The Legacy of Katerina Vancon.
Charlotte sat upright in bed, her breath catching as the fragments of her dream faded into the dim light of the room. Her heart was heavy, weighed down by the truth she had been born into—a truth she could never fully escape.
She was not truly Charlotte. That was the name she had adopted upon arriving in this era, a mask to blend in and remain unnoticed. In her time, she was Katerina Vancon, the last descendant of a line burdened with guilt and regret.
But even the name Vancon was a fabrication. Her family had once been the Zienteks, a name whispered with both fear and reverence in the annals of history. The Zienteks were renowned for their unmatched magical power, a lineage that could have rivaled kings and emperors. But when King Orion's greed and corruption plunged the kingdom into ruin, the Zienteks chose not to intervene.
To protect themselves from the kingdom's collapse and the fury of its people, they abandoned their ancestral name and became the Vancons. They retreated into isolation, cloaking themselves in obscurity as the world around them crumbled.
Emma Vancon, Katerina's mother, had told her stories of their family's past, of the decisions that led to their survival but also their eternal regret. It was Emma who had handed Katerina the leather-bound book that now lay on the bedside table. A book filled with the history of their family, the curse that bound them, and the painful lessons they had learned.
A Dream Of Regret.
The dream replayed vividly in Charlotte's mind. She stood amidst the ruins of the kingdom, its once-proud towers reduced to rubble and its fields overrun by weeds. The sky was a suffocating shade of gray, and the air carried the acrid scent of ash and despair.
Her ancestors' voices echoed all around her:
"We could have stopped this."
"We had the power, but we chose to watch."
"Now we are cursed to see it all again."
The whispers grew louder, converging into a deafening roar. Then came a single, distinct voice—Emma's.
"Katerina," it called, using the name she had left behind in the future. "You must remember why you are here. You have forgotten your mission."
Charlotte turned in the dream to see her mother, standing amidst the ruins with tears streaming down her face. Emma held the book in her hands, its leather cover cracked with age.
"You cannot let history repeat itself," Emma said, her voice filled with urgency. "The kingdom's downfall began with greed, but it was our inaction that sealed its fate. You must make a choice, Katerina."
The dream blurred, Emma's figure dissolving into the shadows. The ruins around her vanished, replaced by the flickering glow of fire. Charlotte saw King Orion seated on a grand throne, his crown askew and his eyes burning with an unnatural hunger for power.
The whispers returned, softer this time, like a warning.
"The curse will endure until one of our bloodline chooses action over indifference, sacrifice over self-preservation."
Charlotte woke with those words etched into her mind.
The Curse of the Zienteks.
Her hands trembled as she reached for the book, the relic her mother had entrusted to her. She opened it to the first page, where Emma's handwriting greeted her:
"To my beloved Katerina,
This book holds the truth of our family's past and the curse that binds us. Learn from our mistakes, and know that you have the power to change the future."
Charlotte's hazel eyes scanned the pages, the illustrations and text painting a grim picture of their history. The Zienteks had been powerful enough to challenge any ruler, but their decision to remain uninvolved during Orion's reign of greed had marked them as cowards.
King Orion's thirst for power had driven him to betray his allies, squander the kingdom's wealth, and plunge the land into chaos. The Zienteks, watching from their secluded estate, had chosen not to act. They believed the kingdom's destruction was inevitable and sought only to protect themselves.
But their inaction had consequences. When the kingdom fell, the Zienteks became symbols of regret and failure, their power tainted by their choice to do nothing. The curse, born from their guilt, ensured that every descendant would bear the weight of their ancestors' decisions.
Charlotte's Resolve.
Charlotte closed the book and stood, her silver-grey hair catching the faint light of dawn. Her heart burned with determination. She had taken the name Charlotte to start anew, to blend into the past and avoid suspicion. But she could no longer run from her identity as Katerina Vancon—or the mission that had brought her here.
The kingdom she now lived in was thriving, its people blissfully unaware of the dark future that awaited them. Charlotte could still see the cracks forming beneath the surface: the greed festering in the court, the growing unrest among the people, and the seeds of betrayal taking root.
She thought of Emma's words in the dream and the warnings written in the book. Her family had chosen to watch as the kingdom fell, but she would not make the same mistake.
Walking to the window, she gazed out at the sprawling palace grounds. The whispers of her ancestors still lingered in her mind, but they no longer felt like accusations. Instead, they spurred her forward.
"I will not let history repeat itself," Charlotte vowed. "The curse will end with me."
Her path was uncertain, filled with danger and deception. But she would face it head-on.
Charlotte—Katerina—was not just here to stop the kingdom's downfall. She was here to reclaim her family's legacy and ensure their power was used for good, not indifference.
As the first light of dawn bathed the kingdom in gold, she clutched the book to her chest. The Zienteks had hidden from their destiny for too long. It was time to step into the light and rewrite their story.