Avoid The Lead, No Matter What!

1. Twenty-Fifth Deathday

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'Ah... I'm dying again...' Celia Scarlett thought.

'It's my twenty-fifth life!'

'I'm not even twenty, dammit!!!'

The cold winds blew about the scent of blood on the crisp winter night.

The floor was unbelievably cold, but something warm pooled around Celia, and she realized it was her own blood, stark red on the crisp white snow. Her long silvery white hair blended with the snow, and her red irises blended with her own blood.

It was a cold winter night with howling snowy winds, and it was the same day Celia had been crowned Queen of Luxia.

The highest rank a female elf could ever attain!

Yet here she was.

Splayed out on the snow.

Dying. Cold. Alone, with nothing but the whistling wind to accompany her.

It wasn't that she was hated by all. On the contrary, she had a few people who loved her dearly, and a ton of people who admired her!

And they were likely still celebrating her birthday, coronation and wedding at this late hour, unaware that she was dying.

There was a slight crunching, as footsteps approached, crushing the crisp snow beneath them, and a pair of crystal shoes stopped beside Celia's face.

She turned to see her elder sister sneering down at her.

'Tch! Of course it's her again! She can't even be original...'

"Little sister, you can only blame yourself." Novia Scarlett said sweetly. "A golden child born with everything, while I could only live- No. I could barely exist in your shadow!"

Novia laughed coldly. "But you can't have everything in life sister! And you certainly can't have Vitav, so be gone!"

Celia only smiled as Novia brought down the dagger to stab her heart, and as Celia's life flowed out of her, Novia's cold laughter could still be heard.

'Here we go...' Celia thought, as darkness slowly descended, lulling her into the usual deep sleep of death.

Then all was silent...

Darkness...

Nothing was seen, heard, or felt in this place, and Celia often wondered if time flowed.

There was a sudden flare of light, and she sighed, but she didn't have a breath, so she couldn't really call it that...

'Not again...' she thought, as she began seeing images of her first life...

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The Kingdom of Luxia was an enchanting place.

Luxia was located on the star continent of White Realm, a place with numerous races, like Elves, Fairies, Merfolk, Goblins, pixies, and the like, and Luxia was the greatest of the Elf kingdoms, with might and power which kept enemies and allies in check.

And it was in this great Kingdom that Celia Elizabeta Scarlett was born... A genius with a natural talent for Ice magic, Healing magic, and a mild ability to foresee calamities....

As early as age four, whispers of her destined greatness as Queen echoed through the halls of Luxia, and since the Scarlett family were High Nobles favored by the Royal Family, there was no end to her suitors, even in childhood.

But when Celia was nine, a chance encounter in the Scarlett flower fields changed everything...

That day, as she picked flowers, a beautiful crystal flower appeared before her.

"Wah!" She exclaimed, and her eyes had followed upwards to see who held the flower.

She was met with a pair of startling blue eyes, and as the wind blew a few petals between them, it lightly teased his blonde hair, ruffling it in the process.

It was a boy taller than her, maybe twelve? Thirteen? What did she know?

"Here. This will never wilt." He said, sounding a bit sad. Then he reached down, took her hand, and placed the flower in it. "Pretty flowers belong with pretty girls."

Then he turned and ran away, leaving the flower behind, but taking her heart with him!

Celia searched for him after that, but no matter how many tantrums she threw, no trace could be found!

That is, until her sixteenth birthday, when fate brought her a surprise!

"Cece, this is His Majesty, Prince Vitav!" Her father proudly introduced, and Prince Vitav smiled warmly at her, igniting a blush on her cheeks.

'It's him!' She thought, her heart racing as she stared into his startling blue eyes.

"Cece!" Her father continued with no small excitement. "He has come to ask for your hand in marriage!!!"

The announcement left her speechless.

"My Lady, I'm so happy for you!" Her maid, Sara, exclaimed in joy. "With the Crown Prince being sickly, and the King's favor towards Prince Vitav, you'll most likely be Queen!"

Sara was right.

The Crown Prince's illness worsened shortly after, and the King decreed Prince Vitav's ascension as Crown Prince, and as the years passed blissfully, Celia and Vitav's love blossomed, celebrated by the kingdom.

Eventually, the King abdicated the throne, and he marked Celia's nineteenth birthday for she and Vitav's coronation and wedding.

The ceremony was a grand spectacle of joy, with no expense spared!

Celia was the envy of every female elf, and safe in Vitav's love, she considered herself the luckiest elf to ever live!

But as the festivities died down, she found herself poisoned and alone in the royal chambers...

Before she got her wits about, a few hooded men had suddenly burst into the room, and attacked, but she was too weak to put up a serious fight and her powers were in disarray.

So she ran, calling for the guards, but she couldn't find any... Not a single guard!

'Where are they?!' She wondered, staggering down the elaborate stairway, through the too vast entrance hall, and out into the night.

But the men only taunted, as they followed her, and she realized a little too late that leaving the palace would only make things easier for them.

Somewhere on the Palace grounds, they finally cornered her, but though she fought and managed to harm a few, she was overwhelmed by their spells, and found herself bleeding in the snow.

She remembered feeling so cold, hurt, angry, and alone, but none of those matched her surprise and betrayal, when the crystal shoe had stopped beside her and she saw her sister...

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Back in the void of death, Celia thought bitterly,

'So much for 'Predicting Calamity'!'

That wonderful and dreamlike birthday, wedding day, and coronation day had been her first Deathday, and now as she lay, or stood, or sat, or floated, - she wasn't sure which-, her memories taunted her... Reminding her she had failed yet again.

She always died on her nineteenth birthday, and had now been reborn twenty-five times, yet she still couldn't escape her fate?

Was she doomed to remain in this cruel cycle?!

'No way!' Celia thought vehemently.

Prince Vitav was clearly the Lead in her life's story, but she didn't need this type of lead!

'Next time I must avoid Prince Vitav!'

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