A Second Chance at Life

Chapter 4

I was trying to live an invisible life but when I wrote some letters from what I've learned about the language here, everyone seemed stunned. Turns out, this world doesn't teach at an early age and I screwed up. Learning the language wasn't difficult, maybe because I still had brains from my previous life. Speaking of which, I wonder how I died. did I overdose myself on sleeping pills? or did I freeze to death in the middle of winter for not turning on the heater? Anyway, it's not like I want to go back. Save for the part where she dies, Athanasia's life is like heaven on earth. The Ruby Palace is isolated from the outside world, so stories about the little princess of Obelia being an intellectual wouldn't spread easily. 

I pull out the bag in which I hid the goodies from under the bed. I was stashing these away in the Ruby Palace for a while but a few days ago I heard the maids talking about cleaning the whole place. So the moment I'm all alone, I take these pretties out and tie them around my thighs under my dress and walk all the way to the place I found while picking the flowers in the garden after Lily tucks me in bed for my afternoon nap. I'll just have to make a few back-and-forth errands until I'm all safe. I stop near a darker and wider tree and rest my palms against it to catch my breath. Shit! How am I going to dig? Lily will know if I use my hands. I'll have to leave it here for now. I'll ask Hannah for a toy shovel. I run my way back to the Ruby Palace after dropping the two bundle bags under the tree and lie back down in my bed. My legs hurt too much. A while later, Lily enters to wake me up. "you're sweating, princess." I open my eyes lazily, pretending to wake up from the slumber I never had. I've become quite a good actress considering my stay in this world. "Looks like you have a light fever," she examines. "it's hot in here. There's too much sun," I make an excuse. "Is it summer already?" She looks out the window right behind her. "I'll put up the curtains tomorrow." I exhale a sigh of relief. I'm too tired. Even my throat is drier than Sahara. "Athy wants a glass of cold milk," I make an appeal. "But you drank some before nap time," Lily acquiesces. I know I did but I never had my nap. 

I ran out of Ruby Palace a few more times. Once every few days so I don't get caught. To be honest, I'm happy with how I'm living right now. I want to stay like this forever but within these walls lives a ticking time bomb named Claude. So these little trinkets are my backup for that dreadful day. Again, I wandered off to my hiding place but I'm not heading for the landmark tree today. Let's say, I want to explore the place today. Not a single soul I've ever seen here whenever I visit. My steps take me further into the depths until I see golden little cupid sculptures. Now this is remarkable. This is made of pure gold while everything in my Palace is that of marble. There are too many of them. If I take one, no one will notice, right? The shiny metal got me in a trance that I couldn't take my eyes off it. But it wasn't hard to notice the tall shadow looming over me from behind. "What..." The deep voice behind me takes a pause, flinching my very being, "Is this filthy bug doing in my Palace." He finishes and I turn around instantly to discover a tall stature of a man in royal robe. Even though I've never seen him in the flesh before but, from one look at his face, I could swear on my life it was Claude himself before me. The same jeweled eyes as me.  Behind him, stood his red-headed knight. The bundle bag I brought with me, clangs down on the marbled flooring. My precious stones rolled out of the confines of the bag but I couldn't care less when the serial killer of a bloke stood right before me. "That face," He begins again and every syllable that falls from his mouth confirms my one step closer to death, "I've seen it before." His expression cold when he looks down at me as if I'm a rag picked from the streets. "Was it that dancer from Siodonna?" He takes a pregnant pause before concluding, "You look like that wench." I don't get what he is saying-- I don't want to. What bothers me the most is, what is he doing here? I'm only 5 years old, not 9! and this isn't the Emperor's garden either! "Then again, it doesn't matter who you came from." He reaches out and tilts my face up with his finger on my chin while I stand petrified before him. "Your majesty," says his knight. Probably concerned of what is swirling through his skull. "And I think I remember what that wench named you," I stood stoned to the ground as he concludes, "I believe it was Athanasia." He closes in on me, bending at the waist. My heart drums in my ears loudly, fading the world around me. My jewel eyes glued to his cold ones while my hands trembled even after my best attempts to curl them into tight fists. 

In the Obelian Empire, a name related to immortality is only permitted to an official heir to the throne only granted by the emperor himself. On the day of the Ruby Palace massacre, Claude was planning to kill Athanasia. But the heir's name Diana gave her daughter was amusing to him. Thus, he spared Athansia's life to see how long she could live according to her name. "You've grown a lot." He crouches down in front of me. What is that supposed to mean? Am I old enough to be killed? What is wrong? He was written to ignore Athanasia. What's with the attention?! Another bundle bag of richies falls from under my dress and the tiny gem rolls to his feet, creating an awkward silence. Shoot! That were my no. 7 and no. 8 bags that have fallen before him today. Sweat trickles down my hairline. Is he going to kill me for stealing? He stomps on the little ruby and shatters it into pieces before his palms close in on me. Is he going to strangle me to death? If he can break that gem into pieces, I'm nothing to him. My heart begins to claw its way up to my throat when his hands descend down but instead of grabbing my neck, he grabs me by my armpits and lifts me up. huh? "You're heavy." What? What does he...? "You have really chubby cheeks but I didn't expect you to be this heavy." Chubby? Heavy? I mean, after ignoring me for all these years, why are you talking to me? You're a cold hearted bastard! A dirtbag who only loves Jennette and doesn't even consider Athanasia as his daughter! "Now what were you doing at my Palace?" Wha- Your palace? So this is the Emperor's Palace? 9-year-old Athanasia entered the Emperor's Palace because it was this close? Am I going to die? Are you going to kill me for trespassing? "She must've wandered off during playtime, Felix." He tosses me off to his knight, Felix, I suppose, "Carry her." He walks away in the distance. "I should have some tea with my guest."