Chapter 28

Angelina's POV

Well, as prison cells go, this one isn't so bad. I can't leave the room, but I am not uncomfortable here. A soft bed I can sink into, a warm room with plenty of space and maids waiting on me. It hardly feels like a prison cell at all. I even get books brought to me and get to play games with the maids. That is something my parents forbade when I was grounded after my fight with Bozzair. Throw in three meals daily, and I find it hard to complain about my current situation.

Now I just need Bozzair to show up and prove I am innocent. Where is he, anyway? I'm starting to get worried. It has been two days since I have seen him. Bozzair is never gone this long. At most, he would disappear for a few hours. I hope he is just waiting in my dorm room for me. Poor guy. He must be just as worried about me as I am for him.

<0>

Daniella Allencourt's POV

"Let me out of here!"

"Why can't you just sit there and be quiet?"

This little dragon is more trouble than it's worth. He shouts, attacks the barrier and won't let us rest. We can't take our eyes off him for a second. The last time we did that, he almost escaped. It should only be a few more days, and then we can be done with him.

"Do you want me to kill with my teeth or claws? If you let me out, I will give you a choice,"

"Just give up already. I have already won," Why can't he just give up? This should be the easy part, but the prince and this dragon are making it a lot harder than it should be. "In a day or two, your master will be found guilty, and I will sell you off."

"You think it will be that easy?"

"Lady Lamonia may be strong, but she can't fight fate. She was always meant to meet her end this way,"

I don't know why she changed. Lady Lamonia should hate the heroine, but she's become friends with her. She should be all over the prince, but she doesn't show any interest in him. She is probably someone like me. A person who had their life taken at a young age and given a second chance. But try as she might. Lady Lamonia will die just as she did when this was all a game. And when she does lose her head, my family will take everything from hers.

"Fool,"

"What was that? Still deluding yourself with the thought of returning to normal life by your mistress's side?"

"No, you're a fool for thinking my master is in this alone. I have met many powerful beings in my life, but one person outranks them all. I doubt even my master could beat them. It is a person who hides her power, but when they wield it, the very nature of our world changes,"

"Oh, and who's that? Is there some god in this world that walks among us, mortals,"

"You will find out soon. When you do… it will be the end of you,"

"You're the fool. There is no one like that. Just keep making things up and living in that fantasy world where everything will work out for you. You will see where it gets you in a few days. I learned the hard way that dreaming big will only lead to heartbreak,"

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Fourteen Years Ago

"Daniella! Daniella! Please wake up! Daniella!"

"Wh… what…."

"Oh, thank God you're awake! I don't know what I would have done if I lost you,"

What happened? Why is it so warm? Is that the sun? I can't remember the last time I saw it… I forgot how beautiful it was. When did I leave my cell? They kept me locked up there for so long that I started going crazy. Ah, my head is killing me.

"Daniella!"

Who's Daniella? Who are these people holding me? Why are they crying? They are a little big… wait, is it me? Why am I so small?

"Daniella! Please say something! Please! Let me know if you are okay!"

"I… I'm okay…."

Who does that voice belong to? It sounds nothing like me. My head is killing me. What happened? The last thing I remember is that wanna-be and her friends cornered me in my cell. How the hell did I end up here?

"You're… you're okay… I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you,"

"Excuse me, sir. Could you step aside so I can treat your daughter?"

Daughter? That guy isn't my father! Hey, is that other man's hands glowing? Oh, the pains going away. Is that magic? Wait, I am in the kind of situation where I was reborn in another world? My sister used to read stories about this kind of thing. She even let me borrow a few, but I wasn't interested in the subject. Part of me regrets that now. But this is probably just a coma-induced dream. That wanna-be and her friend must have got me good to give me this kind of dream.

<0>

This isn't a dream. A week has passed since I opened my eyes under the sun. I haven't returned to my cell yet. Every time I close my eyes, I expect to find myself back there when I open them again. Still is nice here. The people who are apparently my parents are kind and foolish. They don't even notice the things going missing. If the day comes when I have to bale on this place, I have quite the treasure trove hidden away.

I still don't fully understand what is happening, but apparently, I am in a world full of magic. Magic casters, fantasy monsters, and my apparent family here even has a few maids with animal ears and tails. My sister would love it here. She was into fantasy stuff. I really miss her. If I… if it wasn't for me, she would still… I hope she is in this world too. I want to apologise, and… and she really would love it here.

My days in this world are simple. I do chores around my family's farm. We are meant to be nobles, but we aren't that powerful or wealthy, so we must do much of the work ourselves. We work farm fields and oversee a lumber yard. I am not given any difficult tasks, but it is still hard work.

During my free time, I can do as I please. As long as I don't go near the horses. Apparently, on the day I woke up here, one of the horses kicked me in the head. Now I am not allowed anywhere near them. There are plenty of other things to do, though. Reading that is boring, painting that puts me to sleep and practising magic. Since I learned I could use magic in this world, I couldn't wait to try it out. I am not the most powerful when it comes to spellcasting, but the rate I am learning new spells is causing everyone to praise me.

<0>

A year has passed since I woke up in this world, and I get to see a prince for the first time. Now, if only I could catch his eye. A long shot since I am a kid, but I hear the prince is around my age, so there's a chance. It would be nice to be a princess. I could do nothing all day and never have to lift a finger. Not to mention there would be plenty of valuable items lying around begging to be stolen.

"Look! Daniella! Over there! There's the prince!"

He looks like royalty. An elegant wagon guarded by knights as it is pulled down the road, and sitting in it is a handsome prince. He wears a white suit and smiles at the crowd as he passes. If only he wasn't alone. There's a girl in a beautiful dress with him. She looks familiar… so does the prince, now that I look more closely.

"That girl in the carriage with him is Lady Lamonia. She is from an influential family and has been engaged to the prince since she was a baby. When we attend balls, I want you to get close to her,"

"I'll try,"

I smile, nodding my head. Having rich friends who would buy me things sounds like a good… wait! Lady Lamonia! Lady Lamonia, as in the villainess of the game Freedom's Heart? She looks like her… the prince also looks a lot like prince Marshall from the game. If that's the case, then in a few years, my new family would be pretty wealthy.

It's a shame I am here instead of my sister. She loved this game. I played it once just to see what it was like, but I wasn't into this kind of thing like she was. Still, I have a pretty good memory, and I have all the critical events memorised. With a little push here and there, I am sure I can speed up the process of my family taking over her family's lands, titles and wealth.

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Present Time

"I have waited twelve years for this day," I tell that disobedient little pest. "If only your master had gone along with my schemes, this would have already been over."

"You really don't mind destroying someone's life, do you?"

"So what if I destroy them? If I benefit from that, I won't hesitate to tear them down. You sound just like my sister, you know that? She would always try and make me reconsider my actions,"

"You should have listened to her,"

"I can't anymore. Not after I shot… not after what happened. I miss her. She was the only person who saw any good in me,"

We were opposites. My sister was an angel, always helping those in need, while I was the devil screwing everyone over. But no matter what I did, she would always be there for me, even after everyone else gave up.

Losing her was the day my dreams ended in disaster. I had everything planned out. I go in, wave a gun around to stop anyone from trying anything, and my sister would hand over the money. I would then leave town, meet up with some people for a big job and earn so much money I couldn't spend it all in my lifetime. If that idiot didn't try to be a hero and tackle me, the gin never would have… she would never have… it was all that jerk's fault. If he didn't attack, I wouldn't have lost her.

"But she's gone now," I shouldn't be saying this. I have to quickly wipe away a tear before that dragon spots it. "Just like your master. You should just give in and accept your fate. It will be less painful that way."