Chapter Two

The room was large in size but modest in terms of furniture and decoration. Apart from the bed, the only other furniture was a bookshelf, a desk covered in neat stacks of paper, a body length mirror tucked in a corner, and a small dinning table with a vase of pink peonies.

The wall connected to the balcony was entirely made of glass, filling the room with an abundance of warm natural light. Another space for seating was placed on the veranda facing towards the palace garden. Perfect for viewing the sea of roses and peonies just below it.

Violette slowly opened her eyes to the view of a strangely familiar ceiling. She gradually began to sit up, taken aback by everything around her.

This was her room. She had somehow returned to the detached palace her father had given her and her mother when she was first born. It was as peaceful as she had remembered it.

'Am I dreaming?' She asked internally.

Her hand subconsciously reached up to her neck, double checking that her head was still attached. When she felt nothing but smooth skin she darted across the room to her mirror.

Her reflection made her gasp. Bright pink dawn-tinted irises stared back at her. Her hair was once again cascading to her thighs in silver-blonde waves. They had forced her to wear her hair choppy and short for the past year, so suddenly seeing so much healthy hair was akin to a miracle.

"My lady, are you awake? I brought you breakfast." A voice she instantly recognized as her personal maid, Laura White. Her sweet chipper voice was like music to her ears.

"How..." She felt her heart flutter against her chest.

Because Laura was the maid of a traitor, she was sent to the dungeon alongside her. They had tortured her and demanded she testified against me with fabricated evidence, but Laura was too loyal. When she continued to refuse them they ended up murdered her to insure their secret died with her.

Laura opened the door holding a tray of toast and eggs. "Good morning, My Lady." She did a small curtsey before quickly moving on to set the table for breakfast. She wore her curly red hair in a clip, and a traditional maid dress that came to her ankles.

The memory of losing Laura was still too vivid in her memory. She had to blink back tears to keep them from falling down her face. Her voice shook.

"Laura... is this supposed to be Heaven?"

Without looking, Laura continued to set the table.

"Maybe if we had something better to eat than eggs and toast, it would be." She poured a fresh cup of tea and placed it next to the dish. "It would be nice to have steak or even lobster instead. Oh! If it's Heaven, then maybe they would have never ending desert too! That would be magnificent. " She didn't realize the intensity of the question until she turned to look at a visibly distraught Violette holding back tears.

Her happy face dropped instantly. It was so unlike her lady to show so much emotion, especially infront of someone else.

She rushed to her side and gently placed the back of her hand on Violette's forhead.

Laura checked for signs of a cold, but ended up finding none. Her doe like brown eyes glossed over with genuine concern. "Are you feeling unwell?"

Violette didn't know how to answer. None of this made any sense. If this was not Heaven, then how were they standing here? They had died!

Suddenly the warmth from Laura's hands made her realize something. Her touch felt too real to be a figment of her imagination.

A thousand questions ran through her mind but only one made it past her lips.

"Laura, how old am I right now?"

"My Lady is turning eighteen at the end of this month. Is that what this is about? Are you worried about your coming of age ceremony?"

'Eighteen? I was twenty when she was arrested, and twenty-one at the time of my execution. How could I be Eighteen now?'

Her knees felt wobbly. Laura felt her body begin to tremble and led her to a chair to sit down.

"I'll go get the doctor!" Laura shouted louder then she meant to, and ran out the door into the hall way. Just like that she was out of sight and Violette was once again alone.

'I'm eighteen'. The thought repeated it's going around and around several times before finally being able to calm down enough to process things as they were.

After a few minutes of deep thought, her eyes suddenly widened in anticipation.

'If this is three years into the past, that meant she had time to change her future. Not only could she save herself, but she could save Laura and maybe the rest of the Kingdom as well. If she could somehow gain control of the Royal Army, maybe she could defeat the blight before it became too much to handle. She had about a year before the first demon was sighted, until then she would have to build not only personal strength but political strength as well.

Army's would not move for a half-blood elf like herself. She would be lucky if anyone would listen to her at all, but she had to try.

She ran to her desk and grabbed a clean piece of paper and quill to write down her recollection of the past three years.

For now, the only notable event was her own Coming of Age Ceremony. It would be the perfect stage to gather some political power of her own. She made a note of all the important nobles she knew would be there.

The Coming of Age Ceremony is where she would be officially announced as Second Princess of the Wisteria Kingdom. She will be given her own fief to govern, be able to freely participate at social events, and lastly, choose her own personal knight. A very important ritual for a Royal.

In her first life, she opted out of choosing a personal knight, and for good reason. The whole concept felt wrong to her.

In Wisteria, a Royal anointing a knight was not a simple employer/employee relationship like it would be for other nobles. It was far more corrupt and complicated.

Once a knight is chosen, they then must bind their soul to their master. A type of spell that is meant to prove the knights loyalty by making the ultimate promise to never disobey nor betray their Master. Essentially, they are choosing to becoming slaves for whichever Prince/Princess that picks them.

If the Knight did try to disobey an order, then an unbearable pain would temporarily cripple them right where they stood. The spell not only harms the body, but their souls as well. Each time they disobey, some of their soul is burned away until nothing is left but an obedient doll.

She hated the idea of taking away someone's free will, but in order to save her life as well as those who follow her, she was willing to do what ever it took.

If her last life had taught her anything, it was that she would have to play by the same corrupte rules in order to change the game entirely. All she would have to do was aquire a few useful players to join her side.