Their plans went by without a hitch; luckily they had each other to cover for the other. When she noticed Dala entered the palace kitchens, she quickly had to drag her out before the cooks entered. And when they passed by certain areas she called 'cursed zones', Dala helped pull her out of sight when she was about to keel over. Watching the hunt getting organized brought back old memories…mostly bad ones. But today the tables would be turned; instead of being hunted–today they would be doing the hunting. Slipping into the hunt was easy after knocking out some people and leaving them tied up somewhere. There were crests from noble families as far as the eye could see, also a rainbow of clothes and hair colors too. She had to squint to not go blind from the color palette disaster. 

Shiloh herself was a stable hand, meaning she had access to the horses. She knew who was riding which horse and could tamper with the riding equipment easily. Under the saddles of the most eligible bachelors from the three big noble houses, she placed sharp burrs that would make the horse go berserk as soon as they sat down on the saddle. Their hunting equipment was also tampered with as well. She lifted a few arrows and some spare equipment for the real hunt, and would check in on how Dala was doing on her end. Soon they would have to handle their own sides of the front. The time was finally here. Hopefully they could find Lizzy before this was over.

It was a lovely day in the royal forest, and she was a horrible shipwrecker. Unfortunately for the unsuspecting victims, the only god they would meet would be misfortune. 

The hunting horn sounded, announcing the start of the competition. Men in their blazing armor and capes were seated, assisted by their squires. And they were off! With the slap of the reins, at least three men instead were sent flying backward by their poor horses, tormented by a handful of hooked pricklers on their backs. There were gasps and grimaces of embarrassment as they quickly were helped back up and their equipment changed out. The mood was slightly damaged, but they carried on with bruised dignity and grace. Shiloh identified the main suspects once they passed the entry into the woodland. There was a blond, one with black hair, and a redhead. The blond was the prince as he was on a white horse, the one with black hair had cold blue eyes and a fur trim, and the redhead made Shiloh imagine Auron's face for a second. She slapped herself and corrected her vision, noting his eyes were green not golden.

The groups of men bounded on their steeds through the bottleneck of pitfalls, eliminating themselves by half. Anybody with plot significance managed to survive unscathed, as expected of the book. She was sure it would do everything in its power to keep their statuses as the most eligible bachelors in the kingdom untarnished. Notching an arrow to the bow, Shiloh used Gestalt to make the dark-haired man's horse stumble so she could get a clear shot of its foreleg. "Initiating Test Trial #1." The arrow flew and left a bad cut on the horse. Blue-Eyes started to fall behind, with Red-Head and Prince Blond-Hair still neck and neck. It was almost like they were color coded for convenience.

She caused minor accidents and near-misses, all while monitoring their progress. The prince and the red-head were tied for a long time in hunting. Their animal counts were even. Then–a great elk appeared! Now, for the moment of truth. The two men duked it out with their hunting weapons, trying to see who could bag the big game animal first. Shiloh was running after them with an arrow shaft between her teeth since her hands were busy grabbing onto branches to swing from. The red-head fired an arrow first at the elk and hit–but then the prince sent one straight through its heart. They were arguing over whose kill it was as the horn blew again, signalling for all competitors to return with their winnings. 

As the last surviving hunters were coming out of the woods, Shiloh was ready to pick off the prince when the dark-haired man she had tripped up earlier came with a huge monster-sized boar in tow. "Huh, well that's a surprise. Now eat dirt!" An arrow hit him between the gaps in his armor, causing the man to fall to the ground. There was panic, hysteria, and lots of people running around. Quickly blending in with the chaos, she went to find Dala while keeping an eye out for any sudden changes. Even with her lack of skill in archery, that shot should have been a hit.

While Shiloh got the fun of hunting nobility, she had to listen to the dull gossip for any hints of who her target was. She kept an eye on women of high status and low, though only keeping an eye out for drop-dead gorgeous women or anyone who might resemble Lizzy. Unfortunately, it was harder for her to tell since she rarely practiced magical awareness. So instead she kept a careful eye on all of the ladies and any approaching noblemen. A few ladies gave a few hunters their handkerchiefs but none of them had a particularly romantic moment. It wasn't until she found a beautiful blue-haired woman having a private moment with the dark-haired man. She gave him a small humble ribbon then they stared into each other's eyes for over a minute.

Don't these people blink?!

Then the black-haired man went off to the hunt and the blue-haired woman went back to her tent with her maid. Dala picked up a piece of luggage and carefully trailed the woman from a distance then placed the luggage behind the tent. Now she needed an opportunity to strike. The girl pulled a bandana that she borrowed from Shiloh over her face. With her hair covered by a hat and the rest of her in a servant's outfit, it would be difficult to identify her. The problem was the maid. Then Dala remembered that the people here were stupid. So she picked up a rock and threw it against one of the stacks of shields nearby, causing the entire pile to fall over in a loud clatter.

"Maid, go investigate that strange noise." The blue-haired woman ordered.

The maid left the tent to investigate and Dala quickly slipped in. The blue-haired woman's back was turned to her as she was holding a beautiful white rose and sitting around like some sort of prop waiting to be used. Unsheathing her knife, Dala clapped her hand over the woman's mouth and stabbed her in the chest. For a moment, Dala felt a surge of panic run through her mind.

They aren't real. They aren't real. They aren't real.

She repeated this over and over in her mind as she covered the body in a blanket then stole one of the cloaks to hide her bloodstained outfit. Dala ran out of the tent and quietly slipped through the barrage of tents until she made it to the edge of the forest. As she ran off, she could hear the scream of the maid. She found herself in the forest in the meeting place that Shiloh and she had agreed on. When Shiloh approached, she stood up and walked towards her.

"How did it go?" She asked.

Acting as nonchalant as possible, she made her way to Dala and she smelled blood. It wasn't Dala's blood judging by the girl acting normal, and they shared information. "It was hard in the last round, but I nicked one with dark hair and blue eyes. Almost fell for a curve ball there thinking the prince would be the winner. I don't think the book is resetting, so maybe he is just a secondary romance option?" To be fair, did it really matter which man the protagonist ended up with if they were going to just throw a bunch at her in the first place? She was looking at the chaos of two murders, putting her hands on her hips as if expecting something. Then…she froze. "Hey, hey! Dala is that…? I think I see Lizzy!" She jabbed her finger in one direction, pointing at a girl in a blue dress running in the crowd with a panicked look on her face. She didn't have her hair in braids anymore, but the freckles were there.  

Lizzy was alive! But for some reason she was being escorted by some strangers while calming down once they were here. "Who are those people, and where are they taking her?" Shiloh tried to get a better look at their faces as she tried to see where they were headed. "She doesn't look scared at all. What's going on here?" As her eyes followed their movements, she saw a man in exotic clothing with pale colored hair and tanned skin approach her. "Oh no." She didn't like the direction this was going. The man was decked out in fancy jewelry and patterned fabric, and for some reason he was wearing robes that covered most of his body but had a dangerously low neckline. "What in the Conclave's name is that?!" 

"I think I ended up killing one of the rivals for that dark-haired dude. She was blue." Dala explained remembering only that about her, " Damn. I was hoping that would have worked."

Suddenly Shiloh pointed over to a direction, at a girl in a blue dress with freckles and brown hair. THAT was Lizzy. She was too average for the rest of the crowd and looked exactly like her parents. Lizzy had a panicked look on her face and she was being escorted by some strangers like she was the queen herself. Hell, she was receiving better security than the rest of the women there. As they took a moment to observe the strangers, they spotted a man with pale hair and tanned skin along with fancy jewelry covering him from head to toe. All that jewelry. The gold, the treasures, everything!

"Shit it's a foreign prince." She said.

Every bone in her body was screaming to steal everything on him so they could buy better weapons. If only she could take all that wealth and transport it to the real world. Shaking her head, she made herself focus. She quickly cleaned off as much blood as she could with an extra napkin she stole from one of the picnics then looked to Shiloh with a nod.

"That's her alright. We need to follow them and see where they go. If we try to rescue her now, we'll be overrun by guards." Dala pointed out.

Normally she would just have them both attack now but since Shiloh's magic was limited and Dala didn't have her dragon friend by her side, attacking during the chaos would be a bad idea. They would need to wait until the group was further away from the camp. Lizzy's hand was taken and the prince led her towards the forest, away from the chaos and potential murders. Apparently, a love scene would happen regardless of the chaos. Conclaves above these npcs were stupid!

The closer they got to the lovers' secret hideaway, the more pale Shiloh's face got. With the way she looked, death would be a mercy at this point. "We're getting closer…I can feel it." Forcing herself not to gag, she waited until the two were unguarded and unprepared. She then looked at Dala, as if asking her if it was time to strike. When her partner in crime agreed, they went into action. First things first–separate their client from the distraction. Prince Amir from the kingdom of Khuraya was robbed, stabbed, and possibly bamboozled–though not in that order. Shiloh put the man in a sleeper hold leaving poor Lizzy in shock while Dala had free rein to loot his soon-to-be corpse. Once he stopped moving, Shiloh tossed him into the bushes and took a deep breath. "Lizzy, we're here to rescue you. Come with us–there's no time to explain!" 

If she started screaming, which probably would happen, then they would need to knock her out too. She was not in the mood for a fight, especially since the migraines were back. "Dala, you know the jewelry isn't real right?" She said as the girl was busy stashing away the valuables she lifted off the foreign prince's person. This was probably the worst first impression they could give to their intended client. She started to feel a sharp pain in her head and vertigo as time went on, and was looking around nervously. "Uh, I think we'd better hurry. I think we might've done something big this time."

Dala could tell they were on the right track, judging by how nauseated Shiloh looked. The two were eventually alone and the foreign prince had brought out a sparkling blue pendant. He explained it had been a gift of his mother's but now he was going to hand it to Lizzy. Just as he was about to hand it over, Dala gave Shiloh a thumbs up and they both shot out of the pushes. Dala quickly pulled Lizzy away as Prince Amir was snatched. Once Lizzy was a safe distance away, Dala began plucking the jewelry off of the prince like she was plucking a turkey. Soon she had a pile of gold and jewels with a very happy smile. The prince was tossed into the bushes and the both of them turned their attentions to a terrified Lizzy who was currently sitting on the ground looking up at them in horror. Shiloh then pointed out that the jewelry wasn't real.

"Shut up!" Dala said with a huff, "Just let me have this."

She opened her mouth to scream but Dala gave her a quick wack on the back of the head and knocked her out before she could make any proper noise. Dala stashed away the rest of the jewels into her pockets and buried some around the forest for safekeeping. Then she looked at Lizzy and tossed her over her shoulder like she was a bag of potatoes.

"Yeah, we'd better get out of here!" Dala agreed, "The books not gonna like this one bit!"

The both of them ran through the forest, heading in the general direction of the cabin and as far from the hunt as possible. The entire camp would likely be looking for Lizzy, considering she was their very reason for existence and all. From now on they would have to treat this like they were the kingdom's most wanted, even though they technically just stole one girl. And a few murders.

Maybe they were the kingdom's most wanted for a reason.

It was like an explosion happened inside her head, and not the good kind. She knew that they were on the right track the moment she felt like she was closer to death. "I think we found the protagonist." She said looking at an unconscious Lizzy. "And I think I figured out what the centerpiece of the book is…" Having looted the protagonist's love interest, they started to make a break for it with Lizzy in tow. Predators didn't like it when you stole their food. Especially right out of their stomach. "Gogogogogogo–" Shiloh whispered loudly as they hustled to their hideout. The world was warping as random encounters started being thrown at them: first a wolf, then a bear, and then a carriage that nearly ran them over. Lizzy had woken up and was crying, pounding her fists on Dala's back. "YOU KILLED HIM! HE WAS THE FOURTH PRINCE OF HIS COUNTRY!!" The girl wailed. 

"He was the fourth prince of his country. Also he's not real." Shiloh answered. "Lizzy, you know that–don't you?" As she sniffled and struggled in vain, they finally made it to the abandoned cabin. Shiloh let Dala and Lizzy inside while closing the door and bolting it shut. "Ok, so I think we're going to be very busy from now on. Mister Blue-Eyes and his blue-haired fiancee won't be dead forever." The poor girl was horrified as Shiloh began stacking boxes in front of the front door and windows. "We were going at it all wrong from the start. No wonder we couldn't find you until now." It all made sense. If the protagonist was the most important part of the story, then it was natural the book would protect her at all costs. And now that they found her, it would do anything it could to get her back. 

Lizzy was still trying to get out, crying over the man with the low-cut shirt. Shiloh's headache was improving, and she could finally focus on a single thought for more than three seconds. By the way their client was acting, she still believed she was part of the story. She was emotionally invested, and wasn't interested in going back home. This wouldn't do. They had to bring her back to reality, even if it was by force.  

The world was going crazy as suddenly a wolf, bear, and then a carriage all tried to stop them. Lizzy awoke then began pounding her fists on Dala's back, which hurt a lot more than she was expecting. Then she remembered that this girl was a baker's daughter. Even if she loved books, she would have developed some muscles after helping her parents. They finally made it to the abandoned cabin and Dala quickly set the girl down, who just watched as Dala began to help Shiloh stacking up the barriers. Now they understood who the protagonist was and how this book truly worked. It also explained why they were both side characters if the protagonist spot had been filled by the first victim. Dala noticed Lizzy making a move for the door and quickly pushed her down and held her tightly to stop her from escaping.

"Lizzy! Think of that blue and green rag doll!" Dala exclaimed as the girl sobbed and flailed.

"The what- Oh you mean Polly?" Lizzy asked with a confused face, "How did you know about her?"

"She isn't in this world. So why do you remember a doll named Polly?" Dala asked.

Lizzy opened her mouth to answer but no words came out. Confusion and panic ran across her face as she remembered vividly that little doll she used to play with, but it was never in the manor. While she was sitting, feeling confused, Dala looked at Shiloh.

"The book probably doesn't want the prey to fight against it. I'm guessing it's holding her important memories back. But a little doll named Polly probably wasn't the most concerning memory to take away." Dala explained.

A subconscious memory of childhood wasn't as pressing of an issue as making her forget about her parents or her hometown. Before Dala could prod at that memory further, she heard the sound of hoofs outside of the cabin. The book had gathered the red-head, blondy prince, foreign prince, and the black-haired duck to the cabin for a daring rescue. Dala peaked out of a small hole near the floor and spotted their shining horses and realized that the treasure she had stolen was now back on the foreign prince. It was like an infinite treasure loop! She had to focus.

"I don't suppose we have a backdoor?" Dala asked Shiloh.

After watching Dala's conversation with Lizzy, Shiloh realized what they had to do. They had to sever Lizzy's attachments to this fictional world and motivate her to go home. "Lizzy, your parents have been worried sick about you. Your mother's been crying her eyes out and your father's even closed up the shop. Your brother Marcus has even asked his coworkers to put up missing posters and organize search parties to find you. They thought you were kidnapped." There was no time to lose. Now that Dala had jogged a bit of her memory, they had to bombard her until her resolve wavered. For self-contained realms designed to prey on one's desires, they would always cater to what the victims wished for. But if the realm couldn't give what the victim wanted, then the spell would fall apart. That was half of the formula for resisting the enchantment. You can't be tempted by what you don't want. When Lizzy realized she wanted her real life in the outside world, that would mean the magic no longer worked.

"They put up reward money hoping someone would be interested in it to find you. If this goes on long enough, they might have to close the bakery down for good." Shiloh began putting more pressure, pushing harder. Making direct eye contact with Lizzy, she took out a Salt Flat Mirror and looked into it. The image of Mrs. Bartleby appeared, crying and dabbing her face with her handkerchief. She showed it to the girl, letting her see what her mother was going through outside. "This isn't an illusion Lizzy–it's real. That's what your mother is doing at this very moment." Lizzy's eyes stared at it, her lips trembling. "I…" As much as she didn't want to do this, Shiloh quietly sent a telepathic message directly to Lizzy's mind–imitating the girl's voice mentally. 'I miss my mom… I miss my brother, my dad, the bakery…' Tears began to well up in Lizzy's eyes. "I–I want to go home…"

The voices of the color-coded love interests came from outside, but Shiloh wasn't going to let them take back the ground she had worked so hard to reclaim. Lizzy turned her head to the door, putting her hands to her mouth when she recognized the voices. "Amir! Could it be true?? Prince Percival, Duke Aster, and Master Louis?!" 

"Elizabeth–we're here to rescue you! Show yourselves at once! How dare you kidnap an innocent woman?!" Channeling the sass of the Goddess of Life and Love, Shiloh's eyes rolled as she peered through the gaps in the woodwork. "Well look who it is–didn't I puncture your lungs with an arrow through the gaps in your plating?" Mister Blue-Eyes was 'Duke Aster', not that she cared. Looking back she said to Dala: "There's a hidden tunnel that'll lead us back to the city. It's in the pantry, lift up the floor." The book was trying to reassert its influence again, and she wasn't having any of that. "Oh no you don't. Not in my house." She muttered aloud as she pulled out a skyshard boomerang. 

While Shiloh bombarded Lizzy with sappy words about her parents, Dala focused on keeping an eye on the love interests. To her surprise, they were duller than she had been expecting. If they were going to get a girl's heart desire, couldn't they be a little more creative about it? Then again this was a third-rated romance novel even if it was cursed. Suddenly Shiloh pulled out a salt flat mirror and showed Lizzy the image of her parents. Lizzy broke down into tears as the voices of the love interests grew louder. The book was desperate now, trying to turn this into a heroic rescue. Dala picked up Lizzy again and began running towards the tunnel. She lifted up the floor and shoved Lizzy in then looked back to Shiloh. 

"You coming?" She asked. 

Eventually Dala jumped into the hidden passage way herself and began pulling Lizzy who was still trying to understand the situation around her. Then stepping from the shadows was the final love interest. The bad boy. The one who was only sweet to the heroine but a jackass to everybody else. Dala was able to identify his type right away from the overuse of black and piercings in his design. Still, she had no idea who the heck he was or his name, so she decided he would be known as edgelord. 

"HEY EDGELORD! BEAT IT!" Dala shouted. 

The man had a confident smirk and held out his hand for Lizzy in a dramatic way. 

"Hey darling. I'm here to bring you home." The edgelord said. 

Dala quickly turned Lizzy around and pushed her back the way they came. Lizzy was a young woman with raging hormones and probably a poor taste in men. This book was bringing out all its aces now. But the man used some black magic and teleported in front of them again. Great, the edgelord had magic. 

"Only you can save me from the darkness inside." He said to Lizzy. 

Dear Conclave please let this stop. Dala quickly turned to Lizzy with a determined look. 

"You remember your mother, right?" Dala asked. 

"My mom?" Lizzy asked with confusion, "Yeah and she's waiting for me…" 

"Your mom has been there for you, through thick and thin. So has your dad. Remember when they finally were able to get you that book. They all looked so happy to finally give you the one thing you've always wanted. Those boys out there will never care about you in the way your parents do with you. They'll give you sweet words and gifts but they won't have the warm hugs or the good advice for when your in a bad situation. When you need somebody's support it'll be your parents who you look for." 

Lizzy's eyes teared up and she fell to the ground. The edgelord offered her a hand but she swatted it away. 

"I want my mom! I want my dad!" The girl cried. 

The book's entire city felt a rumble and a crack as Lizzy's truest desires changed.