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I have no idea how this idea came to my head. I mean... I am in LOVE with YurixEstelle. But... I'm ashamed to say there's another pairing with Yuri that I love more.
Oh, and there's a horrible, HORRIBLE gameplay reference in here. It's a bit 'off' in terms of the storyline with the game- .. You'll see what I mean!
She was ready. There was no doubt in her mind that said she couldn't do this. No, she went through far too many things just to back down at this point. Nothing could stop her. Nothing.
Estelle took a deep breath and held it, her confidence already struggling to escape when she found Yuri talking to a female employee about the upcoming festival. Apparently this was the time of the year where the cheerful island of Nam Cobanda Isle got even more rowdy. With kids such as Karol and Raven in the party, there was no way they would miss the event. The princess could already tell that Yuri would find no interest in the festival, so she made it her self mission to show him how much fun fun was. Furthermore, it seemed like the perfect excuse for her to be able to spend some alone time with the swordsman.
Estelle blew out the held air and stood stiff. This was it, now was her chance! She took quick steps towards Yuri the second she saw the employee walk away. Her hands balled into fists, she began speed walking until…
"So Yuri," Judith asked with a hand placed on her chest as her weight shifted onto her right leg. "Wanna be my 'date' for the festival?"
"Hm? Oh, sure. I guess." The male arched his eyebrow before shrugging. He could tell that Judy was just playing; the smirk on her face gave hint of that. Unfortunately…
"WHAT!" Both Yuri and the Krytian shifted their gaze to the pinkette. Her eyes were wide open in disbelief as her face grew red in anger. The breathing through her nose got louder, her hands were starting to shake. All Yuri did was tilt his head to the side and blink. He'd never seen the princess like this. Neither did Judith, yet she let out a giggle and placed her hands behind her back.
"Is there something wrong?" She smiled as Estelle stomped in front of the two.
"Y-You can't go with Yuri! I was going to ask him! I'M the one who's supposed to be his date!" Estelle practically yelled at the lancer, the latter not moving an inch during the assault.
"How... unladylike, for you to say." Yuri smirked as he patted her shoulder, almost as if congratulating her for the amusing performance. Estelle immediately blushed as embarrassment pushed aside her anger, and although Yuri could not see this, he could just imagine her face being as pink as her hair.
Judith let out a small laugh before speaking, "But it's already too late, right? I've already 'asked' him to be my date." A teasing smile grew from her lips as she crossed her arms. Just how mad, she wondered, would Estelle be if the two fighting addicts kept up their little game?
"But that can't happen!" Estelle turned to Yuri with her cheeks packed with air. He in turned laughed at the adorable expression on her face. "I want to be your date Yuri!"
"Well, we have ourselves a problem then." Sarcasm coated his words as he looked over to Judith. "It would be rude not to go with Judy here, just because she asked first. And…" His eyes scanned back onto Estelle. "… Technically you didn't ask. You're basically commanding me to take you. It doesn't seem wise for me to ignore the wishes of Princess Estellise. What to do… what to do…?"
Her whole body began to shake. What was she going to do? Of course Yuri was going to pick Judith. They seemed to be a perfect match for each other: they understood each others jokes and sarcasm, they both saw fighting as an enjoyment, and the two even saw cooking as an enjoyable hobby. There was no way Estelle could win, especially if she fails miserably at making a sandwich! If only there was some way she could show Yuri something she was better than Judith...
"… That's it!" The princess' face lit up as she gave Yuri one of her signature smiles. Though, when she turned to face Judith, a confident look overtook her features. "I challenge you to a duel!"
Both Yuri and Judith stopped smiling and each stared her with a confused and curious look, respectively. "… A duel," repeated the swordsman as he arched his eyebrow once more. "You want to challenge Judy to a duel."
"Yes!" She jumped in excitement before nodding. "If I win, I will be the one to accompany Yuri to the festival."
"My, a duel sounds like fun!" Judith couldn't help but to smile again; fighting was a part of her nature. But does this mean the two would clash their weapons against each other? Surely if that would happen, she would either come out charred from Estelle's magic artes, or Estelle might come back missing an arm. Pushing the thought aside the Krytian asked, "What kind of a duel did you have in mind?"
Estelle blinked as she rubbed the sides of her head with both hands. She hadn't thought that far… How was she supposed to prove that she was better than Judith at something if she didn't know what that something was! Frantically looking around for an idea, her emerald hues fixed themselves to where Rita was.
The genius mage was moving quick on her feet with her arms swaying fluidly. She was on a platform that had flashing lights and booming speakers, and by the looks of it, her opponent couldn't keep up. Estelle watched in amazement as Rita easily took first place. Watching her win helped Estelle regain her confidence. "That!" She pointed out to the game where the two sets of eyes followed.
Yuri immediately did a facepalm. Out of all things, the inexperienced-at-everything damsel had to choose one of the most popular games known to man.
Dance. Dance. Revolution.
"H-How could this be…?" Estelle sank onto her knees and buried her face in her hands. The second round had barely started, yet she failed once more. Rita sighed and shook her head before watching Judith like everyone else was. The Krytian was of course no stranger to dancing; this was evident on how fluid her movements were in battle. Although she wasn't the best, the 'Standard' setting on the game made her seem like a dancing goddess to Estelle. '… Is there nothing… I can beat her in…?'
Looking hopelessly at the screen, the princess stared at the arrows. The key to this game was to keep a close eye on the moving icons and press the tile it represented. Then it hit her. 'Isn't this… similar to the aer krene! It's just like the Blade Drifts Of Zophier!'
She waited until Judith finished the second stage with ease, leaving the crowds of men drooling from watching her chest. (Raven, of course, had the honor of having a front row view.) The Krytian looked over at the pinkette with a smile. "Are you giving up already?"
"There's no way!" Estelle stood up on her feet and took the liberty in choosing the next song. Squinting at the song 'Butterfly,' she hit the acceptance button, then stood her place back on the platform. Her eyes were fixated on the screen, causing Judith to let out another giggle.
"W-What! … But I did so well on that last song!" Estelle whined, banging her head lightly at the screen. The Final Stage ended with both getting an A score, yet she came out with an F at the end while Judith was ranked a B.
"Well… If you fail once or… in your case Estelle, twice… you automatically get an F…" Karol slowly responded as he scratched his cheek. Hopefully the princess wouldn't use him as a way to take out her anger. Instead, the princess remained sulking. Her chances with Yuri were over! There was no use in going to the festival now!
"Don't worry too much about it Estelle." Yuri smirked, leaning against the side of the machine. "Besides, I think I know a way to solve this." Estelle quickly looked up at him and blinked.
"Y-You mean… You'll actually go with me!"
"…."
"So… how 'bout a hug?" Raven grinned as she extended his arms towards the princess, who in turn gave a shriek and pushed him away.
"Um, I don't think so!" Estelle huffed and slouched back onto her seat. Yuri had 'denied' her once again. This time, he seemed to be punishing her by forcing her on a date with Raven. If anything, why couldn't she be with Rita? Where was Rita, she thought? At this rate, having people poke fun about 'Ristelle' was better than spending the night with the perverted old man.
"How could this happen! On a day like this!" Rita frowned as she ran towards the busted blastia, rubbing at its surface. "I'm so sorry Coleen… If only I could of saved you sooner!..."
Watching her from distance away was Yuri with a handful of deserts in his hands. He was alone as he expected himself to be. He knew Judith would be off doing something on her own again, so there was no use in going on a 'date' with her. It's not to say that Yuri wanted to be kept away from Estelle either.
All he really wanted out of this was to be with his own true love.
Sweets.