3 Living Anew

How can she possibly become Selda?

"You snake what did you do to me?" furiously Anna looked around the room for him.

"Calm down! Ok?!? I don't really know what happened myself." pleaded the snake while the black tattoo turned a hue of blue.

"What do you mean? You said you were a God!" she wanted to grab him by the neck and choke him in the water basin set on the nightstand.

"You-How dare-!!" he didn't say anything for a short while "there are people coming...a lot of them. After they leave we'll have a civilised talk." said the snake and the next instant the tattoo magically disappeared.

"How dare he leave me like this!" complained Anna while preparing for the worse. The door burst open and a tall robust man came through the door followed by a woman with similar eyes as Selda carrying a child in her arms. Behind her were the two maids that she sent away and an old man dressed as a waiter of a luxurious restaurant. At the door stood two well-built men dressed in red uniforms. They each had a spade in their hands but their heads were lowered indicating that the people that came through the door were very important.

This put Anna on the edge. She wasn't ready to answer any questions as she herself knew nothing about the body the snake randomly procured a while ago. She tried to hide her feelings and keep a poker face while facing those people. The man that had a similar appearance to Seldas face looked lethargically her way boring holes into her soul.

'Did he find out!?!" Anna started panicking a bit more.

"She seems fine to me." said the man and turned around. His white overcoat with a detailed gold and green patterns that touched his calves fluttered in the wind as he turned around very quickly. He seems to pay little attention to her, presumably, he was her father, the Emperor. Anna felt her blood chill thinking that a man of this calibre that could dictate the life of any man and woman in this Empire could have discovered that she was an impostor.

The woman saw him leaving, wanted to say something but gave up, instead she handed the baby to the maid Mielda and then came rushing towards Anna while crying.

"Selda! Are you fine darling?" said the woman.

'She must be the Empress her mother.' thought Anna while awkwardly accepting the hug. She didn't know if Selda was on good terms with her mother but she will from now if Anna had no way of returning to Earth. Her mother must be the only person who cares about her as her dad, the Emperor, has proven otherwise.

"Please tell mother something!" pleaded the Empress.

"Cecilia let her be." said the Emperor casting a last glance towards the awkward pair of mother and daughter. Her mother finally settled down a bit as she helplessly watched how her husband together with the Imperial guards left her daughter as though she was a worthless case, less important than his business. Looking back towards her daughter, she brushed her black fringe to the sides in order to take a better look at Selda.

Her small purple eyes looked somewhat bewildered, her small plump lips tightly stuck together while her eyebrows creased. The rosy cheeks accentuated her cute appearance foreshadowing the fact that she will become a beauty.

After checking every corner of her face making sure she was ok, her mother sent a strand of her magical power inside Selda. Anna became petrified. She never experienced such a thing. It was a warm feeling but she felt as if her privacy crumbled before her. She felt exposed, what if she can notice a difference?

"Vanessa go prepare a bath for Selda." said Cecilia after she retracted her magic.

"Don't be sad, Selda. You know how busy your father is. He will enquire about you later today, maybe even invite you for dinner." her mother tried to reassure Anna. She didn't sound convincing which made Anna suspicious.

'Why doesn't the father love his daughter? She sure is pretty.'

"Why don't you get ready, get some fresh air and then meet at dinner? Shall we do that, Selda?" asked her mother. She nodded unconsciously and avoided her gaze. Anna couldn't understand why her mother seemed to love her but her father was a block of ice.

"Oh, sister!" yelled a girl from across the room. She was panting as she just came her running.

Anna was about to greet her when she noticed her sister smile.

'What is wrong with her?' cautiously she narrowed her eyes and said nothing. Anna wasn't an idiot to start a conversation with someone who's intentions seemed suspicious.

"If only I was there when you were drowning in the lake. If you had any magical powers you could have saved yourself...but unfortunately-"

"Aura that's enough!" Cecilia reprimanded her sister. She was older than Selda, seemingly by three to four years. Aura seemed to take more from her mother side as she had blond hair like her mother and had the same oval-shaped face with thin lips but had her father's blue eyes.

"Selda appreciates that you came to check on her but she does not look like herself at the moment so go and fetch for the Imperial Doctor." Cecilia seems to know that the two sisters didn't go along well and yet she still took Seldas side. Does it have to do with the fact that she recently drowned or because she has no magical powers? Is it pity? Or real motherly love?

"Ye-yes mother! I was just worried about my sister." she faked a smile at Anna and left the room in a dance.

"Selda let's wait for the doctor to make sure you are ok and then you can have your bath." with that she directed the people to vacate the room, leaving just them two in the room.

"Selda...do you remember anything?" her mother probed.

'Don't tell me!! She found out that this isn't Selda?' Anna stress levels reached sky-high limits as she felt herself sweating profusely.

'That fucking snake! When I get my hands on him I'll make him into a pair of gloves." she swore to avenge herself but continued to look elsewhere but her mother. She couldn't bear to make eye contact with her or she feared she might tell her everything.

"How long was I out for?" she tried to imitate the same posh accent she often heard in historical dramas but as she never had a talent in this field she sounded like she was choking on air. Her mother Cecilia picked a glass of water from the silver plate sat on the nightstand and placed it on Seldas lips. She unwillingly drank the water, because on her empty stomach the water wasn't doing her any favours but she couldn't object because she just failed miserably at imitating an accent and needed time to recuperate her dignity.

"You were out for more than two weeks, darling. We tried to help you, sending in our powers but because you have - ....never mind my useless talk. I'm rumbling again am I not?" her mother diverted the talk again. It seems powers in this world are pretty important, so important that her father has the right to even neglect a little child like herself.

After some time where neither of them spoke a word, a man dressed all in white came in. His scholarly appearance complemented the slow almost lethargic way of moving. He seemed more like an old person she would have seen in a care home, back on Earth, than an Imperial doctor.

"Good morning, Your Majesty! Your Highness, may I check your body?" his soothing voice, calmed Anna's nervous state and she nodded slightly. Doing the same procedure as her mother did before the strand of magic this time a yellow colour entered her left arm and Anna felt at ease. It wasn't compared to the one her mothers had, which was at best warm. This magic gave Anna such a blissful experience, she felt cosy and it made her drowsy to the point where she lazily closed her eyes. That's when the doctor unexpectedly pulled his magic away.

"She seems to be in good shape, your Majesty. However her soul seems extremely fragile... how shall I put this? I've never seen such an event ever occurring."

"Oh my sister! Don't tell me you got cursed!" said her sister while she grabbed her hand squeezing it up until her hands turned white.

"Aura do no say such a thing. That is impossible!" Cecilia cried out.

"I am not sure your Majesty!" such a thing was only possible in ancient times and it never occurred since Goddess Felicia blessed this Earth following the Great Vendetta.

He never read of such conditions anywhere before, she seemed to be in good spirits but her soul seemed damaged. He had no way of curing this condition as he never encountered it.

"Mother I-...when I was learning about History, my tutor mentioned something like this." Aura was desperately trying to make her story heard.

'Don't tell me this bitch is having a problem with me.'

Anna threw a murderous look towards Aura. She simply smiled back, like an innocent girl she was.

'She's asking for me to bully her.'

"Mother don't worry! I am fine! I understand my sister is worried about me but honestly, I never felt better. In fact, I feel so good I shall join in for the family dinner." reproducing the same innocent looking smile, she peeped at Aura.

Her body shook and she looked towards mother stupefied.

"Yes, that is magnificent. I shall personally let the cook know that you will be attending. Would you like anything in particular to eat, sweetheart?" her mother brushed her cheek as she smiled.

"I feel like eating duck today mother." she was really caving some cake too but she would not be able to recuperate by eating sugar. So she decided to settle on something nutritious but still light. In her past life, she always stayed healthy on a diet-conscious about herself, in order to live a healthy and long life. Too sad the latter didn't occur as she passed away at thirty-five.

"What an excellent choice dear. Well then...we shall leave you to bathe. Call me if you lack anything." the Empress pecked her cheek and left the room together with the last remaining guests.

Finally, Anna could breathe.

"You fucking bastard! Come out!" yelled Anna.

As prompted a dark hue of blue formed in the room and the snake appeared before her.

"Now now! No need for such obscenities!" disgusted the snake stuck his tongue out.

"What have you done?"

"Well simply put, I made you a princess. Isn't that what you wanted?" snickered the snake.

"No! I had a better life than this one back on Earth. I had a wonderful family there, with a loving brother and great parents. What did I get in return?? I have a sick sister who looks like she's working on my next assassination and a father that would rather take a bullet through the head than even touch me!!"

"Well.....now if you put it this way it sounds bad. B-but look at the good part - you are the second Princess of the Greatest Empire ever known!" the snake stated proudly. Annas's mouth twitched. She couldn't believe what he just said. She threw a pillow his direction which he easily avoided, but soon after a second followed which hit him so hard it propelled him on the floor.

" You think that makes me sleep sweetly at night, you bastard?"

"You have a loving mother through..." complained the snake while regaining his composure.

"I - are you mentally retarded? How is that going to put me in a better situation?" shrieked Anna.

"Well...well she is the Empress!" stated it as a matter of fact.

"You-You're useless. Have you not seen how helpless she is in front of the Emperor? Even the butler stayed silent. Her power can be stuck on a stick and thrown in an ocean. No-one will swim to get it."

"Enough of this. Yes. I know Selda doesn't have the best of families but there's no need to dwell on that." offended the snake rolled his eyes. "You can always leave if you want. Is not like anyone will miss you. Go on then... make your own life. You seem to have been doing that up until now."

"I shall! And you will help me." a killing intent soon covered the whole room as the snake look horrified towards her.