*disable_reuse You and $!{roommate_name} make your way to Alvina’s Books, located in a rather eclectic part of Dia. It’s a bit jarring the way the people on the sidewalk go from wearing “I Love Odessa” t-shirts to flowy skirts and bell-sleeved shirts, but soon enough, you two make it into the store. The old wooden shelves are packed to the brim with all sorts of books with varying degrees of wear. String lights loop across the wood beamed ceiling and faint instrumental music can be heard in the background. “Welcome, lovelies. I’m Alvina.” A gray-haired woman smiles at you and $!{roommate_name} from behind a register. She’s wearing bright red lipstick and smoky eyeshadow. “Hi, we’re just looking around,” $!{roommate_name} says, wandering down the nearest aisle after Alvina smiles wider. You watch ${roommate_him_her} leave before turning back to the woman. “Feel free to wander around. I have books about Odessa, romance novels, books about the Fae, pretty much anything you could possibly be interested in,” she says. “The Fae? Aren’t they all dead?” You ask. *page_break You learned about the Fae in school, of course. The entire species was wiped out during the Great Odessan War on King Frederick’s orders. It was also the war that claimed his father’s life. After the war, leaders thought it was important to learn about the extinct species and their existence, as well as Odessa’s triumphant war victory. Both sides were slid into mandatory pre-university learning. “Are they? Don’t believe everything you read.” Alvina smiles and motions over to a shelf on the far right wall labeled miscellaneous. “There’s a wide variety of things on that shelf. You’re sure to find something that’ll catch your eye. Let me know if you have any questions.” You watch the woman disappear behind a beaded curtain and once she’s completely out of sight, you head over to the shelf. *page_break Alvina wasn’t kidding about the different titles she had available. There’s so many genres and things to read, you’re not sure what you should pick up first. *label bookstore What would you like to read? *fake_choice #The Fae Fortress, by Raxel Goodman. It's a book that may or may not be truthful about where the Fae ended up after the war. Odessan history books claim that the Fae were all but extinct after the Great Odessan War, but that couldn't be any further from the truth. While the Odessan forces celebrated their supposed victory, Juliet, now Queen of the Fae, helped the rest of her people escape, using the last of her magic to transport them somewhere safe. While members of the Fae Royal Family have more powerful magic than the average Fae, Juliet using her powers like that left her in a week long coma, which only frightened the weakened Fae colony. Finally, one day, just as the Fae began to lose hope that she would wake up, Juliet did, violet eyes shining brighter than they had ever seen. She only uttered three words to the doctors and royal staff that surrounded her: "We will rise." *page_break A lot isn't certain about the Fae's current whereabouts, but what is known is that they now all live together. Long ago, there were different species of Fae surviving in the various climates and cities in Odessa, often coexisting with humans. That time has long passed. There's been whispers of who might be Fae and that they might be secretly living among us, but nobody can be sure. Rumor has it, King Frederick lives in fear that one day they will come back to Dia for revenge. *page_break *goto bookstore #Before Us, by Kris Yean. It's a romance novel about two star-crossed lovers. You open up the book to start on the first page, but you realize that a lot of the pages are unreadable. Judging by the wavy pages and words, you assume the book was likely damaged by water before arriving on the shelf. Despite this, you decide to read whatever you can. *page_break It’s morning when Emillie finally wakes. The room’s extremely bright, too bright for her liking, but the light at least helps her to fully wake up. She sighs and sits up from the mass of pillows and stark white sheets and starts to get out of the bed, when a hand wraps around her wrist. “Em…” Her heart skips a beat at the sound of his voice. Normally on the husky side, it’s even huskier this morning. “Emmi, please look at me.” Little kisses start working their way her right arm, all the way up until his lips rest at her shoulder blade, a particularly weak spot for her. She laughs softly and feels his lips curve up against her skin. “Yes, Charles? You know I have to go,” Emillie murmurs, turning to look at her lover. He’s shorter than her, a partner deal breaker typically, but something she absolutely adores about him. “That’s what you said last night and yet...you’re still in my bed,” Charles says with a smirk. *page_break Emillie rolls her eyes and falls back into the bed, which Charles takes full opportunity of. As Emillie covers herself back up with the sheets, Charles continues to kiss on her neck, singing softly against her skin. [i] ‘Naro la loo, dist lei sano soo [/i] [i] Puva touou rhouor, n'os so'nei [/i] "You know I don't speak that," she reminds with a small smile. "What are you saying?" Charles' lips pause for a moment, as if he had to think about what they were. "That I love you. That you're everything to me," he answers finally against her skin. "That I don't care about your mother." Emillie pulls away and gazes at Charles. He was grinning, like this was some sort of game. It was, in a way, but it was a game that they were destined to lose. "She's going to find out about us one day. You know that right? She'll kill you, or start a war," Emilie mumbles, starting to bite at her lip before Charles moves forward, kissing her to prevent her from doing so. His breath had definitely seen better days, but in this moment, Emilie just couldn't find it in her to care. "Let her start one then, Em," he whispers once he had pulled away from her. "I'll go through a hundred wars if it meant that I could see you in the end." *page_break You go to flip to the next page, but it too was completely waterlogged. The only word that popped out from the watery mess was mistake. Seeing as you couldn't go any further in the story, you put the book on the shelf. *page_break *goto bookstore #Before the War, by Jenni Steam, a professor at Odessa University. It's a book about Odessa under King Martin’s rule. Odessa underneath King Martin’s rule was remarkably different than what it is currently under King Frederick’s rule. King Martin ruled with an iron fist in a velvet glove. Initially thought to be on the more lenient side of ruling, his first test of leadership came during a particularly wet season. A neighboring country thought it would be smart to attack Odessa while its people were trapped in their homes or displaced due to the floods. When the country began to attack, they eventually found themselves at the mercy of the floodwaters as well. Despite urging from his advisors, King Martin took in the survivors of the attack and hosted them until the floodwaters receded. However, he refused to allow them to return to their home country until the King there promised to never attack Odessa again. By the time the Great Odessan War came around, King Martin had long since abandoned his charitable ways. Martin's ruthlessness participating in and leading battles across the country came to a head in Dia during the Fae's last stand. King Martin ultimately lost his life during the battle, but not before knowing that his son, King Frederick would carry out his final war plans. King Martin's legacy is one full of ups and downs. One thing that can't be disputed is the love for his child. *page_break *goto bookstore #Fae Fading, by Robbie Moore, an Odessan historian. It's a book about the end of the Fae species. Long ago, humans and Fae lived together in an uneasy peace. They did not bother one another too often, but when they did, the interactions were almost always positive. As the years went on, the Fae started to become more and more secluded, opting to return to the woods of their origin. These actions only caused the humans to continue searching them out for help for their crops, for fertility, or whatever else they couldn't manage to do on their own. Eventually, this caused the Fae to go into hiding in deep wooded areas, guarded by Fae guards and nature spirits. As the Fae hid themselves away, the humans began to talk, spreading rumors about the Fae and why they decided to hide. It wasn't long before humans came to resent the Fae species, wondering why they decided to hide and leave them without their magic abilities. *page_break It was believed that a new partnership might come under King Martin's and Fae Queen Aerie and Fae King Orion's rule, but after the two Fae received an insulting letter from King Martin's son, Frederick, peace was far from anybody's mind. The letter kickstarted efforts by the Fae to reclaim lands that were once their own. After peace talks between the two kingdoms went nowhere, the Great Odessan War began. The war lasted years and just when it seemed that the Fae were going to win, Frederick, now King, unleashed a devastating bomb on the Fae forces, killing close to 90 percent of their forces. Among the dead was all of the Fae Royal Family except Juliet, Princess of the Fae. Wounded and humiliated but now Queen, she had just enough magic to get her people off of the battlefield, where they have not been seen since. *page_break *goto bookstore #The newest issue of Odessa Today, with the $!{royal_title}’s ex, Robin Greene on the cover. You flip past advertisements for makeup and hair products until you get to the center spread with Robin's face and body plastered all over. She's a dark skinned woman with impossibly high cheek bones and dark green eyes. You can definitely see why she's a successful model as you can barely take your eyes off of her face and body, which is lean, but bigger than a lot of other models out there. After tearing your eyes away from her, you begin reading. *page_break In this exclusive interview with [i] Odessa Today [/i], we sit down with supermodel Robin Greene about her latest fashion line, her last fashion week and what it's like to be with a member of the royal family! Samantha Lee decided to spend a day with her to really get inside of her head. *page_break [b] [i] NOW PLAYING AS: Samantha [/i] [/b] When Samantha arrives to Greene's upscale apartment, she's immediately greeted with the delightful sound of barking from behind the door. "Just a moment!" Greene exclaims and Samantha can hear her not so quietly trying to get her dog away from the door. Soon the door swings open and there stands Greene, already looking like she's ready to hit the runway, despite just wearing a robe and slippers. Her usually pinstraight black hair is still in hair rollers, but her makeup is completely done. "Hi, Sam! Come in, come in, I'm almost done getting ready." Greene's husky, Glacier, pounces on her the minute she gets inside. Samantha can't resist petting her as she follows Greene further into her apartment. She passes a wall of photos, all of Greene posing with various celebrities, kissing her family members and photo ops at different charity events. Greene invites her to take a seat on the couch while she continues getting ready for the day in her bedroom. "Feel free to ask me stuff! I can hear you in here just fine!" Greene exclaims, so Samantha begins. "Look, I'm just going to start with the question everybody is dying to know the answer to. Why did you and $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name} break up?" *page_break There's a beat of silence and Samantha almost wonders if she couldn't hear her like she claimed she could, but soon enough Robin does speak. *page_break *if (royal_personality = "aloof") "As you and everybody else knows, $!{royal_first_name} isn't exactly…the most open person. At first it was like pulling teeth to get ${royal_him_her_them} to talk to me but eventually, it was second nature. But then…" Samantha hears Greene sigh as she moves to join her on the couch. She's wearing a low cut bodysuit and high waisted dress pants, but still wears the same pair of slippers from earlier. Her hair is down now in loose curls. "I don't know. We just started drifting. I thought it had something to do with my job or whatever, but $!{royal_first_name} assured me that wasn't it," Robin says. Glacier seems to sense that she's upset and jumps into her lap, nuzzling into her body. "Eventually, I just decided to call it quits. $!{royal_first_name} wouldn't tell me anything, I was getting frustrated…I just thought it was best if we spent some time apart," She finishes with a sad smile. "Seems like you still love ${royal_him_her_them}," Samantha says and she just shrugs. *page_break [b] [i] NOW PLAYING AS: $!{player_first_name} [/i] [/b] Due to lack of time, you decide to skip through reading about Robin's fashion line and how she acts on the runway. You do take one final look at her face though. What are your thoughts on $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name}'s ex? *fake_choice #I'm way prettier. *set robin %-5 *goto bookstore #She's gorgeous...way prettier than me. *set robin %+5 *goto bookstore #She's alright. I do wonder if that's the real reason why they broke up though... *set robin %+5 *goto bookstore #Something about her just doesn't sit right with me... *set robin %-5 *goto bookstore #Seems lovely. We'll likely never cross paths though. *set robin %+5 *goto bookstore #She's a supermodel. Why should I care about somebody who walks for a living? *set royal %-10 *goto bookstore #I would love to ask her more about $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name}. *set royal %+5 *goto bookstore #If I wasn't so interested in $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name}, I would want to get with her. *set robin %+10 *goto bookstore *if (royal_personality = "shy") "God, I'll never forget locking eyes with $!{royal_first_name} for the first time. $!{royal_he_she_they} scurried away like a little mouse." Samantha hears her sigh as she joins her in the living room. "It was fun at first…hanging around with $!{royal_first_name}. It would mostly be me doing the talking$, but I was fine with that. It worked, you know? That was our thing," Greene says. Samantha notices her lip tremble a bit as she pushes herself to keep talking. "But towards the end it seemed like $!{royal_first_name} was, I don't know, in my shadow. It wasn't exactly an equal relationship. $!{royal_first_name} seemed to always default to me and I didn't want that," Greene continues. "Wasn't fair." She shrugs and runs a hand through her hair. "Excuse me," she says softly, getting up from the couch to go back into her bedroom. Glacier follows after her, whining softly. *page_break [b] [i] NOW PLAYING AS: $!{player_first_name} [/i] [/b] Due to lack of time, you decide to skip through reading about Robin's fashion line and how she acts on the runway. You do take one final look at her face though. What are your thoughts on $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name}'s ex? *fake_choice #I'm way prettier. *set robin %-5 *goto bookstore #She's gorgeous...way prettier than me. *set robin %+5 *goto bookstore #She's alright. I do wonder if that's the real reason why they broke up though... *set robin %+5 *goto bookstore #Something about her just doesn't sit right with me... *set robin %-5 *goto bookstore #Seems lovely. We'll likely never cross paths though. *set robin %+5 *goto bookstore #She's a supermodel. Why should I care about somebody who walks for a living? *set royal %-5 *goto bookstore #I would love to ask her more about $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name}. *set royal %+5 *goto bookstore #If I wasn't so interested in $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name}, I would want to get with her. *set robin %+10 *goto bookstore *if (royal_personality = "rude") "Look, my ex is a dick. Let's not beat around the bush here. But…" Robin comes back into the living room, fiddling with her hoop earring. "$!{royal_title} is sweet too. Underneath it all. I don't want to sound like that person who is 'my ex is mean but nice underneath it all, I swear' but…it's true." She sighs and takes a seat beside Samantha, running a hand through her hair to separate the curls further. "But really. $!{royal_first_name} is…troubled. I didn't magically turn ${royal_him_her_them} into a goody-two-shoes overnight but I did help a little bit. Then…" Robin shrugs and welcomes Glacier into her lap. The puppy whines softly and quiets when she begins to run a hand through her fur. "I don't know. The meanness just became too much for me. I had to leave and $!{royal_first_name} didn't stop me. If we're meant to be together again, we will." *page_break [b] [i] NOW PLAYING AS: $!{player_first_name} [/i] [/b] Due to lack of time, you decide to skip through reading about Robin's fashion line and how she acts on the runway. You do take one final look at her face though. What are your thoughts on $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name}'s ex? *fake_choice #I'm way prettier. *set robin %-5 *goto bookstore #She's gorgeous...way prettier than me. *set robin %+5 *goto bookstore #She's alright. I do wonder if that's the real reason why they broke up though... *set robin %+3 *goto bookstore #Something about her just doesn't sit right with me... *set robin %-5 *goto bookstore #Seems lovely. We'll likely never cross paths though. *set robin %+3 *goto bookstore #She's a supermodel. Why should I care about somebody who walks for a living? *set royal %-5 *goto bookstore #I would love to ask her more about $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name}. *set royal %+5 *goto bookstore #If I wasn't so interested in $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name}, I would want to get with her. *set robin %+10 *goto bookstore *if (royal_personality = "flirty") Samantha hears Robin sigh from inside of her room. "Well, I'll be honest with you, Sam, I broke up with $!{royal_him_her_them} because I caught wind of a rumor that said that $!{royal_first_name} was going to do it first." Samantha raises her eyebrow at the confession and waits for Robin to return to the living room to press further. "I mean, when we first got together, $!{royal_first_name} warned me about the wandering eye ${royal_he_she_they} had. I kept waiting to catch ${royal_him_her_them} in the act, but I never did," Robin says. "Completely faithful." She furrows her eyebrows together as she continues. "But like I said, rumors about $!{royal_first_name} started getting texted to me. $!{royal_first_name} was kissing this celeb or this girl or whatever. So I panicked." Robin leans against the doorway to her bedroom and sighs again. "I texted him that we were through and blocked ${royal_him_her_them} on everything. Totally dumb, I know. By the time I unblocked ${royal_him_her_them} and tried to explain myself, $!{royal_first_name} didn't want anything to do with me," Robin finishes. She runs a hand through her hair and pushes a smile to her face. "Anyway…let's talk about something else. Anything else." *page_break [b] [i] NOW PLAYING AS: $!{player_first_name} [/i] [/b] Due to lack of time, you decide to skip through reading about Robin's fashion line and how she acts on the runway. You do take one final look at her face though. What are your thoughts on $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name}'s ex? *fake_choice #I'm way prettier. *set robin %-5 *goto bookstore #She's gorgeous...way prettier than me. *set robin %+5 *goto bookstore #She's alright. I do wonder if that's the real reason why they broke up though... *set robin %+3 *goto bookstore #Something about her just doesn't sit right with me... *set robin %-5 *goto bookstore #Seems lovely. We'll likely never cross paths though. *set robin %+3 *goto bookstore #She's a supermodel. Why should I care about somebody who walks for a living? *set royal %-5 *goto bookstore #I would love to ask her more about $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name}. *set royal %+5 *goto bookstore #If I wasn't so interested in $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name}, I would want to get with her. *set robin %+10 *goto bookstore *if (royal_personality = "sarcastic") "Hmm…do you want the long version or the abridged version?" She asks from inside of her room. "Whichever one gets me more readers!" Samantha exclaims, which causes Robin to burst out laughing. Robin doesn't say anything else until she reappears back into the living room, dressed to impress as usual. "Well, I'll be honest with you, Sam, I broke up with $!{royal_him_her_them} because we both thought it would be best. No fighting or anything like that." "Oh. I thought it would be for some other reason," Samantha says with raised eyebrows. "No. Things were getting busy. $!{royal_first_name} started getting more and more royal duties and my clothing line started picking up…eventually we just decided to separate. Not without a few quips back and forth, of course," Robin explains. She runs a hand through her hair and pushes a smile to her face. "Anyway…let's talk about something else. Like my eco-friendly clothing line…" *page_break [b] [i] NOW PLAYING AS: $!{player_first_name} [/i] [/b] Due to lack of time, you decide to skip through reading about Robin's fashion line and how she acts on the runway. You do take one final look at her face though. What are your thoughts on $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name}'s ex? *fake_choice #I'm way prettier. *set robin %-5 *goto bookstore #She's gorgeous...way prettier than me. *set robin %+5 *goto bookstore #She's alright. I do wonder if that's the real reason why they broke up though... *set robin %+3 *goto bookstore #Something about her just doesn't sit right with me... *set robin %-5 *goto bookstore #Seems lovely. We'll likely never cross paths though. *set robin %+3 *goto bookstore #She's a supermodel. Why should I care about somebody who walks for a living? *set royal %-5 *goto bookstore #I would love to ask her more about $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name}. *set royal %+5 *goto bookstore #If I wasn't so interested in $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name}, I would want to get with her. *set robin %+10 *goto bookstore *if (royal_personality = "charming") "Oh boy…" Samantha perks up at Greene's words and sits up on the couch as she comes back into her living room, hair fixed and business causal clothing on. Samantha waits for her to sit down and get comfortable before asking about the breakup again. "Well, Sam, everything that you hear in the media is true. $!{royal_title} Charming is ${royal_his_her_their} second name," Robin begins, a wistful smile on her face. "$!{royal_first_name} is literally perfect. Too perfect." She lets out a long sigh, propping her feet up on her coffee table. "I felt…I felt like we were always in competition. Not matter what I did, the media somehow made it their job to let people know that $!{royal_first_name} did something bigger and better. Finally…" Robin pauses and Samantha almost believes she's about to burst out in tears after dabbing at the corner of her eyes. She doesn't though. "Finally, I said enough was enough and asked if we could break up. $!{royal_first_name} was distraught at first, asking if there was anything that ${royal_he_she_they} could do to keep me. $!{royal_first_name} eventually backed off." Samantha and Robin lets out a pair of sigh that the other didn't know they had been holding in. She eventually runs a hand through her hair and pushes a smile to her face. "Anyway…let's talk about something else. Like my little pup, Glacier." *page_break [b] [i] NOW PLAYING AS: $!{player_first_name} [/i] [/b] Due to lack of time, you decide to skip through reading about Robin's fashion line and how she acts on the runway. You do take one final look at her face though. What are your thoughts on $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name}'s ex? *fake_choice #I'm way prettier. *set robin %-5 *goto bookstore #She's gorgeous...way prettier than me. *set robin %+5 *goto bookstore #She's alright. I do wonder if that's the real reason why they broke up though... *set robin %+3 *goto bookstore #Something about her just doesn't sit right with me... *set robin %-5 *goto bookstore #Seems lovely. We'll likely never cross paths though. *set robin %+3 *goto bookstore #She's a supermodel. Why should I care about somebody who walks for a living? *set royal %-5 *goto bookstore #I would love to ask her more about $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name}. *set royal %+5 *goto bookstore #If I wasn't so interested in $!{royal_title} $!{royal_first_name}, I would want to get with her. *set robin %+10 *goto bookstore #Done reading. *set donereading true "Ready, $!{player_first_name}?" You make sure everything on the shelf was pretty much how you found it and turn to your roommate, who has a book in ${roommate_his_her} hands. "Just grabbed something to keep me occupied while you're prancing around the palace," ${roommate_he_she} says, heading to the register. Alvina has appeared again, a smile still on her face. "Hope you found what you were looking for. Or found something that surprised you," she says to the both of you, but you can't help but to feel that the words were targeted mainly towards you. Soon the transaction is over and the two of you are saying goodbye to the bookkeeper and heading on your way. *page_break *goto_scene chp2_thecity