Author's Note: I'm posting the next Christmas chapter a little early this year. Enjoy! :D
A Present in Development
"I think we should tell Grace Santa isn't real this year," was the first thing out of Neil's mouth when Eva walked into his office.
A slight, amused smile tugged at Eva's lips as she stepped over to her husband, who was sitting at his desk. "She'll be eight soon, so that's fine, but are you sure you just don't want the credit for her Christmas present to go to someone that isn't you?" She gestured to his computer screen, which was displaying a 2-D picture of a young, white-clad girl with long black hair, green eyes, and olive skin standing in a grassy field and staring up at a starry night sky. PRINCESS LIFE was written in large, bright purple letters taking up the upper left portion of the screen, and below it, New Game and Load Game were listed in smaller letters of the same color.
"Hey, who else would make our girl a princess game starring her?" Neil asked rhetorically. "Not a bunch of elves at the North Pole, I'll tell you that for free."
"Unless they're more technologically advanced than we think," Eva quipped, then sobered. "Anyway, what did you want to show me this time?" So far, she'd seen contests the princess could compete in, dresses she could wear, places she could adventure in, and other features such as the jobs she could have and the classes she could take. Neil had even shown Eva some of the glitches he'd run into, whether it was some asset or another not rendering properly or the princess' stats not raising or lowering like they should've. All that considered, what he wanted to show her now could be just about anything.
Neil didn't keep her in suspense for very long. "Just a few of the endings," he said, already typing in a string of letters and numbers. "Let's be sure there's no bugs, yeah?"
Barely a second after he completed the cheat code, the title screen was replaced by a rosy pink background decorated with white tree branches. In the middle of the screen, a textbox accompanied by a face portrait of a dark-skinned, black-haired woman who looked a lot like a 2-D version of Traci appeared. "So, Princess Evagrace," the textbox read, "you haven't decided on a career yet, have you?"
Neil clicked on the mouse, and the next textbox appeared, this time with a face portrait of the fictional princess version of a teenaged, puzzled-looking Grace. "Um...no?"
"What about dance?" "Traci's" second textbox read. "With your talent, you could become a first-class dancer in no time!"
The princess' next portrait showed her with a blushing, embarrassed face. "Oh, my! Do you really think so, Taryn?"
"I know so! And you can start by working at my dance school."
"Okay!" The princess' portrait now showed her smiling happily. "I'll work at it until I'm the best dancer around!"
The textboxes and portraits disappeared and were replaced by an image of the princess wearing a flowing, dark pink dress and matching ballet slippers, her hair pulled up into a bun, which was held in place by an equally dark pink ribbon. She was lifting her skirt slightly as her feet moved in a cheery dance.
"And so," a new textbox read, "while working as a dance teacher, Princess Evagrace set out to become a professional dancer.
"Eventually, after countless hours spent perfecting her skills, the day of her first recital arrived.
"As a crowd of people watched, Evagrace performed a new dance Taryn had composed. It was met with thunderous applause.
"After that, Evagrace went on to compose her own dances, bringing the kingdom into a new era of dancing."
"I still can't believe you made some of the characters look like people we know," Eva told Neil. "I mean, Traci as the dance instructor? Seriously?"
He just shrugged. "Hey, I already had the royal family look like you, me, and Grace. Might as well keep with the theme, right?"
"And the princess' default name being my name combined with Grace's?"
"You're totally my queen and Grace is totally our princess," Neil answered, grinning. "Why wouldn't I use your names for her? Besides, Grace's gonna light up like our Christmas tree when she sees that the princess' name is similar to hers."
"To be fair," Eva said, unable to help the hint of another smile on her face, "Grace would light up like our Christmas tree even if this game was as bad as that one you made about Johnny and River."
"Aw, c'mon, it was my first time in game development. Give me some credit."
"Well, at least you had your basics covered."
Neil tsked as he inputted another cheat code. "Damning with faint praise, much?"
Eva didn't answer him as the next ending appeared onscreen. Similar to the dancer ending, it began with a character—this time a green-eyed, hat-wearing man who looked like Eddie—asking the princess about what job she had, then asking if she'd like to work at his bakery when she said she didn't have one yet. After only a bit of encouragement, the princess accepted the baker's job offer. The scene was followed by an image of the princess wearing a white double-breasted jacket, a long red skirt, and a white mushroom-shaped hat and kneading a large ball of floured dough on a counter, with another counter covered with cakes and pies in the background. A textbox appeared, but it was empty of any text.
"Again?" Neil groaned, slumping in his chair. "I thought I fixed that!"
"Not entirely, it seems," Eva said.
"And you didn't even get to see the best part!" he continued as if she hadn't said anything. "The princess works at the bakery until she's good enough to take it over, and she goes down in culinary history as the best baker of her time. It's supposed to be cute, not, ya know, glitched."
"You can show it to me when you get it un-glitched," Eva told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Or better yet, wait until Grace gets that ending. She'll love it."
"Oh, no doubt, as long as there're no bugs to ruin it," Neil said with a chuckle. Straightening up in his seat, he added, "And speaking of endings Grace'll love..."
He inputted a third cheat code, and the empty textbox and image of the princess as a baker vanished. A new textbox paired with a face portrait of a woman with green eyes and short, wavy blonde hair—clearly Ruth's game counterpart—appeared, complete with text this time.
"Princess," "Ruth's" textbox read, "Their Majesties wish to see you in the throne room."
"Oh?" The princess' portrait showed her with her confused face. "Did Mother and Father say why?"
"They didn't," "Ruth's" next textbox read, "but I suspect it's important, so it's best not to keep them waiting."
The fourth textbox had no portrait accompanying it and said, "Evagrace exits her bedchamber and goes to the throne room."
The fifth textbox was shown with a face portrait of the Neil-lookalike king—glasses and all. "Ah, Evagrace! You're here!" it read. "I can't believe it's been nine whole years since you came to live with us. You were so small then..."
"Yes," the Eva-lookalike queen's first textbox read, "but just look at you now! You've grown into a fine young woman, and we couldn't be prouder."
The princess' portrait showed her smiling politely. "Thank you, Mother, but I can't take all the credit. It's because of you and Father that I've become the woman I am today."
"And the woman you are today is exactly what this kingdom needs," the queen's second textbox read.
"You see, Evagrace," the king's next textbox read, "your mother and I aren't as young as we used to be, and it's time for us to retire. Therefore, we're going to hand the throne over to you."
"What?!" The princess' portrait was now openmouthed in shock. "But...are you sure I'm fit to take your place?"
"Of course, dear," the queen's third textbox read. "You might not be our daughter by blood, but you're our daughter in every way that matters. It's only fitting that you rule the kingdom in our stead."
"Besides," the king's next textbox read, "so long as WE think you're good enough to rule, that's all that matters! Ha ha ha!"
"I guess so." The princess' portrait showed her with her happy face. "Well then, I won't let you or the kingdom down!"
With the scene over, an image of the princess in royal finery appeared. She wore a golden, silver-accented gown beneath a matching golden cape lined with ermine fur, with a necklace of pearls and rubies around her neck and a golden, ruby-and-pearl-encrusted crown atop her head. She held a dark blue orb surmounted by a cross in her left hand, and in her right she held a golden scepter.
"And so," the new textbox read, "the throne was given to Princess Evagrace, who became the new queen.
"Her coronation was a grand event, and the people joyously accepted her as their monarch.
"In the decades that followed, Evagrace proved herself to be a magnificent queen, ruling wisely and kindly and ushering in a golden age. Under her leadership, the kingdom became wealthy, happy, and peaceful.
"History remembered her as one of the greatest queens who ever lived."
"Awesome—no glitches in this ending!" Neil cheered, beaming at Eva. "Good thing, too; that one's my favourite."
"It is sweet," she said, "all ripping off of Elizabeth Tudor's coronation portrait aside. But that does remind me..." she added, dropping her hand from his shoulder. "Don't think I haven't noticed you haven't implemented any potential husbands for the princess."
The smile slid off of Neil's face at the word "husbands." "Why the heck would I do that?"
Eva raised an eyebrow at him. "Because that's what these kinds of games do? The princess doesn't just get a job when she grows up—she gets married, too."
"Well, this princess realises she doesn't need a prince."
"That might be more meaningful if I didn't already know there isn't even a hint of romance in the game."
"So what? It's not like Grace is gonna care."
"She won't," Eva agreed, "but that's probably because she hasn't hit puberty yet."
"Ugh, puberty," Neil repeated, making a face as though that particular stage of development was something slimy and disgusting. "You know I hate that word, Eva."
"Hating it doesn't make it any less inevitable," she reminded him.
"Maybe not, but the princess can still do just fine without a husband."
"Are you talking about the princess in the game or our daughter?"
Neil grinned. "Why not both?"
Eva snorted, shaking her head. Of course it'd be both. "Well, Evagrace might not ever get married, but Grace staying single forever? The jury's still out on that."