Hope - 16

Erica's POV

I look up at the ceiling as tears started dribbling again down. I held the dagger tightly, but it began shaking. I then saw the Minotaur holding a familiar white body. It was lying still, and covered in blood.

'Takeo?!'

I dropped down and tried to reach out my hand to him. His soft, smooth, silver fur was disheveled, dirty, and red. I lost all feeling and dropped the dagger and sat down on the floor, looking at Takeo.

'I never should have brought him here. I should have left him.'

I hit the ground as hard as I can. I bit my lips at the pain but I couldn't stop hitting the ground even if it hurts.

"Ho ho ho. Well, I guess he tried to save you but now he's gone too. Thanks to you." He threw Takeo's body on the ground. I yelled in anger and attacked my most powerful spell at him.

"I, Erica request the strength of the Phoenix, burn my enemies to ashes. >" A Phoenix of fire in the color of blue began to leave my hands and flew straight towards his direction like a bullet. But before he could dodge, I summoned a quick wall of flames surronding him.

"I, Erica wished to trap my enemies if flame >" a 1 meter thick fire wall surronded him as he took it by suprise. I quickly threw the dagger that was supposed to kill me and threw it at him. He went backwards as he tried to shield his face but there was a wall there and he yelled out in pain. He rolled in the ground and tried to put out my fire but it won't disappear.

"Labrynths are known to cause your mind to go crazy and nuts. I have been practicing to become an actress since I arrived in this world, and everything I do is flawless. You couldn't even tell that if it was real or not." I stood up from the ground and dusted off the dust from my clothes. I stood up proudly and put my chin up. "You should have known to never mess with me."

He looked at me in rage, as he mouthed something to the ceiling. He turned to ashes after his final yell of pain. I covered my nose from the stinky smell of Minotaur ashes and the ground suddenly started to shake.

The walls were going down and I saw Takeo thare, lost, helpless and tears sprouted suddenly. When he saw me, he ran up to me and hugged me.

"I-I-I" He stuttered. I shushed him and began to cradle him in my arms. He began to relax and his tears stopped falling. His ears and tail were now wagging but he then fell asleep after a few minutes in my arms.

'It must be night time. I guess we'll make our camp here for now.' I thought as I carefully dropped Takeo on the cold ground and began putting the sleeping bags.

**********

Christopher's POV

It was evening as the moon was smiling down upon us, like it was mocking us for being small. The forest was silent and no noise can be heard. Only the soft snores of Robert, Phoenix, and Harrison's. I heard small, light foot steps from behind me and saw Rose, with her hair tied into a messy braid smiling at me..

"Are you okay? It is our first mission but it's fairly easy." She sat beside me in the log.

"I'm okay. I'm just- enjoying the forest I guess..." I looked at her pretty kitten-like blue eyes.

"I guess? You should sleep. We finished killing the goblins so we need enough energy to go back to the Adventurer's guild. I don't want you to get tired, okay?" She smiled at me as she carresed my hands. It was like Erica's but hers were warm and it made me fuzzy.

'Wait- why am I thinking of Erica? She's bad! She pushed Rose! I won't forgive her...'

"Okay. You sleep first. Just let me relax for a while okay?" She nodded and went back to her own tent as I sighed and breathed in the fresh night air. I feel like something odd will happen.

*******

It was dark, and quiet. I began walking around saw nothing and no one. I then yelled hello but it just echoed back.

"Hi!" A sudden high pitched voiced chirp at my side. It made me jump and I looked at the little black fairy that looked like a tiny princess. She was as tall as my head and she was wearing some black, clothes with butterfly and her black hair was tied up into a braid crown. She was wearing a small necklace which there was a tiny clock inside.

"Oh- uh hello. Are you a fairy?" I asked, unsure. My family has been friends with fairies a long time ago so we had books about them a lot.

"Oh yes! I'm the Prophecy Fairy where I tell prophecies! Now- let's see. Ah, yes!" She then began searching in her small flower black flower bag which I swore It wasn't there before. She then pulled out a small paper as she scanned her eyes. She may looked childish outside, but if you look clearly into her eyes, it clearly shows- misery, sadness, wisdom, and pain.

"A new Demon queen has been born,

brought into a world diffrent from ours of magic,

Betrayed by a girl who came with her by death,

She now left her home and is on a quest,

Will become powerful through many tests,

Give her kindness and she may not be the heir,

Or turn your back on her and you will face her wrath.

Her beauty is cold,

And her eyes are dark,

She has seen things that you have never seen.

She gains many friends of power,

You had been her "Lover",

The Demon King wants her,

So stop her before she begins her terror, or-"

The fairy stops as her eyes truned watery. A tear dripped down to the paper and it disappeared. "Destruction."

I was taken aback. The fairy slowly started to become dust as on my left a bright light was rising. She wiped the trail of the tear in her face.

"Our time is up. Remember it." She said. She looked at him, pleadingly.

"Who is the new queen?" I tried to approach her but was stopped by an invisible force.

"The prophecy shall be engraved in your mind. A tattoo that you are being helped by the fairies shall appear on your skin." She then disappeared as she closed her eyes.

I woke up with a cold sweat and a sharp pang on my brain. It felt like a needle was injecting my brain. I then remembered the dream and tried to think of the prophecy. It started hurting and then it quickly disappeared and I then remembered the prophecy.

"Hey Chris, are you awake? Oh my goodness! Your arm!" Rose was there and looked frightened but her eyes shined with happiness and delight for some reason. It must have been my imagination cause why would Rose be delighted by a tattoo suddenly appearing in my arm.

"Good morning Rose. It seems that we need to go back to my castle. We'll stop our adventuring for now." I stood up and held out my hand to Rose. She blushed and she held my hand and we walked outside.

*******

The room was cold, and worn out, it was cleaned thoroughly with no traces of dust. It had empty armors near the door, holding a sword. There was a long mahogany table with lots of chairs. The thick curtains prevented the sunlight from entering and only the light bulb powered by magic was the only light in the room. The floor was almost covered in rugged, and the walls were being posted with maps, papers, ideas, strategies, etc.

I was in the room with my father, the king, Rose, Prime Minister Cedric, Harrison, the Great General Evan Forest, Robert, The King's Secretary and Phoenix. We were in the meeting room discussing about the prophecy.

I closed my eyes and said the prophecy again that was engraved into my mind. The prime minister's pen was quickly jotting it down on his pocket book, writting word per word, elegantky and effectively.

"So your saying a fairy of the Prophecy said that to you in a dream." I nodded. I stood up and showed them my arm where the tattoo of the symbol of the help of the fairies can be seen. My father nodded and allowed me to seeat down again.

"So a new queen is being born, ey?" General Evan said. He has killed many demons when he was still young. He was once called the ruthless demon killer who was worshipped for killing demons and protecting them.

"Yes, Im afraid so." I said. I look at him and saw the similarities of Robert and his dad. He has the same green forest hair, and body and the same look he had when he was gonna fight. His eyes was like his mother's though.

"Should we tell the citizens?" The male secretary asks.

"If we did. We would cause panic." Prime Minister Cedric retorted.

"Then at least they would know that they might be in danger!" The secretary glared at the Prime Minister.

I sighed internally and looked at my dad with expectance. 'What descicion should he choose?'

"First let us think. Do you know who the demon queen might be?" He looked at me.

"I don't really know. It was too late for me to ask the fairy before she disappeared." I looked at my hands that I cupped on top of the table.

She then stood up suddenly and said, "Didn't it say: That her beauty was cold and her eyes were dark? And it says that you also had been her lover." Rose said. All attention was on her and she realized it and went back down.

"Well, she is right. Do you know anyone like her?" Harrison spoke. His father shot a glare at him but he ignored it by looking at Rose and winked. 'I silently fumed at him for flirting with her even though we are in an important meeting.'

"Hmm..." An image of Erica being cold to others appeared in my mind. "Perhaps- Miss Erica?" Everyone looked at me with wide eyes. There mouths were wide.

"It- It could be. But her?" Robert spoke up after the long silence.

"Im not really sure, but. But what if it is." I said.

"That's- that's impossible! She has been a good friend to me. We may had have- have had a rough start but she couldn't possibly be the demon queen!" Rose suddenly yelled. Everyone looked at her and saw her face filled with pain and sadness.

"But she could-" the secretary said but was stopped by Rose.

"No! No! No! I can't believe it!" She went out of the room as I watch her left. My heart felt like it was squeezed as I saw her being sad for the first time.

I followed after her and the meeting was now stopped for now.

*******

She was in the garden of our castle where I onced showed her. She was there, spaced-out and didn't noticed when I arrived until I sat down beside her.

"Erica... She couldn't really be the Demon Queen. She- She just can't." She leaned at my shoulder and started to cry.

"Forgive me, but everyone can't be nice. Some are bad, some are good, some are in between. That's just life."

"It's just like the game..." She murmured. I slightly heard her speak but I couldn't understand what she said.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing. Just let me rest for a while." She stood up and began walking away from the garden. It was filled with all kinds of flowers, colorful roses, and beautiful trees meant for the both of us to enjoy. It was mean't to be for you, yet you left.

*******

Erica's POV

I was now currently fighting the second to the last boss of the challenge to get the weapon. Takeo has been wounded deeply and my head feels light. I quickly ran to him and carried him to an area where the Hydra couldn't get near us.

When he couldn't do anything to damage the place we were staying in, it gave up and proceeded to go walk away and rest it's heads to a seemingly old bed fit for his very huge size. He's probably the size of a full adult dragon, except it has 8 heads and all of them are annoying...

I sighed in relief and began to pull out our sleeping bags and put Takeo gently and began treating his wound. His breath were sharp and ragged and he was sweating real bad. I swiftly and gently pressed the wound, washed it with clean water, and chanted a spell to make it stitch or close the wound. I couldn't do anything much since Im not a professional doctor, so I just bandaged him. After doing that, to make it more secure, I used the last of my mana and chanted a healing spell to heal the wound. I wiped the sweat in my forehead as I sit beside Takeo.

He was sleeping fine now since I healed him. My eyes felt heavy and my body felt tired. I moved to lay down and my eyes closed and darkness filled my vision.

********

A table and an elegant woman from Earth was leaning on her hand. She seemed bored and was waiting for something as she twirled her straight midnight black hair with her smooth, milky white fingers.

"Um- excuse me?" I hesitated. She turned and the corner of her mouth rose up as she saw me.

"I've been waiting! Come! Take a seat!" The darkness suddenly turned into a simple living room area and she then quickly gestured me to seat on a chair. I chose the farthest from her.

"You've been waiting?" I looked at her face directly and gasped. It was me in Earth. She smirked knowing that I had realized who she was.

"Hello, Erica! Or should I say Misha! We have a lot to discuss..." She then suddenly pulled out some tea out of nowhere as she waved her hands in a gesture of getting a cup of tea from a waiter.

"Okay?"

"I'm actually the real Erica of your- my world. I have been saving my mana to just send this message to you after finding something important. Im currently in a party, entertaining some guest so don't mind me talking for no reason." I nodded for her to continue.

"So the world you are in now is an Otome Game, but I guess you already know since this is your world and your sister recomended it to me."

"Ah yeah... I haven't told her I already played that yet."

"Don't talk to me."

'Woah.. the heck?'

"Ah- sorry. Someone was just trying to make conversation with me. I told him off." She smiled sweetly at me but her eyes held anger for another person.

"Anyway, so I become a commoner as punishment correct? It seems that after that, I also began to become the new demon queen." She held her head down and stood up.

"Hello good sir's." She bowed elegantly.

"Ah- yes. I've been doing well. Just enjoying my time. Yes." She seems to be talking to someone so I just stared around and then as I looked at her, I saw that she was wearing my favorite dress. It was the one with the lots of frills on the collar and on the sleeve area that stops at her elbow, with the galaxy, blue dress reaching above her heels, with a pair of white high heels.

^^^Found on pinterest! Very lovely~ Sorry I dont know the one who own this...

I stared at her and looked at her straight midnight black hair which was tied into a clean bun with flowers and stars around the bun. I looked at her hands and saw the most peculiar sight ever. It was an engagement ring.

'Who? Did my parents made me engaged? How much time has passed on Earth?'

I blushed slightly at the thought of marrying someone and quickly regained my composure as I continue to look around. It was nothing special just like a normal living room. She then finished her conversation and sat down again.

"So- where was I? Ah yes... I'll be or- your going to be since your clothes are totally un-noble like. Your going to meet the demon queen somewhere I guess. They never did tell. Then you will fight Rose, Christopher, Robert, Harrison and my big brother Phoenix." She then took a cake from nowhere with the same action she did when she got her tea.

"Well then. I don't know what you wanna do in my world but don't hurt my family. Please. Do tell them I love them." She bit her lips and looked away before I saw a flash of wetness starting in her eyes.

"Are you not coming back?" I asked.

She turned around swiftly and looked at me with eager and excited eyes unlike the ones earlier. "We can go back?" I nodded.

"That's great! But how? What will happen when we switched and I'm already the demon queen?" She panicked and began murmurung weird theories one after the other.

I held my hand up to silenced her and complied. "The demon king will be the one returning us back and I'm currently finding the legendary weapon of legends to fight with him. So if we return back, you can still fight him." She sighed in relief as she held her beating chest and breathed in slow, organized breaths.

"Well I think our time is up. I don't wanna hurt myself by having mana loss." She beamed.

"Ah wait! Few more questions!" She waited.

"Why do you have a ring? How are my parents? Are you okay with this new developement? Are you working?" I panted as she looked at me with wide eyes.

"Goodness... geez... um let's see... I'm being married. Your parents are well and healthy. Im faring well. And no I'm not. My future husband is making me just relax myself." She smiled and blushed thinking about him. I widened my eyes and my mouth was open.

"I'm!? You're married! Wha-what? Who? When is the wedding? Why? How many years have passed here since we changed places?! Ahhh!" I was freaking inside internally but was still quiet happy.

"Yes. I guess I'm married. He is the Young master of the mafia group, Felix Shostrung. The wedding will be next year on February fourteenth. We were forced marriage but as I got to know him better, I stopped fighting him and just go with it. And it's been 5 years, which makes you- or me 26 years old now." She nodded after she answered all my questions. I still had many questions to asked but she suddenly held her heart tightly and her breath quickly began ragged as she grit her teeth.

"Im sorry but our time is up. I'll try to contact you if I can but if something is happening that is truly bad- contact me by reading the Book of Lost Acient Magic. It is buried under the Tree of Hope. I gotta go. Bye!" Everything then turned to darkness and suddenly the light blinded me and I squint my eyes and see the dark, old, dirty, ceiling of a cave.

I raised my body to find it all completely healed and well rested. Takeo was still resting and my mana seems to be back so I started to heal him again so that he may rest with ease.

'I'm glad my parents are safe. I do hope that nothing bad will happen.'

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Hello my Dear Flowers!

It seems to be a long chapter this week!

Are u happy?

I worked really hard for you!

Anyway, I guess that.. uhh... yesh...

My brain is fried... anyway!

I hope you like the story!

I would like to shout out my dear friend from school who gave me the idea of a mafia lovestory which she said was popular so I added it in.

[Ava- may you be known to my fans!]

Thanks for reading!

Bye Bye~

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