Azalea took a deep breath as Mr. James fastened connectors to her forehead and the inside of her wrists, red and blue wires trailing out of them. She set one arm down as he moved the the next one, and studied it with suspicious eyes. "And what are these supposed to do?"

He picked up a small tablet and studied the screen, then ushered her over to a contraption that looked similar to a tanning bed. "Those will send the system's signals to your nervous system, which will in turn communicate to your brain and feed it the simulation." He opened the lid, revealing a padded interior. "Hop in."

She inspected it for a moment, then clambered inside, tucking her hair behind her ears before she settled down. "What is it going to be like in in there?" She asked, brows creased.

Mr. James connected the wires on the inside of the wrists to the pod. "The master wanted something simple to start out with. Something about a meadow?"

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Kai opened her eyes and was immediately blinded. When the white spots from the sun blurred and faded behind her closed eyelids, she sat up and squinted out at her surroundings. Grass, grass as far she could see, tall and waving and tinted gold under the sun.

And... what on earth was she wearing? She lifted one arm and watched the fabric, mesmerized as it glinted scarlet and burgundy, rippling off her skin and trailing into the grass, pooling into the skirt of her dress.

She must have looked like a princess, what with the luxurious garments and, as she touched her fingers to her hair, what must have been a glorious updo. They had been talking about a simulation, so perhaps it was a royalty one?

"Hello?" She cried, rising to stand, the grasses wavering just at her chest. "Is anyone else out there?" Her vision blurred, flashed blue, and there was text scrawling across her sight, filling the air.

Role: Princess Yeona
Plot Line: You are betrothed to a prince whom you despise
Current Quest: Running away from the wedding
Side Goal: find allies

She blinked, and it faded, before reappearing in the corner of her vision, right where it was visible but out of the way. When she closed her eyes, it filled the darkness, still glowing blue and beautiful.

Find allies. Find her friends? Could she call them her friends? Her... unwitting acquaintances? Would they be here too, stuck somewhere in this field of grass that never ended?

"Hello?"

Her voice cracked from the strain of shouting, but she did it, again, and again, and again. Her voice couldn't carry the words higher than a whisper when it dawned on her. Perhaps she was saying the wrong words?

"Your Princess Yeona Coriel requests your help!"

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"I look stupid," Avery whined, crinkling his nose.

Charlie sat next to him in a matching getup, looking just as ridiculous, with his yellow leggings and his dark green tunic and the feathered hat twined with twigs that sat atop his head. "At least it doesn't reveal as much as Corben's. Honestly, who designed these clothes?"

Corben was pacing the clearing, clad in deep red pants and two belts with pouches crossing his torso. He didn't even have a shirt, not that Avery would have offered his own.

"At least he can pull it off," he muttered, hugging his knees.

Charlie snorted, and Corben flinched and spun on his heel, staring at the two other teens. "Have we found anything out yet?" He asked, fingers already reaching for his hair, his perfect, white hair.

Avery shook his head. "No. But I guess we'll let you know if we do, Fero." Avery smothered the amusement that came from using Corben's simulation assigned name, but it suited his character, bringing to mind charming rogues who could sweep you off you feet, all dazzling smiles and little touches and....

He realized he had been staring at Corben, and the older teen was giving him a strange look.

Charlie was snickering.

Corben sighed and tangled his fingers into his hair. "Ok, so what do we know so far?" He stopped his pacing and closed his eyes. "We're supposed to find Princess Yeona, whoever that is. We need to wait for the "last members of our party", but we've been sitting here for over an hour and they still haven't shown!"

He growled those last words and threw up his hands in frustration. "How on earth are we supposed to complete this stupid simulation if the other people don't show up?"

There was a light chuckling floating in the trees, and then Veronica appeared, her once short hair now long and in many braids along her back, her hands gripping a rope as she lowered from the canopy of the forest, a look of nonchalance on her face. "You silly little boys. You act as if all things hinge upon you, and yet, you wait for the most important of us."

Her boots hit the ground, and Avery examined her further. Along with a now haircut, she was wearing torn pants that ended mid calf, in a shade that had once been white but was now patched with unmistakable tones of red and brown. Her sleeves had holes at the elbows, worn too thin over her skin.

She also had like, fifteen gazillion knives strapped to her body. Honestly, Avery wasn't sure how Veronica had somehow become more terrifying, but it had happened.

Corben was undaunted. "How nice of you to show up. Any clues on this Princess we're supposed to find?"

Veronica yanked on the rope and it flew out of the leaves above, coiling at her feet in a sloppy pile. "Not really. Just that she's being pushed into an unwanted marriage, and we have to get her away from the kingdom." She inspected a knife, then wrinkled her nose. "It's also a good time to topple the monarchy, because apparently that's what we need to be doing."

"What we need to be doing," Avery said, casting a suspicious look at his clothing. "Is finding some more inconspicuous clothing. Also, Corben needs a shirt."

Corben frowned at him, but didn't say anything.

Charlie was cracking up again, which earned him an annoyed look from Veronica.

She sheathed her knife again and and started coiling up her rope. "Sure, whatever you say, Avery. Let's just pretend that Corben needing some clothes is on the top of our list and that saving the Princess from an arranged and unwanted marriage isnt really important."

Avery bristled. "Hey now, I've got a fancy new name too! It's-" he hesitated, then crinkled his face into a pout. "It's Sams."

Charlie snorted. "Alright then, Gamgee. And which one of us is Frodo?" When Avery didn't respond, he stretched out, and pointed at Veronica. "We've got weird new names now, what's yours?"

She rolled her eyes. "It's not weird, it's fitting. Keitha means forest, and I have a feeling that our names are not random." She finished coiling the rope and shoved it into her bag, which rippled slightly, then fell flat against her back.

Avery lurched forward. "Woah! Did you see that?" He jumped off of the log where he was perched and padded up to Veronica, poking at the sack hanging across her back. "The rope just disappeared!"

Veronica gave an exasperated sigh. "We're in a video game, Sams, it's going to follow video game logic." She put her hands on her hips. "This is supposed to be an action filled, witty and dangerous adventure. If you guys are going to ruin the atmosphere by being idiots, run along by yourself and watch when happens when you aren't dedicated to the simulation."

Corben opened one of the pouches crossing his chest, and rifled through it, before miraculously pulling out a bow. A quiver of arrows shimmered into existence across his back, the feathers striped black and white. "Seems I'm the long distance route in this group." He gestured at the other teens. "I don't think sticking around here will be much help, especially if we're supposed to help get the Princess out of here."

Veronica pressed her lips into a displeased line. "Watch yourself, Fero. You're not the one in charge in here, no matter how full of yourself you are." She snapped her fingers, startling Charlie and almost making him fall off the log. "You two, pull out your weapons out. I have a feeling that the last our of rebels will be arriving soon, and we need to be ready when they do."

There was barely a breath of space between her words, and the sound of people pushing through the forest. Azalea and Carmen stumbled out into the the clearing, Carmen clearly exhausted, while Azalea looked like she was still on a caffeine high. "Look!" She cried, grabbing Carmen and tugging her forward. "I can't believe we finally found you guys!"

Veronica wasted no time on pleasantries. "Roles. Now."

Carmen was bent over and panting, but she managed the gasp out the words. "I'm-a he-a healer."

Azalea bounced on the balls of her feet. "I'm a warrior for you guys, so I guess I'm just normal?" She scanned the group, eyes catching on Corben's shirt, or perhaps pack thereof. "Uh... is there a reason Corben doesn't have any clothes?"

The older teen growled and started to stalk away. "Find me when it's time to leave, but I'm out of here."

He left the clearing in broken silence, when Avery's voice broke that even further. "So now what?"

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Images and dapples of light blurred in Maylea's vision, but even when she opened her eyes, the images never focused, leaving her muddled and lost until it all faded into darkness. Her head lolled backwards, scraping against what must have been tree bark.

"Help," she croaked, her voice feeble as a speck of dust. Why did everything hurt so much? Where was she? Why couldn't she see anything?

She opened her eyes again, but her vision didn't clear at all. Blue light flickered across her vision, quavering as it scanned over outlines of... trees? It vaguely reminded her of an old computer screen, before it was gone. She was left with only inky darkness, and she could feel shivers of fear crawl down her spine.

The blue light returned, but as words this time, filling up the dark, only disorienting herself further.

Role: Nesta, handmaid to the princess
Plot line: trying to rescue princess from marriage
Current quest: bring her to the oceanside
Side goal: find allies

It flickered, then faded, the blue glow suddenly gone, quick as a shooting star. Why couldn't she see? Was she expected to get through this entire experience completely blind?

She heard the sounds of stomping footsteps crushing through her surroundings, and she stifled the urge to cry out. Maylea knew it was just a simulation, but Mr. James had also said that pain could be felt in this, and that dying was possible. She didn't want to be the first to experience that in this little game.

But wait-that voice-it seemed so familiar... it snapped out a strange sound that could only be a curse word, and all doubt fled out of her. "Corben!" She cried, lurching onto her knees and flailing, hopefully, in the direction of the other teen.

The crunching stopped, then started up, coming closer. "For goodness sake, Maylea! Just get and come over to me."

The growl was not hidden in his voice, and Maylea flinched slightly. She waved one hand out in front of her, fingertips brushing against leaves and sticks, but no Corben. "I can't see," she whispered.

Corben tromped closer. "Maylea! Didn't you hear a thing I said?" He grabbed her wrist and pulled her up to her feet, a bit rougher than needed, then stopped, fingers still wrapped around her wrist. "What on earth are you wearing?"

Maylea lifted her other hand and looked down at where it should have been, not really knowing either. "No clue," she said, still staring into that pitch black dark.

She felt fabric on her arm shift and tighten, and perhaps that was Corben grabbing it? Inspecting it?

"Maylea," he said slowly, letting go of both the fabric and her wrist. "Are you the princess?"

Maylea shook her head and tried to look at him, fixing her unseeing gaze at wherever his voice had been coming from. "I'm her handmaid," she whispered. "Have you seen her?"

There was a sigh, and Maylea could tell that Corben was running his fingers through his hair, like he always did. "Not a clue. What about you? Seen her at all?"

Fear crawled into her chest, making it hard to breathe, but she managed to squeeze the words out. "Corben, I can't see anything."

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Blair paced the length of his room, fiddling with his cuffs. There was also something silver and blue pinned there, were they called cufflinks? Something like that.

The door swung open, and he perked up. "Have you found her?" He asked, hope in his eyes.

Juno panted hard and shook his head, too out of breath to speak. Blair's countenance fell, but only for a moment, before he continued his circling of the room. "She couldn't have gotten too far. It's only been the one night, and she's lived her entire life here in the castle."

Juno took a step forward and closed the heavy carved door behind him, thudding with finality. "Blair, honestly, what are we doing here?" He gestured around the two of them. "We know this isn't right."

"What isn't right? What isn't right!" Blair paused next to a desk and slammed his fist down. "Juno, what isn't right is my bride running away the night before our wedding. What isn't right is that you're doubting me. And-" he paused smoldering. "What isn't right is that you're hiding things from me."

For a moment, there was a crack in the mask, and Blair looked worried, scared even. But the look smoothed over, before creasing into displeasure once again. His actions seemed more strained now, as if they were against his will. "Perhaps you need to relearn things that are right, Juno."

Juno gulped and took a step back, but the door stopped him.

Blair turned on his heel, his thick velvet cape fluttering behind him. "Remember, Juno. I am right, and I will have Princess Yeona as my queen."

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Things are getting wacky and intense here in the simulation! What do you think so far?

The next chapter will have lots of decisions for you, so be prepared to give your input! Until then!