Prologue 1

In a lovely and quiet white mansion surrounded by gardens and flowers. In the peaceful private land in the west of Blue River city in the country of Burberry. Inside, there was a young maiden kneeling beside a Queen size bed. Her eyes brimmed with silent tears, face red with unspoken grief, holding the hand of a middle-aged woman.

Sobs and cries cleaved the stillness in the classic room, racking the child's shoulders while the woman stayed stern and unbending to her emotions. Her beauty couldn't hide the yellowness of her skin and the patches of purple underneath her mesmerizing lifeless eyes.

"Remember what I told you . . . ," she said, voice raspy and weak. "Stay strong and don't depend on anyone . . ."

The child sniffled and muffled the older woman's name, unable to say anything else.

"Remember that time when you first found out your classmates talked behind your back . . . ?" the older woman asked, looking sternly at the child.

The child nodded weakly, drying her tears with her little hand as the other firmly held the older woman's.

"And remember that time when your friends betrayed you . . . ?"

Again, the child nodded.

Those were already distant memories of the past, but it remained rooted in the deepest corners of the young maiden's heart.

At a young age, she was thought by her mother to be strong. To not depend on anyone. To not trust anyone. To not care about anyone. To live a life unhindered by anyone. To live a life she wanted. To do what she wanted. Say what she wanted. Act as she wanted.

And yet . . .

Her young heart yearned for friends. For children her age to play. To feel the company of others.

Hence, to fit in, she lived the life her friends, her classmates, her teachers, wanted her to live. She said kind words. She flattered and gave them gifts each day. She joined in the gossip and talked behind other's back. She did their homework, help in their projects. She shared her lunch and treated them every day.

And all for what?

In the end, she was played for a fool.

It was all an act.

A lie.

All it ever was, a beautiful facade with rotten motives hidden within.

She was disgusted.

Repulsed by human nature.

That event changed everything for her.

Mother was right all along.

The child was jolted back from memory lane when her mother gripped her hands.

*cough . . . *cough . . .

The woman coughed nonstop and the child panic. The young lady wanted to pull her little hands and call for help, but the older woman used her remaining strength, pulling her in one last embrace.

"Remember . . . stay true to yourself . . . You are strong *cough . . . You are beautiful and a fighter *cough . . . No one can ever break you . . . my little . . . dar . . . ling . . . Queen . . ."

One last glistening tear fell from the woman's closed eyes before it dropped to her smiling pale lips –– and she breathed her last into a forever peaceful slumber.