I had a dream after I blacked out.
I was in a garden of rainbow flowers, running through it with a man dragging me by the hand.
I felt happy, and I cried in that dream. It felt too real to be the future.
I never get to see the man's face, but his warmth and scent are always there.
I jolt out of bed, and I find the fifth prince and Felix next to me.
"Crystalia." The prince's voice breaks. "Crystalia... you scared me..."
I stare at him. Who was Crystalia? Wasn't she the mc of the story? Why was he calling me Crystalia? I'm supposed to be some witch in the forest... wait... is that why I have to go to the duchy in 2 years- wAIT SHIT MY HAIR-!
"Would you like to hear a story?" Felix takes one of my hands, and he smiles sadly. His tears glimmer under the light.
"... sure...? Why are you so sad?"
"There was a girl we all used to know. She did a lot. She..."
"Please shut up." The fifth prince groans. "Anyways, I've been trying to reach you about-"
"Your car's extended warranty <3" I snicker.
"A girl who looks exactly like you keeps appearing in my dream. I also received a dream on the night of the eclipse." The prince stares at me.
A what on the wHAt day???
"The eclipse themselves showed up in front of me. I can't say much, but I was told to find a black-hairred maiden with golden highlights and starry eyes." the prince stares at me. "I only found out it was you after you fainted and the spell wore off."
Guess my mana endurance is still an issue.
"So? Am I getting kidnapped? Because if I am, I'm leaving." I smile. "I have two years until I'm supposed to return to the so-called Villarreal duchy. The duchy should know."
The prince stares at me. "Do you enjoy living on your own?"
"hell yea I do," I grin. "I get to brew potions, talk to commoners, listen in on nobility rumors amongst the commoners, and figure out what things need to be changed in the case that I am a nobility."
The prince stares at me, and I smile. "So? Anything else?"
"Then... how do you feel about heading to my duchy to become the healer-"
"Nope," I groan. "You nobles always think you can get your way just by offering money and forcing us into corners! Please just me stay in my cottage for two more years before I go back."
There was a lie I told earlier. I do know I'm Crystalia. I know I'm the duchess of Villarreal once my parents step down. I know I'm nobility. It's the exact reason why I keep my hair black when I leave my place. The biggest lie the commonfolk know is that the Villarreal duchy's daughter is delicate and no one has ever seen her. Crystalia is allowed to go out into the villages in her normal hair so no one recognizes her.
And the eclipse's blessed one? In the original storyline, Zachary was decided to be the one, but the sun sniped him before his daughter could bless him. Crystalia became the eclipse's sister after she was killed. A solar eclipse, and a lunar eclipse. The only human who had ever ascended to join the sky. The original Crystalia... yeah I'll just call her a Mary Sue. She was everything I ever wanted to be. Haah... and did my memory end up wiped? Yes and No. From the dreams so far, I know that I was with someone romantically, but I don't know who it was. His face was always blurred.
But I know who the blurred man is. I know exactly what my past was because I wrote this universe with my own hands. I know who I used, and I know why I used him. Maybe he had fallen for me, but I had never let myself accept him either. He was destined for the girl I wrote for him, and that was enough.
IGNORING ALL THAT!!! I don't wanna end up with the fifth prince. I also don't wanna move houses, I like living in the woods.
"Miss witch... you realize that we could burn you at the stake right?"
"Yes," I smile. "But I helped you capture the first prince and you're not becoming emperor anyways. Neither am I in the endlands where you rule. So fifth prince, how do you suppose we do this?"
The prince sighs. "Then please allow me to-"
A dark mist engulfs him, and something tells me not to interfere. Magi hides behind me, and I stare at the mist. Ah. That was how the eclipse delivered messages and talked to her blessed ones. I remember now. Technically in the original story, Zach was the one who was supposed to receive that.
"The daughter Eclipse." I mumble.
The girl who was supposedly helping the fifth prince out. Then I realized, it wouldn't hurt to a s s e r t m y d o m i n a n c e. sorry.
The mist transforms into a raven, and I stare at it.
"The witch of the forest greets the daughter eclipse." I nod at the bird.
"I'll cut to the chase," The bird's voice is hoarse. "Return to the position that was originally meant for you."
I smile at the bird.
"You know better than anyone that I don't bend for the universe. The universe bends for me."