It was already late when Arcane opened her eyes, the light from the window beside her bed directly hit her,  making her uncomfortable. She blinked a few times trying to adjust her eyes to her surrounding.

“You woke up, Princess!!” Blanca jumped at her with an overjoyed face, she was already dressed neatly with her hair done into a bun.

“Yikes!” Arcane’s eyes widened when she encountered sudden positive energy the first thing in the morning.

“Did I scare you?” 

The brightness in Blanca’s eyes disappeared when she saw the scared expression on Arcane’s face. 

“No… it’s not like that,” Arcane rubbed her face and gently combed her hair with her fingers, and looked at the window that was throwing light right at her face.

She slowly moved her head towards the couch where she saw something odd.

“What is that?” Arcane pointed at the huge boxes.

“Ooh!! Princess, they arrived this morning. It is a small gift from the Emperor,” Blanca couldn’t contain her excitement and hopped like a bunny while biting her fingernails.

“Hah?” Arcane’s one eye squinted sarcastically when she looked at the size of the boxes. “That?...you call that a small gift?’ Arcane shifted her legs to the side of the bed, Blanca hurriedly brought her flat slippers,

“Nah! I am good without them.” Arcane didn’t wear her shoes, she walked barefooted on the cold marble floor with joy. “It’s fun this way,” she stepped down the stairs. The boxes were huge, about the size of her head. They were covered with elaborately embroidered cloth that was used as a replacement for gift wraps.

“This must be for the upcoming banquet...Just like in the book,” Arcane muttered to herself, she suddenly felt a gust of cold wind hitting her that made her tremble all over. She suddenly remembered the storyline where she was going to be brutally killed. 

“Princess!!” Blanca saw Arcane’s pale face and trembling body, she ran over to her side and held her tightly to avoid her from falling.

“Are You alright?” she asked. 

Arcane shook her head in response as she was not okay, The trembles a while ago had caused her head to spin, she suddenly saw vague memories that the real Arcane’s body held. 

Blanca helped Arcane sit on the couch, While she was holding her head tightly, she felt immense pain surging, she had clenched her teeth tightly trying hard to not let out a scream but it was all in vain. She could no longer control her pain and she screamed bitterly as the painful unconscious memories of Arcane made their way into her conscious mind.

 

She saw how brutally her hands were broken and then cut off, she could feel the pain, The memories of the time when Iroas penetrated the sharp sword into her heart for the first time and then followed by the endless stabbing. She saw the hatred, loathing, and disgust in his eyes as he continued to cut her skin. Arcane couldn’t take in the sorrow, her screams grew louder as she passed out. Still, the memories didn’t stop pouring into her head and tormented her even in her dreams…

“Gah!!” She blinked violently as she abruptly sat up in her bed. The light of the day had long set into the never-ending darkness of the night. She looked around the room to see the silhouettes of the furniture. The moonlight was the only source of light. Arcane still had the singing sensation of being stabbed all over her body. She felt like she had been stabbed. She gently stroked her hands that had been cut off and breathed out heavily, HEr hands were still trembling because of the trauma.

“What should I do? What if I die like that again?... I don’t want to die!!” Arcane mumbled in a crying voice, “What if I run away? What if I can just disappear from the story’s plot? I am sure nothing would change, it’s not like I have a major role.” Arcane spoke to herself in the darkroom, still stroking her hand.

“The banquet of hero’s arrival will be next week, I should just run away before that,” Arcane spoke with a determined tone. 

 

She sat there in the same posture for who knows how long, She was drifted back into reality after the first light of the sun hit her face directly. She shifted her blood-red eyes towards the annoying sun and clenched her teeth. 

“I will fight you all...I will not let anyone use me like a doll…” She paused for a moment, “or at least I will try,” 

 

“Or what if I could go back…” she was thinking over that when her attention was diverted by the door.

 

Click…

 

The door of the room opened with caution. Blanca stepped in slowly trying not to wake up Arcane, who had not slept a wink for the past whole night. Blanca was holding a huge bowl and a towel in her hands, Her eyes lit up when she saw Arcane wide awake.

“Princess!! You scared me, I thought you were dying,” She sprinted over to the bedside and whined.

“I was not dying...Not yet,” Arcane ate her last words 

 

“Are you feeling any better?” She asked, “Do you want to go outside? I have heard that they have great gardens in the Palace.” Said Blanca in excitement.

 

“Outside?...” Arcane bit her lip and looked out of the window, where the trees were lightly dancing with the wind. “Let us go outside,” 

 

“Yes!! I will prepare you tea and snacks,” Blanca replied.

 

Blanca had prepared jasmine tea and freshly baked milk bread with syrup and thinly sliced fruits added color to the breakfast. The food was laying on the table under the tree,

 

“Princess! What do you think?” Asked Blanca.

 

“This is nice, What about you? Have you had your breakfast yet?” 

Blanca nodded in response. 

Arcane picked up the fork and ate a few berries, she had a perplexed expression, Blanca notice her uneasiness and asked.

“Princess is something wrong? You suddenly passed out like that and now you are frowning?” Blanca fidgeted her fingers. “You can tell me if something is bothering you,” 

Arcane lifted her gaze and looked at her innocent maid, She bit her lip lightly before speaking.

“I am homesick,” said Arcane.

“HuH?” Blanca made a sound with her mouth and her eye twitched at Arcane’s words.

“You are homesick? But you were the one who said you were sick of that home!! Princess, they didn’t even treat you like a person back there why would you miss that home?” Blanca suddenly spoke out with a little louder voice than usual, it was becasue she was surprised.

What Blanca had said was true, Arcane who was the adopted daughter of Duke Jackel wasn’t treated well. She was considered a filthy object that was never accepted into the household. She never saw the love of her family since she was born.

 

Arcane chuckled at Blanca’s response. Before speaking again she thought for a while. 

“Is there a library in the Palace?” she asked.

 

“Hmm…” Blanca’s eyebrows twisted and she looked around before replying.

“I don’t know but I can ask the other maids,” she added.

“Okay! Great, now run along and check if there is a library in here,” said Arcane and sent Blanca away.

 

Arcane ate her fruits while staring a the disappearing figure of Blanca. And without even realizing it she had emptied the bowl of fruits. 

“I want more of these,” Arcane pouted and looked around. Not surprisingly at all, she realized that she was living in a fruit orchard. Her face formed into a smile and she lifted her puffy dress to walk towards the densely grown trees. 

“I wonder if they have oranges here,” She mumbled and entered the orchard.