"That would be seven dollars…"
I smiled at the seller as she handed me my cheesecake. I gestured for her to wait while I opened my wallet. My stomach turned when I saw the ten-dollars inside. With a small sigh and a lot of thought , I bit my lip and handed money over.
The bell above the door rang as I stepped outside, clutching the box of cheesecake like a baby. The cold wind brushed against my skin, chilling me to the bone. It was a rather cold night than usual. I tilted my head toward the sky, and lo and behold the city's polluted air covered everything. There is not even a sliver of moonlight.
"I can't see the sun, and I can't see the moon either," I muttered as I started walking. Well, it's just like that sometimes . I always left for work before sunrise and came home long after dark. What did I even expect?
Yes, that's me. Silver Forbe. Twenty-six. Constantly overworked. Constantly tired. Not a moment of happiness.
"I've been working my whole life. Why am I still poor?" I grumbled, hugging the box tighter.
The closer I got to my apartment, the narrower the street became. The damp smell of the road and the dirty alley grew stronger and unpleasant to the nose. I slowed down to open my phone's flashlight when—
A dark silhouette appeared.
Something cold and solid pressed against my nape. My blood froze.
"Give me your money." he whispered. I dropped the box on the ground. My heart started to raise, cold sweats running all over my body.
I badly wanna scream but my throat tightened. No sound came out. With shaking hands, I reached into my bag. My fingers fumbled through my bag. The pressure on my neck grew heavier as the gun pressed harder into my skin, it was squeezing every life out of me. My bag slipped from my hands, and everything scattered across the ground. My heart raced.
The attention of the man shifted and I felt gun in my nape lifted, it's only for a second but I took the chance.
I swung at him as hard as I could and ran.
Bang!
The sound echoed in the air.
Something slammed into my back like I was punched hard enough to knocked me out, so hard I thought my ribs shattered. My body crumpled to the ground. Then came the intense pain—searing, hot across my body. Blood bubbled up my throat, spilling from my mouth. The ground beneath me turned warm, soaked with a warm red liquid.
Twenty-six years. Twenty-six years of dragging myself through life, thinking if I just endured, if I just kept working, things would get better. I kept waiting for tomorrow. For change. For a life worth living.
But I never got there.
I wanted to travel. I wanted to rest. I wanted to laugh without worrying about bills. I wanted love. I wanted family. I wanted more. I wanted… to live.
Yet here I was, alone in the dark, bleeding out in a filthy alley. I internally chuckled at how ridiculous my situation is.
"I thought… if I just tough it out, everything would be okay," I whispered, my voice cracked as warm tears streamed down my face. My chest convulsed. It's getting harder to breathe.
Regret started crashing over me. So heavy. So cruel.
Tears blurred my vision as I reached for the faint light at the end of the alley.
I just want to live.
—
"Princess! I apologize! I committed a crime worthy of death!"
A sudden voice echoed so loud into my ears. My hands shook violently, and the teacup I was holding slipped, shattering on the ground.
"Eekkkk!" My eyes darted around. A woman was on her knees, forehead pressed to the ground. The other woman at least five of them is trembling behind her.
My chest heaved, ragged and uneven. My gaze locked onto the broken teacup scattered at my feet. A teacup? Why was I holding a teacup?
I pressed my hands against my chest. The memory of the bullet was so vivid—the crushing pain, the heat, the blood. My body shook. But my chest was whole. There is no trace of the wound that the bullet left. Could I have been dreaming?
"Where… am I?" My voice cracked my hand covered in sweat.
"At the garden pavilion, Your Majesty," one of the women whispered, not daring to lift her head.
My heart thundered. My breath came too fast. I heaved. I staggered to my feet, clutching at my hair as tears welled in my eyes.
None of this made sense. I was dead. I knew I was dead.
I stumbled out of the glass dome garden,
Outside—
A castle loomed before me. Massive. Gleaming. It's design is intricate, it wasn't something I have seen before. My knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the cold stone.
"Your Majesty! What is happening?" The women's voices broke with panic as they try to make me stand up.
I couldn't answer, i just looked at them. My chest heaved uncontrollably. My throat ached. The tears I was trying to hold back fell freely as I grabbed the sleeve of one of them.
"I'm alive," I sobbed, the words I muttered, over and over. "I'm alive. I'm alive. I'm alive…"
I clung to the words like they were the only thing keeping me here, sobbing until the world blurred and darkness swallowed me whole.
I woke up. I felt the cloud like mattress where I was laying. My eyes wandered across the room.
This is not my apartment. That one can hardly fit a single functioning adult. The room I'm in is filled with intricate design, the chandelier shining despite it not being lit, at the left side of the bed is a veranda. I sat up.
"Your Highness! Quick call the Imperial Doctor!" my gaze shifted at the woman who hurriedly ran into my direction.
Not even a moment later, the room was filled with strangers. One of them carrying a wooden box.
He sat at the chair near my bed and asked for my pulse, I just stared blankly at everything. I can't comprehend anything that is happening.
"Your highness, you have a weak constitution so I hope starting today you stop doing things that could put you into stressful situation." the doctor adviced before opening his box and handing me out a pill. The woman near me also offered water. I don't understand what's happening so I just took the pill and swallowed.
"Then, I will be leaving. I have to report about your situation to the Emperor." he excused himself as the woman escorted him out. I waved my hand at the woman with brown hair standing next to me, gesturing her to come closer.
"Who are you?" I asked. She looked at me all confused but answered anyway.
"We are your personal attendants Your Majesty. I am Mila, I'm in-charge in delivering your meal. That was Natashia–"
she pointed at the woman who escorted the doctor out and just came back. "She's the one attending to your personal needs" she explained.
I tried to piece the situation together.
"Uhmmm…Can all of you leave except Natashia?" I asked politely. The women exchanged confused glances.
"Your Majesty, You don't have to ask. We will be going!" Mila replied before bowing and leaving with the other maids.
"Uhmm…Natashia? Can I ask where I am?"I asked timidly.
"Oh? Of course! You are now in the Eastern Chamber your Majesty, at the spring Mansion." she eagerly replied. But it made me even more confused.
"Why do you call me your Majesty?"
"Because you are the Crown Princess, Your Majesty"
Princess? Yeah right! I used to be broke beyond compare. I hesistated but I finally asked what I've been wanting to ask since I woke up.
"Who am I?" she gave me a confused look.
"You are the only daughter of the Emperor, Hiraya Archaumbault, the Crown Princess of the Archaum Empire, Your Majesty"
My eyes grew wide as soon as I heard the name.
Archaum Empire. Hiraya Archaumbault. Only daughter. Crown Princess. Everything is familiar.
It was the protagonist of the novel I've read before I died titled "The doll of the Archaum Empire". I internally cursed gripping the mattress as hard as I could.
I'm so fucked.