Amy

I was one of the first people up - not because I wanted to be, but out of consideration for my housemates. Clara was willing to make food for Bridgette and Firanna, but the scheduling relied entirely on me. If I failed to get up with time to eat, then nobody got to eat. As such, I’d asked Clara to wake me up relatively early, to ensure everyone would have time for breakfast.

Of course, in order to wake me up early, Clara had to wake up even earlier. Not just to wake me, either - now that she knew when I’d be getting up, she was making breakfast in advance, ensuring there would always be something hot and ready while she worked. She claimed it was her job, and wouldn’t take no for an answer even when I pointed out that she wasn’t currently getting paid. Even when I tried to back out of the entire arrangement by saying she should just let me sleep in, she’d refused, stating that oversleeping was a bad habit that would get me into trouble anyhow.

Clara had apparently woken up extra early that day in particular, judging by the spread on the table. Eggs, pancakes, bacon and more lined the table. Not quite steaming hot, though - knowing Clara, she’d likely timed things exactly so that the food would be at the proper temperature for eating by the time I reached the table.

“A little bit much, don’t you think?” I asked, eyeing the feast.

“Consider it a celebration of your hunt,” Clara stated. “Since we were able to sell the meat not used in Bridgette’s dinner there’s now enough in our coffers that I feel comfortable with such extravagance.”

“Perhaps we could start paying you again, then?” I suggested, taking my traditional place at the head of the table. Not that my seating position seemed to give me any actual authority, but Clara always insisted upon it.

“If you’d like,” Clara replied. “It has been a while since I’ve had the freedom to procure gifts for the school faculty…”

“Gifts?” I asked, confused.

“In my Lady’s name, of course. It’s been difficult of late to extract information from my eyes and ears within the academy - not to mention the various things that could be done to ease your burdens if only the right people could be incentivized…”

“Are you bribing the teachers?” I asked, horrified.

“Not just the teachers,” Clara said with pride. “The groundskeepers, and maintenance men and even a few of the other maids and attendants that various students bring with them. Of course, I won’t be able to fully re-establish your support network with the amount you’re able to pay me right now, but it would be nice to have access to basic information on what’s going on in the academy again…”

“You can’t seriously be spending your own money on this?” I demanded.

“What else would I spend my money on?” Clara asked. “Lady Amelia provided me with all I ever wanted - so why wouldn’t I spend my money on improving things for her, in turn?”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that. I probably would have tried to reply anyway if Bridgette hadn’t chosen that moment to walk into the dining room. She was yawning, and rubbing at her eyes as if she’d just woken up, but I still had to wonder if she’d perhaps timed her entry purposefully for some reason or another.

“Oooooh, food!” Bridgette said, grabbing a plate off the table and beginning to fill it up with food from the various serving dishes.

…Maybe I was overthinking things?

Firanna came in next, a few awkward moments later. She eyed the seating arrangements, which would have her sitting at the opposite end of the table from me, and then plucked up her plate. Rather than filling it with food, however, she moved it over to me and sat herself down right by my side.

“If we are to be wed, we should try to get along,” she said, stiffly. “If you could move my chair, Clara?”

“…As you wish, Lady Firanna,” Clara replied, going to get the seat.

Which of course left Firanna awkwardly standing beside me, blushing faintly as she glanced between me and Bridgette.

“Did things not go well between the two of you?” I asked, my voice pitched low in the hopes that Bridgette wouldn’t hear.

“What makes you say that?” Firanna asked, arching an eyebrow.

“I mean, you’re sitting here… next to me. Instead of next to her?”

“I already said that I wish to get to know you better, as my fiancee,” she replied, before biting her lip. “And also I intend to woo you into a threeway relationship with Bridgettte, so that she won’t have any excuses not to date me alongside you.”

“Date me… alongside you?” I asked, confused. I shot a concerned glance Bridgette’s way, only to find her choking on her eggs. “Are you alright, Bridgette?”

She coughed instead of answering, pounding at her chest. I almost got up to rush to her side when suddenly the food dislodged itself, flying from her mouth and splattering against the far wall.

“Can you maybe not tell her all the details until I’ve had a chance to talk about my own feelings?” Bridgette complained, once freed from the threat of her breakfast. “I still haven’t told her I…”

“You… what?” I asked, staring blankly at Bridgette.

“Oh come on now,” Firanna complained. “You can’t possibly be this dense. It’s a simple matter of putting two and two together, isn’t it? Between what I’ve hinted at, and what Bridgette just said, even a toddler should be able to figure it out from here.”

“I think I liked it better when you were a stuttering mess,” Bridgette muttered, causing Firanna to flush bright red.

“I-I’m just trying to get things out into the open,” she said, pushing her two forefingers against one another. “How am I supposed to progress my relationship with either of you two if we can’t even speak about things?”

“I haven’t even decided that I’m into this whole thing yet!” Bridgette protested.

“You should tell my Lady how you feel either way,” Clara broke in, arriving with Firanna’s chair. “Unless you’d rather remain forever mired in uncertainty about what could or couldn’t be, that is.”

“This is some form of prank, isn’t it?” I demanded, glaring at the three women around me. “You all are working together to… to… I don’t even know what for, but…” They had to be planning something. They had to be. Maybe it was a test? Clara trying to see if I’d be fooled by people implying untrue things to me? That would make sense. Nothing had actually been stated after all, and the only other possibility was that-

“I have feelings for you!” Bridgette announced, clear as day.

No lie detected. But… but that didn’t mean that they were positive feelings, did it? And even if they were positive, that didn’t mean it was love or anything like that. It could still be a test!

“Be more specific,” Clara said, interrupting my thoughts. “Can’t you see how my Lady’s eyes are spinning? She’s clearly retreating from this conversation and into her head even as we speak.”

The whole world seemed to be spinning, even as she spoke. It should have been nauseating, but everything felt so distant. Sensations were muted. I felt as if I could just slip away - that my entire being could just fade into the background at any moment, and who knew what would take my place.

“I have a crush on you, Amy!” Bridgette exclaimed, at last - and as she said it, she took my hand, and the warmth of it seemed to pierce right through the dizzying shadows of my mind, pulling me back to the front much to my… dismay? Why did some part of me feel dismayed?

“I have a crush on you,” Bridgette repeated. “That’s all it is, though - just a few fleeting feelings. So if you don’t want to try and go out with me, or think it’s too much of a complication, then that’s okay. We can just be friends. But if you do like me… I-I think I’d really like to date you!”

“And me,” Firanna cut in, grabbing my other hand. “I want to date you, too. Or… well, technically I want to date you two - the both of you, that is.”

“W-why?” I managed to croak out, still confused but at least now solidly in the present. “I mean, I didn’t think you even liked me that much, Firanna - other than as a tool for getting close to Bridgette, I mean. And Bridgette, you complain about me literally nonstop!”

“Well, yeah, but only because there’s a lot to complain about!” Bridgette said. “That doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot to like as well, though - like the way you always give everything your all, even when you’re bad at it. And the cute expressions you make when you’re concentrating. And just… the sort of person you are, I guess?”

“Is that all?” Firanna asked, dryly, before turning her gaze back to me. “I’ll be honest - I mostly see you as a means to an end, right now. Bridgette thinks I should get to know you better, and I agreed, but really my main hope is that roping you into this relationship will somehow allow me to get closer to Bridgette… That isn’t to say that I’m not open to giving you an honest try, though. If we can have more than a loveless marriage in our future, then I for one would welcome it.”

“So… so let me get this straight,” I said, turning my head from one girl to the other. “You both want to date me… as an excuse to date each other? Because if so, you really should just date one another instead. I mean, it makes more sense for the knight and the princess to get together than for either of you to be actually interested in someone like me.”

“What do you mean someone like you?” Bridgette demanded. “And what part of what I said would make you think I was more interested in Firanna?”

“A screw up,” I said, softly. “Someone who only ever makes things worse whenever she tries anything new…”

“That’s hardly an accurate description of you,” Clara interjected, before anyone else could speak up. “You’ve accomplished quite a bit since coming here, haven’t you? You managed to prevent your own execution and get engaged to a literal princess. Not to mention the fact that you’ve taken steps in learning magic, and hunting beasts.”

“It’s not that great a feat to convince people you’re innocent when you actually are,” I argued. “And I messed up the magic, remember? Just because I’ve managed to carve one spell successfully doesn’t mean I’ve accomplished anything great. Especially considering how useless I was in the hunt, nearly getting myself killed like that…”

“Oh come now,” Firanna said, “must you look down on yourself for my mistake? We likely wouldn’t have been able to bring that beast down without you.”

“But-”

“And I like the fact that you can pick yourself up and keep trying!” Bridgette added. “I think it’s one of your strong suits!”

“I only managed that because I had everyone to keep encouraging me,” I protested. “If it was just me I’d have curled up into a ball and died by now… literally.”

“So what if you need help?” Firanna scoffed. “I can’t even put on half my clothing without outside assistance - which is a bit of a problem, actually, since Father says I’m to rely on you for maids and security and all that going forward…”

“So being engaged to me is already dragging you down?” I asked. “And you want to date me anyway? Why?”

“Because I think my future happiness is worth the effort,” Firanna said. “Don’t you think the same? Don’t you want to at least try and find happiness in our circumstances? To see if we can click? If all three of us - or more - can perhaps find a way to make this work together?”

“And if we can’t?” I asked, crossing my arms and deciding to not think very hard on why she’d imply more people joining.

“Then I’ll have an affair with Bridgette alone, like I always planned, and you can… find someone else, maybe,” Firanna said, with a shrug.

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Bridgette asked.

“Of course you do,” Firanna said. “And so does Amy. Just know that I’ll be doing everything in my power to win you both over. Whatever it takes.”

“Can I think about it for a bit?” I asked. “Figure out if I want to date either of you?”

“I’m sorry,” Firanna replied, “but did you think this was a negotiation? No. I’m going to woo you, Amy. And you are going to like it.”