The Heroine's Best Friend

Chapter 6 Part 1: A Lady's War

Note from the author: Thank you everyone for your kind words. I've been super busy since the move and haven't had as much time to devote to this. I haven't dropped the story, just trying to manage my time. Thank you for hanging out with me and I hope you enjoy this update. 

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After enjoying a bit of a respite, the warning bell sounded indicating that the contestants should start gathering. Despite the massive crowd, I was surprised by how easily I was able to find Maria. Must be the power of the heroine to never get lost in a crowd. Maria was looking a bit nervous. I don't blame her, there were so many people packed in here it would be hard not to feel a bit overwhelmed. 

"Hey!" I said as I tapped on her shoulder to get her attention. 

"Christine!" she said happily with slight wetness to her eyes. 

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, there's just so many people here. It's worse than taking the train!" Train? Oh. That's right. I keep forgetting she's Japanese. From my fairly ignorant American point of view, I do know that Japanese teenagers have to sometimes take the train to get to school and that it can be ridiculously crowded. 

"I guess so. Though I once went to a Metallica concert with my parents, and this reminds me of that." 

"Ah....." she said noncommittally. I guess we both have unique perspectives that don't cross even our past lives' cultural boundaries. 

"Oh before I forget," I say trying to change the mood, "I ran into," leaning down to whisper, "Prince Levi." 

"You did?!" she asked wide eyed. 

"Yeah. You need to pick a pink handkerchief!" 

"Really? He told you that?" 

"Yep. But, oh my God, I almost totally blew it!! I accidentally called him a capture target to his face!" Maria gasps out loud. I wave my hand to brush it off. "Don't worry! He thought I was making a joke so he laughed. But let me tell you, at that moment I knew true fear!" We both giggle at the absurdity of it. 

Welcome, ladies!  A loud voice booms in the air. 

"Intercom?" I say with some confusion. 

"It's wind magic," Maria tells me. "They can use it to amplify their voices."

"Ah, good thing you pay attention in class!" 

"It wasn't mentioned in class yet. I was curious on how Lord Filmore is able to yell from across the grounds!" Lord Filmore isn't actually a lord. He's the school's groundskeeper. But he is old and cranky and has the respect of the teaching staff, so he was unofficially been called a Lord by the whole school for years. I haven't figured out why he can't actually get a title, I'm sure there's some bullshit about the aristocracy and him being a commoner. 

As I am sure all of you are quite familiar with the event, please bear with me as there may be a few of you who need to hear the rules and proceedings. 

Me. That would be me. I have no idea what's going to happen. 

Momentarily you will be granted access to the hall where you will select only ONE handkerchief. As you are all ladies of class, I trust there will be NO pushing, shoving, or generally unbecoming behavior while entering the hall. 

This comment resulted in a few snickers in the crowd. Well, it's pretty obvious that is exactly what is going to happen. 

Clearing his throat, the unseen announcer continues. Once you have ORDERLY entered the hall and selected your desired handkerchief, we ask that you quickly leave and retreat to the gardens to allow the rest of the ladies to enter. 

More snickering. What kind of bloodbath is this going to become?

After you have your handkerchief you are allowed the rest of the day to barter with another lady should you want to exchange, HOWEVER, once you have started on your designs OR leave the gardens, that handkerchief becomes your responsibility. 

All handkerchiefs have a number tag. Remove the number tag and keep it safe. This will represent your partner during the exchange at the hunt next weekend. 

The crowd erupts into loud chatter. 

"There's a hunt too?" I ask Maria. 

"I guess so. I really don't know anything about this either." 

Quiet now! Quiet! Poor announcer. It's like the principal trying to calm a student body before a pep rally. And finally, I am sad to announce that this year there are more ladies participating than gentlemen. Some of you will not be able to get a handkerchief. If that is the case, you will receive a special invitation to the next Handkerchief Contest in which you will be among the first to enter. 

Now the crowd becomes hysterical. Lovely, not enough for everyone to participate truly means a blood bath. Maybe I should just hang back. Is this really worth it? 

The doors are opening, please REMAIN CALM!!

 No sooner than he speaks the doors open and the crowd surges forward. While I was entertaining the idea of skipping, it was no longer a reality I could choose from. I was being pushed and elbowed forward and it would be suicide to attempt to move in any other direction. I lost Maria to the crowd quickly. 

"Ah - shit!" I put my arms up to protect my head. There are girls pulling hair and using their long fingernails to scratch people out of the way. I can't see where I'm going. And my head is ringing. The screams of excitement, hysteria, and pain are so loud and high pitched it hurts. I remember I had this friend who really liked Taylor Swift. She would post-concert videos on Facebook and I remember I could barely hear the song over the screaming. This was that same hell. 

Metal fans are waaaaaay nicer! 

Eventually, I'm pushing hard into a table hitting my hip bone. "AH! FUCK Jesus!" There are handkerchiefs on this table so without looking I just grab one to try to make my retreat. 

"Fuck this shit. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." I mutter as I push my way out of the hall, which is slightly easier than getting in. Once I gain a bit of room to move without running into bodies and skirts, I run out the door into the gardens and don't look back. The adrenaline is surging and I'm in complete flight mode. Once the noise fades to the background, I finally stop and sit down at the closest bench heaving heavily. 

"I. am. NEVER. doing this bullshit again!" I say to no one. 

I lean back and stare at the sky. The breeze feels nice. Once I catch my breath I realize I have a death grip on the handkerchief in my hand. I look down. Releasing my gasp slightly I see a black cloth. 

"Ha! Hahahahahahahaha," I'm laughing like I'm insane. Tears are rolling down my eyes from laughing so hard. Once I get it out of my system I lean back again, the sky inviting me. Ah, truly fuck this shit.