Jennet rode her g-board slowly up the flagstone drive that led to the Lassiter’s front door. The place was the biggest mansion in The View, no question. Impeccable landscaping framed a building that could easily, in a different setting, be a 5-star hotel - all gleaming glass and sharp angles.

Her dad might be the lead project manager for Feyland, but Dr. Lassiter was VirtuMax’s CEO - and clearly wanted everyone to know it.

The entryway was designed to make people feel small. At least, that’s how Jennet felt, standing in front of the huge double-doors. There was no need to knock. Security cameras had swiveled onto her the moment she’d entered the wrought-iron gates out front. The system had probably scanned her wrist-chip within seconds.

“Miss Carter,” a metallic voice said from a hidden speaker by the door. “You are expected. Please enter.”

Definitely a House-Activated-Network-Assistant, though her own HANA had a better voice program than the Lassiter’s interface. But maybe they liked it that way - cold and impersonal.

The doors swung open to reveal Roy Lassiter, aiming his even-toothed grin at her.

“Welcome to the palace,” he said. “Come on in.”

He reached for her arm, but Jennet strode past him into the foyer. Inside, it was cool and hushed and dim. How many empty rooms did this place have? The tomblike silence was broken only by the distant hum of a robo-vac.

“Thanks for the invite,” she said, propping her board in the corner.

“Anytime, blondie.” He glanced at her g-board. “Nice ride - though not quite as prime as my Quell. I’ll take you out and show you some real tricks sometime. You’d like that.”

 “Um, yeah.”

She didn’t like him, or the assumptions he made. Still, she had to at least act friendly.

“Maybe next time.” He winked at her. “Today you get to see an expert simmer at work.”

If his head got any bigger, he’d fall over from the weight. Jennet folded her arms.

“I sim, too, you know,” she said.

He laughed. “G-board, simming… I didn’t figure you for such a techie girl. Not with your looks.”

That statement was so full of wrong, she barely knew where to begin. “Just because I have blond hair doesn’t mean I’m stupid - about tech or about gaming.”

“Hey.” He held his hands up in mock surrender. “It was a compliment, get it? But whatever. The theater is this way.”

Without looking to see if she was following, Roy headed down the tall corridor to his left. Sconces along the walls shed a faint illumination, and she felt like she was walking into a deep canyon.

“The theater?” she asked. Her voice echoed hollowly off the glass and polished stone. They had a media room at her house, but it couldn’t be called a theater by any stretch.

“My mother’s a fan of gear,” Roy said. “After all, it’s made us rich. She designed a space for all the media interfaces and systems we have. Which is a lot.”

Sounded like her dad was right about Dr. Lassiter collecting every system VirtuMax ever made.

At the end of the hall was another massive set of double-doors. They swung silently open as Jennet and Roy approached. It was creepy. Sure, the house-network could be programmed to open doors whenever people got close, but Jennet and her dad both preferred to be in charge of whether or not a door was going to swing wide.

Roy paused on the threshold and gave her an ironic half-bow. “Behold. Lassiter central.”

She felt her eyes widen as she stepped inside. It really was a theater, with forty-foot ceilings and rows of seats in the middle, facing a floor-to-ceiling screen that dominated the space.

The seating area was only a portion of the huge room, though. Along the sides, dozens of gaming systems were lined up: netscreens, and moto-sense setups, and sim-systems. She was used to cutting-edge tech, but this - this was drastically over the top. Roy had his own private arcade, with equip she hadn’t seen in years, or ever.

“This is….” She turned in a circle, trying not to let Roy see her amazement.

“Pretty prime. I know.” He sounded smug. “But the best part is over here.”

He led the way to an area partitioned behind frosted glass panels. With a wave of his wrist, the glass slid aside to reveal VirtuMax’s crowning achievement.

The Full-D sim-system.

Actually, three models of the Full-D, perfectly lined up. Spot lighting from above illuminated them, making the helmets gleam and the synth-leather of the chairs glow. The LEDs on the gloves shone like gemstones.

“It looks like a museum,” Jennet said. Or a shrine to a digital god.

“All these systems are playable - though I do like the most recent equip the best.” Roy patted the back of the middle system’s chair, the way someone would touch a favorite pet.

Her breath tightened and fear shivered across her nerves. So, he had been simming on the Full-D. Somehow, she wasn’t surprised.

There was a part of her - spirit, soul, whatever - that had been held captive in Feyland by the Dark Queen. That part had prickled with wariness the moment he’d stood up in Ms. Lewis’s class. Roy Lassiter had been touched by the Realm of Faerie. Did he even know it?

Too many questions, not enough answers.

She cleared her throat. “You play a lot?”

“Of course. It’s a gamer’s paradise here.” He leaned toward her. “I knew you’d like it. But then, you’ve used a Full-D system before, haven’t you?”

“I…” She swallowed. Maybe Roy was more clever than he seemed. “Yeah, my dad brought one home.” Two, actually, but why reveal more than she had to? “I’ve messed around on it. A little.”

He bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. “Well, Jennet Carter, it’s your lucky day. I’m going to show you something so astounding, you won’t believe it.”

“Are you talking about Fey… about the new game the company’s working on?”

“Feyland, yeah.” He shot her a speculative look. “Your dad’s the project manager. I’d expect you to know all about it.”

“Not really.” She forced a laugh and took a step away from him. “Dad spends a lot of time at work, and when he’s home he doesn’t talk much.”

Although recently they’d had some real conversations. She was still trying to explain what had happened to her and Tam in-game, and sometimes it seemed like she was getting through. She had to admit, though, the whole thing was pretty hard to believe.

Roy nodded, the doubt clearing from his expression. “Ok then, have a seat. I’m taking you in-game with me.”

Fear clenched her ribs. “I, um… I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Way too much trouble could happen in Feyland. Had happened in Feyland. Some of the creatures there were her mortal enemies, and she didn’t dare encounter them - especially not without Tam at her side. She pressed her lips together, trying to keep the panic at bay.

“Oh, right.” He rolled his eyes. “Your dad’s convinced there’s dangerous hardware issues. Listen. I’ve been simming on this equip for a long time, on all three prototype systems. Nothing bad has happened to me, not once. That’s weeks - ok, months - of playtime, and no evil effects. Nothing to be scared of.”

It sure didn’t sound like Roy had gone all the way to the Dark Court. Either that, or he was an excellent liar.

She shook her head. “I still don’t think - ”

“Look, Jennet. As long as you’re not a total noob, you’ll do fine. You know how to sim - you said so yourself. Right?”

“Yes.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

The problem was that the Dark Queen had tried to kill her. Twice. The fey-folk knew her name, knew her. They would recognize her no matter what kind of character she played in-game. Going into Feyland was beyond dangerous.

She made herself breathe past the tightness in her lungs.

“Tell me about the game,” she said. “You know, monsters we might encounter, stuff like that.”

Wicked water-hags and redcap goblins. The dread Wild Hunt. The sharp-edged, terrible beauty of the Dark Queen in her Court.

“No worries,” he said. “In the early levels of the game, there’s nothing fierce. And you’ll have me to protect you.”

“So… we won’t reach the final boss or anything?” She didn’t care if Roy heard the tremble in her voice and thought she was a timid player.

He frowned. “The final boss? Nah. It takes days of playing to get that far in-game. He’s way deeper in than we’re going to go.”

He?

Her heart gave a thud, and shock rippled through her like lightning. She blinked at Roy. Had she heard him right? He? Had Roy actually encountered a different enemy at the end of Feyland, not the Dark Queen?

“If we do end up meeting the boss,” she said, lacing her fingers tightly together, “I should know more. Tell me about the fight, the strategy.”

“Nah.” He shook his head. “There’s no way we can play that far in one session. Unless you want to stay here all night.” He gave her a look that was probably meant to be smoldering.

“I’ve got homework tonight. Sorry.” No way was she spending any more time with him than necessary. “But this boss - ”

“Don’t stress it,” he said. “Feyland is easy, especially at the beginning. Though if you really don’t feel like playing, we could go up to my room, instead.” He winked at her.

Ignoring his suggestion, she bit her lip and tried to think past the fear swirling through her. What if Roy hadn’t come to any harm, hadn’t met the Dark Queen… because his Feyland wasn’t the same game? Was that even possible?

What if - her pulse sped at the thought - what if Feyland was actually safe to play? Maybe her version was the tweaked one, the buggy one. What if all her and Tam’s fears were groundless? The idea trembled through her, promising a relief so great she could barely breathe.

The only way to find out was by going in-game with Roy, right here, right now. She didn’t have to go very far. Just beyond the fairy ring, just enough to see if the world was different. If things got severe, she could always run back out.

She had to know.

“All right,” she said. Her stomach in knots, she walked over to the Full-D systems. “I’ll play Feyland with you.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

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Feyland: The Bright Court is published and for sale in both print and digital formats (only $3.99 for the e-book version) from all online retailers. Did you miss the first story? Feyland: The Dark Realm is here on Wattpad, and available as well from all online retailers.

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