Arabella opened her eyes.

Something felt so strange.

The soft sheets that surrounded her body and the warm sunshine coming in through the Window. A sharp contrast to what she just experienced.

'Where am I?.'

She closed her eyes tightly. The regret of not being able to kill the man who took her family away from her, burned deep inside of her, but when she came to her senses she was lying in a completely different place.

At least it was more comfortable than the hell She just went through. She had never gotten to lay down in a soft bed like this ever since her whole family was annihilated, after that not once had she slept peacefully for the fear of being reminded of the haunting memories of her past.

It was as if she had returned to an earlier time in her life, the time when everything was still going well. The time she still had her family with her.

'It's like I've gone back in time...wait...what?!'

Arabella scrambled out of bed, as she got up the large queen size bed. She looked around the familiar environment.

' How could this be possible? I'm supposed to be dead...'

She looked around again, on one side of the wall were the little paintings she had made with her little sister when she was eight, then the red strips of fabric they had tied for wishes on her sister's sixteenth birthday. She walked to the strips, she plucked one of the red strips. The words she had written still vivid and clear, there was no mistaking of her own handwriting.

It was her room, everything was too perfect that it was impossible for it to be a recreation. She couldn't think of how all this was happening. A moment ago she was on a battlefield and now she was back in time.

'How?'

After standing dumbstruck for a moment. The wind slowly blew open her curtains, drawing her attention to the view outside. She walked to the window in a daze, running her hands through its familiar wooden surface before fully opening it. The unmistakably familiar blossom trees met her eyes, her heart jolted, an empty feelings arose in her heart.

She could never forget her home. Not once in her life did she forget this place and all the memories she had made with her siblings.

'How am i here? This...'

She missed this part of her life so much, the time she lived with her family, the time she was still called Arabella Boxton. She had always used her family name with pride.

The Boxton family had only been around for a few generations. However they had produced up to five lines of the kingdom's generals.

As the eldest daughter, she took care of her family ever since they lost their mother. She took the responsibility of a mother in the mansion. Sometimes it became difficult to take care of her sister by herself while managing the household, but then it was a peaceful life and there was nothing to complain about.

It wasn't until she lost everything later that she realized how happy their lives were. She remembered the day their peaceful lives was destroyed in a blink of an eye. She remembered the last time she had looked upon this colourful garden, there were no beautiful flowers but dozens of torches coming into the mansion in perfect order. It was like they were coming closer to her, even though there was nothing there now, she couldn't shake off her anxious mind. She couldn't forget that terrible day, the memories slowly returned and Arabella shook her head and turned away from the window.

As she looked back into the room her eyes caught a mirror hanging on the wall.

"Is this really me?." She murmured to herself in wonderment.

Reflected in the mirror was a noble lady in a skill nightdress with beautiful classic red hair, with a milky white skin, her eyes were green like the finest grass, with a straight pointed nose. That was her.

The last image of herself she remembered was very different from the one reflected in the mirror. As she stared quietly at herself her green eyes trembled in surprise. It seemed far too real to be considered a dream. Though her natural beauty had not completely faded, she had never had a fine figure during her career as a soldier.

Since she decided to avenge her family and began to carry sword, she had cut off her long hair and had blisters on her hands from daily hard training. As time passed, her naturally gentle eyes became venomous, and her milky white skin had turned bronze. Only a cold hardened woman was left. However, even she could not perfectly recreate the distant images on her memory, even if it were a fantasy.

"What the hell is going on?"

She touched her face with a perplexed expression. Suddenly the door opened. 

Arabella turned her head with a frown on her face. As soon as she saw the person who came in, she completely froze. Her green eyes widened, showing her surprise before her trembling lips could even speak.

" Sister Ara!"

Anne walked into the room, smiling more warmly like the morning sun. It all feels like a dream. Arabella forced herself to watch with breathless attention. Anne's Brown hair and dark blue eyes remind her of their mother.

Anne tilted her head briefly at Arabella's strange facial expression, but Anne soon smiled and happily looked up at her.

"What's that look on your face? You're not planning to scold me for barging in, are you? If you're going to scold me and talk about manners, do it later, I have something to tell you. You might be surprise to know this."

Arabella's eyes moistened as she watched Anne talking happily before her eyes. Is this a dream? It had to be. Otherwise Anne would not have appeared in front of her like this again. If it's a dream...She hoped she would never wake up from it. Tears began to slip down her cheeks. Anne was surprised to Suddenly saw her crying.

" Sister Ara? Is something wrong?."

Watching Anne anxiously, Arabella couldn't answer. She bit her lips to stop the sobs rising up her throat and she wordlessly took Anne's body into her arms. She was afraid this moment would end forever if she made a sound.

Arabella clearly remembered the last time she had seen her sister. It was a moonless night, however it had been illuminated by flames burning down the dignified general's mansion. Her sister had been surrounded by evil men and screaming in a much different voice than she was now.

" Sister Ara! Help, sister Ara!"

There was a sound of Anne's night dress tearing. Arabella never once forgot those blood curdling screams. It was a tragedy that happened overnight in the Boxton mansion. It was her brother Henry who caught her running towards Anne. He whispered sadly but firmly in her ear. ' it's too late Ara.' If Henry had not shut Arabella's mouth and dragged her away from the place, she could have died there with her sister. How good would that have been, and for a long time she felt sorry for herself. Her lovely sister, she regretted that she couldn't save her.

She hugged Anne tightly shedding her silent tears. She would never miss her second chance. Nothing mattered now, whether it's a dream or reality, just seeing Anne again was enough.

Anne looked at Arabella's face with a troubled expression, and she immediately raised her hand and patted her older sister's back.

"Don't Cry, sister Ara."

Arabella could no longer hold in her sob and it burst out of her lips. Anne waited silently as she patted her back while Arabella let out all the grief she had endured in her life as a cold hearted soldier. The comfort from from Anne's hand was so warm that Arabella could not stop crying.

As time passed, Arabella composed herself. She was still hugging Anne, and the temperature coming from her body was real. Arabella murmured to herself with an incredulous look. "This isn't a dream, right?."

Seeking to dispel the shade of doubt in her mind, she hurriedly released her arms that had been hugging Anne and grabbed her sister's shoulder and examined her properly.

Anne gave Arabella a worried frown and asked. " You're having a hard time managing the household alone, aren't you?"

"Huh?."

Arabella couldn't help but let her eyes widened again after watching Anne speaking as if she was really there in front of her.

This wasn't a dream or a fantasy. Moreover it felt so real. The Anne in front of her looked too alive for that. Anne continued to speak with a gloomy face, as if she mistook Arabella's dumbstruck look for being scold for her immature behavior.

" it's just that for the first time the crown Prince who had always been away at the battlefield, will show up at this coming grand ball. I really wanted to go there with you-."

"Which crown Prince?"

"What's wrong with you today? You're acting strange...I'm talking about the same crown Prince you know. The crown Prince of our kingdom of course."

Arabella's head began to spin rapidly, but she had know which crown Prince Anne was talking about.

Their kingdom was ruled by king Frederick, and was one of the largest kingdom in all the lands for generations. And rumors had it that king Frederick's first son; the crown Prince was a bloodthirsty demon.

However, king Frederick had a kind nature, and helped developed a land that cared more about developing kingdom affairs rather than war. Under him the kingdom that was once obsessed with bloodshed and war came to prosperity. However, in other to achieve this, It had been said that the previous king intentionally chose the gentle hearted Frederick as his successor over his brutal eldest son, Cornell.

Nevertheless, the problem was with Cornell. The same man who had killed her family. Cornell was at first thought to become the next king, in the end he was deprived of the throne by his father, and was given to his younger brother, Frederick. Though many people expressed concern because Cornell had been born with the nature of a (evil) king, Cornell had kneeled and submitted to his brother instead.

For more than decades he didn't show his evil side, he waited for his chance, then the traitorous Cornell eventually rebelled and won. The Boxton family, who supported the royal family in course of the regime's replacement, was also purged by the evil king Cornell.

That was the man Arabella wanted to kill all her life, the man who caused her pain and grief. King Cornell.

Arabella's eyes hardened as she recalled those unpleasant memories. She remembered the sensation of Cornell's blade that went through her flesh.

There had been many incidents before Cornell ultimately succeeded in his rebel, but he could not install a crown Prince because of what he had done, nobody would want to birth a son for a treacherous king. As far as Arabella could remember, there was only one official crown Prince. But he had gone missing ever since he left for the battle of kalresu, and that was years ago, Although he had made many brilliant achievement in the battlefield, he disappeared without a single appearance in any social gatherings. Rumors had it that he was a scary monster, that he was a complete demon, he came back victorious in every battle he went for. They said that he would become the most brutal of all kings, and if he were there, Cornell rebellion would failed.

However he never showed up when the kingdom needed him, because they said he never cared for his people, so he was largely unknown.

So far no one else came to mind.

"A crown Prince...does that mean the treacherous king eventually had a son to put in that position?"

It was bound to happened eventually. their kingdom was extremely powerful, and even with a treacherous ruler he had leverage to get what he wanted.

"What are you talking about, sister? Did you know that's treasonous! If anybody knew that you had such profane words in your mouth, you would be in so much trouble."

Anne looked around to see if anyone had overheard their conversation. Her cautious demeanor filled Arabella's mind with questions, she couldn't figure out what this was all about.

"You're being strange again sister, there's only one crown Prince in this kingdom, Prince Hamon."

Hamon? As soon as she heard the name, recognition flashed into her head.