Three Years Ago.
"Janice did you hear the news?" asked Elena as she came running towards Janice's room.
"What news?" Janice asked casually as she placed down the book she was reading by the window.
The day was sunny and the nearby farms that were visible from Janice's window were green and fresh. Elena opened the door with bam and that made Janice come out of the daydream she was having while reading the book of her favorite author.
"Oh! This is so typical of you Janice." Said Elena as she came in and made herself a place on the couch. She also poured some tea for herself while she was at it.
"Ok, now be quick and spill it. You know I don't gossip when I am reading." Sighed Janice as she came and sat across Elena.
"There is a rumor that the crown prince won't return from the battlefield," Elena said with a look of nervousness.
"So what? Sounds like none of my business." Said Janice coldly.
"What? Oh, hello. He is your fiancé, you know that right? You should be praying for him now that he returns well without any injuries." Said Elena with a look of warning.
"Oh! I see. I will." Said Janice without much excitement.
Elena noticed that a girl like Janice won't show much excitement on this topic but she was being rather much ignorant than she should be. She wasn't excited either when the engagement was announced. How can she be so indifferent? Were all the thoughts that Elena thought.
"Should I ask her, why she is so indifferent?" Elena silently thought to herself.
And then she took a step forward to ask.
"Why are you so indifferent about this whole thing. Don't you wish to have a fairy tale romance? Also, you are the only one who is lucky to get engaged to the crown prince, so why are you not happy?" Elena asked carefully.
"There was a silence of a couple of seconds in the room.
Janice took a deep breath and got up.
She again walked towards the window and looking up in the sky she said, "Have you ever felt trapped?" she asked.
"Hmm? Means?" Elena asked.
"Getting engaged to a man you don't even know, is nothing magical Elena. It is getting trapped. Loving a person you were forced to live with, rarely turns out to be a good thing." Janice said in a calm voice.
And tears started rolling down her pale cheeks.
"Hey Janice, it's fine. Don't worry, you'll love it, he is the crown prince after all." Elena suddenly panicked seeing Janice cry.
"There are things I would love to see, and things I don't. What I saw after the engagement was announced wasn't something that I like." Janice said with still tears in her eyes.
"What did you see?" Elena asked impatiently.
"Death." Responded Janice.
And there was a sudden shiver that Elena felt. She froze for a moment.
"What?" she asked in disbelief. "Do you mean that the crown prince will die if you both got married?" she continued.
"No, I will die." She corrected her.
Elena was shocked and there was a pale expression of fear that could be easily seen in her eyes.
Janice Tyler, the one and only child of the nouveau-riche, Tyler family.
Her father, Baron Tyler was a struggling businessman when he met her mother, Hera Tyler. Hera fell in love with him and used her witch powers to make his business flourish. Baron Tyler was a man with a sense of pride. Initially, he didn't know that Hera was a witch. They were living a happy married life, but one day when Hera got pregnant her dark powers were unleashed right in front of the baron.
That's when he got to know that all the profits he made in his overall business were due to Hera's witch power. Every witch has a different power and Hera just happened to have the power to manipulate one's wealth.
He went into depression and couldn't take in the fact. He thought of himself as incompetent. Their relationship changed after that. Janice was born. And to give her a good atmosphere to grow in, they decided to stay together and not divorce until she marries.
Thus, when the king announced that he will have Janice as the wife of the crown prince of the kingdom, Baron Tyler grew desperate. Did he love Hera truly or not? Well, that was forgotten in all chaos.
Janice, long knew this fact because the witch powers that Janice had was to see the Death of the person. And only Elena and Hera knew it. A witch was also capable of having more than one power but it always grew over time with the skills she had.
Janice saw her own death. And the one thing that caused it was, 'The Royal Marriage.'
"I need ways to stop it, Elena." Said Janice with pitiful eyes,
Elena, as a witch had the power to predict the future of the soul and change it.
"Ok, I will look into it and tell you soon about what to do." She said as she gave assurance to Janice.
"I'll take my leave, for now, Janice, meet you soon." She said as she left.
A couple of days passed and there was no letter or any message from Elena.
It wasn't like Janice expected a lot in the front place.
"I want to live. I have to live to meet him." Said Janice as again she sat gazing at the sky.
"Who?" A voice asked her. She quickly turned back to look at the door. It was her mother and Elena.
"Yes, mother? And you are her too Elena?" said Janice with a wide smile.
"Get ready Janice, we'll visit the palace tomorrow. Prepare yourself, Janice." Informed Hera.
"Yes, mother. You could've sent the message with a maid, why personally?" asked Janice politely.
"Because I wanted to ask you to come to my room after today's dinner. Let's have a good talk." Said Hera and she took her leave.
Both Janice and Elena politely bowed to her.
"Woah what was that?" said Elena with an exciting smile.
"Nothing. Ignore it and tell me what you came to tell me in the first place." Said Janice as she took the kettle to pour the drink.
"No don't pour for me I'm in a rush. But anyway, I'll tell you quickly. Follow what the Baroness says and you'll find your way." Elena said as she was about to leave.
"Hey wait, clear it up. Don't just drop hints." Said Janice.
"No, that's all I can tell you for now." She said and flew off.
They went by quietly and the dinner was also done.
Janice remembered that she had to visit her mother and so she went to Hera's room.
"Mother?" said Janice as she knocked on the door lightly.
"Yes come on in." Answered Hera from inside.
Janice opened the door and in front of her stood her mother with a glass of red wine and another one prepared for Janice on the table.
"How are you, Janice? Hope your dinner went well." Asked Hera affectionately.
"Yes, mother. May I know the reason?" asked Janice politely.
"Drink the wine.", Hera said.
Janice obeyed.
"That wine will give you one-time power to heal anyone who is on the brink of death. I hope you use this power to heal the Crown prince. I think he will need your hand for that." Said Hera with an evil smirk.
"What is she thinking?" Janice thought to herself, "But if Elena said to follow mother then I might as well do so." Janice then nodded to Hera's words.
"This time the Royal family will own a much bigger favor to us." Mumbled Hera.
"So, I'll take my leave mother." Janice bowed and left.
Janice as usual like every night sat down to write her diary entry and wrote everything that happened that day.