The cold, marble floor sticks to my sweaty cheek when I see long streams of blood flooding my eyelids. My hair is spread all over the floor – with my pale skin, I must have looked like a damn Snow White. When I was little, I dreamed all the time that there would be a prince on a white horse who would save me from hell at home.
Unfortunately, no one like that showed up. Even when I was dying on that cold floor.
My breaths became shorter and shallower. I knew I was dying – I felt my body closing and the environment around me slowly disappearing as if behind a transparent curtain. I felt an overwhelming pain in the back of my head – I couldn't move any of my limbs, and all the noises became quieter than normal.
There was no mistake here. I was dying.
Wheezing, I took one deep breath that seemed to cost me all the energy I had left. It was then that I started reminiscing – not that I missed my life. It was just a long, never-ending nightmare from which it was impossible to escape. I'd rather starve to death on the cold streets of the capital than live with my family under the same roof.
Anything would be better than what I endured.
I sighed softly when I noticed through my blurred eyes how my father and the others were coming, running to me.
I smiled faintly under my breath when I saw my father, that trash all panicked. Yes, it was a sight that was worth taking with me to the afterlife. As long as there is life after death. If I had the strength, I would laugh seeing his panic on his face. A sight to behold.
Next to my father stood my older stepsister, Isabelle, with her long golden blonde curls down to her shoulder blades and in an expensive green dress. I think she realized that when the autopsy would be carried out, the morgue staff would notice a lot of bruises and old scars covering my body. Revenge would be sweet, even if it happens after I am dead. That bitch would regret her mockery and constant bullying towards me.
My older half-brother, Lidas, was arguing with the butler at the stairs, with the same golden blond hair like Isabelle, but with blue eyes like the sea, like me. The one who was responsible for the fact that I fell down the stairs. I hoped that the sight of my dying body would haunt him in nightmares for the rest of his days.
Knowing that I was running out of time, I gathered the last of my strength. Wheezing for more breaths, I opened my mouth and my gruff voice came out.
- "If there is such a possibility, I would never like to see you again in my next life" – I said, breathing shallowly
That was the end of me. In any case, I was absolutely convinced of it. But before I closed my eyelids, I saw a golden ball hovering in front of my eyes. The ball rediated with an unnatural glow, and then the golden light blinded me.
I saw the omnipresent darkness. A black abyss with nothing or no one – I could feel the water under me with my hand, but I didn't feel wet. Could it be an illusion? I had no idea.
In the blink of an eye, the darkness vanished as the emptiness was enveloped by the same golden glow as before. Then I felt the wind blow through my hair and the pain in the back of my head magically disappeared.
Then I opened my eyelids – and I noticed that I was soaring! Streams of cool night wind pierced me, but I was happy to let the wind lead me. I thought at that moment that it was the afterlife.
Then I saw hundreds, thousands of lights below me – a place where the night was almost as bright as the day. I couldn't believe it – because now I understood that there was a lot of risk that I would fall.
Then I noticed the same golden energy, aura around me – the color and warmth that this power gave off was similar to that golden ball from before. This energy gave me the power to glide and fly – whatever that power was, it protected me.
Before I could react, I noticed that I was gliding towards the balcony of the apartment – the tenant of the apartment noticed that I was flying towards her. I waved my hands to do something, but it didn't work. I hit my knees on the balcony floor – the pain, however, was not so severe because the golden energy around me ensured a safe landing. Then the golden aura disappeared, with a swept of a wind.
The tenant of the apartment, on the other hand, screamed and fell on her ass – the woman crawled across the floor and pointed her finger at me. Her face was surprised that I didn't know it was possible to be so shocked.
- "Who...Who the hell are you?" - the woman asked
- "I am... I'm Estelle Gerhardt," I replied in a quiet voice. Then the realization came to me.
When I hit my knees on the balcony, I felt pain. Sure, it wasn't very severe, but I still felt pain. This ruled out the possibility of all this being a dream or an illusion. I didn't believe in the afterlife, but it all looked too detailed. No, this is not how the afterlife looks like.
It meant only one thing – somehow I survived the wound on my head after falling down the stairs. And I travelled somewhere else, away from my shitty family. As if someone had heard my request before I died.
It was my new reality.
- "No, it's impossible" – the woman murmured – "Don't make fun of me! You can't be that Estelle Gerhardt!"
Then another thing hit me. The woman opposite me spoke a completely different language, which I understood completely. What's more, I was able to use this other language myself. Sure, I had a talent for languages and I learned a two foreign languages myself. But that was an exaggeration.
" – Do I look like a joke to you?" – I asked
The woman crawled on all fours across the floor and grabbed a rectangular, handheld device from the sofa. She clicked a few times, then scrolled her thumb over the surface of the device. The woman rubbed her eyes, then looked at me in disbelief.
" – Dark brown, wavy hair up to the navel... blue eyes as the sea... Asian facial features... a petite silhouette..." – whispered the woman when she read something from the rectangular device – "Estelle... from 'Roses for Isabelle'!?"
I didn't want to hear that name ever again. That bitch...Isabelle, my older half - sister who straight up abused me and bullied me because of my illegimacy and lack of magical prowess. Also I had zero talent in combat. But what the fuck she meant by "Roses for Isabelle"?