Not Giving Into Fate

2. Morning Plans

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.