He sniffs once more, he rubs away his tears, your elbows hurt. “A-are you okay..?” He does not say anything back to you. He just lets the tears flow freely. He whimpers and you blink. Esme seems really disturbed, is this how you look as well? Mother never comforted you when you would cry. She would just look at you. You’re like mother, just staring at him. Are you making him scared? You hope not. You come closer and hug him, embracing him. You hold him in your grasp. You hold him—it feels strange—but he stops sobbing. Will you comfort your child like this? Give them love? Yes, you hope so, you don’t want your child growing up how you did. You smile. He hugs you back, his small arms wrapping around your body as he sniffs, his tears have stopped and what remains is his red eyes, a proof of his sadness. He acts like a baby, he fits snug in your arms. You smile, you think about how Jasmine hugs you. How she pats your back, you pat his. “T-thank you…” He whispers, you pull gently away from him. He’s still pouting, like he’s trying to smile but can’t quite manage it. “You can call me $name or big $sibling.” You smile. You can feel yourself genuinely smiling. He smiles. You can see dimples on his face. “O-oh, okay! Thank you big $sibling…” He smiles even harder, you smile back at him. You notice that he was holding on a piece of paper. You get reminded of the the paper that you found. “What is that?” You ask, he flinches and looks back down, he tightens his grasp on it even harder. “It’s nothing, just a letter by my mom..” You nod your head, he also saw a letter by his mother. “Are you fine? Do you want to talk about it?” You try to say what Jasmine would tell you. You wonder if its working. He smiles—it’s a small one— and you guess that it’s working. “N-no, it’s fine.” He speaks, he was younger but he seemed to speak more better than you when you were younger. “It’s almost your birthday, right?” You say, you remember big balls happening around this time and you often saw Lady Betsy rushing around. He looks at you and you swear his eyes are shining—that pure, bright kind of joy, his old weak smile is now again which is now placed with a big toothy grin. "Yeah! It’s almost my birthday!” he says, although it’s loud, the old woman might hear him but she seems really old so maybe she can’t. [[The door opens and there’s a voice calling for Esme.]]

“Esme!” The voice is loud and you know that it belongs to Lady Betsy. You begin to rise to your feet, lifting your arm to signal Lady Betsy; trying to let her know that Esme is here. Esme grasps your wrist once more. “Please don’t." He whispers, tears appear slowly. "I don’t want mom to ruin this..” His grip on you gets tighter. You hesitate as you slowly bend down. Why is he so afraid of her? Your brow furrows. 'Ruin this?' What does he mean? <hr> ➞ <<link "Call for Lady Betsy anyways">> <<set $tattletail = "tattletail">> <<goto "Esme">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "Don’t call out to her">> <<goto "Esme">> <</link>>

<<if $tattletail>> You look at him with a confused look, you’re not sure why he is acting like this, you get up anyways. “Lady Betsy, I am here with him!” You say. Esme loosens his grip on you, you turn to look at him and he looks at you with a fearful look. <<else>> You decide not to, you’re not sure why he is acting like this but you sit back down. You look at him and he smiles. “Esme! Come out!” She says louder, you just look where you saw her last, his grip is tightening on your wrist. “Thank you…” <</if>> You look back and see Lady Betsy coming closer towards you and Esme. She looks angry but when she sees you, her eyes are wide and her face looks surprised but then she looks gentle once more. “Hello $name.” She glances at you briefly, then shifts her gaze back to Esme, her expression tightening. She looks angry. You bite your lip hard. It hurts, but you don’t stop; you feel to nervous to stop. “Come.” Esme looks at you and he looks like he is about to cry once more. “Hurry up.” Her voice sharpens. There's no warmth in it. “Come here, my son. Come to mommy.” Esme looks uncomfortable but he gets up, his legs tremble and his face looks scared then she grabs his arms; her hold is tight and firm. She begins to walk away from you. Esme stretches a hand out to you, you watch as he leaves the library. He keeps looking back at you, his eyes brimming with tears. [[Did you make a mistake?]]

You are left wondering but you feel uncomfortable, you leave. You look behind and glance at the table where you left the book. Its gone. Did the old woman take it or maybe Lady Betsy? You do not see the book back on the shelf, you are quiet when you leave the library. You continue walking, you start to $calm. “ feel someone’s gaze on you. You look toward the dark hallway and see a woman. She has black hair and violet eyes, she has a quite large chest. She seems flustered and smiles at you, you can see a man behind her; is wearing a butler's uniform. You blink and she smiles at you. “Hello, $name” You stare at her.. Her name is Cigar. She is the adopted niece of Brutus, your father. She coughs and comes out of the hallway, you see marks on her neck. The man has them too. He notices you staring and quickly looks away. You don’t understand what it means, but it makes you feel weird. “I pray for you and your mother, I hope that you’re doing well.” She says, her old feelings of nervousness are gone. She looks behind and looks at a man with an unexplained expression, she looks like how the man did but it is not towards you this time. “We do have to get going, my dear. Be well.” She smiles towards you and presses two fingers on your forehead, she grabs the hand of the male. She giggles while the man seems to be mumbling some words. You stare in confusion. You just blink. What just happened? You quickly shake your head and continue to move on. [[The sound of hurried footsteps echo in the hallways.]]

She lets out a rich laugh, her smooth brown hands covering her mouth, her head back. The servant man; known as Neptune. The clothes leave his body, he rushes to unbutton his shirt, his hands working fast while the woman, Cigar smiles at the sight. "Calm down, boy. We will get on with it later" She purrs. He did. Not because he felt compelled, but because he wanted to—needed to. He lets go of his shirt and goes more closer towards her. She is like a siren. She sits down on her big bed, full of pillows and a blanket made of velvet silk. She crosses her legs and pats her knee, grinning. His face flushes at the sight, he comes closer and she makes a motion for him to go on his knees. He falls down gently, he begins to crawl, his eyes still on hers. Her beautiful violet eyes. She is alluring, her body, her face, her personality, she makes him feel completed. He rests his head on her knee, he can feel a smile grow on his face. Her hands lift up to fix her hair, he can see her body but none of those things interest him. His eyes are on her face, her eyes. Her long eyelashes. Her hair, and her smile. She is the definition of beauty. Her beauty was deliberate, weaponized. She grinned and he obeyed, more than willing to kneel before her. He always will. He loves her. Her beautiful black hair, he smiles and rests his cheek against the knee of hers. He knows that he hit the jackpot with this goddess of a woman, "Though, you're tempting. I am not in the mood right now." He looks up at her. "I feel quite wrong having intercourse when I just saw a child, so lets wait for a bit, love." He nods and he moves his hand down to her legs to massage it. Making her relax, he won't do anything that she does not enjoy. “You know Leif’s on his way,” she murmured, voice like silk. He nodded. “I heard. The kingdom’s on edge.” “Good,” she purred. “Just as I planned.” Leif is a evil man. “I managed to convince him to let me stay in his castle, I made sure to weaken the defenses of this wretched place.” He pulls away from her knee and she smiles at him. “Don’t worry, he won’t do a thing to us, I made sure. He will let us stay at his castle and help me get a kingdom to rule over.” She purrs. He tenses but he smiles, weakly. She leaned down, cupping his face. “And once the kingdom falls, it’ll be me and you on the throne.” Her smile sharpened, eyes gleaming like amethysts. “That’s a future worth fighting for, don’t you think?” It is. For those two lovers. [[She grins and the servant gently smiles at her.]]

𓁹 You can feel your feet about to hurt, you can’t explain this feeling that you are currently feeling. You feel like you can’t go back to your room. You’re scared.. What if the man tries to find you to finish whatever he tried doing. You decided to head to your room. You have no one else. No one to comfort you. Not even to give you pain. your mother’s pain that gave you a sense of love and comfort. You feel scared, more scared than how you ever felt. You want your mother back. You can taste fear, it’s gross tasting. You do not know how you want your mother back, she only gave you pain. you’re aware of that but still, you want her pain. That was the only way you got her attention and love. Could Mother have loved you? That thought remains in your head until you hear the voice. //Maybe in another universe, this one is hell.// You could agree, maybe your future could be better. A better family, a loving parent, a loving life. You want that. You need to have a loving life, you’re tired of living in this one. You do not like this universe, did you make the gods and deities mad? Did Wraith curse you? You exhale, your back against the door, you see a chair and place it in front the door, you go towards your bed, you feel scared. //You should be.// You ignore the voice, it does not sound like mother or father this time but just some man’s voice, you didn’t hear before. You think about the letter, was the man named Leif really after you? What was he going to do to you? You’re not sure if you want to find out, it’s disturbing.You just want to sleep peacefully without worrying about a man coming to kill everyone and take you away. You blink and rest your cheek against the pillow, the sun is setting. You didn’t do much this day but you never did in any other days. You would just do whatever mother told you. Your eyes begin to close. [[You hear a knock on your door]]

You slowly sit up—your body feels heavy. The knocking continues. You glance around before climbing off the bed and onto the floor. You can feel your heart throb, your breaths begin to quicken. You feel angsty. Your hand rests on the doorknob, you can still hear the knocks of the person outside of your room. You see the chair that remains against the door. You decide to move it but you look around for something to hold against the door just in case but you see nothing. The locks on your door are rusty and broken, you know that there is a lock outside your room because of your mother, she only has the key to it. It’s a good thing she can’t lock you in anymore. But this time, you almost wish she could. “Heir $name.” You freeze and it sounds like that old maid, your hand still rests on the doorknob, you feel scared to open it. “Open the door, there is a event happening and your father wants all of his heirs there.” You decide to open it, she’s old and a woman, you can just kick her and run away if she tries anything with you, mother said that older people are weak and woman are typically the weakest, was she weak? “There you are. Come now.” She speaks and moves you out the room, she gently moves you in front of you and walks behind you, when you try to walk in a different way, she moves you towards the right way. You start to feel disconnected--just standing there alone, no mother behind you like Esme and his mother, or some of the other women with their children with none. Those thoughts finally hit you like lightning stricken your body. You finally register that you're just standing there, alone. You're alone. You stare ahead, just your mind wonders somewhere else. [[DUM! DUM! DUM! DUM!]]

You only fully reconnect when you hear loud music along with drums, you see people; dancers. You remember hearing loud music in your bedroom, drums, your mother hardly let you out, you're sure that she didn't even leave her room either. You see a woman, you know her. She would stay here at the castle more longer than her fellow workers. A woman catches your eye—Fayette. She’s a foreigner. You remember her from the halls. A dancer who always stayed longer than the others. She never smiled. Never spoke. Well around you, she doesn't seem much like a talker. She wears a small dress with a silky see through over her clothes, you look beside you, you can see Esme looking down at his shoes, Lady Betsy looks furious, Father looks happy. Lady Betsy rolls her eyes, Esme just kicks his legs meanwhile you notice that Father has a huge grin on his face. “DUM DUM DUM DUM DUM” It’s loud. You can sense someone looking at you, you lean back, staring ahead of you. You do not want to look around you, you might see something that you don’t like. You don't want to look. //Look// You try not to but then your head snaps towards the left side of you, you whimper as your head does so. It hurts. Your eyes widen and you want to look somewhere else. It's that man, Allis. He is staring at you. Your stomach drops. You jerk your head forward, eyes locked on the stage, pretending to watch the dance. But you're not really there anymore. [[“You’re fine.”]]

It’s a woman’s voice, it belongs to Jasmine. You do not have to turn around to know it's her. She is standing behind you. She does not a say to you after, her hands are on your shoulders. \ It’s comforting. You watch as they stop, coming into a halt. The people behind them, they stop; they stop hitting the drums. You begin to see people stand up, they have trumpets. They hold it up in the air then they start to play. A man comes up to the balcony, he is old-looking. He coughs, he lifts his hands up in the air. “TODAY, WE STAND UNITED. THE LORD BRUTUS AND HIS CHILDREN, TOGETHER FOR PEACE!” His voice booms, surprisingly strong. You wonder if the people below can really hear him. They can. The crowd erupts in cheers. “WELCOME OUR LORD.” You glance around again, heart still uneasy. Brutus stands up and walks closer to the balcony, the old man moves out the way, he coughs in a napkin. He wrinkles his eyes at him, your father. Brutus looks down at everyone, you look around once more. You notice that man is gone. Good. [[He looks down and points to one of the dancers.]]

𓁿 Everyone stares, their heads turn. Fayette watches as the man above them, points to the crowd of dancers. She lets out a scoff, her hands begin to cross as she looks around. “I HAVE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT A DANCER WHO HAS POISONED BEFORE,” Poisoning is dangerous and could lead to the death of the poisoner. His voice is booming, everyone is quiet. She feels tension in the air, she can feel everyone staring. Their eyes dart around, they seem to want to find out about the poisoner. The air tightens. Eyes start to dart, scanning the dancers. Searching. Weighing. Judging. She can feel a pinch on her back, she growls and slaps the hand, she looks at the person and it’s a younger man. Franny. A man, well a woman but claims to be a man but Fayette doesn't care about Franny's gender, she wants freedom. She stares at him. “What?” She whispers, going a bit closer towards him. “What if this ruins our plan?” He asks, she hums and looks around. It won't. “What if she snitches?” he whispers, looking toward her—the woman known for poison. The one now looking down at her feet. “If she does, they won’t believe her, ten against one.” She whispers back, her hand resting the man’s chest, she pushes Franny away and gets away from him. Her glare is looking at the woman. Her plan will not fail before it starts, she hums and the man—Brutus— begins to speak once more. “DO SPEAK ON WHOM IT IS” He says, she can hear whispering. She can feel eighteen eyes on her, she raises her hand. The old man from earlier descends the staircase, coughing into a handkerchief. He stops, points. “You.” He simply says. The stares shift off her instantly. Nine conspirators breathe easier. The accused woman looks up, pale and horrified. The air becomes tense, the woman simply gasps. Her legs tremble in fear. The other nine people in the plan let out a breath of relief. She simply smiles when the woman looks shocked and scared. [[She will face harsh punishments..]]

𓁹 You just blink your shoulders hurt a bit. You can hear screaming and yelling, arguments. Jasmine is grasping your shoulders hard. She hurts you but you don’t say a word. Just staring ahead. “Fuck” You hear her whisper. She lets go of your shoulders, her strong grip leaving your body. You flinch and turn your head. Jasmine storms off through the large doors, shoving past two guards as she vanishes into the hall. You're alone now. You look ahead, you feel exposed, vulnerable. “I see..” He speaks, he watches below. The woman screaming, she tries to accuse ten people of making her and that they plan to help a man named Leif. None believes her. You stiffen once you hear her say that, it’s quiet but you can hear it when she screams once again. Leif? He sounds like a bad man. //You’re going to get a taste of his cruel actions// Your father says nothing at first. But his fists tighten around the railing until the skin turns pale—ashen. Your father growls, his hands turn ashen when he clenches his hold on the railing. “KILL HER, CUT HER THROAT.” Gasps. Screams. A sudden hush of horror. You can hear gasps and screams. Kill her? Is he going to harm the woman in front of everyone? Lady Betsy steps forward—then falters, retreating like a puppet yanked back. Your heart pounds louder than the crowd of people. Well he really kill a woman in front of many? [[Yes… He will]]

You can hear screaming. Brutus smiles. The horror in the air is heavy. You don't need to look to imagine the woman's head, her blood, her terror. Your hands clench. You want to leave this place—mentally, physically—anywhere but here. Anywhere away from these monsters. You jump and see Allis, he pushes you back forward, he takes a step backwards and lets none leave. Not the younger kids or any of the wives. The loud sounds of people conversing in horror, you can only imagine the blood and the woman’s head. You see a guard approaching Brutus, a man you will no longer call father, but a monster. A cruel man who harms people. The guard is limping and he has one eye open, probably due to his scar. he whispers to Brutus. Brutus claps his hands, and the limping guard backs away. “YOU MAY DISCARD AND GO TO YOUR HOMES.” The limping guard’s head is turning towards you, but you can see him staring behind you. You hear shuffling, then more footsteps, and you notice some women leave. Did he get Allis to move away? You do not bother to leave yet, not when that man is near the door. You don’t hesitate once you see Lady Betsy leaving with Esme. You fall in step beside them—away from the door. Away from him. You go beside them, away from that guard. “Oh, poor little $boy, all alone. I wonder what Brutus is going to do with $him.” You hear someone whisper, you bite your bottom lip. //Poor little $boy, all alone. Walking into the jaws of the unknown// “S-shut up..” You whisper, the voice is getting annoying. It chuckles. //Where are you gonna now? Before the lights shine bright.// <hr> ➞ [[Go to your bedroom]] ➞ <<link "Go to the garden">> <<set $metcuz = "cousin">> <<goto "Go to the garden">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "Go to mother's room">> <<set $d14 = "known">> <<goto "Go to mother's room">> <</link>> ➞ [[Go to the library]]

You decide to go back to your bedroom. you’re not sure what is going to happen with the woman who got killed, do they bury people? You’re not sure about that, mother is not here, you don’t recall seeing a grave for her. You hate that your room doesn’t have a lock. It makes you feel exposed. Vulnerable. You push a chair in front of the door—it’s the best you can do. You leave from the door and prepare yourself to go onto your bed and relax, you lay down on the bed that you sleep on. It feels cold and you feel chilly. The window is open, you get up. Before you left, the window was closed and locked, it is always locked, mother was the only one who had a key to it. You gulp and go closer, the lock is gone, free from the chains as it remains on the floor; the rusty golden lock looks like it was smashed. Outside the window, you see flowers—crushed. Muddy footprints are pressed into the petals. Trampled. The flowers are ruined. Your eye twitches so does your hand. You gulp, you tremble. Who came in your room. You see muddy footprints near the window, it goes everywhere but it does not leave the room. You see nothing else that is out of place, you close the window and let out a sigh. Realization hits. You scan the floor. No trail leading out. The rug isn’t disturbed. The chair in front of the door hasn’t moved. The muddy footprints go nowhere. The rest of the room doesn't look disturbed just the window and the floorboards. Is someone still in here? You look around but you don’t notice that you start to $calm. You walk a bit closer to the middle of the room and stand still. You inhale then exhale. Maybe it was a simple mistake or you were seeing stuff! <hr> ➞ [[Leave the bedroom]] ➞ [[Hide in the bathroom]] ➞ [[Go underneath the bed covers]] ➞ [[Stand still in the middle]]

You decide to go to the garden, your flat shoes hit the ground as you continue to walk. These corridors were always the most beautiful. You let yourself smile slightly. The walls had some leaves, vines and flowers. It made the place less creepier and prettier. You remember that you ate a flower once off these walls; mother had starved you that one day. Your fingers trail along the vines as you walk, brushing over petals and stems. Servants pass by, their chatter fading as they move along. None of them look at you. As you go around the corner, you bump into someone. You both yelp in surprise. A feeling of embarrassment hits you. You look up and see a woman; Fayette. She stares at you and exhales. “I am sorry, Heir $name,” she says. Her tone is flat, and you notice the subtle roll of her eyes. You just nod, unsure of how to respond. She doesn’t wait—she walks on without another word. She didn't seem to be mad at you but at someone else, you can hear her mumbling about something. You can only make out; 'Stupid Franny.." or "Those dumb asses." You wonder what she could be mad about. You continue to walk to the big glass doors that lead into the garden, you open the doors and enter it. You remember the pond, the great twisting tree, and the soft cherry bushes that always bloomed first. Everything was beautiful, a huge contrast to your life. <hr> ➞ [[Go to the pond.]] ➞ [[Go to the big tree.]] ➞ [[Go see the cherry bushes.]]

The room feels stuffy, you want to leave this place, your eyes dart to the door that leaves the room of your ‘safe’ place. //You’re safe nowhere, sweetie..// 1 //Are you counting down?// 2 //Two years of torture for the damned.// 3 //Three little pigs and the big bad wolf.// 4 //Mother, Father, Brother, You// 5 //Five// Your chest pounds. You sprint for the doors and shove them open but you collide into something. You crash backward, air punched from your lungs as you hit the floor hard. Your chest burns. You gasp, eyes blurring. It hurts, your chest hits and you gasp once more for air. She stares at you for a moment, expression unreadable, humming softly. Then she glances up—towards your room. “You should get up, none likes a beggar.” She says then she leaves, walking down the hall. You get up, your elbows hurt but you really don’t mind the pain; it reminds you that you’re alive still. You scramble to your feet and run. You don’t know where. You don’t care. You just run. Your chest is heavy, it gets hard to breathe. You let out a gasp when something grabs you, you yelp and whimper. “You fucking bitch.” It’s Allis. He is choking you. Your throat tightens, air won't come out. It fills you with dread. You can't breathe. You gag. Struggle. Your vision pulses black around the edges. You gag once more, fear fills your entire body. <hr> ➞ <<link "Fight back.">> <<set $allishurt = "scar">> <<goto "Allis deserves">> <</link>> ➞ [[Don’t fight back.]]

Your arms rest on his, limp and trembling. You can’t fight him—not really. The pain that you feel isn’t like Mother’s. That pain, at least, came with her attention. You do not want this man's attention, at all. You whimper as he tightens his hold on your throat. “S-stop…” you rasp, barely a whisper. He grins. “Begging? That makes it worse.” You whimper once more, you begin to kick your legs. It does not work, your arms fail around before it lands back on his arms, it hurts. You want the pain to stop. Make it stop. Black dots appear in your vision. Your stomach curls, you feel like something bad is going to happen. He laughs—loud and sharp like broken glass. You hate this man. Then, suddenly—a crack. Something shifts. And everything goes still. [[He laughs]]

You whimper, your nails digging into his arm. He growls and slams your head against the wall—hard. Your vision spins. Your legs kick wildly. “I usually have fun with the bratty ones." He says. "but you? You're too damn noisy." He growls, you just wince when he tightens his hold on you. You let out another gasp. “I would have fun breaking in you but the loud ones are so annoying, you would be a mess to clean up, I would." You spit in his face, he growls once you do. He looks furious. His anger strikes fear in you but you don't want him near you! Trust me. But Brutus saw me, It’s pointless.” <<if $truebrutus>> It doesn’t make any sense, Brutus told him that he could do whatever with you when they won the war, why is he acting like this…? You kick your legs. <<else>> You have no clue why he is doing this but it hurts, he’s going to kill you… <</if>> You don't want to die by this man, you don't want to. You claw deeper into his arms, desperate. He hisses in pain but doesn’t stop. The pressure grows worse—until he slams you again. “Fucking Bitch! Your whore of a mother didn’t put up a much of a fight!” He yells. You stiffen at the mention of her, you claw at his arms but then your arms go above his face, you claw. He yelps and lets go of you. “YOU FUCKE-” You bite on his leg, he grunts and kicks you, you can see scars on his face, it’s small but it reddens his face, there’s blooding going down. He kicks you once more. You gasp and he leaves. You blink through the haze, he's gone. [[You want to go back to your bedroom, as you walk there. You notice and hear sounds.|hallway meetings]]

He stares at the dead body, he holds. A corpse, a dead little $boy. He just laughs once more, he stares at the face, the $hair, the $body. Small. Still. Gone. The $boy couldn't handle the pain, what $his mother made $him go through didn't seem like it was enough. He hums and leaves, none would care anyways. A lost child never mattered to any here, everyone here won’t care, they’re all selfish bastards, he knows because he is one as well. He looks down one last time—at the child, whose life was stolen not just by him, but by every person who stood by and did nothing. A child born into a cruel place, made a target by others’ sins. He laughs, he bites his lip. A feeling of guilt strikes through him but he doesn't care. He is the villain, he knows well. He doesn't want to play the victim--not when he is by himself. He wants to shake off the feelings of guilt. Because monsters don’t mourn. With that he leaves. <hr> ➞ <<link "Go back to last choice.">> <<goto "Leave the bedroom">> <</link>>- ➞ <<link "Restart.">> <<goto "Start">> <</link>>

Your eyes go to the bathroom, you feel like you want to go in there, you’re sure that there’s still a lock on there. You decide to bounce your leg for a second but you take off sprinting, your legs move faster. Your feet slam the ground as you rush in, the door swinging shut behind you with a bang. You sweat and feel scared to turn around once you realize that someone could be hiding in here, your hands feel sweaty but you turn around, you let out a deep sigh once you see nobody. You slide into the tub, curl your legs to your chest. Your fingers find your $hair as your breathing slows. The silence feels loud. The room feels too warm. Too close. //Are you scared?// You’re not sure. You feel scared — but maybe that’s just how you always feel. Maybe this is safe for now. <hr> ➞ [[N-no, I am not...]] ➞ [[Y-yes, N-no? I am not sure..]]

You look over to your bed, you clench your fist before you decide to run to your bed, you flop onto it and don’t look anywhere except your bed-sheets. Your small hands grip the covers, yanking them over your body. You burrow in, pulling the blanket up to your chin. The air under the sheets is close—stuffy—but you don’t care. You hear your own heavy breath. You exhale and hold your chest as your chest goes up and down. You soon find it hard to breathe but you begin to feel relaxed. It feels serene. Under the covers, you feel safe. You don't want to leave. <hr> ➞ [[Stay underneath the covers.]] ➞ [[Get up and get some air.]]

You’re too scared to move, you decide to stand still where you’re at. Your feet are planted on the floor, you just sweat and clench your hands; you’re scared but you’re too scared to leave. Your eyes flick across the walls, searching for anything safe, anything familiar. You're not entirely sure where to look, you can feel sweat. //Do you want to escape, little rose?// You let out a small gasp when you can’t answer, you just continue to look around until you find words to answer the voice. Your mouth opens once more; you try to speak. You do want to find the words. You do. But no answer comes. Your mouth stays shut. //Escape by the window or stay here, it's up to you// <hr> ➞ [[Escape by the window.]] ➞ [[You decide to stand still..]]

The voice hums but it stays quiet for a second or two before it continues to speak. //See it’s best to be honest… to me only// You just nod and your stomach twists in fear, you’re not so sure why. You rest your chin on your knees and begin to $calm. It doesn’t help, not really — but it’s the closest thing to comfort. Your eyes look around the room. You hear your door open and close, you blink and slowly get up. You feel scared and grab a towel, your hand rests on the doorknob before you yank it open. You peek your head out and see nobody, your eyes dart to the door; that leads outside of your bedroom. Cautiously, you move toward the outer door. It creaks as you open it. You look left, then right. A woman stands there — Fayette. She hums a little tune, pauses when you gasp. Then she turns to you, tilts her head, and waves. She turns around and sees you, she tilts her head but waves to you, you wave and watch her leave. There is no way that she was the one who went in your room, she doesn't look as strong to climb up a wall. [[You should head back inside but you hear loud screaming.|hallway meetings]]

“N-no, I am..” You’re not telling the truth, your tone is nervous, you can’t tell if you’re safe in this room or not. The voice doesn't say nothing, you think about the words you said. You’re lying. Your voice sounds shaky, and you can’t even tell if you’re safe in this room. Everything feels stuffy — the air, the walls, even your skin. //You’re lying.// You blink and you hum, closing your eyes. //Are you lying to me?// <hr> ➞ [[N-no!]] ➞ [[Yes, I was..]]

You scream it, the voice is quiet and it makes you feel uneasy. //Liars get punished, $boy.// You close your eyes and begin to $calm, it laughs. Now it’s mumbling — your mother’s voice. Then Allis. You freeze. You look around. No one’s there. The voice is playing with you, you freeze once more. The voice is loud, you cough and try to hum loud enough to block out the voice. //This is your punishment.// You try to think but your head hurts, you see blood. The pain hurts. You clutch your skull as the sound grows louder. Your body’s moving on its own. You want to stop but you can’t. It hurts. //It hurts.// Blood coats your vision, all you can see is red. You can hear mother’s laughter along with Allis and Brutus. Stop. You can’t. [[Everything goes black..]]

//Good, see that’s not hard at all right?// You shake your head. You hear your door open then close. A long breath escapes you as you slowly rise from the tub. Your hands fidget with your clothes — unsure, nervous. You step toward the door and crack it open, just enough to peek out. You see nobody, you go to the door that leads out and peek outside, you see a woman; Fayette. She turns, catches your eyes, and hums — a soft, dismissive sound — before giving you a small wave. You wonder if she was the one. Perhaps she accidentally went in your room; thinking it was hers? If you remember correctly, Fayette always has a room when she came by, mother said it was because Fayette was the favorite one out of the bunch. She would mumble that your father had a taste for whores. You stare. Then sigh, quietly, and slip back inside. [[You want to rest now but before you can, you hear noises outside.|hallway meetings]]

The body of a child is laying dead, head smashed, blood all over them. It coats their head, neck and the bathtub. $his eyes are lifeless and glassy. The $Title's eyes are dead, lifeless. From a distance, the only color is red — bright like cherries. Or blood. The $boy is dead. <hr> ➞ <<link "Go back to last choice.">> <<goto "N-no, I am not…">> <</link>>- ➞ <<link "Restart.">> <<goto "Start">> <</link>>

You want to stay underneath here, it’s safe here. You smile. It’s safe… Right? Yes, it is. You snuggle against the covers, you smile once more. You feel safe despite the air getting more stuff and harder to breathe in. You can smell the air, it's heavy and maybe rot. You take one last breath, quiet and thin. Light-headed now. Dizzy. But safe. Being safe is what all matters. You take your last breath. You're safe. Safe… right? <hr> ➞ <<link "Go back to last choice.">> <<goto "Go underneath the bed covers">> <</link>>- ➞ <<link "Restart.">> <<goto "Start">> <</link>>

You feel safe but its getting hard to breath underneath there. You slowly sit up and you let out a loud groan, Your body feels like it’s been filled with sand—slow, heavy, useless. You feel utterly weak. You lay down on the bed. Your chest goes up and down more normally this time but your heart is pounding. You smile. The door opens, you stop smiling and grab a hold of the blankets. “Hello?” The voice is small but it sounds feminine. You lift your head back up from the blankets and you stay quiet, not knowing what to say. You hear light steps then see a woman in front of you, you blink once more. “Oh! Sorry” She says, Fayette lets out a sigh and turns around not before she pauses. “You should really get a lock, there’s monsters everywhere, child.” She says and she leaves, you just stay on the bed while you can hear the door close. [[You want to lie back down on the bed but you hear a noise outside.|hallway meetings]]

You look at the window and you hear the voice chuckle, your legs are wobbly and begin to give out, you almost fall to the floor. /Why are you so anxious?// You're not sure how to respond to the voice. Why is the voice asking you this anyways? You turn your body and force your legs to move, your feet moving as you go towards the window. You feel your legs hurt as you realize that you are running towards the window, stop. You try to stop yourself but it does not work, the voice laughs. It sounds like a demon. You have fallen into it’s trap. The voice howls with laughter. You want to stop but your legs continue to move, your body tries to go closer to itself. You curl into yourself, trying to brace. [[You can hear glass breaking..]]

You decide not to move, you’re too scared to move. Your stomach twists; you have a horrible feeling. The voice does not say anything. <<cycle "$confaisjcasz?">> <<option "Weirdly enough, you do wish that the voice was talking. It would give your mind comfort.">> <<option "You're not entirely sure how to feel, you feel nauseous but perhaps it would be better to know someone.">> <<option "You're glad that stupid voice isn't talking at all, you already feel nauseous.">> <</cycle>> You continue to look around, the room feels like it is closing in on you, it gets harder to breath. You feel sick. Your feet are still planted on the floor. Not daring to move. The room feels like it’s closing in around you, the air growing heavier with each breath. It’s hard to inhale. Your stomach churns. The door opens and your eyes widen as you see a woman enter your room. She stands still as well; your whole body is freezing and her eyes widen. She seems to be looking around and sighs. “I’m sorry, I seem to have the wrong room.” She bows but you can see her eyes roll. “You should be more careful, $boy. There are monsters lurking here..” Another bow. Then she turns and leaves without looking back. A feeling of nausea hits you. Nausea hits, thick and overwhelming. You bend slightly, trembling. [[You want to lie down but you hear a loud noise outside the room.|hallway meetings]]

The body of the child falls. The young heir of Bellamy and Brutus has fallen, fallen out the window, blood. Blood paints $his body and the grass below $him. $his face ruined by blood, it’s disfigured. Skin torn. Bones broken. Blood seeps into the soil. The garden is quiet—except for the flies. <hr> ➞ <<link "Go back to last choice.">> <<goto "Stand still in the middle">> <</link>>- ➞ <<link "Restart.">> <<goto "Start">> <</link>>

You want to go to the pond, your eyes move around; taking in the sights of the beautiful trees, the blooming and already bloomed plants, wavy short grass. It’s nice and comforting. You inhale and exhale, it’s nice. You feel safe here even for a moment, you reach the pond. Your eyes glisten as you watch the waves move, it’s nice. You always wanted the sea, it was a confusing thought but you had it since you heard an old butler talk about his trips out to the sea. His eyes would shine, he would get so happy just talking about it. It always sounded interesting. You look back at the pond, kneeling. You can see yourself; your $hair, your $body, your gold eyes. You look at yourself for a few more seconds. You have some thoughts in your head. It ranges from many things that are soft, shapeless things. Maybe about who you are. Or who you’re supposed to be. Or where you’d rather be than here. It swims in your head but you can't make any thoughts out in a clear way. Could the voice mess up your thoughts? <hr> ➞ [[Touch the water..]] ➞ [[Just stare into it]]

You decide to go to the big tree, it was a nice tree; big, gold and orange leaves. Mother would love going here, you often saw her calm around the tree, perhaps this tree will make you calm as well. You continue to walk through the garden just to get to the tree. You step beneath its branches and the leaves, your head lifts up; the tree is huge and you really can’t see it fully. You’re in awe, you wonder if other trees are this huge. You smile, you felt calm for some reason. You hear footsteps behind you, you freeze. Your heart skips a beat. Please… not Brutus. Not Allis. Or worse—Leif. <hr> ➞ [[Run away|tree death]] ➞ [[Stay and face them]]

You remember seeing cherry bushes around in the garden somewhere; you ate one once but it made you vomit. You finally see a small bush at the back, dotted with red. Was it poisonous? Perhaps. Your hands clench together as you think about it, your stomach hurts thinking about it but maybe it would taste good this time; You aren’t starving this time. You watch your legs move as you walk away from the garden then from the back, you can see a bush so small with some red items. You hurry over, you lean closer to examine the fruit. The cherries are so red, it looks inviting to eat. It’s beautiful. <hr> ➞ [[Eat one of the cherries|cherry]] ➞ [[Don’t eat the cherries.]]

You reach out to it. Your hand touches the cold liquid, you wince a bit by the cold sensation. The pond is deep despite being called a pond; it’s deep and you once lost a toy in it. It feels cold but yet relaxing, you wonder why. Your hand feels nice though, you let out a sigh as you look back in the water. Your face goes closer to get a better look. “HA!” You hear a loud voice as you can feel hands on your back, you let out a gasp as you fall in. Water fills your vision as you try to swim back up but you can’t. You never learned how to swim, panic fills you. Your arms flail around, you can see blue, water, it’s dark. You can see someone leaning over to peek into the water; the person has a small shadow. You began to see black dots. Your limbs and clothes feel heavy. You gag, your tears and stomach hurt. You try to move around but you can't. You can't swim. You open your mouth to scream but nothing comes out. You want to escape. You try to talk or scream--again--for help but nothing comes out, just bubbles. [[You give up..]]

Your eyes wander over the water, you have a bad feeling if you did touch it, you might fall in. You do not know how to swim so it would be a bad idea to do so. You continue to watch the water, your mother didn’t teach how to swim, she said it was a waste of time. She would always look at the water more than you which then she finally would look at you,. The thought of something makes you remember one time; you were in the bathroom. She mumbled something, you remember hearing it clearly; she said “I should teach you, just in-case you need to escape..” but she never did, maybe you just heard what you wanted to hear. You hear footsteps behind you, You freeze then—hands slam down on your shoulders. “HA!” You yelp. Your fists clench tight. <hr> ➞ [[Punch the person behind you.]] ➞ [[Scream loudly.]] ➞ [[Do nothing.]]

He watches as the person that he had pushed into the water is now gone. Ceres stays quiet for a while. He can’t speak. Ceres had done something bad, a sin. A murder. He gulps and kneels near the pond and tries to see in the water, he can’t. "I killed them." He whispers, his voice is trembling. He places his two arms in the water and moves them around. He doesn't stop. He stirs the surface wildly, as if this were a trick He stops and gets up, he has committed a sin. Ceres gulps, eyes burning. Tears rise. He staggers back… and runs. <hr> ➞ <<link "Go back to last choice.">> <<goto "Go to the pond.">> <</link>>- ➞ <<link "Restart.">> <<goto "Start">> <</link>>

You want to go to mother's room, you look around and make sure there is no sight of the guard. You continue to walk while you look around. "Excuse me, do you know where the guest rooms are?" You freeze when you hear the voice but turn around. It was Fayette. "Uhm, no…Sorry." She stares at you and just nods then she leaves, she gives you a little wave before she turns a corner. You don’t wave back; not sure if you should. You open the door to the room, it is still a mess, dark, empty. You walk in and gently close the door behind, you feel dread. You look around and see no sign of anyone who could hurt you. No Allis. You smile softly. You see your mother’s bed and the dresser, the dresser is still a mess but there seems to be no paper that has a coat of gold on it. You see a paper, you reach out and grab it, it is wrinkled but this one has no gold coats on it, it seems wrinkled and some mud shoe prints on it. You didn’t see this paper, last time you were in here. It said ‘JOURNAL ENTRY 667’. You blink, she made another one? You continue to read it. <hr> “I told Leif I promised my $Title to him. He cannot touch them until they’re older. He said he will wait — said it’s more fun that way.. I doubt he actually thinks that way. He hates how gross teens are; he said that they try to hard, he’s probably trying to get into my dress. Leif, a cruel man and I know that my child will live a cruel life but I have some hope that $he could find a way out unlike me.” <hr> You look at it and press it close to your chest, you feel warmth. Does she care about you? You find yourself smiling. This makes you miss mom even more. You miss her. Even now. Even still. <hr> ➞ [[Rest on mother’s bed..]] ➞ <<link "Explore mother’s room.">> <<set $d18 = "known">> <<goto "Explore mother’s room">> <</link>>

You just want to rest, nothing more. The bed is cold, still a mess. You notice some blood stains, it sends chills down your spine. You nuzzle more into the blankets, your hands clench the bed-sheets. You sniff, you want your mom. Why do you want her, you have no clue on why but you do want her back to you. Her love was different buy you grew up on it, Betsy’s love was weird, Jasmine’s love was weird, your mother’s love seem right… To you. Your legs are planted still as you feel tears threatening to come out, your hands go up to your $hair, you pinch your skin. You’re alive. You close your eyes and imagine mom. She is smiling at you,her black hair is clean and flowing in the wind, her gold eyes are on yours; she looks at you with love. This is a dream, you’re aware but you don’t care. You smile and your eyes stay close. You open them when the door opens once more. [[You stiffen in fear.]]

You decide to check around mother’s room, you tuck the paper that you found inside your robe, you let out another sigh. The room is so messy, it’s hard to see anything clearly. The ground is red, muddy, dirty. It doesn’t seem like the servants cleaned up in here. You step forward and hear a sharp crack. Glass. A broken mirror shard shatters beneath your foot. What is once reflected is now only ruin. Why didn't any of the maids clean up, why is it more dirty and ruined than the last time you came here? The room is cold, the window is closed. You go closer to the window and see something, a paper. It lies in front of the window. Was this a sign? You kneel and grab it, it is another journal entry. It reads : ‘JOURNAL ENTRY 669’ You look at in confusion, 669? Where is entry 668? You look around once more but this is a mess. You continue to read it. <hr> “I have told Leif to wait until my child was eighteen years old to marry them, I want $him to be old enough to think about ways to escape or get a plan, I do have doubts that he will wait that long. I pray to Wraith that he does, I hope that $him being eighteen will somehow be smarter than a sixteen year old getting married.” <hr> You just blink at it, she wants you to be married at eighteen. The dread hits you once more. A man named Leif is coming for you—and Brutus’ kingdom from revenge— and you are promised to marry him at eighteen. Your small mind is running around, in circles, sideways, anywhere. This is all confusing, you do not wish to be married to someone; you don’t know and mother says is a cruel man. You feel dizzy. The paper slips slightly in your hands. “Of course it’s you. The bitch’s little $Title, crawling back.” You freeze. Allis. He seems mad but he doesn't come any closer. “Go on, get out. I knew that your sorry ass was coming back here.” [[You leave the room|hallway meetings]]

Your teeth grit against each other as you turn around, your fist in the air as it lands. It doesn’t land but goes through the air. It swings wide and slams into the ground. You hit mother earth, the bare and naked A sharp pain shoots up your arm. You let out a hiss, it hurts. You can feel your eyes brimming with tears. Why did you do it anyway? It hurts. You let out a yelp and hear someone. [[“Are you okay?”|cousin]]

When the person touches your shoulder, you stop moving and shudder, your mouth stretches into a scream. You feel scared and this time, you won't be quiet. The person might be Allis. You do not wish to see or hear him. You're scared of him. You let out a loud scream. <span class="shake">“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"</span> You scream loudly and someone touches your arm. Warm. Firm. You're too afraid to look. [[“I’m sorry! Please come down!|cousin]]

You just shudder in fear and make yourself still as a board, your eyes close. You feel scared. You don’t dare move. Your eyes shut tight even harder, as if seeing might make it worse. You feel arms on your shoulders that leave. There is a small gasp next to you but you wonder why the person had gasped. The feeling of being cold for some reason hits you; it feels icy. From the inside out. the wind isn't blowing so hard this time, it's quite warm, so why are you so cold? [[“A-are you okay..?”|cousin]]

“Who are you?" Your tone comes out sharper than you meant but you don’t notice it. He just smiles but it seems to falter. “Oh! I am Brutus’ nephew! Which means I am your cousin!” He grins, you just nod your head at him. “My cousin?” He nods at your question, smiling hard. You’re confused, you really didn’t hear about your cousins, you never even heard about your other siblings just Esme. They seemed to dislike you except Esme. He nods enthusiastically and his hands lift up in the air. “You seem really nice!” You just nod because you don’t know how to respond to him. How can you, he is the most joyful person well he might match one of those servant’s child; her name was Gold. She’s loud, sometimes annoying, but at least with her, you can relax—sometimes. She seems to have the most fun around you but she seems that way towards everyone. She can be really joyful but at-least you can be—sometimes—calm around her. He claps his hands. “Are you excited for the ball in two days?” You pause. Are you? <hr> ➞ <<link "Yes">> <<set $yestoparty to "Yes to party">> <<goto "Chats">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "No">> <<set $notoparty to "No to party">> <<goto "Chats">> <</link>>

You feel scared, your legs hurt as you sprint; behind you, you hear a sharp gasp. It sounds like a young boy’s voice, surprised. Your legs taking you somehow and you can see a wall up ahead then you can stop. You gasp for air—it gets hard to breathe—as you're running, you trip. You collapse, a scream caught in your throat. Your heart is pounding. You want to stop, your foot hurts but something else hurts more. You spot a wall up ahead—maybe you can stop. You trip. You tumble forward, too fast to catch yourself. The stone wall rushes up to meet you. Crack. [[Blood is going down the walls..]]

You stay put. If you run, you might trip—or get caught. You’re not fast anyway You're not the best runner, you didn't have much freedom to run around the palace. You look back and see a young boy. “You like this tree too?” He asks you. Before you can respond to him, he talks once more. “I heard that this tree was blessed by a goddess, her name is Aislinn." He stops to take an inhale, his chest puffs up before he exhales. "Aislinn is the goddess of dreams, visions and relaxation.” He says. His eyes seem to be glowing when talking about the goddess. “R-really?” You ask, he nods, still smiling. or He nods with a soft smile. You blink and look at him, he isn’t any of the children from the other brides. He does not seem to belong to any parent in the castle walls. You blink once more. You slowly go through everything again. He’s not one of the other heirs or children of the castle. You’re sure of it. You’ve never seen him before. [[You blink at him|cousin]]

The child’s head is smashed. Blood drips from the shattered skull onto the soil It’s gone, their life. The head is disfigured, their eyes widened in fear, almost popping out. lips torn. Teeth shattered. The face is ruined, it’s ugly. This is no longer a child. Only the remnants of what used to be. A ruined thing. A life ended. <hr> ➞ <<link "Go back to last choice.">> <<goto "Go to the big tree.">> <</link>>- ➞ <<link "Restart.">> <<goto "Start">> <</link>>

You reach out and pluck a cherry from the bush. It's so red, so inviting. You let yourself smile—it’s beautiful.Surely it would taste better. Your excuse for it tasting weird is because you’re starved. That must have been the reason. You used to puke when you ate stuff when you were starved, mother would make you puke as well, her fingers reached deep. It felt horrible, your throat was burning due to it. Your tears stained your face when she did so. You open your mouth and smile, you hum once it places the cherry on your tongue; it tastes like nothing at first. You just hum once more and the taste finally hits you. Everything finally hits you, it tastes sweet but yet sour. You just hum at the taste of it. The taste was good and yummy but you cough, it tastes horrible. Sour. Rotten. Sharp. Your arms drop, your knees hit the earth. Your throat burns. The taste of sugar and bile mixes as you vomit into the grass. Your small body curls, your $body twitches as you vomit. Your throat burns. It brings tears to your eyes. You can see black dots in your vision. It hurts. So much. [[Vomit is on the ground.]]

You don’t want to try the cherries. They might taste good—but what if they don’t? What if they make you sick again? So you just stare. Watching the red fruit sway gently in the breeze. You just continue to look at it, focusing on the bush. You hum and smile; the cherry bush is pretty, you wonder if women use it for their makeup. The cherry bushes. It seems so pretty, you remember one thing that mother ate one. She said that it was for losing weight. <<if $body == "plump" and "chubby">> She would look at you with a face that you couldn't describe but it seemed like she wanted to say something, her eyes would trail up and down your body. <</if>> Why does everything seem so complicated, life, relationships. Why is life so hard on you. You wonder if other children have to deal with this, you continue to watch the cherry bush, did mom use these as makeup? Does she ever starve herself; you wonder. You know that she eats it to lose weight but you haven't see her starve herself. You think that she does. You want to be more like her. So you tell yourself that you're more like her than you think. You saw her refusing to eat or even grab a plate couple of times. You continue to look at then a voice pops out behind you. [[You turn around to look at the person.]]

The disgusting smell of it, it reeks. It would burn the nose just because of the smell. $he only wanted to taste something sweet. The vomit lays around the $boy, it reeks. Puke. More puke leaves $his mouth, oh how it smells. $he'll rot in $his vomit until someone shows mercy—or doesn’t. $name, dies in a pathetic way and even in death. //“Even now, still a failure,” the voice whispers.// Even in death, $name is worthless. Just a rotting pile of puke and soft skin. Just because of a cherry. <hr> ➞ <<link "Go back to last choice.">> <<goto "Go see the cherry bushes.">> <</link>>- ➞ <<link "Restart.">> <<goto "Start">> <</link>>

You see a young boy.The boy smiles, but his eyes don’t. He seems sad. “You shouldn’t eat those.” You blink and look back at the cherry bush. You’re not sure if he’s telling the truth, but his voice is calm. Too calm. “Those are poisonous, mother said so." “Really?” you ask. He nods again, more certain this time. You scoff. It comes out naturally. An annoyed smile shows on your face. You can't control it. You must be seen as mean right now. He nods. His smile fades a little. “I saw a girl eat one once. She didn’t wake up.” He says. The smile fades from your face. You raise an eyebrow. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that!" He smiles. His tone is guilt-sounding but he rather sounds happy. [[Your eyebrow is still raised at him|cousin]]

𓁿 Cigar smiles at the man. The man smiles back at her. "Sweetie, we shouldn't be running in the halls!" He says in a hurried tone but she doesn't seem to be listening. Her smile is wide, her eyes are shining as she looks at her lover. Her heart pounds in her chest. She hurries to her bedroom. [[Cigar grins towards the man, heading to her bedroom.]] <<linkreplace "dont want to read it?" t8n>>\ [[skip this and move onto the next scene.|She grins and the servant gently smiles at her.]] <</linkreplace>>\

You want to go back to the library, you hum and continue to walk, while on your way; as you walk down the hall, you catch the faint whispers of servants nearby. You stop and try to listen in. They mumble but when they notice you, they scoff then split into groups. You gulp and began to $calm. Some of their glances burn with disgust. You stop and wait until you are done calming yourself down. You stop when you hear a groan, you see a woman. Fayette. Her veil seems to be stuck. She frowns, gently pulling it free. <hr> ➞ [[Help Fayette.]] ➞ [[Just watch Fayette help herself.]]

You think about Ceres as you walk in the bedroom. Your body feels heavy. You feel tired, your body just wants to rest for now. Your eyelids droop, fighting to stay open. Today was more eventful than usual—more alive than most days—but that doesn’t make it easier. If anything, it makes it harder. Change. Change is a weird topic to you, how can anyone get used to it? How does one deal with a sudden change, you're not sure if you want change in your life. Perhaps staying the same forever sounds like a good idea... <<cycle "$yeabad">> <<option "Change is scary, it's unknown to you.">> <<option "Change isn't bad, surprisingly.">> <<option "You're not sure about change. Everything feels confusing.">> <</cycle>> [[Next|lowkey]]

You watch as you see Allis. Allis looks at you with disgust. “You again? I am not in the mood for you. Leave.” He says, coming close to pulling you away. He grabs you, rough, and yanks you forward—then lets go. You hit the ground hard. Pain flares through your side. You hiss, your side hurts. You wince, but you’re used to this. You shouldn’t be. You think about your mother. Why do you crave Mother’s pain, but no one else’s? You don’t want pain — but hers felt different. Like it meant something. Allis only makes you feel wrong. What’s wrong with you? “Go or do you want me to play with you, $boy?” Though he says it. He doesn't seem to mean it. It feels like he was just trying to scare you. It works either way. Your chest tightens. You scramble up and sprint away, the door closes behind you. [[You want to go far away from him|hallway meetings]]

<<if $yestoparty>> You smile at him but it’s faltering as you feel like you’re about to frown. You’re scared. Leif might come at any time or that man might come for you. “Yes, I am…” you say nervously, hoping he won’t notice. Ceres just stares at you thoughtfully, then nods. “You better, I will hold you up to it!” He smiles at the thought, he seems excited about the ball; the ball is for Esme’s birthday, you’re aware of that much. <<elseif $notoparty>> You can’t smile or lie to him, you feel yourself frowning at the thought of the ball. You’re scared about it, Leif might come for you or that man might. “No, not really..” You say, he frowns but nods anyway. Your face gently falls as you stare at him. You;re relaxed that he doesn't seem as angry. “I see, I hope that you will feel better about it!” He says, his smile is huge and toothy. He nods once more and you nod despite how weird you feel about everything. “I will make sure that everything goes well for you!” He smiles. You can’t help but smile. The ball was from Esme; for his birthday. <</if>> "Where do you live?" You blink and look around. "Sorry! I meant which room do you sleep in?" He blushes. You wonder why he is asking but you look and try to remember. "I think room next to where you turn this corner than to the long hallway which you have to turn to the right onto a new hallway and my door is the fifth one down." You're quite happy with how you explained it. Ceres smiles. "I will remember that!" Suddenly, you hear someone call out, “CERES!” “CERES!” You stand still and look at the entrance. “I have to go now… I’ll see you later, cousin!” Ceres winces at the word, and you do too. You both wince at the word; cousin. “That sounds weird, I will see you later, $name!” He waves, goodbye to you. [[You feel tired, you should rest now|bedroom01]]

You step closer and reach out to touch the fabric of her veil. She pauses what she was doing and watches you carefully. You open the door but it doesn’t seem to open, the veil is stuck on the door. It doesn’t seem to budge open. You let out a small grunt. She exhales sharply. “It’s fine. This veil was a gift from Brutus.” You stop and freeze. She rolls her eyes. She really doesn't seem to care much about the veil. “I really don’t care for this, just rip it off or cut it.” You can see her eyes roll then you nod, you try to rip it off but it doesn’t seem to work, you grunt. feeling a bit embarrassed. “I’ve got this,” she says, lifting her arms up in determination. With a sharp tug, the veil rips. Your eyes widen in surprise at her strength. “Thanks for trying, even if you didn’t quite manage it. You should get stronger… or learn to defend yourself, $boy.” You tilt your head when she speaks. Get stronger? “Bad people lurk in the castle walls and outside, I would know.” She leaves, you watch her leave. The veil is torn in her hands but you watch as she tosses it to the side, uncaring. <hr> ➞ [[You should head back, you’re tried|bedroom01]] ➞ [[Go into the library.]]

You stand frozen, unsure if you should help. She hasn’t noticed you yet—her focus is fixed on the veil caught in the door. She grunts, rolling her eyes in frustration. "Fucking veil, why did this have to get stuck?" You hear her mumble. You just stand there, confused. Your legs want to move to help her but you can’t. You look like a lost sheep, searching desperately for its shepherd. You watch her; she is grunting and looks angry. You freeze and shudder, if she saw you just looking at her then she would be angry but if you helped her than she would by angry as well… That’s what you think at-least. Your legs hurt a bit and feel itchy, she smiles when it rips. Your eyes widen, her arms lift up in the air in joy. She has a relieved smile. “For Wraith’s sake, finally!” she mutters, dropping the veil and relaxing her shoulders. Her eyes widened in surprise but she relaxes her face, she seems to be embarrassed. “Oh... well, have a nice day! Take care of yourself,” she says hurriedly, then disappears around the corner. <hr> ➞ [[You should head back, you’re tried|bedroom01]] ➞ [[Go into the library.]]

You make your way into the library. You can still see the old woman in the middle, her glasses are off her face and she looks down, mumbling. Her lips move, but the words are muffled and unclear--she is far away from the door. You watch her but then she lifts up your head, you stiffen as she narrows her eyes at you still mumbling. You watch her for a moment until she suddenly looks up and narrows her eyes in your direction. You freeze and awkwardly wave, but quickly step back when you realize she didn’t notice. You make your way towards the bookshelf, you see the book—the book about Wraith—back on the shelf. You glance at it before looking back at the corner of the room. Maybe Esme is there. Your legs bounce nervously as your eyes flick between the book and the shadowy corner. <hr> ➞ [[Go check out the corner to see if Esme is there.]] ➞ <<link "Read the book about Deity Wraith..">> <<set $p01wraith = "deitywraith..1">> <<goto "Read the book about Deity Wraith.">> <</link>>

You want to go see if Esme is there, maybe he's sad again. You go to the corner where you last found him crying, he isn’t there this time. This time, it’s quiet.. The corner is empty despite this, you step into the corner, and behind the shelf, you spot stacks of books and scattered papers. Esme’s name is written on the paper and he seems to be practicing his writing skills. You can see weird words on his paper, you can’t read it, it looks like scribbles. Mother said scribbles are for babies… You feel like you’re learning something just by looking or maybe you didn’t. You remember his mother was teaching him about writing, about English. Knowledge is important, that’s what your mother always says. Your eyes wander as you move the papers to the floor. Beneath them are small, thin books—colorful and soft-looking. Children’s books. One catches your eye—The Prince and the Moon-Flower. Your head tilts. Moon-flower? You begin to wonder what it means. <hr> ➞ [[Read the Prince and the Moon-flower.]] ➞ [[Head back to you room|bedroom01]]

Your body goes closer to the book of Wraith. That book has always caught your attention on it. It is very alluring to you. Your hands touch the book, it is still heavy; but what did you expect? You shake your head and place it on a table. You sit down and began to touch the cover of the book. Your eyes wander just on the book cover; it is white with some gold undertones to it, it has spirals and some stars on it. You smile, it does seem lovely. You open the book and begin to flip through the pages. “Deity Wraith, a wonderful and very lovable deity. Wraith has been here for ages, looking over all of us, their eyes won’t stop watching over us, watching us to make sure that we don’t sin.” You blink, sin. Sin. You’re a living sin; your mother told you so. “Wraith has taken in many of brides, husbands. A sign of their love, Wraith’s love. Wraith is special and so are their wives and husbands. Chosen ones are blessed with white hair and a solar system mark on their necks” Do they really? You softly smile and imagine yourself as one of them--looking like one of them. “Deity Wraith will save those who pray and believe in them, Deity Wraith will make those who do not believe in will be sent in hell, they’re our only true savior, not those other gods/goddess/deities.” The tone shifts—cold, sharp. It catches you off guard. Why do people fight over which god or goddess is real? You don’t understand. Maybe you’re not supposed to. [[You feel tired now|bedroom01]]

The prince and the Moon-Flower has caught your attention, you pick up the book and began to read. “The young prince is trapped within the castle walls. His father and mother never let him out of the cage. The young prince wanted to explore outside the castle walls.” There’s a picture of the prince—he looks sad, staring out his window. “The prince smiles once his parents forget to check up on him, he opens his window and leaves. The roof is where he goes. His small shoes tapping against the tiles” The prince is seen smiling and climbing on the roof. “From the top of the castle roof, he can finally see beyond the walls—just barely for the young prince. He continues to look around when he sees a young $boy down in the garden.” The next picture shows the entire castle as well as the boy below, looking up. “The prince smiles and decides to go up to the young $boy, he smiles. The prince slips from the roof, falling to the ground but he isn’t hurt. The young $boy turns around. The young prince gets up and smiles at $him.” The prince falls off the roof and the $boy is seen better. “The young $boy had introduced $himself as Moon-Flower, it wasn’t $his name because The prince is clever—he knows the name was chosen by looking at the moon and the flowers blooming nearby..” There's a picture of the two young ones surrounded by moonlight and the flowers that bloom around them but also that lay on the ground. “Moon-flower, a young shy $boy blushes as the two speak softly. Slowly—but also very quickly—love begins to bloom between them.." "The prince is in love with the Moon-flower.” You let out a yawn, you feel tired. ➞ [[Head back to you room|bedroom01]]

<<if $yeabad == "Change is scary, it's unknown to you.">> You feel scared about it, change.. You lived how your mother wanted you to, doing whatever she said and there was a routine to it. If it didn't, she said it would ruin everything. So. You lived exactly how your mother wanted: wake up, wash, learn, punishment, sleep then repeat. This change is scary, you’re not sure how to deal with this. Everything is just so different. <<elseif $yeabad == "Change isn't bad, surprisingly." >> You feel okay about it, this change wasn’t bad but you’re not quite sure what to call it. You have been doing whatever your mom wanted you to do, it was the same routine for everyday. Your days used to follow the same pattern: wake up, wash, learn, punishment, sleep then repeat. You’re used to that but this is different but surprisingly yet you feel okay with this. <<elseif $yeabad == "You're not sure about change. Everything feels confusing.">> You feel unsure about this, not really what to call your emotion, it’s just confusion. That’s all you feel about it; straight confusion. You always did what your mom wanted, she was keeping in a routine that you were used to. You were used to a strict rhythm: wake up, wash, learn, punishment, sleep then repeat. This change is making you unsure. Confusion feels closest. <</if>> You exhale and relax in your bed, your eyes are closed. The weight of the day settles over you. <<cycle "$asvbngfsa">> <<option "Your body curls on the bed, looking like a worm.">> <<option "Your body goes straight as you look up at the celling.">> <</cycle>> [[You want to sleep.]]

Sleep takes over your body, you rest. You feel safe—almost. You do enjoy relaxing though. Not until a thought hits you. You still feel dread. You can’t stop thinking about the chair propped against the door, the broken window with nothing to protect you. You squirm in bed. Your body feels heavy. And yet, you drift off anyway. [[You enjoy this time.]]

You hear the door creak open. Blinking awake, you see a small figure—Ceres. He stands there, fists clenched tightly in the fabric of his shirt. His eyes are droopy, he must be tired. “$name..?” You hear his voice, he does sound scared as well. “What..?” You say, it’s in a whispered tone. He seems to let out a sigh, he smiles briefly. “I—I had a nightmare…” He frowns. Why won’t he just deal with it on his own? You had to. “My mommy and daddy are asleep and they get mad when I wake them up… Can I sleep with you..?” He asks. You stare at him, sleep with you? Why? Just because of a nightmare? Is that a good reason to get comfort? Mother just scoffed, she said that you mustn't be scared of a nightmare. She would send you back to your room. But you don’t want to be like her. You want to be nice not cruel like her. You want to be nice not cruel like her. <hr> ➞ [[Let him on the bed with you.]] ➞ [[Tell him to leave your room.]]

You bite your bottom lip and exhale. “S-sure…” He grins, his small feet padding softly as he climbs onto the bed. He nuzzles the left side and slips under the blanket. You feel awkward, you never really had a real person in your bed. You notice that he is laying in the spot where you often put 'pillow mother' seems like she got replaced. He smiles. You look at him and pat his head, you’re not sure how to comfort him, maybe you will get better as time goes on. “T-Thank you… $name.” He smiles at you, his smile is bright. “It’s no problem…Ceres.” You say, you’re glad that he seems happy. He mumbles something but you can’t hear it. He soon nuzzles up to you. Your face spreads into a wide smile. You feel safe, and capable of caring for someone. Ceres curls into a small ball beside you, his steady breathing soft against the quiet room. You feel yourself smiling harder, you look at him. You can hear him snoring. Your hand slowly reaches up to his head. You forgot to ask him how he is doing. [[You can finally get a great sleep now.]]

You want to say no, it might be cruel but… <<cycle "$nightc" autoselect>> <<option "Be strict about it; No, just go away.">> <<option "Be nice about it; N-no, sorry, I just want to be alone.">> <</cycle>>you say, your voice is anxious sounding. His head hangs low, he is pouting and looks like he is about to cry even more, he seems really sad. You feel horrible. You look back at his face. “Yes… You can sleep with me, never mind what I said.” You said to Ceres. He looks happy once more; you swear that he brightens up the restaurant. He smiles and goes closer towards you. You gave in, you just felt so horrible and he seemed really sad, you felt horrible when you said no. He looked scared. You think about your mother. If she was here, she would have rejected him. Does this mean that you're better than her? More capable? He opens his mouth to speak. “I’m sorry for bothering you…” he whispers. “It’s fine, really.” You can see a smile on his face despite the room being dark. You make room for the boy, he slides into the bed, and lies down smiling. You close your eyes as he does, and sleep begins to take you both. [[You can finally get a great sleep now.]]

<<fadein 2s>><span class="fade-in"> The second weekday of the week, one day before Esme's birthday. </span><</fadein>> <<timed 4s t8n>><span class="game-start-timed"> [[one day left before leif attacks.…|one day left before leif attacks…]] </span><</timed>>

You stop and glance around—at first, no one’s there. Then, you spot someone lying on the ground. You slowly walk towards the person, they grunt and mumble words. It seems like they're awake, you slowly kneel and look at the person. They suddenly lift up in the air, you gasp. Falling backwards. You land on your bottom, it hurts as you let out a hiss. You blink away the pain and look at him. He breathes heavily, then meets your gaze. He has a smile on his face. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" He says, he seems joyful.. You think about Gold, a servant's child. She's really joyful. You wonder if she will get along with this stranger. "My name is Ceres!" He exclaims. Smiling. He must be a vistor and certainly not a servant nor a servant's son. He is dressed like a royal. "I'm Brutus' nephew!" He smiles.You wonder if he’s like Cigar; adopted. You focus back on Ceres, he seems to always have a smile on his face. He looks quite silly. He is looking at you, you slightly jump when you realize. <<cycle "$intro">> <<option "Introduce yourself as kindly as possible.">> <<option "Introduce yourself in a rushed way.">> <<option "Just introduce yourself, it can't be that bad.">> <</cycle>> [[Continue|hall2]]

You cough--trying to clear your throat--as you look at him. He makes you feel nervous. <<if $intro == "Introduce yourself as kindly as possible.">> You exhale. "My name is $name… I’m a $boy," you say, voice trailing off. It’s obvious, isn’t it? He looks you up and down before smiling. "I see! You look really pretty!" His smile is huge, you feel your face heat up. Who says that out loud? He still has a huge smile on his face. <<elseif $intro == "Introduce yourself in a rushed way.">> You exhale. "My name is $name." You quickly say, you're not sure how to feel about this boy or why he wants to know you. You look at your bedroom door, you want to go back inside. "Oh, I see. You're a $boy right?" He smiles, it's a kind one. You feel like a jackass—for being cold to someone so kind. How did he have to look so sad and happy? You nod at his words, he smiles even harder. <<elseif $intro == "Just introduce yourself, it can't be that bad.">> You look at him before you talk. You close your eyes. "My name is $name. I'm a $boy. Nice to meet you." You say. He blinks at your tone. He must notice that you changed a bit. Your tone. "Oh. I see! You're really pretty!" He suddenly says. This catches you off guard, why did he mention how pretty you looked all the sudden? His smile is huge. <</if>> "Where do you live?" You blink and look around. "Sorry! I meant which room do you sleep in?" He blushes. You wonder why he is asking but you look and try to remember. "My room is just right behind me..?" You glance over your shoulder at your door. Didn’t he see you standing right in front of it? Ceres smiles but he looks embarrassed. "I will remember that!" Suddenly, you hear someone call out, “CERES!” “CERES!” You stand still and look at the entrance. “I have to go now… I’ll see you later, cousin!” Ceres winces at the word, and you do too. You both wince at the word; cousin. “That sounds weird, I will see you later, $name!” He waves, goodbye to you. [[You let out a sigh and turn around, you feel happy for some reason. You find yourself smiling.|bedroom01]]

Your body hurts and you look around and see a huge red patch of skin on your arms and legs--imprints from the sheets and your pillow. It makes multiple lines on your skin. You reach to touch it, it feels weird. Bumpy. “The red skin has faint lines—imprints from sheets or something rough. You’re not sure.” The red patches itch in a dull, lingering way. Your hands twitch as you want to ease the pain and itchy feeling but you don't. You look up, your head resting on the pillow. You inhale. Exhale. Then keep doing it, slowly. Your chest feels heavy. You touch your $hair. Your mind can’t help but wander back to mother, was she really gone? Yesterday feels distant, almost dreamlike. You're not sure what was real anymore. Everything that happened, confused you. It leaves a print in your mind. You remember that Ceres was sleeping next to you, you look around but don’t see him. He must’ve slipped out early to return to his own room. Your mouth opens to let out a yawn. You think about Ceres. <<cycle "$feeltowcheres">> <<option "You like Ceres. The thought of him brings a small smile to your face. He’s kind, and he seems to genuinely like you. He’s the fourth person in your life to ever be that nice.">> <<option "You feel indifferent about him; he is different from Esme but that's really it, you're not sure what to say about him.">> <<option "You dislike him, he seems to be trying hard. And not to mention, there's something weird about him. You just don’t like it nor him.">> <</cycle>> Sure you felt bad but you don't know much about him, you were just talking to him. He must be really sneaky. You would often get up when you hear sounds at night but you didn't hear him. [[You're quite surpised that you didn't hear him leave.]]

You get up from the tub and they lead you back to your dresser, you sit down on your chest. The maids are grabbing clothes. There are three pairs of clothing. Each one captures your attention. <hr> ➞ <<link "A white dress that has a ribbon tied around the waist with a big bow on the back which is dark blue and has a lacy veil over the dress; seen as feminine.">> <<set $outfittwo to "a white-lacy dress with a ribbon">> <<goto "dressingup">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A white tunic that has a ribbon tied around the neck with a big dark blue bow, dark blue trousers with a small slash tied to the belt; seen as masculine">> <<set $outfittwo to "a white tunic with trousers">> <<goto "dressingup">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A white robe that is tied by a big blue bow and reaches down to the foot with white pants underneath; seen as neutral">> <<set $outfittwo to "a light blue robe tied by a big bow">> <<goto "dressingup">> <</link>>

You feel a bit nervous for today. <<if $gender == "cisgender male" and $outfittwo == "a white-lacy dress with a ribbon">> The maids look at you, you were a male and they just seemed to be confused, looking at each other but they just shrug, one of them is mumbling something but you can’t hear it. <<elseif $gender == "cisgender female" and $outfittwo == "a white tunic with trousers">> A questioning look appears on their face, their eyebrows raised in confusion. You were a female that is trying to wear a male’s outfit, they just shrug and prepare. One of them mumbles something. <<elseif $gender == "transgender male" and $outfittwo == "a white-lacy dress with a ribbon">> You notice how one of the maids smile and nod their head. You hear her whisper ; "Look at the young heir $deadname, she's finally wearing proper wear." You notice how the older maid comes and slaps the other maid on the back of the head. The young maid gasps and turns around; you look away. Pretending that you didn't watch it happen. <<elseif $gender == "transgender female" and $outfittwo == "a white tunic with trousers">> You notice how one of the maids smile and nod their head. You hear her whisper ; "Look at the young heir $deadname, he's finally wearing proper wear." You notice how the older maid comes and slaps the other maid on the back of the head. The young maid gasps and turns around; you look away. Pretending that you didn't watch it happen. <<else>> They nod, and two maids leave quietly. The others help you get dressed, saying nothing. You notice how one of the maids looks at a part of the clothing, she seems interested on the fabric. You notice another woman; her eyes trail your outfit with judging ones. You feel some looks but they don’t seem questioning or mad, they nod. One of them talks about the clothes you have, they prepare the outfits you wanted to wear. <</if>> You feel light-headed for some reason. A maid noticed that small movement. “You missed dinner last night." A soft voice speaks. You realize that it isn't the old maid but instead a maid with a face on her face. "That’s why you must be tired.” You look at her, she smiles softly, you hear giggling. The woman’s face falls for a moment and you see the person who was giggling; it was a small girl named Gold. You glance at her—she’s already smiling wide. The maid tries to grab her, but she slips past and throws her arms around you. You're quite impressed how she dodged the hand that tried grabbing her. She is almost like a fox. “$name!” She presses her cheek against yours; she was always pressing herself against you, hugging you. She’s always hugging you like this. It feels a little strange; she’s thirteen, older than you—but ever since the accident her mother mentioned, she’s acted much younger. Her birthday wasn't that long ago. Her mother—the maid that has a mole on her face—had said that Gold had an accident when she was younger which made her act younger. <hr> ➞ [[Push her away from you|rude]] ➞ [[Hug her back|wow]] ➞ [[Do nothing about her|sh]]

You grit your teeth. Why would she hug you? You gulp. //Pushing her away huh?// You ignore the voice and your hands go on her shoulders, she looks at you in confusion. “$name?” She says. When Gold sees the cruel look in your eye. Gold lowers her head, eyes glossy. She doesn't know why she feels like she is about to cry; she feels empty and sad. She feels like she did something horrible. You notice that her mother has tension in her posture. You ignore her. The maid—her mother—is watching, maybe afraid of what’s going to happen. You push her off of you, she yelps and you watch as she falls backwards and her mother gasps in shock. She reaches out for her child and she manages to catch Gold. You didn’t mean to push that hard… did you? You can notice something about you.. Your hands are still shaking. You try to ignore it. “Say sorry to heir $name…”Her mother’s voice is quiet—tense, maybe afraid. Gold looks sad, a clear pout on her chubby face. Gold lets out a deep sigh. Gold lowers her head, her lip trembling. She feels guilty. “I’m sorry for hugging you, $name…” Her mother nudges her. “I’m sorry, heir $name…” [[You look back at the mirror|break01]]

You’re confused by her touch despite her needs of hugging you in the past. She smiles. //She does not get personal space.// You agree with the voice, she really doesn’t know what personal space is. You feel like hugging her back, your arms are raised as you begin to hug her. She beams, like she’s been waiting for this all day. Her mother is watching what is going to happen next, There’s something anxious in her eyes. But Gold just presses into you more, humming softly. It feels comforting. [[You pull away from her|break01]]

She continues to hug you, you’re not sure how to respond to her hug. Should you push her away—or hug her back? Would that be weird? Her arms are tight around you. You try not to squirm, but her warmth feels too close. You start to sweat. It feels different. You're not used to this feeling. Not in this way. As she hugs you even tighter, you freeze and remember Allis. How much have a strong grip he had on you, you gulp. The maid—her mother—seemed to notice your new feeling. She lets out a sigh. “Come on, honey.” Gold doesn’t stop hugging you until her mother raises her voice. “Gold." She says. She looks serious now. “Gold,” her mother repeats, this time a little firmer, “off. Now.” [[You watch Gold as she pulls away from you|break01]]

The old maid comes back, she looks at you. “You should head to the dining room for breakfast before you miss it.” Gold’s mother says, her eyes still flicking nervously between you and Gold. Her hands on Gold's shoulders. You look back at Gold, she is humming and playing with her dress but when she notices you looking at her, she smiles. You give a small wave of goodbye. You follow after the maid, passing by your mother’s room. Your body gives a reaction. You shudder as you walk by it. It's just a door you try to tell yourself that, but it still feels like she’s inside—watching. Your chest feels heavy, you notice how servants rush around in the hallway. They seem to be in a rush. Something's going on—but no one says it. [[You see the big doors open that lead to the dining room. Your palms feel sweaty.]]

“There you are, $name. I’ve signed you study with Mrs. July. Since your mother would teach you stuff but I doubt she did much.” She says, taking a bite out of her eggs. You tilt your head. Studying with Mrs. July? You aren’t sure who that is. “Mrs. July is the librarian, the old woman in the middle.” She adds, as if reading your thoughts. The door opens, you see a woman that has purple hair with a man next to her, he was gray hair. Brutus looks up and claps. “Welcome sister and Ulric…” He says the name with disdain. The gray-haired man pays him no attention. “Nephew Ceres.” Brutus speaks, Lady Betsy waves at the boy but everyone else continues to eat; you notice that Esme makes a disgusting face when he heard the name Ceres. Ceres smiles but his smile falters once he notices how many people are in the room. “Hello uncle..” The woman sits down with the man, and her son next to her. Jasmine’s sister rises and leaves. Her youngest daughter looks scared, clinging to her seat—while her son sits calmly, unaffected. He just looks at his sister and you notice a faint slap to her head. You look around, it’s quiet. You wonder if you should try to talk with someone… It might be awkward but yeah, it’s going to be awkward. Around the room, you see Lady Betsy, Esme, Ceres with his parents, a few of Brutus’ other wives and their children—and Gold, just slipping in with the other servants. You seem to have time to speak to one person; the bell is about to ring and you might get yelled at for ruining their time to eat… You look around see how many people are in the room, it makes you slightly nervous. <hr> ➞ <<link "You decide to talk to Lady Betsy.">> <<set $talking= "betsy">> <<goto "talks">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "You decide to talk to Esme.">> <<set $talking= "esme">> <<goto "talks">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "You decide to talk to Ceres.">> <<set $talking= "ceres">> <<goto "talks">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "You decide to talk to Ceres’ mother.">> <<set $talking= "ceremom">> <<goto "talks">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "You decide to talk to Ceres’ father.">> <<set $talking= "ceredad">> <<goto "talks">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "You decide to talk to Gold.">> <<set $talking= "gold">> <<goto "talks">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "You decide to talk to one of the wives of Brutus.">> <<set $talking= "bride">> <<goto "talks">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "You decide to talk to nobody and just eat.">> <<set $talking= "no1">> <<goto "talks">> <</link>>

The library is hot, you want to take off your clothes; that’s how hot it is. You squirm around while Mrs. July talks about history—you think it was about the ten kingdoms and the biggest kingdom named Wraith—you really aren’t sure, its too hot to pay attention. “Pay attention!” You flinch as her ruler cracks against the table. “Stop acting like a child.” You look at her with a questionable look, she does not pay attention to the look that you gave her. “Let’s continue with this, okay?” She finally says after cleaning up her desk. It’s hot in here. You try to pay attention; by now mother would’ve slapped you, she didn’t wait for you get prepared, one mistake that was all she gave you. She’s still talking about history when the bell rings. She shifts topics quickly. “Let’s get started on Math; I want to see how you deal with numbers and simple math." As she gets prepared, you hear grunting, then see a man, Allis. He is looking around the middle then when he sees you, his eyes narrow. <<if $allishurt>> Faint red claw marks still mar his face—which is your doing, when he hurt you first. The skin around them is inflamed. You only did it because he tried hurting you, it's fine to do it right? <<else>> You look at him, his face looks clean except the stubble he has, he looks mad and you can see some very old scars on his face. <</if>> He’s coming closer. Your breath catches. You go still. Your hands clench on your clothing, you just gulp. Why is he here? You look at Mrs July, will she help you? You could only hope if he tries to do anything to you. Your eyes trail and dart across the room. It feels stuffy now. "Mrs. July." He ignores you, you let out a sigh of relief. "Yes, knight Allis?" She answers back to him.Your legs start bouncing. The air feels thicker now, heavier and it's hot in here. <hr> ➞ [[Leave the library to get fresh air.]] ➞ [[Just wait patiently.]]

As they continue to talk; your eyes dart across the library. Your chest is heavy and it feels stuffy; it's hot in here. You slowly rise, eyes on the door. It’s too hot in here—you have to leave. You hear Mrs. July talk about a goddess; you think you heard the name Iza. She is the goddess of love, fortune, and marriage. You manage to hear some of their conversation. “Are you sure, I am sure that we do not need that many cakes.” She says, rolling her eyes which makes Allis do the same as well. "That lady bitch wants cake." Allis mutters, mimicking her tone. “She wants fifty.” Mrs. July doesn’t notice you, she seems busy talking with Allis. You watch them as you take a few steps back, you fear what was going to happen if they caught you trying to sneak out. Would Mrs. July help you or will she make Allis do something to you as a punishment? You hope not. You’re a few steps away from them. Now’s the time to go. You’re only a few steps away. Now’s your chance. Your legs move—quick, quiet. The doors shut loudly behind you. [[You can finally feel nice cold air hit you.|air]]

They talk, and you sit silently. You fear what might happen if you tried to leave the room. If you decided to leave the room, would they both punish you? You don’t want to think about it anymore.. Mrs. July seems to forget you were there and continues to talk. “Are you sure, I am sure that we do not need that many cakes.” She says, rolling her eyes which makes Allis do the same as well. "That lady bitch wants cake." Allis mutters, mimicking her tone. “She wants fifty.” You listen in. Mrs. July shakes her head and rubs her temples. “Praise Iza..” You know who Iza is. She is the goddess of love, fortune, and marriage. You wonder—does Mrs. July believe in the goddess Iza? She finally notices you again after a while. “The lessons are over, $boy for now. You may go.” You nod and leave, looking behind you as they continue to talk. You nod, rising from your seat. As you slip through the door, you glance back—they’re still talking, as if you were never there. You feel glad that Allis didn't try to talk to you. The big doors close behind you. [[You can finally get fresh air.|air]]

You leave out the doors, your feet moving. A breeze hits your face, you smile and look around the court. You can see mostly servants, you notice Brandy. She smells the flowers; rose, daisies, tulips. You go closer towards her. She snaps her head towards you. “Oh, it’s you. Bellamy’s child, right?” You nod. She looks up and down at you. “$name is your name, right?” You nod once more. “Jasmine talks about you—well, a little. Mostly about Bellamy.” You blink at her, she talks about you, your face flushes. “Jasmine, she went back home while back to her husband. She said that she will visit once again with gifts, she said that she will have a special one for you.” Your eyes widen, you were going to get a gift? You smile. Brandy catches it and smiles faintly back. “I should get going on, Betsy is going to kill me when she finds me standing around instead of preparing her son’s birthday party, tomorrow.” She bows and waves goodbye to you. You wave back, then lower your arm. [[You hear footsteps behind, you turn around and see Mrs. July.]]

You think about your hobby—something that you do to past time or just for fun—which was $tempthobby. You smile at the thought. Yes you will just go do that. <<if $tempthobby== "sewing">> You decide to head to your room and waste time sewing. Just the thought makes you smile. When you get in your room, you look for your sewing kit; you hid it. You didn’t want mother to find it. She threw away your last project.. That was a gift for mother since she had dark bruises on her face; there were lots on her face. You go closer to your bed and lift up the sheets so you can see more better on the ground. Carefully, you remove a loose floorboard. Then you see your sewing kit. You smile at the sight of it. You pull it out and place it on your bed. It's heavy enough to wrinkle the blanket. The kit is old and worn, but it still works. Inside are your threads, needles, and little scraps of cloth. You sit down on the floor and think what you’re going to make, your kneels hurt as you continue to kneel; still thinking on what to make. You only have about an hour—maybe less—before you would've to go see Lady Betsy. Then tomorrow, everything will be even busier. You won’t get many moments like this again. Since you don't have much time, perhaps you should make something simple? A flower, maybe. A sedum. Its mother's favorite flower, you know it is because you overheard mother and Jasmine talking about flowers one night. You don’t remember exactly what they look like, but you recall a picture with a pink one. You look for pink and different colors that you think will match a sedum flower. You better get started before one hour is gone. <<elseif $tempthobby == "baking">> You think about baking, you like to bake as a hobby or past-time. You wonder if the chefs will let you even do it, they would let you but they would push you around. Still… you shake your head. You shouldn’t let them stop you. not anymore…Even if change is weird. You go towards the kitchen, people notice you but they do not say anything to you. Some nod in passing, too busy with their own tasks to stop. Their focus is somewhere else. You think about what to make; you really can’t bake anything since you only have one hour. You close your eyes and try to think what you should bake. Cherry pie. It pops in your head. It’s your mother’s favorite. You know that because you once overheard her talking with Jasmine. You smile at the memory. You have never tried cherry pie before. You begin to wonder if you like it how mother does. You get a cookbook and read it, The letters aren’t as hard to follow now. Well not after your lessons with Mrs. July. She did make you better! You read over it and you begin to get started before your time is up. <<elseif $tempthobby == "painting">> You think about the art you had made before, you smile at the thought. You like painting, it was relaxing and a good hobby to have. Not to mention it was your escape, your little secret. You make your way to your bedroom, you think about what you should paint. It needs to be something simple—something quick. You don’t have much time before Lady Betsy expects you. You look around your room before you go towards the corner, moving the shelf. You’d hidden them after mother found your last set and threw half of it away. Mother. She clouds your thoughts. You grab it and grab a canvas, it’s small one but it’s going to work with you. You grab some colors, you want to paint mother. You wanted to paint something easy but you can’t. You were going to paint something easy—but all you can think of is her. You reach for your paints, and your hand hesitates. Are you really going to paint her..? You still don’t know if she’s coming back. You still want her near you. You still want her love. And you hate yourself for that. You close your eyes and take a shaky breath. You should forget about how you feel and begin painting. Just paint before you have to meet with Lady Betsy. <<elseif $tempthobby == "singing">> Singing, your mother would often yell at you to stop. Or she would get more violent, sometimes she'd grab your ear, pull it hard, her voice sharp with anger. That never stopped you. You go towards your room, you remember having some paper that you written on it, lyrics. You believe that’s what it is called, you arrive at your room. You grab kneel near your bed and lift up the bed. You often hide it underneath your bed. That’s where you kept them safe. Or tried to. Mother burned some of your papers when she found some. You see the paper at the top, it was a gift for mom. You must’ve been six. You meant it as a gift. She didn’t like it. She didn't seem to like how you sang to her. You continue to look at the paper but you continue to dig through the papers that you had written on; looking for one to sing to. Although you move through the papers, your eyes keep going back to that first one. You should get started to sing but it gets too late. You’ll have time to sing again… right? <<elseif $tempthobby == "writing">> Writing, you often write what would happen to you or just anything that would happen in the day. Sometimes you’d just make something up—stories that weren’t real, but felt like they could be. You liked writing. It gives your hands something to do also focus on, and your mind something to escape into. You go back to your room, your hand soon begins to feel itchy. You exhale and continue to walk. You arrive and go straight to your dresser, Your journal is still there, hidden beneath a pile of folded shirts. When you find it, you smile a little. Mother found it once. She tore out the pages and burned them. She burned your hand, too. You try not to think about it, but the memory sits stubbornly in your mind. It’s hard to forget pain, especially when it still feels fresh. You shake your head at the thoughts of that, you want to stop thinking about all the bad things but you can’t. It’s hard to do that. You feel yourself begin to write, you feel like writing about mother; not about what she did to you, but about how she makes you feel. That’s harder. Your hands open the journal, press the pen to the page. You should get to writing before it’s too late. <<elseif $tempthobby == "dancing">> Dancing used to mean pain. Mother would drip candle wax on your legs, or strike them with a whip. You always cried—sometimes silently, sometimes not. You always would look at your own legs in disgust afterwards. Despite what she did to you, you still like dancing. It would hurt to dance when you remember her painful actions towards you. You head back to your room. Pretend. Move your arms. Warm up. You don’t really know how people dance at balls—Mother rarely let you go to any. You’ve only seen glimpses. So, you made up your own style. One you created in secret. You arrive and take off your shoes, you pretend to dance for a warm up. You hum once you get an idea. You heard people talking about a waltz, it sounded interesting. You saw in the history books on how they danced. It was interesting. You hum softly to yourself. The same tune you danced to before—the last time you tried to show her what you could do. The time she didn’t even watch. Your breath shakes as you remember it, but you steady yourself. You have to keep going. Before time is up. <</if>> Time slips away quickly when you're lost in something you love. You let out a sigh; it sounds sad but relief. The peace you found is already fading. A servant appears, bowing slightly, eyes steady on you. They let out a small cough before they address you. “Excuse me, heir $name but Lady Betsy asked you to meet her in her chambers.” With that the servant leaves the room. [[You have to get going before she gets mad|room0.5]]

<<if $talking == "betsy">> Betsy is eating, she eats slowly and elegantly. Her mouth moves slowly as she chews. You gulp. “Uhm..Be-” “Yes, $name?” She smiles, you blink in confusion, did she really cut you off? “Oh- I just wanted to talk with you!” You say, she hums at that. Nodding her head. “I see…What should we talk about?” She smiles at you. “How about…Uhm…” She glances at the wall, then back at you. "What about childbirth?" She smiles. You freeze; you heard about child-birth, mother says it is hell. “N-no?” You say, she just hums but shakes her head. “Sad, Esme’s head was so big, the wet-nurse said that I could’ve been gaped forever!” You freeze, unsure whether to laugh, cry, or throw up. “The childbirth is so disgusting but it can be amazing! Did you hear that we shit while pushing out the baby?” She whispers.You feel your stomach twist. Your eyes widen and you shake your head ‘no’. “I feel bad for those who die at child-birth; the mothers or fathers..I guess, how is it allowed that men can get pregnant." She pauses. "Well, anyway—you can die during childbirth. Sad.” She says, nodding her head. You feel sick and just nod. What kind of dinner talk was this? <<elseif $talking == "esme">> You look at Esme. He’s eating slowly, some bits of egg missing his mouth, he keeps yawning; Lady Betsy did say that he has an illness and is constantly sick. “Es-” “Yes! $name?” He looks at you, his head snapped towards you. The sudden reaction catches you off guard. He looks really happy for some reason. “Oh… I j-just wanted to talk to you.” He nods his head, it’s very quickly. You watch him quietly, but when he doesn’t say anything. You fumble for a topic. “Uhm, so what do you think about the guests?” He freezes at your words and looks towards Ceres and his family. “Them?” You nod in response. His face clenches as his small fists clenches. “Ceres is a little bastard.” Your eyes widened by his choice of words, he is quite young. You weren’t expecting that — not from Esme. “Ceres, he is so annoying.” he adds, stabbing his food with more force. His plate rattles ever so slightly due to his force. “He thinks that he can just come in here and try to take away what belongs to me, bastard bastard…” You raise an eyebrow, this is out of character. You’ve never seen Esme this angry and did Ceres try taking away his toy? Is Esme talking about the throne? About being heir? Ceres’ parents are duke and duchess, maybe Ceres wants the crown..? He continues to mumble to himself, you just nod. Maybe this was a mistake. <<elseif $talking == "ceres">> You look towards Ceres who is on your left, he is eating his food. He seems joyful despite it being early in the morning. “Ceres?” He looks up towards you and smiles, his smile is wide. “Yes, $name?” His smile seems to grow even bigger, you’re quite surprised. “I just wanted to talk with you.” You say. He hums, looking up in the air. “Hmmm…” He seems to be thinking about something. “Did you hear about the bakery?” You shake your head, mother hardly lets you out of the castle walls. “There’s this bakery that is delicious! Apparently, they have it in multiple kingdoms!” “There’s this bakery called Fiorise’s! It’s amazing!” He smiles, His cheeks flush, and he bounces a little in his seat. “There’s this cute boy that works there!” You nod. “He kissed me!” You tilt your head. “On the cheek! He was so pretty and cute!” He says. “Why did he kiss you?” You ask him, why did the boy kiss Ceres? “I helped him out, he was chasing after a stray dog, I caught the dog and also caught the stolen bread!” You blink at his excitement. A kiss? For bread and a dog? It’s hard to tell if he’s making this up or just really lucky. You also begin to wonder who the boy was. “You’d love their sweet bread. I’ll take you one day!” He laughs. "Well that's my favorite!" He quickly says afterwards. You sigh. Maybe this was a mistake. Or maybe Ceres just talks too much--you scoff lightly at your own words. <<elseif $talking == "ceremom">> You look to your left, you see Ceres, his father towards the back while his mother is in the middle. You notice her purple hair. Your eyes twinkle at it; it sure does look like grapes, and it looks better than Brutus’. “Uhm exc-” She turns to face you. She turns toward you instantly. “How old are you?” You gulp, why was she asking? “I am t-ten…” You squeak out. She hums. "Ten and Nine seem like the perfect age to set up marriage for that boy..." She mumbles to herself. She hums. “Ten. And your gender?” Your head tilts, why does she want to know that? “I’m a $boy…” She hums once more. “That will do. What is your name?” You gulp once more, she isn’t wasting any time asking questions. “My name is.. $name.” She nods once more. Her gaze shifts to your $body. “Your body won’t matter in this..” She whispers, you just raise an eyebrow. What? “So $name, are you looking for marriage?” Your eyes widen once more. “I-I um..” “I have four children. Two sons, two daughters. My eldest is Wills — he’s becoming a knight, four years older than you. Powder, my second, is beautiful — she’d make a fine trophy. Justice, my middle daughter, is two years older and studying magic. And, of course, my youngest... you’ve met Ceres.” "Ceres well, he is Ceres.." She mumbles, a finger to her lips, she seems to be thinking about something. Your mind is racing by all the information, she has dropped on you. “You can decide which one to marry." She finishes with a polite smile before you can decide to go back to eating, she speaks again. Your brain struggles to catch up. You just nod, dazed, as she starts listing hobbies and bloodlines. You just nod as she continues to talk about marriage.. This was pretty bad. Really bad. <<elseif $talking == "ceredad">> Ceres’ family sits to your left. You turn your head to glance at them — or really, to stare. Ceres’ father looks powerful and angry, he did look like that when he first came in the dining room, you wonder if he always looks like that. “Uhm..Ulric?” His head lifts up and he stares at you, you gulp just by his stare. “Yes?” He says. You gulp once more, His voice is deep, rumbling like distant thunder. It makes your chest feel tight. “I-I just wanted to talk with you, and uhm..” Your voice turns weak. He continues to stare at you. You brace for something — a glare, maybe — but then he laughs. His laughter turns into chuckles. “Haha!” You’re surprised. You laugh—it’s a nervous laugh—a bit. “Calm down, what do you want to talk about?” He asks, you freeze. You’re not so sure anymore. “Did you hear about Leif’s weapons of war?” You don’t nod or shake your head. “I heard that he has armies full of strong men, apparently a woman too..” He says, thinking about it. He leans back, thoughtfully. “I never suspected a woman to be in the army but it doesn’t matter, as well as she is strong!” He has a big smile. He grins and keeps talking — about war, weapons, gender roles, and... honestly, you stop keeping track. You stop paying attention. This... might have been a mistake. <<elseif $talking == "gold">> You look around, your eyes land on Gold. Shes' standing off to the side, she is bouncing her leg. She seems to be talking to herself, she also begins to $calm. You wonder if she got that from you or from herself. You wave her over, she smiles once she notices you and comes closer. “Hi $name!” She whispers, it’s still loud. Her grin stretches wide across her face. “I just wanted to talk with you, you seemed lonely.” She gasps and blushes. “Really? Thank you!” she whispers — loudly. “I heard that the ball, tomorrow will have over a thousand people! Or even more!” She says, you just nod. She seems to be happy just talking. “I’m so excited for it! I hope mom lets me have some fun!” She giggles. “What about you?” she asks, eyes wide. “Well, I fee-” “The ball! Arggh I can’t wait!” She cuts you off, you just blink and nod. You hear her talk more about the party then you see a woman. You spot her mother walking over. She looks mortified and embarrassed, she comes closer. Gold is still talking about the party, unaware. “Sweetie, stop. Leave the royals alone... Sorry, heir $name,” she murmurs. Gold is dragged away by her mother; you watch as she leaves. Maybe you shouldn’t have called her over. You didn’t mean to get her in trouble… but it kind of feels like you did. <<elseif $talking == "bride">> A bride, you aren’t sure what her name is but you can hear her mumbling. You can hear her talking about an goddess—you heard the name; Virgin— you raise an eyebrow. Most people here talk about deity Wraith or goddess Iza. “E-excuse me?” She stops mumbling and looks at you. She stops mumbling and turns her eyes on you. “Yes, you’re Bellamy’s $Title, right?” You nod, and her face lights up. "How beautiful you turned out, I told your mother, Bellamy. I told her that goddess Virgin would make you as such..” She smiles. “What?” “Goddess Virgin says that you’re in despair, she is aware of your troubles; the man, Allis and Leif. She is always aware. You’re in danger… but it must happen. If it doesn’t, you’ll die." You freeze, questioning her behavior. How does she know about Allis..? As she there? “She says you’ll live on, though your life will be in shambles. But you’ll get a chance — a chance to take your revenge. And she knows you will.” She takes a bite of her bacon. “You shouldn’t fear, I should be the one scared but I’m not. The Goddess Virgin has told me that I am going to die tomorrow. She said you will live and others as well. Not Brutus or Betsy or any of the brides he has.” You feel scared, talking to her. Your skin crawls. She smiles at you, she grabs your two hands and presses a kiss on it. “May Goddess Virgin protect you, who shall live in your name, deep inside your blood, inside your mind, bless.” She stops taking to you. She lets go of your hands, and says nothing else. You feel scared, your hands won’t stop shaking, what was she on about… <<elseif $talking == "no1">> You look around and decide that you wish not talk to anyone, you’re not really in the mood for talking. The bell is going to ring soon, it would be a waste of time, you believe. Your thoughts drift to mother again. Mother, why does she always appear in your head; she is like a moth but you feel like she is attracted to another light that isn’t you but instead Jasmine. Jasmine was always close with your mother. Who could make her smile. mother would smile at her but never at you. She would look at with indifference but with Jasmine, she was the happiest woman. What did Jasmine have that you didn’t? You set your utensils down and start to poke at your food. The warmth is fading, and so is your appetite. You play with your food. You do not wish to eat anymore. You don’t feel like eating anymore. <</if>> The bell finally rings, it is loud and everyone appears to get up, Betsy’s hand is on your shoulder. “Make sure to head to your lessons, $boy.” She smiles but she sounds a bit mad then she leaves. [[It’s a good thing that the bell rings, it’s time to head into your lessons.|library0.1]] [[Wait around for a while before heading to your lessons.|0w.3]]

You arrive at her chambers. The room is dim, lit only by candles. A soft humming drifts through the space—pleasant, but a little eerie. She has a big grin on her face, she gets up from her chair and goes over to you. Her arms are wide open. You just blink. She doesn’t give you time to think. She pulls you into a hug and kisses your cheeks before you can react. “You know it’s Esme’s birthday tomorrow, right?” She asks you, you nod. You nod. “Yes, I’ve heard a lot about it…” She claps her hands, she has a smile on her face. It's a pretty sight. "Perfect! I want you to go shopping!" She smiles. You tilt your head, shopping? Shopping by yourself or with Lady Betsy? "Shopping?" You say. She gasps. “Your mother never took you shopping? Poor woman. But don’t worry! Me and you—we’ll fix that.” You nod, she clicks her tongue. She touches your $hair then looks at your $outfittwo. “You have a good taste in outfits, you picked that right?” She questions you. In returning with an answer, you nod. "Great! You can pick out a outfit but I do have some rules..” “Sure…” She raises a finger. “No gold or red. Those are for me, Esme, and my husband. Got it? No skirts or shorts past the knees—manners! And absolutely no big bows. Esme’s wearing those.” You nod again. That seems… easy enough to remember. That does...Right? “Did you get that?” <<cycle "$acea" autoselect>> <<option "Tell me again.">> <<option "Yes, I got it!">> <</cycle>> [[You say as you speak to Lady Betsy.]]

“I will take $guard with me..” She nods her head. “Good, good. Make sure to buy a wonderful gift and clothes! I will leave you with some money, so don’t waste it $boy.” You nod your head, though it’s hesitantly. “I’ll call for $guard, then you’ll head into the village.” She says, you notice her grabbing a white bag that she dumps a lot of gold coins in. As you watch her, your thoughts go to $gaurd.. Will $guard try to hurt you? <<if $guard == "Allis">> You hate the fact that you picked Allis as your guard but he is the only one you know from those three names, Betsy gave you. You're not sure if you'd feel safe around two people you don't know but Allis seems to be focusing on other things... Also you can scream for help if he does try. Yeah, He probably won’t do anything since it’s going to be in public. If he does try anything, you’ll scream or hurt him, yes. You’ll try. He’s a trained knight… and you’re just a child. <<elseif $guard == "Romance">> You’re not sure who Romance is but the name sounds nice. It’s certainly better than picking Allis. You just hope that that guard won’t be as cruel or weird as Allis. You never met guards—personally or by their name just their appearances when you went out—but you hope that you hit the jackpot of good knights. If the guard is bad then you’ll scream and harm the knight; if Romance is like Allis. <<elseif $guard == "Albert">> You’re not quite sure who Albert is but you remember hearing a name when mother was alive, you think you heard the name but you’re not sure. You just hope that this man isn’t horrible as Allis. You’ve only ever seen guards from afar, never by name but you hope that you hit the jackpot of good knights. If he is, you’ll do what you must. Scream. Fight. Survive. <</if>> You wait in Betsy’s chambers and it feels cold when she left you alone, she told you to wait until $guard comes by. It feels like a long wait but there comes a knock. [[Knock, Knock, Knock]]

The door creaks as it swings open, and the faint scent of cold iron follows them in. <<if $guard == "Allis">> He looks at you but he does not say a word towards, he moves his arm so it points towards the door. His eyes are narrowing as they lock onto yours, sharp and cold. It makes your skin prickle. //Do you feel nervous, huh?// <<elseif $guard == "Romance">> The tap of her boots on the floor feels too loud in the quiet room. She comes in the room, her eyes are soft but yet they narrow at you. She bows and tilts her head to the door. She makes you feel kind of scared for some reason. //She looks tough, doesn't she?// <<elseif $guard == "Albert">> He comes into the room, his eyes widen at you but then they move around the room, he seems nervous, anxious for some reason. He coughs into his hand and bows stiffly. //He has those guilty eyes.// <</if>> “We’ve got to get going,” $guard says. “Lady Betsy expects you back within the hour. The time we take depends on you.” $guard says to you. You look around and grab the letter; Betsy left you. You’re not sure how much she left you but she did want you to buy a good-looking outfit and gift for Esme, she probably left a lot. You think about it once more. Yeah. She probably gave a lot—enough to get in trouble with, if you mess this up. [[“Let’s get going.”]]

𓁿 <<if $guard == "Allis">> Allis stares at $name, he lets out a sigh as they await the carriage. The $boy, he has no real thoughts about the child. He acted out in lust, now all he feels is anger towards the $boy. Yeah, he feels anger towards the $boy. Was $he ever really worth those lustful thoughts? Maybe. Maybe not. He feels a sense of guilt. Not towards the $boy but instead towards his comatose wife. She has been in a coma for nine years, he always thought that he would grow old with her. Now? Now he imagines the demon lord Asmodeus laughing in delight, wrapping chains of sin around his neck. It’s Bellamy's fault. It’s that $boy’s fault. That’s it, this wasn’t because of him, he doesn’t have any sins. It’s their sins, they’re the ones who are the sins, temptations. They brought the sin to him! They're like a gold fruit but cursed to the core. That must be it, yes, it has to be. He isn’t a man who sins, he isn’t. He’ll tell himself no matter what, even if deep inside he knows what he is. He will not give in, he isn’t a terrible man. He says it again, and again, and again. He believes in Wraith. That has to mean something. <<elseif $guard == "Romance">> Romance stares at the $boy, she feels quite sad. She has heard what has happened to the $boy..Word travels fast among the guards. And oh, how tragic it all is. She looks at $him once more, staring at $his face than $hair. She has heard what the other guards had done to $his mother, It’s horrible. The whispers behind closed doors. The laughter. The boasts. The acts committed towards her. It was cruel. Unforgivable. She can’t make herself the good person in that situation, she knew. She heard Bellamy’s cries for help. She looked away. She supplied the drugs they used to keep her quiet.. She didn't want to be hurt by them. A cruel selfish act. She isn’t a good person as well but she does know that she isn’t the cruel as those men. She would do it for money and greed. That too, is a sin. She feels ill, how could she be blinded by greed. She needs the money but she thinks... Was any of it worth this—the torture of a woman, the loss of a mother? Could her sister ever forgive her if she found out though the thing is that she will make that her little sister won’t ever ever find out. Romance would make sure she never did. She’d sooner die than let her sister know what she had done. She'll beg them all—please, don’t let her sister find out. Don't let anyone find out her dirty secret of greed. <<elseif $guard == "Albert">> Albert stares at the young $boy, his hands are wringing together; he feels anxious, scared even. He cannot believe what he had done to Bellamy all those years ago; he believes that the $boy was just a small baby when he caused pain for Bellamy. He sure does feel terrible for what has happened. He had always thought that Bellamy went mad, killing her $Title.. He wants to say their $Title but he knows that he can't. He stares at the $boy, blinking. Bellamy had gone mad a couple of nights—how she screamed that she would kill herself and the baby. He remembers how cold he felt then, already knee-deep in deals with the devil—and he believed that the young $boy would be dead by now. And yet, here $he is. Alive. Breathing. He never thought $he would survive. He welcomed the rewards, yes. But he never forgot what it cost. Bellamy. That was the cost. He never truly meant for Bellamy to do what she did go through. He can only blame himself; he knows what he did is cruel. He knows for a fact that everyone is cruel, a monster. Everyone has made sins. Bellamy, herself was cruel towards her own kin. But knowing that doesn’t make him feel better. He lets out a shaky exhale. <</if>> $guard looks at $name for the last time in the carriage was it comes to a stop. [[“We’ve arrived.”]]

𓁹 You step out of the carriage with a small grunt as your feet hit the ground. The ride was comfortable, but $guard seemed lost in thought the whole time. Getting in and out of the carriage was the hardest part—your short legs and $body didn’t make it easy. You look around the village; it's a new sight. A gift for Esme.. You remember when mother brought you because she wanted to buy you a gift. The gift was a small box but you couldn’t find out how to open it. Every time you failed, she dug her fingers into your hands. You still don’t know what it could be. You still don’t know what was inside. It was hard to open, you're not sure where it is.. The air is thick and hot—you can see heatwaves dancing over the cobblestone. It's really hot. You wonder how the peasants live like this. Peasants must be really strong or they’ve a cold body, wow. As you scan the street, you spot shops and homes, one after another. A sign catches your eye—Fiorise’s Bakery. The shop looks cozy and warm. You take one more glance at it, you notice a young boy at the front of the store as he talks to a dog. It's a pretty boy with peach-toned skin, smiling at the dog. He turns, sees you. For a second, he freezes—but then he beams, wide and bright. He waves at you while he walks into his shop. “We’ve to get going, $name.” You look beside you and see your guard, $guard. $guard leads you to a shop--filled with toys and gifts. You think about Esme. What should you get him? You’ve never really bought anyone a gift—except for your mother. Though she seemed to like nothing that you got her. Never. She just likes whatever Jasmine gets her, you think that it's unfair. You think about Esme, he seems to like books. You think about a gift--any gift! You just hope that he likes it very much. You really hope. [[You enter the shop, it’s loud..]]

You step further in, slowly. Your eyes scan the shelves, the tables, the clutter of colors and textures. Toys with shiny glass eyes. Wooden animals on wheels. Books stacked crookedly. Clothing folded in neat piles. Jewelry that sparkles under the oil lamps. You look around in the store, everything seems unique, it makes you feel nervous. Behind you, $guard stands like a statue near the door. Not a word. Not a movement. Just watching. A book? But you don’t know what he likes to read. You know he likes to read but what? A toy? That feels childish… what if he laughs at you? But again, he is younger than you. Clothing? Too personal, maybe. He seems to fiddle with his clothes, does he like them? Jewelry? Would that be too much? You think what would match a young boy, you think of nothing. Your head turns, looking all over. You see a lot of stuff. What should you get him? <hr> ➞ [[Look for clothes for Esme|clothing_gift]] ➞ [[Look for books for Esme|bookesme]] ➞ [[Look for toys for Esme|toyesme]]

Perhaps you should get clothes for Esme. You’re not really sure what his size is or how big or small it needs to be but it should be good.. You rub your fingers together, uneasy. You feel quite confused, you’re not entirely sure what size you wear or need for your $body. Your feet move as you look around going into a separate room. Everything looks nice, should you even be holding this? You see a bunch of clothing; tunics, dresses, pants, skirts, capes, shoes. You feel anxious just by looking around the room. There’s a man near the door. A guard. His uniform is neat, but his face is sour and wrinkled. He mutters to himself, pacing slowly as if arguing with the air. You step back a little, the fabric bunching in your hands. What if he yells at you for touching things? What if you pick something wrong? What if Esme hates it and laughs at you and Betsy gets mad? You’re not sure what Esme’s favorite colors are but he has red eyes, it’s really pretty. Your eyes drift over the fabrics; there's so many. It makes you nervous. <hr> ➞ <<link "A white puffy dress with red undertones and a gold pin.">> <<set $egift = "white dress with a gold pin">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A red suit with white trousers and a gold pin.">> <<set $egift = "red suit with a gold pin">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A golden-colored robe with a red slash.">> <<set $egift = "golden-colored robe with a red slash">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ [[Change your mind and get a different gift for Esme|You enter the shop, it’s loud..]]

Maybe he could like some books, he does spend time at the library. You’re not really sure what he likes but he is smart and younger than you. You’re quite confused once you enter a different place of the shop, how could this shop look so small from the outside but so big inside. You see looks of books with some signs that mention lots of books. Fantasy--you see a book that shows a boy with glasses with a star on his forehead, he has a wand. Will Esme like this? You move your gaze. There's Fairy tales--it shows a small girl with blonde hair with three bears, this sounds silly but you wonder if Esme will like it. Erotica--you see a man wearing no clothes with a woman that is also bare… How strange. What’s erotica? You blink as you look at the book, will Esme like these kinds? Anyways you look around for more signs; Gods and Goddess and Deities. You see that a book shows a symbol of an heart that has animals behind it--its a book about a god, you can't remember whom it is. There's also books about household-holds--you see a book about a washing clothes. Washing clothes, will Esme need this? You move along and see a sign that says History--you see a book that shows the sun with a crown, it reads The Divine. What do smart people read? What would make him think you picked a good gift? What if he thinks it’s silly? What if he throws it away? That’s a lot of books, you look around once more, reading the signs. Which book will Esme like from one of these aisles..? <hr> ➞ [[Check out the fantasy books.|esme_fan]] ➞ [[Check out for fairy tale books.|esmetale]] ➞ [[Check out the erotic books.|esmerotic]] ➞ [[Check out the books about Gods, goddess’, and deities.|godsesme]] ➞ [[Check out the house-hold books.|boringbooks]] ➞ [[Check out the history books|hisesme]] ➞ [[Change your mind and get a different gift for Esme|You enter the shop, it’s loud..]]

The toys, there all so much; it makes you feel scared. There are so many of toys, it catches your eyes---a lot of toys do--and you feel a need to look at them more better. You wonder which one that Esme would like more better, a smile softly forms on your face; as you think about it. <hr> ➞ <<link "A wooden horse made by a famous carver.">> <<set $egift = "wooden horse">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A rabbit plushie; home-made sewed.">> <<set $egift = "rabbit plushie">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A wooden sword made a retired knight.">> <<set $egift = "wooden sword">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A fake golden crown made by a blacksmith.">> <<set $egift = "golden crown">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A doll with a pretty dress made by a queen">> <<set $egift = "pretty doll">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A sketchbook with 200 pages.">> <<set $egift = "sketchbook">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ [[Find a different gift.|You enter the shop, it’s loud..]]

You should check out the fantasy books, it sounds cool. You make your way there, you let out a small gasp when you see the books. You have no clue on what to get. The shelf is packed—from the floor to above your head. So many colors. So many titles. Some are old, dusty with cracked spines. Others look brand-new, like they’ve never been touched. Your eyes wander around the room. Your eyes move around as you try to focus on one-thing but it’s hard, there are so many books. There are some interesting titles. It seems quite magical..? <hr> ➞ <<link "A book about a ogre who meets a donkey and goes save a princess; Beck.">> <<set $egift = "Beck">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A book about a child who is a star and trying to become brighter as an adult.">> <<set $egift = "Debauchery">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A book about a mentally unwell person meets three people then crime happens; We are Wretched Monsters.">> <<set $egift = "We are Wretched Monsters">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A book about a person who has gold eyes like yours and living with their aunt after a traumatic event; Sovereign.">> <<set $egift = "Sovereign">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ [[Find a different type of book.|bookesme]]

You should check out the fairy tale books, it sounds cool. You make your way there, you let out a small gasp when you see the books. You have no clue on what to get. Your eyes move around as you try to focus on one-thing but it’s hard, there are so many books. There are some interesting titles. The air smells like old paper and honey. The shelf is crammed with books that shimmer faintly in the low light. Some look handmade—stitched spines, ribbon bookmarks. Others are thin, with worn covers and gold foil peeling off. Some are interesting and catches your eyes. <hr> ➞ <<link "A book about a spouse who is a household-spouse but lover gets into debt; Deception of coins">> <<set $egift = "Deception of coins">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A book about two lovers on the opposite sides, a girl and a boy who are frogs; frogliet and frogmeo">> <<set $egift = "frogliet and frogmeo">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A book about a singer who is trying to get famous with their band; Famous">> <<set $egift = "Famous">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A book about two kids trying to escape a evil witch after eating her vegetable house; Vegan and Non-meat eater.">> <<set $egift = "Vegan and Non-meat eater">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ [[Find a different book.|bookesme]]

You should check out the erotic books, it sounds cool. You make your way there, you let out a small gasp when you see the books, there's so many. You have no clue on what to get. You keep staring at the words; Erotic. You don’t know what that word means. Erotic—it sounds... strange. Grown-up. The covers here are different. Some have soft fabric wraps, others have people drawn on them—bare shoulders, long stares, hands that almost touch. You see how some of them are biting their lip or just bare naked, you're quite confused about it. <hr> ➞ <<link "A book about sex, homoerotica/heteroerotica, the doms and subs; Sex book.">> <<set $egift = "Sex book">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A book about a girl who finds a man attractive and wants his attention; 10 x 5 shades.">> <<set $egift = "10 x 5 shades">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A book about a brothel worker who meets lots of people and wants to escape; Cathouse">> <<set $egift = "Cathouse">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A book about a two people who are rivals but one is flirty rather the other one is sotic but they slowly fall in inlov; rival?">> <<set $egift = "Rival?">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ [[Find a different book.|bookesme]]

You should check out the gods, goddess, deities books, it sounds cool. You make your way there, you let out a small gasp when you see the books. You have no clue on what to get. Your hands brushing against the spines of thick and thin books alike. The shelves stretch tall, and the smell of old paper and dust hangs in the air. Does everything seem important? <<if $worship>> You mainly focus on the Wraith books, your eyes keep moving to it. There are so many books about Wraith, you find yourself smiling. Even so slightly. <<else>> You just look around, nothing seems to interest you that much but there's so many books about different deities. <</if>> This is going to be hard to find a book for Esme, your probably going to get books about stuff you know; it's barely. <hr> ➞ <<link "A book about Deity Wraith and how life formed by Wraith; Deity Wraith 01.">> <<set $egift = "Deity Wraith 01">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A book about Goddess Iza and her love and powers; Goddess Iza 01.">> <<set $egift = "Goddess Iza 01">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A book about Goddess Virgin and her beliefs and followers.; Goddess Virgin 01.">> <<set $egift = "Goddess Virgin 01">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A book about God Arc and his history about the world; God Arc 01.">> <<set $egift = "God Arc 01">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ [[Find a different book.|bookesme]]

You should check out the gods, goddess, deities books, it sounds cool. You make your way there, you let out a small gasp when you see the books. You have no clue on what to get. There’s so many things to learn… and so many you don’t understand. Books about house-holds, sex, weddings, marriage, birthing… Some titles feel too heavy, others too strange. You’re not sure which is too much or too little. Why do they even have these books? Your eyes move around as you try to focus on one-thing but it’s hard, there are so many books and you're not really sure if people are interested in house-holds, chores sound interesting but also can people like it? Will Esme even like it, he seems to like some stuff. <hr> ➞ <<link "A book about House-husbands and their jobs; Housing a Husband, perfectly.">> <<set $egift = "Housing a Husband, perfectly">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A book about house-wives and their jobs; Housing a wife, perfectly.">> <<set $egift = "Housing a wife, perfectly">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ [[Find a different book.|bookesme]]

You should go check out the history books, it sounds cool. You make your way there, you let out a small gasp when you see the books. You have no clue on what to get. Your eyes move around as you try to focus on one-thing but it’s hard, there are so many books and you're not sure about history since it's probably going to be a lot of stuff. This is going to be hard to find a book for Esme, history books are thick from what you can see right now. <hr> ➞ <<link "A book about the kingdom and country called Baldassare; Baldassare">> <<set $egift = "Baldassare">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A book about God Hereditary and his life as well his divine children; God Hereditary.">> <<set $egift = "God Hereditary">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A book about a suriving in ancient rome which is about a germanic slave after being sold; Suevy">> <<set $egift = "Suevy">> <<goto "going">> <</link>> ➞ [[Find a different book.|bookesme]]

You found your perfect gift, a $egift. Yes this is the one. This will be a good gift for Esme, you just hope that he likes $egift.. <<if $egift == "Rival?" or $egift == "Cathouse" or $egift == "10 x 5 shades" or $egift == "Sex book">> You're not quite sure if Esme is going to like this very much, you're not sure but the worker just raised an eyebrow and wanted to say something but decided against it when the older woman saw you and $guard. You're unsure why she looked at you with such confusion. Still, at least you got your gift for Esme: $egift. You’re not really sure what it even means... You ignore how the book has two naked people on it, I mean she let you buy it so it must be okay! <<elseif $egift == "Housing a wife, perfectly" or $egift == "Housing a Husband, perfectly">> You're not quite sure if Esme will like these because he is young and marriage is quite far away. Esme seems like a boy who is awkward with people; even potential marriage candidates. He seems confused about the whole idea of love or marriage. And while you don’t know much either, you can tell it won’t be easy for someone like Esme—a boy like him—to find someone to marry. You wonder if someone is even going to marry him. <<elseif $egift == "white dress with a gold pin">> You wonder if Esme will like this gift since it was mostly being worn by females... Will he even wear it, perhaps? Even if it does seem girly, you still hope Esme will like it. Regardless of the clothing choice! <<elseif $egift == "pretty doll">> It might be seen as a girly or feminine gift, but you really do hope Esme likes it. You bought it—well, kind of bought it. It looks pretty! It's a really pretty doll, you might be jealous. You giggle at your thoughts. <<elseif $egift == "We are Wretched Monsters" or $egift == "Sovereign" or $egift == "Debauchery" or $egift == "Deception of coins" or $egift == "Famous">> You see the title and immediately get a feeling that this book will be amazing. There’s something about it that feels familiar—like you’ve seen it before somewhere. Just looking at it makes you feel happy inside. You wonder why you feel this way but you do. You feel a smile appear on your face. You wonder if Esme is going to have the same feeling as well.... <</if>> You nod at your gift, $egift. You hope that this matches Esme's taste. You stand in-front of your guard, $guard. $guard still does not move, not the head nor the face or eyes. You nod at your gift, $egift, hoping it matches Esme’s taste. You stand in front of your guard, $guard. They don’t move—no nod, no glance, nothing. Your head seems to move as you look at the gift that you got Esme, $egift. You hope that it matches Esme's taste or likeness. You stand in front of your guard, $guard. $guard don’t move—no nod, no glance, nothing. Not even $guard's head moves! "Are you done?" $guard asks, you nod and your guard reaches for the bag that carries your gift for Esme. You're kind of surprised but smile, you follow after $guard, thinking that you were heading to the carriage. “We have to shop for your outfit now, like Lady Betsy asked.” [[That's right, you almost forgot.]]

Your guard leads you to a different shop, it’s hot. Couples walk past, holding hands, but their eyes linger on you with a cold, almost dangerous stare. If looks could kill you, you would've been dead a long time ago! Your legs continue to walk;it begins to hurt behind your knee and below it. You snap out of your thoughts when a bell rings. Inside, clothes are neatly lined up, and a rich-looking woman catches your eye. She coughs softly and approaches, bowing gracefully. Her long nails glint in the light. She comes closer and bows to you; her nails are long. “Hello, what can I do to help you?” She asks; her eyes are looking at you and it makes you feel anxious. “We need clothes—fine clothes, fit for a ball,” your guard speaks up. You hesitate but nod. You hadn’t expected $guard to speak. The woman nods in understanding. Your “Follow me, for your $body, I would recommend these.” She leads you to a small—but it’s still big—section. You see a bunch of clothing. “Please tell me if you need something else.” She bows before she leaves. You see $guard standing near the door; hands behind back, and $guard looks stiff or tense, it’s hard to tell. You look at the selection: dresses, shirts, suits, skirts, and shorts. What should you wear for the ball? Lady Betsy said you must look good. <hr> ➞ <<link "A big puffy dress that is red and has some gold undertones to it and the dress goes past the knee; often seen as feminine.">> <<set $eball = "puffy red dress with gold undertones">> <<goto "castle">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A red sailor shirt with a gold slash hanging over it and white trousers; often seen as masculine.">> <<set $eball = "red sailor shirt with a gold slash">> <<goto "castle">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A red robe which is tied by a gold slash and the robe reaches the floor; often seen as netural. ">> <<set $eball = "red robe tied by a gold slash">> <<goto "castle">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A gold puffy dress that has a big white bow on the stomach and small bows on the hem of the dress which goes past the knee; often seen as feminine.">> <<set $eball = "gold dress with a big white bow">> <<goto "castle">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A white suit that has a big gold bow on the back and the chest as well small bows where the buttons should be and has shorts; often seen as masucline.">> <<set $eball = "white suit with a big gold bow">> <<goto "castle">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A gold robe that is tied by a big white bow on the waist which also has small bows on the sides; often seen as neutral which stops at the knee. ">> <<set $eball = "gold robe tied by a big white bow">> <<goto "castle">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A puffy white dress that is quite plain aside from a small bow on the chest but barely goes past the knees ; often seen as feminine.">> <<set $eball = "puffy white dress with a small bow">> <<goto "castle">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A dark blue sailor shirt that has a bow around the neck and white shorts the go past the knee; often seen as masucline">> <<set $eball = "dark blue sailor shirt with white shorts">> <<goto "castle">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "A light blue robe that is tied with a gold ribbon that is long but shows the shoes; often seen as netural.">> <<set $eball = "light blue robe tied by a gold ribbon">> <<goto "castle">> <</link>>

You’ve chosen your outfit for the upcoming ball. It’s a $eball, and you love it—it looks really pretty. Mother always chose your clothes before, and you never had the chance to wear what you truly wanted. The woman holds as you hand her the letter, she takes some gold and smiles. She hands you the bag that holds your $eball. Ignoring $guard, you step ahead toward the carriage. You hear hurried footsteps behind you. Someone is calling your name; you ignore the voice, but you’re too wrapped up in your joy to pay attention. You can feel your feet hitting the ground as you have a little skip in your walk. You feel a hand on your shoulder, you wince by the strength and turn around. $guard lets out an exhale and looks at you. “Are you hungry? While we are here, you can enjoy some food here or we can try to make it for dinner at the castle.” Dinner? You pause. Was it almost over by now, back at the estate? How long had you been out? <hr> ➞ [[Try to make it back at the castle for dinner.|dinner missed]] ➞ [[Eat at the Fiorise’s bakery.|meetingsally]] ➞ [[Eat at one of the food stalls.|excusedcrime]] ➞ [[Eat at the tiny shop that says “Mrs and Mr Eaters”.|oldillcouple]]

You want to go back to the castle, $guard nods at you and starts to help you into the carriage; the hold on your wrist hurts, how strong is $guard. <<if $guard == "Allis">> You know how strong Allis is. He hadn’t even used his full strength on you… The thought makes you wince and shudder. A wave of cold runs down your spine. You can feel your skin go bumpy at just the mere thought of it. You do not want to find out what he could've done you in that bedroom. //He could have killed you, just with a snap of your neck but he wanted something else from you.// You don’t want to know what that something is. <<elseif $guard == "Romance">> She’s a woman, so maybe she’s weaker—but she’s also a guard. There’s muscle on her arms, and she looks bigger than most women you’ve seen. Maybe she really is strong. She is a knight so she is probably stronger than you, it makes you kind of nervous. Her hand is quite bigger than yours, you shiver when you think that she could easily won a fight against you if she dared to hurt you. //Who do you think will win? A man or a woman?// You don’t answer the voice. <<elseif $guard == "Albert">> You don’t know Albert that well, but he looks scrawnier than the other knights in the castle. Still, his grip on your wrist is firm—stronger than you expected. He is stronger than you. You're quite surprised, he doesn't seem the type to be firm just by how he acted around you. Again, he is a knight. He doesn't seem evil, weirdly. You feel safe around him. He could save you from Allis or that man, Leif! //He couldn’t even save himself or your mother from his own greed.// You pause. You wonder what the voice means by that.. <</if>> The carriage ride takes shorter when you are coming to the village. It felt long before—but now? It’s already almost over. That’s strange. Everything feels strange. Your legs softly kick and move, you continue to look at the bag, ignoring $guard. [[You finally get back|1castle]]

There was a small shop nearby called ‘Mrs and Mr Eaters.’ You start searching for it, eyes scanning the street. You hear a bell ring, someone just walked in the shop. “Are you sure?” $guard asks quietly. You nod firmly. Of course, that's why you're pointing there. “Alright… Let’s go,” $guard says. You approach the door and $guard pushes it open. You see two elderly people, you wonder why they're still working. As you step inside, you almost stumble, but $guard’s steady hands catch you just in time. You take a closer look at the elderly people behind the counter. Two elderly people tend the shop, their faces kind but weathered. You instinctively move closer to $guard, feeling safer in the unfamiliar space. <<if $guard == "Allis">> Allis scans the restaurant, his eyes shifting around the room with sharp focus. You can tell he knows this place — Mrs and Mr Eaters. They once tried to kill Lady Qwen. He feels dirty just being in this area, gross and damned people. You notice his stares, it feels like he wants to kill the old couple. You hope that he tries not to do anything to them; they seem like a sweet old couple. He’ll keep an eye on them the whole time — just in case they try something. <<elseif $guard == "Romance">> Romance glances around the shop. Her eyes soften when she sees the couple — she knows them. They once helped her sister when she was hungry. She's grateful to them. Her eyes are soft but then it changes once she soon realizes that this is the couple who tried to poison Lady Qwen. You notice her stare at the old couple; you’r confused because why do she look at the old couple in that way. You cough and rub your eyes. Maybe you imagined it. <<elseif $guard == "Albert">> Albert looks at the old couple. He remembers them — they used to bring soup when he ordered food for Bellamy.. It was her favorite.. He smiles at the thought, she used to smile and blush. She used to eat it, she shared some with $name. But he also knows who they are. They’re the same couple who once tried to poison Lady Qwen. Qwen was… an evil woman. She deserved it. But he’ll never say that aloud. Brutus might have his head for that comment. You notice his looks at the elderly couple; his eyes are soft towards them but his eyes changed. Not with anger, exactly — and not toward them.You’re wondering why he is acting like that. <</if>> You go closer to the old couple but when they notice you, their eyes widen. “Sorry but we are closed.” You tilt your head. “What?” Your mouth opens to let out a word. “We’re closed,” they repeat — firmer this time. But the sign says open. And there are still people inside. You can hear them talking, eating. “What are you talking about?” $guard talks. “We’re closed, leave.” You try to speak, you feel angry. You open your mouth to argue — you feel something twist in your chest. Why are they lying? Why are they being like this? “Let’s just go back to the castle.” $guard says. You notice how $guard's jaw clenches. [[You feel angry as you leave but it’s the best choice, currently|1castle]]

You look around and see food stalls, $guard seems to notice. “You want to go there?” they ask. $guard's voice sounds weird. You wonder why. Is it a bad area? “Yeah, why? Is it bad?” $guard gives you a funny look, like you said something so weird! You glare at $guard, you want answers not looks! “Yeah, there is something wrong. There’s gross people there.” You just blink when $guard says that. “Gross people?” You ask. You’re confused. How many people are gross there and why are they gross? “Poor people. The homeless. The sick. The damned.” $guard's voice sounds like its waving with disgust and it just sounds horrible. Damned? You ignore $guard’s comment about it, you continue to walk, $guard groans and walks behind you. You hear talking then screaming; yelling. You stop when a boy suddenly runs toward you. His smile is huge. He looks behind him like he’s being chased. $guard growls in anger. You see the boy look forward and he has to stop; you can see his violet eyes more better. His eyes look like the pictures of space that you seen in a book once. “Whoa! A guard? Are you fucking with me?” he hisses, biting his bottom lip. His hair is pale blue, like the sky. $guard steps in front of you. <<if $guard == "Allis">> He steps forwards, his eyes narrowing with anger and disgust. You can feel how angry he is--how his rage rolls off him like heat. Your stomach twists. Should you help the boy? If you do, he—Allis—might hurt you. Or worse. You notice how the boy shivers. You freeze in your spot. <<elseif $guard == "Romance">> She stands in front of you, hands outstretched protectively, eyes narrowed. A low growl slips from her throat — she’s angry, clearly, and tense with frustration. You feel nervous, she didn't seem this annoyed before. You see how her eyes also move, underneath the anger seems to be a sense of worriment. Her gaze flicks to the boy, and you wonder just how far her anger might go. You see her eyes soften but they narrow once she notices you staring at her. Her hands clench. You wonder how far her anger can go. She’s still a guard, after all. And guards can be strong. Strong enough to hurt. <<elseif $guard == "Albert">> Albert’s gaze flicks ahead at the boy, but then shifts back to you. His eyes soften when they meet yours, but harden again as they land on the boy. He seems to be watching after the boy, carefully. You wonder why his eyes soften, why does he do that? Albert may not be strong-looking as the others but he is still a guard; he is a guard for a reason so he has to be more stronger than you and the boy. His hand clenches tightly, not from anger at the boy, but from nervousness — or perhaps something deeper. <</if>> The boy smiles and dodges $guard, he bumps into you as you feel his hands on your back, he pushes you back up. You let out a yelp as $guard tries to run after the boy but stops and looks at you. “Let’s head back..” [[It might be a good choice to head back|1castle]]

“No, it’s fine. I want to eat there!” You feel happy for some reason. You're not sure why, but you don’t want the feeling to go away. You really don't want this feeling to go away. Not from you. You want to feel happy. “Fiorise’s bakery?” You nod when $guard asks. $guard leads the way. There’s already a line outside. Two workers inside smile as they chat with customers. Four children move between tables with trays of treats and drinks. Although, you don’t see the boy that you saw before. He doesn’t seem to be here though you continue to look for him. “You should hurry and order what you want.. This might be a problem.” $guard says to you. You nod and look at a sign that shows what to get. As you continue to walk forward, then you feel it: stares. All around you. You feel small. $guard tenses behind you. You can tell—$guard doesn’t like the stares either. “Mama is this the one that man wanted?” You gasp once you hear the voice, you look up and see the boy. The voice was so different from other people;his voice sounds wonderful. He seems to be talking to his mother. He is holding a plate full of chocolate cake with a piece of bread on the side. “Uhm, sorry. Can you move aside?” he says. You blink, realizing you're standing in the way. There’s a long line behind you. $guard grabs you by the shoulders and moves you out of the way. “Thank you!” The boy smiles, he slips by you and $guard. You watch as he leaves. His hair seems so clean and he smelled good. Really good. You want to follow after him but you stop when you feel a hand on your shoulder. "What do you want, $boy?" A soft womanly voice enters your head. You glance back at the boy. You stare at him. Hes pretty. “I want....” you soon trail on your words.. "Take your time, sweet $boy." She says and smiles, looking around as her fingers tap on the tavle. "OH, Sally please don't do that!" She says when Sally seems to be in his mind while pouring water into a cup. You continue to stare. Sally looks up, confused. “What?” Sally looks at the mess and gasps, he looks around and catches your eye. Though maybe you took to long or $guard had enough of this because $guard grabs your wrist. “Let’s just head back..” $guard hisses, keeping you moving towards the carriage. [[You feel confused, what just happened?|1castle]]

The ride back feels short. With $guard's help, you step down from the carriage. He still holds the bag for you. Lady Betsy said to meet her in her chambers once you were done. Your feet ache — you’ve never walked that much before. They feel swollen, tender, like each step is a sting. “I will depart from you once we reach your bedroom and remember to meet Lady Betsy.” $guard says to you. You just blink. Why would mother hide this much fun from you? Why couldn’t she be the one doing this with you? Why did she hurt you? Why did she hide you? Your eyes begin to water; everything is so confusing... Everything feels unfair. You sniff. You stare at the floor, hoping it’ll stop. //Your mother is a scared woman.// Mother. Mother. MOther. MOther. MOTher. MOTHEr. [[MOTHER.|almostdone]]

Mother. Mother. Why is she always in your head? //Bellamy.// Bellamy. Are mother and Bellamy different people? Is Bellamy more nicer than mother? Does mother show Bellamy to other people but not you. Is there a difference between mother and Bellamy. <<if $guard == "Allis">> “Are you going to move? Hurry the fuck up, kid. I need to go.” You blink at his harsh words. Why does he seem so mean right now? He seemed calm before. Your body shudders due to fear. “Get your ass in before I fucking hurt you.” You feel his hand shove your back, and you let out a small yelp. Your feet scramble beneath you, nearly tangling together as you hurry inside. The door slams loudly behind you. You see your bag on the floor, you smile a bit. <<elseif $guard == "Romance">> “We’re here, you must get in, Heir $name.” You blink once you hear her talking to you. You’re at the door. Your door. Your bedroom. “Oh… Sorry,” you whisper. You didn't even notice. Poor you. She nods, watching as you step inside. “I’ll leave your bag on the floor. I have to get going now,” she says, shutting the door behind her. She says, shutting the door behind her. You can see your bag on the floor. <<elseif $guard == "Albert">> “Excuse me, but we’re here now, $name…” You blink at the sound of his voice. It feels oddly familiar, like something you’ve heard before—maybe in a dream or memory. You feel like a kid for some reason when you hear his voice--like younger, perhaps a baby? "Oh" You simply say. Before you can reach for the door, he opens it for you. His hand is gentle as he guides you inside. You glance back at him; he places the bag on the floor. His eyes soften when they meet yours—his gaze holds something like guilt. “Have a good rest of the day, $name..” He says, bowing. “Please, take care of yourself..” He mumbles. You look as the door closes behind him; the bag near the door. <</if>> You’re itching to grab the bag and wear what you had chosen—$eball—but you know better than to give in so easily. You stare at it for a moment longer. The urge bubbles up, strong and warm, but you have to resist. You wonder if you should keep it there or move it. Your mouth dries, you want to wear it but you can't.. Not yet. Would someone steal it? <hr> ➞ <<link "Leave the bag near the door.">> <<set $giftspot = "leave">> <<goto "bm">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "Hide it underneath the bed.">> <<set $giftspot = "bedspot">> <<goto "bm">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "Hide it behind the dresser.">> <<set $giftspot = "dress">> <<goto "bm">> <</link>>

<<if $giftspot == "leave">> You should just leave it near your door. Who would come into your room? It should be fine right next to the door… right? Yeah, it should be fine right next to your door right? You walk more towards the door; you can hear the floorboards creaking underneath you. That sound makes you flinch, but you keep going. You tell yourself it’s fine. You should just go ahead to Lady Betsy’s room. A soft, lingering fear. A sense of being lost. A warning deep inside you, telling you something bad is about to happen. But you keep walking anyway. <<elseif $giftspot == "dress">> You decide to hide it, just in case someone tries to come into your room again. You pick up the bag that holds your outfit for tomorrow. Walking over to your dresser, you grunt softly, trying to place it down. The surface feels too far away, and the bag slips from your fingers and falls. You don't know why you feel nervous. Your stomach hurts. It started to hurt when you were trying to look over the dresser. Why does the corner have to be so sharp? No one should find it, right? You hope so. <<elseif $giftspot == "bedspot">> Underneath your bed should be a great spot right? It should be. Who checks underneath beds? You pick up the bag and smile a little. You walk over to your bed and kneel down. Carefully, you push the bag underneath—the space is dark and low, so no one should be checking here, right? You hope that none checks, it would be disappointing if someone did. Your knees hurt; you wince a bit when you get up. There's a slight pain in your lower back. Why does your knees have to be so sensitive? <</if>> You should head to Lady Betsy’s room now, she must be waiting for you. [[You’re scared for tomorrow, you don’t know why.]]

Why do you feel so nervous? Be brave. She isn’t like your mother. You keep telling yourself this. Her door stands before you. You raise your hand and knock once. Your leg bounces for some reason. “Lady Betsy?” You whisper, you hear shuffling inside. The door opens, she smiles at you. “There you are! Did you eat, $boy?” You blink; that’s right you never had a chance too. “N-No,” you stammer. She frowns. “Really now?” You nod silently. “I thought I told $guard to feed you if you were going to stay longer in the town, that’s a shame.” She begins to look around. “I will bake you a snack, before bed time.” She says. <<if $tempthobby == "baking">> You smile when she mentions baking. Baking! You can help and be useful for that. You smile at it. “I can help you, Lady Betsy!” you say, suddenly realizing you might have been a bit loud. “I like to bake too, and I do it in my free time...” You say softly. You look at her. “Really?” you nod eagerly. She looks at you kindly and smiles. “I love baking even as a child! You can help me another time though, child..” You frown at her words. Why can't you help her? You nod at her words, feeling a little disappointed. It would have been fun to bake with her — something you never did with your mother. <<else>> You smile at her words. Baking? Sweets were always a rare treat — you never had much time or freedom to enjoy them. Mother would get mad whenever you even thought about sweets, or caught you trying to eat one. “Baking is something I loved as a child! I should teach you one day!” She smiles. “Oh! I should also teach Esme! Women love when a man can bake or cook!” She smiles at the thought, nodding her head to her own words. She seems happy. Baking… You think about $tempthobby. Is baking as fun as $tempthobby? Lady Betsy says she loves it — will you love baking when she teaches you? Perhaps. <</if>> “I’ll bring it to you before nightfall,” she assures, clapping her hands and guiding you into her room. She has a huge smile on her face. She seems kind. “How was shopping?” you start to answer, but she interrupts. You blink when she starts to talk. “I sure do hope that you brought something nice for Esme.” She now sounds serious. Her smile is now gone. You gulp. “If you didn’t, it would be a shame..” She says; she has a dark look on her face. You’re not sure how to respond to her now. You notice a slight slur in her words. “For your sake, I hope it’s a nice gift.” Why is she talking like this…? You're not quite sure why but soon enough, you feel nervous. [[Her smile is back on her face.]]

“I can’t wait to you in your nice cute outfit!” It reminds you—did she want to know now? “Do you want me to tell you what I broug-” “Nope! I want it to be a nice surprise, sweetie!” You blink, she gets up and looks out the window. Her movements seem slow, her face is flushed, she seems different. [[“Brutus... he is a strange man, you know.” You look at her face.|NEXT!!]]

You look at her, and she shakes her head. “I’m sorry... I had a few drinks before you came to see me...” She stops speaking. She answers your question without you needing to ask her. “You shouldn’t be hearing this. No one should hear about my sins...” You see a tear roll down her cheek; she hastily wipes it away. “You’re a nice sweet child, I am envious of you and Esme…” She shakes her head. “I am disgusting, Brutus is now ignoring me.. He’s been sleeping with a other woman, a maid. I am so fucked up.” She says. “Divine, what is wrong with me...?” She lets out a shaky sigh, her voice trembling. “You should head back to your room. I’ll bring you the baked treats soon.” She looks at you, then toward the door. She shakes her head. Your feet move as you go towards the door. [[Emotions are weird..]]

You feel cold despite being inside the building. Why was Lady Betsy acting like that? You stop at your door, your hands resting on the doorknob, when you hear noises—something being moved around inside. You freeze. You hear something inside. Feeling anxiousness hits you, you feel ill. You open the door cautiously. A silhouette stands in the room—a woman. She holds some clothes—it’s your $eball outfit! Your room is in disarray; your dresser and bed have been moved. You have no doubt who this woman is. You have no thought on who the woman is. “It’s you..” You stiffen; she is looking at you. You realize that your clothes were in her hands and she was sniffing it. “Wha-” “Bellamy, her $Title.” You swallow, who was this woman? “I knew it was you, you had the same smell as her, the same fate.” “What are you talking about?” The female turns her entire body to you, your clothes are still in her hold. The bag is on the ground—it’s broken, ripped—while you continue to look, you hear footsteps behind you. “Lady Qwen!” You look behind, it’s a servant. He ignores you and goes towards the woman, her name being Qwen. “Hahaha... Let’s get you back to your room, Lady Qwen,” the servant says. The woman keeps her gaze fixed on you but does not move. The servant gently grabs her arm, but she remains still. After a moment, he begins to pull her away—gently but firmly. You're confused. What is happening, right now? “i’m so sorry! Lady Qwen had too much to drink…” The servant bows; he looks embarrassed. The woman is still looking at you. [[What is happening today..?]]

𓁿 “Lady Qwen…” His voice is soft, his head is turning towards the woman. She doesn’t speak but her head is still towards the room of Bellamy’s $Title. He was wondering where she went; she was talking about Lady Bellamy before she disappeared. Being in that woman’s room was scary, Allis was usually there but he wasn’t… He probably wouldn’t be there during night-time, probably asleep or praying at the temple. “That child is the key to what is coming next..” She whispers. The servant just lets out a soft chuckle. “Heh... You kind of sound like Lady Mey’low. She talks about the Goddess Virgin.” The servant chuckles, he smiles at the thought. The servant’s words trail off as he notices Lady Qwen staring at him. The servant feels nervous and sweats. “I do not worship that god." The servant frowns, confused. Goddess Virgin is said to reveal fates and the future—that’s what Qwen’s been talking about. “You don’t?” he asks. “She is a sin, gave birth to one. Though many people have given birth to sins.” He stays quiet, not really sure what to say now. “So… Why’re you talking about that $boy’s fate?” She exhales slowly. “I do not worship the Goddess Virgin, but she has been speaking to me—or giving me signs...” she says. The servant feels confused. “She says….[[That child will be the death of us..”]]

<<fadein 2s>><span class="fade-in"> The third weekday of the week, today is Esme’s birthday. </span><</fadein>> <<timed 4s t8n>><span class="game-start-timed"> [[The day of the attack, the day of blood and ruins.|End of Demo]] </span><</timed>>

You hear the door open. You try to lift yourself, but your body is too heavy. It hurts, so you lie back down. You hear movement. It's the maids. You look up and see someone ordering people around, her accent is heard again. It’s that old woman once again. She had a small smile on her face but it’s quickly gone; when she noticed you looking at her. They walk around you can see them moving around, the sound of the water turns on. You glance toward the door—part of you was expecting Lady Betsy again. She just seems like the type to come in your room and order you around. You get up when you see a maid motion to come over. You stand still as they undress you. Your sleep wear coming off as you place your toes then feet into the water, soon it’s your whole body except your head. You move around trying to get comfortable, your head faces forward. You feel warmth. The water is warm. Perfect. You feel happy. You see the old maid once more, she is standing near the tub. "Heir $name," the maid says with a bow. Her voice is calm and rehearsed. "Lady Betsy requests that you study in the library after breakfast, and join her in her chambers afterward." The same maid says, still bowing before she lifts up her head and gets up. She makes her way back to standing still in a line with other maids. [[It’s time to dress up, now.]]

You look around until the big doors open. Lady Betsy enters, followed by Esme, Jasmine’s younger sister—Brandy—who holds the hands of her son and daughter. There are four other women in the room. You realize that they’re the wives of Brutus. You can see fathe-no, Brutus and this time there are no other women around him. <<if $truebrutus>> You stare at the man, you know what he promised, a disturbing promise. Your stomach turns. His voice echoes in your memory—the promise he made, the way he said it like it was nothing at all. How can he say that about you? He continues to eat as if he didn’t promise you to Allis. <<else>> You stare at him, you have a bad feeling but you can’t explain why, you have that feeling. He continues to eat, unaware of the storm happening to you. You just feel wrong. <</if>> You go sit next to Lady Betsy. You notice Brandy whispering to her children. How Brandy smooths her daughter’s hair as she walks, her expression tight. [[She looks at you and smiles.]]

You peek your head inside the library. You’ve been in here before. You stop and see a woman. That must be Mrs July. She's the librarian, you never noticed her. Hurry and sit, over here $boy." She says. How did she notice you? You notice that she has books on the table. "Betsy has told me about you. You finally taking lessons huh, $boy?" You stand there before she sits down at the table. She points to the chair across her. “We’ll be working on English.” You blink. You already know how to speak it. "Writing and reading, child." She says, noticing your confused look. You just nod. “Get ready,” she adds, placing a blank sheet of paper in front of you. “Let’s test what you know.” You gulp. //note, write them only in lower-cases and I have given hints// <hr> Question 1 "How do you spell the newborn term for a cat?": <<textbox "$q1" "">> //hint: the term for a baby cat.// Question 2 "How do you spell the name of the baldassare king?" : <<textbox "$q2" "">> //hint : The baldassare king is your father, how do you spell his name?// Question 3 "Spell the word that means ; of, based on, or concerned with the law." : <<textbox "$q3" "">> //hint : if you don't know, look up the meaning and find the word for it.// Question 4 "Spell the word that means newborn of a dog": <<textbox "$q4" "">> //hint : the term for a baby dog.// Question 5 "Spell a word that means castle" : <<textbox "$q5" "">> //hint : What is another word for castle?// Question 6 "What is the name of the most spoken and famous deity?" : <<textbox "$q6" "">> //hint : It is mentioned a lot and in the codex of gods, godesses, and deiites.// Question 7 "Write a sentence about you liking dogs with no period at the end": <<textbox "$q7" "">> //hint : this is simple and just three words remember no periods at the end. Use I instead of you.// Question 8 "Write a short sentence about you introducing yourself with my name.": <<textbox "$q8" "">> //hint : This is a three word sentence and it is pretty simple again no periods just a simple introduction with the words "my name" and blank with one word after that.// Question 9 "Write down the word that means : a marriage ceremony, especially considered as including the associated celebrations." : <<textbox "$q9" "">> //hint : a word the means this which is pretty easy to find out but if you cant, use google and search up the word that means that.// Question 10 "Write the name of this game." : <<textbox "$q10" "">> //hint : what is my game called, huh? Yeah, lets see if you remember. DONT look at the sidebar, also there's spaces in there and also remember in lowercase.// You're done the short test, you smile but you can't help but feel nervous at the same time. What happens if you make Mrs July mad or or.. You're not sure enough to please her. [[Submit Answers.|Checkqnswers]] ↺ <<button "The answers; click this if you want the answers.">> <<script>> Dialog.setup("The test answers"); Dialog.wiki(Story.get("ans").processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</button>> [[Or you don't want to this test? If you want to try it without skipping or using the answer key, please try it but if you don't want to then press this.|testv]]

You feel nervous when she hands you the paper back. <<silently>> <<set _ok = true>> <<if $q1.toLowerCase() != "kitten">><<set _ok = false>><</if>> <<if $q2.toLowerCase() != "brutus">><<set _ok = false>><</if>> <<if $q3.toLowerCase() != "legal">><<set _ok = false>><</if>> <<if $q4.toLowerCase() != "puppy">><<set _ok = false>><</if>> <<if $q5.toLowerCase() != "palace">><<set _ok = false>><</if>> <<if $q6.toLowerCase() != "wraith">><<set _ok = false>><</if>> <<if $q7.toLowerCase() != "i like dogs">><<set _ok = false>><</if>> <<if $q8.toLowerCase() != "my name is">><<set _ok = false>><</if>> <<if $q9.toLowerCase() != "wedding">><<set _ok = false>><</if>> <<if $q10.toLowerCase() != "woes of their wretched">><<set _ok = false>><</if>> <</silently>> A sense of uneasy bubbles inside of you. You look nervously down at the grade which she gave you. <<if _ok>> You feel a smile grow on your face. Wow! Mrs July seems happy, you notice words on the side which says; "Great work, kid." You feel yourself grow happy. You find yourself smiling hard with a sense of warmth on your face. <<cycle "$testfael" autoselect>> <<option "You feel happy, you really did it! Mrs July seems proud of you and it makes you feel proud as well.">> <<option "You feel sad, Mrs July seems really proud of you and none except Jasmine really did pay attention to you.">> <<option "You think about mother. If you did this good; would mother be this proud of you?">> <</cycle>> She smiles and pats your head. [[Continue with a smile on your face.|testv]] <<else>> You frown when you see low numbers, she shakes her head slighty. "it's fine, your mother never did seem to let you know properly." Mrs July says. She looks sad. [[Try Again|library0.1]] <</if>>

"Great job," she says. She grabs your paper and looks over it, her head nodding as she reads it once more. "I'm quite surprised, since your mother taught you—but you did great. You should be proud," she says. <<if $testfael == "You feel happy, you really did it! Mrs July seems proud of you and it makes you feel proud as well.">> You do feel proud! You did it—you even managed to make Mrs. July proud! You smile; it reaches your eyes—it feels real. <<elseif $testfael == "You feel sad, Mrs July seems really proud of you and none except Jasmine really did pay attention to you.">> You blink. You should feel proud—Mrs. July certainly is—but no one except Jasmine ever seemed to care before. You smile slightly, but it doesn’t quite reach your eyes. <<elseif $testfael == "You think about mother. If you did this good; would mother be this proud of you?">> You look at her. She’s proud of you. You wonder if Mother would’ve been as proud as Mrs. July. Your eyes trail down, but you glance back up at her. Your lips lift in a smile, but something in your chest feels tight. It doesn’t reach your eyes. <</if>> “This next lesson will be about history,” she says. History? The air feels like it’s getting warmer. You only notice once you feel sweat gathering on your forehead. For some reason, the heat in the room feels slow and suffocating. [[You hope it doesn’t get hot during your lesson about history.|library]]

You turn around to face Mrs July. She does not wear a smile but instead a frown. She seems to be thinking about something. “You are needed in an hour at Betsy’s chambers, then she will tell you what’s going on for the rest of the day.” Your head goes up and down, in an hour. What should you do for now. "You could perhaps spend time in your room for the meanwhile, do not be late, heir $name." She says before she bows and leaves you to be alone. You think about your hobby, you smile as you remember it. <hr> ➞ <<link "You like to sew, it was a fun thing to do.">> <<set $tempthobby= "sewing">> <<goto "hobby">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "You like to bake things when you could.">> <<set $tempthobby= "baking">> <<goto "hobby">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "You like to paint, it was relaxing to do.">> <<set $tempthobby= "painting">> <<goto "hobby">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "You like to sing whenever you could.">> <<set $tempthobby= "singing">> <<goto "hobby">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "You like to write when you can.">> <<set $tempthobby= "writing">> <<goto "hobby">> <</link>> ➞ <<link "You like to dance when you could.">> <<set $tempthobby= "dancing">> <<goto "hobby">> <</link>>

She tilts her head at you with a soft smile on her face. <<if $acea == "Tell me again.">> She moves her head back straight up, just looks at you and shakes her head. “Okay, listen up $boy!” You nod. “Firstly, no red or gold. It will just be for Esme, me and my husband.” You nod. “Second—no skirts or shorts above the knees. Nobles will be there. Manners.” You nod again. “No big bows on the outfits.” She quickly adds. You nod. “Did you finally get it?” She says. “Yes…” You answer with a nod. “Good, good.” She smiles. <<link "I think that I finally got it.">> <<set $acea = "Yes, I got it!">> <<goto "You say as you speak to Lady Betsy.">> <</link>> <<elseif $acea == "Yes, I got it!">> “Okay, good!” She says, her hands on your shoulder. "Great! I'm glad that I didn't have to explain to you!" She says, she claps her hand before looking down at the ground. She softly hums. [[She fixes her hair with her long, perfect nails.|aguard]] <</if>>

“I need this to be perfect, I don’t care if get hurt but you need to be there.” You raise an eyebrow, what does she mean by that. “What?” “Nothing!” She smiles, shaking her head. “We’re going shopping but you need to go buy a gift.” She says, she then says seriously. “Uhm, with you or..?” You say, she shakes her head. “I am quite busy with getting all the decorations and making sure that everyone stays on line.” She pauses. “I will make sure that you’ll have a guard with you.” “Who..?” You feel scared to ask. “You can pick, I know that three guards are free right now.” You hope one of them isn’t Allis…. “There’s Romance, Albert, and Allis.” <<if $name == "Allis">> This makes you icky once more, why did you have to have the same name as a monster; it makes you feel gross! <<elseif $name == "Romance">> She has the same name as you! You never heard of anyone or in books have the same name as you; this makes you smile but it soon falters. What if she was the same as Allis?" <<elseif $name == "Albert">> He has the same name as you, you feel like you heard the name Albert before; not your name but the other Albert. You feel weird, you're not sure why since it's a name that you share with. <</if>> You notice that Lady Betsy is still staring at you, your chest feels heavy. You're going to take <<listbox "$guard">> <<option "Romance">> <<option "Albert">> <<option "Allis">> <</listbox>> the knight. [[You have picked a guard to come accompany you for shopping.|gifts]]

𓁿 "I am sorry, Bell." She whispers. Bellamy turns her head to look at Jasmine. "I had always thought that I could help you in some way." She says softly. "I am so silly for even thinking about that." Jasmine though with Bellamy, she can't help but feel alone. Jasmine shakes her head, lips trembling. She stares at the ring on her finger — it feels heavier tonight. “You shouldn’t say that. You have a good husband.” She hears Bellamy respond. Jasmine turns her head to look into the eyes of her lover. "I...I don't love him, you know that! I love you!" She says, her voice cracking. Tears forms at her eyes. Bellamy smiles. "Its a waste to love me, I am...I am not kind nor loveable." Bellamy looks up at her celling. "That child." She pauses. Jasmine tries to speak but closes her mouth. "I...I feel like something bad is going to happen to them, Jas. I know it. That child only brings nightmares and horrors." Jasmine looks down. "Bellamy, they're aren't cursed. They aren't wretched." "Sure.... They aren't." She whispers. Jasmine gets up and smiles. Hugging her lover. Her true love, though is Jasmine really Bellamy's true love, or does Jasmine just want to believe that she is..? Bellamy hugs her back, resting her chin on her shoulder. "I..." Jasmine sniffs. "I love you, Bellamy. I love you so much." She pauses. "I need you, I love you. Please, don't leave me." She whispers. Bellamy presses a soft kiss to Jasmine’s neck. “We’ll meet again,” she murmurs. “Go now… I’ll write to you in a few days.” Jasmine nods, though her chest aches. "Okay..." [[Jasmine walks away, leaving Bellamy alone with her thoughts.]]

Bellamy hands out a letter to the mirror, trying to pratice how to speak. "Please send this out." Though her voice turns cracking, he knows that Allis will be there. Inspecting the letter. She looks at herself, just coughing every so slightly. "Send this out." Her voice firm. She tells herself to be hard. She will need to be an asshole. She grabs the letter closer to her body and she grabs her coat, its cold. She feels cold. She begins to walk, looking down at the floor, she walks until she stops. The door. A chain. She hears nothing, she turns her head and continues to walk away from the chained door. He’s already there by the entrance. "Send this out." He turns to look at her. She shakes slightly as her legs tremble, she needs to ignore it. Focus. "I said, send this out." She stares at him, her eyes cold. He just scoffs and takes it. He looks at it and turns to the side, showing the other gaurd. He looks and shrugs. Bellamy makes her fingers clench, a fist. "Sure." He rolls her eyes and she does the same and turns away, but she stops and slolwy turns around. Hearing a rip, she sees him ripping the paper, some gold coins, a feather and a ring fall onto the floor. He smirks and picks it up, the ring. He puts it in his pocket. "You fucking bastard!" She yells, the servants stop and stare, she stomps her foot and tries to go near him. “What are you going to do?” he asks. Her chest tightens; she knows the consequences—pain, worse—if she pushes. She swallows the next word. She stops and shakes her head. Though, the words leave her mouth. "You fucking theif." She spits and leaves. Thiefs. The whole lot of them. [[Thieves are disgusting beings, their hands filthy with dirt, avarice, and justification for their despicable crimes against the law.|Prologue 01]]

"Come in.." You say in a raspy voice. The person doesn't seem to hear, you close your eyes. Your eyes hurt but you knock on the wall, they seem to get it and open the door. You groan, your throat hurts. You whine once you feel a sharp pain on your back. You can hear footsteps. You look around once more, you see a woman–you can see her ash-blonde hair in front of you. She has a smile on her face and then it makes you shudder as you close your eyelids. “My dear child…" "Wake up.” It's a voice--it sounds feminine and caring, the opposite of your mother's. Your eyes move around as you feel your small hands curling into a ball. You see her, it's a woman, but it's not your mother. It’s someone else's mother, not yours. She has red eyes--though it's more of a ruby color. You remember seeing a ruby in a book that your mother left on her bed. It was about gems; you never seen gems before but the names are pretty. Her eyes are staring into yours, it's creepy. She’s like an owl, staring deep at yours, never blinking. “Wha–?” You try to speak. She shushes you, her index finger–it’s different from your mother's. Instead of it being bony and cold, it looks clean, perfect, everything that your mother wasn’t--is now nearly on your lips but just slightly hovering above it. Her finger feel smooth, surprisingly. “It’s fine, shh… everything is fine,” She says. Her voice is soft. It’s Lady Betsy. A woman that your father has been seeing, getting your mother out of the picture. <<if $name == "Betsy">> You share the same name as her; she never did seem to mind but would be happy that you shared the same name as her; it seemed like so. <</if>> She had a child with her father. His name is Esme. Your father had said he is your brother. You did not understand that well; the term "half-brother". Lady Betsy explained that he is your half-brother; it comes from your father but he is from a different mother but he is still your brother. Your mother never wanted another child, saying that she hates children and the birth of them. She hates how children take all her freedom away. You would often stay silent when she was talking to herself. ‘I do not want another wretched child, let alone one’ she once said. Why would she have you, if she did not want a child? Your mother is a weird woman. You close your eyes but when you do, you're met with a ugly sight, that same disfigured woman. You shiver when you remember the dream-no nightmare you had just now. Your mother is still alive, right? She has to be. Who else will be your mother? Your eyes travel up to Lady Betsy. You don’t want her as your mother. She stole father away from your mother. It's her fault, mother is gone. It has to be right? “It’s time for breakfast..” Her voice is weirdly soft and caring. Why does she sound like that? You slowly get up as your hands stay still beside you as you look at her. She has well-kept and clean hair, unlike your mother. “Come on, darling.” She smiles. At you. She smiles at you. You. Only you. "Are you feeling alright, darling?" She asks in a soft tone. Why does she call you 'darling'? You're not her darling. You aren't anyone's darling except your mother’s. If she considered herself as your mother, you do. Why can't she? Her hands are out towards you. Her soft and smooth gentle hands, why is she holding out to you? Why does she want you? Her arms being held out, reminds you of something. Something that your mother would only do when she was done with your punishment, holding out to you as she comforted you, singing you sweet words but would stop a few minutes later. She never did like comforting you. She would do it just to keep you quiet. That's what she said to you. She would be a confusing woman because the next minute or second, she is treating you roughly like you were just a mindless toy. She would harshly grab your face, calling you weak, fragile and childish, something that isn’t needed in this world you live in. She would give you a smack or two, to correct you after she comforted you. [[You remember her hurtful actions towards you.]]

You don't talk, you don't want too. They knock once more but you hear a loud sigh and huff. No more noises are heard, You lay back down. You close your eyes and think. You hated that nightmare. When you open your eyes, the room feels colder. You feel cold. You slowly get up and touch the floor, you walk to your window. Its locked, you stare at it. Your hands grasp at it, you feel weird. You cough. Turning away, you slide down until you’re sitting on the ground. Your gaze drifts to the door. You don’t want to leave. You don’t want to leave. You feel like that for some reason. You don't want to leave. Your face is against the boards. Your body hurts. You cough. Your throat still hurts. [[Time passes before you can even realize.]]

Soon enough, someone else knocks on the door. You look up at the door. A small yet shaky voice speaks. “Uhm… hello? I have food… for you…” Someone says. You pause and look around. You don't answer, you don't want to. Your head sinks unto the floor. The voice fades, and the footsteps leave. Silence again. You think about everything, is it all your fault? Is that why your mother hates you? Your legs curl close to your chest. You try to think about how cold you are. How? The room hardly feels cold here. The floor feels cold, you feel cold. No windows are open. You close your eyes and think, what could be the problem. Are you thr problem once more? You lay down, why dies everything have to be caused by you. You press your fingers together, you began to $calm. But your hands tremble, and soon your nails dig into your skin instead. You take big breaths. Mother’s voice echoes—those same words she always used. It’s always your fault. You’re the problem. Maybe, she is right. It is always your fault. Though, you do question something. why can’t it be someone else’s fault? You close your eyes. [[Time passes even more, and more... Perhaps even longer.]]

The thing is that none cares about you. Time has passed. No one has knocked. No one has come for you. You’re alone. You’ve always been alone. But mother was there. You weren't so alone. But now you are. Cold. Alone. Your knees go up to your stomach, you sniff, your nose feels cold and stuffy. You look around though you see nothing. Its just you. Your body is smaller, skinny. The voice. You could hardly hear it but when you do. Only laughter. That’s all it ever is. Deafening laughter. You cough. //“What’s wrong?”// You ignore the voice, you just shake your head. "Leave me alone..." You mutter. //"Hahaaha.."// You hear, you shake your head. "No, no, no.... Please...Please." You sniff. Your eyes hurt, Your eyes sting. The laughter throbs inside your skull, matching your heartbeat. //"None loves you."// The voice says. You almost agree. //"You're no more fun, you brat."// You ignore them. You just click your tongue, you huff. Ignore it. Just ignore it. You snuggle more into your body. [[Can't time just past by faster? You close your eyes, slumber. You're cold and tired, hungry.]]

The body lies on the floor, the body. The body of a poor---wretched---child, nothing is happening. Then the door opens. The child’s eyes remain closed. The body cold despite the warm area. No windows opened, how could it be. No matter the cause of death. They come and look, they pick up the body. Leaving it out in the open, behind the castle. A pile of forgotten ones. They lay the child on top. Then the flames come. The fire. It eats through the wood, through the flesh, until all that’s left is smoke and ash. <hr> ➞ <<link "Go back to last choice.">> <<goto "you gasp">> <</link>>- ➞ <<link "Restart.">> <<goto "Start">> <</link>>

𓁿 "What are you doing?" A voice rings out, Ceres stops and turns around. He smiles and waves to the smaller boy, Esme. “I’m doing nothing,” Ceres says brightly. “Just about to help my mother pick some flowers down at the garden!” Esme shakes his head, he looks back up and looks away quickly. "You can't." Ceres pauses. "Why not, huh?" Esme bits at his finger, "Father has ordered not to mess around, he recently left something there." Esme says. Ceres pauses then his eyes widen. "Really?!" He gasps. “I didn’t know that! A maid told me and Mother it was fine to grab some flowers. She must’ve been messing with us.” "Esme. What's wrong you." Esme pauses and looks up. "W-What...?" He whispers. Ceres looks at him, not smiling but rather just a look. Ceres looks at him, the smile gone. “Are you dumb? You aren’t. So stop playing dumb.” Esme just stares, eyes wide. “My father says boys who are dumb shouldn’t live,” Ceres says softly. “People might think the same. They might see you as an easy kill. Something easy.” He looks away, voice quieter. “That’s what Father tells me. It’s a scary world, Esme.” Esme just shakes his head. "I will be fine." Ceres just smiles and pats Esme's shoulders. "Sure." [[Continue|0w.4]]

You feel a tap on your shoulder. Someone stares at you. Lady Betsy. "Its time for your lesson, $name." She says and pats your head. "Go on now." You get up. She leads you near the librarby but turns away, "Go on, its open. Get it done, now." Lady Betsy smiles and leaves. [[You should head in now.|library0.1]]

“He says he loves me—all my husbands did. I always depended on them. I did want children with them, but during that time... I only wanted their love for myself. Their love would always give me chills—happy ones.” You don’t say a word. Her words slur. “I—I am not fit to be a mother at all, Esme. My boy." She slurs on her words. "I could’ve had hmm children bbby fow" She slurs on her words, she mutters, you cannot understand her but she looks stand for some reason, she shakes her head. Her head drops for a moment. “Mother-hood is strange. As a child, I wanted to become a mother. I was obsessed with it, my mother never tried to fix me.” What does she mean by this? “My mother would drink after a woman came over to see my father; she got mad and smacked me in the head when I asked questions. I remember drinking it—I was eight...” She stops. “I can’t remember what happened after that. I can’t remember a single thing I did when I drank.” She rubs her eyes. "My mother knew and she often spanked me but she never did stop me, my father knew and he encouraged it." You pause, then you understand. Her drinking something. She looks down at the ground. “I drink, it harms me but it makes me feel safe. When my father died, my mother was mad towards me. She would scream then she would drink; I would also drink." “I would end up in a bed—sometimes mine, sometimes someone else’s—or just on the grass. I would see people, or someone, before I passed out... My body would be in pain.” She says, her words slur once again. Is she drunk? [[“I-I hate myself but I always try to act like I am better than people, I am not. I am a sin, a sin that should burn out and just die.”]]

note. this is the order of the questions. 1. kitten 2. brutus 3. legal 4. puppy 5. palace 6. wraith 7. i like dogs 8. my name is 9. wedding 10. woes of their wretched