In the tower, Ethan brings Raine the parchment.
"Okay, I've got it."
"Great, hand it here."
As he hands her the paper, Raine sees a drawing of the same princess that had been in the hologram the four of the others had seen. Around the drawing, there were hearts, and written in the plan, next to there, were the words 'get the princess to finally love me!'
"So... Luckily for you... and unluckily for me, it looks like this-" she turns the paper around and points to what she's seen "-is part of your goal..."
"Oh, I uh... That's amazing!"
"Oooof course you would like that."
"What can I say? Being smooth is my forte. I can't help it just like you can't help being beautiful."
"Okay, that's already too weird. I don't like this. Where are the others when I need them, gosh..."
"Aw, Raine, c'mon, you don't need them. I'm all the company you need. Why else would fate have brought us together? And alone no less?"
"Ugh, maybe because life can be cruel?"
"Cruel? Is that really how you see this? Do you really hate me that much?"
"No, really, you're great. I could never hate you! Don't blow my words out of proportion!"
"But you said it for a reason. I know you don't really want to make me mad, now do you?"
"No, I don't. But it really doesn't matter what I say, now does it? You'll just keep flirting with everyone! I kind of wish you were bi or something, then Wynn wouldn't get to be the only one free from your incessant advances."
"Fine. Whatever. But you seem to have forgotten one thing during your critical tirade."
She looks uninterestedly at him. "Oh, and what's that?"
"I'm the villain of this story, and you've just made me very mad."
"Oh no, what are you going to do, romance me to death? Maybe you could smother me with valentines, or choke me with chocolate, but I really, truly, don't want your love."
"That's it, I thought this was fun, being fun together as friends in this strange situation, but you have crossed the line so many times. I'm not holding back anymore, not even for you."
In the time they were speaking, Ethan had noticed a button on the cuff of his sleeve that was for a trap set up on the stool Raine was upon. As he gets mad at her, Ethan pushed the button, and his friend is instantly in the messiest, and most knotted tangle of ropes ever, and all of it inside a tight cage.
"Ethan! What the heck?!"
"I told you. I'm not holding back anymore. My role here is as the villain, so how about I embrace it? If you won't love me, I'll follow the advice in these plans and trap you until you learn to love me."
"Ethan, you don't really want this! You know as well as I do that we're allowed to deviate from the story at least some if we're not comfortable with it or if it could be harmful to us and our team! This seems like a harm to us!"
"Heheheh... That doesn't really matter right now. I don't doubt we'll be friends after this, but right now, since I have the chance to be a princess-kidnapping villain, then I'm going to do it, and I'm going to do it skillfully."
"Fine have it your way. Just because I'm in a poofy dress and honestly way too much jewelry, it doesn't mean I'm not skilled too. I've been trained in some fighting, and I'm not going to back down just because I care about you."
She tries kicking her way out, but the ropes tighten around both her legs and she topped over, rope, cage and all falling with her.
Ethan smirks at her fall and then sneers when he processes what she had just said to him.
"Care about me? So first you want nothing to do with me and my feelings, and then I'm someone you care about? Ha! Maybe you can make up your mind while you're laying on the floor there."
Raine ignores him. "We haven't seen the others at all yet. Don't you have a way that you can find them, o almighty villain? I expect when they get here they'll be tasked with stopping you."
"Oh, yes, I can see what I assume is them in the window now, still a bit far, but they're getting closer. With any luck, they won't beat me. But if the story calls for it, then I guess it will be your lucky day..."
She gasped. "Wait, they're almost here? Have you even read the rest of that plan, what are you going to tell them?"
"Don't worry my sweetie," he says, half condescendingly, half lovingly, "I know exactly what to do. Now, I'm just going to go greet them when they arrive. Oh, and for safety," he grabbed a strong cloth from a dresser in the room and tied it around Raine's head, putting the front in her mouth, and for good measure covered it with duct tape, preventing speech, "there. Now I'm going to go, just sit tight and don't go anywhere. Like that's much of a task..."
He walks out, winking at her before the door closes, followed by an audible click from the lock.
YOU ARE READING
Fiction WEAVERS
Pertualangan7 kids are recruited at a mysterious place by an equally as mysterious girl. What for? The hint that they're given is that "stories don't create themselves". What could it mean? What are they supposed to do? And what is Fern not telling them?
