The Villainess is Back for Vengeance on the Empire

The Beginning of The End

NORAH

"I didn't do it! I didn't do it!"

"Please don't kill me."

"Spare me, please."

The cries of the prisoners begging for mercy as they got dragged away towards their faith was a shattering feeling. I know I would be next as I lie on the filthy floor of the imperial castle's dungeon. My body is malnourished to the point I am now just skin and bones. My lips are severely chapped from dehydration. My once radiant skin is now dull and dry, along with my now brittle hair. I scoffed; it's all because of them.

My misfortune started the day I arrived on this earth. My family is famous for our blond hair and blue eyes, the marks of a member of Count St. Elise. So, imagine everyone's shock when I came with my father's blue eyes but my grandmother's purple hair. Then, to add insult to injury, my father never wanted a girl, especially a purple-haired one. So, on the day of my birth, I was disowned and abandoned. Growing up, I was an outcast, which subjugated me to my family's daily abuse, both physical and psychological.

Being a child craving love, I constantly tried to prove myself to my parents, hoping that it would help improve our relationship, but as fate may have it, they just viewed me as an obedient dog. I started my education and swordsmanship at the early age of 5. I used to push my little body until it would collapse, and the result of this was I got sick often. No one would ever come and look after me when I was ill except for the headmaid. But her only task was to see if I was dead or alive. Other than that, I was left to suffer alone.

My oldest brother Raymond would harass me every day he could, all because he knew neither one of our parents would care. I always looked to my second brother Desmond for help, but he pretended I didn't exist. I was constantly pushed, hit, kicked, pinched, punched, whipped, and, on occasion, dragged by my "family" and even maids. I was treated like I wasn't human in a place I was supposed to call "home."

Most of my suffering was caused by Ramona. She was the family's pride and joy. She had everything I didn't. She held our father's and mother's attention and had the blond hair and blue eyes that Dad adored so much. I watched as her, mom, dad, and my two brothers were a family, while I was cast aside. I remember crying myself to sleep most nights, wondering, "How can they accept her so easily and not me?" They would all go on family outings together and leave me behind. They would play together, and I was never allowed to join. They also would eat together as a family, and I was never called to the dining hall until after they had left. I was envious of her.

She had complete control over everyone to the point that she had me kicked out of the main building when I was 5. I remember crying and begging my mom and dad to stay that night. It was always dark in the building I was sent to, and I was horrified by the dark, especially since no one would be in the building with me then. The memory of that night is forever burned into my mind.

Me: "Mom, Dad, please... I'm begging you. Please don't send me there. I'll do anything; I'll sleep on the floor in a corner of a room or even the hallway. Please don't send me away."

I was on my knees begging them with tears flowing down my face that night. My parents watched me prostrate on the floor before them. I was hoping they would take pity on me, just this once, but my father came over to me and kicked me across the room.

Father: "How can you be so... SELFISH AND UNGRATEFUL?! YOUR SISTER DOESN'T WANT YOU AROUND HER, AND QUITE FRANKLY NEITHER DO WE! TO IMAGINE I HAD RAISED SUCH A DISOBEDIENT BASTARD! GET HER UP AND BRING HER AWAY THIS INSTANT!"

I looked at my mom as I was curled up in a ball on the floor, sobbing. She looked down at me but returned my gaze with pure and utter disgust. A maid got me up, and I was placed in the back building.