How to spend a second life

"No no...no you can't do this to me. Let me out!" the door of the prison closed with a bang ignoring her pleading.

"There is no way to get out of here, Selda." said a person from the next prison cell.

"Ricky please...do something about this!" pleaded Selda grabbing the rails that separated them. She looked disheveled, her usual clothes that were threaded with gold were switched for rags...she looked almost unrecognisable.

"Sigh..."Derick said nothing and avoided her stare. He couldn't bare to watch her like this even after all the things he went through because of her.

"Ricky! Ricky? What's wrong?" cried Selda. "You can help me right? Like you always did...please help me this one time Ricky! Please..." she began crying even louder.

"I can't help you anymore Selda...I can't help myself either." groaned Derick. He was tied to the wall with his hands chained above him, his handsome face has been disfigured. He no longer could see nor speak. He could only use his telepathy to speak to Selda. He was to be beheaded tomorrow for the treason committed - killing Crown Princess Aura Vierra.

"I'm sorry...it's all my fault!...I'm sorry Derick." said Selda between hiccups.

"No...it's not your fault. It's mine. It always was mine." yes that's right...it was always his fault for doing her dirty work without questing her once. Not once did he tried to change her path to destruction, he just followed her thinking that one day she will notice him. She was the second princess with no magical powers, cased aside most of the times but she never gave up. She always made things run her way regardless of what people around her thought. Maybe that's what he liked about her...maybe it was pity seeing her suffer at the hands of her siblings...maybe it was her bright personality or maybe her gorgeous appearance that men craved for. No...it wasn't any of those...it was love...Love...yes that's it.

"My biggest mistake was falling in love with you, Selda. Not once did you look at the people who surrounded you and supported you." a sorrowful voice at the point of cracking told Selda something he wasn't able to tell her his whole life. She gasped, her teary eyes fixated on him. She didn't know where to look exactly. Her eyes kept moving around his figure and she couldn't find a single word to say back.

"I wish I didn't love you, Selda. I really wish...I could have had a better life, maybe. It should have been me you noticed first, me you ran to embrace, me who you told you loved not the Crown Prince!" he was chocking in emotions even now. He mustered the last strand of courage and told her: "I wish many things but we all now this is reality and wishful thinking is vain. Even now I can't make myself to hate you. It's all useless Selda. We can't escape fate!" and with that tears started flowing down his face. The salty liquid burned his blooded face and he lost all magical power he had. After staying in this cell for more than one week, the golden nail dug into his left lung, exactly where his magical core was, shattered along with his magical powers.

"No...Derick! No, no. Ricky talk to me please! Ricky please!" she wasn't able to accept this. She yelled his name till her throat became sore but it was all useless, he no longer had magical powers to talk to her. The door of the prison opened suddenly and 4 soldiers came rushing in.

"He's still alive" said one of the soldiers after checking his pulse.

"make sure he doesn't die until tomorrow!"

'Thank God' thought Selda. She still had time to invoke a God until tomorrow morning.

"You're coming with us 'princess'." laughed one of the soldiers. They dragged her to the tower where she was to expect her trial very soon. She didn't bulge a muscle while they dragged across prison into the other section of the castle. They tossed her on the stone floor and locked the door. There was only a small window situated very high up. She tried to climb it but failed miserably and ended up with multiple bruises on her as well as a twisted ankle.

"Right, I have to invoke the Gods! I will no die like this. Nor will let Ricky die. He...he loved me." tears fell down from her amethyst eyes while she was drawing ancient runes on the floor with her blood. She started the incantations she learned ages ago while looking for a way to kill Princess Aura using magic of the Ancient Fallenones.

Suddenly a bleumarin mist surrounded the red circle she formed around herself.

"Oh my my! It's been a while since someone called me, God Angus. What do we have here?" hissed a snake. His shiny black skin a contrast to the bleu mist surrounding him made him enchanting yet his shiny green eyes glistened dangerously. He was captivating, even Tinselda who was born into royalty used to all kinds of jewelry and precious pieces admired the glass looking skin of the snake. It looked fragile as if made of pure mosaic glass but his smile gave a different look. One of a very proud King whom no-one has ever managed to defeat, refined in his way of living and looking down on everyone.

"say, don't be shy my princess." she was suprised. It knew who she was. It was to be expect of a God; she quickly gathered herself and looked courageously in his eyes.

"Make me and Ricky live a better life!"

"Oh but how brazen on you to say something like that to this God! What are you willing to give in exchange? Smirked Angus.

"I swear to leave this place far away and never intervene with the Crown Prince."

"Hahaha! What an inocent thing for you to say! Do you think this is how exchanges work?"

"I, princess Tinselda Rila Angercy, swear to do anything you want as long as it is within my capabilities."

"Your determination and sheer stupidity amuses me so I'll accept it just this once. Are you sure you want what you said?" snickered the black snake as it came closer to her. It started climbing her legs slowly as his glass skin cooled her blood.

"Yes I stand by what I said!" Selda refused to look down as the snake reached her neck.

"I shall do as you want then!" the snake bit her without any further delay and the bloody runes turned gold as the room lit up with a red light.

"I will let you watch how the boy dies!" laughed the snake and then disappeared the same way it appeared.

"What do you mean? Wait!" frustrated she stomped her foot onto the concrete floor. A ray of light shone down from the window telling her that the time has come. She tried climbing the stone wall, ignoring the piercing pain, and somehow managed to reach the palm sized window.

A noisy plaza came into view where all kinds of people stood. There was even a place where the nobility stood as if they were watching a Knight tournament. Her father, the Emperor of Viadora stood proudly on a enormous seat. He had the same lucios black hair Selda had but crystal blue eyes that were not visible from this distance. His mood was awfully bad but his expression couldn't be read. Next to him stood the Empress who looked like a dool - lifeless. She lost two of her daughters in the war they wrenched between themselves eventually leading to Aura's premature death and Seldas treason. She couldn't fathom how the daughters she loved, regardless if Selda was godless (without magical power), grew up to have such evil thoughts and lead to their demise. She slowly turned her head towards where Dominik the Crown Prince of Friella stood. His attire brightly coloured, unsuited for this event was a way for him to celebrate the death of the killer of his beloved, now dead fiance. He turned towards the Empress Cecilia and smiled maliciously. The Empress suprised turned around looking straight at the stage and fanning herself worriedly.

Dragged onto the stage containing only a head cushion came Derick and three robust soldiers. He looked even worse than when she last saw him, his bloody trail left her chocking on her own breath. How painful it must have been for him, she regretted everything and swore to make his life from now better.

"Do you have any last words?" said the soldier while getting ready to kill him.

"..."

"Very well. Atone for your sins in hell!" the sword detached the head from his body earing a loud cheer from the crowd.

"No no...Ricky!" inside the tower prison Tinselda watched how her best friend died.

"He...he loved me." with this he decided to follow him even in hell.

"It's time princess!" an alluring voice woke her up from her trance.

"Yes" she lost her footing and fell down. Her life played in front of her eyes. All her memories with Derick, the sad time when she was bullied by her siblings, the way she came about to be the Crown Princess. Twenty years of her life went past in what felt like a blink and here she was regretting again, to ever consider herself worthy of the crown of her neighbouring country Friella, as well as the love from the Crown Prince. She missed the times when she was little, inocent and had no care in the world.

She will make up for the time she lost with Derick. She will come to love him one day, she owned him too much, even if he would push her away she will stay attached to him and help Derick like a good wife would. She smiled thinking how she would cook for him and take care of their children. She would never make the same mistake as she made it this life.

She closed her eyes and slowly everything around her became black.