The villainess is worse the second time around

"Lucia Levi Strauss, you are charged with war crimes against the Rotan Empire. You, going against your orders by your king, lead a march against our friends in the Rotan empire with the hope of inciting a war. How do you plead?" Duke Moreton demanded.

"Lies!" Lucia turned to the king, "Your Majesty, I am innocent!"

The king's eyes didn't meet Lucia's. He sat back on his throne with a look of utter boredom.

Lucia had spent her whole adult life as a knight. She had served her king and her kingdom. She couldn't understand why they were abandoning her now.

Duke Morton smirked. He knew well the king would not interfere. He stepped in front of the king. He looked down at Lucia in chains, grovelling her knees, and felt satisfaction. Finally, the arrogant head of Trimand house would be out of the way.

"Innocent?" The duke raised his voice incredulously, "We've already heard testimony from the men who served under you. Even, your own friends and family testified on your hatred of the Rotan Empire - how you would have done anything to bring them down!"

"Lies!" Lucia rebuked viciously. Her body shook with rage and frustration.

"Lies?" The Duke questioned again. This was going exactly as he predicted. The hot-blooded knight was digging her own grave. He could barely contain himself.

"Now she calls her own family and friends liars," He let out an exaggerated sigh.

The Duke extended his arm to the court in fake outrage and added, "If her deceit had not been found out, we would now be at war! After so many years of peace, this knight..No, this villainess would have thrown our entire country into chaos,"

Lucia looked around the palace court. There must be a way. It couldn't end like this. At the right-hand side of the king, the Emperor of Rotan stood with his arms crossed. His knights stood by his side. His cold, blue eyes studied the court sharply. His dissatisfaction was evident. Lucia knew this was her only chance.

"This is all a ruse," She cried out, "The kingdom of Ramelle has been planning an assault on Rotan for years. They knew they could never best the Empire but they crossed the boundary anyway. I'm just a scapegoat! They're just trying to avoid blame,"

Lucia looked eagerly to the Emperor. His face remained expressionless, waiting for the Duke's reply.

The Duke turned with the enthusiasm of a man who had just caught a fish and was reeling it in.

"Oh? So in your own words, the kingdom of Ramelle knew they could not defeat the Rotan Empire?"

"That's right! They were defeated. Someone needed to take the blame to avoid responsibility," Lucia answered immediately. The instance she spoke the words, she felt a sense of dread.

"Then, why would the kingdom of Ramelle cross the borders?"

Lucia felt her heart beating in her chest. A cold wave crawled over her skin. It was the feeling of standing in front of a beast with nowhere to run. Her mind desperately recalled all the information she could think of, but at that moment when she most needed it, her mind went blank. Before she could speak, the Duke clapped his hands together and addressed the court again.

"There you have it. We have heard the testimony of people from all corners of our kingdom. Now, the criminal herself testifies she can think of no reason why Ramelle would attack Rotan's borders. What more do we need to hear?"

Lucia fought back tears.

"No! I'm telling you.." She began. The booming voice of the king interjected.

"Enough!" The king commanded. "Lest we offend our guests any further, I have come to a decision. Execute this knight immediately."

Lucia began to struggle to get to her feet. The guards knocked her to the floor and held her shoulders. She strained to crank her neck up. In front of her, stood Duke Morton with a smile.

"Serve your kingdom to the end," he said under his breath as he passed. Lucia stared back furiously. All she could think of was everything she had sacrificed for this kingdom. Hadn't she served loyally? It wasn't a question of why anymore, Lucia didn't care. All she could feel was an overwhelming rage. Words couldn't describe the weight of the injustice she felt.

As the executor approached and Lucia was shackled into the chopping board, her last thought was what a waste her life had been But more than anything else, she hated Duke Morton. She hated the Emperor. She hated the king. She hated the whole Ramelle kingdom.

"If I could live this life again, I wish I could watch this whole kingdom burn to the ground."

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Lucia awoke from what seemed like a long slumber. She was taken back by the sunlight streaming through her window. At first, she was confused and could hardly recognize her surroundings. She instinctively reached to her side for her sword. As her hands caressed the air, she looked down at her body in shock. Pale unscarred skin wrapped in silk bedclothes met her eyes. At once she jumped from her bed and lunged towards the dressing table mirror.

"Impossible," she whispered. A young woman looked back at her. Her curly red hair was long again. Lucia stood staring into the mirror in total shock. Somehow, she had gone back in time. Way back, before she had even joined the knight's academy. Back to when she was just a wealthy Duke's daughter without a care in the world.

Mina entered her mistress' room after a brief knock. She was surprised to see Lady Lucia had gotten out of bed so early. Usually, her mistress wouldn't stir for hours. She observed the odd expression on Lucia's face and quickened her step.

"My lady?" Said Mina softly.

"Mina?" Lucia snapped back to her surroundings, "What year is it?"

Mina looked back confused.

"The same year as yesterday," Mina laughed. "The 23rd year of King Alldus."

Mina set down the breakfast tray on her mistresses' bed and directed Lucia back to her bed. Mina was older by three years and considered herself something of a big sister to Lucia.

"So, I've gone back 15 years," Lucia said to herself. Mina observed her carefully as she sat. There was something odd about her air. Lucia had always been an aloof young woman, soft like a little fairy. For some reason, this morning her gait seemed utterly changed. It was forceful. Every move was sharp and she spoke directly. Lucia was usually quiet and hardly spoke. She reminded Mina of a wild dog.

Mina reproached herself for thinking such a thing about her mistress.

"Is everything okay, my Lady?" she asked.

Lucia who had been sitting rose suddenly.

"Where's my father?"

"In his office, as he usually is, my Lady," Mina answered hesitatingly.

Joy filled Lucia like she hadn't felt in years. Her father had died during a border attack whilst she had been away at the academy.

After that, everything started to go wrong. Her stepmother had been quick to take control of the house. Lucia was forced into conscription so her stepmother could take control of the house.

Lucia ran to the door before stopping sharply. She turned quickly and hugged Mina. Once she had been conscripted she never saw Mina again. She had only guessed her step Mother had gotten rid of her in order to spite Lucia. Mina had been a kind childhood memory filled with warmth.

"What's gotten into you, my lady?" gasped Mina with a smile. Before she could stop her, Lucia had set off running down the hall.

Lucia burst into her father's office.

"Father!"

The Duke of Trimand jumped in surprised as the door swung open. He was shocked to see his daughter still in her bedclothes dashing towards him. Lucia wrapped her hands around her father with tears in her eyes.

The Duke was left speechless by his daughter. His weak and reserved Lucia usually couldn't run without running out of breath. Honestly, he had never heard his daughter ever even raise her voice.

"What is it, Lucia?" He implored. Looking into his daughter's tearful face he began to think the worst.

"Speak child! What had happened?" He said rising to his feet.

Lucia hardly knew the words to say. There was so much she wanted to tell him but instead, she smiled and took a step back.

"I'm sorry father. I had a bad dream," She explained.

The Duke sighed in relief and patted his daughter on the head.

"To think a big girl like you would come crying to her father. You will be going away to the academy in less than a month, what will you do then? As I thought Lucia, it may be too soon for you to leave home."

Lucia held down the lump in her throat and nodded. Mina swiftly entered the office and curtsied to the Duke.

"I'm sorry, your Grace. I wasn't fast enough," Mina said breathlessly.

"That's quite alright. Just take Lucia back to her room." The Duke gestured to the door.

Mina led Lucia out in the hallway.

"Really, my Lady! What's gotten into you?" Mina said as the two began to walk back.

As they both turned the corridor, the clack of heels could be heard from behind. A haughty voice addressed the pair.

"What's all the commotion?" demanded the Duchess. She set her cold grey eyes on Lucia and examined the girl from head to toe. Finally, her disparaging glare met Lucia's eyes. She looked forward to watching Lucia squirm.

Lucia's didn't budge. She met the duchess's glare with cold indifference. Mina could hardly believe Lucia's defiance. The Duchess faltered. The girl who could never look her in the eyes, stood face to face without a hint of fear or hesitation.

"Answer me, Lucia." She the Duchess trying to regain her composure.

Lucia recalled the moment the Duchess had taken the stand against her. Her smug smile as Lucia was brought to her knees. The memories back to her like a splash of cold water hitting her face. It all came back, the trial and the utter betrayal of everyone around her. Her blood boiled. She considered killing her right now. She could wrap her hands around the Duchess' white throat and snap her neck in her hands.

The Duchess suddenly began to regret her words. She felt the urge to run. And then almost as suddenly as the feeling came, it dissipated as Lucia smiled.

"I had a bad dream, Mother," She said warmly.

It took a moment for the Duchess to regain her senses before she uttered,

"Go and get dressed girl."

Lucia and Mina continued down the hall. Mina let out a breath. The tension could have drawn blood. She turned back to her mistress and was about to speak when she caught the Look in Lucia's eye. She didn't know why but she felt like she could hardly speak.

As Lucia closed the door behind her, swirling darkness filled her mind. It wasn't enough to kill them. She wanted them to hear their knees crack as they bowed before her. She would wait to hear their pleas for mercy as she took everything from them.

As she stepped out onto the sunny balcony overlooking the kingdom, she said to herself,

"I'll turn this all to dust."