[i]Scene #1.[/i] Chen will come for her. She'll zip into the tower on her sword, smashing through a window, or dramatically opening a door, or even sneak in and wake Rose up with a finger to her lips and that heart-meltingly cheeky smile. What, exactly, she ends up doing to get to Rose doesn't actually really matter; what matters is that it will be unexpected and sudden and dramatic, and she'll suddenly just be [i]there[/i]. There'll be a [i]hug[/i]. And-- And she'll take the collar off, won't she? Because that's what a hero would do. She'll tell Rose that she can go back to being a priestess of the fox goddess and take off all her humiliatingly revealing silks and wear something more modest, and Rose shouldn't argue with her, because of course her girlfriend, her lady, will know better-- But would she really feel happy about it? She [i]likes[/i] being made to dress like this. Because there's no judgment of [i]her[/i] for choosing to wear them. If she had to be practical and responsible and smart she'd probably dress in something oh-so-ordinary. Whenever she tries to make her own choice while getting dressed, the Countess tuts and explains to her that her place is to be a mannequin for her mistress's fashion tastes. What would that look like, anyway? Would Chen make her wear North Wind Chic? All fur and muffs, like wearing a warm blanket, instead of these whispery silks? No, no, no, maybe that won't happen. Maybe... *** [i]Scene #2.[/i] Chen will come for her. But she'll confront the Countess and demand the return of her Rose with the grandeur of a princess, and the Countess will tell her to sit down and she'll fetch her Rose, and Chen will sit in one of the sitting rooms in that tower and wait impatiently, all ready for a trap, and that's when Rose will enter, and the lights will be all low, and Chen won't be able to take her eyes off Rose, who has made herself the goodest girl that she can be, who [i]is[/i] the trap for Chen's heart. And that's when Rose will [i]dance[/i]. And Chen will go as red as roses, hands in fists in her lap, as Rose draws closer and closer, showing off just how [i]much[/i] she has learned from the Countess, and when Rose slips to her knees and offers her leash, she'll get so adorably squirmy and shy as she takes it from Rose's hands and-- And then what? Rose hasn't, you know, ever really [i]been[/i] with Chen, but while Chen might be good at teasing her (ah, getting picked up at the market!!) she's not really like the Countess. She might be the least bossy princess in the Nine Kingdoms. Rose would probably have to walk her step by step through how she's meant to be used! And what kind of topsy-turvy world would that be? Imagine, Rose bossing around a princess! Absurd! Unheard of! She'd get them both into trouble! And however would Chen introduce her slave-girl to her parents as her girlfriend? Oh, Chen would be so embarrassed of her! No, no, no! No, but what if... *** [i]Scene #3.[/i] Rose climbs up onto Chen's lap and distracts her. That's something she's so good at! She's a pretty distraction. She drowns Chen in kisses, and when Chen finally surfaces for breath, that's when the handmaidens all around them strike! And Rose adjusts her veil and bats her eyes as Chen succumbs to the chloroform, and when Chen wakes up? That's when she'll find herself in Keron's clutches. And then, and then? That's when Rose will get to be dangled as a [i]prize[/i]. Maybe Rose will even get to be Chen's Thian! Just imagine, Chen, being trained in being a good girl! No more worrying about being a princess, no more furrowed brows as she talks about all those difficult things that cause her heart to hurt: the dragon-princess and her mothers and everyone's expectations. It's the easiest thing in the world to live up to the Countess's expectations, because she'll explain herself clearly, and if you get things wrong, she'll punish you and then explain things again, and she'll be so patient until a sillyhead like you learns what she is meant to do! And unlike mothers or princesses, the Countess will never push you into a place where you're really honestly truly miserable, because she takes responsibility for all of her handmaidens! And then maybe all three of them will get to be a trio! Just imagine: Chen, the protagonist; Rose, the eye candy; and Cyanis, the schemer! All three of them, getting into mischief, entertaining their mistress, being the stars of a new sort of story. Maybe they'd even color-coordinate, though Cyanis and Chen would have to figure out who gets the light blue, and Chen would have her snow leopard pet as their mascot, and Cyanis would be the one who came up with all the zany plans, and of course Rose would be the hapless one who got into trouble, but it'd be all right, because, because, because! Because she and Chen would still have something so special, and they'd be fanservice for their mistress, and Chen's prize for being the bright and sparkling flower right at the heart of the harem would be having Rose all to herself when neither of them was on call, and then, oh, and then! And then!! Chen will come for her~ *** [i]Scene #4.[/i] But [i]then[/i] Qiu will kidnap Chen and Rose and Cyanis to send a message to the Sky Kingdom and dangle them over a pit of packaging-serpents capable of wrapping anything up in thirty seconds flat and leave them to squirm together and make such beautiful muffled conversations with each other and now [i]they'll[/i] be the ones in need of rescue together and Chen will rest her head on Rose's shoulder to reassure her and Cyanis will come up with some clever plan for escape that ends up toppling all three of them into the snake pit and then they'll have to try to hop out of Qiu's lair only for Rose to get caught at the last minute and of course Chen won't leave her behind and Cyanis despite all her bluster will turn back too and that's why the three of them will be chained up to Qiu's throne when Jessic arrives to challenge Qiu to a duel and the three of them will have to squirm and try to tell Jessic through their big fat gags not to accept Qiu's terms for the duel because they can't be worth that much to a princess but Jessic will agree anyway because Keron told her just how good and pretty and special these three girls are and then and then and then--!!! "Rose!" "!!!" "Were you listening to anything I was saying? Of course not. Hop over here so we can make sure you remember..."