After that meeting, the night became a blur. Exhaustion and fatigue smeared the rest of Pre’s memories into a vague recollection of arriving at Vian’s palace. A magnificent lobby, a grand staircase, then an imposing set of double doors.

What happened after that, Pre didn't know. In her next moment of cognizance, she was waking up in a massive bed wearing a set of silk pajamas. Her clothes from last night were strewn across the other side of the bed.

She looked around for her com and found it charging on the nightstand next to her. She discovered that it was late afternoon and she had seven thousand, eight hundred, and twenty two new notifications. As she watched, the notifications number ticked up. Seven thousand, nine hundred, and thirteen new notifications.

She opened the Updates program, where all the news and tabloid feeds were collected. Her name was everywhere. Stunning New Diamond Preah Devisana Gains First-Ever Perfect Rank; Preah Devisana: 10 Things You Didn’t Know; Meet Preah Devisana, Vian’s New Perfect Match.

The news programs had pulled photos from Pre’s feed, along with a hodgepodge of irrelevant posts and facts like which Collective she grew up in or which restaurant she ate at most recently. Luckily Pre had never been much of a feeder, preferring to keep her meagre thoughts and comings and goings to herself rather than broadcasting them to the world. Most of her posts were years-old and from other people tagging her, before she became an unranked pariah.

A lot of the notifications were from those same people who had disappeared from her life. It was almost funny to see the sad, unanswered messages from Pre all those years ago contrasted now with bubbly messages of, “Hey Pre! Long time no chat! I saw the news!!! Congrats and can’t wait to catch up!”

Still no messages from Xinder.

She waited in bed for a long time, scrolling listlessly through the feeds and listening for any sounds of movement or activity. After half an hour of silence, Pre decided to get up and venture outside the room.

An empty hallway greeted her. This led to a staircase which descended into an empty living room. From there, she went on to discover the empty bathrooms, fitness room, sauna, sitting room, and lastly the dining room and kitchen.

Maybe they’re not up yet, Pre thought. Or they’re out?

She walked back into the living room where the front doors were. Maybe Vian left a note for her.

Rather than lead outside like she expected, the front doors opened to another hallway, a long one that led to another grand set of double doors.

Seeing this hallway again triggered her memory. Vian had brought her here, introduced it as “the guest wing”, and told her to stay as long for as she liked. From there, Pre must have stumbled inside and miraculously found her way into pajamas and bed.

Curiosity dawned on her as she looked at what must be Vian’s door across the way. Pre wondered what they were doing today. Did they also have a surge in popularity with this announcement? Or was Vian already famous enough that it didn’t matter?

Pre didn’t have any answers. But what she did know about Vian is that they would come find her when they wanted to speak to her.

Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t really eaten since yesterday. She shut the door and set her sights on finding some breakfast/lunch/dinner.

The architecture of Vian’s palace was distinctly old Prequel. It was made of actual stone, one that had a rosy hue to it. Someone had gone through the trouble of carving elaborate designs into the stone, especially around the ceilings and floors.

The building may have been old but nothing else was. This may have been the “guest wing” but it was still a beyond-luxurious place to stay. Fully renovated, all the latest screens and tech, beautifully decorated, state of the art gym, lavish but comfortable furnishings.

Pre touched every item as she passed by it. She didn’t know why but she needed to do it. It felt right. Like she was confirming reality by touch.

This is my life now. I’m the most famous person in Toran. I live with Vian, the other most famous person in Toran. I’m the biggest, shiniest Diamond of them all.

Six years. Six long years of loneliness, isolation, and desperation. But it was over now. She was set for life. Anything she dreamed, she could have. Anything she wanted to accomplish, she could do.

There were other things. The unexpected things. The auras and the "benefits" and the intrigue.

But for now, she deserved a break.

Pre crawled back into bed and went back to sleep.