Splash!
The pale tiny arms attached to Viviana's body helplessly thrashed around, her legs kicking in an effort to bring her head to the surface. It wasn't long until her muscles began to ache and the little energy she had would be all used up.
Her dark violet hair swam around her face, loose waves and curls nearly became straight and curved around her body.
Her frilly laced white and baby pink dress her uncle had designed for her heavily clung onto her torso, the fabric weighing her deeper and deeper into the dark waters.
Vivana's teal eyes watch the bubbles of air escape her lips and the water immediately trickle through her mouth and burn into her lungs. Her nostrils stung as the liquid found its way into them, both her airways filling up with the treacherous water.
Tears welled up in her eyes, only to blend into her surroundings. Her arms and legs gave out. She could only watch as she sunk further and further away from the light above the surface and deeper into the depths of the water.
Her vision began to darken, her eyelids growing heavy and everything felt light...
Everything felt... right.
Maybe she'd feel better if she took a nap. And when she wakes up, she'll swim back up— like a... like a... like a mermaid! Yes, exactly like one! Mother always told her she was as beautiful as a mermaid! And when it was time for bath time, the maids always told her that she was the prettiest, most beautiful mermaid princess of the seven seas!
Little Viviana closed her eyes... and slipped into a dream.
✨💖✨
"Hey, drive safe, okay?" A feminine voice stated, as the sound of the maroon car door closing lingered in the background. "The roads are pretty icy."
The blue haired woman outside the car looked at the black-haired sunkissed driver with a worried and gentle look. Though today lacked the sun's rays, the dyed hair woman's complexion was pale with a hint of peach. Her skin was gleaming! Though that might have something to do with the fact that she put on her new highlighter on this morning, but that's not important.
The driver smiled at her friend, her dimples peeking through her beige cheeks.
The car was a gift from her elder brother as a reward for passing her driver's test over two years ago. Though she couldn't explicitly say that she could drive it when she wanted to until she started university, it was her's now.
Her brother made sure to install new tires before the snow hit a month before, so she was cleared to drive on icy roads anyways. There was no need to worry.
"I know," the driver replied. "See you tomorrow, Lisa! I'll text you when I get home."
Her friend, Lisa, face rosy from the cold, waved her goodbye before entering her home. Only when the driver had watched her friend close her front door did she put the car back into drive and sped off into the white snow.
It didn't take her long to get home, she made the precaution to take the backroads due to the weather and the roads. The young woman carefully parked her car in the driveway before gathering her belongings from the backseat and exited the maroon car.
Click! Beep, beep! Click!
The sound of her car locking was such a satisfying sound. The sound of knowing that your baby was safe— how reassuring!
The clinging and jiggling of metal keys filled the cold air as the young woman failed to correctly penetrate the keys into the lock of her front door. Only two seconds later the door suddenly slammed open, revealing a man in his late twenties with short messy black strands and serious black circles under his eyes. His beige complexion seemed pale to a worrisome degree and his dark eyes dead.
"Why does it take you so long to open the door, you weirdo?"
The younger woman blinks furiously, insulted.
"Why does it take you so quickly to open the door? You're the weirdo, weirdo!" She softly shouts, walking into their home and scuffing off her sneakers.
"I heard you struggling, ugly."
Her elder brother shuts and locks the door behind his younger sister and follows her into the living room, where she discards her keys on the key hanger.
"I didn't pick up any food on the way home and I'm gonna take a shower and then nap."
She looks at her brother with tired eyes, only for it to be reciprocated.
"I picked something up before I got home, it's in the fridge."
His younger sister's face immediately takes a 180 and lights up so brightly that there are sparkles floating in the very air between them.
"For real?! Aw, thanks, Leo! I love you! You're the bestest big brother ever!"
Her petite arms attempt to wrap themselves around the taller man's waist but not before a longer and stronger arm pushes against her forehead, preventing her from colliding with the older man.
"Ew, go away! You disgust me. Go take your shower, stinky."
"But I love you!"
"You're so ugly! This is why you have no love life!"
The younger girl gasped and took a few steps back.
"At least I'm still young! There's hope for me, unlike you, ugly!"
Leo gasps in return and she only crosses her arms with a shit-eating grin on her face.
"First of all, it's hard getting into a new relationship when you're in your late twenties and heading off into your thirties; not to mention when you have a little sister who is an ungrateful little spoiled brat, you age ten years."
"Hmm... So, what you're saying is that... It's not my problem!" The younger sibling mocks, her finger pulling down her lower eyelid and her tongue sticking out.
Her brother's eye began to twitch. The air surrounding them darkens into a pitch black. The room feels even colder than it was outside... The hair on the girl's back rises. She quietly speeds off into the dark hallway and into her room.
"Layla, you... you little shit! I raise you on my back for over ten years and this is what I get in return?! Go to your room!"
"I'm already in my room!"
Slam!
Layla throws her belongings onto the taupe carpet and then herself onto her thick lavender sheets.
She pulls out her phone from the back pocket of her jeans and taps open her Instagram app. Her thumb mindlessly scrolls down her feed, pictures of her favorite Korean idols, makeup tutorials, nail tutorials, and memes.
She needed a to shower but that could wait. It wasn't like the shower was going anywhere.
Her dark orbs read, 'BTS announce world tour 2022,' and a glimpse of happiness blooms in her heart. Okay, maybe if she apologized to Leo, he'll let her go to the BTS concert... with his money. Ideally. She is a broke college freshman after all. And it's not their argument was serious and heartbreaking anyways... at least she thinks it wasn't...
Her thumb continues to scroll down until she reads, 'Love Candy otome game company announces R-18 release of Chamber of Roses, as its seven-year anniversary!'
The 19-year-old girl's dark eyes widen before blinking furiously. Her thick brows scrunch together.
R-18?
R-eight-fucking-teen???
Layla cringed, her face jumbled together. Waves of disgust overcame her, who in the hell authorized this? Her childhood memories were on the line here! Who thought this was a good idea?! Call the chief, 'cause this ain't it!
«The Chamber of Roses» was her first otome game, the game that took her... otome virginity. It was about a young girl, Sara Rosaline Arden, the illegitimate daughter of Viscount Arden. Her mother was a commoner and had recently died. On her deathbed, she told Sara to go to the residence of her father, Viscount Arden. Sara revealed to the middle-aged man about her mother and he immediately adopted her into the household. It wasn't hard to see the resemblance between father and daughter, for both had pink orbs, the symbol of the Arden family.
And so, Sara started attending the prestigious school, The Garden. It was filled with students of nobility and royalty from neighboring countries and the kingdom itself.
The capture targets were all incredibly good looking!
First was the Crown Prince of the Asor Canina Empire, Athanasius Adonis Asor-Canina. Wavy platinum blonde locks and crimson eyes. His complexion was a light bronze and he bore a small mole underneath his right eye. His character was gentle and compassionate; a true fairytale prince.
The second was the second prince of the Asor Canina Empire, Amari Jacinto Asor-Canina. He had red straight locks in comparison of his elder brother and matching red orbs and skin complexion. He was a laidback character, who looked up to his brother while having an inferiority complex against him at the same time.
The third was Lowell Celyn Armstrong, son of the commander of the Imperial Knights. His short black hair, shining sapphire eyes, and tanned complexion only heightened his character as a future imperial knight. Loyal to a fault and filled with righteousness on the behalf of the entire empire.
The fourth was the eccentric magician, Narcissus. He was an orphan and thus had no last name. His hair was a long silvery white, tied behind his head in a low ponytail. His eyes were a golden yellow, like the pollen of a flower, and his complexion was pale. His personality was filled with humor and mischief. Out of the entire characters, he was the funniest.
The fifth was the son of the Prime Minister, Eric Clement Garrison. He had golden blonde locks and garnets for eyes. His complexion was a light tan and his face had angel kisses scattered upon it. He had a quiet and gentle personality and was always looking out for others. He was the mother hen of the group, making sure the other capture targets and Rosa slept and eat well.
Lastly, was the genius commoner turned noble, Antonio Elias Rivera. With his short wavy brown locks, baby blue eyes, and a tanned complexion, it was without a doubt handsome. Though born an orphan as well, he was adopted into the Rivera family by the elderly Duke Rivera due to not having an heir. Antonio did not disappoint, as his studies were always the best and grew into the role as the next heir very quickly. He was class president due to his grades. As the best friend of Eric, he had a serious and aloof personality.
It was as if it was yesterday, when she gathered up all of her allowance from all of her hard work of doing chores and getting good grades; asking Leo to take her to the game store to buy the game the entire internet was raving about. Okay, it wasn't the entire internet, making just online friends she had made from a secret chat group she infiltrated without her uncle and brother's knowledge. But it wasn't that bad, all the people in the chat were 12-year-old girls just like her!... Right?
Anyhow, she found herself immersed in otome games thanks to that chat group. How she entered the group chat and such were a total mystery; she herself couldn't remember how she got there in the first place.
Maybe it was because she was the youngest child and the only girl in the family had her exposed to the ideology of princesses and true love. After all, princesses always found their princes and always had their happy endings.
And being a spoiled child who was obsessed with those and being presented to the internet? Disaster. Princesses everywhere! Princesses this and princesses that!
"Google, where and how do I find my prince?"
"Google, is true love real?"
"Google, how do you find out whether or not you're a long lost princess from a faraway land that's currently in peril because they're missing their long lost princess and in the middle of a power struggle that may it may not cause a major civil war and tear the nation apart?"
Ah, the memories... children really had it good, don't they?
Ping!
A text from Lisa broke Layla away from her thoughts and her nostalgia.
GodIWishIWasLisaFromBP: Did you make it home safely?
Oh, Layla had totally forgotten to text Lisa! Her nimble thumbs quickly shot back a reply.
GodIWishIWasntADumbBitch: Yeah, just home. Took the backroads. Got in a fight-but-like-not-really with Leo because I made fun of him being single at his age... that's not a fight fr FR, right??? Anyways, gonna hit the showers.
GodIWishIWasLisaFromBP: ...
GodIWishIWasLisaFromBP: wtf
GodIWishIWasLisaFromBP: k, just tell me after u get out of the shower
Layla sighed and threw her phone onto her sheets and jumped off her bed. Her dark mid-length hair swayed with her body as she gathered her towel and robe before walking out of her bedroom and into her bathroom.
She locked the door behind her and removed her clothing. She turned the faucet on and waited until the water was smoking before entering.
Thoughts gathered into her mind, flicking at a fast pace as she let the hot water run against her beige skin.
'Will Leo really let me go to the BTS concert if I apologize?'
'There's only one way to find out...'
'But do I really want to find out?'
'Do you really want to go to the concert?'
'...yes.'
'Then go fucking ask, you dumb-dumb.'
'You right, you right. My bad, my bad.'
Layla turned away from the water for a moment before grabbing the shower gel and her loofah and began to wash her body. The two parts of her continued to argue and speak to each other about random things. She couldn't keep up with her dumb self.
'Man... I can't believe that they're actually making an R-18 version of my childhood game... like that's just kinda sad...'
'...Bitch, we both know you're gonna buy and play it. You 19 now, you a grown ass woman now, sooo...'
'... And what about it? Don't expose me, bitch. I just want to see how it's gonna be like, ugly.'
'And what about it? I can expose you cause I'm you, ugly ass bitch.'
'Shut the fuck up—'
'—You shut the fuck up—'
Layla rinsed her body and turned to get her shampoo when suddenly, her foot twisted and landed on her other foot. She lost her balance and fell head first onto the wet bathtub floor.
The last thing she saw was the white walls of the bathtub.
She closed her eyes and slipped into a dream, never to awaken.
✨💖✨
The sounds of a woman wailing and a man sobbing filled the bedroom and the eardrums of the young girl.
Viviana's turquoise orbs slowly fluttered open, her violet lashes framing her glassy eyes. The tears overflowed her eye sockets as a burning sensation blooming in her lungs intensified.
The room was large, it's interior was as if it was a room from The Palace of Versailles, decorated in gold and marble. The fabric that draped over the walls and the curtains were a rich violet and pale turquoise, embroidered with gold trimming and lace.
The sheets she lay on were a beautiful pale pink with white lace trimmings.
She cried out and looked at the wailing woman on her left, and the memories of her two lifetimes cane crashing down.
This was her mother; her beautiful face red, swollen, and wet from crying. Her violet strands were tied in a bun and her dark lashes stuck onto the edges of her eyes from all the tears. Her small nostrils were rosy and her lips were pink, contrasting the color of her golden irises. Her face was pale and her beauty mark on her cheek only pointed out how pale the woman was.
"Mama!" Viviana sobbed and reached over to her mother.
"Mimma!" Her mother's voice shook as she called for Viviana and scooped her into her frail arms.
Her mother held her close and tight, a hand running down Viviana's dark violet waves. Viviana couldn't contain her wailing anymore and let them escape from her sore, dry throat. The tears rapidly ran down their faces.
The child shook, overwhelmed by her sorrow and could only wait until she had calmed down to breathe properly again.
"Mimma," a low hoarse gentle voice called out to the child.
Viviana gently pushed her mother away to look at the man who had sat on her right from the moment she had awoken. His turquoise orbs were glassy and rimmed red, his straight nose was touched red, and his dark brown hair was neatly slicked back with a few little baby strands framing his handsome bronzed face. This was her father.
"Papa!" She cried out and like a spoiled child, she crawled into his large strong arms. They wrapped around her so quickly and held her tighter than her mother's did.
"Oh, Mimma!" He cried back to her. He released her for a small moment, his large bronze hands gently grabbed onto her small face and he immediately brought over his lips and pressed him against her chubby tear-stained cheeks. He kissed her on her forehead, her nose, her eyes, everywhere on her tiny chubby face.
"Oh!" Her father suddenly exclaimed, separating himself from his daughter. "I must go get your big brother, Vincenzo, now you've awakened, mimma!"
He gave her one last kiss on her cheek before running out the door. Viviana returned to the embrace of her mother, who gently rocked her side to side and softly humming a lullaby.
Her mother's pale slender fingers carefully combed through her dark violet waves and Viviana listened to the soft thumping of her mother's heartbeat.
"Vivi—" a youthful voice called out in the doorway, only for it to be interrupted by the shushing of the matriarch of the family.
The youngest of the family had fallen back asleep in her mother's arms, her breathing soft and steady.
The preteen was only three heads shorter than his father, their looks mirroring each other, though Vincenzo carried over his mother's beauty mark on his left cheek and his dark violet hair was loosely combed to his right, baby hairs framing his face.
The young boy slowly walked over to his younger sister and copied his mother by running his hand through her hair. After a few minutes, he caressed his hand over Viviana's chubby face with a soft smile and tears brimming his turquoise orbs.
His sister was alive and that was all that mattered.
The young boy didn't bother stopping the hot tears from falling down his face.
She was alive.