Salades Fantaisie

As another perfect sun broke through the filtered clouds of the morning sky and through the windows of Castello dell’arte, it brought with it the unassailable reality that another day was about to begin. A day that had simultaneously been a long time coming and also felt like it would never arrive. As promised at the end of each week, after every girl had their turn at a date, only one day could remain: challenge day.

While some of the girls had attempted to get a sense of what might be expected, it did not change the fact that they were all flying blind. Breaking through the restful respite of sleep, the day broke through, and each of the girls found themselves now needing to face the fact that, regardless of how hard they worked in the week, they would now be pitched against each other.

In the case of Lily and Amy’s room, the Innamorti Suite, this manifested as a harsh tension in the air as the two got dressed. Well, Amy got dressed, Lily made a suitable outfit out of leaves; she was attempting her best to make pants, but the leaves were rather uncooperative in this regard. Amy saw the struggle and came over, kneeling down. The leaves would seem to split, but then, past the waist would begin to flare out into a skirt.

The oni ran her fingers over the surface and tilted her head up at Lily, “What exactly is happening? I see you concentrating, but I don’t know how this works.”

Growling slightly in frustration, Lily grit her teeth, “Normally, I just kind of focus on what I want an outfit to look like, and the leaves grow and fill in. Occasionally, I need to concentrate really hard on details, but I’m concentrating as hard as I can right now!” She squeezed her eyes shut and made a high-pitched sound of effort, but the leaves didn't budge.

Amy nodded thoughtfully, “Are you a seamstress by any chance?”

Lily shook her head, “No, other than a pillow case in seventh grade, I have never sewn anything.”

Standing up, Amy crossed her arms, “The only thing I can think of is that maybe it's not enough to picture it, maybe you need to understand its composition. Pants are surprisingly hard to get right. The other option is more annoying.”

“Which is?” Lily opened one eye, wincing over at Amy.

“The show doesn’t want you wearing pants, so it’s not going to let you without risking pollen emergencies.” The oni stated flatly.

“Fucking shit!” the plant woman cursed and released the tension in her face, her clothes smoothing out into a long skirt the moment she lost focus. Lily squeezed her fists then released, letting her fingers spread, “Fucking fine, I’ll run around in a skirt so the pervs can get all the upskirts they want, cool fucking cool.”

Amy gave her a sideways smile, “You know the cameras are watching us literally have sex, right?”

“It’s different!” Seeing Amy’s incredulous face, she continued, “No, it is! When I had sex with Caleb, it was on my terms; I chose that. Sexualizing me just for existing…is gross.”

“When you had sex? Oh my, the truth comes out.” The oni teased, and as Lily’s face went crimson, the oni waved her hand, “Oh, don’t worry about it. I saw the leaderboard. I figured you did something. You don’t need to share anything you’re not comfortable with.”

“Thanks…” Lily sat down on the bed. Then, after a moment, she sighed, “Today’s challenge is going to probably be PvP, right?”

Amy reached down to grab a jacket. “It’s going to be what?”

Lily smiled and shook her head, “I always forget you’re not a gamer. Competitive, I mean, it's gonna **** us to fight each other.

Pushing her arm through a sleeve, Amy ran a hand through her hair, “If Reyna’s hints are to be believed, yeah, that’s likely the case.”

Clasping her hands together, Lily frowned, “We’re only just starting to get along, and now this is happening…”

“Unfortunately, pretty sure that’s a feature, not a bug.” Amy primped her hair and then looked over at Lily, “The challenges each week **** us to see each other as competitors, creating underlying tension in friendships and boosting the chance of drama. All we can do is remember we’re being **** to do this. Getting mad and holding grudges because of the game we are **** to play isn’t going to help us.”

Lily gave a begrudging smile and rose from her seat, “You sound like Maya.”

Amy shrugged, “It might be the only part of her mindset that’s particularly healthy.” The oni reached over and clapped Lily on the shoulder, “It’s gonna be rough, but we can do what we can to keep people together. As long as we don’t fly off the deep end.”

“Why do I feel that end remark was just for me?” The plant woman scowled.

Amy started to whistle, avoiding eye contact, and Lily gave her a playful shove, “Alright, fine! Let’s just go get some breakfast, ok?”

Amy nodded, “I’m sure we’re not the only people worried about today, it will be good to eat together and set the mood.”

The oni crossed and opened the door for Lily, and the two began the trek to the dining hall.

In the Brighella suite, Noemi was sitting at the vanity, combing her hair while Maddy sat at the edge of the bed staring at the mirror. Maddy kept repeating the ritual of straightening her blouse, looking into the mirror, and then repeating the process. After a while, she looked over at Noemi, who was humming to herself as she admired her reflection in the mirror.

After staring for an inordinate amount of time, Maddy summoned her nerve and raised her voice, “H-how’re you so calm?”

“Hmm?” Noemi lowered her hairbrush and looked over to smile over at the chef, “What do you mean?

Screwing her hands together in her lap, the blonde tried to compose her thoughts intelligibly, “Today is the day of the challenge.”

Noemi nodded and beamed, “That’s right! Time to put my best foot forward and show off to Caleb why I’m the best girl in his harem!”

It was all Maddy could do not to raise her hands over her eyes; the sheer confidence radiating from Noemi was blinding. Instead, the chef turned her body to face Noemi, “But how do you know that’s going to happen? What if it’s like last time and you lose early? Aren’t you worried about that?

Noemi seemed to give this a moment’s worth of thought and then smiled again, “Nope, I’m not worried. Because I’m not gonna let that happen.”

This response only bewildered Maddy more, “But last time you couldn’t have stopped it, what if it happens like that again?”

“No Maddy, you misunderstand.” Noemi put her hands on her hips and pushed her nose into the air, “I’m not going to let it happen, so it’s not going to.”

Seeing Maddy staring at her, dumbfounded, Noemi laughed and waved her hand, “Maddy, it’s not about what’s possible, it's about the energy you are putting out there.”

Maddy continued to stare blankly, “I don’t understand,” she said flatly, because no matter how she tried to parse the Chilean’s words, they only felt like pure nonsense.

Noemi shook her head, shrugged, and smiled amusedly, as if what she was saying was so obvious that she couldn’t believe it needed to be explained. “When I say I’m not going to let it happen, I’m putting that energy out into the universe. So the universe will respond by not letting it happen. So the harder I believe in it, the more true it becomes. That’s called actualization. And what I believe is that I’m going to compete as hard as I can and make myself look good for Caleb, the best member of the entire Harem hehehe” She ended with a goofy smile spread across her face.

Maddy accepted that whatever the heck Noemi was saying was beyond her comprehension and decided to focus instead on the things she could possibly comprehend, “Don’t you feel bad though? About competing and pushing others down to make yourself look good? Doesn’t that make you feel…I don’t know?” Maddy looked away, “Selfish?”

Noemi opened her makeup drawer and began fussing with her face, “It’s ok to be selfish.” She said plainly, “If you have something you want, no one else is going to make that happen for you. So sometimes you need to put yourself first. Like, obviously it’s bad to be selfish ALL the time,” She began to apply mascara, “But like, some of the time? It’s perfectly ok. Also, I’m not pushing anyone down. Everyone is going to be trying their best, right?” She turned to look at Maddy with her face half done.

Extremely uncomfortable, Maddy stared at her hands, “I-I guess so?”

“So I’m not pushing people down; that implies I’m doing something underhanded. I’m just doing my best, and I’m confident that my best is going to outshine their best and make Caleb’s attention fall squarely on me.” The Chilean turned to resume doing her makeup.

Staring at her hands for a minute, eventually Maddy began to shake with the feeling of her nerves bundled up inside her, and then, surprising herself, spoke up, “How can you be so confident though? How can you know you’re going to do all these things and get his attention that way?”

Noemi paused and then turned to Maddy and shot her a reassuring smile before walking over and taking Maddy by the hands, “You worked really hard this week, Maddy.” Noemi then leaned in and gave the chef a hug, “I saw the leaderboards, and I know you want Caleb to look at you that way, too.” Maddy opened her mouth to speak, and Noemi cut her off by beginning to stroke her hair, “No, it’s ok, I want Caleb to look at me most, but it's ok, if he looks at you too. You would be such a good wife, capable of cooking, cleaning, you’re so kind and nice, you have every reason to be confident.”

Maddy felt her lip quiver, “Noemi, I…I don’t think that’s true at all, compared to all of you…”

“On your date, did Caleb spend his time thinking about other girls when you earned those points, or was his attention on you?” Hearing Maddy grow quiet, Noemi smirked, “That’s what I thought. Think about how you felt with his eyes just on you, and you’ll find you have no trouble being confident.” Noemi separated from Maddy and shot her a wink.

Reaching up, Maddy felt the tightness in her chest and thought about her time blindfolded in Caleb’s room. How she could feel his gaze, even when she couldn’t see his face. She found her hand balling into a fist at the thought of feeling that way again.

In the Columbina suite, Maya got dressed alone. While she had enjoyed not waking up to an errant wing or tail in her face, she found the bed felt lonely without anyone else occupying it and had, as such, started her day early. An indulgently long shower, followed by skin treatment and drying her hair, she made her way to her closet and picked out her outfit for the day. Something comfortable, with room to move, while also providing storage if she needed it. Eventually, she settled on a sleeveless turtle neck, a multi-pocket vest, slacks, fingerless gloves, and jungle boots. She figured the sort of outfit that would be suited for anything except cold-weather activities.

Still, there was still time until people would be filing into the breakfast hall, and she didn’t want to be first on the off chance that…she was there. Maya hadn’t spoken with Mira since the confrontation she had had with Caleb in front of everyone. Every time she thought about it, she felt her insides knot up, and it only got worse the more she tried to think of it. What she had done was so…awful and beyond what Maya had thought her friend was capable of. But she couldn’t stop thinking of the woman as her friend.

Since the start, they had been together, roomed together. When everyone else had hated her, Mira stood by her side and gave her support. The thought of that support not being there was frankly terrifying and made Maya wish someone was here and capable of hugging her. Yet she knew no one would sympathize with her for wishing she could still be with Mira, and talk with her, and…yeah, no one would entertain that thought. Not after what she did.

The room that felt cramped with two people trying to do their morning routine now felt so quiet and empty. Maya crossed to the vanity and began to apply her basic makeup for the day. As she was finishing, she heard a voice that made her spine shiver.

“Maya, sweetie…baby, I found you.” The voice was weak and distant, like it was coming from far away, and yet it also echoed and felt like it filled the room.

Turning slowly to the source of the sound, Maya looked into the vanity mirror, and in it she saw a sight that made her blood run cold. Where her own reflection should have been, instead was a ghastly thin woman dressed in a hospital gown, her skin a sickly pale, a thin smile on her face, even as her eyes were cut from view by the top of the mirror, her long black hair cascading in rivets behind her. Her hand reached up and pressed against the glass as if she was trying to pass through

Maya’s mouth ran dry, and as her legs threatened to give out beneath her, her hands clawed out and clutched at the desk for support. Her voice, when it finally came out, was trembling, “M-mom? Is that really you?”

The voice echoed louder as her thin lips moved, the smile never leaving her face, “That’s right, sweetie, I’m here. Oh, sweetie, I’ve wanted to see you for so long.”

Tears welled up in Maya’s eyes, and she reached out for the mirror, “Mom, I…I’m going to bring you back, don’t worry. I’m going to win this whole thing and bring you back.”

At Maya’s words, a chill seemed to fill the air, and when the figure next spoke, she was still smiling, but there was an edge to the words, “When?”

“Mom-I..I’m doing my best-I’m doing the best I can, I promise!” Maya clutched the sides of the mirror.

The woman’s voice rose to a wail as if she was suffering, her hands hammering on the glass, and where her hands hit, bloody hand prints were left on the glass, splattering and smearing with the repeated impacts, “It’s so cold! Maya! I’m so cold! I don’t know how long I can-” She let out a shrieking wail, and Maya watched as spectral hands gripped at the edge of the woman.

“Mom! No! I’ll bring you back! I swear! I promise!” Tears were freely flowing down Maya’s face as her own hands began to beat against the glass of the mirror, trying to break through.

“Maya!” The strangled cry came out as the hands began to drag the woman back, “Only you can save me, Maya!” and then the hands began to pull her back.

“No! Mom!” Maya reached out and grabbed the chair for the vanity and lifted it, and then violently tossed it at the mirror, sending sharp pieces of glass flying, one catching Maya across the cheek as they fell all over. But the lottery winner didn’t even flinch, instead just staring at the empty vanity where the vision of her mother had been.

Her chest was heaving, she was struggling to catch her breath, swallowing air more than taking it into her lungs. Her eyes settled on the fragments of glass on the ground, and she bit her lip as a thin trail of blood went down her cheek. She turned on her heels and made her way to the door.

EXTENSION: Season AMA question submissions will close on 1/31 : https://forms.gle/9Xr9TVvNAAdCw1Bk8