Crash!
Thunder boomed overhead as Athena ran for her life. She had only just returned to the Capital City, Pythra, only to be chased by assassins.
Rain poured above, puddles formed all around her. With nowhere else to go, Athena took a chance on the first open path she saw.
"You chose wrong, princess!" One of the assassins yelled.
She looked forward. Running to the river was a horrible choice! Now, she was trapped between the pursuers and the open river. Athena had fallen off a cliff once. she was not ready to make another rash decision.
"Who are you? What do you want with me?" she cried in desperation.
The rain and her tears melded together. Who's to say she was crying?
"What do I want? You should be dead," the man replied coldly as he stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself.
"You… you're… you're Queen Catalina's brother! Atticus Eaglewing!" Athena gasped in shock.
All the pieces of the puzzle fell into place with this revelation. It was the Queen who attempted to murder her!
When Athena was only fourteen, she took a trip to the Summer Palace with her family. On the third day, she was pushed off the cliff by an unseen man. Everyone thought she had fallen to her death, but the gods were kind. Not only did the princess survive the fall, she was saved by a kind hunter.
But her luck did not improve from there, especially once she was determined to return home.
"You should have stayed dead, Princess," Atticus said with a glare.
He drew his sword and approached Athena. She took out her hidden dagger, the only weapon she had on her to arm herself. But Atticus threw out her weapon with ease. She didn't stand a chance.
Athena glanced over her shoulder, looking at the raging river. Perhaps jumping into the water was her only way out.
She bit her lip as she prepared herself to step off the ledge. But Atticus grabbed hold of her hand.
"Let me go!" She yelled as she struggled in his grasp.
Atticus pulled her close with a smirk on his face.
Then, it hit her.
A jolt of pain surged through her stomach. Athena felt her heart in her throat. She looked down slowly. Her blouse was quickly stained with blood as she saw the dagger embedded in her abdomen.
Athena looked back at Atticus. His grin was the last thing she saw. Blood dripped from the side of her lip, trickling down her chin. Atticus reached out his hand, carefully wiping off the blood from the side of her lips.
"I will grant you your wish, Princess," he loosened his grip on Athena's arm but acting on instinct, she tightened her grip on his.
She was not going to survive with a sword in her belly if she fell into the water!
"Please stay dead this time round, Princess. We've mourned for you once. I think that's more than enough," Atticus pulled the blade out of Athena's stomach.
She let out a cry of pain, only for it to be drowned out by the pouring rain. As her strength slipped away, Atticus gave her a push. She fell backward into the river. Athena yelled for help, for anyone to come save her.
But everything was drowned out by the sound of pouring rain. As she fell into the river, the ice-cold water jolted her senses. She tried desperately to fight through the pain and swim upwards but it was of no use.
Her strength was fading fast and her clothes weighed her down. It felt as if the water was pulling her down, down towards the river bed.
Athena closed her eyes. The gods must be having a laugh at her! They saved her once, only for her to waste it. Now, she was going to be dead. For real.
Remembering all the hardships she had gone through, Athena curled her hands into fists. She wanted to live! She wanted revenge! She wanted those who sabotaged her to get what they deserved!
Darkness soon consumed her thoughts and her sight. As Athena waited for death, she let out a sigh. If she could do it all over again, she would do so in a heartbeat.
Someone entered the water. They dove down, reaching Athena in record time. With all the strength they could muster, they brought her back to the surface.
"Athena! Athena!" The unknown man yelled as he tried to resuscitate her.
No response.
The man was devastated. He was too late. He crumbled down on his knees and looked up at the cloud-heavy sky.
"Why? Why can't you just let her live? All she wanted was to be reunited with her family!" He yelled.
Thunder and lightning flashed above. The sound was deafening and the lightning lit up the sky.
Athena sat up, coughing up water. The man was stunned. He was sure she was dead when his efforts to resuscitate her failed. How was this possible? But before he could say anything else, Athena's pupils rolled to the back of her head and she fell backwards once more.
The man caught her in the nick of time, resting her gently on the ground. He checked her pulse. It was shallow but she was alive!
The man picked Athena up into his arms and carried her off to find shelter and a healer.
Three days later, on a warm summer afternoon, Athena opened her eyes. The wound on her abdomen felt tender and she had a splitting headache. However, these were the least of her worries.
As she sat up in bed, she observed the clothes she wore and her surroundings. She widened her eyes in shock.
"Where… what?" She muttered to herself as she looked at everything.
It was making her head spin, leading her to lie back down once more.
"What happened to me?" She whispered to herself as she furrowed her brows, wondering what was going on.
Nothing was familiar to her.
Then, it all came back to her. The Athena who was now in the body of the princess was from a different place and different time! This Athena came from a modern world.
But how did everything happen? The explanation was simple. Both Athena's lives were in danger simultaneously. Princess Athena was stabbed and pushed into the river, while modern-day Athena was pushed off the bridge by her cheating ex-boyfriend!
These incidents caused both of them to switch places.
The gods took pity on them and gave them each a chance to live again in each other's bodies and worlds. Equipped with each other's past memories, surely they could survive?
A loud crash of a metal basin jolted Athena out of her thoughts. She turned to see an older man with a stunned expression on his face.
"Athena, you're awake!" The man yelled as he came to her side.