Chapter 1

The sky turned a shade of grey, foretelling a downpour. The yet lingering scent of roses travelled from the Imperial Rose Garden up to the pavilion of pansy gardens by the Ivory palace.

A white rose adorning her dark hair—a thirteen year old blankly gazed at the blue pansies ahead. Bright turquoise eyes which once glimmered like the starry night, seemed to have lost their colour, a sense of gloom laid in every fragment of her body, and a deceased mother's last wish weighs her down heavily. She never wanted this.

A faint rustle and wisps of steadfast breaths could be heard from the outline of the deodar trees lining the field of wild pansies. It could be mistaken for the aftermath of a breeze but the young girl knew it was otherwise.

She faced the direction of the Imperial Palace, which lay to the west of the Ivory Palace. It would take about half an hour to reach the gates. She knew the Ivory palace was emptied before-handed and not one sword would heed her words.

'I need to get out of here.'

The water laden clouds above grumbled as the young girl picked up her peach-coloured evening gown, exposed her knees and frantically sprinted across the garden. Following pursuit, a series of rustling noises came from the shrubs and grasses, a few feet away.

'They are fast.'

With a flick of her finger, a small ball of light appeared out of thin air. It dispersed across the pansy field and created a mirage , thus hiding away the young girl headed to the castle walls.

'Just a bit more.'

She was just half-a-mile away from the small opening in the Eastern walls of the palace. It was just enough to let her squeeze herself out, but a grown man wouldn't as much as get his upper body inside.

"Don't let the Princess escape!" a frantic cry came from behind.

A handful of masked men seemed to openly order the royal guards guarding the castle walls. The walls had a corridor atop where the guards, armed with bows and arrows, were meant to protect the castle from the intruders. But now their arrows were directed at the soon-to-be Crown Princess of the Kingdom.

The arrows were showered on to the petite little girl, who was ready for the attack. She cast a shield around her with the help of a young spirit she contracted just a day ago. Still unfamiliar with the flow of mana which drained out of her, she felt like her organs were being crushed from within. After surviving the first rain of weapons,she ran as fast as she could and reached the dog-hole. She hurriedly squeezed herself in, ripping apart her gown in the process.

As soon as she headed out, she was welcomed by another handful of skilled assassins, covered in black from head to toe. She knew she was about to reach the limit of complete exhaustion. She burst out for one last time, creating a thousand icicles which pierced through the assassins. Using the momentary opening, she escaped.

As she ran through the dense forest lining the Ivory castles walls, her legs gave out. She tumbled down a rather steep slope and laid limp on the forest floor. Her breaths were haggard while her mana was completely drained. But that still didn't explain why she felt a greater loss. It was as though she knew, this was it. Her gaze fixed at the dark clouds above, she mumbled,

'At the end, no one cares.'

A blinding light screeched across the sky, with the thunder following soon after, it poured down heavily.

At the age of 13, the young Avalina Riverton, died an unprecedented death. Her cruel fate was to last longer, but her soul bid farewell. For a brief amount of time, not a breath was taken by the limp body, when all of a sudden it gasped for air and sat up straight. Neither the blood oozing out from her forehead, nor the mud-drenched hair could be washed away by the heavy rain.

'Where the hell am I?'

…

"The Villainess is dead?!"

A squeal was heard from the corner of the room.

As though struck by lightning, people jumped from their seats and took out their phones. The Villainess of the world's most popular novel is no more!

"Who read it? Please explain!"

A cry followed. The announcer was up on her feet again.

Tall, toned body of a skilled athlete, sharp features paired with dark hair and brown eyes, the University's Student Council President, Evelina Rogers narrated the gist of the shocking new update.

The period novel, Elisse, was trending in the #1 spot for nearly half-a-year now because of its mysterious plot and unknown Villainess. The latest mass-update not only revealed the Villainess but as well had her killed! The most shocking discovery was that the villainess was the once forgotten side character, Avalina Riverton, the step-sister of the heroine, Elisse Riverton.

People sympathised with her when she quietly stepped down from the position of the crown princess for the happiness of her baby sister and her ex-fiancé, the Crown Prince, Azure Contreas. Though many tragedies followed the happy announcement of the young leads, no one once suspected Avalina, for, since the beginning the final boss had been shown as a silhouette, planning to covet the throne. Avalina never showed such tendies out in the open. Given her background of being the only person in the heroine's family to actually care for her, people were devastated.

"Why?"

That's the question on everyone's mind. Though happy that the Villainess was no more, people were more shocked in finding out about the true identity of the villainess.

"Why her though?" A petite brown headed girl asked as she walked down the corridor following the student council members.

"Seriously Mia! For the last time, I DON'T KNOW!"

Eve said, frustrated.

"But you're our President!" Jake exclaimed which ticked Eve even more. How she wished to smash that blonde head with her bare fists, flat against a wall and then dump the limp body in the dumpyard.

As though the President of the student council is supposed to be a know-it-all, ever since the last bell went off and throughout the entire lunch break, Eve was bombarded with a gazillion questions, as though she was the author of the novel! Though Eve was habituated by this behaviour, she would get particularly irked when her closest friends wouldn't stop nagging her.

"Senior! Is it true that the Villainess has the same name as you?" Josh mimicked a junior they met at lunch.

"Oh my gosh! Really?" Jake mimicked the junior's partner, and added an adlib, continuing, "Oh! Is your hair pitch black or brown, senior?"

"I bet a 100 bucks its pitch black!" Mia joined in.

"Would you like to shut your traps, darlings?" Eve gritted through her smile as she greeted a few passing classmates.

"No we wouldn't." The trio replied in symphony.

Fed up with this, Eve hurried her steps and reached the exit stairways of the 5th floor, when suddenly an underclassmen yelled out from the two floors above,

"A girl is trying to end her life! I repeat, a girl is trying to end her life!"

In a blink of an eye, Eve rushed up the stairs and reached the terrace of the seven storeyed building. A crowd had gathered at the mouth of the terrace, watching the spectacle. They were warned off by the girl standing on the railing, who was ready to end it all. Hardly in her early twenties, a third year student, Alisha, felt her world crumbling down. Her feet wobbled as she stood on the rather narrow railing of the terrace boundaries. Seeing a familiar face, she smiled,

"Right on time, Jake!" She snickered, watching the anxious Student Vice-President stand in front of the crowd. "You said you wished you never met me!"

"You wished I never existed!"

"Guess what? I'll make your wish come true!"

Letting out all her frustrations and resentment she had against the someone she once loved dearly, she leaned back, letting gravity do the work and pull her out of her misery.

A sudden tug on her waist jerked her motion and made her fall in the opposite direction. She fell flat on her face and went unconscious, seemingly due to the immense amount of stress. Her saviour stood by her side, letting out a breath of relief. Having found the opening in which everyone was distracted by the final speech, Evelina slid through the crowd and sprinted up to the low ceiling of the terrace almost soundlessly.

By the time she reached close enough, the speech ended and she was right on time to save the girl.

A crowd gathered immediately. Everyone murmured about the incident and judged the girl's condition. Amidst this, someone heads up to the Evelina. Covered from head to toe in black hoodie and jeans, he stood out in the crowd, yet no one noticed him. While Evelina dialled up 100 and it just picked up, she felt a strong shove from her side. Losing her balance, she tumbled over. Everything happened so fast, no one noticed anything until they heard the frantic cry in the split second before the fall. No one could make it.

'Why?'

That was the last thought which filled her mind as she met the hard ground below. In a split second, all was lost. The floor was spewed with blood, as the young girl took her last breath. There was a sense of betrayal that she felt in the last moment of her life. The betrayal she could have never thought of.

…