[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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Esperanza grunted as she sat up, rubbing the back of her hand. The fall had been too searing, it seemed. What a welcoming way to get back to her body. As she massaged the back of her head, a feeling of pleasure stirred within her- she could finally feel her touch. She neared the mirror and looked at her reflection. She couldn't help but smile as her hand traced her reflection.
After everything, she was finally back to her original self, in the place she belonged. Her place... spitefulness seethed within her. Her place had been stolen away by those people. Now that she is back, she must make them pay. She smirked. The retaliation she had been longing for so far yet... ah, how sweet the feeling was to have it in her hands. Esperanza then heard a few, soft mumbles, and turned to her left.
A girl with striking blue hair was curled up in her bedsheet, mumbling in her sleep. Esperanza faintly recalled her- Précieuse, the daughter of Duke Obscurité, the sister of the man who had wrecked and demolished her life. Esperanza sat on her bed, beside her, and stared at her sleeping, serene face.
I remember... He loved her a lot.
Her hands touched her neck and promptly formed a grip around it, strangling her.
You should feel the pain of love as well.
Précieuse's breathing turned precarious as she gripped her bedsheets harder and her face turned blanched. She didn't show any signs of resistance, but her tormented face reminded her of something which happened way back when she had lived her previous life. [A/N: Original Esperanza's previous life.]
Précieuse's face had been the same- a face of despair and oppression the day the crown prince made the fact clear that he couldn't give her the love she desired. That day, the day moment he had turned around and walked away, Esperanza remembered that Précieuse had an anguished face. But, unlike Esperanza, Précieuse hadn't lowered her dignity and pride by begging him to stay.
Eventually, her grip loosened.
Funny how similar they had been, desperately chasing after someone they loved but their feelings were never reciprocated. They had been pictured as an evil villainess by the world. But nobody truly understood what the root of their atrocity and hideousness was. But that was only in her case. At the very least, Précieuse had a brother who nevertheless stood by her side and never failed her. She even had the courage to uphold her grace and dignity even though she had been rejected. But what about her? She had nobody; that person had left her side and failed her trust.
No. I don't anybody.
Yes, that's right, she convinced herself. She didn't need anybody. Not after all of that. She retracted her hands and gazed at Précieuse's face. She caressed her face lightly.
"This time I hope you'll let him go and find someone right for yourself... But I know nothing's going to change for you this time. I'm sorry, even though I know how it'll turn out, I can't help you. I'm sorry, it's your brother who forced me into this. You shouldn't have loved him so much. No, he shouldn't have loved you as well. At the very least... if both of you had never cared for each other, maybe, just maybe, I would've changed your path."
The Next Day.
Sitting by her seat, Esperanza could feel the distant memories of her life at the academy- her loathsome and sickening life, rushing back in. Everybody was chatting and gossiping happily with their friends, but she was the only one sitting alone. She focused on her book to distract herself. Just then, a girl who was far too familiar in her memories, a person she could never forget, settled beside her and smiled at her.
"You seem to be enjoying the book?" Athlos Hiver, the princess of the demon clan asked. For a moment, Esperanza was deeply astounded to the point of being speechless. She couldn't bring herself to believe that the person in front of her was real. She might've even touched her to ascertain, but she stopped herself because there was no fact denying that she was real. Esperanza was right back, in her young body, in the past. She smiled.
"So-so," She said and closed the book. "A bit funny, a bit over-dramatic, a bit typical but a bit interesting too." She smiled. The princess was surprised. Because, usually, Esperanza would've stated her opinion in two simple words; good, or bad, and always ended her sentence with the formal title, 'princess'.
"But Athlos, do you have any idea from which section of the library I picked this book up? I happened to forget it." She asked. Now the princess was stupendously surprised; till now, Esperanza was insistent on being formal. However, this time... she took the initiative to drop the formalities. But that didn't matter because it was something she had longed for so far from the moment Esperanza woke up.
"Maybe it was Section 38?" The princess took a rough guess.
So she's not sure too.
Esperanza nodded with a small smile. She had already anticipated that she might not know because Qing Lin had always kept a long distance from people; even before and after the amnesia. There was no way someone like Qing Lin would let her guard down easily. But... She looked at the princess. Now, only she was here. Back to her rightful place, back to the side of her lovely friend. This time, at all costs, before Qing Lin might find a way, she would achieve her goal and protect her simultaneously.
