2024 Story Collection

Reborn To Give The Villain a Redemption Arc

"You may now kiss the bride," the High Priest of the Western Kingdom says, and the prince does just that.

It was all so surreal to see Jane's sister make it down the aisle next to the Eldest Prince and soon to be king.

Jane had played a major role in getting them together. After all, that's what a supporting character is supposed to do, support the male and female leads, helping them to get together, to have their happily ever after.

This wasn't Jane's first life. She had died and been reborn into the story that had made her famous. She had done her job perfectly. She had helped them get together and defeat the main villain. The only problems?

One thing she hadn't anticipated was just how cruel her family and those around her would be to her about her goals after the end of the novel.

And she loved the villain.

She doesn't quite know when it happened, but at some point she fell for Salvador.

She had tried to write him to be a character you wish you could root for, someone you can help but like, but also that went too far to get what they wanted. She had succeeded.

Her fans loved Salvador in a way people loved bad boys and tragedies. They were obsessed with him and desperately wanted a redemption arc for him. They wanted a happy ending for him, so much so that many wrote fanfiction about it.

She also wanted a redemption arc for him and had written the next book all about that, scrapped it and rewrote it again. In all, she rewrote the book a dozen times, but before she could complete it, she died.

She was mugged and cooperated, but the man had still decided to kill her. She had remembered in her final moments while she bled out on the sidewalk that she didn't think about friends or family-she didn't really have any, anyway-she didn't think about how much she wanted to live on, she thought about how much she wanted to give Salvador a proper redemption arc, about how disappointed she was he'd never get a proper one.

It had taken her a day to regain her memories of her previous life and Make sense of everything around her. Luckily Jane, her new body was sick with a fever, so her family dismissed her strange behavior.

The people around her begin to stand, bringing her back to the moment.

She stands as well, following the other attendees out of the church. She waits till those around her are distracted and slips behind the church into the oldest graveyard in the Kingdom. She sneaks in a mausoleum and moves a small panel. She squeezes through and crawls through a secret corridor.

She wouldn't have much time to get this done. She had to be quick.

She made her way down the claustrophobic passageway that lead into the old sealed off catacombs that ran under the whole city and castle. She snuck over into a small hole in between two walls. The gap was maybe 8" wide and as tall as the room. If she hadn't created this world and known where to look, it would've been nearly impossible to spot without running a hand along the wall. This passage would lead her along the wall shared with the cells of the castle dungeon.

She shimmies her way through the narrow passage for a while before finally coming to where the last cell should be, the most secure one, and uses her magic to phase through the wall. She'd gained the ghostly ability after her death and rebirth. She hated how it made her feel, so she avoided using it. It tickles.

She looks around the pitch black cell, the only light being cast from a small hole in the door for the guards to look in. It cast light over the face and upper body of a man hanging from the wall by the shackles on his wrists and ankles. His head hung low as his chest rose and fell rapidly.

She walks into the light, her heels clacking on the stone floor. He looks up at her, his eyes sharp and curious.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" he asks.

"You don't recognize me?" she says, ignoring his last question. "I'm hurt."

"Jane," he growls. "Here to gloat?"

"No," she says. "I'm here to give you an offer."

"I decline," he snaps before she can say more.

"I wouldn't dismiss it so fast," she tisks.

He just stares at her for a moment before he nods for her to continue.

"I can't give you revenge in the way you wish," she says. "But I can give you something better."

"And what is that?" he asks, trying not to sound intrigued.

"I can help you become a king. You can build up your country to be one that could rival this one. You could build something better that your brother ever could. You could prove you were the better choice for the thrown."

"I want them dead," he spits.

"No, you want them to suffer," she clarifies. "What greater suffering for them that guilt and regret?"

"Guilt?" he laughs. "Why would they feel guilt?"

"Because they think you to be a monster, that's how they justified locking you up like this," she says, gesturing to where he hangs on the wall. "If they find out that not only are you a capable leader but also that you can run a kingdom better than your brother, then it might make them question things. It might make them question if they really had any right to take the throne back from you. Maybe they'll wonder if all this was their fault."

"She's your sister," he says. "Why would you help me?"

"Because I want to see what you can do when you are no longer tied down by this kingdom." She turns. "And as for my sister, she may be family by blood, but she always thought so little of me. I want her to regret underestimating me."

He doesn't try to hide his intrigue.

"What do you want from me in exchange?"

"I want to become the queen of that country and build an army unlike any others. I want to show my sister that my dreams of being a military leader is not just a foolish daydream."

"That would mean we'd be married," he says.

"Yes, the ultimate betrayal to all those who think me weak. You are a great leader. I will make you a great king and our kingdom stronger than any other."

"You are a frightening woman," he says with a smirk.

"Do I scare you?" She asks genuinely.

"A bit-"

"Good." she smiles like a Cheshire cat. "Now, do we have a deal?"

"I have one condition," he says.

"What is your condition?"

"I want to own all trade from this continent to the surrounding ones," he says. "I will need your knowledge of languages to help me accomplish this-"

"Deal. I was planning on that, anyway. It's far too good of an opportunity to pass up. The isle is currently owned by a kingdom with a weak army, weaker navy and a pathetic excuse for a ruler. 

Give me a year to build our military and I will personally hand you the rights to that passage on a gold platter. Then we can negotiate deals with the other continents to be exclusive importers and exporters of all goods."

"You are quite the woman," he says, admiring her. "How could those idiots not see it?"

To be continued...

February 23, 2024