Given a Second Chance (Hiatus)

The Road to the Fall

Placing my hand at the area of contact, I can only stare wide-eyed as my cheek started to sting. Then, as abruptly he arrived, he left without a word. While I was still in a daze, Felicity quickly came up to me.

"Miss Camille, are you alright?" Worried at my lack of response, she placed her hand on my cheek. "That jerk, it wasn't only that commoner that got hurt, our young lady was in a comatose state for days!" Looking angry, Felicity spat out a few unkind words. "But, I always thought that Mister Alexander was such a kind guy. I wouldn't have ever believed he would've raised his hand against a woman," she muttered to herself.

Finally waking up at her words, I quickly asked, "Felicity, who was that bo- I mean, man?" Whoops, I need to remember that I am currently 17, not a woman in her late 20s. Felicity seemingly has forgotten about my state of amnesia, chuckled nervously.

"That was Alexander Ashwood, your fiance. He is the son of the Prime Minister, who holds the most powerful position in this country besides the King. Well, I only arrived in the Duke's manor a few years back, but I heard that 10 years ago, at your first meeting, Miss Camille immediately fell for Mister Alexander. You begged your father for your engagement. Luckily, the Duke and the prime minister were the best of friends, so your engagement was quickly arranged." As she told the story, Felicity looked a little envious. Hey, you were just cursing at your idol moments ago!

I gave it some thought. Being the wife of someone so powerful certainly gave me an advantage and his looks were a definite plus as well. On the other hand, there was no way I would get any kind of peace. There will always be women jealous of me, and I will always be in danger of kidnapping for ransom.

It was best that the engagement was annulled. This way, I can achieve a peaceful life. Having a stranger as a fiance would have been a pain too. And it isn't like this is truly the medieval times where women had to rely on men. With magic, as long as one is talented, they should be successful. Although the news for my water specialty was disappointed, I would make the best use of it. But what I didn't understand was...

Felicity had most likely thought I had gone crazy, as I had gotten too distracted by my thoughts in the past minutes to respond to her. She attempted to rub my head, trying to find any injuries while asking, "Are you alright?" So it was understandable that she jumped an incredible height when I called her name.

The pain in my cheek had gotten quite worse; it looked like he used a bit of his strength in that slap. "Felicity, why'd he hit me?" As a noble, for a man to hit a woman would have been an atrocious act. He must have been furious to slap me instead of calmly canceling our engagement. I was curious at what 'Camille' had done to her dear fiance.

Hearing my words Felicity froze. She quickly looked down, as if I could read anything from her eyes. She slowly turned, and right when she was about to bolt, I grabbed her hand. I gave my you're-not-going-anywhere smile. She chuckled nervously. 

"Let's go to my room and have a nice long chat, Felicity," I said.

"I'm sorry Miss Camille, it looks like I forgot to do my chores to-" "It can wait." With that, I slowly dragged her back into the mansion, or home is it, while she begins to sob. Felicity, you should just give up. When it comes to information, I will stop at nothing, you know?

XXXXX

Felicity had finally calmed down by the time we reached my room. It was probably due to all the weird looks that the other maids had given us on the way here. Hey, you could have just gone peacefully with me!

I had grabbed a chair for her -I know- and sat her down. She looked like a nervous wreck, staring down at her hands, not meeting my eyes. 

I sighed. Time to play the pity card. "Please, Felicity. I want to know what happened. You have to imagine if you were in my shoes. I have no idea who's who, for goodness sakes, I don't even know my own name! And while I was recuperating, a stranger comes and slaps me for doing something I can't even remember! Don't you feel even the littlest bit of sorry for me?"

Felicity slowly looked up. Gotcha. Meeting my puppy dog eyes, she wavered for a few seconds before sighing. 

"Ms. Camille?" Oh, this is the first time she gave me such a serious look without any fear. 

"Yes?"

"Do you promise you won't get mad at me?"

"Of course." It's not actually me you'd be badmouthing after all. 

Felicity gave another sigh, before speaking. "Before you woke up, let's just say, you weren't a very good person." Don't doubt it. "Whenever something didn't go your way, you would become violent, either verbally or physically. You once fired a maid for being prettier than you." I giggled at that. Whoops. 

Ignoring me, Felicity continued. "But it was always worse when Mister Alexander was involved. You had removed any girls that gotten too close to him, whether getting them expelled from the school, or having someone to attack them, frightening them off." I whistled. What a frightening girl, though I wish I had some of her courage. 

"For some reason, your fiancé never said anything, though you weren't exactly discreet. It wasn't until a few months ago, that things started to change. Although commoners in Bluebell Academy weren't a very rare sight, there weren't many of them. Alice Bell was also unique."

"Unique?" Somehow, she sounds like a protagonist of a story.

"Yes. Her element was light, found in one in a million. Although her talent seemed to be mediocre, there hasn't been another light user in over a century, so she was accepted into Bluebell immediately. From then on, chaos ensured. For some reason, Mister Alexander took a liking to her." Looking at Felicity's frown, it looks like she really doesn't like this Alice girl.

"Whenever you tried to get rid of her, Alexander would come to her rescue. Then, you came up with a very elaborate plan. You tried to get Alice angry, and pretend to get injured by her. Then using her name, you would get her expelled. Unfortunately, you were unable to get angry, and instead attacked her, ending in both of you falling down the stairs," she finished. 

Wow. So, it looks like Alice is the kind protagonist who falls in love with someone she can't reach, but the villainess tries to break the happy couple up, falling into a state of hysteria. In the end, she will be punished for her actions, allowing the couple to live in peace. But, I am that villainess now. I need to do something.

"Why did Alexander wait until today to break off our engagement? He could have done it 5 days ago, when I had first woken up," I wondered.

For some reason, Felicity had all the answers. "It looks like that Alice girl just recovered today and came to school for the first time in 2 weeks. I heard she had gotten injured pretty badly in the fall, which is probably why your fiance was so angry." I see. I was going to wait for a little longer, but it's time.

"Felicity, it looks like you're an Alexander fan," I started. Felicity started blubbering, but I interrupted, "But I am putting my trust in you, and you should do the same. Though the knowledge is very useful. Tell my father I am ready; I will go back to school tomorrow."

A/N: Ahhhh. I am starting to approach the part where I start slowing down. Gotta persist! Also, if anyone has name suggestions for nobles, please comment! Thank you so much for reading, you guys give me the motivation I need.