"Pathetic!" He scorned as his dark brown eyes sliced away from mine. "You look pitiful, once I'm the first prince of this kingdom I'll have them pay for forcing me to marry you!"

I could not lift a finger, I could neither protest nor defend myself. I didn't know how long I was bedridden as I lost track of time. My body felt numb. My eyes had long since dried out. I couldn't even shed a single tear, even after the man whom my heart had long yearned for, spat daggers at my face.

"Oh please dear, spare her the harsh words as she is on her death bed, couldn't you be a little bit kinder towards her? She is still your wife. "A soft familiar voice with a faint hint of mockery said. Too familiar.

I struggled to turn my head toward the direction of the voice. I was in denial. There was no way she would say that. She was the purest of souls and one of the few people in the palace who looked at me kindly. But alas, it was her. Leaning on the door frame, hands crossed to her chest with a smile on her face was my older sister, Yvette, The first princess of the kingdom.

"Oh come on younger sister, don't look at me like that, I'm going to feel terrible." She laughed. "I know you feel as if you would scream, two betrayals at one time, especially when you have a few hours to die. Must hurt quite a lot. What a delightful sight this is. Oh, how I've been longing to see you look this pitiful for years. Do you know how long I had to suffer being compared to my younger sister? Your looks are no match for my glorious royal features and yet you get the throne? Did you think I would sit around and watch? Ha! Then you are wrong!" Her once warm eyes looked as cold as ever.

Now that I think about it, there were times I would notice the same look on her.

I shifted my gaze to the beautifully crafted ceiling of the room. The art on the ceiling was meticulous and detailed. It showed a magnificent illustration of how the kingdom was first formed.

Ah, I remember. It was at my first gifting ceremony. The first time I saw that harsh cold look on Yvette.

"You just told me to be kind toward her yet you spat out even more harsh words than me! hmph! Anyway, you should hurry up and die. Once you do I can freely ask for a divorce" He said.

"Oh please my love, I waited for so long to say that to her face. Can't I have my moment to shine?" Yvette said." Anyway let us leave, the stench is making my stomach turn."

'My love' huh?

How many hours had it been? I don't know. I felt my consciousness start to slip away. I guess it was time to leave. But why was it that I was afraid? Why was it that I didn't want to die? I just suffered betrayal from two people I entrusted my heart to. What was the need for me to stay alive? Even if I did, I had no one. It seemed reasonable if I just died quietly. But that wasn't what I wanted.

What did I want?

I want to see them pay.

I want to see them suffer for what they did to me.

If I die, they get to live a peaceful life. A life they couldn't enjoy as long as I lived.

If I die. I would be doing what they wanted all along.

Ah, I couldn't stay conscious, after all. My vision became blurred and I felt my breathing slowly come to halt.

It was cold. I couldn't see a thing. I was sure my eyes were open, but all I could see was darkness. "Is this the afterlife?" I asked myself. My body felt lighter, it didn't hurt anymore. It was as if I was born a new. I was sure I just died. I turned to look around but it was pitch black.

"Where am I?" I asked myself. I couldn't hear a thing. It was quiet enough to hear a heartbeat. I touched my chest to feel mine but

...

Nothing. I guess I was dead after all and this was the afterlife.

I started walking forward. If I wanted answers I had to look for them. But I wasn't sure where I was going. It was hard to know since I couldn't see. After what seemed like an eternity, I saw something bright flash at the corner of my right eye. I turned right. I saw a tiny white light come from that direction. I chose to go towards it, after all, it was either I go after it or I continue wandering in the dark for who knows how long.

With every step I took, the tiny white light seemed to get bigger and bigger. "An exit?" I thought to myself. But the closer I got, the white light seemed to somewhat float. I stopped right in front of it. It was too bright to look directly toward it. So I took a few steps backward to get a better view.

The light suddenly started to dim and it became easier to look at it directly. The more I looked at it, the more the light started to look like some sort of writing, no, numbers. The light finally disappeared revealing what looked like a timer.

One year, two months, six weeks, two days, five hours, thirteen minutes, and forty seconds.

At least that's what the timer showed. But strangely, it didn't move. It didn't count the time, it was still.

"But what happens in one year?" I muttered to myself.

I moved closer to it and slowly reached out my hand to touch it. Why? I was curious. The more my hand got closer to it, the more my hand felt hot, scorching hot. I pulled back my hand as it hurt.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock.

"It's moving..."I said.

The mysterious timer started counting time.

Thirty-nine seconds, Thirty-eight seconds, Thirty-seven seconds.

The heat from my hand wouldn't fade. It slowly started spreading through my body. I felt hot. I felt dizzy. My body became heavy. I looked up at the timer and it seemed to float away. I tried to reach for it again, but my vision became blurred and once again my consciousness slipped away.

"Your highness, please get up. You have to meet with His and Her Majesty for the evening dinner…"

"Your highness…"

"Huh? Who is that" I thought." And who is your highness? Is it me? No, it can't be, I died." I silently chuckled. "This is just a dream...."

"YOUR HIGHNESS ARIEL LILIANA VON HIDENBERG!"

That scream was loud enough to wake the dead from their slumber.

That was my name...

I opened my eyes. It was so noisy. There was chattering and movement here and there it made my head pound hard. I felt groggy, it was as if I woke up from a coma.

That ceiling. It's beautiful.

"That's odd. My bedroom had the same....."

I immediately shot up from bed. I saw familiar people and familiar gazes. The furniture was familiar too. To the carpet and sheets on the bed, it was all too familiar.

Am I dreaming? No. It was all too real.

A book that seemed to be on my chest slipped off the bed and fell on the floor the moment I hastily rose.

A red cover? There was only one book that I read that had a red cover. I slowly reached to pick it up. It was a book with a silly storyline but I felt at peace whenever I read it. It was called…

"The wolf and the red riding hood?" And true enough, It was that book.

"But I read this book two years-"

"Your highness! This isn't the time for games, we now have thirty minutes to prepare you, or you'll be late! Get up!"

A harsh voice spat at the left.

I slowly raise my eyes to see an old familiar face. Rosaline. The head maid.

'So you're the one that shouted my name' I thought.

By the way, she was addressing me, you'd think she was royalty and I was the maid.

My head was pounding even more. If I heard any more shouting my head would burst.

Why am I in my room? Why am I holding this book, I lost it two years ago. When is today?

"What year is it?" I asked as I flipped through the pages of the book.

"....."

I lifted my eyes only to see confused gazes. That was to be expected considering I never used to talk back when the head maid was around. After all, I was the daughter of the least favored queen.

"I asked you a question. Should I repeat myself?"

"Your highness, I have no time for your childish games, get up –"

"What year is it? This is the last time I'm going to repeat myself. Rosaline."

She sighs. "It is the year 1647. What of it?"

No respect at all.

Anyway, I turned my gaze back to my book. It is just as I expected… This is two years before my death. I somehow came back to the past.

But how? It does not make any sense.

Everything was too realistic to call a dream.