Cerise paced outside the treasury room. Roselle hid herself within the castle or possibly out of its great scaling walls. The Queen noted Cerise grasping onto the wand, tapping it against the palm of her hand. Cerise wondered if she could use the wand to summon Roselle, though that seemed silly, didn’t it? Magic wasn’t there for convenience; it was something that was unearthed and discovered and had its own rules and layers to the system. Cerise felt her stomach twist at her previous words; she blamed Roselle for having the privileged life that Cerise herself did not, but it turned out Roselle couldn’t use magic at all and she was sensitive about it. She never thought she would witness the normally noble and dignified Princess in tears, though she saw a more human side to Roselle than she initially gave credit for.

Still, what was Cerise to do? They didn’t exactly kiss and make up, really; and now Cerise was left with her stomach plummeting lower and lower until she was sure it reached her bowels. Maybe she shouldn’t have scolded Roselle like that. On the one hand, some part of her insisted that Roselle needed to hear those words, that someone needed to put her in place, though Cerise knew that she was in the wrong this time, as much as she was loath to admit it. She tried to think of ways to approach the Princess and ask for her forgiveness, before stopping herself.

She would rather die than beg for the Princess’s forgiveness. Even if she was wrong, Cerise still had her pride. She couldn’t let herself soften towards the Princess. She was her enemy, after all; the one that she was forced to marry by the Queen. Actually, shouldn’t the Queen be the real enemy here? But Cerise dare not express her ill feelings towards the Queen; doing so would be treason. Cerise shook her head. No, she mustn’t think such thoughts of the Queen! Who happened to be Roselle’s mother; and Roselle was…

Cerise groaned in frustration.

“If she’s going to sulk like a child I’m not coming to her!” Cerise declared.

“I don’t know what happened between you two in the treasury vault,” The Queen said softly. “But my dear Roselle has been wounded deeply. Her pride is injured, and she tries her hardest at everything to make up for her weakness. You may find her to be haughty and prickly and all sorts of unpleasantness, but Roselle is my daughter and I do truly want her to be happy. I know that this is an arranged marriage, but I believe it’s in the best interests of all.”

“And why is that?” Cerise asked.

“Well, you see, Cerise, Roselle only has one saving grace to keep the Grand Duelist title,” The Queen said. “It puts you under a lot of pressure, but with you being married to Roselle, she can keep the title and save face. You, on the other hand, marry into a powerful family with all the riches and treasures and whatnot that you could ever want.”

Cerise remained silent and bowed her head. She, like Roselle, wanted to marry for love. Sure, she always fantasized from her storybooks at bedtime that she would one day marry a handsome prince that swept her off of her feet and carried her on his noble steed. Roselle was far from being the handsome prince that she imagined, though she was very beautiful and she wielded the rapier better than any prince or Knight that she has ever seen.

I can’t fall in love with her, Cerise told herself. She is my enemy. The Queen may say that I’m marrying into riches and splendor, but love is greater than the weight of gold or any other treasure. It’s priceless.

The Queen rose, before saying. “I’ve witnessed your magical ability firsthand. I think it’s best that you go to the Soreno Kingdom to learn magic. It seems like it’s something that you can’t command on and off yet, but eventually with practice and great teachers, you can do it.”

“But I thought this was a quest for the Philosopher’s Stone?” Cerise protested.

“Since you’re marrying into this family, you need to learn how to hold the Grand Duelist title alongside Roselle,” The Queen said patiently. “We need to make a champion out of you.”

“I…I’m not prepared for this,” Cerise admitted to the Queen. “I don’t think that I can study magic and become a champion! There’s no way that I can handle all the responsibility!”

“Don’t worry, you will eventually learn,” the Queen said. “You will bring honor to your family and our family if you do. Imagine the prestige of rising up from your station in life and being able to go on a grand adventure! Very few people can lay claim to the Grand Duelist title; it’s a very honorable position indeed.”

“I didn’t ask for any of this,” Cerise said, her voice trembling slightly. The Queen put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“I know. This is a rather selfish request of mine, but I do want you to look after my daughter. I think that you’re the only one who can open up her eyes and her heart.”

“What do you mean by that?” Cerise asked.

“She is growing up still,” the Queen said. “She must learn many responsibilities before I pass down the title Grand Duelist to her and prepare her for becoming the next Queen. You probably realize that she doesn’t use magic, right?”

Cerise nodded. “I found out…in the treasury room…”

“Well, Roselle closed off her heart from the world because she was ostracized for her lack of magic in the Kingdom,” The Queen said. “Roselle actually comes from a line of sorceresses, who are believed to come from a goddess who turned mortal and lived a human life in this world. Since Roselle’s Magic Circuits were so powerful and eating her up, they had to be sealed and thus her magic abilities are sealed. She always had an obsession with the Philosopher’s Stone because she believes that it would cure her and she will be able to use magic again.”

Cerise lowered her head. “Do you really need to use magic, anyway?”

“Magic is part of the fabric of this world. It was said that a Master Song was sung to breathe this world into existence through a goddess, who then threaded the tapestry of Fate with her needle to bring people and worlds together.”

Cerise bowed her head. “So I have to go to the Soreno Kingdom now? What about my family? My sister…”

“It’s already taken care of,” The Queen said. “I already sent messenger pigeons to your place of residence Your family will also be guided through the forest and towards the castle in a carriage to live in the castle with us, since you’re now engaged to Roselle.”

Cerise bowed her head again. “About Roselle…”

“You have conflicted feelings about the matter, don’t you?” The Queen said. “Marriage is about compromise. It may be an arranged marriage, though I think that the two of you will become fond of one another in time.”

“I guess…” Cerise said, before the Queen put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Your family will have all the provisions that they’ll ever need,” the Queen said to Cerise. “They won’t have lack of food, wealth, or love in the castle here. Your sister will be in safe hands at the castle. Now go find Roselle. I will prepare a ship for you to go to the Soreno Kingdom soon.”

With that, the Queen departed and Cerise was left wondering what she should do. She was going to be sent to a faraway kingdom by sea--not to mention that she’s never been on a ship before, and she might get seasick, and oh, what if there were sea monsters?--and she felt homesick already. She wanted to be at her sister’s side, though through her own stupidity and bad luck, she must go on a faraway journey to find the Philosopher’s Stone It was her original goal, wasn’t it, but she didn’t expect to get entangled in a political marriage with a princess.

“I am to be wed to Princess Roselle,” Cerise whispered to herself. “I must put on a smile and act kind to her. But what should I say?”

Cerise took a deep breath, before muttering to herself and trying to recite the apology that she wanted to say to Roselle. None of them did any good, and she felt that they sounded feeble and insincere to her ears. Besides, Roselle said that she wanted to marry for love too, didn’t she? Some part of Cerise’s mind told her that Roselle wasn’t her enemy, but that didn’t mean that Cerise should just accept everything blindly. Ir may seem like good fortune to her and her family, but most people will probably think that Cerise is ordinary and plain girl who happened to weasel her way into the royal family’s good graces and got all the riches that she could ask for. They will never accept her, despite what the Queen may say, and Roselle was only marrying her because she didn’t want to lose the title of a Grand Duelist.

“Roselle,” Cerise said aloud. “I’m sorry…that’s the only thing I can say. No, it still doesn’t sound right. Whatever am I going to say to her?”

Cerise started to walk through the corridor in search of Roselle. She paused when a Knight approached her, breathing heavily.

“What is it, Sir Knight?” Cerise asked, and the Knight looked towards Cerise and huffed and puffed, as though he had been on a long chase.

“Roselle…escaped from the castle,” the Knight said. “I think she might’ve run away!”

“Ran away,” Cerise said blankly, though some part of her internally cheered. Maybe she didn’t have to get married after all! While Cerise’s heart thumped in her throat, she then felt a guilty twinge and found herself wondering what Roselle was doing. How would she survive out of the safety of her castle? Surely Roselle didn’t know a thing about living in anonymity or among commoners. When Cerise was left pondering about where Roselle could’ve possibly ran off to.

The Knight continued his search, and Cerise was left wandering aimlessly down the halls until she felt a hand cover her mouth and pull her into a darkened corridor that led into a secret passageway which led to a secret crevice in the castle where a hidden garden blossomed with fragrant flowers of all delicate colors. When the person let her go, Cerise turned to face Roselle, whose face looked splotchy from a good cry.

“Rosele,” Cerise said blankly. “I thought you ran away from the castle.”

“Do you think that I’m so cowardly that I would run away from my duty?” Roselle hissed, before she softened and let out a sigh. “No, I figured I would bring you here and have a private chat.”

“I thought you wanted nothing to do with me,” Cerise said, then immediately regretted it. She was supposed to apologize, wasn’t she? Why couldn’t she bring herself to do it?

“Now is not the time to argue,” The Princess said with a sigh, before she gestured to the flower garden. “Aren’t these lovely?”

“Surely you didn’t bring me here to discuss the flowers, have you?”

Roselle let out a sigh.

“You’re right. What I wanted to talk to you about is…well…”

Roselle blushed.

“Do you think that…er…well…”

She trailed off, wondering how to phrase it. Cerise was left wondering what left the princess so tongue-tied.

“I was thinking about what you said,” Roselle said. “And…well…I guess I really did bring all of this upon myself. I was only thinking about myself, without considering other people’s feelings. So…I was thinking that…maybe…we could start over again. Not as enemies, not as friends, but as..well…partners?”

Cerise felt her heart flutter in her throat. Was Roselle…actually apologizing to her? The too proud, too serious Roselle Perrault? Cerise seriously considered her proposition; they could be partners. They could work together and help save the kingdom together. Roselle was being earnest and sincere, and something about that lit Cerise’s heart alight with something buoyant, though her memories of another person that she loved drifted through her mind. There was someone else before Roselle, and Cerise couldn’t shake her loyalty towards this person.

“There is…someone else,” Cerise said awkwardly. “I mean…well…there was someone that I love before coming to the castle. I’m really sorry, Roselle, but…this marriage can’t happen.”

Roselle paled. “But surely…you’ll…you and your family will live well here!”

Cerise shook her head.

“I can’t, Roselle. Besides, people will never truly accept me among the nobility anyway.”

Roselle clenched her hands into fists. “So you’re just going to run away?”

Cerise closed her eyes, before saying. “I’m just being realistic. I think it’s better to call this whole marriage thing off. Why does it matter if there’s one loss on your record, anyway? It’s not like it was anything important, it was just as you said; a child’s game in luck. Hell, just lie and say that I cheated in the tournament or something; I don’t mind living in a scandal.”

“I would never do that,” Roselle said in shock. “That defies all my principles and honor! And you won fair and square! But I must have that title…you don’t realize how important it is to me…”

“But it looks like I have no other choice,” Cerise said aloud, pondering her situation. “We leave for Soreno Kingdom tomorrow. I guess I can’t disobey my Queen’s orders, who is by extension the order of the King.”

“I see…” Roselle said, before a sad smile tilted her lips. “Well, I thought that…maybe we could…that we would be…”

“I’m in love with someone else,” Cerise whispered. “I’m sorry Roselle.”