It was the year 2025, the year I was crowned Queen, and the year things turned upside down for me. The room was filled with more than a hundred guests; some from within the country of Waybridge and others from faraway lands. Our Kingdom is known to be the largest one on the continent, as well as the strongest land; no one dares to fight with us, those who try only end up in humiliation. One team of average soldiers can wipe out an entire city in just half a day. I sat on my throne, awaiting to be crowned Queen of the land of Waybridge. Besides me was my elder sister, Natalia, who stood at my side. The tradition of my land is that whoever is the strongest will take the throne. Soon, the master of ceremonies arrived to crown me; behind him were two men: one carried the crown that was placed on a red cushion, and the other was holding the ancient machete that has been passed down for generations. The handle was covered with jewels and gems, while the blade shimmered in the light of the room.
The Master stood in front of me and turned to the audience. "Hear ye," he said, and everyone was silent and turned their attention to him. "Welcome everyone, and thank you for attending this glamorous occasion." I then felt an odd presence. I turned to my sister and saw that she had a bored expression on her face. I could tell from that expression that she wanted to leave that room right away.
"Nalani, may you please be standing." I turned away from my sister and stood up. My gaze was now focused on the master of ceremony. He looked at me and gave a smile of approval and took the crown from the cushion and placed it on my head. He then took the machete and knelt down on one knee. He handed it over to me, and when I took it from his hands, the audience began to clap for joy.
The master of ceremony then turned to the audience. "Long live the queen." He said with joy and his arms spread out. The audience applauded again with joy and bowed their heads down. The master of ceremony turned towards me and did the same—but when I turned to my sister, she hesitated before bowing down to me.
I sat at a table with my personal servant, Mutale. She is a kind and selfless young woman; she cares more about others than herself. That's what led us to be close friends, as well as bringing distance between me and my sister. For her to even be wearing the cyan blue dress was that I had to beat her in a game of chess that she forfeited at the tenth move. She's quite strong but not as strong as me and my sister.
As we enjoyed some of the food and were waiting for the drinks, my sister came walking with a server who was holding three drinks on his tray: there was a blue, red, and orange drink. When she arrived at the table, she smiled. The smile felt strange; she's never smiled ever since the fight. Now she smiles out of nowhere—I could tell that something wasn't right.
She nodded to the server, signaling him to hand us the drinks. He did so, and I turned my gaze on Mutale, who was looking at the floor nervously. Me and Mutale are like the same; we both hardly smile, speak formally towards people, as well as the fact that we are not so easy to read—but now I could see her nervous, and that did make me feel a bit uneasy.
I then turned my gaze on Natalia. "What with all of this?" I asked her. She then put on that bored expression on her face and replied, "Is it wrong for me to offer my sister and her friend a drink for this memorable occasion?"
"But your presence is making my friend a little nervous," I said firmly. Natalia began to get frustrated and took a deep breath to calm herself down. She then took her drink (the red one) from the tray and told the server to leave us. She then took a sip from the drink and looked at Mutale.
"Am I making you nervous?" Natalia asked. Mutale did not respond; she continued to look down at the floor; I could tell she was too scared to respond.
"Natalia, kindly stop," I intervened. "You're causing drama; just look around you." She took a quick look around. Nearly everyone had their eyes focused on her. She turned back to me, as if she never noticed the guests looking at her. She then took another sip from her drink before saying, "I'm sorry for the drama, my queen," she said with her head lowered down, "but please do accept the drink I ordered for you."
I drank the entire glass of the orange drink and left the ballroom while dragging Mutale by the arm. When we reached the hallway, Mutale then stopped walking. When I had noticed, I went up to her to see what's the problem. When she looked at me, she turned her focus to the floor and said, "Lady Nalani, I thank you for helping me tonight." She said, "If it wasn't for you, I don't know what your sister would have done."
"Don't mention it," I told her. "We're friends, aren't we? We have to look after one another." Right there, I felt a strong pain in my belly. Not a second too soon did it begin to spread: from my belly to my chest, from my chest to my neck, and from my neck to my head. Not a moment passed, and I was already on the floor. I was in pain; so much pain that I never knew was real. I could hear Mutale's muffled screams for help until everything went dark and quiet.
I then saw a holographic blue screens appear in front of me in the darkness. There was something written on it. It said, "Do you wish to respawn?" I wasn't thinking and just whispered, "Yes." Not a moment passed when I found myself laying on top of a wooden floor.
I got up and realized that I was in a small house. I then heard the sound of cars nearby. I turned behind me and saw a small window; bright light shone from the window. I walked up to it to take a look at what was outside. I looked out the window and saw the street. The streets lit up like stars; the streetlights and the lights of the other buildings made the street feel alive. The cars seemed strange; they appeared to be hovering, and the road was like a beacon of light glimmering underneath the cars as they drove by.
I could already tell that I'm no longer in Waybridge but in a completely different place. I looked back at the room where I woke up and saw a table with boxes and small trays of tablets and pills, as well as syringes—some empty and others filled up with some strange liquid. Before I could try to think things over, I closed the window and dropped the curtains.
I noticed a small couch next to the table and sat on it. As I sat, the same holographic blue screen popped up again, but this time it said: "Welcome, player. Do you wish to play through the tutorial?" Right there and then, my mind stopped thinking.