Landlubber

Lila woke up early. She couldn't sleep much that night thinking about what Tyra was going through. She only hoped that the training had been helpful and that she could get through the night as best as she could. There was nothing she could do but wait. Lila planned to meet Tyra in front of the palace early in the morning to make sure she was alright, but she found her eyes open even earlier than she wanted. She looked over to see Daelana still sleeping. Lila knew it was too early to go anywhere, so she blankly stared into space as she waited around.

In the time she was waiting, Daelana eventually woke up. She pulled herself out of bed looking groggy with her black hair messed up. She looked at Lila and saw she was awake.

"What're you doing up?" said Daelana.

"I... I was just thinking of Tyra," said Lila.

"Ah yeah, it's her night up," said Daelana with a hint of sorrow, "Um... you wanna go to her?"

"Well, I was planning that, yes," said Lila.

"Cool," said Daelana, "I'll go with you. I mean... if that's okay."

Lila was slightly apprehensive, but she thought it'd be very rude to outright refuse her.

"Okay," said Lila.

"Alright," said Daelana, "Then what are we waiting for?"

Lila and Daelana got dressed and left together, heading over to the palace. As they arrived, they saw Angelica already there, nervously pacing back and forth before the gates. It seemed like she had trouble sleeping as well. She was staring up at the scoreboard nervously.

Angelica: 6VP

Christina: 51VP

Daelana: 19VP

Tyra: 34VP

Lila: 25VP

Athalia: 21VP

"Angelica?" said Lila.

"Lila!" said Angelica, "You waiting for Tyra too? I was wondering..."

Angelica's mood shifted as she glanced behind Lila and saw Daelana solemnly following behind her. Angelica's face contorted in anger. She boldly walked up to Daelana, standing between her and Lila as she jabbed a finger towards the dark knight.

"You have some gall to show up here!" said Angelica.

"It's fine, Angelica," said Daelana, "Lila chose to come back. I'm not gonna hurt her."

"You think that just erases what you did?" said Angelica, "You think that's something you can walk away from? Honestly, you're just as bad as him!"

Daelana's gaze became angrier and her fist started shaking.

"You're welcome, by the way," said Daelana.

"What?" said Angelica.

"I saved you from the slime, remember?" said Daelana, "You're welcome."

"Are you serious?" said Angelica, "That's what you're choosing to defend yourself with?"

"I don't have to defend myself," said Daelana, "As far as I'm concerned the only one I'm at the mercy of is Lila. I don't owe you a damn thing."

"This is unbelievable," said Angelica, "How can you talk like that? Do you feel no shame at all

"Angelica!" said Lila, "It's really fine! We figured it out!"

"You don't need to just forgive her Lila!" said Angelica, "You have a right to be mad!"

At that moment, Athalia in her maid outfit arrived at the tower for her morning duties. She looked at the display and scoffed, thoroughly uninterested. She continued on into the palace. Christina was tagging along behind her, hoping to meet the others outside. She did take an interest in the argument and rushed over to Angelica and Daelana.

"What's going on here?" said Christina.

"Christina!" said Angelica, "Can you believe Daelana is showing her face here after all she's done?"

Christina looked over to Daelana. Daelana had a dark look in her eyes, but somehow Christina could see that her anger hid a certain solace within her. She looked like she was grappling with an army of conflicting emotions in her head. Christina knew it right away. She could understand it. She bowed her head in sadness.

"You don't know what she's been through," said Christina.

Angelica stopped, her anger subsiding. She looked at Christina with concern. She worried that perhaps she had overstepped her boundaries, took things too far. But it faded in an instant. She knew what she believed in and would not back down.

"That's no excuse!" said Angelica, "If we let the bad guys break us, we're no better than them!"

"Say that when it's your turn!" yelled Christina.

Angelica went dead silent. She didn't want to think about such things, and of all the people who would've made her think about it she did not expect it to be her best friend. Their relationship was already being strained, and Angelica felt like every little thing she did just made it worse. As Christina glared at her angrily, Angelica feared even opening her mouth. Becoming nervous at the tension, Lila raised her voice.

"Can we calm down?" said Lila, "We're here for Tyra. She's the one that matters right now. Can we focus on her?"

Both Angelica and Christina broke eye contact, awkwardly shifting around before returning their attention to the door. All of them wanted to be there for their friend, but now they only worried about the state she'd return in.

***

Tyra woke up with a worse feeling in her head than all the hangovers she'd had in her life combined. She felt woozy, tired, and ashamed all at the same time. She was lucid enough to remember all that had happened and that the body that she so intimately laid next to was the dark lord Malgor. She didn't have the energy to push herself off of him. Luckily, he got up himself. With a smile he got off of the bed and put his robes back on, looking back at Tyra mockingly.

"Good morning," said Malgor, "I hope you enjoyed your night. Your friend certainly did."

Tyra glanced over just a touch to see the grinning face of Helga lying on her side next to her. It gave her a fright, seeing her suddenly in her true form. The loss of Lila, even only the image of her, left a hole in Tyra's stomach. The lie of last night's events, the fantasy she indulged in, felt more prescient now.

"You look like yourself again," said Tyra.

"You want me to change back?" said Helga.

Tyra looked away. She was ashamed of what her answer would be. Unfortunately, she didn't even need to say it out loud for Helga to start laughing at her.

"Of course that's your answer," said Helga, "Too bad for you, I have other plans for you today and I need you free from distraction!'

"Great..." said Tyra.

Tyra managed to roll herself onto her back. She thought of the last night. She knew there would be struggle and suffering, but not quite the type they had prepared for her. They caught her off guard and now she was made weaker than ever. It pissed her off that her preparations seemed to had all been in vain.

Suddenly, Athalia opened the door. She expected to see Tyra naked and in whatever state of disarray Malgor would leave her in. What she didn't expect was for Helga to be naked too, and in Malgor's bed no less. She stopped in her tracks as Helga turned to her.

"Don't mind me," said Helga, "Your duties still follow. Clean the sheets and help dear Tyra here get on her feet and get dressed. I need you all downstairs for a special announcement."

"Forget it," said Tyra, "I can get myself up."

Not wanting to look feeble, Tyra strained against her atrophied muscles to pull herself up from the bed. With heavy breaths she dragged herself across the sheets with much effort before planting her feet on the floor and shakily standing up. She felt like a landlubber on a ship for the first time. It was embarrassing. She trudged over to her clothes, determined to make it on her own no matter how slow she was, and she started clumsily dressing herself. Athalia looked over to Malgor who was looking out the window happily. It seemed that he didn't mind Helga giving orders on his behalf. Just like a dark consort would. A jolt went through Athalia's heart. The thought briefly skimmed through her mind that Malgor had replaced her with Helga. But she swiftly banished the thought. Helga was simply part of the game. It was certainly not possible.

Athalia silently went to the bed and started taking the sheets off. She was livid that she was now memorizing the most efficient ways to unhook the corners of the sheets from the bed. She was furious that she had done it enough times that it was becoming natural. The last thing she wanted was for being a servant to become natural to her. That was for others, not for her. By the time she was done angrily folding up sheets, Tyra had managed to pull her white shirt over her shoulders. Her pants were on, but the belt was unbuckled. She didn't even bother to button up her shirt, instead lazily allowing her cleavage to breath. She couldn't be bothered to look proper in her state.

"I've never heard either of them be so silent," said Helga, "You've truly worked wonders on them, my lord."

Helga snapped her fingers and her black dress magically appeared over her body. She then walked up behind Malgor, putting her arms on his shoulder. Athalia peaked over and scowled, seeing Helga do something that she herself used to do with Malgor.

"How are you feeling?" said Helga.

"Anticipating the next girl to be sent up," said Malgor, "Already I imagine a thousand plans for the night. Well, who will it be?"

"Actually, my lord," said Helga, "There will be no girl sent up tonight."

Malgor's smile disappeared. He turned to face Helga with a stern look.

"What do you mean?" said Malgor, "Why not?"

"Because today is a very special day," said Helga.

***

The girls at the foot of the palace waited patiently for Tyra's return. They walked around, trying not to look each other in the eyes. After some time waiting, they heard some innocuous doors opening and their attentions all turned to the gates. They saw Athalia and Tyra leaving the palace. Lila and Angelica immediately ran over to Tyra who's disheveled look left them concerned. Before they could reach her, she took a couple of heavy steps upon the sand and collapsed on the ground. Lila exclaimed loudly and Angelica rushed to her side, kneeling at her fallen body.

"Tyra!" said Angelica, "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Drama queen," said Athalia, "Even the church girl managed to walk out of there on her own two feet."

"Athalia, shut up!" said Angelica.

Helga walked out of the palace from behind Athalia, spreading her arms out at all of the girls.

"I'm glad I have all of you here," said Helga, "I have a very important announcement to make."

"You always have an announcement," said Angelica.

"So, who's next?" asked Daelana.

Lila began to shiver. Angelica glared at Daelana, appalled by her callousness. Helga chuckled in a defusing manner.

"No girl is assigned to the master tonight," said Helga, "Today is an important day. Tomorrow marks the end of the first round!"

The girls all turned to attention. While most of them were glad to have a beak from the constant paranoia of being called next, they worried what the end of the round would bring.

"As I mentioned when you first arrived, the round will end with a capstone challenge!" said Helga, "The challenge will begin at noon. I want you all right here in this spot when that time arrives."

Angelica looked down at Tyra who could barely get up.

"Wait!" said Angelica, "Is this like the slime hunt? Tyra's in no condition to be doing a challenge like that! She can't even move because of the task you assigned her! This isn't fair!"

"As if that was going to be a problem," said Helga.

Helga clasped two of her fingers together and between them appeared a small vial of liquid. She handed it over to Angelica.

"Feed her this," said Helga, "Let's call it a 'potion of renewed vigor'. It'll give Tyra the energy she needs to face the challenge. I don't want to be hearing any excuses from her that she can't participate! And don't expect favors like this often. I only do this for the sake of the game."

Angelica took the vial and observed it curiously. Helga then clapped her hands together enthusiastically and turned away.

"I expect to see you all on the dot!" said Helga, "Anyone who doesn't make it will be punished!"