Chapter Text
Katarina let out a squeal of delight as she munched away happily on her treat. Maria told her that it was made with her in mind, and in Katarina’s head, it definitely felt like it~ Every moment it was on her tongue was absolute bliss, but like all good times, they must come to an end. With a final swallow, the cookie vanished down her throat, her mouth feeling an emptiness it always felt without the lovely sweets. That emptiness didn’t stay around for long as the blonde next to the noblewoman quickly offered her another, the smile on her face able to warm the coldest of hearts.
As Katarina continued to gorge herself on the sweets, the others discussed the topic at hand. Specifically, after Keith’s kidnapping, something had attached itself to Katarina, and after the dragon that the foolish girl tried to face head on, they knew the danger of when one went out of control.
While Katarina loved to dote on “Pochi,” it was a familiar of darkness, just like the dragon. Research showed that anyone who received one would either succumb to darkness, like that man, or go insane, so why was Katarina immune to it? And more importantly, can they be sure she’ll stay that way? Those thoughts drove their research on as Katarina was blissfully oblivious to the peril she was truly in.
Maria offered Katarina another cookie, which the noble accepted with gusto, as her eyes fell on another book. “Maybe… because she herself didn’t do anything to gain the dark magic, and she isn’t using Pochie for devious matters, but instead is treating him like an actual living creature instead of a tool, it isn’t harming her soul or mind in the same way as others?”
Giordo hummed to himself at the query. “That could be the case, but I feel like it would be better to find something concrete to prove that. All we can do now is guess, and with Katarina on the line, I’d rather not take chances.”
Keith nodded. “I agree. It’s better to know for sure instead of just hoping.” His statement was cut off by Lady Mary slamming closed another book. “I agree as well, but I wish there was more information on the things! Right now it feels like there’s nothing on them!”
Sophia sighed. “True, but they most likely didn’t want anyone creating their own, so burying the information was a good option… But that doesn’t help us very much now, does it?”
Alan sighed. “Well, if anyone can just ignore the bad parts of a curse and just get the good, it’s Katarina. I wouldn’t mind continuing to study this too much, but trying to find something like this might not be done in a night.”
Maria listened, but her attention was still focused on the book on the shelf that had caught her eye before. She stepped over to it, her hand running over the nice, bright cover with pink words scrawled across it, golden trimming underneath. It stood out so much from the more mellow and dark covers around it, and when she pulled it out, she noticed that it seemed almost like those romance novels Katarina had sometimes read with her. Why would it be in the Magical Ministry’s Library? Unless someone had put the wrong book away after studying…
She slowly walked back to the table book still in hand, before sitting down in her previous spot. Sophia looked at the book in her hand, a frown plain on her face. “Is that a new novel? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one like that…”
The real surprise, however, came when Katarina glanced down at what novel they were talking about before starting to choke on the cookie she had just started to eat. Eyes were drawn off the book as Katarina hacked and coughed, gasping as the cookie did its best to throttle her. But once she had her throat under control and either everything was in her stomach or coughed out, she finally forced her eyes back to the book that Maria had dropped on the table in her hurry to help the heiress. The book was one that she hadn’t ever seen in book style, instead remembering it to be something that started this whole situation off.
The book was titled “Fortune Lover.”
She struggled to keep herself calm, but wasn’t very good at it, her look of shock and panic beginning to make the others nervous. “Is something wrong with that book, Lady Katarina?” Mary definitely looked worried, as did the others, making Katarina force a smile to try and calm them down.
“O-oh! It’s nothing! I just remember I read a gam- book! A book that I played once. I mean read once.” She nodded to herself, thinking of how truly smooth she was, before reaching out and picking up the book. “To be honest, it looks a bit different from how it was before, so I was just wondering if it was the same one…” She slowly opened the book, not noticing Maria leaning over, nor the two other of her friends from their little book club moving around to look at it with her. But all the same, as the book opened, the book suddenly shone like the sun itself, forcing all those seated, both lady and gentleman, to force their eyes closed from the brightness, with quite a few letting out shocked gasps or yells, when half of those went silent in an instant.
When Geordo, Keith, Alan, and Nicole forced their eyes open, blinking the spots away, the book was closed once more, but more importantly, they were alone, with every member of their group who had gotten a look at the book having vanished into thin air.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Katarina Claes slowly opened her eyes, her hand quickly coming up to shield her face from the sunlight streaming down towards them. Somehow, she went from being in the library to her body lying upon a grassy patch of ground, her eyes catching the beautiful clothing of the three other ladies out of the corners of her eyes, all of the ladies trying to acclimate to the sudden change, same as her.
Her ears picked up on some… strange noises. Ones she could have sworn she had heard before, but it was so long ago that the memory was fuzzy. Slowly she pushed herself up into a sitting position, looking this way and that, unsure of what was truly going on. Was she dreaming? Or was this… real?
She was broken out of her confusion by the confusion of the other three. Or specifically, Lady Mary Hunt. “Oh my goodness! W-what…?” She looked around her in utter confusion, letting the question hang in the air, with Maria being shocked silent, and finally, Sophia having a similar look of confusion, and… a slight glimmer of understanding.
The area they sat in was close to a playground where a few childrens were enjoying their time playing. The playground was quite normal looking to Katarina, but to the other three it was a very strange structure. More than that there were metal contraptions going faster than any carriage would be safely allowed to go in a city, and the rows of structures that seemed to not be made of wood nor stone.
The only one who didn’t look shocked was Katarina herself, who simply stood up, a hand coming to her face as she gave her own cheek a hard pinch. “OW!”
Maria jumped to her aid quickly, pulling Katarina’s arm away from the now aching flesh. “L-Lady Katarina! What was that for?” The noble looked uncomprehendingly at her for a moment before giving the world around them one more glance, a sigh escaping her mouth before she finally said, “Well… umm… Let me be the first to introduce you all to another world.”