Chapter Text
...And then, the radiant brunette turned sharply to the prince and declared, "Geordo, our engagement she all be ended henceforth. I have fallen deeply in love with another."
"However could that be?" Prince Geordo asked in bewildered shock, reeling back from the news, "Who is it that has won your heart?"
"Why, it is Lady Mary Hunt, of course!" Lady Katarina declared gallantly.
"Lady Mary?" Geordo questioned obliviously, "Whatever could you see in someone like her?"
"Well, to be frank," Katarina replied gorgeously, "I love her for her beauty."
"Alas!" Geordo cried.
"And her charms," Katarina added.
"Egad!" Geordo moaned.
"...and of course, I love her award-worthy rose gardening skills," Katarina concluded.
"Inconceivable!" Geordo withered, "I truly have been beaten. It is true, Lady Mary is indeed the better one to love Lady Katarina."
Admitting defeat, the prince renounced his claim to the most beautiful duke's daughter in the land. Lady Katarina turned her back on him and marched beautifully towards the one she loved most, Lady Mary Hunt.
"Y-you truly love me, Lady Katarina?" Mary asked, blushing shyly.
"Of course! I feel deeply in love with you the moment I met you! And now, I am free to be yours, all yours, my beloved rose," Lady Katarina wrapped her arms around Mary's waist, pulling her into a deep and passionate kiss. Mary moaned in delight, leaning into the kiss. Lady Katarina's lips tasted of cherries, just as Mary had always imagined.
And thus, Mary and Katarina lived happily ever after together, bound deeply by a love stronger than steel and brighter than the rising sun.
The End!
---
Mary sighed wistfully, setting down her fountain pen.
It was late and she knew she had better things to do, but she couldn't help herself. Some days, her eyes would just drift to Lady Katarina at the worst possible moments, and she would fall in love all over again. It was a curse of the worst kind, a stolen heart.
Her eyes glistened with unspoken wishes as she stared at the pages containing her desires. This was her only escape; her only solace in a world that seemed to do everything possible to keep her from the one she loved most.
If only it weren't for Lady Katarina's engagement, if only it weren't for her own engagement to Prince Alan, if only it weren't for....
She trailed off mentally. There were any number of things that stood between her and Lady Katarina. The brunette's romantic density aside, there stood far too many obstacles between the two. But, if she was being honest with herself, those obstacles didn't matter.
Truthfully, she knew she didn't stand a chance. The way Katarina's eyes always brightened when Prince Geordo entered the room, the way her face lit up at Maria's presence, or how she instinctively sat next to Keith all the time.
She knew it in her heart. She had no chance with her.
It hurt, but over the years, she had learned to accept it.
Mary had started to make peace with that fact around the time of midterms. She had, for so long, tried to hold out hope that one day, Lady Katarina would turn to her with that same look she knew she had in her own eyes when she looked at Lady Katarina. And then, Maria Campbell happened.
As soon as the light mage stumbled into Lady Katarina's life, Mary could see the change in her clearly. She always went out of her way to ensure Maria was happy.
'How did Maria look today?' 'Have those girls been picking on her again?' 'Does she have any new sweets?'
The brunette always managed to squeeze some little question about Maria's well-being into every conversation. It never failed to make Mary's heart sting, nor make her wonder if Lady Katarina would ever ask any of those questions about Mary herself when she wasn't present.
Mary wasn't the type to hold grudges, or harbor resentment for her romantic rivals. Obviously, someone as amazing as Lady Katarina would have no shortage of suitors. In fact, it was almost insulting there weren't more people after her lovely hand!
(No, no, she scolded herself. No need to jinx it.)
So, Mary wouldn't feel any ill-will towards Miss Campbell for making the foolish mistake of falling for Lady Katarina. She couldn't fault her for that, considering she'd made the same damned foolish mistake, and much, much earlier!
She made peace with that. If a woman would win Lady Katarina's heart, it would clearly be Miss Maria Campbell. The odds of Lady Katarina ending up with even Maria were slim though, as Mary was no stranger to the way she hung on every word of her dear fiance, Prince Geordo. That one, she was used to, though, after all these years.
The third prince was the most likely (and, if she was being totally and completely honest with herself, the most well-suited) to win Lady Katarina's heart. It was clear to her that, unless something drastic were to happen, her chances at winning the heart of Lady Katarina were close to zero.
Lady Mary Claes would never be. Nor would Lady Katarina Hunt.
Still. If life couldn't work out so nicely, she could at least dream up a version of it that did. On these pages, she could live out whatever dream she wished.
Mary turned her fading attention to the small, leather bound journal that sat before her. It was the same style of notebook as all her school notes, so it wouldn't raise any suspicion. Despite it's innocuous appearance, she still kept the secret book locked in the locking drawer on the desk in her private room at the academy. She couldn't risk anyone finding this diary.
It was no secret that Mary had feelings for the duke's daughter. Anyone with eyes could see how she felt about Lady Katarina (unless of course those eyes belonged to Lady Katarina), but this diary was still something she couldn't risk falling into the wrong hands.
Mary was tired. It was late, and she had spent far too long writing in her private diary. A glance toward the window confirmed the sun had already slid past the horizon. With one last, longing look over her notes, she closed that diary, slid it to the side of her desk, and began her homework for Ancient Magical History.
Nearly an hour and a half later, the copper haired girl finished her responses to the assigned questions, and closed her school notebook with a relieved sigh. She may not be able to live out the fantastical and glorious love stories of her dreams, but at least she had a few classes with her beloved tomorrow.
Imagining the sense of comfort and love she felt from Lady Katarina, the marquess' daughter closed her weary eyes and laid down in her bed for the night, pushing her worries from her mind all the while.
And, in her half-asleep state, she didn't even notice as she placed her 'Katarina Journal' right into her stack of schoolbooks.
---
The next day, Mary sat next to Lady Katarina in class, her very favorite place to sit. This was Magic Circles, her only class with Lady Katarina without any of the others.
As the sunlight flowed in through the windows to her left, Lady Katarina glowed, luminous in the shining light of the rising sun. Mary bit her lip. The brunette tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Mary bit her lip harder.
Why did she always torture herself by putting herself so close to an unreachable goal?
Before long, class had ended, and Lady Katarina turned to face her, "Hey Mary, have you had any luck with that new fertilizer?"
"Hm? Ah, yes, I have actually," Mary replied. Just recently, she had been recommended a new type of fertilizer for her gardens by one of the women at the shop where she acquired her gardening supplies. Naturally, she had passed on the information to Lady Katarina after testing the effectiveness of it for herself.
"Ehhh? It isn't having much of an effect on my crops," Katarina sighed, sounding disappointed.
"Really? Are you sure you aren't over-fertilizing?" Mary asked.
Soon, the two fell into a comfortable conversation, discussing one of their few shared passions of tending plants. Katarina preferred tending vegetables to flowers, but that had it's own beauty, Mary supposed. Just like Lady Katarina. She may not do all the things expected of a noblewoman, but she shined more brightly than her peers despite it.
After some time discussing their gardens, the conversation eventually shifted back to their schooling.
"Oh, Mary, can I take a look at your notes from Runes?" Katarina asked with a truly adorable tilt of her head. Mary couldn't resist.
"Of course, Lady Katarina! You can look over them as long as you'd like!" Mary eagerly offered her Runes notebook to the brunette.
Honestly, Mary would offer to lend her absolutely anything. Katarina was quite the weakness of hers, not that she minded. She may not be able to be Katarina's beloved bride as she so deeply desired, but she could at the very least be a pillar of support for her in times like this. Simply being the one Katarina turned to and trusted for her notes made the copper-haired girl giddy.
"Thanks so much Mary! You're a lifesaver!" Katarina flashed a heart-stopping smile at her.
"A-anytime, Lady Katarina! Let me know if there's anything you need at all!" Mary offered genuinely.
"Thanks so much!" the brunette replied as they made their way to the doorway of the classroom, "Have a great day, Mary!"
"You too, Lady Katarina!" Mary called after her as they parted ways for the day.
The simple act of a brief, innocent conversation with her beloved was enough to give Mary the energy she needed to continue on through her melancholy days of longing. Making her way back to her dorm room, the copper-haired girl decided to pen yet another aimless tale about her love for Katarina Claes.
She sat down at her desk and organized her school books off to one side, where they would wait neatly until she had finished her newest work of fiction (which she desperately hoped would someday be more than fiction).
Mary reached into her desk drawer and... was met with empty air.
Her heart missed a beat.
What? Where was it?
Her notebook, her precious Katarina notebook where she kept all her dearest wishes about the life she could lead with the lady she loved.... It was gone!
She snapped her fan open, instinctively covering her face, so as not to show any hints of concern.
No, she had to remain perfectly calm. Her years growing up with her stepsisters trained her not to flinch under pressure, and her years spent with Lady Katarina trained her to expect the unexpected.
At any rate, this was bad. That journal was important... very important. And not just because she didn't want others to find out about her fantasies.
This academy was full of sharks. The noblewomen here did their best to keep up their appearances, but Mary knew their true colors better than most.
Growing up with her stepsisters taught her many lessons about what these ladies were capable of. And, if any of them happened to find a journal detailing the fantasies of the fiancee of the fourth prince and her lust for the fiancee of the third prince.... Well. Mary didn't know what exactly the largest scandal in the history of Sorcier was, but this would certainly be in the running.
Pursing her lips, Mary started by looking around her bedroom, just to make absolutely sure she hadn't misplaced the journal. If it wasn't in her bedroom, then.... The copper-haired girl tapped her fan against her chin as she considered just what hell she would need to raise to ensure that damned book didn't fall into the wrong hands.
If any scheming noblewoman got hold of it, Mary could only imagine what they would try to extort from her in exchange for the return of the diary. Mary wasn't all too concerned about the ramifications for herself though. She was much more worried about what a scheming noble would try to do to Lady Katarina with that book.
Upon completing her search of the room, it was clear her private journal was nowhere to be found. Mary clenched her fists and prepared herself to search the academy. With any luck, she would find it before things got complicated.
---
As she returned home from her classes, Katarina felt a pang of dread as she recalled how little time there was until the end of her first year at Sorcier Magical Academy. And, if she was truly unlucky, it could be her only year at this school. Her brow furrowed unconsciously as she reviewed once more the strategies she had in place to avoid her doom flags.
Even before those, however, she needed to avoid the doom that would surely befall her by the hand of the Duchess Claes if she failed another exam. She needed to do her homework. With a sigh, Katarina reached into her schoolbag, removing Mary's Runes notebook to study and... wait.
This wasn't Mary's Runes notebook. What was this? It was the same size and style of book as a normal academy notebook, but the binding on it was different.
There was a note on the cover as well: Secret- Do Not Open.
Hm. Secret. She definitely shouldn't open it.
Katarina leafed through the journal.
As she made her way through the pages, her eyes widened in surprise. This was...!
It was, from what Katarina could discern, a series of short stories, all of which featured herself and Lady Mary as the main characters. A quick scan of the book revealed almost all of them ended with herself and Mary falling in love and living happily together. Some were about their whirlwind romance, some about their wedding day (or, in some cases, wedding night), and some were just about them enjoying each other's company around the halls of the academy or Katarina's home.
But... every single one of these stories was about her and Mary.
Her... romantic relationship with Mary?!
And, more importantly, every single one ended with her living happily ever after!
Was this....
Was this... a sign from the universe?
A surefire way to avoid her doom flags?
This book could very well be the solution to her problems! She'd been searching for something like this her whole life, something that could point her in the right direction and free her from her doomed fate. And then, out of the blue, a hand written book detailing exactly how she could fall in love and live happily ever after fell into her lap! It had to be a sign! Why else would a book like this exist?
Well, if it was her path to avoiding doom flags, there was only one way to find out!
Katarina resolved herself then. She would, without a doubt win Mary's heart by the year's end!