'....The grey clouds were heavy, ready to burst. A drop of rain fell on her nose as she looked up and groaned. Her bloody footprints were left behind on the Rocky ground and the hem of her gown was covered in dirt. However, the only thing she was focused on was the child in her arms, warmly wrapped in a silk cloth. She never wanted it to be involved in this. She groaned and cursed at the sky. She heard sounds coming from the forest behind her. There was not much time left now. She ran as fast as she could into the forest and climbed up a tree, hoping they wouldn't notice. She heard the knights approaching and her heart raced. And as expected, they didn't think to check in the trees. Who would expect a noble lady to climb up a tree? She cautiously got down, making no sound. She ran deeper into the forest and saw a small cave. Her lip quivered as tears threatened to fall. She was going to do something horrible. She cautiously explored the cave. Her vision blurred as she kept the child on the floor of the cave.The child as if knowing that it was going to he left behind, started crying. Immediately, she heard a few noises near the cave. She immediately shushed the child with a few kisses. 'Please....' She requested the child tenderly. Answering the mother's plea, the child became silent. This was the last time she would ever see her child. But there was no time for goodbye. She quietly muttered a prayer, her hands glowing faintly. As soon as she finished, She ran towards the cliff in the opposite direction of the cave, with a make belief baby in a silk cloth full of twigs and grass. She would keep her child safe. She would keep her promise.... '

Cynthia woke up and groaned. The strange dream had been ruining her sleep since the past month. She had no clue about the woman in her dreams, but she did feel pity for her. Quite awake by her strangely vivid dream, Cynthia decided to start her day an hour early than usual. She made her coffee and decided to check her emails. It was the usual office stuff, but there was an anonymous email that stood out. It was an empty profile account with some random numbers for the username. She curiously clicked on the email.

Her eyes widened, and a wide smile appeared. She kept on re reading the email, entranced by it.

'Congratulations! You have won 1st place in the 'Christalis Novel writing competition' hosted by the author of 'Not A Happy Ever After' The prize

money of 200 $ will be given on 12th of February. Thank you for your wonderful perfomance. We will be waiting for your presence at the Ophelian Stadium at 9am in the morning. Further details with the travel expense will be sent on this email.

Our company would also like to sponsor you. Further details will be discussed in person.'

Cynthia pinched her cheeks, wondering whether her eyes were playing tricks on her. She could finally escape. Her thoughts wondered to a memory she had tried her best to forget. Her head crashed against the glass and blood was dripping down her forehead. She snapped back to reality gulping a glass of water.

But now, she had achieved something that could change the course of her life. Her black and white life had now gotten the splash of colour it needed.

Today was a day for celebration. Cynthia mentally revised her schedule for the day. Get a nice breakfast at Thalia's cafe, walk to her office and submit her letter of resignation. She had been waiting to throw that in her boss's face.

After a while of flinging the letter across the room, Cynthia got ready to leave. The door clicked shut and she walked towards the cafe. A tiny bell rang as the toor opened. Rosie the manager of the cafe greeted her as she walked in.

'The usual?' Mary asked her.

'No. Lets change it up for today.' Cynthia replied grinning. Mary was surprised by Cynthia's smile, instead of her usual frown.

'You look happy today. Perhaps....Did the results come today?' Mary asked, slowly realising. 'At what rank did you come?' Mary questioned curiously.

'The first! It's hard to believe isn't it.' Cynthia answered, her grin widening.

'Woah! Congratulations! It's not that hard to believe. Everyone here knows how hard you worked for this!' She said flashing an excited smile.

'Congratulations Cynthia! Well, today's order is on the house, for your special day. To Cynthia!' Rosie cheered, raising her empty coffee mug.

'That's really sweet of you Rosie.' replied Cynthia. They would always support her and cheer for her. After her breakfast, Cynthia said her goodbyes and happily skipped down the footpath, humming a song. Her office was a 10 min walk from her house so she never had to take a taxi before. She entered the familiar building, her nose high, and the corners of her lips curling upwards slightly. She barged straight into her boss's office and threw the letter in his face.

'Hey you, you bi...! Come back here! Is that how you treat your superior?!' Her boss shouted. In reply, she showed him a middle finger and smirked on her way out. She could here him cursing as she exited the building. She punched the air laughing hysterically and celebrating her newfound victory. She got a few weird glances but she didn't mind that. She was finally free.

......

'Miss it's your stop! Please get down!' She drowsily rubbed her eyes and woke up. It took her a second to full grasp the situation. She apologized to the Taxi driver and removed her luggage. Her flight was an hour late so Cynthia still had a lot of time. She decided to check out 'Not A Happily Ever After'. This was the novel that inspired her to become an author. The story and the plot wasn't that amazing but the way the author showed the plot through her writing, was what attracted all the readers. The story was simple and fast paced which is why Cynthia loved it. All the fans were currently waiting for the last chapter, which was due to release today.

After a while, Cynthia's plane had arrived. She was scrolling through her phone since there was still time left for the take off. She suddenly got a notification, which read that the awaited last chapter of the novel had finally released and was available for downloading. She squealed inwardly, clicking on the download button. It was her first time sitting on the window seat. It was a little disappointing because she had expected some marvelous scenery but all she could see was a bunch of clouds. She soon got another notification. *The chapter has been downloaded*

'....She ran, ignoring her swollen feet, praying about her husband's well being. Child in hand, she ran in the heavy rain, the hem of her dress muddy. She soon found a cave and put her child down. Her sorrowful eyes gazed at her baby, full of emotion. And then she sprinted off in the opposite direction. Running as far away as she could. Her eyes widened in fear as she reached a cliff. It was a dead end. Unfortunately, her pause had given the enemy the perfect opportunity to strike. She fell to the floor blood flowing from her stomach. She had been shot in the back. She slowly edged towards the cliff and with the last of her strength, she jumped. "I am sorry Cedric..Please be alright.." She recalled the last time she saw her child as she plummeted towards her death... '

'What the hell?' Cynthia muttered. Her face twisted into a frown. She saw the man next to her who scowled at her for ruining his sleep. She scowled back. It wasn't her fault that he was a light sleeper. She ignored him and continued scrolling down. This couldn't be the ending to her favourite novel! This was either a joke or the author had gone crazy. She finally spotted the authors note, her worst fears confirmed. The author herself confirmed that it was the end and there would be no more chapters. She internally cursed her formerly favorite author. But suddenly, everything made sense. The title, the strange hints in the story, it was all the author's plan from the beginning. This was a world famous novel loved by millions of people. People would definitely go crazy.

Amidst her thoughts, the plane suddenly shook violently slamming her head against the window. She groaned her head was spinning, and her vision was blur. She had no time to recover when the plane suddenly lunged headfirst towards the sea. People were screaming around her and her heart was beating fast. She looked at her ring, her only loved possession and brought it closer to her heart, praying. She didn't believe in god, but this was the only thing she could think off. Her head lunged forward with impact and thudded against the seat in front of her. Even if she came out of this alive, she would surely have a concussion. 'No.... Why now?.. ' she thought before her vision turned black. The last thing she felt was cold water surrounding her and dragging her numb body down.