The Cocoriara residence was very close to the castle. Ten minutes in the carriage, and we’d already passed through the front gates of the estate. A few minutes later, the carriage was pulling up to the front of the main house. It was practically a castle in its own right, capped by burnt sienna shingles and framed by a meticulously manicured garden. Enough ground lights circled the house to illuminate the whole structure in the dark of night. As I climbed out of the carriage, servants held open the front door.
My clock is ticking! I reminded myself.
“Excuse me, I’m in a hurry!” I said to the perplexed servants as I ran past, making straight for my bedroom.
There, I began shoving cash, jewelry, and anything else I thought I could easily sell into a bag. Ditching my ball gown, which would be an ordeal to change in and out of alone, I threw on the most understated dress I owned...which was plenty extravagant by non-noble standards.
“Other clothes, I can figure out later,” I muttered to myself. “What else do I need?” I took in the pearly-white bedroom furnished with sepia and mauve furniture: a lavish canopy bed, an ornately carved desk, a plush sofa... It was interesting just to examine their details. Since the game was set in a fantasy world, they weren’t identical to furniture used in, say, medieval Europe back on Earth.
“No, I need to hurry!” I scolded myself and rerouted my train of thought. Packing a few potions would make me feel better.
Suddenly, my parents threw open the door and flew into the room.
“Did something happen, Lottie?” father asked. Only close family members called me Lottie.
“Where is Prince Ignacia?” mother added.
They went wide-eyed when they caught sight of me wearing a simple dress and hurrying to pack a bag. It was no wonder. I would usually return much later from balls, escorted by the prince. I spared a brief thought for the crown prince, who, now that his pesky noble fiancée was out of the way, was sure to be spending a steamy night with Emilia.
Theodore and Angela Cocoriara—my parents—were both loyal and important players in the Farblume court, and I looked up to them for it. They’d truly believed it would better our kingdom when they’d decided to marry me off to Prince Ignacia. My father, whom I inherited my milk-tea hair from, was a ’roided-up—I mean, hulking—commander. My mother, back when she regularly attended them, had usually been considered the belle of the ball with her deep-ruby hair and absolute bombshell of a body. Even women had a hard time keeping their eyes off of her. In the comfort of their home, my parents now wore tasteful, matching sleeping gowns, a clear sign of their closeness.
I hesitated to tell them the truth but decided they’d find out soon enough. “Prince Ignacia revoked our engagement and exiled me. It breaks my heart to leave my dear family, but I will remove myself before my presence brings even more shame to our family name,” I said, meaning every word.
There was no additional truth I could offer, since I had never tormented Emilia in any way, despite the prince’s accusation. Besides, I didn’t want to get into details and invite time-consuming questions.
Father was the first to respond. “Oh...? That princeling decided to break my Lottie’s heart, did he?” Not bothering to hide his anger, he cracked his knuckles menacingly. If I were a stranger coming across him like this, I’d be cowering in a corner.
Mother sighed. “He is such a brat, isn’t he?” Maybe she’d half expected this to happen. Mother always had a way of collecting all sorts of information.
“What are we waiting for?! Matthew, ready my horse!” Father bellowed for our butler. “Now!” He stormed out of the room like a frenzied bull.
“F-Father...” I tried and failed to call him back.
“There he goes again.” Mother followed her husband out the door. He was probably on his way to gain an audience with the king.
After mulling over my options, I decided that there wasn’t much I could do about them. If father was riding to the castle, there was no catching up to him. I doubted there were ten knights in the entire kingdom who could keep up with him. He might take a carriage instead, if mother was going with him, but...
“I should still move out.” I had been exiled, after all, even if Prince Ignacia was obviously in the wrong for doing so. After my parents had what were sure to be a few choice words with the king, he might choose to veto my exile. Plotlines in the video game notwithstanding, I could probably mend the engagement if I wanted to. If I were Ignacia’s mother, I’d be groveling for forgiveness. Of course, kings and queens didn’t exactly grovel.
And I don’t want to be engaged to him again. I can’t be with him anymore, I had realized. So, I would leave the kingdom, just as Charlotte Cocoriara did in every playthrough of Reas Love—though, if this were a playthrough, the credits would be rolling already.
“But...my story doesn’t end at the credits.” I had the freedom to do anything I wanted, and what I wanted more than anything now...was adventure! I would see and experience everything this world had to offer. In a way that could have never been replicated in VR, I wanted to be immersed in the world I loved.