The gloom upon my eyes passes and I see… Him. Tall, horrifyingly strong with broad shoulders and scars covering his face. Giving him a quick glance I can feel my limbs going numb from fear and… excitement. A wave of goosebumps travels down my spine.

From head to toe he is dressed in black royal velvet with a few inserts made of dragon's skin here and there. At the same time I am dressed in a thin layer of silk nightgown. The fabric is cold to the touch.

"Are you ready?" he says. "The wedding altar is up and ready, hurry up." His words are sharp with no hint of gentleness in them. He holds out his hand. A ring on his ring finger brightly shines under the light - the same ring is placed on my finger. We exchanged them three hours ago at the ceremony.

Lowering my gaze I notice an odd pattern on my wrist, the exact same that can be seen on the man next to me. The mark of Fate. It is rare to be brought together by Fate, however, I am lucky enough. Right?..

There are only a few feet separating us, just a few steps… I am trying to reach forward, but can't, my bare feet are glued to the cold flooring of the castle, I can feel dread gripping my throat.

Behind the man's back there can be seen the altar in the shape of a long bed, it is decorated with bloody symbols of the Caesarius clan. His species.

"Why aren't you moving?" A toothy grin is covering the man's face. "Isn't that what you wanted?" "We wanted," I correct him, "We…" He completely loses his patience, approaching me he yanks my hand abruptly pulling me closer. Strong arms are hot to the touch, the clasp around me is firm, nonetheless, there is not a pinch of tenderness nor affection. The smirk is back on his lips, he pushes me toward the altar and watches me from above, eyeing me almost like a predator eyeing his prey. "Take this off," he demands.

I start pulling onto the nightgown under his calculating gaze, my movements are awkward and shaky, the fabric slips through fingers. Isn't that what I wanted? This kind of first night as newlyweds? My feelings skyrocket from sorrow to happiness. We finally got married! Just another ritual and we will be a real fated couple! I will become the next Queen of Ruanda! So why be regretful? I am so in love with this man… so in love…

"But you are the only one in love" a tiny whisper in my head states. "There is so much love in the heart of your future fate, yet this love does not belong to you, but to that rotting bitch Elisa, to that wolf in the sheep's skin!" "No! No, no! We are a true couple! We are destined to be together!" I argue to myself and do not believe my own words.

The man could no longer wait until I shred off the fabric, so he decides to snatch off the nightgown like it's worth nothing. He pins me down, hot breath burning the skin. I let a half sigh, half moan leave my lips and close my eyes in order to avoid that evil grin addressed to me. Just for a bare second I want to forget all this and imagine that he is fully mine. "Alan and I… we will be together. Him and I. We are destined." The thoughts never leave my head… the thoughts that are so far off from the truth… At this point I don't even know that

From this moment on I have only 10 days left until I will be brutally murdered by the hands of my True Love.

I am Victoria Sableford, the villain of this novel…

***

"No!I won't let this happen!" I decide to myself, bringing myself back from the memories. The sight of the wedding altar slowly fades away, and I am once again back in my room… or I rather say in Victoria Sableford's room, in whose body I transferred after getting involved in a severe car accident.

It is hard to explain to what extent I was surprised to find out that I am no longer a regular university student but a character from my favourite fantasy novel! Yet, not the protagonist in the face of Elisa, the most kind and innocent person you could ever imagine, but a main antagonist, an annoying and envious Victoria Sableford, the evilest character imaginable, whose destiny is to be killed by the hand of her True Love.

"Hell no!" I decide to myself "I ain't going to die! Screw that destiny rubbish!"

Thank God, I am yet to meet my Fate. I will do whatever it takes to never cross paths with him, especially knowing the entire plot of the book. Though, if we do meet at some point - I will never fall for that man fate or not! If I am to live in this world, I have to change the ending for the villainess and find a way to return back to my normal life!

***

I think I just died…

I can't quite recall what happened… The past few days in my old world are covered in fog. The last memory I can think of is the blinding flash of lights and then… unbearable pain, a smell of burnt tires and a sense of oblivion.

The first thing I see upon opening my eyes is a woman I've never met before, dressed in a funny hat. She is leaning over me carefully studying. I am placed in a bed with a canopy, golden walls and furniture are shining under the sun rays reflected in a large vitrage mirror.

Pulsing pain fills my head. "Victoria, you are awake!" a quiet mutter coming from the woman. Her voice is tainted in amazement and… disappointment?

"Who are you? And where am I?" I managed to utter. Thoughts are racing through my head with no speed limit. This doesn't look like a hospital, so where am I then? Who is this old woman dressed up in a black and white attire? "I am your maid, young lady. This is your fathers property. Oh, I need to report to the Earl of Lemeria your awakening, you scared all of us!"

"...huh? What happened?"

"I wish I knew! Three days ago you were found unconscious in the backyard. You were… You were almost…" She falls silent as if she wasn't sure whether this is something I should know. "What?" I demand. "This is ridiculous! The horseman is certain he saw you up on the roof, as if you were about to jump, but it's impossible."

"I don't understand..." Quiet whisper lingers on my lips.

"Me neither." The maid nods "You would never have done anything like this, Victoria. Not you." For a brief moment I can feel a contempt undertone in her words. Immediately the maid gets a hold of herself. "Yes! It is not possible! There is barely a scratch on you! Although you wouldn't wake up, your brother even went to town to get a shaman. I will contact him shortly to let him know there is no need for shaman any longer! Though, what truly happened? How are you feeling?" The maid finished off her monologue.

"I-I… don't remember anything…" I barely manage to state, it almost feels like the mouth does not belong to me. Tears slowly start to build up in the corner of my eyes. " What is going on?" Panic is crippling down my spine. "Cou-could you please pass me a mirror?" I ask. The woman slowly nods, she stretches her hands holding a tiny round mirror, I gently lift it up to a head level and see…

A layer of smooth pale skin nearly shining from the inside covering the face, full bright lips, and eyes as deep as an azure ocean. What a beauty… but how? How did this happen?

With soft touches I examine the face, the hair which is silk to the touch, nothing similar to my real hair…

"My Godness, what a beauty…" Slips from my lips.

The maid is giving a skeptical glance, it seems like the body I currently possess wasn't the most pleasant to the woman, yet this is no time to evaluate their relationship.

"Your beauty is truly legendary, Victoria."

Suddenly a line from a novel "Story of the Lost Daughter" comes to mind, and the words are so clear in my head as if someone whispers them to my ear.

"Victoria was just as charming, as corrupted on the inside. Although her eyes are captivating to men, her poor manners and awful temper turn them off. Not a single person could endure Victoria's company for long. The woman was surrounded by flatterers and gossips."

"Please...Please, leave me alone!" I insist with a shaky voice.

"Of course… but if something…"

"Do not come back until I say so!" I raise my voice.

With a small nod the woman silently disappears behind a door. A second barely passes until I jump out of the bed, dizziness and weakness invading the body. It takes half an hour for me to come to my senses and the same amount in order to figure out that I got relocated into the world of the novel "Story of the Lost Daughter". Though not in the body of the main character, but rather a villainess. Right here and right now everything seems to be too real, I even pinch myself and the pain is very much present! However, there is still a chance that all of this is just a sick joke… Or my imagination… What if I fell into a coma after the car accident? Or lying unconscious? Yet, deep in my heart it feels so real, there is no way for dreams to be so realistic!

Damn it! Damn it! damn it!!! How did this happen? Thoughts are racing in my head while I have a look around the room. "Not only that, but I also ended up in the body of the main antagonist of the book!" Cold from apprehension I investigate a Magical Wall Calendar. According to the calendar, the Villain aka Victoria has exactly three months to live from this point on.

In reality my name is Kate. I am an ordinary student more on the "nerdy" side, nothing exceptional, living off of scholarships, a part-timer in an "off licence" shop, dreaming of a bright future… I was in love only once, yet was brutally betrayed, ever since then I promised to myself not to let anyone inside my heart. And why the hell fall in love in real life, when I can read all these love stories? Win-win. And as you have probably guessed by now my favourite love novel is a fantasy story about a lost daughter named Elisa called "Story of the Lost Daughter".

Elisa lives in poverty, yet manages to keep a good heart, which helped her to develop an ability of healing magic. The main character alongside Elisa is a horrendous werewolf Prince called Alan, the eldest son of the Caesaurius clan, the heir. Elisa typically falls in love with him at the first sight, alas what a bad luck! Alan finds his True Love in the beauty of Victoria Sableford. In the upper class society Victoria is well known for her unbearable temper and a lack of good manners. Behind her back she is called "mad lady". This seems like the end, because nothing can withstand the Fate since it is such a rare thing to happen.

Seeing the relationship between Alan and Elisa, Victoria gets greedy, she would do whatever it takes to bring Elisa's innocent character down, once almost killing the rival. Consequently Victoria turned to the forbidden black magic, trying to cast a spell of oblivion on Elisa and a love spell upon the Prince. She would blackmail Prince's father in order to insist on an early wedding, however, the wife's status could not save her from an inevitable end. Eventually, Alan sees through her facade and learns how far rotten Victoria truly is, and after another attempt at hurting Elisa the Prince pierces Victoria's heart with his own sword. Yet, this is not as simple as it seems, because according to the law if your True Love is killed, the other heart dies as well. Nonetheless, the mark disappears from Victoria's wrist and appears on

Elisa's. In the end Elisa and Alan get married, have wonderful children and live happily even after. The end.

As a child this book was gifted to me by my mother, though I only read it for the first time as a teenager, this is when my fondness for love novels was born. Back in the real world I dearly loved the book, so much that I would bring it along with me everywhere I go. The book was my lucky charm, it helped to heal my broken heart, yet in the end it turned into a curse…

"Alright… Stay calm." I say to myself. "There are two options: reveal my true identity to everyone in the book. However, this has consequences that probably consist of putting me in an asylum. The second option however is more appealing, it is to proceed as is, and treat this as a parallel reality. And if this is my imagination, playing with me, I by no means will make it worse."

I am not planning on dying either way, yet the thought of living in such a beautiful body drowned in luxury, knowing no trouble suits me well.

"Though what am I going to do with my murderer? According to the plot we are about to meet soon at the ball." Then it dawned on me. "I just won't approach him! He will meet Elisa and they will live happily ever after just like the book says! All I have to do is to hide my mark of True Love. Easy peasy!"