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Dissonance

Event XXVIII

Paradise Cage

"Excuse me." A little bit shaken, the woman went to the nearest table and sat down on one of the very comfortable chairs. From one moment to another, mysterious music had turned into her dancing with a pink haired woman that resembled Cure Passion a little.

Picking up one of the almost impossibly clean and sparkling wine glasses on the table, she looked at her mirror image. A mask was sitting on her face and her hair was different but she was still herself. "I look really... good." Kurumi muttered to herself. There were hundreds of people all around her. The big hall she was in was built like a tower, a large ground floor, and as she looked up, there was a single majestic staircase that connected the first floor to massive balconies, each housing dozens of people, stretching all the way to the ceiling, where the stairs vanished into the ceiling itself.

Large tables for five to six people were spread all around the edge of the ground floor while the central point was the scene of a seemingly never ending dance. Beautiful music came from seemingly nowhere and even after looking around for nearly a minute, Kurumi could not find even a single sign of someone playing an instrument.

Partners at the dance were exchanged, many of the women left and others joined. A few gathered around a pink haired woman that was looking like she was under a lot of stress. Others sat together and discussed things that Kurumi had not touched ever since she had come to Earth. Royal Politics. She recognized this scenery, although not precisely. It was a royal banquet, with food and dance, music and politics, where kingdoms were made and destroyed.

Her feet were stinging just a little, likely from having danced too much, and she very much wanted to take her shoes off but there was something stopping her. A thought, deeply rooted inside her mind, foreign but adamant to stay. Do not embarrass yourself. It was the golden rule at any such event and Kurumi had seen much of what would happen to those that earned the ridicule of their noble peers.

Standing up and walking along the edge of the room, she found that the entire room was shaped not like a circle but rather like a hexagon, easily fifty meters from one corner to the opposite side. She only noticed now that, dressed in simple but still fine, black dresses, servant girls were hustling all over the place, bringing drink and food to the rich and powerful. Walking past the next guard, Kurumi stopped, turned around and looked intently at the guard, who was wearing chain mail but no helmet. And her face was one she would recognize anywhere.

Her own. Standing there, watching the royals and ready to arrest whoever needed arresting or escorting, in total silence, she barely moved her eyes when she noticed Kurumi's intense stare. "My Lady, is something the matter? Do you perhaps feel unwell?"

Being asked those things in her own voice was creepy and astonishing at the same time. "No. I am just a little light headed and I seem to have lost my bearings. A bit of fresh air will surely resolve it."

"The north end and south end of the grand hall both offer large outside balconies, my lady. If you wish so, I will happily escort you there to see to your safe arrival."

"No need. Thank you, soldier."

"Always my pleasure."

Walking away from her exact copy, Kurumi felt like she was going to be sick. The next guard she passed looked exactly like Cure Moonlight. The one after that, Moonlight again. Upon closer inspection, there were minute differences in how their hair was done, how tall their were and their physical build, but she could not stare at either too long without bringing suspicion on herself.

Reaching the large balcony at the north or south end, Kurumi couldn't tell, she witnessed something she deemed very important. One of the noblewomen was being taken away by the guards. A small group of six other noblewomen, all of whom looked like they were from her own team, stood near the gargantuan glass doors that connected the balcony to the grand hall and Kurumi joined them. "My, what happened to her that the guards would take her?"

"Lady Kurumi Evangeline von Wolfenstein? It is you, is it not?" One of the two women that looked like Rouge immediately turned to her. The other four, one looking like Dream, two looking like Aqua and one looking like Lemonade, paid little attention to her.

"It is a pleasure to meet you again." Kurumi had no idea who the woman really was. She clearly wasn't Rouge.

"How is your father, Duke Reinhard? The news of his recent victory in the southern wetlands over the barbarians has reached even the ear of the Queen. On behalf of my father, I would like to extend an invitation to you and your father to come to our castle in one of the coming months."

"Please, my father is as stubborn as a mule and I would not get to see him leave the castle if not for the threat from the south." Kurumi simply tried her best to be as evasive as possible. Realizing that she had been carrying a large folding fan in her right hand, she spread it open and hid her mouth behind it.

"A pity indeed. My father and uncle simply love tales of fame and glory, albeit I have little interest. The fewest of us here are akin to the Warrior Princess."

"And rightfully so. But tell me, why was that woman taken away?" Kurumi didn't want to waste all this time on meaningless talk but she felt she had to keep a cover.

"Because she broke the rules, of course. It is strictly forbidden to remove your mask. Any violator, no matter her standing, will be taken away from this delightful event and confined to one of the many rooms in the east wing. But surely you are aware of this."

"Indeed I am. I was merely unaware of what precisely her offense was as there are many. Just a little while ago I saw Lady Lilith Hjelfelden, drunk as a bard in a tavern, being escorted off by the guards."

"My. What a blunder."

Laughing politely, Kurumi bowed extremely slightly and excused herself, walking further out on the balcony. The night was completely clear, not a single cloud and what seemed like a million stars. In stark contrast to the lively atmosphere inside, the balcony was covered in the light of candles here and there, with many a noblewoman talking very quietly to another, curiously eying every new arrival. Finding a free spot at the large stone rail, Kurumi took a deep breath. Just where exactly was she and what was going on.

Before she knew what was happening, a servant girl had walked up to her, carrying a sealed letter but not talking or otherwise trying to get her attention. At a first glance, she looked exactly like Karen and Kurumi found that to be somewhat distasteful if there was such a thing as fate. Upon closer inspection, very slowly and carefully as to not attract unwanted attention in case the girl was waiting for someone, Kurumi stood there for a few seconds with her mouth open.

She had been Karen's lover for years. She knew there was not a centimeter, not a kilo, not a gradient in skin tone of different. That girl didn't just look like Karen. That was Karen. But she couldn't act on it. Not out here. Not like this. Leaning slightly forward and putting her arms on the balustrade, she didn't even look at Karen.

"Karen. Don't look my way. It would be unnatural for a servant girl to talk freely to a noble." Kurumi hated having to do that to her ex-girlfriend but she couldn't come up with a better idea on the spot.

"I didn't think I would find you first of all people." Karen knew well how important it was to keep curious eyes away in a place like this. Trying her best to look nervous, walking on the spot for a second, eying the letter overly carefully, she spoke so quietly that if that balcony hadn't been a scene for many whispers and schemes, her voice wouldn't have reached her former lover. "I came to when I was serving food to two noblewomen that were having sex. It was quite a sight to see Peach and Beat go at it. Although I am sure that neither of those are truly them. That was roughly twenty minutes ago."

"You're surprisingly calm about this. I was really freaked out when I came across my first... self." Kurumi felt a certain tightness in her chest. She missed talking to Karen like this.

"We had evil twins and coming back to life inside of mirrors. This isn't so bad compared to that. But I'm still really nervous. Evil twins made more sense than this."

"Do you think everyone is here?" Kurumi didn't want to hope that it was just her and Karen. She knew that things between them were over.

"There's easily a few hundred people here. One of the nobles I served food entrusted me with a letter for a Lady Setsuna Hijikata from the east lands of the sun. I assume that is one of Passion's look-alikes. On my way here, I saw a set of six large kitchens and there are just so many servant girls here, probably almost as many as there are nobles."

"I knew it was you because I know exactly what you're like, Karen, but how will we tell apart one Setsuna from another?" Kurumi felt a little bad about being a noble, something she had always wanted, while Karen was a servant, a role that Kurumi felt ridiculed her past relationship with Karen.

Kurumi was about to ask Karen what she knew of this place when a noblewoman, a copy of White, walked between the two, pulled the letter from Karen's hand and threw it over the balustrade. "Be on your way, servant." There was clear contempt in the way she addressed Karen. As if she was less than human.

"I see you tire of the petty conversation and idle talk in the grand hall, sister." The copy of White took great care to not even glance at Kurumi. "As you commanded, I have talked to Lady Rhemington. In exchange for a seat at your table of the first round of sovereign, she will see to it that the flour delivered for our dear sister Miyuki's birthday party in a month's time will be foul and unusable."

Kurumi felt like someone had just punched her in the gut. Apparently whoever she was right now, she wasn't a good person. "How are you liking the event, sister?" She did not even know her name. And with the mask on, she couldn't even tell if that was really White, who might just trying to blend in while not knowing that Kurumi really was Kurumi and not just another copy, or just a copy.

"You know how I feel about Mother and her events." A vague answer that didn't help Kurumi find out in any way if that really was White. "As the sixth royal princess you are expected to enjoy these, but I am second to last in line. Few know my name and even fewer deem it worth to remember it."

"That will change, sister." Kurumi took a step back. "Find me again in an hour's worth of time. Send a servant to find me for you if you must."

"The peasants call you the Princess with a heart of steel. You should punish them, Kurumi. They are mere insects and yet they dare speak of you that way still. Have they learned nothing after you executed that foolish girl for sullying your clothes?"

So she wasn't just a bad person, she was a tyrant in the making. But if she acted up now, she would risk getting taken away by the guards for being an imposter. "How did you find me out here, sister?"

"What are you talking about? You specifically ordered me to meet you here. You had forgotten to say that you would be with one of the filthy peasant girls. Do not tell me you have taken a liking to their looks. I know you for being eccentric in your choices of who to bed, but everything has a line you should not-"

"Who do you think you are lecturing?" Lowering her tone to an angry growl, Kurumi glared at what was her sister from the corner of her eye. "Know your place. You might be my sister but blood is thinner than gold. And gold is silence and obedience. Leave me, now."

"Yes, sister." The copy bowed extremely slightly, took two steps back without turning her back to Kurumi and vanished into the masses.

It was less than a minute before Kurumi was approached by a guard, another White. "Her highness the first Princess Ako Evangeline is demanding to see you."

The first princess? The current their to the throne of wherever she was. Refusing was going to look very suspicious, especially after she had learned she had just bribed someone to deliver foul wheat to harass one of her sisters. "Escort me."

"As you wish, your highness."

=== Dissonance ===

Ako's plan was, in a way, genius. It was not difficult to perceive that there was deception and intrigue ingrained into the very bones of the nobles here. She could spot it with a glance. Their mannerisms, their way of talking. After coming to, she found herself in a secluded room, in the presence of two guards and another woman. Both guards looked exactly like Cure Black, which made it easy to discern that neither of them was really Black. The woman in front of her, however, could very well be Cure Windy for she looked exactly like her human form.

"My liege, I will do as you ask." The woman bowed deeply to Ako, who was laying on a modified couch, her head leaned against an arm rest, a silver chalice filled with grapes on the floor, next to her hand. "What of your sisters? It is rare for all sixteen of them to be together at one of your mother's, her majesty the queen, great balls."

She noticed instantly that she was in her older form but not as a Cure, as she had been before coming to in this place. There was no trace of her magical powers, so even if she had wanted to, she could not transform here. And what the woman had said delivered some important information. If the three people within the room were not the real ones that heavily implied that there were even more of them outside that room.

"Bring them to me, one by one. I shall know if they are plotting against me." Ako's voice carried authority. She was a real princess back in her home country and she was trained in the manners of court. And even though Majorland was a peaceful country, intrigue and selfish agendas were ever present at its court. Was this a dream, influenced by that past? But a dream would not explain the duplicate of Black. She knew so many people that there was no need to put the same person in the same room, twice.

"Guards. Assist her in finding my sisters." Glancing to the large window behind the couch she was laying on, an old piece of furniture that closely resembled Egyptian rests for female pharaohs, she found out it was night. "I shall know before morning who stands with me and who stands against me."

With seventeen princesses, she was the daughter of a queen and she had sixteen sisters, there had to be a struggle for the throne. Ako disliked the deceit, fake smiles and lies of the royal court, something she truly hadn't missed in her time on earth. It was perfectly reasonable to think that at least some of the sixteen were plotting against her. And until she knew more about where she was and what was happening, she had to play along.

Without another word, the guards and the woman left, leaving Ako completely alone in the room. Getting up, she looked down on herself. A wonderful, pristine dress made from silk, a mask that was plated with gold and small gems that concealed everything but her eyes and her mouth, finely crafted pumps with a small heel. She looked more like a princess now than she ever had at home. Looking through the window, she saw lights coming from above and her left, with a massive, shadow filled balcony standing in stark contrast to the light filled room she could see.

Her steps lead her to a bookshelf next. Each and every one of the books had a plain title, such as The History of the Northlands, and each book she took out and opened was completely blank on the inside. "So wherever I am, this place is not real in the way my own kingdom or any real place exists." Leaving the room, she found a steady stream of servant girls, each and every single one of them looking exactly like one of the other twenty-nine Cures she knew.

"You, servant girl." Grabbing a girl that looked like Ellen by her arm, hoping that it actually might be Ellen and she wasn't alone in this, Ako wanted to find out more. "How many guests are attending the event tonight?"

"Your highness!" The girl, looking like Ellen, immediately knelt on the ground before Ako. "I believe there are roughly three hundred and fifty guests tonight, your highness."

"How many of you servant girls are here tonight? How many guards?"

"All two-hundred and fifty of us would be here, your highness. Many of the guests have brought a personal servant or two so I would consider us to be as many as three-hundred, your highness. I cannot speak for the guards, your highness."

"Where would my mother be right now?"

"I am but a lowly servant, your highness. I wouldn't dare to guess where her majesty the queen would be. Please forgive my inadequacy!" The girl was visibly shaking. Ako could tell that she had quite the menacing presence. All the other servant girls were taking a large detour around her, as if they expected her to chop off the girl's head on the spot.

"Go. You have work to do and I am most busy tonight." Whatever was happening, Ako had a feeling that going out of whatever established character her persona had would only invite trouble. But this was everything she hated about being royalty. Back in Majorland, she was beloved. These girls, they were terrified by her.

The girl was gone so fast that Ako felt a sting in her chest. Ruling through fear and dark schemes was despicable and she couldn't stand it. Walking in the general direction from where all the servant girls were coming, Ako found that the closer she got, the more afraid the girls became.

Despite her mask, or maybe because of her mask, they all recognized her as the first princess. The crown princess. The next queen. Someone who could possibly end their life with a snap of their fingers.

Ako reached a kitchen, and even though it was big, it was smaller than the largest kitchen in the palace back home in Majorland. With 350 guests, close to 300 servants and likely at least a hundred guards, there were three quarter of a thousand people in the castle. With those numbers, there had to be more than one kitchen.

"Listen to me, peasants. On behalf of my mother, I shall grant each one of you the delight of a glass of the same wine that serve our guests after you have finished your duties. However, you will regret the short remainder of your lives should you attempt to perform your duties drunk."They were still clearly afraid but Ako wanted to give those people, if they were really people and not just illusions or her imagination, at least something small to enjoy. The life of a servant at court was often not that pleasant.

"Your highness." A guard, this time a Marine, had found her. "The second princess, Hikari Minerva Escalia, is waiting for you in the room you advised us to bring her."

To find a single person, likely a masked person, among what was surely a crowd wherever the main event was being held, in such a short time was quite an accomplishment. "Excellent work."

The guard just stood there, too stunned to say anything or move. Ako could hear the servant girls whispering to each other but all she could make out were the worlds praise and impossible. "Shall I rescind my mother's order for the wine and instead have you peel potatoes until your skin rots off your fingers? Get to work!" Ako found it troubling that she had such little issue with being a, what she felt was, villainous princess.

Walking past to her room, Ako spied a Windy, likely the same as before, standing in front of the room, her head lowered as Ako approached. "When my sister leaves, join me. I have things to ask you." It wasn't a request but an order that demanded absolute obedience.

Inside sat a masked woman, wearing a similar dress to her own. No guards were present and Ako doubted than any princess would resort to personal violence, so she wasn't worried about being in danger.

"Why did you call me here, sister? Has there been a problem with our plan?"

Ako recognized the voice, she belonged to Luminous. Ironic, Ako thought. The way she spoke and sat there, she seemed to be the self-important, arrogant and haughty type. "None that I am aware of. That is exactly why I am going to talk to every single one of our sisters. It also provides me with the perfect excuse to talk to you alone." Ako had no idea what their plan entailed. "With an event like this and all of us together, there is no doubt at least one of them will try something."

"You will make a fearsome queen, Ako. I take solace in the fact that it was someone so wicked that bested me and foiled my plan to kill mother. And instead of revealing me and throwing the court into disarray, you offered to make me the general commander of our royal armed forces."

Ako closed her eyes halfway, sat down and tried her best to look menacing. "I don't trust you. And you do well to not trust me. But I believe. In your greed and desires. In the dark nature of humans."

"Well said, sister. But you said you wanted to speak with me alone. Come to the point. I might only be the second in line for the throne but I am nevertheless very busy. I have charmed Baroness Alexandria to let me lead her troops of 15,000 against the rebels in the southwest. This night will secure my fame and glory."

Ako picked up on subtle details about people rather easily. Maybe it was because she had been around nobility from a very young age. "You only seek to satisfy your blood lust, Hikari. You do not care about fame and glory."

The Luminous copy grinned wide, so wide that Ako thought she would leap forward and bite her hand off. "You know me so well. On the battlefield out there, I could kill you a million times over before suffering a single cut. But on the battlefield in here, you can destroy me with a snap of your fingers. I fear you, and rightfully so, but do not mistake my fear for blind obedience. You give me what I want. War and bloodshed. And I will serve you well. I've no interest in being queen."

Ako paused and leaned back, trying to appear as unimpressed as possible, even slightly indifferent to the threat the woman had just made. The measure of what was going on was rapidly becoming too much for her and she needed a quick break to think.

"Answer me this, Hikari." Ako thought of a question that seemed harmless if curious to all of the copies but carried enough meaning that any real Cure she asked would respond in kind. "Who are the pure of Heart?"

The girl smiled and her eyes widened a little. "The dead." There was no hesitation in the answer of the warrior princess. "All that are alive are wicked."

"That is all I had to say. Guard!" Raising her voice, a single guard, one of the two Blacks from earlier, came rushing in. "Bring me the next one."

"I do not need to tell you to be careful with Komachi, do I?"

Ako gave her sister a look of contempt. "Leave, Hikari. I do not want you to speak to anyone of this."

"That goes without saying." Hikari bowed and showed another bloodthirsty grin. "May you seize victory so I can seize mine."

Ako let out a deep breath the moment she was alone. This was going to take a lot more concentration and thinking than she had imagined. But one thing was pretty clear. This was much too realistic to be a dream.

=== Dissonance ===

Setsuna had come to while she was walking, her immediate stopping after realizing that she wasn't in the usual complex anymore causing her company to turn to her. "Setsuna, what is the matter?"

Looking at the source of the voice she looked at herself. No matter how much one changed their hair, wore a mask or a fancy dress, one would recognize their own voice, face and body. "Setsuna, do you feel unwell? I understand that being chosen as my private servant to attend the Queen's grand ball must be nerve wrecking but you have proven yourself many a time that you are one of the most refined servants in the realm and I am proud to have you by my side."

Setsuna's copy got a little closer and touched Setsuna's cheek with the back of her hand. "You serve me well at court and in bed. You have my full trust and you should display that. Few in the realm can say that their lord treats them as well as I do."

"Thank you, my lady." Setsuna responded almost as if it was a reflex.

The two of them continued walking and Setsuna, the real one, was almost blinded by the lights and glamor of the grand hall. There were what seemed like hundreds of people around. And what dazzled her even more was that, here and there, she spotted a servant girl that looked just like one of the Cures she knew.

It wasn't quite jumping to conclusions but Setsuna figured that none of them were really the girls she knew. Not if a basically perfect copy of herself was the lady she was escorting and, apparently, sleeping with.

"Baroness Setsuna Elaine Jivel from the Land of Jivel and Lady Setsuna Higashi from the Land of Jival." The announcer was a copy of Moonlight, whose voice carried easily through the grand hall from the podium she stood on, near the central entrance to the grand hall. Many heads were turned when the two Setsuna's entered and a few dozen people even clapped.

Walking through the masses, more people seemed to look at the real Setsuna than the nobility she was escorting. Unlike most other servants, which wore many different outfits that all resembled a maid uniform a little, Setsuna wore a crimson red dress that had four large black stripes across the bottom half. While she was showing off her sizable cleavage, the dress reached all the way to her ankles and was fixed around her throat.

The noble Setsuna was heading straight toward the center of the hall, with the real Setsuna right behind her. Many a lady looked after the two. Setsuna quickly made an important observation. The nobles wore masks that covered their entire faces but the servants did not wear a mask of any kind. The guards wore no masks either but were in armor. This made it very easy to label each person as one of three groups, even through there were surely a dozen different categories in the group of the nobles.

When they finally stopped, Setsuna had to add a fourth group to her list, one that she had no name for as of yet. A woman in an exceptionally fancy dress wore a mask that was unlike the plain silver of all the other nobles. It was made of white gold and a single emerald was set on the forehead. Setsuna was so focused on the mask that she was a second late when the lady she escorted bowed before this woman. Quickly bowing as well, more deeply than her lady, Setsuna glanced at the woman, who was visibly uncomfortable.

"Lady Love, I am pleased that you could find the time in your busy schedule to appear tonight." The noble Setsuna looked up and a servant girl was immediately by her side, carrying a silver tray with wine glasses. Both women took one and when the servant girl, Setsuna recognized her as Marine, stopped near the real Setsuna, she looked a bit worried when Setsuna didn't take a glass for a moment. Reassuring the girl, Setsuna took one of the glasses that were filled halfway with a crimson red liquid.

Setsuna's attention returned to the woman that was without a doubt a copy of her partner, Love, when her owner spoke to her again. "A pity, truly, that the castle kitchens are not equipped to prepare your famous seafood that people and nobles alike travel far and wide for."

"Nothing we can do about it." The woman was even more uncomfortable now. "How long have you... been a fan of my cooking?" The words didn't seem to come out quite the way she wanted to.

"Ten years I reckon it has been since I first tasted the heavenly fish you prepared when you happened to travel through my land. My land and people pride themselves the best fishers of the realm and yet they were like ants before a god when you stepped into the kitchen and held the net."

"What can I say, it's simply a gift."

"I heard the rumors but you truly do speak like one of the common people despite your noble heritage. I do not mind, for I speak freely with my personal servant often as well."

"Speaking of her, would you introduce us?"

"Of course. Setsuna." The lady's tone changed just a little bit and Setsuna recognized that she was expected to do something. Considering how they all behaved, she did her best to assume the correct course of action. Taking two steps ahead and standing a single step behind her lady, she bowed to the Love that stood there. "I am Setsuna, my lady's private servant. I see to her every need if she commands me."

"Isn't she wonderful? And a beauty, too!" Smiling and opened the sliding fan she carried, the noble Setsuna looked to her servant. "Setsuna, this is Lady Love Momozono, this realm's finest chef of all produce from the great ocean."

"Pleased to meet you, Setsuna."

"Likewise, my lady."

"Now, Setsuna, why don't you amuse yourself for a little while? Lady Love and I will converse on the finer workings of seafood for a while and surely it would bore you." Getting very close to the real Setsuna, the noble one whispered in her ear. "I will not tolerate you sleeping with anyone but me, but you are free to indulge in some of the lighter parts of skin-ship with one of the servant girls here."

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Lady Love." Setsuna bowed briefly, turned around and headed to the edge of the grand hall slowly but very directly. Reaching the wall, Setsuna tried to order her thoughts. She was in some unknown place, at a massive event for the rich and their servants. From the furnishing to the clothes, it either was medieval themed or truly medieval. There were lots of people, all of which looked just like the Cures, including herself. She couldn't feel any hostile intent and the general mood was very uplifting. There was music coming from somewhere, a relaxing, soothing tune, but she couldn't make out from where.

"Passion." As she heard the word, she instinctively turned around and looked at a servant girl that looked like Aqua. Thinking she had simply misheard, she showed the girl her glass and shook her head, believing her to be another drinks serving girl.

"I'm Aqua. You reacted to me calling you Passion, which means you're not just a copy." Karen caught the glass that the shocked Setsuna had let go off and nodded. "Calm yourself, we cannot make a scene. I've been walking around for half an hour at least and I've met Kurumi. Now that I know you're here too, I believe everyone is here, somewhere."

Standing next to Setsuna and holding her tray against her stomach, Karen quickly explained how she met Kurumi by looking for people that were behaving a bit unnaturally and that she caught both of them, Kurumi and Setsuna, by pure chance.

"Where are we?"

"Inside a massive castle. I pretended to be a new servant and asked one of the copies for a few things. There are roughly a thousand people here, nobles, servants and guards plus a few guests of honor. This is the royal palace of the Queen of Escalia but as soon as I ask about the land, they all find more important things to do."

"I'm the personal servant of a noblewoman that is... me. I'm also apparently sleeping with myself. I think I'm never going to be weirded out by any kinky ideas Love has ever again after this."

"Kurumi is a noble. I eavesdropped on a conversation she had and she even seems to be a princess."

"With a queen being the organizer of this, of course there would be princesses. But isn't it weird that there isn't a single man here?"

"Based on what I've seen so far, everyone here is a copy of us. I believe... we're still in that place. This is the same as what happened when our mirror selves appeared."

"I can't feel anything threatening though. In fact, I kinda want to go and dance. It's just this feeling I have and can't shake."

"There are some shady things going on between the nobles, but that just makes this more realistic. The system significantly improved in many ways after Nozomi beat Nightmare and it's gotten better ever since. I'm hesitant to say this but it could be that this is the system's way of giving us a vacation since it cannot send us back. And since we are the only people it knows, it created all of them in our image."

"But how do we tell who is real and who is just a system creation, assuming what you're saying is right?" Karen took a sip from her wine and was pleasantly surprised. "This is really good." A second and third sip, she actually kinda hoped that another servant would eventually stop by. She didn't have the luxury of drinking wine this good while traveling and drinking with Love always ended with both of them retiring to bed early and getting out of bed late.

"It's difficult. You behaved just like one of the copies would except when you were late to bow, which I saw by complete coincidence." Karen glanced at the wine glass. "Do you think you could get one for me too?" The words came out on their own. Karen couldn't really get any feeling of anxiety or dread to stick. Of course she was confused and a little cautious of everything right now, but she just couldn't get herself to treat the situation like she was in any danger whatsoever.

If anything, it felt like it was the right thing to do to just enjoy herself right now. Setsuna seemed to notice that as well. "Why don't we take a little walk, and while we look for others, we enjoy the wine and talk." Setsuna spaced out for a second and then shook her head. "What am I saying, there could be enemies-"

"I honestly don't think so. This place doesn't feel threatening at all. I'm not even concerned that I'm apparently in the role of a servant girl. I'd hate to have to deal with all the politic talk that is going on. Kurumi is probably neck-deep in a migraine because of this by now."

"A migraine as the most threatening enemy is not exactly something we need to be Cures to deal with."

"We're not Cures." Karen paused for a moment and when Setsuna looked at her, she nodded in the direction of a servant girl, a copy of Karen even, that was heading in their general direction. "Direct her to come and get your glass."

Setsuna raised her glass just about to the height of her shoulders and the girl seemed to understand right away. "My lady." The servant bowed and Setsuna picked up two fresh glasses of wine, handing one to Karen.

As the servant girl passed the real Karen she whispered something to her that made Karen smile. As soon as she was out of sight, Karen took a sip and glanced to Setsuna. "She said she is jealous of how lucky I am to be next to you."

"What did you mean by 'we're not Cures', Karen?"

"I hid in a closet earlier and tried to transform. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't do it. There was not even a hint of magic inside me. That too makes me believe that this is some kind of pause or vacation from the usual battling." Taking another sip, Karen smiled. "This is really good."

Taking a step forward, Setsuna held out her hand. "Shall we? We're not going to notice anything unusual at the outskirts of the party like this."

"After you, my lady." Karen joked and bowed. They were barely five meter away from their spot when a guard, a copy of Bright, stopped them.

"It is a violation of the queen's rules for any noble to remove their mask. You will be escorted to the dungeon now."

"I am Lady Setsuna Higashi, personal servant of Baroness Setsuna Elaine Jivel. These rules do not apply to us servants, regardless of what we might wear, do they? Even though I carry the title of Lady, I am not a noble." Setsuna really didn't want to go the dungeon. She much preferred to not cause a commotion, too.

The guard seemed unsure and waved by another guard that was standing at a nearby wall, this one was a copy of Sunshine. "She claims to be a servant girl, the personal servant of Baroness Setsuna Elaine Jivel."

"What of it? Did you miss the announcement? Half the hall was looking." Hitting the back of the Bright Guard, the Sunshine Guard lowered her head briefly. "She is a new recruit, please do excuse her. I hope you will be forgiving and not report her to Baroness Juviel."

"As far as I am concerned, we were never stopped." Winking at the guard, Setsuna could almost feel how relieved said guard was. Leaving through one of the side entrances, Setsuna was smiling very hard. "I don't know what it is about this place but I feel like I really want to enjoy myself here."

=== Dissonance ===

Erika came to in the worst possible situation imaginable. The first thing she saw was an extreme close-up of someone's eyes, beautiful amber colored eyes, followed by feeling something soft and wet in her mouth. After instinctively pushing whoever she was currently french kissing away, she figured out that it was Yayoi.

Erika had no time to get her bearings. Someone grabbed her arm and pulled her away. "Why must you always knock the guards out by kissing them until they faint!" The voice belonged to none other than Tsubomi, who, Erika got a good look at her, was wrapped into leather clothes, girdles, cloth pieces, a headband and all sorts of hooks and pouches. There were two daggers at her waist, as well.

"She's our secret weapon, don't nag her about it." This voice belonged to Cure Melody, in almost an identical getup as Tsubomi. Now that she was done being amazed, Erika looked around and found herself in a stone corridor that was kinda moist and damp and also extremely badly lit.

"Why did I join this group of pacifist thieves?" Thief Tsubomi complained.

"Because the pay is amazing and the authorities aren't that keen on executing a bunch of thieves that have never hurt anyone." Thief Hibiki shot back.

"Woah, what's going on? Am I dreaming? Am I having a cosplay dream? Man, I need to make Tsubomi wear some leather stuff like that, her curves-"

"Did Erika break?" A third voice, coming from behind, interrupted the blue haired girl, belonging to Cure Mint.

"She's always been kinda nuts, just drag her. She can kiss like a queen but she's not exactly the brightest." A fourth voice replied, coming from Thief Kanade.

"There was only one guard, just like princess Akane said. But to hire us to rob her own place, that's pretty audacious"

"Heeeeeey, wait a second, what is going on here?!" Erika flailed but before her attempt could go anywhere, she was outright picked up and carried away by a thief Nagisa.

"You can be eccentric later, okay? Hey, Nao, crack the lock, 'kay?" Thief Nagisa stood in front of a sturdy metal door that had a massive, sturdy lock. After a few seconds, she looked back, still carrying a confused and gawking Erika under her arm, and pointed at a very confused thief. "Hey Nao, you sitting on your ears?"

"Me?" Nao wildly shook her head. She was just as confused as Erika and actually wanted everyone to start explaining what in the heck was going on. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no! I have no idea how to crack a lock, forget that lock!"

"Nagisa, you got enough space to carry two? Apparently the crazies are going around." Yet another thief, Miki, stepping up now, unraveling a set of lock picks.

"I'll just throw them into a closet and keep them in there so they don't mess this up for the rest of us." Walking up to Nao, who was a few centimeters taller than Nagisa, the thief still picked her up, now carrying two girls around. Returning to where the K.O.'d guard was, still seeing lewd dreams while unconscious, Nagisa kicked open a storage room and threw both Erika and Nao inside before stepping in herself, slamming the door shut and sitting down in front of it. "What is wrong with you two? Especially you, Nao, you're usually our acting boss."

"I have no idea where I am and what I'm doing here, forget being boss of anything!" Nao had hit a large barrel that was filled with apples and a few rolled over the dusty floor.

"We're thieves." Erika looked at Nao and grabbed one of the apples, rubbed it clean on her trousers and took a large bite. "And we're in some kinda old place. Castle or fort I'd guess. I betcha this is the system goin' haywire again, just like with the mirror."

"Wonderful. So is some omnipotent Dream clone going to jump out and kill us all?" Nao looked at the apples with suspicion but since Erika was eating one, they couldn't be bad. Carefully cleaning it on her long sleeve, Nao found the apple to be really tasty.

"Don't think so. That over there isn't Cure Black, no way. Her way of talking is completely different." Pointing at the thief Nagisa, Erika saw her standing up, leaving the room and closing the door again. A loud wooden noise was heard and then there was silence.

"Did she just lock us in here?" Nao was about to get a panic attack. It was dark, there were probably all kinds of bugs in the room somewhere, she was stuck with Marine of all people and there was also the issue of having no idea what was going on.

"At least we have apples." Erika finished off her first apple, eating everything, even the core and but spitting out the seeds, and grabbing another one after crawling over the stone floor for a bit.

"Don't be so calm about this, it freaks me out."

"See it this way. I know you're Cure March, you know I'm Cure Marine, all of them out there don't know either and that means they're just lookalikes of the others."

"You're not helping me feel better."

"I'll just blast us out of here if you're that worried." Stepping up to the door, biting hard into the apple and keeping it stuck to her mouth, Marine put her hands together and shouted through the apple. "Marine Blast!"

When nothing happened, she tried again. "Marine Blast! Marine Blast!" Taking the apple out, Erika chewed for a moment. "Marine Fire! Marine Impact! Marine Explosion! Marine Shredder! Marine Cat!"

"What... what are you doing." Nao was looking at the blue haired girl in disbelief.

"I thought I messed up the activation phrase but I guess it's just I don't have any magic."

Nao grabbed her forehead and sighed as hard as she could. "You didn't notice that when you realized you're not in Cure form?"

"Hey, you never know!" Turning around, still eating the second apple, Erika looked through the room. There were roughly thirty barrels, some closed shut, and they were all much too heavy for a girl of Erika's size to move. Not without her powers. "Oh we can get out here. There's a hole in the wall."

"Absolute not." Nao nearly screamed, just imagining what kind of unspeakable horrors crawled through such places.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun! Just like exploring some ruins!"

"Your definition of fun genuinely frightens me, Marine."

"Erika is fine, jeez. I can call you Nao, right? After all, we're literally partners in crime now!" Erika giggled and walked over to where the green haired girl was still holding out. "I dunno why but I feel really hyper and giddy. And hungry." Finishing her second apple and reaching for a third, Erika stepped on a wet stone, lost her balance, tumbled backwards and landed with the back of her head right on Nao's breasts. "Woah, soft. What kinda cup size is that?"

"None of your business!" Nao pushed the silly girl away and covered her chest, feeling both embarrassed and kinda turned on. There was something weird about this place. Like it made her let her guard down too much.

Erika's eyes were glinting in the dark. "Shall I measure them myself?"

Nao stood up and with her 172cm height, she towered over Erika. "I will hit you if you try!"

"Okay, I won't." Erika snickered. "Not while you're awake anyway." The girl whispered to herself.

"What was that you just murmured?"

"By the way, there's something crawling up your leg."

The single thief that was standing guard outside the room was nearly thrown out of her boots by Nao's scream. Opening the door, a completely hysterical Nao rushed past the thief, stumbled and crashed face first into the pavement.

The Nagisa thief wasn't sure what was going on. "By the gods, what is wrong with you girl?" Trying to go after Nao, Nagisa suddenly found herself viewing the room upside down for some reason.

Erika had swept their guard off her feet and was now hurrying to Nao. "Get up and let's get outta here."

"You... you used me as a distraction..." The tall girl was near tears.

"It worked much better than I thought it would." Erika was incredibly proud of herself and her plan. "There's actually no hole in the wall, I made that up. The bug crawling up your leg was real though. There's a bunch of them on the floor, too."

Erika couldn't dodge the hysterical Nao and was pushed aside when the girl started crying and immediately made a run for it, blindly in one direction. Racing after her, Erika was out of breath within seconds. Nao was everything but slow and with their height difference, despite Erika's unusual fitness for a designer, she was about to be left behind. "Stoooooop!" Shouting, Erika was surprised when March stopped right at a corner, so abruptly that she couldn't slow down in time and crashed into the tall girl.

"Don't move! Y-You are under arrest! You... you, too!" A very angry Yayoi was wielding a halberd in a very comical fashion and if Nao had her wits about her, or Erika any stamina left after a full power sprint after her friend, they could have easily overpowered the Yayoi guard. But now they couldn't.

"What's going on?!" Three other guards arrived at the scene, two Rin's and a Hikari, all in armor and armed. "Thieves!" One of them shouted.

Within seconds, Erika and Nao were surrounded by the four guards and taken away, each of them grabbed by two guards, one on each arm. "This is all your fault, Marine." Nao was still half-way in tears. First she woke up in some unknown place, then she got locked into a dark room full of bugs, bugs that were crawling all over her and then she got arrested for thieving. The day was already the worst.

"I've never been arrested by armed guards before." Erika wasn't all that worried. She wasn't feeling very threatened at all and that was usually a sign that things were just about to work themselves out.

Nao thought about that statement for a moment. "So you've been arrested before?"

"There was that one time..." Erika averted her eyes and tried to look smug.

The Yayoi guard that was taking Nao's right side kept glancing to Erika. "Nao, what's going on?" Whispering, so the other guard couldn't hear them talk over the rattling of their armor, Yayoi needed to know just what in the world was going on. She was still pretty shaken from coming to in the middle of a kiss that left her on the floor, a kiss that came from Erika of all people!

"You're the real Yayoi?" Nao earned a grunt from the Rin guard to her left. "We don't know either! We just came to while we were running with the thieves."

"Spare your excuses for the queen tomorrow." The Rin guard wasn't deaf. Turning to Yayoi, she looked rather angry. "If you're so eager to talk to this scum you can keep guard in the dungeon while we go up and enjoy the party."

"There's a party?" Erika struggled a little but without her powers she was ultimately no match for the much tougher Rin and the somewhat unnecessary Hikari at her sides. "I wanna go, let me go! There's cake, isn't there?!"

"Did this one hit her head or something?" The other Rin shook her head and pulled Erika up a little so she lost her balance and her legs hung in the air for a second. "Shut the hell up or we'll throw you in the trench."

Yayoi was so confused that she simply did as she was told, for the moment at least. They turned several corners, the catacombs beneath whatever was up above were downright a labyrinth of tunnels, small gaps, holes and walls, before they reached a set of stairs that went even further down and only the sporadic torch, where there had been many before, lit up the darkness.

Nao was squirming when she imagined how many of those things there had to be crawling all around, but there was no escape. The best she had was a dagger and the thought of hurting the guards didn't even want to manifest at all. In fact, even through they were being pulled along, the guards hadn't as much as punched them or pulled their hair. Police back home was stricter and more violent than this.

Erika took it all in stride, her face kinda resembling an indifferent pout while she tried to memorize the layout of the floor, with minimal success. They reached the, likely, deepest point of the catacombs and there were cells all over the place. Large iron gates that were lifted manually by the guards sealed off large group cells. There were a bunch of girls with identical outfits to Nao and Erika already sitting inside, rolling dice for amusement.

"Look who got caught!" One of the thieves, a Miyuki, yelled when she spotted Erika. A lot of whistling followed when the others looked and noticed.

"Give her to us, we could use some loving!" A few of them shouted.

"Throw them into a cell together. Blondie, you keep watch." There was only one other guard, a Yuri, present and she was half asleep on a chair at the only exit to the massive room. Walking halfway to the back, Erika and Nao were shoved into an empty cell and the gate was lowered by the two Rin guards.

"Enjoy, blondie. You can talk to them all night." The Rin twins laughed and walked off.

"This is your fault, Marine!" Nao tried to move the gate but without her powers, that was as futile as trying to eat through a brick wall. "Now we're stuck in a wet, cold, dark prison with god knows what crawling around!"

"I think the rats probably eat almost everything that crawls in here, so I doubt there's any bugs." Erika calmly replied and sat down on a big pile of hay. Even though it was called a dungeon and despite what Nao said, it wasn't nearly as cold as it had been in the catacombs and it wasn't that wet either, not with all the hay to sit and sleep on. It was pretty dark but that was actually kinda helpful. It would allow her to try out all kinda stuff and sleep easily if she wanted to. She wouldn't call it comfortable, but it wasn't nearly as bad as most movies she saw.

"You're not helping!" Nao whined and sat down on another pile of hay, already mentally exhausted.

"Nao, calm down... we should figure out what's going on first." Yayoi wanted to know, most of all, why she had come to the exact moment Erika and her were apparently trying to kill each other by kissing.

"A dungeon usually belongs to a castle and based on what the guards said, there's a party going on up above. And a party is always a good moment to break in and steal some stuff, which explains the thieves." Erika wished she had a detective hat and a pipe. "Thus I conclude we're in some medieval setup where we play parts of whatever is going on. Elementary, my dear Peace."

"But how did we get here?" Yayoi really wished Erika would address the kissing because she sure wasn't going to get any sleep or rest until that was properly talked about. Her heart was still ready to jump out of her throat.

"I think we're still where we used to be, just the definition of what the 'where' is has changed. Maybe someone broke the system? This is a lot better than having murderous clones walking around."

"Marine is pissing me off in how calm she is about this." Nao complained to Yayoi.

"But where are the others?" Yayoi ignored Nao for the moment. There were more important matters at hand. Like the kiss they shared.

"I dunno. I suppose they could be somewhere at the party, with other thieves, among the guards or wherever else somewhere here in the castle. Looks like a pretty big place." Laying down and yawning, Erika figured she could take a quick nap.

"Don't sleep! You haven't explained the most important thing!" Yayoi was getting annoyed that Erika seemed to just disregard what had happened. It might be nothing to her, but for Yayoi, it was a very big thing indeed!

"What thing? Lack of our powers? I might be a master detective, my dear Yayoi, but I am not a fortune teller."

"Our kiss!" Yayoi shouted and Nao looked at her quite funny. "When I came to, you were kissing me! A lot! And then you pushed me! I know it was you, you came to at the same time, didn't you!" Yayoi's face was so red that if one of the torches had shone light enough for the lit to reach all the way to their cell, Yayoi's head would have looked like a big, floating tomato.

"Ah, that..." Erika scratched her chin and looked away. There was that wasn't there? "I didn't do that. I came to in the middle of it and pushed by reflex. No harm done, right?"

"No... harm..." The corner of Yayoi's mouth twitched a few times before she shouted "Erika you idiot!" and ran off, more embarrassed that she thought was possible.

"That was super insensitive and rude, Marine." Nao might be horribly afraid of bugs and in a state close to hysteria, but that didn't stop her from picking up on Yayoi's and Marine's behavior. "She clearly has a thing for you."

"I know, I know. This isn't the first time things went awry. But I'm a married woman! I can't just go have an affair with a cute mangaka, even if I did want to." Erika paused. "I don't want to, okay? I love Tsubomi and Yayoi is cute but there is no way."

"That's no reason to be so insensitive." Nao shook her head. "And since when are you married?"

"I'm married to my job, and I have a super awesome cute girlfriend!"

=== Dissonance ===

Tsubomi on the other hand was not having a single moment where she could think about Erika in peace. The servants of the castle had just entered a brief period of having free time. All dishes had been prepared, there was plenty of drink and service in the hall and the kitchen was resting for an hour. The largest kitchen was filled to the brim for it was right beneath the grand hall and the famously exhilarant music from above was reaching through the thick stone.

In a way, this particular kitchen was the grand hall of the servants. Cooking utensils had been moved aside, the tables pushed, the chairs stacked, and there was dance and food and drink as much as any could want. And in the center of it all were the dancers, some crude, some elegant, but all cheerful and bright, as they all knew they had done a good job would be paid well. This time was their time to participate in the party and rejoice for they loved all the things simple and free just as they were.

Servitude or not, they had their own happiness and Tsubomi was caught up in the middle of it. But she wasn't alone with it all. Ellen, Cure Beat, was with her, and together they were the draw of many an eye and cheer, dancing together with the others. They knew little of where they were, less yet where the others were and nothing on who all the identical looking girls were but they were without a care in the world, for the atmosphere took from them all their worry and caution, letting them cherish the moment to it's full potential.

"This is amazing!" Tsubomi said to Ellen as the audience clapped to the music from above, bounced crude mugs and ate. "I didn't know dancing could be this fun!"

"Singing was always my strength but this is great too!" Ellen took Tsubomi's hands and whirled around her, briefly lifting her up in the air and jumping in the air, seeing the mass of happy faces all around them. She had heard that happiness was infectious but she had never known it to be this strong.

But even with all that, their stamina wasn't infinite. Tsubomi needed a break and Ellen lead her to where the audience was. And the servants were happy to make way for any and all that needed to pass, that were looking for a fresh mug of ale or a bite to eat, to give a hand when needed and to give one when there was no need at all. They were a big family that held together at all times and for that, they were strong enough to overcome the cold winters, the hot summers, the busy time of harvest and the festivals of spring with no hardship.

A mug filled with the somewhat sweet and at the same time bitter brew seemed to appear out of nowhere and find it's way easily to Tsubomi's hand. "I wish the others could be here with us!" Even though they had left the center, the gleeful atmosphere made it so that they had to shout, their voices not enough to persist through the carnival of tales, of jokes and laughter.

"Maybe they are and we just don't know!" Ellen shouted back and emptied a third of her mug. She was not one for drinking and had a strong dislike for alcohol and drunkenness but on this occasion, the brew tasted fine, the drunkenness was welcome and the alcohol was just something that came with it.

Ellen spilled some of her drink on the floor when someone hugged her from behind, a floor that was dirty and wet in places but good enough for anyone to sit on if they needed a moment's rest, for the others always found a dry place to sit in no time at all.

"Let me join you, friends!" A wildly drunk Kanade had attached herself briefly to Ellen's back only to join the two and two became three and their mood brightened even further for now there were more to talk to. "Does this beat not make you wish that we had some flowers to throw around?"

Tsubomi and Ellen, no matter how tipsy and cheerful, would not miss an obvious hint like that. "Rhythm?!" Ellen was quick to hug her real teammate. "How did you find us?!"

"Been going from group to group, asking thiz all the Ellens I found! Asked a bunch of Hibiki's too but none responded the way you did! So good to find another Cure!"

"Tsubomi is with us too!" Ellen took Kanade's hand and lead it to the pink Cures's. "You remember Rhythm, Tsubomi?!"

"Of course I do! But enough introductions!" Tsubomi could and did not want to fight against the swelling urge to dance again. Taking one hand each of her friends, the three of them pushed through the audience and started whirling around, dancing and laughing, once more.

"Ellen!" Kanade separated from Tsubomi for a moment and danced back to back with Ellen, earning herself and her teammate some amazed clapping from those that were watching the two. "Where are we? Have you seen Rin or Hibiki?"

"I only found Tsubomi but we'll surely see them soon! We're below the grand hall!"

"I know that, silly! But a grand hall of where and what?`"

"Does it matter?" Ellen turned around and took both of Kanade's hands.

"I guess it doesn't!" Kanade smiled happily and was quite surprised when Ellen suddenly leaned forward and kissed her briefly. "Hey!" Laughing it off, both of them separated and Tsubomi came between them.

"No fair!" Tsubomi complained and was promptly rewarded with a kiss on the cheek from both of them. "You're forgiven!"

Their dance continued for several more minutes until Kanade was suddenly taken by redhead and held high into the air for a moment before she was put down to exclusively dance with the girl. "I didn't know you were such a good dancer, Rhythm."

"Rin!" Kanade threw herself in the arms of the red Cure and was swung around, many a dancer ducking and laughing at the display of emotion and much of the audience whistled and yelled Kiss and Get a room. "You were here, too?!"

"I just came back from running errands and saw all the servants head here! I wouldn't want to miss a party like this for the world!" Rin was not one to party long and wild but she too couldn't resist the mood and atmosphere that was thicker than lead and nobody wanted to cut it anyway for they all rejoiced.

"Ellen, Tsubomi! Rin found us!" Looking over her shoulder, she found that those two were watching and just smiled at her. "Geez, you two!"

"Good for you, Kanade!" Ellen waved to Rin who even waved back, the three now four and even though Rin wanted to keep going, the other three were longing for a moment's rest and a cool brew.

Finding a clean corner to sit, Tsubomi was huffing and puffing, completely out of breath. Ellen was off a little better and Kanade was virtually glued to Rin's side. "Do you know what it's like up above?" Kanade was the first to ask. "I've been in another kitchen the entire time, helping out."

"We are the same. We even worked together without realizing who the other one is!" Ellen told the other two and they all laughed at the mishap.

"There is a massive party for nobility up above. There is all kinds of intrigue and scheming going on. I even heard the guards say that they caught a whole bunch of thieves that sneaked in and there are still some on the loose!"

"Nobody is gonna believe us when we get back!" Tsubomi said and emptied her mug, which conveniently vanished when a kind soul passed by and took it with her.

"I think I saw Karen somewhere on the upper level when I passed by the grand hall and she was walking with a really fancily dressed up Passion. I bet we're all here, just spread way out all over the place."

"Imagine if some of us ended up as thieves!" Tsubomi joked and all four of them laughed.

"Your girlfriend would make a great thief!" Ellen grinned and earned a poke from Tsubomi's elbow. "It's the truth, nothing but the truth!"

"She's already a thief! One with years of experience even!"

"Stole your heart, didn't she!" Kanade smiled and watched Tsubomi pout.

"You're a thief too, stealing my line!"

A batch of mugs arrived, not as clean as any would have liked but cleaner than any of them would have been bothered by, and tipsy became even more tipsy. While Rin was playing with Kanade's long hair, Ellen and Tsubomi told funny stories from their team's adventures and many a story made Kanade blush intensely because she did not want Rin to know all about her mishaps and petty quarrels with Hibiki.

"Should we go look around?" Rin threw in at some point. At the time, Tsubomi and Ellen were leaned against each other, laughing and telling more and more embarrassing stories while Kanade was delivering some of the stories from before Ellen became part of the Suite team.

All three of them looked at Rin as if she was a ghost until Rin herself started grinning and laughing. "I can be funny too, see!"

=== Dissonance ===

"What do you want, Evangeline." A Komachi, the third royal princess, wearing the same golden mask as Ako, sat on the small sofa across the table from the first princess, Ako.

That she used her second name and was being informal revealed that she and the first princess were not on good terms. "By now, you know I've spoken to Hikari. And you're here now because I spoke to her."

"What did the murderous sow have to say?" Komachi glared towards Ako.

"Why don't you tell me?" Ako had already figured out that, as the crown princess, she had more power and authority than the other princesses. "I would hate to go to mother and tell her about everything you've been doing."

"You have nothing on me, Evangeline. I have mother's ear as much as you do and certainly more than that bloodthirsty monster Minerva." Komachi got up and turned around. "Unless you have something to tell me, I am leaving."

Ako had just learned the hard way that bluffing did not always work. "Go then. I will not be responsible for what happens."

"Nothing will happen. You know nothing and I know it. Otherwise you would have never called me here." The third princess shoved the door open and simply left.

Ako ruled her out from being the real Mint. She knew too much and was too sure of herself. Ako herself hadn't known she carried the second name of Evangeline as the first princess or that the second princess was called Hikari Minerva.

The same woman that she had sent to find the princesses now entered the room and closed the door. "We were unable to find the fourth and fifth princesses, Milane and Milane. As they tend to do, those lovers are quite adept at avoiding being found, to protect their secret."

The fourth and fifth princesses were lovers? Ako's head was starting to spin. Why couldn't those princesses be normal people? At least relatively normal. "What of the sixth?"

"She was at the grand ball and we informed her. But she doesn't quite seem herself." That triggered Ako's interest. If someone was behaving oddly, chances were high that they were actually the real Cure and not a copy that was given a role, a personality and some memories.

"What about her is different? Do not leave out a single detail." Ako got up herself and the woman almost fled from her. Her voice was stern and she disliked ordering people around like this, commanding them by fear, but she couldn't blow her cover.

But why couldn't she? That was a question that had been bothering her all this time and yet she couldn't find an answer. Was she being manipulated into keeping her role? It was a possibility but for what purpose?

"Her highness princess Kurumi Vivilfell was seen talking openly to a servant girl. An unthinkable act for the princess. She despises the commoners more than any of your other sisters and despite being known for being cruel and merciless, she was also seen apologizing when she happened to bump into Duchess Miranda."

"Bring her to me now." Ako didn't need to repeat herself. The woman hurried out of the room and not five minutes later, when someone knocked, Ako had moved to the window and did not bother to turn around to answer. "Come in."

"You wanted to see me, Sister?"

"Close the door." Ako was still using her commanding tone and waited for Kurumi to close the door. "Come closer."

Stepping up to where Ako had sat before, Kurumi was so nervous that her face was intensely pale.

"You are not the Sixth royal princess Kurumi."

"W-what are you saying, sis-"

"You are Milky Rose." Ako turned around and grinned. "I know, because I am Muse. Now don't make a fuss because it will be bad if we're found out. You feel that way, too, don't you? But you don't know why, right?"

"How did you-"

"I've been talking to the other princesses. They're a very special bunch I have to say. But you were the only one my servant reported as behaving oddly. Your persona is known for being cruel and merciless and hating commoners yet you talked freely to a servant girl and apologized in public."

Kurumi was so overwhelmed she didn't even say anything and just nodded.

"You need to stay in character from now on. Don't apologize. Glare. Behave like you own the air others breathe. Do not even acknowledge that the servants exist." Ako sighed. "I've been playing political chess ever since we got here. Wherever here is, I have this feeling that we'll need to behave the way our persona's did before we realized who we were."

"The servant girl I talked to is Karen. She came to roughly the same time as I did. I looked around and heard a few things. So far, I believe there are four distinct groups of people at this castle."

"Tell me. Who knows how long we'll be stuck here so we might need every bit of information, no matter how pointless it seems to be." Ako walked past to her seat and Kurumi sat down on the rest across the table.

"There is obviously the nobles. You and I are part of them. I've seen Duchesses, Baronesses and a few other titles but they are all women and modeled after the thirty of us in the complex. I've met the sixteenth princess. She's a Honoka."

"The second princess is a copy Luminous. The third a copy Mint. You are the sixth and I don't know about the fourth and fifth. I am the first. That leaves twelve spots unfilled but I will continue to talk to them as they heed my call."

"Then there are the servants. There are a lot of them, and those that serve in the great hall, where all the nobles that aren't doing business in one of the many rooms in this wing stay, I've never seen leave. They only exchange trays at the entrances. The guards are the third group and I've not seen a lot of them in the great hall and even fewer in these corridors, but there has to be a lot of them somewhere."

"It would be sensible to assume that they are stationed in the garrison, guarding the treasury and the armory and there are also likely some that keep watch over important figures. I had two Cure Black guards when I came to. What about the last group?"

"Thieves. I overheard two guards talking and it seems a large number of thieves are swarming the catacombs below and some are even as brazen as to sneak into rooms and ambush the nobles. That makes four groups. I think that all of us were divided into those groups."

"But by what criteria? I am a princess in my land but it makes no sense for Aqua to be a servant girl. Is she not a somewhat famous violinist?"

"She is. That confused me as well. Maybe it's entirely random or based on our favor ranking? That did decide our rooming arrangements."

"I was ranked third the last time rooms were assigned. That could mean your theory has merit. What was your rank?"

"Fourth, when rooms were assigned. Karen was ranked among the last four."

"But would that not make her a thief instead of a servant?"

"We don't know if thieves are really where the poorest of us ended up."

"I cannot leave and move about the castle without causing a commotion, being the crown princess and all. But you can, and with your reputation, nobody will dare to stop you in fear of execution. Do you know who your allies are?"

"The sixteenth princess is mine to command but I don't know about the others."

"For now, we simply need information. Do try to stay in your role when someone is watching."

"What should I say when I'm asked about this meeting?"

"Tell them that I have in my possession that which could destroy you forever. That will not only strengthen my position but also pose the chance that they will slip and reveal what that really is so we can secure it."

"A real princess is terrifying." Kurumi was realizing the harsh truth of life at court. Something that had always looked like rainbows and happiness, the perfect life in peace, to her was now looking like a dark mist of intrigue and betrayal.

"Go. I need to talk to the seventh princess. And take care, Rose."

"Kurumi is fine. I noticed you call everyone by their Cure name, why is that?"

"I can't expect everyone to have a good enough name memory to remember all our civilian names but everyone should know each others Cure names by now."

"Can I call you Ako? I'm sure I won't forget."

Ako blushed a little and looked away. "Do what you like."

Kurumi left with a grim expression on her face. A fake one, but the servants she came across did not doubt it and nearly jumped out of her way when she approached.

Ako was left behind in her room and issued new orders. It took almost ten minutes before someone else entered the room, that someone being Berry or a copy of her. "Must you insist on ruining even this night with your political games, sister? I believe we had an agreement about this."

"Refresh my memory."

"Is your memory failing you, sister? But as you wish. You used your authority to free my loved one from prison and the fate of being hanged for thievery. In exchange, I agreed to become your minister of economy when you ascend to the throne. You knew that of all our sisters, I am the one that has the best head for business."

"I know. You would make a fine merchant. But I can guarantee your loyalty by continuing to shelter your love from the authorities, from Miranda and our mother, indefinitely."

"People always say you have a heart of ice but I know you better than that sister." Miki suddenly got up and approached Ako, putting her hand against Ako's cheek. "But the nights we spend together prove them wrong. You are capable of loving and tenderness, but you only show it to those you trust completely."

Ako almost freaked when Miki leaned in for a kiss but then she got a hold of herself and simply smiled into it. "Not tonight, Miki. I have a lot of business to attend to and I needed to make sure that you knew where your allegiance lies."

"I might love my dear Reika but I am as much yours as she is mine. You merely keep this over my head to tease me, you villainous girl." A second kiss rattled Ako a little more but then Miki finally sat back down. "But I know how irate you can become when delayed. Was there anything else?"

"Who is the goddess of music?" A question that every Cure, looking at Ako, would answer with Muse. After seeing just how different the princesses are, Ako decided to change her question to something more obvious.

"What a silly question. There is no such goddess, sister. At least not in any belief that our people know. Have you been reading books from foreign lands again?"

"If you don't know then all is well. Do not mention this to anyone, Miki."

"Please do not tease me so. When we're alone, you always call me Cordelia."

"Cordelia." Ako tried her best to smile and she found it surprisingly easy to do just that. "You can leave now." Ako remembered something and changed her mind. "Actually, wait. Has our sister, Komachi, been doing anything tonight?"

"She has been talking to Baroness Lesvir. She supplies much of the wine we drink and we pay her quite handsomely for her services. But do not worry, Baroness Lesvir knows better than to cross the future economic minister of this realm."

Ako didn't know how nice she could be to this Miki copy without seeming off. "I know. Now, that really is all then."

"I will see you tomorrow night as we planned." Miki waved and blew a kiss from her hand to Ako before she left.

"That... was bad for my heart. Urara will kill her if she finds out." She had no intention whatsoever of telling Urara, if she could even find her in this chaos.

=== Dissonance ===

Nao nearly screamed when a large rock in the back of the cell suddenly collapsed and a long white arm was reaching through. It didn't take long for long dark hair, she couldn't make out the exact color, to follow through. But once she saw the face, she knew who it was. "Moonlight?"

"It's actually me, yes, not one of the copies." Looking to where Erika was sleeping, Yuri kind of just wanted to leave her there for a moment. After coming to in their hideout, the caves and tunnels below the dungeon of the castle, Yuri figured out a lot of things together with one other person.

"Erika, wake up." Shaking the short girl, Yuri got immediate results.

"You cheat." Erika immediately pulled a grimace.

"How long are you going to hold me ending things with Momoka over me? And how did you know I am really me?"

"Forever." Erika stuck her tongue out. "Because I figured that the copies wouldn't bother to break us out until much later. I have an awesome sense of time, it's still the middle of the night."

"Get going, Erika. You can be angry at me later." Yuri shoved her teammate towards the escape tunnel. Nao had already gone ahead, much to her displeasure. But a tunnel that lead somewhere was at least less bad than a cell where she couldn't escape the bugs.

Catching up with the green haired thief, Yuri explained a little more of what she had been doing. "Pine is in our hideout below. She figured out that if we thieves have a hideout right beneath the castle, we also have ways to break our girls out of the dungeon. We scouted the catacombs for a bit when we overheard the guards talking about a bunch of thieves they captured. Took me a while to find the right tunnel- March, go left, then right, then left two times and then straight two times from here- and get everyone out."

"So you figured out where we are, too?" Nao was navigating the pretty dark tunnels, only small lamps that bore candles with an exceptionally long life and equally dim light illuminating their path, and hopeful to get back to what, for now, might as well be home, in a weird and messed up prison kind of way.

"Pine has a theory but it's a pretty big leap of faith to believe it. She can explain it to you when we get down. I'm going upstairs to look for Miki."

"How are you gonna get up there without getting caught?" Erika was curious. "You're a bit tall to just hide, Yuri."

"I will do what a few of the other thieves did. Ambush a noble, steal their clothes and mask and fit in."

"You do have the uptight behavior down for that." Erika barely avoided the kick from Yuri that came from the front. "Woah, hey, that almost hit me!"

"I was trying to." Yuri was a little annoyed with Erika right now and she didn't have the patience to indulge her usual comments and acts.

"Are there any other Cures among the thieves? If there's four of us, and we know Yayoi, Peace, is a guard, maybe we're split evenly among those two groups?"

"I don't think so but Pine will explain it later."

"Aw, I want to go hoo-" Nao's words were stretched long as she slipped, fell, and slid down a strong decline of the tunnel. "Ow!" Her butt felt like it was on fire. But she could see a lot of light from just around the corner.

Making it there in a hurry, she found a large cave containing several wooden tables and chairs, even a camp fire, some wooden stands to dry clothes, a small river that parted the cave through the middle and a bunch of tents.

"That's a really elaborate setup for thieves." Nao wasn't part of the brightest Cures like Reika but she could feel that this was a bit too elaborate for just some thieves that broke in during a party. Something felt off about the whole thing. But another feeling was welling up inside her. That this was home.

Yuri and Erika came into the cave while Nao was staring around, trying to shake the feeling that she was at home right here.

"That's a pretty big cave." Erika astutely proclaimed.

"You don't say." Yuri waved to Pine, who was sitting in the center of the cave at a large table that had something very flat and colorful on it. "Pine! Anyone else show up?!"

"They all went up!" Inori shouted back and waved to March and Marine, both of whom she recognized. Seeing them come closer, she pulled a very small dagger, no bigger than a pinky finger, from the straps on her right leg and rammed it into the table, marking a spot on a map, that being the thing that was covering the wooden construct.

"Welcome to the thieves guild." Inori jokingly said. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions so let me explain what we know first and then you can tell me if there's something you know that I don't."

"Actually I'm more interested in what's in that barrel." Erika was strolling around a very large barrel that was placed near the river and next to another table, with a bunch of mugs standing on top.

"Alcohol. A pretty strong brew but it tastes not bad." Inori, who usually avoided alcohol whenever possible, wasn't bothered much by the ale and ice cold river water being the only options of drinks.

Erika immediately grabbed a mug and tried to reach over the top of the barrel to get a mug full but she wasn't quite tall enough. Jumping onto the table and reaching into the barrel from there, she lost her balance when the strong smell of alcohol made her twitch.

Nao was there just in time to catch the mug and Erika, both with one hand each. "Here you go."

"I totally will take a copy of you back home for all the high shelves and stuff." Erika gulped down the contents of the mug in one big swipe and her head turned red like a tomato immediately. Coughing and breathing really heavily, she sat down on one of the chairs next to the table. "W-Wow."

"Do you want to hear about this place or should I leave you two to the dangers and pleasures of this barrel and it's spicy contents?" Inori had a smug grin on her face as she talked to Nao, who, after seeing Erika, kept her urge to try the brew herself in check.

"First, the most important thing. This cave is the bottom level of this world. Not a single path leads further down. All the tunnels lead up and into hundreds of various rooms inside the castle and behind it's walls. That begs the question, how did we get all of this in here? I tried checking the river but no dice. It's about three meter deep, which is a lot for a river that's only about two meters wide, and there is no telling how deep it runs beyond this cave."

"So this stuff is just here without any explanation as to where it came from? That's impossible, isn't it?"

"Considering who we are and what we can do when we have our powers, that's not a clever thing to say." Yuri walked past Nao and dipped a mug into the barrel. Erika was swaying a little in her chair and mumbling things to herself.

"I asked the other thieves what is beyond the castle. They spoke of all manner of lands but when I asked of the immediate outside of the castle, they all drew a blank. How did so many thieves end up below a castle with so much furniture and yet nobody seems to know what the space beyond the palace gardens looks like."

"You're saying that-" Nao was cut off before she could finish that thought.

"This castle would like us to think that there is something beyond, but there isn't. I believe, we are still where we were before. In the dimensional prison or whatever you want to call it that made us battle. There doesn't seem to be an arena or anything like it here and when asked about it, even all the thieves seemed pretty averse to using any form of violence. Which makes me believe that this is a peaceful variant of the system that made us battle. There is nothing beyond this castle because this castle is all there is to this world. I am pretty sure that if we tried to leave, something beyond our control would stop us. Even thinking about leaving makes you feel uncomfortable, try it."

"Already have, Inori is right." Yuri commented and took a sip from the crew. It wasn't bad but it was much too strong for her taste. Thieves were a pretty tough bunch.

"What exactly we're supposed to do here, I don't know. When I asked the thieves when the large event above will end, they all said that it would reach it's apex at midnight, when the queen would formerly welcome all the guests and announce something important."

"So they dodged the question?" Nao concluded and Inori nodded in confirmation.

"We have no idea where the other Cures are. They might be thieves, guards, servants or even nobles. I only know of us four right now."

"Peace is a guard. Erika kind of... met her when we came to." Nao didn't want to make matters unnecessarily worse.

"That makes five." Inori nodded again and made a mental note.

"You said that at midnight, the queen would appear, right?" Nao was wondering what kind of person the queen was.

"Yes. There are stars and a moon in the sky but there is no way to tell the time without some kind of reference point. Midnight might be right now or might come in several hours. Or even not at all until we do whatever this place wants us to do."

"Steal 'n rob 'n steal some more!" Erika shouted and jumped up, quite drunk from downing an entire mug of the strong ale.

"That is what I expect, too." Yuri added and filled her mug with the ice cold water from the river. She didn't want to leave this cave intoxicated. That was just a bad idea, being a thief and everything.

"So do I. This entire time I've been feeling the urge to go and look for valuables, for information that can be sold or even a hostage I could trade. I believe that those urges are something that this place makes you feel to make us stay in character, so to speak."

"Why couldn't it make me something other than a thief?" Nao sighed and felt something wet on her right leg. Erika had spilled a bit of the ale on her. She was going to hit her if she kept that behavior up.

=== Dissonance ===

"I locked her in the closet." Reika pushed a drawer in front of the door and looked to her partner in crime, Saki.

Luckily, they had both found each other while meeting up with their previous partners, a Love and another Reika, and the original Reika had noticed that something was off about that Saki she was looking at.

"This dress is too small for me on the waist. Maybe I should go on a diet after this."

Reika knelt next to their hostages, who were now stripped down to their fancy underwear, and checked if they were still asleep. To her relief, they were as knocked out as could be.

They had broken into a room a few minutes before, overwhelmed a guard with a handkerchief that was heavy with knock out water, a substance that knocked out a grown woman with a single whiff for the better half of a day. With the guard out of the way, the nobles were quickly dealt with, all four of them very much scared of the rough looking thieves that had just dispatched their sole guard.

The four nobles were a Black, a Luminous, a Mint and a Sunshine, which was quite the combination to swallow for Saki and Reika both, especially since they were all stark naked.

Thankfully, their dresses were on the furniture and Saki just now stripping, again, behind a large couch and trying on the second dress, unable to know which one actually belonged to the copy Nagisa, who was likely the only one that would fit her.

Reika took the green dress and found it to be too wide around her chest. A little annoyed, as she was quite proud of her figure, she took the dress off again and concluded that this one had to belong to the copy Mint.

The second dress was too tight around the chest and helpless to control herself, Reika glanced towards the unconscious nobles. That was Luminous' dress. That only left Sunshine's which had to be the one that Saki tried first. Picking it up, she hoped that Saki didn't rip it.

In the meantime, said Saki did manage to fit into a dress. Taking one of the masks that were laying around, she couldn't quite figure out how to make them stick. After putting four sets of leather straps around her legs, a few daggers, knockout tissues and pouches, Saki looked up and noticed that Reika had finished changing, her look making Saki's heart beat a little bit faster. "You look stunning in that dress."

"It has been a while since I have worn a dress like this." Reika glanced at Saki. "I take it this is the first time you have worn one?"

"That obvious?" Saki was quite uncomfortable in such a fancy dress. It had quite a deep cleavage cut, too.

"Put your legs closer together. Straighten your back and arms. Put your shoulders back a little." Reika walked like a perfect lady over to Saki to help her improve her cover. As a final touch, she stood in front of Saki and helped her attach the mask. It worked by sitting on the nose and Reika did her best to adjust Saki's posture to prevent the mask from falling. While she was doing this, Reika was fighting the impulse to lean in and kiss Saki. Was it because she reminded her of Nao a little bit? Wherever they were, this place was very clearly making her inhibitions become gradually less and less. She couldn't even feel bad for wanting to kiss the woman in front of her.

A minute later, Saki had finally managed to adjust to the mask and dress, the two finally ready to enter the grand world of nobility. The plan was to mix and mingle with the rich and go from room to room and relieve the poor nobles of their valued possessions and store them in one of the many tunnels. Neither of them could quite explain what drove them to do just this but they felt that it was not only right to do but it was also exciting.

At least every third room in the castle had a hidden entrance to the tunnels somewhere. Behind a shelf, under a carpet or a switch in the wall. Reika couldn't understand how all of that could happen right under the nose of the nobles and the guards but she already suspected that something wasn't quite right about this place.

Holding out her hand to Saki, Reika bowed politely. "Shall we, Lady Saki?"

Saki blushed intensely and took the blue haired woman's hand. "That's so embarrassing to be called that."

"Would you prefer Lady Bloom? And try to talk formally, as I do."

"That's more Mai's thing but I'll try." Saki sighed and wished she had something strong to drink to relieve the nervousness of going outside, where people could see her, even if they were just copies of everyone else. After getting a look that told her Try harder from Reika, Saki took a deep breath. "I shall try my utmost."

"Very good. You will make a proper lady yet." Reika took Saki's hand and pulled her along, very slowly, as only commoners ran or walked quickly.

Skipping a few rooms to put some distance between them and the naked nobles as well as the locked up guard, Saki and Reika walked arm in arm, the pretense of a couple keeping curious eyes away from them, past a small number of other nobles that passed by.

"I do wonder where all the others happen to be." Saki was trying very hard and it didn't go unnoticed by Reika and the attraction she was feeling for the lady by her side went straight through the roof.

Finding the first room of interest, voices were coming from the inside, Reika and Saki waited until there was nobody nearby. Opening the door, rushing in and slamming it shut, Saki and Reika reached for the daggers in the small holsters mounted to the leather straps around their legs and like proper bandits, held their weapons threateningly.

But what they saw was quite exceptional. Three girls were on the bed, a Miki, an Urara and a Hikari. That they were there was not the exceptional thing. Not that they were stark naked either but that the room itself was smelling like the most exotic mix of spices and smoke imaginable and that the source of that smell was coming directly from the girls on the bed, each of them holding a long, winded pipe.

"Are they... using drugs?"

"In medieval ages, it was not unusual to use what we know as controlled substances for entertainment. I suspect, it isn't unusual here, either." Reika put her dagger bag and looked at the Hikari that was slowly crawling towards them.

"A talking cat! And a bear! Wow!" Each word was accompanied by a slur and giggling and once her sentence was out, she fell on her back and took a deep breath from the pipe.

"Are you the bear or the cat?" Saki was curious about this.

"Look for valuables." Reika smiled a little and hoped that she was the cat. She couldn't help but blush intensely when the Urara and Miki were starting to heavily make out, sloppy kissing and very erotic touching and liking included.

"The Urara has a bunch of rings, do you think we should-" Saki watched the rings vanish halfway into Miki and immediately decided against taking those rings with her. She was also getting incredibly horny just from hearing their moaning and the wet noises. Passing the bed again, kneeing down and checking a drawer, Saki was thrown off balance when the drugged Hikari threw herself on her back.

"Let's have... fun, miss bear!" Blowing hot breath against Saki's ear and licking her neck, the Hikari didn't bother to wait for approval or an answer.

Throwing the girl back on the bed didn't have much effect as she just crawled towards Saki again but didn't quite reach her. The Miki had caught Hikari after separating from Urara, who was now laying on her back, legs spread wide, and breathing in the smoke again.

Saki turned around and tried to ignore the even more intense moaning with minuscule success. Bagging the two necklaces and brooches she found in two of the pouches at her legs, Saki looked to Reika and almost wanted to tear her hair out when she saw her sitting on the bed, taking a long deep breath from the pipe while the naked Urara was hanging on to her, licking her nape.

"Reika!" Saki almost shouted and tried to walk over there but the Miki and Hikari joined forces to stop her and pulled the trained girl on the bed and blew smoke in her face. Coughing and trying to avert her faces, she was suddenly being tickled and couldn't help but laugh, breathing in the smoke.

A few seconds later, the room started to look a lot more colorful and Miki a hell of a lot more attractive. She could always go thieving later, right? There was no harm in having some fun with friends, right? They all knew each other, there was nothing weird about being naked together?

Saki thought all those things just before she kissed the blue haired girl and fell with her on the bed.

=== Dissonance ===

Itsuki had figured out a few things on her own. Coming to as a guard in the grand hall, she had the wit to do what all the other guards did. Keep still, look stern and watch the nobles. She had seen her share of weird things, from battling her own self to become stronger as a Cure, to a desert planet, a planet sized villain, murderous reverse personality mirror Cures and all the things she went through in the battles. Coming to as an armored guard at a large party didn't faze her all that much at this point.

Thanks to her training, standing still in armor wasn't that big of a deal and thankfully, nobody had come to ask her for directions. And now it was finally time to stretch her legs. "It is time." Another guard, a Muse of all people, had walked up to her and from the look of her armor, it was slightly different from the well decorated ones of the guards in the main hall, she had come from outside the hall, a space that was completely unknown to Itsuki.

"Time for?" Itsuki would pretend that she was a new recruit if necessary but she couldn't just pretend to know what this Muse was talking about.

"You're the sixth guard I tell this. I won't repeat myself so listen carefully." The Ako guard took a deep breath and started explaining. "All guards are to assemble at the entrance and escort the seventeen princesses of court to the top level where her majesty the queen will welcome them in person before speaking to our esteemed guests. Head to the entrance and wait."

"Understood." Itsuki was so incredibly happy to finally be able to walk around, even if it was just a march to the entrance. Thankfully, the guard had pointed in the exact location of the largest hallway that connected to the grand hall and Itsuki could see the sea of nobles parting to make way for the guards that lined up side by side, forming a tunnel for the highest royalty on the floor. She couldn't see a single princess yet, but she was excited to see them. She had never seen a real princess.

Getting in line and standing still again, Itsuki noticed that a lot of other guards were glancing towards the main entrance, some anxious, some excited, others nervous and a few were simply having issues standing still.

A few minutes passed during which Itsuki simply looked around, at some of the nobles in fancy dresses and silver masks, before the grand hall first fell quiet. "Her Royal Highness, First Princess of Escalia, Ako Evangeline Escalia!" The announcer's voice was loud and clear. Itsuki would recognize that voice anywhere. It belonged to Hibiki. Itsuki stood as firm as everyone else did and tried to glance at the coming princess from the corner of her eye.

"Her Royal Highness, Second Princess of Escalia, Hikari Minerva Escalia!" Itsuki could now see the first princess. Her dress was showing intricate lines that resembled a mark of some kind and it looked like it was made from pure gold, glittering in the light of the hall. Itsuki couldn't see it but she could feel the pressure the princess exerted on the nobles, feeling the collective bowing of them all.

"Her Royal Highness, Third Princess of Escalia, Komachi Trisjil Escalia!" Itsuki felt a shiver when the second princess came closer. There were about twenty guards standing past her, ten on each side, with about half a meter between each of the guards, and the first princess was waiting at the very end of the guard tunnel.

"Her Royal Highness, Fourth Princess of Escalia, Akane Milaine Escalia and Her Royal Highness, Fifth Princess of Escalia, Reika Milaine Escalia." Just as the announcer finished, the second princess walked past Itsuki and she could feel the danger that emanated from that woman.

"Her Royal Highness, Sixth Princess of Escalia, Kurumi Vivilfell Escalia." The third princess passed by Itsuki and from her too, Itsuki could feel something bad. Not the same kind of danger that the second princess gave off, but something bad nonetheless.

"Her Royal Highness, Seventh Princess of Escalia, Miki Cordelia Escalia." The fourth and fifth princess were just passing Itsuki, holding hands and very much giving off a rather odd kind of aura. Itsuki needed a few seconds to figure out that it was the same kind of feeling she felt from Luminous and Rose.

"Her Royal Highness, Eighth Princess of Escalia, Inori Larisena Escalia and Her Royal Highness, Ninth Princess of Escalia, Setsuna Alexandra Escalia." Itsuki watched the sixth princess pass by and she looked rather grim but lacked the necessary pressure that was expected from someone whose posture showed that. Judging by where she stopped, the seventh princess would stand almost directly in front of Itsuki until they were all assembled.

"Her Royal Highness, Tenth Princess of Escalia, Kaoru Bjeldavir Escalia." Itsuki was a bit disappointed that she would not see princesses ten to seventeen and only be able to glance at the ninth from a few meters away.

"Her Royal Highness, Eleventh Princess of Escalia, Urara Faldirn Escalia." The seventh princess seemed to be rather the opposite of the second. Itsuki felt like this was a person she could trust.

"Her Royal Highness, Twelfth Princess of Escalia, Tsubomi Ma'chien Escalia." The eighth princess and ninth princess were holding hands, just like the fourth and the fifth. Itsuki wondered how much of all of that was actual incest and how many of them came from different fathers or families altogether.

"Her Royal Highness, Thirteenth Princess of Escalia, Nagisa Bluefair Escalia and Her Royal Highness, Fourteenth Princess of Escalia, Mai Catherine Escalia." Itsuki wanted to punch someone after hearing that. By the current logic, those princesses that got called in double were a couple and that a Nagisa and Mai copy were a couple just kind of annoyed her, knowing how things were between the real ones.

"Her Royal Highness, Fifteenth Princess of Escalia, Rin Mireille Escalia." Itsuki felt the shift in the nobles. They didn't respect this princess at all.

"Her Royal Highness, Sixteenth Princess of Escalia, Honoka Lamitiar Escalia." It wasn't just the Rin princess. This princess demanded no respect from the nobles either.

"Her Royal Highness, Seventeenth Princess of Escalia, Miyuki Tribati Escalia." Itsuki felt a sudden shift in the guards movements and noticed just in time that they were all turning left. It was time to march evidently.

It was like a snake whose skin was guards and the muscle were the royal princesses, marching in a straight line through the grand hall, towards the winded staircase that went all the way to the top. Slowly ascending, much slower than Itsuki had ever deemed possible, they reached the first balcony after about a minute and went up another every minute after. Itsuki was incredibly curious what the top layer looked like and her curiosity would not be disappointed.

A long table, much longer than any she had ever seen, was in the center of the massive open space. The ceiling was curved in, forming a dome-like structure above them. There were musicians in each of the four corners, many large, round beds with small tables. Itsuki couldn't recognize most of the items on them but she saw long, winded pipes in many a noble's mouth.

The guards dispersed and went to the back end of the room, directly above the main entrance easily fifteen meters below them, but the floor was at least three meters of solid stone. An entire army could have marched up there and the ground would have held.

Itsuki's glance was focused on a large square of curtains, with a massive chair and a person inside it. That had to be the queen, hidden well from all eyes, even those of the guards and the nobles that were allowed up here.

One by one, the princesses walked up to the curtain, the queen was definitely looking to the center of the room, right at her daughters, if they really were her daughters, and not saying a thing, but neither did the princesses. Kneeling before their queen, each princess took a chair and there didn't seem to be any specific arranged order.

As soon as all princesses were sitting down, the atmosphere changed significantly. Itsuki felt like her entire body had become one large center for goosebumps and she almost stepped out of line when the curtains of the queen suddenly lit on fire and burned up rapidly.

"Welcome, my daughters!" The voice boomed through the hall and there was obvious joy in it. But Itsuki didn't pay attention to that anymore.

The Queen was clad in a dress that did not just seem alive but truly was. An every shifting mixture of colors, it was like an aurora had been pressed in the shape of a dress. She wore a mask like all the others but hers was different entirely. It was black as the night and there were thirty different jewels imbedded on it, each a different color.

As soon as she took a single step, gusts of wind bellowed through the room, tongues of fire leashed out from her fingertips and the breath of everyone in the room turned cold and hot at the same time. Itsuki had faced powerful enemies and seen the near limitless power of the Infinity Silhouette but she had never before felt a single person that put her in such awe.

In reflex, Itsuki knelt down and so did all of the guards beside her, lowering their head so their eyes faced the ground, unworthy to look at this most magnificent person. The nobles did not kneel but lowered their head in the same way. This was not their time to see or talk to the queen. This was the queen's time with their daughters.

The queen's words didn't reach Itsuki anymore but she could feel that she was talking to the princesses. An impossible to resist pressure was weighting down on her, almost as if she was carrying the entire planet on her shoulders.

And then the pressure changed. Itsuki had no idea how much time had passed. It could have been ten seconds or an hour. All her senses were overwhelmed by this person and she could barely keep thinking about it.

"Today," The queen's voice once again boomed through the top level and surely reached all the way down to the bottom floor, "we mark the 500th anniversary of my ascension to the throne and the foundation of the Kingdom of Escalia."

"Today," A brief pause. "I stand before the select few that have proven themselves worthy, that have proven their worth to the kingdom and that have proven their loyalty to me, Queen Escalia the First."

"Today, we shall drink and feast. We shall dance and forge new connections. We shall make plans to defend this realm and create armies to see our plans through. We shall amuse ourselves and each other, we shall indulge in our every desire, we shall be decadent and overbearing, for tonight is the night of all nights. Today we celebrate the Night of a Escalia and we shall do so a thousand days!"

As if something had grabbed her by the shoulders and lifted away, Itsuki saw only darkness for a brief moment. At first she thought the pressure had become unbearable but then she realized that her mind was actually clearing up.

A few seconds later, Itsuki found herself standing under the clear night sky, wearing a fancy dress, a sliding fan in her right and a large piece of paper in her left hand. "Invitation?" A guard asked her and she spaced out for a moment. "My lady, is everything in order?"

Itsuki finally realized that the guard was speaking to her. "Yes, yes, it's fine." She responded without thinking about it. Someone behind her started to giggle and she heard the word crude in a derogatory tone.

"Your invitation please." The guard held out his hand.

Itsuki handed over the piece of paper that she figured had to be the invitation. "Lady Itsuki Myoudouin. Welcome to Castle Escalia. The Grand Ball will start in twenty minutes time."

=== End of Event XXVIII ===