"Is that the monster?... Or not?" Erzikiel whispers barely audible because of his yawning. Hmmm... They still wanted romance right? Now what to do? I can't make this into spg thing. I need to make this rated G. Super rated G if I have to. I mean even if the twins have heard several love stories, in the end they are still kids.
"yes... When princess Ersha comes to her senses, she immediately inspected herself. She is back to her princess self! And that means it is midnight. A gruff voice startles her which makes her look besides her. It's a man or so she thought based on its voice. She knows that it's a man but it isn't human. It's face is that of a handsome man and it's horns are big and strong. It's body is of a human with a tail looking like a tail of a dragon. It's hands are humanish unlike its sharp black claws but it's eyes are blood shot red. Those are not the qualities of a human. What is he? Ersha is a little taken aback by its appearance but she kindly ask it who it is. Or what is he. The man furrows his brows and looked at the princess with curiosity. It's gruff voice told her how she is found, how he took care of her and how magically she changed from a peasant to a princess. He told him he is considered a monster and he even asks her if she is cursed too like him. The princess is shocked to know that someone as kind as him gets to be cursed and so she asked. But the monster is silent and doesn't want to tell her. So she started to tell him everything about herself just so she can loosen him up. She told him about her situation. Even if the monster IS a stranger, Ersha feels that he won't hurt her at all and he will not. He has no reason to hurt someone when he is living and surviving all by himself and so he listened to her story with patience. After listening to princess Ersha, the monster then ask the princess if she has somewhere else to go. The princess honestly answers him that her only home is the kingdom and nowhere else. The monster then sighs and suggested that if she wants to, she can live together with him with a little caution in its voice. He explained that his home might be simple but there are plenty of resources surrounding it. Ersha immediately agreed. It might sound naive in her part but she only has three choices to go. The first choice is to leave the monster's house and wander around for who knows where. The second choice was to accept the monster's offer and live comfortably in his home. Then the third choice is to go back to her kingdom and marry the prince. Of course the choice would be obvious... The monster was surprised that the princess agreed immediately. He thought that she will say no and go on her own way as some other humans did when they accidently met him. Screaming at him for looking so monstrous. Ersha asked what is wrong but the monster dismissed her. The monster remembered that his appearance is scary for humans, for the princess and so he was about to go out of her sight when princess Ersha stopped her. She asked if she can know about the monster. After all, It is not fair that he knew about her but she does not. The monster tried to escape Ersha's insistence but the Princess stubbornly insists that he monster has no choice but to gave up and hesitantly told her his name. His name is Ren..."
"Who is.... Ren?" I looked at Erziel when I heard her sleepy voice. "your boyfriend?" I softly giggled and softly answers her question with a smile.
"It is just a made up name. I don't know anyone who is named Ren and I don't have any boyfriends." I wouldn't even try to have one. I don't want my boyfriend to be caught up in my family's mess. I'm sure Dad and Haines will object to it anyways. "do you want me to skipped the story in the part where they began their relationship?" I asked. Erziel's head moves from left to right in a slow manner. Perhaps exhaustion making her move slowly but still eager to answer my question. I nod even if she can't see me doing it and calmly continue the story. "alright... Ersha and Ren's relationship from the start is awkward. Especially when it's been years or even decades since Ren socialise with other people. This frustrates Ersha but her determination to get along with him is so strong Ren have no choice but to slowly and deliberately learn not to be awkward around her. Hours turns to days and days turns to weeks. At those days, the two began a harmonious relationship as friends. Now Ren is not so awkward anymore when Ersha is with him. And Ersha can now smile happily and converse with Ren while enjoying his company. She loves Ren's place. In here atleast she can do what she wanted without anyone telling her not to. There is no Prince, no king, no kingdoms, no servants, and no responsibilities. She loves the stillness and the atmosphere of the forest and Ren's sweetness plus gentlemanly gestures further makes her heart flutters. Ren really is different from the Prince. Ren gave her real fresh flowers instead of flowers made from gold. He gave her clothes that is not sparkly but atleast comfortable to wear and easy to move. Ren also cooks for her and teaches her chores when she asked to. Lastly, he always listens and considers her opinions whenever she gave one. Ersha is moved by Ren's actions and whenever Ersha is with him, she felt at peace and be herself. One day, Ersha decided to help Ren in obtaining resources like food and logs and branches but Ren insist that the forest is dangerous for her and forbid her to go with him. So later that day when Ren goes out to hunt, she quietly sneaked away hiding and following Ren without his knowledge. She followed him until she reached the lake. She was mesmerised by the lake's beauty and clearness that she didn't even realized that Ren actually turned left to hunt deeper in the forest. She thought about hunting for a fish in here but then she remembers she doesn't even have a tool for it. She leaned on the lake when suddenly a rustling of the bish startles her. Thus Ersha lost her footing and accidentally fall in the lake. She is struggling to get out of the water but unfortunately, she doesn't know how to swim. There is splashes all round her and she is panicking. What if she died here? She can't die. No she can't. She tried to call for Ren's name but she realized Ren doesn't even know that she followed him. Horror settles in her stomach and so she was ready to accept her foolish fate when suddenly a strong arms grabbed her waist. Those arms lift her to safety and when she lift her eyes to her saviour, shock invades her system. It's Ren who looks at her with anger in his eyes. Ren shouted at her for not following his instructions. He is mad at her for being stubborn and told her harsh words. This disheartened Ersha. This is the first time someone told her off and shouted at her. And so tears immediately flows from her eyes. Ren seeing her tears frustatedly sighs and without a word, pulled her into his arms. He hugged her with care and softly whispers sorry to her ears. In that moment, Ersha felt a spark at their closed body. Heat flushed in her cheeks and her eyes widen at the sudden realization. She likes Ren. She loves him but will Ren also likes her? Ren told her about his curse. That his appearance will changed to normal only when he found his one true love and accepts him even if he looks like a monster to their eyes but 3 years have passed and he told her he gave up. He is now resigned in his fate of being a monster. Ersha wipes her tears and slightly pushed Ren away from her. If she wanted Ren to recognize her feelings then she need a plan to work on it. Ren told her they need to go home immediately so that they won't catch a cold and looks at her with curiosity. Ersha nods and hides her flushed face to Ren while formulating a plan to woo him. She knew that it is unusual for a woman to initiate a confession but when a man is gaving up, you have no choice but to brave up. And so, Ersha did everything she knew to express her feelings to Ren. She cooked him his favorite foods, told him every love stories with happy endings, and sang him a song of love. At first, Ren is confused at her sudden actions but when he later realised what those actions means... He became flustered and tried to make Ersha lost interest on him. Too bad the princess is so stubborn and so without a choice, he smiled and accepts her love."
"Doesn't it look like Ren was just forced to love her because of her stubborness?" I was immediately startled because of the sudden voice asking me out of no where. So I looked at where it came from and there I found Haines leaning on the door frame while looking at me with curiosity in his eyes. Tsk! Why is he here? I looked both at Erziel and Erzikiel and sighs with relief when I found them finally asleep. It's a good thing they are now sleeping or else they would just berate and straight up insult Haines which is not right because he is still our older brother even if he is utterly rotten to the core.
"what do you want?" I asked with a low voice just enough not to wake up the twins.
"Dad wants to talk to you. Right now." I scoff quietly at what Haines have said. In the end, he is here per our father's orders and not on his own accord. Part of me still believed he came to apologize to me and to the twins. It's good I didn't expected much or else I would be torn again just like before. I wanted to scream at him for being such a jerk but decided to stand and leave the twins bedroom instead. They need to rest more than anything. With slow and deliberate movements, we exited the twins bedroom and walked to the direction of Dad's office. I walked without giving a care or even glancing in Haines position. He is not worth it of my attention after what he did to me an hour ago is what I have been thinking until he sighs and clears his throat. "so you and the twins are still doing it?" why should he care? So what if we were? I looked at him shortly and focused my attention to our path before calmly answered his question.
"yes." it was a brief answer but even so, this answer is cold and indicating my desire to leave the conversation at that. But even if that is my intention, it looks like Haines doesn't even care and sighs.
"stop pampering the twins. This is the reason why their attitude are atrocious. They won't grow up if you keep treating them like children." tsk! Pampering?! I looked at him in irritation and pointed my right finger at him.
"if I'm treating them like children, then I don't see what is wrong with that. The only wrong I see is when you and Dad expect them to act like a neat little robot you can control whatever and whenever you want. Atleast, I am treating the twins what they deserve in this awful crappy shit mansion. They need to be free and act whatever they want. I am here to make sure of that." I hissed at him and doesn't even waited for his useless reply. I don't want to hear him. I can't believe he thought I am pampering the twins when all I did was to make them happy just like before but I guess wishing things to go back to when it was before would be a futile effort especially when our family relationship is mutilated forever. I bolted immediately to Dad's office just so I can be finished with whatever crap he wants to give me. When I get to Dad's office, I immediately opened the door and didn't even bother to knock. This action doesn't bother him at all as he is still on his phone and talking to someone who knows who.
"you agree? Yes! Thank you... We will meet you soon... Good bye." he looks happy again. Hmmm... That call seems suspicious and highly concerning. I scoffed when he looks at me with a grin on his evil face. A face we siblings all used to see. If our mansion is hell, he is the lucifer who reigns above us chained prisoners. I tried to calm myself and looked at him with a serious bored face I always use to people I despise.
"according to your minion, you want to talk to me? Don't get me wrong. I only came because I don't want the twins to wake up due to me bashing his head out. So state your business before I lose my patience." his grin immediately fades and what he said next made me lose my cool.
"don't be like that, Ersha. You are still my daughter no matter what. You should rejoice actually because even if you made a mistake earlier, someone is still eager to marry you instead. Mr. Aquino called and told me he wants to meet you later. Isn't that good? His son is your best friend so I'm sure you will like him." I looked at him with disgust. Uncle Yohan did? Why? That's... I'm sure there is a reason why uncle Yohan did that but dad... Dad's action is unsurprising especially that I grew up in this fucked-up mansion for 19 years. Is he really my father? I am ashamed to be in his family. Because just an hour ago, he told me he doesn't have a foolish daughter and now he is acknowledging me as his? Did he loose some screws in his head?
"I. AM. NOT. AN. OBJECT! You can't just tell me what to do in my life or who I need to marry. You don't own me! NO ONE do! I'm the only one who should be in control!" how dare him... How dare they do this to me?
"well... I already said yes and the only left for you to do is to sign the marriage papers. I'll even force you to do it if I have to or I'll just persuade the twins to do it for me. I'm sure they would be honored but seriously Ersha... Make this easier for me mmkay? " Dad's lips morps into a sinister smile before shrugging while saying those words. His eyes is looking at me like I am his most prized toy who done a very marvelous job. I hate it. I hate him... He is a MONSTER.
"I won't let you." I won't let him make my life more miserable as it is. Like what I did to Haines, I didn't bother to look him in his disgusting pair of eyes. I just opened the door and slammed the door with so much force it almost broke the mansion. Thank god the twin's bedroom is soundproof or that noise will startle them and wake them up for good. The servants though was startled and is now looking at my direction with curiosity and judging eyes. The hell I care? I am pissed, angry, and disappointed all at the same time to Dad. I know I'm a piece of trash in his eyes. I know he doesn't love us. I know and yet it hurts. A strong manly hand grabbed my arms that makes my body face the one who did it.
"Ersha! What was that noise? What happened?!" it's Haines. It's the monster's loyal minion and the one who is striving to be like him everyday. "why did you slammed Dad's door?! Don't you know that it is made from a very special type of material? What if you broke it?" ha! Of course... He is Haines who only care about himself and Dad's interests. Here I am having a very hard time on myself and all he care about is that FUCKING door of his bullshit idol. Frustrations and pent up rage made cold tears escaped from my eyes. I rarely cry at my whole life ever since Haines decided to be like Dad. He is once our saviour. The one I always depended on and yet... He left us alone. I was devastated and scared. I was afraid that I was left alone and weak but the twins are still little at that time. I don't want them to feel what I was feeling and so I decided that I need to be strong even if I can't. Though I do have a strong facade, being strong is tiring too in this household. Being the only one strong to oppose dad and protect the twins against everyone is hard and tiring.
"Dad wants me to marry Enrique. He sold me; your sister and yet the only thing you care about is that monster's damn door. An inanimate object that is not even a human and not even your blood related! I hate how cowardly pathetic you are Haines! I hate how you stopped caring about me and the twins just to save your own ass! You douchbag ugly motherfucker!" we are your siblings and yet you choose him. Haines shocked expression is all I need for me to escape from his clutches and quickly ran far away from him; from all of Dad's idiotic ideas. All of the servants tried to stop me from running away perhaps because of Dad's orders to stop me from leaving but years of joining marathons weekly made me unstoppable and hard to catch. I didn't bother to look at Haines even when he shouted my name loudly. I didn't bother to wipe away my tears falling from my eyes even if it slightly clouded my vision. The only thing I can do and think is to get away from this mansion in just a few minutes or even for a few hours. It only takes me a minute to reached my own ferrari car at the garage entrance and closed its doors. If I just run away from the mansion, I'm sure I'm bound to get captured easily as a fast runner has no chance to race with a car in an open space. I started the engine by grabbing the keys laying on the passenger seat and inserted it in the car's ignition. Doing this made the gate automatically opened and so I drove my car full speed ahead. I'm at the middle of driving when my phone suddenly rings. I tried to ignore my phone until the phone dies down but before I can breathe, my phone rings again but this time with far much louder ringtone. What the?! In annoyance, I picked up my phone in my pocket without diverting my eyes at the road which means that I didn't check who called me. Well I do know who calls for me annoyingly so I greeted the caller with poison in my words after clicking the answer button. "what the fuck do you want dad?!"
"easy my Hyacinthia... I am not your Dad nor someone who wants to annoy you. I just want to talk to you." my brows immediately furrows at the calm voice of a girl. Hyacinthia? Isn't that the name of the female lead's sister in 'paths of thorns'? Did she perhaps mistaken my number for someone else? She sounds like someone not older than 10 years old though so it's possible. I sighs and tried to calm myself before answering the caller once again.
"I'm sorry for lashing out. I just thought your my annoying Dad. Anyways, my name is not Hyacinthia. You mistaken me for someone else." the girl's voice laughs cheerfully without a care in the world. Well what's wrong with what I have said? Kids these days...
"am I really mistaken? Hmm... Nevermind that. I really want to talk to you and besides you wanted to talk to me too right? Three weeks ago if I remember correctly. Something about... William, Arister, and Lilianne. Ring any bells my dear sweet Thia? Or should I say... Ersha?" my eyes slightly widened when the girl mentioned my name. Why did she knew my name? I didn't even tell her anything about me and I don't know her. Isn't those names the names of the characters in Paths of Thorns? And three weeks ago? The only one I really want to talk to 3 weeks ago is the-wait... Nausea surge through in my head when I suddenly realize who am I talking to. This is impossible... Very impossible. A kid. The author of the famous webtoon who is famous for solo making is a kid?!
"you are the author of..." in frustration, I stopped abruptly on my sentence and looked myself in the rear view mirror. Shit! What have I done?! All this time I'm roasting a kid's work? Sheesh Ersha you are such an idiot. No wonder the publisher was giving so much angst and hate for a simple suggestion when I called 3 weeks ago. "You are UwuMama?" I asked with caution but she laughs to me instead.
"yep that's me! I'm sorry I didn't call you back! My publisher didn't informed me about you. I don't understand mortals these days... But now that I'm here, we can talked about what you want. I can't unpublished my story so actually, it is better if you experience it instead! Change what you want in the story without holding back my dear Thia but in return, I want you to remember me once again. I will be waiting... "before I can ask her or answer anything, the call got immediately ended. The fuck? What does she mean? She is the first weirdest kid that I encountered in my whole life. I tried to dial her number again but to no avail it just didn't go through. What happened? I tried it again but nothing comes through. Not even a sound of ringing. I am so focused in my phone that I didn't even realize the unrelenting sound of a horn. I only looked up at the blinding headlights that are directed towards me and was too late to even recognise to stir my wheel away from them. My car crashed with another car much bigger than mine. The impact is so great that my vision is blurry and my body is seething in pain. Shit! What the fuck just happened?! I can't move my body... It feels like every bones in my body is shattered like a fragile glass.
"h.l.! s.me.ne..lea.e" unrecognizable frantic voices is all I can hear from a man or a woman. The voice is not clear and what their saying didn't registered in my mind fully. All I can feel is deliberating pain all around in my body. Heh! God really do hate me didn't he? He is not content about my suffering and wants to take it to extreme like he wants to obliterate me entirely. Well too bad this bitch is not easy to break. Tears dwells in my eyes when I remembered the twins probably waiting for me at home. How I wish I can still see the twins happy without their selfish older sister like me. My blurry vision sought the sky and smile at the sight. It is beautiful like what we have been looking at in our childhood days; me and Haines and the twins. I tried to inhale air but my lungs didn't wanted to willingly cooperate with me as heavy and excruciating breaths is all I can do right now it seems. Several memories flashed trough my minds and wondered what would be our life if the adults around us could love us infinitely. Maybe Haines wouldn't be a dick to save himself. Maybe the twins could smile and laugh freely. Maybe I could smile and looked forward to life. I might be greedy but God please In my next life... Please let us be happy. Let me and my siblings experience a happy life... That was all I was thinking about before my nausea kicks in and exhaustion greets me. The reason for me to close my eyes and sleep permanently from the world.
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A/n: I will change the story. Instead of Ersha being reincarnated as a heroine, I'll make it into a side character. But she will still be Hyacinthia and will still woe the villain.
ns 15.158.61.5da2
