"To burn with desire and keep quiet about it is the greatest punishment we can bring on ourselves."

-Federico Garcia Lorca

Mary clutched the leather-bound tome desperately. Her arms shook and her slender, dainty fingers curled ever more tightly into claws. Standing by her side, Maria looked like she was barely breathing. Gingerly, Maria placed her hand on Mary's arm, causing Mary's already tense body to snap taut like a bowstring. The gold embossed lettering on the cover of the book seemed to burn into their minds, taunting them. A Tale by the Name of Desire. They had received a glimpse into the desires of each person in their circle of friends, and each person's greatest desire was to be with Katarina! It was too much for Mary to bear! She simply couldn't let them finish their stories. It wasn't fair that the book was letting them seduce Katarina when Mary was stuck outside without a chance.

"Lady Mary," Maria whispered, "we have to." No! No, they didn't have to! There was only one story they hadn't seen yet. Katarina's.

"What if she wants to marry Prince Geordo? Or Prince Alan? Or - ?"

"Someone's desire has to be fulfilled for the book to let everyone go. Isn't it best if it's Lady Katarina's?"

"Why do you have to be right. I- I-" Mary choked on her words at the look on Maria's face. Somehow, Maria was smiling, even though her tears were about to fall. Why does she have to be a pretty crier too? I always look like a mess. Maria trembled. "I'm scared too. Part of me doesn't want to know, but..." With a wail, Mary threw open the book, saying, "But I want Katarina to come back!" When the book failed to react with any sort of fanfare, both girls peered down at pages. They had expected the book to set the scene in another romantic spot, but this was...

Katarina stood in the midst of a battlefield, surrounded by thousands of waving, red banners planted in the ground. The sun gleamed on the silver trim of her cobalt blue armor and the blade of her sword as she brandished it. "Bring it on!" Katarina challenged the banners as a manic grin stole over her face.

Mary and Maria huddled together and read on in confusion. They watched Katarina cut down flag after flag with her sword, fling very realistic toy snakes at them - "That worked?!" "That's our Lady Katarina!" - upset others with her earth bump, and even break some of the poles with her bare hands.

Her breath was increasingly ragged, her armor covered in soot, her legs shaking, and her arms barely holding the sword aloft, but Katarina fought on. When her body was too weak to hold the sword properly, she tightened her grip on the hilt and swung from her shoulders. Mary's lips wobbled, and she opened her eyes wide to stop the moisture forming. Katarinaaaaaaa! "You can do it, Lady Katarina," Maria said. Mary nodded vigorously in agreement. "Fight it, Katarina!" She yelled at the page.

It could only have been minutes, but it felt to Mary and Maria like they had been watching Katarina fight her way through the banners for hours. At last, a single banner remained. Katarina summoned the last of her strength to raise her sword and whack the pole, shattering it into pieces. She crumpled to the ground, sinking her blade into the dirt and leaning on it heavily. The grin on her face turned giddy as she laughed hoarsely. "I did it," she snorted and sobbed and giggled. "I did it! I did it! I did it!" Outside the book, Mary and Maria hugged each other and cheered, "She did it!" A green shimmer emanated from the pages.

Inside the book, Katarina stopped. She blinked and swept her gaze over the field of broken flags. "I... won? That can't be right. That's not -"

The book closed itself with a heavy THUD. The girls froze as they waited for Katarina and their friends to return. Suddenly, the book flung itself back open. A strong wind rushed through the library, rapidly turning the pages. Maria grabbed a hold of the book, and the pages settled down again. "Wasn't her desire fulfilled?" Maria mused. A new story had begun. At least the setting is familiar. This should be much better.

The gentle, clip-clopping of the horses' hooves drifted in through the windows of the Claes family's carriage. Katarina rested her arms on the window ledge, her hands dangling down and her fingers tapping to the rhythm. Soon, she was mindlessly humming a melody to accompany it. Across from her in the carriage, Anne let slip a smile. "You're in a very good mood today, Anne." Anne replied, "It makes me happy to see you happy, my lady. I've never seen you so at peace."

Mary and Maria exchanged a glance with each other. Never? Mary furrowed her brows, and Maria clasped her hands to her chest.

"At peace, huh. That's a good way to put it. I'm eighteen!" Katarina beamed. "I'm alive, I graduated from the academy, and my friends are happy." She slouched and sighed contentedly as if she had just eaten her fill of sweets. "I could sleep for ages!"

"If I may, my lady," Anne said. Katarina nodded. "Please!" Anne smoothly shifted to sit next to Katarina. "Why don't you rest your head on me for a little while, then? It will be good for you to sleep on the way home." When Katarina laid her head on Anne's shoulder, she sighed again. "Home..."

"Yes, my lady."

"I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to go home," Katarina murmured as she clicked her heels together. "We'll be there soon, my lady."

"Anne?"

"Yes, my lady?"

Katarina was nearly asleep as she said, "Thank you for staying by my side. I'm glad to have you in my life." Anne brushed Katarina's bangs to the side and said, "So am I."

The scene faded away, so Maria turned the page. The Claes' carriage was in front of their manor, and Anne was nudging Katarina awake. "We've arrived, my lady." A line of drool glistened on Katarina's face. Anne nudged her again. "Huh - ?!" Katarina exhaled, breaking her loud snores.

Maria chuckled. "She sounds a bit like an avalanche, doesn't she?" Mary harrumphed. "I would never say something like that about a lady! But that is part of Katarina's charm." She flashed a sly smile. "If she were more ladylike, we'd have even more competition."

"Everyone's waiting for you, my lady." Hearing that, Katarina sprung up, knocking her head against the carriage's roof. "Ow!" Anne was shocked, but Katarina was barely phased. "Let's go, Anne!" Katarina dashed out of the carriage. She paid no attention to her disheveled state, but by the next page, her appearance was tidy again. Duke and Duchess Claes were waiting on the steps to receive her. "Mother! Father!" she exclaimed.

"My darling Katarina," the duchess said, opening her arms in an uncharacteristically effusive motion. She and the duke enveloped Katarina in a hug. "We would keep you all to ourselves, but your brother and your friends are waiting for you in the garden."

"Come with me! I want all my favorite people to be together!" With that, Katarina grabbed her parents' hands and dragged them behind her.

Mary turned to the next page. "Should we be glad that she's moving through these scenes quickly?"

Although Mary and Maria had only ever seen Katarina wear commoners' clothes in her garden, the book had put Katarina, and all their friends, in summer garden party outfits. They spotted their doppelgangers in the scene. "I don't know how I feel about seeing myself in this book," Maria ventured. "I mean, I'm glad Lady Katarina is thinking of me, but..." Mary continued the thought, "But it's strange to see ourselves purely as Katarina does. At least the others are still themselves underneath that magic. Probably."

Katarina bounded up to Maria's doppelganger first and flung her arms around her. "Maria! How are you and your husbands doing? I can't wait to hear all about your adventures!" She pulled back slightly to look at the doppelganger's face.

Maria's hand flew to her mouth. "Husbands?" she squeaked.

Still in the hug, her doppelganger was radiant as she replied, "We've been doing wonderfully, Katarina! And you'll have to tell us about your adventures too!"

"Yes, do tell us, Katarina," Geordo said. "We can't have the two of you monopolizing each other." He practically sparkled as he pressed a loving kiss to Maria's lips, then Katarina's.

"Whaaaaaat?!" Mary exclaimed. "Katarina! What are you doing?!"

Katarina pouted. "But you can't keep your wife to yourselves either! No one's as sweet as Maria! Or makes better sweets!"

Mary and Maria wanted to face-palm; Katarina was blatantly proud of herself for that pun.

Keith seemed to agree with the girls. "Sister, you never cease to make me laugh." He slid his arms around Maria's doppelganger's waist. "I hope you don't mind, my darling wife, but I might need some alone time with my sister to educate her on comedy."

Katarina said, "I'm glad that you still call me sister."

"Even though we're..." Keith reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Katarina blushed. "Yes..."

"Did I miss anything," Nicol asked. His arms were around Katarina's waist, and she leaned against his chest. "I missed you," she said, tilting her head up to kiss him.

"That's it! I can't take anymore," Mary cried. Maria's hands had been hiding her face, but she slammed one down on the page. "We- we have to keep reading." Mary tried to slam the book shut around Maria's hand. "I don't want to see this, Miss Maria!" Maria, beet red from her forehead to her shoulders, just stared at her. "Okay, fine! We'll keep reading," Mary said. "But you should note my objection."

Sophia appeared next. "I have so many new books to share with you, Katarina!"

"Holding the book club again with such a beautiful girl? I can't wait." The two of them pressed their foreheads together for a moment before Sophia peppered kisses on her cheeks. She laughed and tried to catch Sophia's lips with her own.

"I hope you're not planning to leave my wife out of the book club. She'll never let me hear the end of it," Alan said.

Maria was wobbly on her feet. "Am I married to Prince Alan too?" With how shallowly she was breathing, Mary half expected the girl to faint.

Katarina stuck her tongue out at him. "Leave Mary out? Never! Our ladies' book club will continue forever!" She turned her head back to the girl in her arms. "I don't know how much you enjoy fiction, Maria, but I would love to have you join us."

"How could I say no," the doppelganger said. She leaned in for a sweet kiss, the kind where the heavens glow and angelic choirs sing.

"I'm sorry, Lady Mary. I'm so, so sorry," Maria said. There was a vein visible on Mary's forehead, and her hands once again held the book in a white-knuckled grip.

"Getting distracted again?" Alan said, "Maybe I'll have to remind you who your rival is." He tilted her chin up and captured her lips.

An unholy screech filled the library. "Am I the only one who doesn't get to be with Katarina?!"

"Hmm, I wonder," Katarina replied with a grin. "Maybe you'll have to remind me some more." She kissed him again. "Want a rematch in tree climbing?"

"You're on. I might even beat you this time."

"Ha! In your dreams!"

"Katarina, don't you know? You're in my dreams."

To the confusion of both Mary and Maria, that seemed to be what briefly snapped Katarina out of it.

"I- Huh? What?"

Mary yelled, "Katarinaaaaaaaa!"

Her doppelganger yelled, "Katarinaaaaaaaa!" and barreled into the group, knocking everyone down into a pile on the grass. For a moment, Katarina struggled to glance around while Mary held her tightly. "Mary! My cabbages!"

Nicol chimed in, "Don't worry, Katarina, I shifted us over as we fell."

"Oh, thank goodness, I -"

"Katarina! You left me for last?!" The doppelganger had Mary's pout perfectly mimicked.

"It's only fair – this time, anyway. You're my first friend, Mary!"

"Hey!" Keith said.

"Except for Keith. But he was raised as my brother, so it doesn't count.

"And what about me," Geordo said.

"You went straight from meeting me to proposing marriage. Doesn't count."

"Well, I suppose it's okay that you saved the best for last. It won't be too difficult to show your other lovers up." There was some good-natured complaining from the others at that, but Mary's doppelganger paid them no mind. She pinned Katarina down on the grass and pulled her into the most passionate kiss any of them had ever seen. One hand was under Katarina's head, and the other at the small of her back, but they soon began to wander.

"It looks like Lady Katarina might understand us very well, underneath all the layers of her brain," Maria said. She chuckled at Mary, who was fanning herself rapidly. It felt good to see Mary's cheeks dusted with a blush after all the embarrassment Maria had gone through. "Maybe she does," Mary said. "Maybe we have hope after all." The book began to glow again.

Katarina pulled back from the kiss. "Wait, last?"

The doppelganger nodded. "Yes, last. We're all here, aren't we? And your parents? And Anne?" The duke, duchess, and maid smiled indulgently and waved at the group.

"No, there's – Shouldn't there be – Someone's missing?"

Geordo said, "Who's missing Katarina? I'll find them for you." He lifted her hand to his lips.

"Why does there need to be anyone else? Aren't we good enough for you?" Mary's doppelganger said. Nicol gazed deep into Katarina's eyes, saying, "We can find them later if that's alright. We just want to enjoy this time with you. We love you, Katarina. I love you."

"You what? As – as a friend, right, Nicol?"

Keith spoke up next, a wounded look on his face. "No, sister. We love you. Romantically. We always have." The rest of the group chimed in, but Katarina wasn't listening. Tears streamed down her face. "You – no, that's not possible. I'm – I can't – I -"

WHAM. The book shut itself again, scraping Mary's hands in the process. She pried at the covers to no avail. "Give us back our Katarina!"

Maria reached towards her. "Lady Mary, your hands! They're bleeding."

"I don't care," Mary said, "I'll suffer any thorns for my rose. Now, give me back Katarina, you stupid book!" As if it heard her, the book fell open once more. The girls dreaded what they would see now.

Katarina and Acchan walked down a quiet metropolitan street. Well, Acchan strolled and Katarina balanced along a short wall beside her. The setting sun to their left glinted off of Katarina's hair ornament and washed them in its warm glow.

Maria turned to Mary. "Who is that," she said. Mary shot her an incredulous look. "You mean you don't know either?"

"No, I – I assumed she must be a lady in high society."

Katarina stretched indolently, drawing her hands over her head and curving her back. "Man," she said, "That was the worst exam ever! Sensei was really hard on us this time." Acchan giggled. "You say that, Kaa-chan, but I didn't see you studying for this one. Too caught up in Fortune Lover, hm?"

Maria mused, "What are they saying?" And what is that place? She snagged a piece of parchment and a quill from the table.

"What are they wearing?" Mary said. "No noble lady would be caught dead in that! Clearly, that girl is a commoner!" Maria shrunk back a little at that. "I meant no offense, Miss Maria! It's just that, well -"

"I've never seen clothes like that before, Lady Mary. I wouldn't know who wears them."

A strong gust of wind threw off Katarina's balance. She flapped her arms as she tilted backward, trying to right herself, only to pitch herself forward and land on Acchan. "Ow~" Katarina let out a small whine. All Acchan did was laugh. "This is just like the day we met, isn't it?"

"Yeah, only this time I'm breaking you with my whole body and not just my butt!" Katarina bounced right back up. "Sorry, Acchan." She offered Acchan her hand. When Acchan was standing again, Katarina simply blinked down at her. Acchan brushed some dirt off of her school uniform and kept walking.

"Hey, Acchan?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you get shorter recently?"

Acchan paused a few steps ahead of Katarina. "You mean you don't remember the weird growth-spurt you just had?" She looked back over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out through her smile. "Rude!"

"Ah! Sorry, Acchan!" Katarina rubbed the back of her head. "I guess I forgot. Whoops! Ha, you know my mom says I'd forget my head if it wasn't attached." A sudden chill ran down her spine.

"You okay, Kaa-chan?"

"Y – Yeah, I guess. I dunno, it kinda felt like someone just walked over my grave. Weird, huh?"

Acchan wiggled her fingers at Katarina. "Who knows? Maybe you just crossed paths with a ghost!"

"Wah~! Don't joke about stuff like that, Acchan! Ghosts are scary."

"Not as scary as you failing your exams! I don't want to go to university all by myself. Come on, let's go home so I can whip you into shape for the next one." Acchan grabbed Katarina's hand and kept walking. They swung their hands between them as they went. "Acchan! Can I at least play a bit of Fortune Lover first?!"

"Yeah, okay, I guess," Acchan sighed fondly.

"Thank youuuuu! I've gotten really invested in Geordo's storyline, and I need to figure him out! Why did the developers make his route so difficult~"

"Did she just say Geordo," Mary groused. "Why is she talking about Prince Geordo?"

Acchan smirked. "I could tell you how to beat it."

"No, that's cheating! You can't grind EXP like in an MMO. You don't get the full story experience like that!" Acchan shrugged. "Besides," Katarina continued, "it's not like my life depends on it!" She gave a full belly laugh for a moment before it caught in her throat. Katarina froze. "Acchan?"

Acchan seemed not to hear the fear in her voice. "Is Geordo your favorite, then?" The question set Katarina to pondering. "How can I choose a favorite? They're all special in their own ways."

"But Kaa-chan~, who would you want to romance you?"

"What? For real?"

"For real, for real. IRL, who would you date?"

Katarina waved it off. "Pff, like anyone would actually date me. I'm going to be one of those old cat ladies someday, I know it."

"Come on, Kaa-chan. Be serious!"

"Eh, I don't really think about romance much. Not outside of games, anyway. What about you?"

"Me?" Acchan's cheeks pinked slightly. "I don't know, I guess I would date Mary."

"Really? If you like girls, why not Sophia? She's so cute and sweet!"

Mary was pulling on her hair at this point. "What. Are. They. Saying about us?"

"I like both," Acchan said, "And nah, Sophia's too much like me. It'd be weird." She scrunched up her nose.

Katarina let out a yelp. "Acchan! If you like girls, and you fall in love with a girl, and you want to marry her, you're going to move away to get married and I'll never see you again!" Acchan doubled over in laughter. "What? What's so funny?"

"It's -" Acchan started to speak before doubling over again. "Oh, Kaa-chan. You don't have to worry. I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay by your side forever." She found herself enveloped in Katarina's bear hug.

"Good!" Katarina said. "We'll be best friends forever!" Acchan wrapped her arms around Katarina and snorted. "Look, Kaa-chan, we're home!" Katarina looked at the familiar building in front of them. "Home," she whispered. A great many emotions swelled up inside her, ready to burst. Her mind latched on to the first thing it could. The tree!

"You go ahead in, Acchan. I'm going to climb in the window!" Katarina sprinted for the tree and leaped up into the lowest branches. "What about your mom, Kaa-chan? Don't you want to see your mom?" Katarina felt a pang in her heart, but she continued her singular focus on climbing the tree while Acchan rang the doorbell. "It's fine; I'll see her inside!"

Just as Katarina reached the branches outside her room, she could hear her mother opening the front door below. The light from inside lit up Acchan's face and cast shadows from the branches over Katarina.

"I'm home!" Acchan said. From up in the tree, Katarina muffled a giggle.

"Welcome home, Acchan," Katarina's mother replied. At the sound of her mother's voice, a fierce longing swept over Katarina. "Where's my daughter gotten to now? I thought you girls were walking here together?"

Acchan let slip a giggle of her own. Katarina desperately wanted to look down and see her mother, but her eyes refused. Instead, her gaze rose, and she came face to face with her reflection in the window. The horror-stricken eyes looking back at her were that of Katarina Claes. The scream that tore its way out of her throat could have rent the world in two.

Mary and Maria shivered in cold sweats, their eyes wide and their hackles raised all the way down their backs. They clutched the book in fear.

"NO!" Katarina wailed. She flailed her fists at the window in a fit that put the ones from her early years in this life to shame. Katarina remembered. She remembered it all, and suddenly she felt like that eight-year-old girl all over again. "No, no, no, no, NO!" The tears kept pouring. "It's not fair! It's not! I want to live! I want to go home! I want Acchan! I want -" The window broke, slicing her arms. Katarina was choking on her own sobs. "MAMAAAAAA!"

Outside, the book wrenched itself in multiple directions all at once, and the girls lost their grip on it. It juddered violently, writhing one final time before spitting out all of the young nobles it had sucked in. They laid on the floor as pages fluttered down around them, most of them in a soporific fog. Mary and Maria ran to Katarina, who was curled in on herself, shaking, eyes wide and unseeing. Mary pulled Katarina partway onto her lap and held her while Maria gently pried her arms apart to check her wounds. They were fairly shallow. Maria released the breath she'd been holding and began using her light magic to knit the cuts back together.

The others around them began to come back to themselves, groaning groggily and flushing with embarrassment at the memories that rushed in with stunning clarity. They glanced around the room, seeking out Katarina to see how badly they'd messed up with her.

"Katarina!" Geordo was the first to spot her. He stumbled towards his fiance, but Mary fixed him with a glare. "Stand back," she ordered, stopping everyone in their tracks. "Katarina needs some air." Her own statement spurred her to fan air towards Katarina. Mary bit her lip at Katarina's lack of acknowledgment. Alan entreated her, "Mary, I –

"Alan." He held her gaze for a moment before his eyes sought Katarina again. Mary sighed. "Lady Katarina is in a delicate state right now. Please, everyone, give her some space." The tremor in her voice belied her lack of expertise. She was so focused on Alan that she didn't notice Nicol until he was kneeling in front of Katarina.

She couldn't breathe. She couldn't BREATHE! Katarina kept gasping for air but it wasn't enough. There wasn't enough air in the world to fill her lungs. There were shapes – people – around her. They were moving, making noise, but nothing was registering in her mind. Nothing made sense. Past, present, and fantasy were existing all at the same time and it was too much! Too much! There were spots at the edge of her vision. She breathed faster, straining to make the spots go away, but it wasn't working, it – !"

"Katarina," Nicol said. His hands cradled her face, and he stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Look at me, Katarina." She trembled, mute, but her bright blue eyes locked on to his. "There we go. Breathe with me, Katarina. In... and out... Good, good. Let's keep going, okay? In..." Once Nicol was assured that Katarina wasn't hyperventilating anymore, he began asking questions. "Katarina, do you remember my name?" She nodded emphatically. "What's my name, Katarina?"

"Nicol," she said, forcing it out like a cork from a bottle. Her breathing evened out just a bit more.

"Yes, that's right." He wiped away some of the tear tracks covering her face. "Where are you right now?"

"S-Sorcier! The academy! In t-the library!"

"Good. What do you see around you?"

"You! Ev-everyone," she squeaked. Her breathing spiked again.

Nicol drew her back in. "Katarina. Objects, please."

"A chandelier! Bookshelves, books, lots of pages, a table..."

"What do you hear?"

"Creaking, rustling, footsteps on the tile..."

"You're doing great, Katarina. What do you feel?" Nicol tapped his fingertips against her face.

"The wind from Mary's fan, Maria's light magic tickles, your hands on my face – your hands are warm... and gentle..."

"Thank you," he said. A smile played across his lips, lighting up his eyes. "I'm right here with you, Katarina. We're all here with you. You're surrounded by people who love you. You're here with us. You're safe now. You're safe." Right as he finished speaking, Katarina started hyperventilating again. "Katarina, breathe with me. In... out..." Nicol thrust a cupped hand in Alan's direction. "Ice," he commanded. The prince immediately obliged, conjuring a small sphere of ice over Nicol's palm. Nicol tapped Katarina's nose as she calmed down again. "Open your mouth, please." When she did, he placed the ice on her tongue. Her mouth snapped shut in surprise, and she blinked rapidly at the cold sensation. From the movement of her jaw, Nicol could tell that she was rolling it around in her mouth. "Good. Thank you, Katarina. Can you do something else for me?" She nodded, her mouth still busy with the ice. Nicol continued, demonstrating as he spoke. "I need you to tap on your face, under your collar bone, on your arms, and your hands, please." Katarina nodded again and tapped as he instructed. Her hands slowly lost their tremor. When she finished, she reached towards him, looking like she was fighting herself not to pull back. Without a moment's hesitation, Nicol leaned in and embraced her. Katarina clung to his shoulders and sniffled. He raised his eyes to Mary's and gave her an intent look. She closed her fan and joined him in holding Katarina.

There was a part of Geordo that wanted to exile his best friend for speaking to Katarina so informally, for daring to be so intimate with his prince's fiance. But... but it didn't matter right now, did it? What Nicol was doing was helping. And as for later... Nicol was Geordo's best friend, and Katarina was the love of his life. Geordo couldn't imagine anything changing that, not even if Katarina chose Nicol – or anyone, really – over him. He relaxed the fists he hadn't realized he was clenching and joined the hug, but not before Keith had thrown himself at his beloved sister. Every member of their circle of friends wrapped themselves into the group hug around Katarina.

Keith fretted when Katarina started crying again, but he soon recognized that she was crying from relief. "I'm here," he said. "I'm here, Sis." Katarina rocked against the hug, feeling the security of all the people holding her. "Thank you," she blubbered, laughing through her tears. "Thank you, Nicol, and Keith, and Maria, and everyone. Thank you. I love you all so much." The group held her tightly while she unwound, cocooning her in affection until she fell asleep in their arms.