Angelic Lady

one - the awakening

ANGELISA WONDERED IF THIS IS WHAT IT FELT TO BE DEAD.

It wasn't necessarily a bad sensation, per se, but it felt rather... strange. Just as if she were floating on nothing, gravity no longer drawing her towards the ground, and instead far, down below her, while she floated up.

Angelisa didn't think that death would be all that bad — as a ghost, she wondered if she could perhaps haunt Evangeline. Or perhaps she might find a way to physical touch object as and people, if that were remotely possible with her misty ghost hands, and make her foster sister's life a living hell.

That, after all, would admittedly be incredibly satisfying. After all, if Evangeline had wrecked her life, who was to say Angelisa could throw hell back? She would quite enjoy to see Evangeline's face when she realizes that it's the poor girl she manipulated and murdered that is ruining her life it return.

It would suffice as a payback, right? And in death, Angelisa would make sure Evangeline's soul was thrown in the deepest, fiery pits of hell. Right where she belonged.

Then, the floating sensation stopped.

And Angelisa felt like she had been caught by the hands of gravity, who was now pulling her down — her destination above was getting farther and farther away, her soul descending from above back down to Earth... ripping through the fabric of space-time, and plunging into the atmosphere.

"YOUR WISH... HAS BEEN HEARD."

And then... Angelisa Belladour's eyes opened once again.

☆★✦✧✦★☆

"MISS, YOU'RE AWAKE!"

Angelisa covered her mouth, muffling a scream that was caught in her throat. Her shoulders was trembling. Her horrified eyes stared at her fluffy white comforter, imagining blood standing the white fabric... like how her blood had splattered across the grass after her head had been cut off by the large axe...

Angelisa choked back bile as she gagged, feeling dizzy. Blood, blade, and pain... she had died. So why was she here right now?! She stared down at herself, examining her smooth, unscarred hands, and the silk nightgown that was draped onto her body. Her hands seemed a lot smaller than she remembered.

There was no way all her wounds had healed... and she hadn't worn such nice clothes for a long time... which could only mean...

"Marie!" Angelisa grabbed the hands of her personal maid, who was watching her worriedly. Marie startled, her eyes wide. "Yes Miss?"

"What year is it? Please tell me!"

"What year? Ah, Miss Angelisa, did perhaps your fall from the horse riding class today give you amnesia?" Marie asked worriedly. "It's the 563rd Imperial Year of the Dragon!"

Angelisa's hands went limp in Marie's hands in pure shock. So she was right. She had travelled back in time. Somehow, a merciful deity had granted her dying wish and brought her back in time... she might be able to fix everything! She had gotten a second chance at beating Evangeline. She nearly started bawling, but remembered that Marie was here. The poor, confused maid would probably send her to the doctor if she started crying, and there was no need to make unnecessary movements like so.

563rd Imperial Year of the Dragon. That means... I'm eight. So this is eight years before Evangeline arrives home with Father... yes, that should be enough time to make some changes. 

"Thank you, Marie," Angelisa said, looking up at her maid with a gentle, beautiful smile, her cheeks tinting pink. 

Marie gasped, eyes wide. Ah! The young miss is so angelic!

"O-Of course, Miss," Marie bowed her head. "It is my pleasure."

"Marie, do you mind leaving for a while? My head is rather dizzy, and I would like to rest," Angelisa said with a fake yawn, clutching her head to add effect. "Please wake me up in two hours..."

Angelisa fell back onto her pillows, and as soon as she did, she fell asleep right away.

A small smile curled onto her lips as she rolled over in her bed, snuggling more into the fluffy pillows and blankets.

Marie watched this was soft eyes, was her cold, distant young miss always this cute? Marie had always been fond of Angelisa, having been her personal maid ever since she was a baby. Marie recalled those memories, when little toddler Angelisa would laugh and smile with her mother and father, who doted on her and coddled with her.

Angelisa had been the sweetest child Marie and ever seen — until the accident. A crazy commoner, drunk on his hate of nobles, had set the carriage that 5-year old Angelisa and her mother were in. In order to save her daughter, the late Duchess Parisa had protected the traumatized child from the burning debris, and while little Angelisa had been unharmed, her mother had perished.

Ever since the death of his wife, the Duke Belladour had turned from a gentle, charismatic man, to a cold, brooding man, someone nearly unrecognizable. He blamed her poor, confused, little Angelisa. Ever since then, Angelisa had also changed — she had rude, selfish tendencies, and threw temper tantrums here and there.

Marie sighed, a wistful smile flickering across her lips as she turned to leave. The other servants, which were mostly new, had only seen the bad side of the young miss, and often commented that she would be a spoiled girl when she grew up, without any proper manners. It pained Marie, but she could not convince them of Angelisa's trauma. She hoped that someday, the young miss would be able to return to the happy little girl she once was.

As soon as Marie left the room, Angelisa shot up from her bed. 

There was a lot of work to do. She couldn't afford to slack off if she was going to survive this life. Every step she took, every action she made had to be carefully and precisely planned out in order to beat Evangeline. 

Angelisa was the only one who knew that behind the mask of an angelic, pure-hearted beauty, was a cunning, cruel maniac, who enjoyed seeing all the people she manipulated and tricked be tossed around in her palms of her hands like puppets; with everything going her way.

While Evangeline certainly was not an easy foe to face, Angelisa held one major advantage point over her — she was from the future. She knew the rough outline of Evangeline's plans, and had gained wisdom in her actions through the hardships that had fallen upon her. Angelisa was positive that with effort, she could be just as good as Evangeline at acting, and would turn the tables upon her if she played her cards right.

"Get ready... Evangeline Carsela, I swear with my second life that I will come out victorious... and destroy you completely. You may think you're the perfect villainess, but that's just what you shaped me into."

With that thought in mind, Angelisa put her quill to the parchment, ink spilling out and bleeding into the pages as dark, thin, perfect curlicues of letters. 

"Your reign has ended."