[Reality Change]

Everything can change in the heat of the moment. None were more aware of that than the girl sitting in front of the closed window, the moon illuminating her body as she looked down at her hands. There were many things she had done in her life, but accepting this… That would be the hardest thing she had ever done.

Her name was Julia. Or rather, it was Justice Rider. She wasn’t from this world, and she wasn’t originally a girl. She was a man who stood for his own principles, and fought against Queen Cuora as she tried to threaten the world. But during their final battle, the Queen pulled him into another world… One where he was her daughter.

Julia hated this world. On principle, mostly. It was a world that had been conquered by the evil that she had tried to stop. Not only that, but thanks to the memories leaking into her mind as she spent more time in this world… She realized that she had been part of the forces that had subjugated it.

Whenever her m- Queen Cuora needed to quell the forces of good, she was at her side. Brandishing her blade in the name of the perverted Justice that the Queen used for her own ends. Just realizing that she had been behind all of this was enough to make her gag, her body trembling as she tried to shake her head and forget it all.

But she wouldn’t forget. Just acknowledging the fact that this was her past was enough to make her sick. The only thing that brought her any sort of comfort was the sweet light of the moon above, the only thing that wouldn’t judge her for what she had done.

“Princess Julia, you’ve been sitting at the window for so long, aren’t you going to go to bed?”

A soft and comforting voice echoed through Julia’s ear, prompting her to gaze towards the girl standing in the doorframe. The brown-haired maid who wore a gaze of utter concern for the girl she served. A girl that had been at her side in the other world, their relationship built on mutual trust and understanding…

“Reia.” Julia sighed. She couldn’t but imagine her operator from the other world whenever she looked at this world’s version of her. The girl who had her back, yet always remembered to rein her in whenever she pursued her feelings too aggressively… This girl wasn’t the same. But should she blame her for what she wasn’t..? “I’ll go to bed soon. I just want to enjoy the moonlight a little longer.”

Reia nodded a little, biting her lip a little as she watched her dear Princess in such a state. She had been like this for the last week. It wasn’t like her. What could she do to make her happy..?

The lights turned on inside the brown-haired maid’s head as she remembered something. Yes, that’s it!

Julia blinked for a moment before she noticed that the maid had taken off. In a hurry too, which meant that something had happened. “Reia…” She muttered. Even in this world, whenever Reia got excited, she couldn’t help herself. This was a quality she almost wished had been abandoned considering how many times it had bitten her in the ass.

A few minutes later, and the door slammed open as the maid had returned, her cheeks flushed bright red as the hot air poured out of her mouth. The exhaustion brought on by running across the entire castle was enough to make anybody pass out. But her, the Princess’ most premiere maid? She didn’t even break a sweat.

“P-Princess Julia. Your requested uniform.” Reia said, slowly staggering into the room as she laid a uniform down on the girl’s queen-sized bed. “I-I’m sorry it took so long. You made complaints regarding your training uniform limiting your range of movement, so I had been working on sewing you a new one to your specifications. Unfortunately, I had just forgotten about it after finishing it, since you happened to call upon me at that very moment…” She bowed, apologizing as much as she could while on the verge of collapsing. She overworked herself again, just like in the other world..

It was for that very reason that Julia couldn’t help but walk over and gently lift the maid off her feet before laying her down on the bed, carefully wiping away some of the sweat that was trying to bead down the girl’s forehead. “Thank you, Reia. Your service to me…” She paused, closing her eyes. Even if she didn’t have the same qualities, she treasured her in the same way that she treasured the original, didn’t she..? “...I won’t forget it.” She muttered, a blush on her cheeks as she planted a kiss on the dutiful maid’s cheek.

Reia smiled and kept silent, satisfied with this reward as she quietly watched her Princess putting on the uniform she had sewed for her. While she preferred to see the Princess in a dress that accentuated her feminine side, there was something about this masculine way of dressing that made her so much more attractive… Was it the determination that flowed off her form, just like when she fought for the Queen?

Julia adjusted her sleeves as she looked at herself in one of the full sized mirrors that decorated her room. The outfit fit her exact specifications. A white set of pants that stuck to her body, and a jacket with just a few frills to accentuate the purple colors that represented her ‘Justice’. Combine that with a skirt-like cape that blew softly with every step she took, and she looked like she was ready to take on anything.

The fabrics of her outfit were light, yet not so light that they were nonexistent. Her skirt-cape and her jacket had an air of regality thanks to the slight hints of gold thread embroidered within, and she bore the crest of her m- Queen Cuora on her chest. While she would’ve loved to go without it… Her heart wouldn’t allow it. Still, to wear an outfit like this, which made her look much more like a knightly Prince rather than an idle Princess…  She knew she couldn’t pass up the opportunity, now that it presented itself.

“Stay here, Reia. Rest until you’ve recovered.” Julia said, her gaze cast towards the regal rapier mounted on the wall. “I must gather the guards. I have a dissident to hunt down.” If this world really was a parallel one, with only a few details changed to allow for Queen Cuora to rule at the top, then a certain somebody would have to still be active.

With that, she left. Leaving Reia to smile. Her Princess’ vigor had returned…

---

“Lady Julia? A word, if I may?”

Julia looked at the girl at her side, and she narrowed her eyes a little. As it turned out, trying to gather a bunch of royal guards at this late an hour for an impromptu mission to deal with a hunch had been incredibly difficult. As a result, all that she was able to gather were a bunch of young girls that served as servants rather than guards. “Speak.” And yet, she would rely on them to do what she asked. Because that was what she expected of anybody, even herself.

“Thank you, Lady Julia.” The young girl, clad in what could only be described as a minion’s outfit, considering she wore a cute hat with the Queen’s symbol woven into it and a dress that clung snugly to her body while showing off that very same symbol across her chest. “You said that we were going to hunt somebody down. You mind if I ask who we’re trying to hunt down?”

Julia shook her head slightly. “I do not mind. But first, I want your name.” She said, as she continued marching along despite the conversation. She wasn’t like her moth- Queen Cuora. She would treasure the ones that served under her. And treat them like they were united for the same cause, even if she knew that they were all basically just serving the greatest evil…

“Ah, right, sorry, you just kind of barged in and asked for us all to join you.” The minion girl said as she cleared her throat. “Name’s Melly. Hope you’ll remember it, Lady Julia!” She chimed, grinning as her single green sidetail blew in the night wind.

“Melly.” Julia said, smiling softly as she let the name sink into her mind. She’d treasure that name as long as the girl stayed on her side. “Does the name Pale Rider ring any bells?”

All of a sudden, the entire platoon she had gathered skidded to a stop. Several of the minions that were nearly identical to Melly, the only disparity between them being the slight changes in height and their taste in hairstyles, started to murmur and whisper amongst themselves.

“P-Pale Rider? We’re going to try and apprehend HER?”

“I-I heard she took down an entire squad of royal knights all on her own!”

“S-She’s not connected to the rebellion, why’s she fighting so hard?”

“M-Mom… Mom fell against her…”

Melly grimaced a little as she looked to Lady Julia. “Pale Rider’s… Are you sure we should be hunting her, Lady Julia? She’s done so much damage all on her own, compared to everyone else that stands against Queen Cuora’s rule…”

Julia nodded, all while letting their voices echo through her head. So this was what she did when she didn’t have anybody to restrain her? She outright killed people. At least she stayed on the side of Justice… But if she ever got out of control, she had actual justification to put her down, for the sake of everyone.

“She’s a threat.” Julia affirmed as she put her hand on the guard of her rapier. “As long as you all stick by me, you will remain safe. Am I clear!?” She shouted, putting vigor into her voice to motivate them all to stay loyal to her command.

“Ma’am!” The scattered voices of the platoon gathered into one as they all saluted her. Melly as well. They all trusted her, despite the fact that she had never led them into battle before. On some level, she had to appreciate the reputation she had in this world. If she was a mere nobody, who had been cast aside by Mother… Maybe she would’ve had to approach Justice in the same way that Pale Rider did.

For now, they had to continue onward. They were almost at their destination.

---

“L-Lady Julia, is this really where she’ll show up?”

“Almost assuredly. She’s always showed up here.”

Julia drew her blade from her sheath. This graveyard was one that held a lot of sentimental value to the young girl in the other world. It wasn’t out of the question to expect that she’d come here. Even when the world had changed so dramatically.

To make sure that she would be caught off guard, she had stationed all of the girls that followed her to this place around the graveyard at different graves. The fog that blanketed the area would ensure that they wouldn’t be discovered, while allowing her to appear as if she was all alone. Barring Melly, who remained at her side for the sake of safety…

The fog grew thicker as it sounded like a set of bells were ringing. Had midnight struck? No, it was probably just Pale Rider putting on a show just like she always did back in the other world…

“I see evil has come to scamper before me.”

A hoarse, yet clearly feminine voice echoed through the fog as a figure slowly made herself visible. A figure wearing a black cloak that allowed her to blend in with the rest of the darkened surroundings, all while a double-bladed scythe hung across her back. A girl who, despite a short stature and blonde twintails that stuck out of her hood, could muster up quite the foreboding looking appearance when the chips fell down.

Melly trembled as she drew her own weapon, a simple short sword. All minions of her rank were only given a blade to defend themselves with. They still hadn’t earned the right to bear firearms, so if they were caught too close to the Pale Rider, then they were in the very real danger of being reaped by her weapon. All they had to do was just stay on the defensive and hope for the best. Their tactics were better than a little girl’s..!

Julia stepped forth. She’d lead the charge against the girl who had caused so much grief, as she pointed her sword towards the Pale Rider, just like she had done many times before in this world.

“Ahaha... The Queen’s lapdog. Come to try and take another bite out of me, or are you going to finish the job this time?” Pale Rider chimed, as she drew her scythe from her back. She had been waiting for a good fight…

“Quit the act, Pale Rider. You’re a horrible actress.”

The tension in the air dropped dead as Julia spoke. Both her allies and the girl that served as her enemy were left speechless. She… What did she know about that girl..?

Pale Rider pouted as she yanked down her hood, revealing her cute face through the fog. “What? I’m not acting, you’re just ruining the moment!” She shouted as she stabbed her scythe into the ground. All while those minions just kept on staring with their jaws on the floor.

Melly was confused. But not anywhere near as confused as she was when she saw a familiar looking rapier pointed straight at her face. That was… That was… “L-Lady Julia?” She muttered, looking towards the girl that had led her here.

“All of you. Drop your weapons.” Julia said as she pointed towards the various spots where her minions had been hiding. “I told you that you’ll remain safe. The only way you remain safe in this world is by breaking down Queen Cuora’s wicked rule. Do you hear me? If you fight, you’ll just lose your lives in her ser-”

Her attempts to negotiate and broker peace between the single rebellious soul and her minions was cut short as Pale Rider yanked her hood back up, left too aggravated by how all of this turned out, before dashing towards one of the revealed hiding spots as her scythe kicked up sparks against the ground below.

“No!” Julia shouted as she watched one of the minions that she had invited get cut down. Just like that. A life severed, because she had tried to take this approach without going the full mile. It wasn’t the first time it had happened, but it wouldn’t be the last either if she didn’t do anything.

Melly watched as her friends were cut down. One by one, the Pale Rider laughed as she carved her way through them all. What had they done to deserve something like this!? Why did Lady Julia betray them!? Why did… What was even going on, why did things turn out this way?!

“Ahahahahaha!” Pale Rider relished in the chance to make a complete mess of those that had tried to stop her fun before. The same people that made all of her friends disappear. She was going to get her sweet revenge one way or another, even if this wouldn’t do much in the long term.

She swung her scythe, striking through a tombstone in an attempt to cut down the minion behind it…

Only to find a thin blade blocking the path of her pole, and a princely girl in the path of her blade, grabbing it with her hand even as it dug into her glove and her palm…

“Let go!” Pale Rider shouted as she tried to wrestle the blade away. Why was she so freakishly strong?! She hadn’t been this strong before, she had been faster, relying on her speed to mercilessly slaughter her friends. Why did that change all of a sudden?!

“I don’t want you or them to die, stand down!” Julia shouted as she gripped the blade tighter. Her strength wasn’t nearly as great as when she was still a man… But she could stop the swing of a troubled girl’s scythe. At least until they figured things out…

The minions, the ones that hadn’t met the sudden and gruesome end at Pale Rider’s scythe, quickly dispersed. They weren’t sure what to believe right now, all that they knew was that they were going to get out of there so they didn’t meet a similar fate.

Melly stayed. Transfixed by the display in front of her. First Lady Julia had betrayed her. Then Pale Rider tried to kill her and everyone else she held dear. And now Lady Julia said that she didn’t intend to let this happen. What was she supposed to believe..?

“...I don’t like it.” Pale Rider scoffed, as she let her attempts to pry the scythe free die down. In turn, the princely girl let go of her weapon and let her put it away. “I don’t like your tone. I don’t like the way you move. It’s wrong. But why does it seem right..?”

Julia sheathed her Rapier as well. “For now, I’d like for you to accompany to somewhere safe. Somewhere we can talk. About this world…” She paused, and closed her eyes. Talking to her was always difficult. But this would be in a whole different league. “...And about the one I’m from.”

Pale Rider narrowed her eyes. She didn’t care for what the ‘Princess’ spouted. All she cared about was settling her score. For now, that meant dealing with this weird stuff, as she led her away. She didn’t like talking about serious things when she was in her happy place…

Melly watched as the two girls departed, her heart sinking. What was she supposed to do? Report back to the Queen about Lady Julia’s betrayal? Run away? If she did either of those things, then Lady Julia would…

With her heart filled with uncertainty, the minion chased after them. It was time to get some answers...