Chapter 01

"I don't think you understand me, Lady Helia" -The girl snickered and took one step forward towards Helia, who's sitting in front of her, like some kind of predator intimidating a prey.

"It's my words against yours, and we both know that everyone will find my words more truthful, given by your reputation and all"-She giggled mockingly, while staring at Helia, waiting for the reaction that'll satisfy her enough to end the conversation with her, getting the upper hand.

"Oh please.."- Lady Helia, muttered under her breath.

"I beg your pardon?"- Barely hearing it, the lady crossed her arms, demanding her to repeat it.

Helia smiled before standing up, and taking a step forward- like how the lady tried to intimidate her just moments ago. The lady instinctively took a step back, suddenly feeling nervous- but still held her chin up.

"What? Are you thinking of hurting me? Go ahead! I would like to see how --"- The lady's speech was suddenly cut off- her head turned, holding her left cheek, she slowly raised her head, shock evident in her eyes.

"Was that good enough Lady Jena?"-Helia asked nonchalantly.

"Y-you y- how dare you?!"-appalled, she stood straight still holding her cheek.

"Everyone will know about this! how dare you hit me?!"- She yelled, finally recovering from the shock.

"You said you wanted to see it, I just complied, isn't that very kind of me?"-Helia replied innocently, while playfully batting her eyes at the lady's fuming face.

"Your father is going to hear of this matter! I'll make sure of it! He'll hear of this!"- She stomped her feet, still holding her, now swollen cheek.

"Of course he is, he has ears for a reason."- Helia shrugged, while fiddling her starlight-like hair between her delicate fingers.

"What.. are you mocking me?"-The lady felt appalled, seeing how Lady Helia was completely unbothered by her words.

"Goodness no Lady Janice, I was simply jesting."-Helia smiled, which enraged the lady even more.

"You hit me! How dare you jest in this kind of situation! I will not let this slide, my father will not let this slide! And it's Janette! I know you are an ill mannered person but I will not tolerate you disrespecting my name again! Ever!"-She shrieked as she stepped forward and poked Helia's chest twice, as if telling her to mark her words and be reminded of what she is capable of. But Helia just continued to smile.. a smile that had a hint of something sinister.

"Get this in that thick head of yours you little brat.."-Helia softly stated, her smile still painted beautifully on her lips.

"W-what did you just--"- The lady's eyes widened, not liking what she just heard, but Helia already cut her off before she could even retort back.

"I already have a ruined reputation, no honor to protect..and no parents to disappoint, since I'm pretty sure, they already are. In other words, I have nothing to lose."-She calmly laid her words still smiling.

"You on the other hand.. have a lot, your reputation, your friends, and your daddy's little approval. You just debuted in the society Lady Jane, so unless you want a rumor surrounding your name this early in your career, I suggest you keep that finger of yours to yourself.. unless you don't mind losing one."-Helia abruptly grabbed the lady's arm, making her flinch and grab them back from her grasp roughly.

"Good choice, now why don't we end this here Lady Joana.. it's getting late, and I think my carriage has been waiting long enough at the entrance, or do you still have something you want to say?"- Helia tilted her head, trying to contain a laugh after looking at how red the lady's face became, visibly wanting to say something but couldn't bring herself to.

"I said it's Janette!"- She screamed before stomping away from the scene grunting like a child throwing tantrums. Making Helia laugh out loud.

"That was fun! Let's do it again next time!"- She shouted while waving, trying to hold back her laugh.

"I win!"

"I-I can't breathe.."

Hearing sudden laughter, Helia turned her head towards the row of bushes near the school bench where she was seated earlier and playfully rolled her eyes.

"Come out you two, she's gone."- She walked towards the bushes and went around it until she saw two crouched down figures barely holding in their laughter. Her best friends.

"I won the bet! I told you Fiore!"- The girl with hip length, straight black hair jumped up and gestured her hand at the other girl, like she was asking her to hand over something.

"I know, Lila, I know"- Fiore rummaged her school uniforms pockets and handed over three gold coins, with a sheepish smile on her face.

"Wow, did you two really make a bet, while I was fighting for my life back there?.. I'm hurt."-Helia gasped playfully, and sat on the bench where she was just earlier.

"Oh come on, don't exaggerate it that much, besides, we both knew you had it all under control back there"-Lila replied, after sitting next to her.

"Exactly.. although I'm impressed, that was the third one this week.. these little girls just keep coming huh."- Fiore added, taking the space on the other side of where Helia was seated.

"And what was it about this time?"-Lila asked with an expression that tells that she already had an idea of what the answer would be. Helia rolled her eyes, which made the two laugh out loud. The three of them sighed after exchanging knowing glances.

"A boy."-They said in unison and laughed.

"I seriously don't understand why they go so far just to keep a guy like that."-Helia pursed her lips in disgust.

"Which one? And what did he do?"- Lila leaned in, in curiosity.

"That count's son, whatever his name was. Turns out that Jenelle earlier was his girlfriend, but he still kept hitting on me at the cafeteria, then before I knew it, she was in front of me..yapping nonsense."-Helia snorted and laughed, like she remembered how funny it was.

"They always bark at the wrong tree.. but anyway, I must say, I'm impressed you let her off lightly. She left angry, but at least she wasn't crying."-Fiore shrugged, remembering the other incidents involving Helia..

"You're definitely better than me, cause I would've thrown a punch or two."- Lila suddenly blurted out.

"And that's what we're trying to avoid.. so it's actually a good thing that it wasn't you, Lila."- Fiore rolled her eyes and let out a heavy sigh, after remembering the horror of what happened just last week.

"Whaaat? Last week was different! She called me a slut, she deserved to lose a few strands of hair."- Lila tried to reason, and smiled cheekily.

"At least she didn't leave a bald spot."- Helia chimed in, which earned her a glare from Fiore.

"Stop fanning the fire will you?"- Fiore nudged her on the side lightly.

"And what do you mean by a few strands of hair Lila? It was a fist of hair! We're lucky enough that her father decided to not get us in trouble even after that, so let's not push it, okay?"-Fiore scolded, while giving Lila the, dont-you-dare look.

"Besides we can't risk another scolding. Remember what our father said? One more mess and we're grounded. We can't get grounded remember?"- She added while looking at the two who fell silent.

"Right.. we still haven't found a way to stop that event from happening."- Lila muttered, suddenly feeling down from the thought.

"We've been here for a year now.. I think we took too much time trying to get used to this life, that we forgot about that part."- Helia sighed, feeling the weight of their situation.

"Don't let it get to you two that much, sulking about the situation we're in won't do us any good. We just have to come up with a plan to prevent that event from happening."- Fiore tried to cheer them up, while also feeling the weight on her shoulders.

"We'll figure it out."-She added to lift their spirits up.

"No matter how many times I convince myself.. sometimes I still think that we're only dreaming."- Helia sighed and leaned on Fiore's left shoulder.

"I would give anything, for this to be a dream."- Lila muttered quietly

"Cause I'm getting fed up dealing with these noble idiots."- She added jokingly, which made the other two laugh.

"A dream or not, we still need to figure out a way to change the course of the upcoming event. We have three months before it takes place. I'm sure we'll figure out something before then."- Fiore tried to bring back the topic.

"We have to.. In order for us to get rid of our death flags"- Fiore let out a deep sigh, and leaned her head on Helia's, who was still learning on her shoulder.

"Out of all the characters in this freaking novel, why did we have to end up in these characters?"- Lila rolled her eyes as she looked down on her own body.

"On the bright side, at least they're pretty.."- Helia reasoned, which made Lila stare longer at her own body.

"Well I did wish I had bigger boobs before."- Lila said in a-matter-of-fact tone, and nodded in satisfaction, while still looking down on her chest.

"Right? We still have something good going on for us."- Helia wiggled her brows, and laughed.

"You guys.."- Fiore rolled her eyes, but ended up laughing, knowing her friends are trying their best to make the heavy feeling they carry, even a tad bit lighter.

"Don't worry too much Fiore. Worst comes to worst we'll just manipulate our way to survive. After all, we are villainesses, and that's what we do best."-Helia nudged her shoulder with hers and winked playfully.

"Right..a villainess"-Fiore laughed a little after saying those words.

"But hey even though a lot has changed after we ended up here. There's one thing that's still the same."-Lila blurted out, like she realized something funny.

"In our past life we dealt with kids.. and the same goes around here, except these ones are annoying little brats."- She continued, which made the two burst out laughing.

"But you can't punch kids Lila."-Fiore joked

"Kids yeah, but these brats are different. They can take one for the team."-Lila retorted back proudly, which earned them another pit of laughter.

After a bunch of laughs and giggles, the three fell in a long, but comfortable silence. As they remained quietly seated on the bench, memories of their past lives slowly flooded their minds.. memories they had before it became someone else's, as they were thrown in a whole other dimension, that turned out to be a novel.

They still vividly remember the orphanage, the orphanage where they grew up together and remained there until they were teenagers. They never got the chance to be adopted, but they were happy.. since it only meant that the three of them can stay together longer, and that was the only assurance they needed.. an assurance they needed to help them survive the loneliness they were subjected into from a very young age. And as they grew up, their bond only became stronger. They stayed in that orphanage for the following years and eventually became part of the staff and helped take care of the children. They lived a simple, thriving, yet fulfilling life. And they couldn't ask for anything else, other than to continue living that life peacefully. But their simple hopes and wishes were short lived.

A year has already passed, since their lives were completely altered. A year, since they became sisters, after growing up as best friends for decades since they were toddlers.

After waking up in a wrecked carriage, with no memories or recollection of how they ended up there. The only thing they played repeatedly in their minds was a room engulfed in fire.. difficulty breathing, and them holding each other's hand tightly while they laid weakly on the floor, before complete darkness took over. A long while of silence left their ears ringing for a period of time, before loud crashing noises blared out, followed by their bodies aching everywhere.

A year ago...

"Hurry! I think there were other people in that carriage! Let's get help from the nearest estate!"

A shout that came from somewhere above their heads echoed, as they opened their eyes and tried to clear their heads that felt like it was about to split open. They were somewhere dark and cramped, those were the only thoughts they had as they squinted their eyes to adjust their vision in the dark.

"What the hell.."

A voice filled the small space, followed by a groan that came from the opposite part of the first one.

"Who's there?!"- Another voice chimed in, causing silence to fall among them, knowing that they were with someone, but they sounded like complete strangers.

"Ines? Erin?"- Familiar names that came from an unfamiliar panicked voice rang out.

"..Who said that?"-As confusion and fear set in, they once again fell into deep silence.

"Someone? Anyone?"-Not being able to handle the anxiety that the silence brought, one of the girls frantically moved backwards, until she reached a corner. Knocking over something, that felt like a wall to collapse. It was a window. As moonlight flooded the small space, the three came to realize that it was a carriage.

A carriage with royal blue and gold interior that had red velvet cushions as seatings, that was slightly tilted due to losing its front wheels.

"What the hell?"- The girl who was on the left corner by the door, couldn't help but repeat her words from before, making the other girls look at her side, which she also did in return.

"W-who are you?"-the one who knocked the window open asked, after staring at the others for a while.

"And where are we?"-she added, while looking around and outside the carriage.

"And how did we ge-"-before she could finish voicing out yet another question, the last girl cut her off.

"Okay one at a time miss, believe me, we are as confused as you are."-she calmly worded out, understanding that she is also as freaked out as she is.. all of them are.

"First, can we tell each other our names, it's hard to have a conversation without knowing who we're talking to right?"-she continued, while trying to sit herself properly beside the girl that was sitting by the door, after realizing that she was sitting on the carriage's floor.

"Right- right, and I also wanna know who said my name earlier.. and my friend's.. oh my god, my friends.."-The girl by the side of the door slowly turned to panic

"Hey, hey, miss you have to calm down."-The one sitting next to her patted her shoulders, trying to ease her, even though she herself wanted to know where hers are.

"Have you guys seen two other girls??"-The girl still continued to voice her worries.

"Okay, what other girls? Can you tell us their names?"-The one who knocked open the window earlier tried to chime in and help. Since she was also sharing the same concerns. Not knowing that the ones they were thinking about were just right in front of them.

"Nina and Erin, we were just together earlier, I'm sure of it.. what's wrong?"-She started to answer but trailed off, when she noticed that the two were staring at her, visibly confused.

"Why are you both staring at me like that?"-she continued when both of them stayed silent for a while, like they were in deep thoughts about what she just said.

"I'm Erin.."-The girl beside her muttered

"I'm Nina.."-The one sitting on the opposite side of theirs, who knocked open the window earlier, followed closely.

Which made them snap their heads around to turn and look at each other.. gapping, not knowing how to react about what they just heard. While the other girl stared blankly at the both of them, before laughing hysterically. Which made the two turn and look at her, like she was crazy.

"This is a dream.. it's a dream, just a dream.. it has to be."-She laughed after repeatedly saying the word, dream, trying to convince herself.

"It's either this is a dream or some sort of joke, and if it is, it's not funny.. although I'd give you an A for effort, cause those wigs, costumes and this setting are very realistic. But I'd like this to stop now, okay? So can you two please drop the act and call my friends over? Or are they just out there? I don't know why they're pulling this kind of prank on me right now, but I'm telling you, I may look like it, but I'm not stupid enough to believe that my friends suddenly morphed into different people just like that.. those just happen in movies and fairy tales-"-She continued almost blabbering her words, not even stopping to breathe between the lines. Which made the other two have a moment of realization and quickly stared down their own bodies. Different clothing, different complexions.. and different colored hair. Their mouths gaped open, suddenly feeling like they're looking at different peoples bodies but it's also theirs at the same time. An oddly terrifying feeling.

"See? I don't know if it's just me, but I'm pretty sure my friends had black hair.. Erin with shoulder length and Nina with a waist length.. Oh and not to mention the fact that they never once wanted to color their hair.. White and even brown, are just too drastic-"-She was going on and on again as her anxiety rose higher by the minute, until the girl, Erin, who's beside her, finally cut her off.

"You're Ines.. aren't you?"-She trailed off, unsure of the conclusion that came to her mind. While the girl, Nina, sitting across them, is still staring blankly, still in deep thoughts.

"Who else would I be? And I'm pretty sure my friends told you two my name already, that's why you know it.. right?"-She answered confidently, but hesitated at the end, after looking at the girls expressions.

"I'm not trying to be rude but.. you and Ines don't hold anything similar either."-Erin slowly relayed her words.. not sure of how she should put it. Ines crunched her brows in confusion, before she quickly scanned her own body.. A moment of silence passed by as they waited for her reaction.

"My hair is still black... I'm pale.. why am I this pale?"-She muttered under her breath.

"It's like my melanin ran out or something.."-She blurted out, which made the two laugh a little, despite their situation.

"Well, that's something Ines would definitely say."-Nina finally spoke.

"Definitely."-Erin agreed, but somehow can't believe what she just did.

"Wait so.. you two really are Nina and Erin.. right? Then.. then tell me something only the two of them know."-She tried to stand up, but the carriage suddenly tilted to the side where the door is. Making the three stumble on their seats.

"I think we should step out of this first.. before we get hurt or something."-Nina suggested after realizing that one of the back wheels probably just gave out. Being the one closest to the door, Ines, was the first one to step out. Followed by Erin, who then helped Nina off the carriage. As they all stepped outside, their eyes roamed around almost immediately. Looking both left, right and in front of them, their eyes were met with long lines of trees stretching out in the darkness. And a steep cliff, as they looked behind. An almost two-story high cliff, where they figured the carriage they were in, probably fell from.

"You're bleeding."-Ines, who looked back at the girls, after staring at the cliff, noticed a wound on Nina's forehead. She tried looking for a handkerchief in the clothes she was wearing, but there wasn't a single pocket in it.

"You have scratches on you too."-Erin who just looked away from the cliff, said while trying to find a handkerchief on her own.

"The carriage that the sisters were riding on, fell down a cliff.."-Nina who was still staring hardly at the cliff, suddenly muttered.

"What?"-The two said in unison, hardly hearing what she just said.

"The cliff scene, the carriage.. the hair colors.. that's why it seemed so familiar."-Nina continued muttering to herself, like she finally understood what happened to them.

"What are you saying, Nina?"-Erin asked, as both of them started to grow concerned about how she was acting.

"The novel.. the novel that we just started reading.. remember? That fantasy novel we were reading before all of.. this."-Nina finally turned to look at them, and pointed at the carriage.

"Look at the emblem on the carriage, what do you see?"-She pointed out, like it explains everything.

"A wha- oh uhm, a sword, a rose. and the sun?"-Ines squinted her eyes as she tried to make out the things on the emblem. But still not getting what it meant.

"Exactly.. the Alcaeus' family emblem, from the novel."-Nina explained, giving them a you-know-what-I-mean look. The two shared the same expression, utter confusion.. which eventually turned to realization.

"Her moonlit path.."-Ines trailed off the title of the said novel.

"That novel? You mean.."-Erin wanted to word out their conclusion but found it quite ridiculous.

"So we were what? Reincarnated into novel characters? Does that even make sense? I mean, I've read countless of them in books.. but are you saying it literally just happened to us?"-She continued, not knowing how to approach the fact of their situation.

"I don't know how to explain it but I don't think this is a dream, so most likely.. I mean think about it.. Erin having white hair and amber eyes, and Ines, with black hair and red eyes.."-Nina enumerated her thoughts one by one, connecting all the dots.

"And I'm guessing with the brown hair.. I have green eyes now.. don't I?"-She added, asking for confirmation, which the two slowly nodded to.

"You mean, we're "those"..characters?"-Erin questioned in disbelief. Not believing the "luck" they just got.

"Wait what?! Black hair and red eyes.. You mean I'm that brat Lila?"-Ines' eyes widened after realizing whose body she went into.

"And I'm.. Helia?"-Erin concluded, after looking at her white.. almost starlight colored hair.

"Yeah, and if I remember correctly, this one's.. Fiore."-Nina pointed at herself, sounding almost disappointed.

Which they clearly know why. Since they just became the vile sisters, that were the antagonists of the said novel that they have read. The sisters that tortured and pushed the female lead to near death situations, countless of times out of jealousy. Jealousy about the fact that she was taken in and favored by their parents.. their adoptive parents.

They were sisters by papers, and fate. The three of them became the adopted daughters of the ducal couple of Viceres empire. Which was mentioned as the most powerful empire in the novel to ever exist. The empire where the three were also well-known.. for the completely wrong reasons. Hence why they were given the title of the empire's most troublesome Villiainesses to deal with. For even though they were a menace to society, a powerful name stood behind them, Alcaeus.

Them being adopted with no known background was never a hindrance for the ducal couple, Duke Atlas Leonzier Alcaeus and Duchess Hemera Chloelle Alcaeus, to love and bestow them their family name. Agnes Florentine Alcaeus "Fiore" their oldest, Serafina Helene Alcaeus "Helia" their middle child, and "Lilianna Celeste Alcaeus "Lila" their youngest. With just days and weeks away from each other at birth, they were all taken in by the ducal couple at the age of six. Where they grew up surrounded by people who showered them with love and attention.. until the female lead entered the portrait and stole everything from them including their older brother, the ducal couple's sole successor who accepted, and took great care of them, ever since they were introduced to him as his new little sisters. The female lead came into the family and took all that what's supposed to be theirs away.. at least that's how the three sisters saw it. Which brought the worst in them to surface, and eventually led them to their deaths..

Those were the details that occupied their minds as they tried to remember the novel's prologue and spoilers.. at least that's what they remembered out of it.

"So we became the novel's villainesses.. great-- just great."-Ines started to panic, as she remembered that the characters that they possessed had bright red death flags at the end of the story.

"Wait.. so what do we do now then? Are we supposed to play the role of our characters and eventually..you know."- She continued, while gesturing her hands like she's slitting her throat.

"Of course not.. we'll just have to flee the scene and run away, before we get winded up in the story's plot.. like what most villainess in novels do.. but where would we go exactly?"-Erin questioned her own suggestion almost instantly. Knowing that they could wind up somewhere, which can make their impending deaths just happen much faster.

"I don't know-- wait.. after the cliff scene-"-Nina tried to think of a plan but was stopped in her tracks when she heard sudden noises coming from afar. Noises that sounded like horses and carriage wheels coming their way.

"There's people coming this way!"-She exclaimed, after figuring out what it was.

"What?! Then--what do we do? Should we just run?"-Ines started to get visibly nervous but still tried to calm herself down.

"We don't have time to think now, even If we do, we have nowhere to go-- just lie down, quick."-Erin suggested, before pulling the two of them near the carriage and laid down. Ines looked at her ridiculously.

"Are you for real?"-She asked in disbelief, after getting what she meant to do.

"You got a better idea?"-Erin retorted and raised her brows. Nina on the other hand followed immediately, knowing that they have no other choice, pulling Ines in the process.

"Come on, we have no other choice. Running away at night is not a good idea either.. especially here, we know nothing about what's out there."-Nina reasoned, before laying oppositely where Erin was.

"I don't have enough acting skills for this.."-Ines muttered while laying herself down vertically from where the two were, making it look like they've been scattered on the ground.

"Shh they're coming.. just play dead, and don't open your eyes no matter what."-Erin shushed her, upon hearing the noises coming closer.

"There they are!"-A man's shout echoed from above them.

"And whoever we meet, whatever they ask.. we don't remember anything-- got it?"-she added quietly, as the carriage wheels stopped right above the cliff, where they laid below, faking unconsciousness.

to be continued..