Hi! I am glad that a lot of people are interested in this story! SO here is some more…

Disclaimer: All of the characters and storyline mentioned belongs to Vivian Vande Velde but the story idea is mine!

Level 2

Say What?

Janine rushed about her room trying to find her riding clothes. She finally fished them out of her closet, dressed, and rushed out of the room. She bumped into Kenric in her rush.

"Oh, I am so sorry Ni- Prince Kenric! I guess was in such a hurry that I did not pay attention to wear I was walking." said Jeanine with a laugh. She offered a smile as she joined him in the hallway.

"I was hoping to accompany you on your visit to your foster parents." said Kenric. Jeanie nodded. She headed towards the stables with Kenric following a few paces behind her. Jeanie blinked and shielded her eyes with her hand from the harsh sunlight. Then she watched the attendants saddle the horses and mounted the white horse that she knew was hers. She walked her horse to where Kenric was mounting a black horse. Once both riders were mounted, they started off towards Jeanie's old village. The hills rolled gently along the horizon before them as the pair trotted along the beaten path through the earthen mounds. The sky was a deep blue and not a cloud was in sight. The two chatted pleasantly as they rode. The dust road was a winding ribbon before them. About thirty minutes later, they reached her old village of St. Jehan.

"So, what made you decide to come with me?" she asked. Kenric looked at her and smiled.

"It was either this or listening to my mother rant about Grimbold's odor all day." He said truthfully. "Although… I don't blame her!" Janine snorted with laughter. Kenric chuckled a little at his own joke. "So, what did you do out here?" he asked.

"Watched the sheep with Dusty." She answered with a shrug.

"Guess you did not have any trouble sleeping." Kenric commented. Janine laughed once more. "Who knew that Kenric had a sense of humor?" She thought. "No, wait a minute; I forgot that this isn't just Kenric but Nigel in Kenric's body… if only we weren't related in this game. Then maybe we could be a little more than friends unlike the outside world. But one can only dream."

"No, I didn't but Dusty was a good enough alarm clock." She said. Giannine was deeply troubled. She liked Nigel a lot. He was smart, compassionate, funny, rich, and cute. He was no prince but that was pretty close. But he was one of her few friends and one of her best friends, there were only two. She did not want to ruin their friendship by being too forward. Maybe she would ask him to the dance. The first dance of her freshman year in high school was coming up and she really wanted him to go. Surely, he was no hermit but when it came to a large crowd of people, he was a bit shy.

"Janine? Janine." She snapped back to reality when she heard name being called. "Which way do we go?"

"Ummm…" she started. They were standing at a fork in the road. She dug into the "false" memories she had gained from her previous game and said,

"That way." Then she pointed to the left fork. Kenric nodded and steered the horse in that direction. Janine followed. To get her mind off of her brooding thoughts, she began to chat with Nigel again. "So exactly how have you changed the game play this time?"

"Well… Like I said the emotions of the players become fused with those of the characters. But the characters emotions are clusters of code that might reflect a certain range of emotions for that character as it was intended to be. Then the computer selects the closest group to the player's real emotions. Then depending on the choices that player makes, the story will be pieced together from the smaller storylines submitted by our customers as they play. Some may be pleasant others may not. Other storylines will have a definite ending, others may not." He said with a shrug.

"So, what kind of storylines are we talking about?" Giannine asked dreading the worst. Nigel half shrugged this time.

"The kingdom might be attacked by another kingdom, a famine might strike, someone could turn against you, or someone could put a curse on you. There thousands that I don't even know of that my designers in training came up with. So, that is why I called you in. You were the only person I could think of that would be able to think quickly enough on their feet and under pressure. Plus your creativity within the game realm has yet to be matched." He said with pure admiration in his voice.

"Th-thank you." said Giannine ducking her head modestly as she blushed from his praise. They both were silent as they rode up to the farm house. Her dog, Dusty, came to meet them barking happily as the came into the yard. Janine dismounted her horse and petted the shaggy dog. She guided her horse up to the house with Kenric following behind. Her former parents greeted her with open arms.

"Janine we are so glad to see that things went so well for you. But you must come inside because there is something that we needed to tell you." said her mother her lively voice becoming grave. She looked back at Kenric who was slowly dismounting. Dexter moved to take the reins from her and Kenric.

"I will take these to the stables while you two royals make yourselves comfortable." said Dexter as he led the two horses away. Kenric and Janine followed her mother into the small cabin that was their home. The place was homely as it always was in appearance but it was clean and felt warm. There was a small fire going in the fireplace. A hearty stew was bubbling away underneath the dancing flames. Janine sighed dreamily. "I would love to in a small cabin like this tucked away in a little cove in the Catskill Mountains… wouldn't that be nice?" Giannine wasn't a nature nut, so to speak, but she loved the peace and serenity she enjoyed in nature and away from the noises of the city.

"I am sorry I have no better seats to offer you than these hard chairs but it is all I have you see." said the foster mother as she gestured for them to sit. Janine sat down in a chair next to Kenric. Her foster mother looked like a bundle nerves that were about to come undone. She paced for a moment or two then stopped, looked at them, and then started to wring her hands. "This one acts as if she has something to hide… or something to tell." thought Nigel to himself. Janine noticed it too. Finally the woman dropped her hands and took a deep breath. "There was a scandal when the queen found out about the illegitimate heir. And well… she, under the king's nose, sought out the woman and the baby and killed them. She was staying here at this farm that was true but when she was done in, we were in town trading the wool, you see." She said it like she was trying to plead her innocence to a judge. "Then my water broke while we were in town… We were delayed in getting back. By the time we got here they had been dead a long time." She finished in an almost sob. A grating fear began to grow in Janine's stomach.

"So, what does this mean?" asked Kenric. The woman grew very pale but pressed on and said in a soft voice,

"That Janine is really my daughter but I said that she was heir apparent because I felt beholden to make it up to the king so I produced Janine as the heir apparent."

"WHAT?!!!" cried Kenric practically jumping out his chair to stare down the woman. Janine's mother broke and crumpled to her hands and knees.

"Please, you can punish me as you see fit but please don't hurt Janine; none of this is her fault." She sobbed. Janine had been quiet the entire time. She sat frozen in shock. The shock of how Kenric was treating her mother and the fact that she was not the true heir to the throne. As the numbness of the shock wore off her mind began spouting off questions and concerns that she could not voice at the moment. She was still mute from the shock. Then one single thing rang through her head: What would the Queen do to her if she found out? That was enough to frighten her into another shock. Kenric had recovered from his outburst and was apologizing to her mother as he helped her to stand back up. He turned to stare at Janine. He instantly frowned in concern. He said something to her but she could not hear him. It was as if someone had hit the mute button on a remote control. Then Kenric rushed towards her as a strange sensation of falling washed over her. Then everything grew dark…

Kenric cradled Janine in his arms as her mother fretted nearby. The shock must have been too much for Giannine and she had fainted. Kenric slowly stood so he would not drop Janine.

"Please, protect my daughter. The Queen would do anything to her, just to get her throne back." begged Janine's mother.

"I promise… I will do my best to protect to her." promised Kenric.

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Janine slowly began to arouse from her sleep. When her eyes fluttered open all she saw was the stars above her. She slowly sat up to find that she was covered with Kenric's cape near a fire. Kenric himself was sitting next to the fire beside her. She yawned and asked timidly,

"What happened?"

"You fainted; I carried on you my horse, tied your horse's lead to mine, and started back towards the castle but stopped after sundown." He answered. Then as she mentally reviewed what had happened. Then her fear returned with a vengeance. Finally she managed to find her voice and tentatively asked,

"Are you going to abandon me?" Kenric looked at her with understanding eyes and reached out to stroke her face.

"Giannine, you forget that I am not just Kenric but Nigel, too. I am not going to abandon you." He said. She giggled a bit at her own stupidity. She scooted closer to him and wrapped the cape the both of them then settled down to sleep…

When they made it back to the castle they spent the entire time trying to avoid the Queen dowager and trying to figure out how Janine could keep her throne. When they woke up back in the Center, both were frustrated but entertained. As they walked back to Nigel's place to meet her grandmother, they talked about the game. As they rushed up the steps Nigel's father met him at the door.

"Guess who's come home from college?" he said with a half- smile. Nigel looked back at Giannine who just shrugged.

"Who?" Nigel asked dreading the answer. A boy a little older than Nigel with cotton blue highlights and piercings all along his outer ears leaned around his father to stare Nigel down.

"Hey techno- freak!" he jeered. Nigel groaned. Then through gritted teeth he grumbled,

"Hey Dale…"

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That's it! Sorry it took so long! Please read the review I left!