I gasp, sitting up from my bed with my hands around my throat. I breathe heavily, the pressure of my own weight still a sick reminder.
I died. I'm sure of it. I died... so how am I here? Is this the afterlife? I look around my room, it doesn't look any different. I check my wrist, not seeing a burn that I gained on my 19th year.
I must have come back from the dead, to the past, before my 21st year. Is that possible? I frown, unsure of what this all means. What day is today? I throw the covers off of me and walk to my mirror.
I look the same but younger. My white hair is just below my chest, longer than what I had it to when I died. My green eyes are staring into mine, dull as ever. I look at the black bags, frowning at my obvious insomnia.
A knock on my door pulls me away from the mirror and I call for my maid, Anna, to enter. "M'lady, you're awake again?" She asks as she walks to my windows and opens the curtains.
"Yes, I had a bad night." I mutter. I walk to my sofa, carefully watching her. She doesn't speak to me, our relationship very formal.
"Anna," I speak. "I would like to know what is currently happening in the city."
She pauses from fixing my bed and looks at me. "Like from today?"
"Or recently. I'm planning on going to the city so I would like to know anything that seems useful." I tell her. "Where's my coffee?"
"Matilda is bringing it, m'lady." Anna says and then taps her chin. "If you will be going out, take a guard with you. There are rumors of ladies being killed, ladies our age."
I frown, remembering this happened a few years ago. A mad killer went around stabbing ladies and committing inappropriate acts with their dead bodies. He was wicked and hung for his crimes when he was found.
"And the date?" I ask. She finishes my bed and gives me a look.
"It is four months before your 18th. Today you will be fitting for your dress." She tells me and I nod. Matilda comes into the room, the smell of coffee waking me up already.
I thank her, seeing that the cream and sugar is mixed in. I take a sip after cooling it with a breath. I smile. It's common for ladies to always drink tea, but I prefer coffee. With few hours of sleep, this lets me live on with my day.
I have my maids quickly get me ready. I bathe and scrub the nonexistent dirt off of me because I still felt as if the dirt from the prison cell was on me. Anna worried about my harsh scrubbing, so I finished and had them change me.
Once I'm dressed, I walk to my study and tell them not to disturb me unless I call for them. They curtsy and leave me. I enter my study, a room filled with books, scrolls and magical artifacts. My workplace is always messy, but I have a particular system to my madness. For that reason, no one is allowed inside.
A knock on my door stops me and I open it. Matilda, one of my maids, has a tray of fruit and more coffee for me. I grab it, thanking her and walking back to my study, making sure she closes the door behind me so that I'm alone. I grab my cup of coffee and walk to my chair. I let out a low exhale and smell the beautiful aroma. I swivel my chair around to look at the empty fireplace. I stand and head to the wall where a potion rests. I grab a small vial and throw it at the empty place and a fire slowly builds. It's not a regular fire, but it's purple and void of heat which is perfect for the summer.
I sit back down on my chair and think about my situation while looking at the purple flames. It was too realistic to be a dream. I clutch my throat. I definitely died, so why am I alive now, why have I been brought to the past? I bite my lip, Catherina will be coming on my birthday and she was the one who ended up killing me.
She may have not killed me directly, but my life turned bad because of her existence. I can't repeat that life. I want to live.
I take a sip of my coffee. I have to prepare for everything. I recall what she did. She turned the servants and the ladies in court in her favor, her personality easily able to make friends with everyone. I don't have the same personality. I frown.
I'm going to have to fix that. I scoff. How did she gain social power? She wasn't good at magic, she wasn't educated- she could only read a menu. Why on hell did everyone like her more than me?
I pause and recall my fiancé- the infamous tyrant Prince. I bite my thumb, remembering that stupid face that would taunt me as he humiliated me in public- making me look like the monster. He was insane and he shouldn't have been on the throne. He killed his youngest siblings and banished the middle child to the Northern Badlands.
Ivan started to over throw the surrounding kingdoms which was a move many people didn't agree with, especially his cousin Duke Driscol who tried to overthrow Ivan by using the banished Prince.
I frown. His cousin failed because he didn't have enough political power. Duke Driscol hid in the North and people created strange rumors about him and the banished Prince. But, maybe I can make him an ally. I shake my head. No one has seen him and he doesn't meet with strangers. Besides, there's rumors of his madness which may be a familial trait. I'll have to avoid that family.
I sip my coffee. I just want to discard the cruel Prince. Normally, I would ask to stop the engagement, but it wouldn't work. I recall the dungeon where he confessed that he only wanted to marry me for my brother.
Elric is the Captain of the Temple Knights, allied with the Temple. His knights are famously known throughout the continent, but not as good as Duke Driscol's. Prince Ivan didn't want his pathetic Imperial knights- a group who are known to lamely take anyone in. Ivan wanted prestige, but he couldn't control his cousin's army.
So, he sought a union with my brother through me. He told me that he sent Duke Stiling to the Stalken Islands where rumored gems of the gods exist. These jewels will bind anyone to the one who holds the royal blood. He confessed that with these jewels he could control my brother, his cousin and Duke Stiling.
I needed to break the marriage before that can happen. I can't have my brother bound to that mad man. I may not love him like a regular brother, but I would protect him. I would protect my family... maybe except for one person.
I look into the brown drink and think of the thing that really gritted my teeth. She somehow managed to get my father to smile. My family doesn't express emotions. My father has the same emotions as a rock, my brother and I are the same. I know it, but it doesn't bother me.
Elric and I are close in age and my father raised us with an equal education, not caring about our difference in sex. However, this lead to the both of us competing for his attention and praise. While Elric pursued the road of knighthood, becoming Captain at the young age of 16 for our army; I pursued the road of magic. I studied at the Magic Tower, being one of the strongest mages- the Master of Ancient Magic.
Elric and I were young when we wanted our fathers attention, something he would rarely give and only to one person. We were pitted against each other since we were kids, and when we no longer cared about fighting with each other, it was too late. We didn't know how to talk to each other. All we knew was competition, lying and self preservation.
However, Elric has always stood on my side, begrudgingly at that. He treated Catherina like a sister, meaning he didn't give her that much attention. I remember when I died, he ran to try and save me. At least he was expressed a familial bond in the end.
I finish my coffee, staring out at the purple sparks within the fire. I have to become close with Elric. As Captain and heir of the Duchy, he is my best bet. Father won't listen to me, but Elric... I can try. I frown, knowing I also have to work on my people skills to get everyone on my side before Catherina arrives.
Maybe I don't need anyone on my side, but maybe I need people to not see me as a threat. If I can just live long enough until I turn 21 and make everyone hate Catherina, show them that she truly is a demon...
I shake my head. Who am I kidding? How can I suddenly make people like me? I can always leave... I can get help from my good friend Francis. In my past life he was going to help me run away, but I was caught at the very last second. I'll need to make a better plan to live the life I want.
I smile. I can start doing things for myself, not worrying about what others would say. I lived to be perfect, and I was killed for it anyways. I'll say whatever I want, do anything I want and not worry about the consequences. I can talk to anyone I want like Elric. Before I was constricted with formalities, but screw them.
I think back to the past, wondering if there was something Elric struggled with that he would need my help with. I open the curtains of my library. I don't allow anyone to enter, a simple thing touched can destroy months of research. I look out the window, seeing that summer is in full bloom, the winter has faded.
Elric is the leader of the Temple Knights Army, an army that has close ties with the Temple. For that reason, Elric is devoted believer. While he is the Captain of the Temple Knights, there are three big armies of Galea.
The main army is the Imperial knights, anyone, no matter of status, can join the ranks and boost their own family name. Captain Stiling looks over the Imperial army, but he doesn't do that much nowadays. Elric is the Captain of the Temple Knights. The third army, the Northern army, commanded by the Duke Driscol which specializes in defense against the monsters in the Northern border.
Elric, Captain Stiling and Captain Solon should be working together, but a fight in their youth created hostility amongst the armies. I personally did not care, because their fight meant very little to me. However, the Crown Prince hated it. He needed the three Captains to be friends or at least acquaintances, otherwise it could lead to a civil war.
I bite my lip, wondering if there was anything I could do. I sigh, not knowing anything useful. I sit in my seat, a pile of papers looming over me as I sit very low. What to do, what to do. I turn my head to the side and stare at an old portrait.
It was an old painting that had poetic meaning. It was a portrait of some lady who was a martyr to the gods. I cock my head as an idea comes to my mind. I stand up, walking to my impressive bookcase.
I get on my ladder, knowing the precise documents I need. I've read everything at least once, so I know everything that is in my library. I throw the necessary books to the floor, loud bang after bang as I grab the books I think I might need. Once I gathered everything and I start to read over it.
I look down, knowing that this plan of mine needs to work. I need a reason for him to work with me, only then can he trust me.
I recall that Duke Stiling was a traitor to the country, giving out weapons and armor to our enemy. He did it for wealth, but he condemned his family to death for it. I never really liked any of them. The daughter was a bitch and the son was a cruel commander. They deserved to die.
I also know that Elric hates the Duke. But, the Duke's traitorous plans were found a few months before my own death. If I tell Elric to look into it now, the Duke and his family will die and I can have some breathing room before the Prince can send someone to find the jewels.
Yes, that's a good plan... but how do I talk to my brother? I guess over tea? I huff out a slight chuckle. Would he even come? Well, I'll extend the offer.
I grab a random piece of paper and write an invitation to Elric, asking him to join me for tea. Once written, I walk outside my door and call for one of my servants in my wing. She comes and listens to my instructions. I tell her to send this to my brother and to tell Anna to arrange for tea in the garden. She curtsies and runs to follow my orders.
I close the door behind me as I enter my study once more. I sit on one of my chairs overlooking the garden and think of my allies.
All my friends are... eccentric. Milo is the Grand Mage of the Magic Tower. He's a little older than me but he already is as crazy as a 200- year old hermit. I write him a letter, asking to meet with him in the near future.
I stand and open my window, grabbing the whistle near the ledge and blow into it. After a few minutes, my carrier pigeon flies in. I tie my letter to her leg and send her to Milo.
Once Milo meets with me, we can talk about how I came back to the past. He's crazy, but incredibly intelligent. He'll help me understand it all and he'll be on my side. I grit my teeth as I close my window, he has to be.