[Ongoing]
"Why is being myself harder than anything?"
Qing Lin closed her eyes. A girl whose smile gave off the effulgence which seemed to light the diminished world around her. A girl who held such purity in a world surrounded by happiness. A girl...
Lying on her bed was the demon princess, staring at her creme-colored ceiling. Her eyes were clouded- clouded with distrust, hope, resentment, and misery. That was only until she heard the screams and the commotion just outside her Villa. Finally coming out of her bed she walked to the window to have a look. Her eyes widened when she saw a familiar sight, lavender flames spreading within her Villa. Her eyes which were clouded with different emotions now only held terror.
Don't.
She desperately looked for a place to hide. Funny that she was a demon, immune to pain and fear. Only the thing hiding in the depths of the imperial palace could kill her, nothing else. Then why was she, almost immortal, so scared?
I don't know.
She never knew. It was just an illusion residing in her ever since childhood, but she could never get rid of it. It was like a beast, waiting to devour her.
She crawled and hide beneath the bed. But that didn't help, when her door creaked upon. She held her breath. Suddenly, it was quiet. Too quiet that she could hear her anxious heartbeat.
What am I scared for?
Right, what was she scared for? If something happened, she had the skills to defend herself. She even had a knife hidden in a strap around her waist. She was well-trained with assassination skills, sorcery, and curses. Her strength was almost equal to her brother. Yet.... she clutched the silver necklace around her tightly. The necklace glowed faintly in the darkness. It brought calmness and warmth to her heart.
Only until what she feared appeared. Before she could let out a scream, darkness overcame her and she blacked out.
The sight of the unconscious princess lying beside the bed, surrounded by the flames greeted Esperanza when she entered the room.
Esperanza never had a positive mind. While seeing the lifeless princess, with bruises and wounds on her body, the first thought that came to her mind was: dead. Somehow, there was an ache in her heart. Her eyes felt hot with stinging pain as if she had an urge to cry.
"Haaah." She let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm crazy. Cry, and me? She's just injured. She's a demon, how can she die.....?" She muttered under her breath.
You're expecting her to be alive.
"Shut up, I'm not." Esperanza snapped back at the familiar voice, the spirit she knew for almost 12 years. (A/N: It's the voice from the previous chapter.)
Play all you want. I'll be there to watch how it ends.
Esperanza ignored the voice and walked forward. She was born as a descendant of the Ilamas duchy, a child of the flames. Flames could never harm her. Bending down, she touched the right side of the princess's chest to feel her heartbeat. As expected, she could feel a faint, rhythmic heartbeat. Demons have their hearts fixed on the right side of the chest. This is confidential information and defends them from heart-aimed attacks.
"Urghh..." The princess groaned and rubbed her forehead when she opened her eyes. "What the heck....?" She muttered when she saw a girl with silvery-white hair and blue eyes. She racked her brains and finally realized who the girl was. The young lady of the Ilamas Duchy.
When she saw the girl's hand on her chest, she immediately shoved it off and stood up.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" She screamed, her ears which were hidden by her hair were secretly crimson red.
"Checking your heartbeat," Esperanza said bluntly. "But seems that I didn't need to check it, seeing you how woke up with such enthusiasm," Esperanza added to avoid suspicion because the information about the heart was confidential.
The princess ignored her words and checked her silver necklace, which was perfectly intact and not harmed. She let out a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Esperanza had a clear look at the necklace. It was a simple one: with silver lining and a snowflake pendant.
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However, the princess held onto it as if it were something dear to her.
But it is none of my business anyway.
"Follow me," Esperanza said. "I'll get us out." The princess narrowed her eyes at the sentence.
"Why do you care?"
"Because you're useful," Esperanza said, not making a single effort to hide her true intentions.
"I'm.....useful?" The princess stuttered, sheerly astonished. Nobody had said this to her. Harsh truth, she didn't even know whether she was useful. She never considered herself worth it. Gripping the hem of her nightgown, she lowered her eyes and softly asked, "How? Everyone knows I am useless."
"In my eyes, you are a gem. Maybe, you think I'm just spouting nonsense but time will prove." Esperanza extended her hand. "I don't care about your opinion. Accept my offer if you are sensible, I will swear upon the Ilamas duchy's honor that I would not let single person harm. If you don't, then I'll only force you. This time, I'll make things go my way, no matter what."
The princess tried speaking but words would not escape her lips. Dark spots danced before her eyes. Before she could state her opinion, she fell to the cold ground. The sight of Esperanza indifferently staring at her as she blacked out was what she last saw.
A/N: Took quite some time to publish this. Anyway, now the past below is completely unrelated to the plot, and feel to skip it. Of course, everybody except four12345
Hey brother!
Don't know when you will see this. Just going to say, "Happy brother's day!"
I've always been grateful to God for giving me a good brother like you, who cares about me. However, don't take this for granted and irritate me.
From your beautiful, kind, loving, and adorable little sister.
That's all, Bye-bye.
(P.S: To avoid misunderstandings, I'll tell you guys that user four12345 is my elder brother.)
