“I refuse!” I declare! Pointing a sharp finger at her splayed figure with as much determination as I can muster in my delirious eyes.


    Marriage? So you tell me I am here not for cool magic hocus-pocus in a medieval fantasy, on an epic quest to save the world, but to become a hole with a posh title and spread my legs? That I am to be cattle, whored in silk, bred for bloodlines, milked for heirs. That I am to dress as a ceremonial cocksleeve, wrapped in sugary lace spun from generations of woven bridal fairytales and threaded virgin blood, topped with a cute little ribbon you’d smack on a birthday cake, handed off as a wedding gift. That I am a sacrificial lamb, led to slaughter, paraded at a victory banquet, laid out for a war feast while noble rot toasts over my moaning corpse? As if! Surely Iris sent me here to save the world instead. Not this! If not, the world can go to hell for all I care! It deserves destruction! The gods shall shove their divine stratagems straight up their celestial asses!


    “You haven''t even met him,” she mutters, leaning her hands behind her and pushing, sitting up, straightening her posture, her short legs hanging down the bed, lightly swinging as I rant to you.


    “And that''s exactly the problem!” I yell at her, scratching the hair on my broad forehead.


    “Ah…” she huffs, tapping a fist beneath her dimpled chin in a thinking manner. “I''ve heard he''s handsome.”


    “Who cares?! Listen well, Essie! There are countless handsome bastards everywhere. You have a cheap soul if you care for appearances alone! Looks are just a bonus, not a determinant!” I state the obvious.


    “You say looks don’t matter, but I wouldn''t want to marry someone too fat, or too ugly, or well, too girlish, ah, and too short too,” lists the shorty. “Would you?”


    Well, preferably, me neither… but I''ll omit that part. That''s beside the point I''m tryna make!


    The blonde shrugs as she raises her palms sideways. “I do understand your concerns, but that’s how things have been done for those of noble lineage since… forever. Most settle for a partner after they finish the academy.”


    “Most?” I turn back to the mirror as I glance at my minimalistic outfit. A sleeveless and high blouse with a pleated white bodice and dark navy ruffled sleeves, a cinched waist of navy, and a similarly pleated miniskirt.


    “You said ‘most’. Meaning, there are exceptions, aren’t there?”


    Hands clasped behind my back, I walk here and there, observing the blatantly expensive and elaborate furnishings in the form of glasses and portraits and then the furniture, either carved or finely painted, the bare walls shielded with golden leaves.


    In Madness Menagerie, just as the heroine was about to finish the academy, exactly in her ninth year, the cataclysm began and all went hail mary. As such, not much coverage as to what happens normally upon finishing the education period. Though there definitely were hints, and I would have noticed if I didn''t just skim through it on a caffeine induced night…


    “Ah, yes, you can take the civil route and get assigned to a ministry after swearing allegiance to the imperial family. Maybe instead become a church member and devote your life to one of the three gods. Or maybe further pursue academia… or enroll in the imperial army, though that''d be a bit of a stretch since it''s quite hard to get there considering there have been no wars in ages and all that…” Essie finally responds after pondering for a while, then stands and lightly beats her dress to straighten the creases before clearing her throat. “Anyhow. I''m sure it''d be more productive to complain to your father, the Lord. I''m just a maid, a lowly servant, after all…”


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Oh. Right. Makes sense to me. Thanks for the great idea.


    “Where?” I ask her, turning backward and pressing my hand against her shoulder. “Where’s he?”


    Her emerald eyes widen with regret.


    “My Lady, you just returned from the academy this morning, and it''s not even evening yet. You haven''t seen your family in three years, and the very moment you arrive, you reprimand the young master. Now you want to sour the Lord''s mood as soon as he gets back from the inspection at the town. Maybe delay the matter for a few days? It''s not like you''re getting engaged tomorrow…” Essie does her best to employ diplomacy, her voice softening.


    “No! Now!” I shout, marching toward the double doors. “Where is his room? I can wait!”


    “Wait—” she insists from behind. “Why are you in such a hurry?”


    “Hear me out, Essie. You nip the problems in the bud instantaneously and indiscriminately before they snowball into a catastrophe! Always do! If you ignore what''s before your very eyes, then you’re no more than a slave to circumstances!” I dictate as I march through the pompous hallways, grabbing my navigator by hand.


    “Right or left?”


    “Lady Cassa—”


    “Right or LEFT?!”


    “Left…”


    The other servants pause to take a look at us as we tread along the exotic plants and past the decorative mosaics.


    Thirty years. For thirty years, I lived caged, wore a collar I prided myself on. Attending school and sacrificing childhood for the promises of a better future. Attending college and sacrificing potential for the promises of a better future. Attending work and sacrificing time for the promises of a better future. Repeatedly, repeatedly, and repeatedly, I''ve been lied to. Only recently did I realize how lazy I was, giving up on freedom for comfort and choosing ease over choice, refusing to question the realities of life. Society grooms us into obedient peasants, into dogs who can merely bark about worldly affairs far from our reach and do nothing. The times may change, yet the principle stays the same no matter the era. From feudal lords to CEOs, from nobles to politicians, and from serfs to corporate workers, and though the names shift, the leash stays.


    Now, I do whatever I want, wherever I want, with whomever I want! Even death failed to stop me! If I sit on my ass and do nothing, then I deserve what is coming! But if I do my best and still fail, then at least I will die with no regrets whatsoever!


    It''s always been this way. I always do my best. This is my mantra in life!


    But now I can see more.


    There is no tomorrow, only today. There is no then, only now. There is no maybe, only must. There is no whichever, only what must be. There is no whichever, only only.


    “We''ve… ha… arrived… ha,” Essie breathes heavily, exhausted in every sense of the word. Her head lowered and chest puffing, she directs straight ahead with a weak hand.


    There, beside the enormous double doors with iron knockers, stands a boy with pink, side swept hair and tapered sides.


    He glares at me with his dried, sapphire eyes, and on his right cheek burns a red marking of a slap.


    Who is this kid?


    He sharply points at me and shouts in a high pitch, “You dirty slut!”


    Who is this dipshit?