Chapter 3

When Vinea awoke, her maid had already left her chair next to her bed. Normally, she would try to learn her name, for she always forgot. This time, she felt no need to relearn the maid’s name. She remembered it from her previous ‘lives’ but what was the purpose?

She quietly got up and made her way to the large mirror in her room. In the mirror stood Vinea from an earlier time, a mere thirteen year old child. Her hair, which had been bleached and cut for her countless executions, had returned to its normal length of up to her back and it’s black color had returned. Her eyes had lost their pointiness and were larger, like that of a doe’s. Once again, Vinea had traveled back in time.

Her body was lighter and smaller, as was expected of a prepubescent child. She spun around giddily. A childhood was something she’d never had. You were still a child when you were fifteen. Even till age nineteen, you were treated like a child. She never had the frivolities of an adolescence. She’d never even gotten close to becoming an adult in high society, forget marrying.

Her face was doll like and innocent. Unsurprisingly, her eyes showed nothing of the horrors she had faced in her previous times. They hadn’t happened yet. Or maybe they hadn’t sunk in yet, into this body of a mere child.

Vinea took off her nightgown to find no injury or scar of the sword blow she had received from her uncle’s knights. Her hands went to her neck, feeling for any sort of indication that indeed, her head had rolled. There was nothing. None of that had happened, yet anyway.

She dressed herself again, remembering to tie her hair up like she normally did. She had nothing to hide on that neck of hers. There was no mark of treason or murder on her. Nothing at all. She sighed in relief. She knew she had traveled in time once more, but it helped knowing that those events really hadn’t happened yet. But she still needed more confirmation, just to settle her beating heart.

She slipped on her slippers and snuck out of her rooms and made her way towards her family’s favorite parlor. This was a tradition that she had developed, over the ‘chances’ she was given. In some chances, her mother died, and in others, her brothers or her father would die. In some, her best friend would die, or even her servant.

It was a relief to see them all alive, for until she did, their countless and various deaths would play in her mind over and over, like the time loop she was stuck in because of that cursed spirit.

The main Vystrya estate was huge, with grand staircases, towers, three stories, grand courtyards and separate gardens, surrounded by mountains and valleys. They were perfect to go running in, from what she remembered. The estate itself was ancient and only two wings were truly used. In one lived her immediate family, the main family, and in the other ran wild her uncle, Braddoc; his loving wife, Faybelle; and their scheming daughter, Reyna, who was a girl who would grow up to be a woman well loved by society, humans, animals, demons and all. Personally, Vinea wanted Reyna dead. But that was a story for another time.

Slowly she cracked the door open to watch her family, the Vystryas, laughing happily as her younger brother performed some sort of trick. Right now, he was dancing on some sort ball like a fool, which her elder brother pointed out without holding anything back. “Mother? Father?” She asked, slowly and steadily.

“Vinea? Didn’t you go to bed already, my dear?” Her mother asked her, worry evident. From what she could remember, before this moment, she had gone to bed early, for she was going on a trip tomorrow. Probably.

Vinea’s mother was in perfect health tonight shown by the fact that she was in the parlor with them, rather than her chambers. So unless a sudden sickness overtook her, there were no chances of her succumbing to a sickness. Vinea was relieved. She quickly ran up and wrapped her arms around the woman. Her mother mirrored the gesture back.

“I couldn’t sleep, mother. May I join you?”

“Of course!” Felix cried, falling down. “Sister! Come and look! Fabian taught me how to dance on a ball!” Fabian was a servant of the household, more specifically, her servant that her father had bought from a traveling circus. Her father, as all people with a slight conscious, was repulsed by the treatment of the boy, which was not unlike that of a beast’s.

Fabian was ever grateful of the Vystrya Family but still liked his circus roots, as they were all that he had ever known before this life of servitude. He could often be found doing acrobatics and tricks in his free time, that Felix was akin to learning, much, surprisingly, to her mother’s delight.

You would think that her parents would be strict with their youngest son, but that was farther from the truth. Though they didn’t spend unnecessary money on him, nor were bad grades tolerable, he had much more freedom with how he spent his free time than the older two children. Adiran didn’t have free time at all, as now, an adult. Even his coming of age ceremony had passed, making him a true member of high society, and eligible for marriage. There were two women worthy of his hand, only two, and he was already engaged to one of them. Vinea had spent her childhood worrying about pleasing the chosen child.

Adiran was a capable person, brave and strong with many achievements as a politician, and even some from war, under his belt. It only made sense that the sole princess of Mikahln was his betrothed. He had to wait one more year to be married, for she was a year younger than him. It was alright, though. Princess Sabrina was a godsend, and a lot less scary than the oldest daughter of House Astase.

Vinea came in and sat on the sofa next to her elder brother who was poking fun of Felix who tried to climb up on the giant ball again. Vinea clapped as he finally was able to redo the trick. Felix beamed in the attention his family was giving him. He bathed in it.

If she was going to enact her revenge, she needed all the allies she could get. All of them, starting with the people she was closest to. Her brothers, father, and servant. These were the people with the most influence in the futures she’d had. And the people who had taken her side one time or another. Reyna, too, had a large amount of influence, but Vinea culdnt stoop to the level of pleasing her.

At this time in her life, she was close to everyone. It was often after this time that either she started drifting away, or her family started drifting away from her. She needed to keep them together, have them all blindly loyal to her. She needed them to not fall for the lies of that damned chosen child and fall for her lies instead.

“Felix! You should become a professional performer!” She cheered. Her father gave her a look for encouraging such a dishonorable profession as the son of a duke. Felix was learning to become a knight, as was honorable of the second son of a noble family. He was skilled with the sword and would climb the ranks quickly even without his status. He would command the squadron of knights of the Vystrya Family as her uncle did now. He needed to be more honorable and get no ideas of such stupidity. Her mother clapped and laughed.

“Right! We should rent you out to circuses in the area. Father, do you think that the Emperor needs a new court jester?” Adiran laughed. Normally, he was so proper. In all of her memories, he was proper. But that was because responsibilities fell on him in the times in which her mother or father died. And in other times, other people who he cared for died, hardening him. He was the type to take the pains of others unto himself. She needed to turn him into just that, save for her and her family, whatever of it remains.

No matter what happens, Adiran was destined for greatness, as the future head of a family that could rival the Imperial Family in power. She needed that greatness for her revenge.

“Brother, if you like this trick so much, why don’t you try it?” The black haired boy asked, smiling.

“Then I shall!” Adiran took the challenge almost too readily. He couldn’t even get on the ball, forget standing upright on it.

Everyone laughed like it was a normal day. Not like Vinea had just woken up from another execution, not like she had watched them all die in some way or another. Her family was in high spirits, unaware of everything yet to come. Of the pain, the betrayals, the chosen child. Everyone was unaware. Vinea was slightly worried. The Spirit had promised her a path drowned in blood, and she already knew who would be the first to die.

Today was the second day of the fourth month of the seven hundred ninety-fourth year of the Akalyne Calendar. A year before the chosen child makes her first appearance in Vinea’s life. And two weeks before Duchess Remena dies in an accident staged by her own sister-in-law.

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Mikhaln Fact Point

House Vystrya

House [l/n] is one of the founding houses of the empire, descendants of Princess Vystrya who had helped her brother, Prince Mikhaln overthrow their father and become emperor. It is one of the two dukedoms in the kingdom and holds enough power to rival the Imperial Family.

Members [Main Family]

Duke Raoul vi Vystrya [49]
Duchess Remena von Vandrova vi Vystrya [42]
Lord Adiran vi Vystrya [21]
Vinea vi Vystrya [13]
Felix vi Vystrya [12]

[Side Family]

Sir Braddoc vi Vystrya [40]
Lady Faybelle Couth vi Vystrya [39]
Reyna Couth [12]