The Complications of Royalty

Elena Mendez

The fairy led Elena through the forest, surrounded by a group of fairy guards. In the trees, hundreds more fairies watched from afar, all eager to catch a glimpse of the princess.

Nora, Tomoko, and Sophia followed behind, almost invisible since no one paid them any attention. Originally Tomoko walked in front of Nora, but she traded places after the teacher unknowingly pinched her ass one too many times. Now, walking next to fellow bisexual Sophia, she didn’t have that issue anymore.

"You can see the castle," the fairy said, pointing toward a clearing ahead. Through the green trees, the tall tower appeared, and the royal castle’s silhouette stood out in the distance.

Elena's eyes bulged at seeing even a fraction of the castle. "It's giant!"

The fairies around them all let out a sigh of relief at hearing their princess being impressed. "We're glad you think so. Yes, it's not as big as the one Azure keeps you in, but you'll find it is far mor tailored to you."

"How do you know about the other castles?" Sophia asked. "Do you watch the show?"

The fairy turned to Sophia in alarm, having clearly forgotten she was even there. "Er, yes, Susan. Or rather, we get a modified broadcast."

"Modified?" Elena repeated.

The fairy turned back, clearly more eager to answer the princess than the others. "Yes. We only see the scenes where you appear."

She bowed her head. "Sorry, we can’t give you any inside information about the peasants you’re competing against."

Mrs. Wolf raised her eyebrow at the title of peasant. "We're standing right here."

The fairy ignored her. "We first got to know and love you through those broadcasts. You’re wonderful and perfect, and you’ve been treated so unfairly. You deserve much better."

"Uh, thanks," Elena replied, awkwardly.

The fairy blushed bright red at her idol’s thanks and almost fell out of the air. "D-don’t mention it, your grace." She took a deep breath. "That’s why we’re here—to give you what you truly deserve."

With a graceful gesture, she pointed toward a clearing ahead, where a large gathering waited for them. "Speaking of which," she continued, her voice imbued with excitement, "we're almost at our first gift for you."

Elena squinted, trying to make sense of the large crowd. As she moved closer, she saw that everyone was gathered around a podium with two stone statues.

One statue depicted a graceful figure dressed in a flowing ball gown, while the other statue stood tall and powerful, showcasing bulging muscles that highlighted her strength. Elena instantly recognized that both statues represented her, capturing her day and night selves. The only noticeable difference was that neither statue had a face, and that the princess's ponytail and bust were larger.

“Wow, you made statues?” Elena asked, taken aback. The fact that they were human-sized and made by the tiny fairies made the figures seem even more colossal.

"Of course, your grace," the fairy bowed. "Are they too your liking?"

"They don't have faces," Tomoko pointed out.

The fairy shot Tomoko an indignant glance, her delicate wings shimmering with irritation. "Of course not," she retorted. "No sculptor could ever truly capture the breathtaking beauty of our divine goddess." Her gaze shifted anxiously to Elena. "That wouldn’t pose any issue, would it, Your Majesty?" she asked, a hint of trepidation lacing her voice.

"It's fine," Elena said. "Thank you. I like it."

The fairy nearly swooned again and turned to her compatriots, who were watching. "She likes it!" she announced, prompting loud cheers of celebration.

"Their excitement is a bit infectious," Tomoko smiled. Mrs. Wolf shook her head, not so sure.

"We are truly honored, your grace," the fairy said, bowing gracefully with a flourish."We hope you will find joy in your second gift as well."

"Second gift?" Elena echoed.

The fairy smiled and gestured toward the area beyond the statues, drawing Elena's attention to a third sculpture.

It stood upon a podium, wearing black stiletto heels and a medium-length business skirt. The statue wore a form-fitting black jacket, revealing a white business shirt beneath. It had no face but wore a dark wig with medium-length hair. Its 'skin' was not stone, like the others, but a smooth white material.

"Is that Ji-Woo?" Nora asked before anyone else could, the resemblance uncanny.

"Correct, teacher lady," the fairy confirmed. "Represented in wax."

Elena crossed her arms. "Why is she here?"

The lead fairy beamed with a mischievous smile. With a wave, she signaled to the other fairies who had gathered. A dozen fairies took to the air, breaking into groups of four, each one closely collaborating to lift and carry large, ornate containers filled with a foul-smelling liquid. With their wings fluttering in uniform, they glid toward the statue before pouring their contents over the figure. The liquid cascaded down, soaking the wax and releasing a noxious scent of oil.

"What are they doing?" Sophia asked.

With the containers empty, one fairy floated gracefully toward the statue. In her delicate hand, she held a flickering match, raising it high like an Olympic torch. With a swift motion, she hurled the match onto the slick surface of the oiled statue. In an instant, it ignited, flames roaring to life and enveloping it in a blaze.

All at once, the group of fairies erupted into laughter and cheers.

"Ha, ha! Burn foul witch!"

"Rot in hell, traitor!"

"Die! Die! Die!"

"Justice for the princess!"

The humans watched in disbelief as the fire consumed the statue, the wax body oozing and the outfit burning, while the tiny fairies danced in glee.

Mrs. Wolf cleared her throat awkwardly. "I think you may have started a cult, dear."

Ji-Woo Summers

Ji-Woo suddenly felt a shiver creep up her spine, feeling like something was terribly wrong, but she ignored it.

Instead, she gently closed her latest folder after finishing its contents. With a sigh, she carefully stacked the files of Olivia Booker into a growing pile of completed work.

She had finally begun making real progress reading through the contestant files after realizing that 90% of them were fluff. The vast majority was utterly pointless trivia, long-winded and perverted descriptions of the girls' anatomy, or needlessly detailed recreations of their past sex encounters. Even if she needed that last piece of information, each section already contained a summary.

She had just finished Olivia's file, which had proven extremely illuminating. In retrospect, it had helped explain the woman's rude behavior. 'Even if it doesn't excuse it,' she mentally added.

She bit her lip, trying to consider how to use this to her advantage. She had to be careful with her, considering she was easily the second most volatile of the group, after Lauren.

'Though even Lauren is coming around,' she reminded herself, gazing up at the scoreboard.

She had been shocked when she had seen the massive influx of points Lauren had received, but it had been a welcome surprise. Ji-Woo had been wracking her brain on how to get Levi and Lauren to sleep together, and had been overjoyed to see it happening on its own.

Truly, Ji-Woo wasn't sure how Lauren managed it, considering the girl constantly tried everything she could to be as unlikable as possible. She had thought that reading her files might give her some insight into her behavior, but it had only made her dislike the teen more. Loving parents, money, and support to make her own choices. According to the files, she had been given everything and had never struggled a day in her life. Yet, she had used that privilege to be cruel and indifferent to everyone.

'She's never had to do whatever it takes just to survive as I had,' Ji-Woo thought bitterly. 'I would have killed for your childhood.'

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She was getting sidetracked. She down looked at the remaining files and saw that Sophia was next. She was tempted to skip the girl entirely, considering she had already slept with Levi twice and thus required no action to secure her secret agenda.

'There'd be no harm in checking,' she told herself. 'Besides, you're now in charge of the entire harem. You need to know what everyone is about.'

'And Levi likes her,' she added. 'Maybe you can learn something you can copy.'

She couldn’t argue with herself about that, so she pulled out the girl's file and read the summary at the beginning. Like the other files before it, it contained information about her from before the show, with no mention of the changes to her life after it started.

Sophia Valerie Moulin

• Birthday: September 26, 1984
• Place of Birth: Montréal, Québec
• Current Residence: Montréal, Québec
• Sexuality: Bisexual
• Ethnicity: Caucasian (75%), East Asian (25%)

'Huh, you could hardly tell,' Ji-Woo thought as she read Sophia's ancestry. Making a brief note, she continued reading.

• Parents: Theo and Charlotte Moulin
• Siblings: None
• Distinct Sexual Partners: 0
• Current Partner: None
• Blood Type: A
• Neurology: High-Functioning Autistic

Ji-Woo paused at this last point. "Well, that's very interesting," she said, jotting it down in her notes. She attempted to remember what she knew about autism. 'If I recall correctly, they tend to be very literal. And trusting.'

Lauren-Two

Perched high upon the balcony of the tallest tower of Azure's castle, the demon Lauren-Two sat in a state of turmoil. Stared off as if her gaze were a hundred miles away, trying to suppress the whirlwind of emotions inside her.

'I'm not the real Lauren,' she repeated for what felt like the thousandth time. 'I'm a clone!'

She was still struggling with the reality that her latest mental transformation had opened up for her. She was torn between feeling it was incomprehensible yet also impossible to deny.

She still had memories of being Lauren. She could vividly picture nearly her entire life. However, it felt different now. Those memories were tainted with the knowledge that they weren't truly hers. It was as though they were images she had seen in a movie, rather than memories she had actually experienced.

As she reflected on these false memories, she noticed that they always grew hazy around the first, fateful challenge. She could clearly remember Katelyn slapping her, as well as entering the elevator and descending into the dark chamber. And then... nothing. There was a brief blank spot in her memories, interrupted only by...

...her birth.

She could remember appearing before the stunned contestants in a dark coliseum. Unlike her other memories, these felt real. She could tell those were really hers.

She recalled how she mocked Lauren and Sophia, bringing the former to tears, and how she had locked eyes with her beloved master, Levi. How everyone was there, gaze focused on her.

All except for Katelyn.

Lauren-Two's heart raced as a realization hit her. 'Katelyn wasn't there. She's still not here. And Nora kept calling me Katelyn.' She gulped. 'Does that mean... when Katelyn was eliminated... I became...'

She let out a scream as a loud, thundering voice filled her brain.

"YOU ARE NOT KATELYN! YOU ARE LAUREN TWO!"

"But, I have to be," she called, teeth gritted. "It's the only thing that makes..."

"YOU ARE NOT KATELYN! YOU ARE LAUREN TWO!" the voice repeated.

She could feel her mind rebelling against her. The external voice derailed her train of thought, and her realizations faded. Her mind desperately tried to keep her within a limited understanding, making her aware that she was not the real Lauren while preventing her from taking the final, logical step forward.

"I..."

"YOU ARE NOT KATELYN! YOU ARE LAUREN TWO!"

She let out another cry as her thoughts spilled from her fingers like water. She tried desperately to hold on to her revelation, but her mind betrayed her at every turn, blocking her ability to consider her true nature.

"I'm... I'm..."

Then, moments later, she forgot what she was thinking about, returning to angsting about 'simply' being a clone.

Unbeknownst to her, this was the twenty-eighth time she had experienced this cycle of revelation and forgetfulness.

It would not be the last.

Elena Mendez

The women stood quietly, watching the last bits of the Ji-Woo wax statue melt away and lose their glow. Above them, fairies zipped around, laughing and cheering, while a few bold ones even spat at what was left.

"Probably a good thing she didn't come with us," Tomoko joked, trying to break the awkward silence.

The lead fairy turned to the princess. "What next, princess? Would you like to stomp on the remains? Or shall we move on to your castle?"

Elena turned her gaze from the melted husk to the giant stone palace in the distance. "It's so enormous," she said.

"It really is, especially for how small you all are," Sophia commented. "Did you build it yourself, or did Azure do it?"

One of the guards spat on the ground. "Shut your mouth. We would never subject our goddess to a gift from that witch!"

Their guide nodded. "We used every stone and pebble we had to build it," she said with pride. "We even tore down half our homes to make it happen."

"Wait, what?!" Elena exclaimed.

The fairy nodded. "Of course. The loss of a home for a few hundred of us is nothing compared to your comfort, princess." Her grin widened. "Besides, we know you will fix it."

Elena's pulse quickened. "What do you mean?"

"You are our destined leader, our beacon of hope!" her guide explained. "Your insightful governance will address every challenge we face, from the rising homelessness crisis, to the dire resource scarcity that threatens our communities, to the inflation issues."

Nora raised an eyebrow. "Inflation?"

One of the guards nodded. "Yes, our glowgrub currency has been multiplying fast since their predators left. And now our treasury is full of IOUs."

"But that’s okay," the guide said. "With your help, we believe things will get better."

Elena took a terrified step back. "I can't run a nation!"

"Of course you can," the sprite grinned. "Just tell us what to do, and we'll do it."

Elena let out a **** laugh. "I don't have the slightest clue what to do."

"You're so modest," the pixie beamed. "Only our true savior denounces her own divinity."

"If you don't have enough homes, can't some of the fairies live in the castle?" Mrs. Wolf suggested. "You probably have the room."

The guards roared in outrage. One waved a tiny twig at Nora. "How could you suggest something so blasphemous?" She looked at Elena. "Princess, may I chase these peasants away?"

"Just hold on a second," Elena pleaded. "You don't want me making these decisions. I'll run your country into the ground."

The guide shrugged. "If that is what you desire, so be it."

"Damn it! That's not what I meant. No soy tu salvador."

Every fairy within earshot, guide and guards alike, erupted into cries of pure ecstasy upon hearing Elena speak Spanish. The air was filled with joyful moans as each of them experienced an orgasm, causing them to lose their flight and tumble to the ground.

"God damn it," Elena swore.

Ji-Woo Summers

Ji-Woo massaged her temples as she put Sophia's file away. Rather than being illuminating, reading the girls profile had just left her with more questions. She did not understand half of the internet culture that was Sophia's life, and had no idea how to apply any of it to handle the girl better.

Even her list of fetishes was alien to her, including terms that she was scared to look up. Additionally, the fact that nearly all of the poor girls' crushes were fictional characters baffled her and made her a little sad.

She let out a sigh of frustration, feeling like she understood her even less now. "Whatever," she sighed. "At least she's already slept with him twice, so it's not like I need to do anything."

She shook her head and reached for the next file, only to immediately place it in the finished pile upon realizing that it was for Katelyn.

'She's already eliminated, there's no point in reading hers,' Ji-Woo reasoned. 'Lauren-Two has her own file anyway, so reading about who she was before would be a waste of time.'

She reached down for Nora Wolf's file, only to stop as a thought occurred to her. 'Although reading about Katelyn might give me information on Lauren. I could use all the help I can get for that one.'

She bit her lip, considering this before shrugging. "What the hell?" she thought, taking out Katelyn's file again.

Licking her lips, she opened the summary section.

Katelyn Rose Peterson

• Birthday: October 10, 1987
• Place of Birth: Salt Lake City, Utah
• Current Residence: Salt Lake City, Utah
• Sexuality: Lesbian*

Ji-Woo blinked in confusion. "Wait, what?" She darted her eyes to the footnotes, where the asterisk was defined.

* Currently unaware. Believes disinterest in men stems from all dates being set up by her sister, and the type of personality they share. In the Prime Timeline, does not have an awakening until university, before coming out in 2015.

Ji-Woo's mouth dropped open in complete bewilderment. However, it was not this statement of sexuality that left her dumbfounded.

"What the hell is a Prime Timeline?!"

Bonus Image