Another month another contest.

This was my submission for the November prompt "Where are you"

Enjoy!

Everyone knows that the real world is a scary place. A place many wishes to escape. There is a place where those lucky enough can escape. A place they can be who they want and do as they please.

That place, the older people either fear or simply don't understand, is Virtual Reality.

~VRinIRL~

Elsa sighed as she made it home after another grueling day of school. A prison if she were to be honest. Ever since Virtual Reality started becoming popular, schools have banned all electronics.

She actually didn't mind to have actual conversations with her friends. They never sat on their phones during lunch anyway.

Anna made sure of that. The girl was always so eager to talk about going hiking or on a road trip. Basically, anything that involved being outside and productive.

Elsa found it slightly odd, the girl had her own Virtual Reality headset, but always waved it off saying "A birthday gift from my parents to keep me indoors for a change." and so they never asked her for her username.

The girl sighed and made herself comfortable on the bed before moving her headset over her eyes and ears. The plastics were cold and snug where they sat. The satisfying hum of the system turning on filled her ears as the darkness she was staring at gave way to light.

Username: OrdinaryOverlord has logged on

Elsa smiled as she looked around the hustle and bustle of the server lobby she stepped onto. A few other users that passed by her greeted her warmly with a wave as she greeted back.

Here she wasn't as plain as she was in the real life. Here she was one of the best. As shown by the custom-made mod she had won through and exclusive event. No one would have her same design or features.

A smile graces her lips as she brings up her friends list. The smile drops and she pouts at seeing that her friends would not be joining her today. No matter, there was a monthly event going on that she always wanted to try. The winner gets to be Monarch for a month of a medieval styled simulation.

Elsa makes her way over to the port and reads through the terms and conditions. She's pleasantly surprised that you could choose what role you'd like to play. Maybe this was more realistic than she thought.

The ones that were competing for the role of Monarch were registering as knights. They would face of each other before the last one standing faces the Monarch. Once the Monarch is defeated the champion takes their place.

The ones not wanting to challenge the Monarch would be by standards to watch. It was also of note that only from a certain level could one register as a knight. Seeing as Elsa wanted to challenge the others and the Monarch, she had forgone the rules regarding other roles.

As the world changed around her after registering, Elsa took the time to look at leader boards. Although seeing as the cut-off date to enter would only be in a few hours there weren't any points yet given, but they were ranked with their levels.

Elsa wasn't surprised to see her username pop up among the top ten best and she even recognized some of the other contestants. They were people she had played with, and against, before.

Once the world had loaded in Elsa was pleasantly surprised to find herself in a customization plaza. She really enjoyed those, spending hours on perfecting the look she wanted. Humming to herself happily she browsed through the items available to her.

To say she was impressed with the available variety would be an understatement. No wonder this was a popular event. She could be any type of warrior she wanted to be, but there was one that called to her culturally.

Vikings.

After choosing her base clothes of pants and boots with a blue long-sleeved shirt she set about getting some fur armour and leather. Sure, she knew some Vikings had almost chain-mail type armour, but Elsa preferred the more animalistic look the fur provided. Choosing a pretty white and grey pelt, she smiled at the black leather she added. Lastly was her face and hair.

There were so many hairstyles she could go through but opted for a simple braid, keeping with her avatar main theme she had the sides shaved. Lastly, she added face paint, a lovely blue that covered her right side in three slash marks and a single one under her left eye.

After she was done she walked out of the customizing tent and into the simulated world. It was bustling with other players and vendors. It was important to note that the vendors were not your usual NPC's but rather real people themselves. Elsa had always been amazed at the fact that this was considered an actual job.

"Overlord!"

Elsa turned at part of her username being called. She smiled at seeing one of the other top contestants running up to her.

"Ping!" She greeted back and hugged the samurai looking girl. She hadn't seen PingDragon in ages it felt like.

"Good to see you here, my friend," Ping said and Elsa smiled.

"Good to see you too, not often we get to spontaneously interact," Elsa said. She followed the girl to a few of the other participants and frowned at noticing them talking to someone she couldn't see.

Gritting her teeth Elsa opened her settings. There was only one person she's ever had the need to ban this badly from her reality. Tapping on the only username on her list she growls as the person pops into existence.

"SouthernIsles," Elsa growled and the man only smirked at her.

"Well, well if it isn't OrdinaryOverlord, couldn't stay away from my charms could you, doll?" He smirked and Elsa gripped at his armour. Her fingers curling into the neck part of his chest plate as she pulls him closer.

"Let's get one thing straight, you are one harassment away from me filing to ban you for sexual harassment. The only reason I'm unblocking you from my reality is due to you being on the list of warriors and we'll probably need to fight and let me just tell you one thing SouthernIsles, It would be my absolute pleasure to murder you out there," Elsa growled and saw him swallow thickly.

She pushed him away from her and gave the others a once over glare before walking off to go cool off. This wasn't like her. Well not in real life anyway. VR allowed her to be more confident, something she couldn't bring herself to be IRL.

"Overlord, are you okay?" Ping asked as she joined Elsa at the stall she had stopped to collect her thoughts.

"Yes, I'm sorry, he just really works on my nerves," Elsa gave the girl her best apologetic smile.

"Don't worry, he is an ass. Come on the event just closed and the first fighters are up. IndependentGrizzly is up against a low level," Ping grinned and Elsa did cheer up at that. Merida was one of the few people she knew IRL. They were friends in school after all.

They moved to the stands and saw Merida's username pop up on her online menu. The girl had a habit of being nearly late for things. Elsa smiled once she saw the girl walk out in a traditional Scottish outfit: plaid, paint and all.

The fight was disappointingly over before it could really begin. In truth all the fights Elsa and her friends got into were hilariously over before it could get enjoyable. Until they got to go up against one another and Elsa's first real opponent was none other than that stupid donkey faced SouthernIsles.

Elsa gripped the shield she was holding in her left hand as the fingers of her right tapped on the pommel of her sword. SouthernIsles had his sword drawn already as he pulled on his helmet. There was a hush in the crowed before the flag held by the ref dropped.

The two moved forward as Elsa drew her sword. Her eyes flicked to his movements and she raised the shield to deflect his slash. She thrust her sword at him but he managed to side step it and they twirled around one another before taking a few steps apart. Elsa growled as they circled one another, looking for an opening.

SouthernIsles lunched forward, his sword raised high, leaving him open. Elsa gripped her shield tighter and bashed it against his chest. He staggered and she bashed it against his face making his helmet come off. In his haze Elsa bashed his chest again making him drop backwards. He let out a grunt and Elsa pinned him down with a boot glad foot on his chest plate.

"For your level I am disappointed at the lack of a challenge," Elsa sneered before stepping off. She could have finished him then and there, but she wanted to make him think he still had a chance. He growled as she circled him and just as he managed to get onto his knees and go for his sword Elsa moved to grip is hair and places her blade to his throat.

"How does it feel to be bested by a girl?" Elsa smirked and sliced her sword across his throat. Blood spewed outward over the ground. The crowd cheered as Elsa held her sword into the air. She knew she would win and was pleasantly pleased at the amount of coins and loot she received from his fading corpse.

~VRinIRL~

Elsa was used to being the wallflower in her group of friends. She didn't mind. It was calming to sit back and watch others where in VR she had a slight reputation. Although VR was bleeding into reality. The rest of their friends that had come to watch Elsa go up against SouthernIsles were talking about it even after she asked them not to. She wanted to keep other students away from her VR life.

Anna was being silent this time, picking at her food as they talked about the event and the last few fights that was to happen on Saturday. Elsa was already in the semi-finals. If she won her next match she would go up against the Monarch. A Queen she learned going by the username PrideLands.

Elsa's never heard of this username before. PingDragon had clued her in that it was sort of a new face that had been climbing the ranks at a fast pace. Reaching the level cap only a few months in, skilled and had been the Monarch of that Event for three months in a row.

To say Elsa was excited to go up against this person was an understatement. She longed for a challenge. Sure, her friends provided that, but she knew there styled by now. She wanted something fresh.

The blonde eyed their silent redheaded friend. Anna looked lost.

"Hey after the event on Saturday why don't we all go hike with Anna. She's been begging all semester," Elsa said and everyone blinked. She saw Anna perk up. Everyone seemed to notice how excited Anna looked at the prospect and agreed. Elsa was just happy to see Anna smile again, so what if she had to go breath actual fresh air? It would be nice.

~VRinIRL~

Elsa wasn't ready. She was far from ready to face the Monarch. The whispers around her, as she waited in the center of the battlefield, were making her nervous. They looked scared for her, or concerned, she wasn't sure.

Elsa stiffened as movement from the other contestant room caught her eyes. Her heart was beating out her chest as she saw another Viking themed fighter. This one wielding a battle ax, a double bladed one, not the single woodcutter looking one she had gone up against when fighting this really big Viking themed fighter a few fights away by the name MountainMan.

This one was decidedly more intimidating. Her war paint was a simple black stripe over her eyes. The fur she was wearing made her look more muscular than she probably was. Once standing in front of Elsa the woman snarled showing very sharp teeth.

Yep, she was going to die.

Elsa was so preoccupied with trying to calm down, she hardly noticed the fight start. PrideLands let out a battle cry as she rushed Elsa and swung her axe. Elsa managed to dodge it in time, deflecting it with her shield. That was the plan anyway, but the ax bedded itself into the wood and Elsa was forced to let it go as it was ripped from her grasp.

Elsa took the opportunity to strike while the Queen removed her ax from the shield. She managed to slice the berserker on the leg, but that just made her angrier.

The fight felt very one sided. Elsa was blocking and dodging most of the time while PrideLands leashed attack after attack. It dragged on for what felt like hours, but was only minutes. She felt tired and was hurting all over. She wasn't it by the blades, but the woman had managed to bruise her with the side and handles of her weapon. Elsa only managed to get a few lucky slashes in.

"Okay this has gone on long enough," Elsa said panting before making a risky move of going straight in when the Queen rushed her again. There were two distinctive sounds. A scream and a choked gasp.

The crowed stood on their toes to see what had happened as the two fighters seemed to be in a sort of embrace, blood dripping from one weapon considerably more than the other.

The Queen let out a soft chuckle beside Elsa's ear, before drawing a shaking breath.

"Come…find me," she said before slowly disappearing.

The crowd cheered at seeing their new Monarch stand on shaking legs. Elsa was swept up in the moment. She had won.

She'd won!

She would have enjoyed the attention as she felt the crown rest on her head and everyone cheered, but PrideLands wanted her to find her and her voice was tugging at Elsa's core.

It was familiar.

As soon as Elsa was able she left the simulation server and sprinted to where she saw PrideLands user name was located. She was confused and needed to know if she wasn't losing her mind.

Elsa followed the other username to a different simulation world. She stepped through and saw hills and grass and, juts all things nature. The place had a calming effect and Elsa felt at peace.

"Where are you?" She called as she looked around. Her avatar changed to accompany the server's rules. She was now more like how she'd look IRL. This being her beginners default setting. There was no violence here. No judgment. Just calmness and tranquility.

"You came."

Elsa spun around to the voice and gasped. Her eyes flicked between the avatar before her and the username above her.

"Anna?" She said softly and the redhead smiled.

"Hey, Elsa," Anna said and stepped closer to her friend.

"I thought you hated VR?" Elsa asked, confused.

"I do, but you like it, so I've been working on tolerating it. They really do have everything around here to cater to everyone's need and desires. I guess I just got caught up in that simulation," Anna smiled and Elsa chuckled.

"Beginner's problems," Elsa said and pulled the girl into a hug.

"Who are you calling a beginner? I was Queen damn it!" Anna chuckled, but enjoyed the embrace.

"And now I am, but you can still be the princess," Elsa chuckled and Anna just rolled her eyes.

This was fun to write, maybe there is potential for more? We'll see.

See ya'll in another story!

X3