It was a sunny morning, which would have been perfect except for the fact that this morning was a day for Abrielle Flamesworth, the only daughter of the holy Lord of Darconia was attempting to run away from home
Abrielle's hands tightened on the horse's reign as she urged it to run faster through the unending brown grassland. She just had to cross it to the dead creek forest ahead of her, and then they would not be able to catch her anymore.
"Hurry thunder, we can't let them catch me." She kicked the horse, which ran faster, dashing through the wind. She pressed her eyes as the cold wind hit her face giving goosebumps. She had never ridden a horse before, but she was surprisingly good at it.
The sounds of the horse's hooves hitting the ground and its neighing sounds echoed as Abrielle got closer to her freedom.
A beautiful smile graced her lips immediately she caught sight of the eerie dead creek forest, but before she could celebrate, a whooshing sound passed her ears as the arrow flew past her, slightly cutting her skin.
The horse galloped when the arrow struck the ground in front of it. Abrielle's heartbeat immediately spiked as she glanced backwards to see her pursuers were just behind her.
The royal guards, how did they catch up so soon? "Thunder please run, I can't go back." She screamed, and the horse, hearing its master command, rushed forward.
Abrielle dared not look backwards; she didn't want to acknowledge the royal guard's presence, but the thunderous sounds of their horses galloping across the grassland made it hard to ignore.
"Halt my lady, stop running." One of the guards screamed at Abrielle, but who were they kidding? She was never turning back.
Unfortunately for her, the royal guard's horses were trained, and they were catching up to her faster. Abrielle clutched the rope in her hand. The forest was just ahead; if she crossed it, then she would leave the Dacronia territory and have her freedom.
She would not have to die anymore. Abrielle focused on her goals, ignoring the screams, the arrows that flew past her and the roaring sounds of her pursuers. "We are almost there." She said under her breath. Her breath rasped with adrenaline pumping in her veins.
A few meters away from the forest, an arrow struck thunder on his stomach, and he gave off a loud cry, jumping in pain with his forelimbs held up. "Oh no thunder, we can still do this." She cried out loud but the horse was in too much pain to care. Abrielle was unable to hold her balance and fell with her butt on the grass while she watched her horse run away.
She didn't give up, ignoring the pain in her butt. She struggled to get on her feet, but before she could make it a few steps from the spots, she was surrounded by her pursuers. "I am sorry, lady Flamesworth, but you have a wedding to attend."
Abrielle stared blankly at the guard with her hands clenched to its side. She asked herself how she got here just yesterday. She was happy her crush finally asked her out.
****
The class was rowdy but the lecturer in front did not care and continued giving his lecture on the importance of safety while on site. Engineering practice 201. Hazel sighed, Wondering why the hell this course was taught because anyone with a functioning brain knows you could not go to a construction site without your appropriate PPE.
Her head was in the clouds, thinking about the deadlines she had to meet for her new novel. Her last one, The Dragons and the priestess, was such a major hit it earned her millions. It even had its live movie adaptation and an anime series after it.
Hazel Walter, with the pen name Midnight Queen, was one of the best selling authors, but no one would guess she was just a civil engineering student who got into writing, not because of the passion but just the cash, and she got extremely lucky.
"Alright, that's it for today. Your final exams start in two weeks, so make sure you are ready." The lecturer said at the end of the lecture which Hazel didn't learn a single thing because she was busy wondering when her editor would get back to her concerning the next payment.
She needed the money urgently. After the class, Hazel sluggishly picked up her bag and left the lecture hall but was stopped outside when she heard the excited voice of her friend Kimberly.
"Hey, why didn't you wait for me?" Kimberly whined, huffing for air immediately she caught up with Hazel. "Well, I thought you wanted to talk to your boyfriend, plus I don't have much time today. I have to work late." Hazel explained.
Although Kimberly didn't know the exact work Hazel did she knew it was related to writing because she is always typing whenever she has any free time.
"Jeff isn't my boyfriend. We are just friends, and by the way, do you know the dragons and the priestess are trending again? I just don't know why so many people hate the ending." Kimberly and Hazel conversed on the hot topic unknown to her that her best friend was the author.
The book was so popular that even if you didn't read the novel, you must have watched the movie, the anime adaptation, or at least read the manhua.
They got out of the faculty building; outside was super busy since most lectures were over and other students were heading to the hostels or their off-campus accommodations.
Kimberly and Hazel were busy talking when the roaring sounds of bike engines caught their attention, and their eyes were naturally drawn to the centre of the ruckus.
Hazel's eyes sparkled when they fell on Lucian. Yes, it might be a coincidence he has the same name as the male lead of Hazel's novel, but this happened because she has a long-time crush on him.
They were the same level, but he was a mechanical engineering student while she was in civil engineering. She fell in love with him during her first year when she started writing and naturally wrote her male lead based on him.
Lucian drove his bike along with his friends and diverted from the road. Hazel was so spellbound, staring at him, that she didn't realize until he drove right in front of her and then stopped just inches away.
Lucian was super popular on campus because of his looks, wealth and intelligence. He had it all and, most importantly, ran a biker gang on campus. He was, in quote, the beau of campus.
He pulled off his helmet revealing his perfect green eyes that matched his thick golden locks. "Hey," he greeted Hazel but she was too stunned to reply. Her crush was in front of her, talking to her, and everyone was staring at them.
Kim had to secretly pinch her for her to snap out of it." Are you talking to me?" She blurted, unable to believe this was happening.
"Yes, I am talking to Hazel Walters. Do you need a ride home?" Lucian offered with a teasing smile that stole Hazel's heart. Her heart was beating so fast that she could not respond.
Kim, as an able best friend, had to step in to help her friend. "Sure, her place is so far away. Come on, Hazel, get on the fucking bike." Kim didn't wait for Hazel to reply and forced her to climb the bike.
Lucian glanced at her and wore his helmet over her head. "I only have one helmet, you just have to wear mine. We need to talk." Lucian mentioned then started the bike. Hazel was forced to lean over and hug his waist while the bike zoomed off. Kim stood by the side waving her BF.
What was happening? She was riding with her crush on his bike. She had to sniff his cologne to be sure she was not dreaming. Unfortunately, it did not last forever. They arrived at her place too soon, and Hazel had a lot of bitter complaints about that.
It was raining by the time they arrived and Lucian felt guilty about her getting wet. "I am sorry you got soaked." But Hazel didn't care about that fact.
"Thanks for the ride. The weather isn't your fault I will just run a hot bath." She shyly said after getting off. "It was nothing." Lucian smiled at her. God, he was so handsome she felt like her nose would bleed.
"By the way, will you be free tomorrow evening?" Lucian asked and Hazel almost went crazy thinking he was about to ask her out.
Yes, she has a deadline to meet, but for Lucian, she can take the risk. "Not really, is there anything you need me for?" She inquired, her fingers crossed.
"That's perfect. You see, the guys and I made a bet that if I could get the most introverted girl in civil to attend Sammy's birthday party, I would get Sammy's limited edition bike. So I was wondering if you could come with me pretending to be my date. I am ready to pay for your time." Lucian explained the reason for his actions, but Hazel didn't care if it was a bet. All that mattered was that she would be acting as his date.
"I will be free tomorrow then." She replied with a smile. Lucian grinned. He thought it would have been harder to convince her, but it was quite easy.
"Alright cool. I will text you the details later." Lucian replied, getting his helmet back from Hazel, then hopped on his bike. Hazel watched him drive off with a bright smile. She was going out with Lucian.
After he had disappeared from her sight she turned to walk towards her apartment. Her brows furrowed when she spotted a strange girl in a hoodie standing under the pouring rain close to the door but she didn't pay much mind to her.
The strange girl glanced at Hazel but her face was covered by the hoodie and face mask. She walked away from the entrance bumping her shoulders with Hazel's.
Hazel got mad and then turned to reprimand the girl but froze when she saw a gun aimed at her.
"This is what you deserve midnight queen." The girl mentioned her pen name. Before Hazel could react, a bullet was shot to her head; she fell on her back, her conscience blurring. The girl was staring down at her with hatred in her eyes.
Before Hazel died, she saw a blue screen that seemed like an illusion pop in front of her. Do you want to extend your life or die? It had two options.
Without a doubt, she wanted to live so that she could go out with Lucian tomorrow, but she was already dead with everything going black and cold. She died in the rain or did she?
****
The sound of curtains being pulled open made Hazel's brows furrow, combined with the bright lights from the window.
Her eyes opened, and she found herself in a strange, luxurious room with a mannequin wearing a wedding dress in front of her.
"Good morning, lady Abrielle; it's time you get ready for the wedding." A girl dressed like a maid from a fantasy historical romance book greeted her after leaving the window.
"Abrielle," Hazel muttered then her eyes popped out. That was the name of the villainess of her book. The Dragons and the priestess.