🏮1. Born to be Cannon Fodder

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Amber looked down at Cray wriggling on the floor and then stepped on her chest. "No matter in which life, you would be the cause of my death.  Even if I have nothing to do with you, you will still pursue me.  Why should I remain still? This is the only help you will gain from me," Amber said while pulling out her giant scissors.

Cray's eyes widened in horror. "What will you do?  What will you do to me?"

As Amber leaned down, while holding the scissors above Cray's neck, Cray screamed.


Two months earlier...

Amber woke up screaming.

She sat up quickly in bed while breathing heavily and patting herself down. She'd just been the victim of a hit and run.

She was on her way back from celebrating her medical school graduation. It was an interesting experience to get drunk with the knowledge of what she was doing to her body. She wasn't used to drinking, so it went straight to her head. She'd been in no shape to drive and she wasn't far from home, so she decided to walk.

She remembered the beautiful night full of twinkling stars, crisp air, feeling like she was on top of the world, and the slow motion shock of seeing that shiny black convertible speeding through the red light as she crossed the street. Her mind barely had time to register what happened before she was hit and went flying through the air.

She didn't feel pain at first. She just felt numb and weak. The only thing she could move was her violet eyes. As her life spilled out onto the pavement, she heard the car that had destroyed her, speed away. Her mind used her medical knowledge to tell her everything that was wrong with her, as her blood covered the road. Her dark brown hair, white dress, black graduation robe, and her limbs were splaying in an odd sort of macabre abstract art. No one was in sight and no one was coming to her rescue.

She knew she was going to die alone and was filled with regrets. Everything She'd accomplished had been solely to gain her family's approval and love. She'd done nothing for herself, she hadn't even had her first kiss. Every friend she'd ever had, had moved on from her. She was too serious, too focused, and too boring. She'd graduated with honors, but alone. If only she could have another chance at life and to have someone care about her. Her eyes closed in resignation as she saw a rose colored light.

Amber's heart beat wildly in her chest as she squeezed her bed coverings in her fists. Her eyes rapidly scanned around the dust covered bedroom. It looked like a derelict c-drama movie set.

Her heart slowed down and she loosened her grip on the bedding. She sat on a large wooden bed against the wall. Raggedy gray curtains were hanging from it. She peeked out and coughed as a cloud of dust billowed out from the curtains. She stumbled out of bed, got her foot caught on the curtain, and slammed her face into the floor.

"Ouch," she squeaked pathetically and rubbed her little nose as she stood up. She patted her face in confusion and quickly walked over to an antique vanity on the other side of the room.

She looked into the brushed metal mirror and saw a pair of large violent eyes stare back at her in shock. She was pale as the moon and had long straight silver hair that reached her feet. Amber had a cute little nose and beautifully formed lips. She would be stunning if half of her face wasn't marred by a hideous red rash.

Amber looked over as a squeak caught her attention. She saw a short curvy blonde girl, wearing a plain long gray wrap dress, and basic sandals. She nearly broke the door the way she shoved it to the side and strutted in like she owned the place.

"I've brought your breakfast, Lady Arabella, here," she said while holding out a silver tray with food on it. She promptly tilted the tray onto it's side and dropped everything onto the grime covered floor.

"Why didn't you take the tray? My goodness you're clumsy." Amber's personal maid grinned. "Try to be more careful in the future so you can stop shaming your family. Enjoy the rest of your morning, but don't even think about disrupting me for the rest of the day. I have a date with your fiancé and he promised to spoil me." She didn't even bother looking at Amber before flinging the tray across the floor and walking back out the door.

Amber stared at the nearly broken sliding door with shock on her face. Not because of her rude maid, because everything clicked together when she heard the name Lady Arabella, and thought about the angry rash on her face. As difficult as this situation was for her to comprehend, she had transmigrated into a side character from a novel she'd read.

Her mind tried to convince her that perhaps she was just in a dream. However, a part of her knew that this was no dream, because this world was far too real. The colors around her, the stale taste in the air, the dust as it floats across a sun beam, birds twittering in the distance, and there were people quietly chatting from an unseen room. This strange reality was as real as anything she'd ever experienced. She could not explain it other than that this must be her new reality and she should make the most of it.

She'd woken up as Lady Arabella Amber Frost, the eldest daughter of Baron and Baroness Frost. She was a side character who was murdered early in the book, 'Duchess Dash'. She wasn't a particularly important character and was mainly used as a stepping stool for the protagonist. The only reason why her character stuck in Amber's mind was because Arabella's middle name was Amber. In the novel, Lady Arabella, was the eldest daughter of an impoverished Baron who lived on the outskirts of the kingdom.

In 'Duchess Dash,' Baron Montgomery Frost rarely came home due to whoring and gambling. His wife, Celine Frost, was an alcoholic who neglected their two children while pining after her uninterested husband. Their son, Ethan Frost, was their youngest child. He was mysteriously found drowned in a well at the age of six. It was clearly murder, because he couldn't have gotten into the high well on his own, but they never investigated it.

The protagonist in Duchess Dash, Cray Silver, was the youngest daughter of a praised medical family in the empire. She had started medical training early and was considered a prodigy. Her skills had been widely praised, until she caught the eye of the Emperor's Nephew, Duke Dreyfus. Cray's marriage had been arranged to the Duke, when he managed to capture a dragon for the First Prince. They ended up happily ever after.

However, Arabella ended up dying by beheading due to covering up for Cray. Cray said that she would come rescue Arabella, and then she would heal her facial deformity. She forgot about her promise while running away from the Duke's advances. Arabella was captured, tortured, and finally ordered to be beheaded by the Ice Emperor for a crime that she hadn't committed.

Amber put her hands to her open mouth while her knees collapsed. She'd transmigrated into a book that she's read as the cannon fodder side character.

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