The Fallen Petal (BOOK I)

Chapter 7 : Labyrinth of Fate

WARNING: This chapter mentions gore, blood, and decapitated head.

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"Princess! Slow down, you'll get hurt!" The little kid's nanny shouted as she raced her way to little Elvira. Nanny Sandra is carrying a basket filled with fruits and snacks. She lifted her skirt as she ran towards the energetic little Elvira.

"Nanny, quick!" The kid laughed as she zoomed across a grassy field of the dukedom.

Sandra paused, running out of breath. The kid saw this, so she ran back towards her nanny. She looked at her, concerned.

Nanny, are you okay?" Elvira asked.

"I'm..." the nanny said, reaching out her hand to the kid. "...alright, princess."

Then everything turned black. Shouts can be heard around the child. The grassy field changed into red-blood liquid. The nanny who once took care of her in place of her sickly mother looked up to her. Her eyes were looking at her eerily. Sandra's eyes started to bleed.

The kid shouted in horror. She looked around and saw three dead bodies lying around. Her mother, her father, and her brother were lying unconscious.

Then, as she turned her head back to her nanny, she was gone. She only sees a crown-a bloody one-in front of her. Elvira picks it up, and blood startsto crawl around her arms, as if engulfing her awhole.

"THAT'S MINE! GIVE IT BACK!" A voice that sounded as if two people were talking at the same time shouted from the darkness around Elvira. It sounded familiar, but the other voice overlapped it. "Everything you have, everything that you own, should be mine!"

Elvira's surroundings suddenly shook, making her lose balance. She fell on the bloody floor, making the blood splash on her white nightgown. She drops the crown in the process, making it roll away from her.

A man stepped out of the shadows, his face was vague. His clothes were those of an aristocrat, and he carried a sheathed sword on his waist. The crown stops as it hits the man's boots. He picks it up and puts it on top of her head. More blood rolls down her head from the crown.

Then, the man unsheaths his sword and plunges it into her stomach. She dropped to the floor. Now she's fully soaked in blood.

"Pitiful..." the voice whispered into her ear as she heard them walk towards the man. "A curse is a curse after all."

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I woke up in bed, breathing heavily. I sat up straight and felt a stream of tears run down my cheeks, some already dried, some still fresh.

I looked down at my hands. For a second, I thought it was soaked in blood.

That dream again.

Since the time I saw my parents die, I've been having these weird dreams. Sometimes, when the man places the crown on my head, another man goes up from behind and stabs me in the back.

A shadow from the window suddenly appeared. I turned to see where the shadow came from. A man in black, holding twin daggers, entered through my window.

"Oh, what bad timing," he said as he looked at me.

An assassin.

I got off my bed quickly as I ran towards the door.

"Lady, let's make this quick." His footsteps can be heard going near me. "It was your fault to begin with. You shouldn't have stuck your nose everywhere."