Chapter IV
104. Monsters, Marriage, and Magic
Princess Rosella closed the door, leaving Night in the strategy room by himself. After striding confidently from the room
declaring she would do "whatever it takes" to defeat Lolotte's nefarious plans, Rosella took a moment to herself. She
leaned her back against the thick door and let out a deep sigh, looking down at her feet. Sheets of long blonde hair
washed over her ivory cheeks as she stared at her favorite black heels. Normally polished and shiny, they were now
blemished with dirt and the wear of adventure. The inward thinking princess swayed the long folds of her vermilion
velvet skirt, the slit opening to reveal her long shapely legs encased in innocent white stockings. Even those had dusty
brown spots from her carelessness. Licking the palm of her hand, Rosella tried to gently work out the soiled nylons.
She wrinkled her nose at the awful taste, but her vanity won out. Before she knew it, she let out a slight chuckle. The
whole thing was ridiculous. She was dressed for a royal event, a dinner, a party, a dance. The last thing she was
dressed for was an adventure. And yet here she was, cleaning her stockings in the hallway of the most dangerous
place she had ever been: Lolotte's castle. She had braved a swamp, an ogre's house, a witch cave, a troll, an ocean,
all in hopes of rescuing Genesta and her fairies from an imminent doom. The surprising thing was that despite her
naive judgement, the young princess had thus far survived her ordeals, and even managed to rescue some of the
fairies. But in this moment of rest, in this moment of ponder, while Rosella distractedly cleaned herself, she knew what
still remained. The worst danger lay ahead. Genesta still needed rescuing, and that meant facing Lolotte, and stopping
her before she could use her dark magic to raise the very castle into a horrific gargantuan monster. To complicate
matters, there was also Edgar. After finding his journal, Rosella discovered that Edgar maintained a great bitterness
over her refusal in marriage when last they met. It appeared he was now bent on having Rosella as his faithful wife no
matter the cost.
A chill wind passed through the hall, flickering the torches and bringing Rosella from the depths of her revelries. She
had the bad habit of pondering even when time was in short supply. Smoothing out her red skirt gingerly, she noticed
that the hallway was empty. While there no doubt had been guards previously, it seemed obvious that the Three had
dispatched them in their own special ways. Rosella made a silent thank you knowing she would be spending the rest of
her days in the dungeon had it not been for Night, Jafar, and Knight. The three adventurers had arrived in Tamir
aboard the Jade Scimitar and by chance encounter, teamed up with princess Rosella. While they were a chaotic,
mysterious, and otherwise strange trio, there was no doubt as to their bravery and good hearts.
The hall left Rosella with two paths to choose from. A winding set of stairs curled upwards on her left, while a door stood
ajar at the opposite end of the hall. From her previous adventure in the castle, Rosella remembered all too well that the
stairs led to Lolotte's bedroom, and the room at the end of the hall was a study. The thought of marching up the stairs
and confronting Lolotte immediately was both thrilling and intimidating. It wasn't until now that Rosella actually
questioned how it was that she would even defeat Lolotte. She might not even be up there. But putting it off isn't doing
anybody any good either, thought Rosella, trying to find her courage. Finding Genesta or Edgar might be a better idea,
but the confused princess questioned if even that were true. Somehow facing a wicked witch seemed easier than
dealing with Edgar's broken heart.
If Rosella decides to go up the stairs to Lolotte's bedroom, Go Here.
If Rosella decides to investigate the study, Go Here.