Queen of Hearts [Hiatus]

2 | Twice the Vice

After waking up from her sleep, she got dressed and immediately went to the library.

2 years until the first death flag came; though it sounded like a lot of time, it truly wasn't. If one accounted for all the preparations she would have to make in that period of time – it truly wasn't enough; after all, she had to learn new skills to ensure her survival, just in the instance that things did go wrong.

Running to one of the plush chairs, she quickly located a book on the world's history, geography and background; though the main setting for the game was this world, not all of the history had been shown in the actual plot, leaving a lot of gaps in her knowledge.

The world was called Solitare, with the four countries K, Q, J and A located in the north, east, west and south respectively. The otome game was set in Q, which was the location of her current residence. The world didn't have any magical or fantasy elements - a completely modern world with highly advanced technology. Which was also why she needed to be so dependant on her own skills – a backer could crumble within a day in a world like this.

The Everclaine Empire was one of the leading manufacturers of weapons in Q, so learning self defence and attack  wasn't out of the question for Lotis; after all, adding to her repertoire of skills was always a good idea. Hurried to start the plan, she quickly ran out of the library – scaring the serving maids and the librarian that stood at his desk.

Rushed footsteps led themselves to the study room, where Duke Everclaine was reading over his documents. He furrowed his brows at the commotion; he would have to re-educate his servants if this was what they thought silence was. As he looked back down on to the paper, the wide double doors were opened – revealing a girl with blonde hair, followed by several servants who looked rather tired. His daughter smoothed down her skirt and neatened her hair with a deft movement of her wrist, before stepping into a neat and elegant curtsy.

"I apologise for the interruption, father – but it has come to my attention that my ability to protect myself is rather lacking; and I for once, find that disgraceful. So, father, I would like to take this chance to fix this error; could I learn self defence and attack?

The mid-forty man gently released his hold on his fountain, choosing to raise a well-manicured eyebrow at his 15 year old daughter; after all, it wasn't everyday that his rather pampered daughter wanted to learn something as physically taxing as self defence and attack. Still, it wasn't the most bizarre request he had gotten from her over the years – and in his opinion, it was quite fitting for a child of Everclaine to learn martial arts.

He looked at his daughter – it had been a while since he had seen his daughter; 2 years, if he recalled correctly. He was a busy man with an even busier life, and there was not much time in such a life for the pleasantries of family. Still, even with all those years he had missed, he knew that there was something different about her; her eyes looked more mature, and her bearing was filled with an elegance that wasn't there before. She had changed – and dare he say it, it was for the better as well.

He smiled; time did good on his daughter.

After receiving her father's permission, an instructor was hired by the house to teach her. The instructor himself was quite young for someone in his line of work – at only 21 years old, he was already renowned as a martial arts genius. Victor Robli was one of the many refugees from J who had escaped to Q to escape the J's civil war; and it was only the country's refugee entrance examinations that picked up on his skills. Now, he had already mastered 13 forms of martial arts, and was already in his third year of teaching in the Clubs faction at CARDS.

Yet, for all his achievements – Lotis was not pleased. It was regretful – all the bishies [1] were capture targets, and god knew that she would rather amputate her arm than interact with one of those death flags.

Victor Robli – the martial arts genius from J, and one of the two hidden capture targets. Basically, a death flag.

She looked at the silver-haired smiling man in front of her – analysing him with a quick sweep of her eyes. It was strange though, she thought – because the original Lotis had only met him when she was actually student in CARDS; and even then, there weren't many chances of interaction between the two.

She knew that her arrival would change things – but for some parts of the plot to be completely disregarded even without her intervention...

...it was odd, one could say.

He was a good teacher, though that shouldn't have been surprising due to his position in CARDS; he was gone now, due to return in a week. Sighing, she relaxed her tired body – the training regime was tiring on her body, and god knew the stress wasn't doing much to help it.

As she stepped out of the training room, Sai – one of the manservants hired by the house – came to stop her.

"Lady Everclaine, your father has requested your presence in the drawing room."

Nodding her head ever so gracefully, she picked up the pace; for though she knew that she had done nothing wrong, it was still daunting. Opening the doors and walking over to the table, she sat down in one of the many plush chairs in the room – and she listened.

For all intents and purposes, she now had a brother – behind the screens, however, she had just gotten herself a new bodyguard that could stay with her 24/7. It wasn't as so explicitly stated of course – but she could guess, from the boy's expressions and her father's carefully chosen words.

14 years old, Naito Everclaine – a capture target, and another death flag.

[1] Bishie is a Japanese slang word for a handsome man; Bishounen