Author's Notes: This is my first story, hope you enjoy it!

Destiny's Path

Chapter 1: Prologue

Flashback 4 years ago…

"Onii-chan, wait for me!" Kaori shouted as she ran after her elder brother. It was a beautiful afternoon during summer with the sunlight shining directly on the deep blue lake so that it glittered and sparkled like diamonds. They were racing to see who would get down to the lake first.

"Hurry up, Kaori-chan! You're too slow!" Her elder brother called to her as he quickly reached the edge of the lake. Kaori ran as fast as she could to catch up to him. When she reached her brother, she ran towards him and gave him a great big hug. He squeezed her tightly and he ruffled her blonde hair lovingly. She looked up into his face, framed by his blonde hair and brown eyes.

"You did great, Kaori-chan! You still have to practice a little more to get up to my speed and then even more to beat me in running!" Her elder brother teased. She pouted, her lower lip sticking out.

"That's not fair, Onii-chan! You're 5 years older than me!" Kaori complained. He smiled gently and put her down.

"You'll be just as fast as me one day, Kaori. I promise that you will. Why don't we go and practice some sword fighting?" Her brother asked. Kaori dashed ahead and shouted back to him, "Try and beat me now, Onii-chan!"

He sped after her calling loudly, "Wait; slow down, Kaori-chan! Be careful!" Kaori paid no attention to him, but kept running forward, the cool wind rushing past her face. She spotted a dandelion and ran back towards her elder brother and offered it to him.

"Let's make a wish together, Onii-chan!" Kaori said, while offering him the dandelion. He took the dandelion and bent down so that he was the same height as Kaori.

"My wish is that we both go to the Academy and enter the Black Hawks!" Kaori muttered under her breath. They blew the dandelion together and watched as the seeds floated away on the wind.

"It'll definitely happen, I promise," Her elder brother answered while giving her a hug. They walked back to the mansion together hand in hand, both satisfied to their heart's content. This was the happiest day of her life that she remembered until that day her aunt murdered her.

1 year later…

Kaori was walking down the hallway in the family mansion extremely excited about her sword fighting practice with her elder brother. She always enjoyed sword fighting with him while their grandfather looked on, providing advice for both of them. He was strict, but a very kind person who cared much for them. Their father and mother never even seem to want to look at either one of the two. The relatives that looked at them had looks filled with disgust, loathing, and horror.

As she passed by a seemingly empty room, she heard footsteps coming closer and closer. It was her uncle and aunt, both of whom were whispering quietly. She dashed into the room and hid inside a mahogany wardrobe. Heart pounding, she listened to their conversation.

"Those two children are ill-omens to our family lineage. They are a disgrace!" Her uncle murmured.

"If we got rid of them, there would be no more ill-omens to worry about. They're useless!" Aunt spat angrily. "We'll do it at midnight tonight." Uncle nodded in agreement and they continued their horrible conversation.

"They want to get rid of us... they're going to kill Onii-chan! No, I can't let them kill Onii-chan. No matter what, I will make sure Onii-chan survives. I have to, even if I use my life!" As she listened, she realized that it was tonight that Aunt would attempt to kill them both. After they left, she climbed out of the mahogany wardrobe, thinking deeply.

"I have to tell Grandfather so Onii-chan will be safe. Though I better go to practice now since Onii-chan is probably looking frantically for me, no doubt," Kaori muttered as she ran down the hallway and out into the courtyard where her elder brother was waiting.

"Where were you, Kaori-chan? You're extremely late!" He scolded, looking impatient to begin. A half-hour had already passed during the time which she hid inside the closet.

That night, after she told her grandfather that she was leaving, she searched her drawers for the two silver heart lockets she had bought from a jewelry stall at the market. They were beautifully inscribed with a K and intertwining flowery vines, made specifically for the two of them. The one for her brother had a picture of her and contained tiny piece of paper inside that said:

Dear Onii-chan,

By the time you read this, I'll probably be running for both of our lives. Please don't be upset at me or Grandfather. I made Grandfather swear to secrecy that he wouldn't tell you until after it happened. I don't want you to come after me because I'm risking my life to keep you safe. I'm doing this so our dream can be fulfilled. I know you'll become a great person and definitely be recruited to join the Black Hawks. If they can't see how extraordinarily talented you are, then they are definitely blind. Remember that I will always be watching you from wherever I am and that I am always with you, loving you. I am proud of you, Onii-chan.

Love,

Kaori

The moon was beginning to rise and the clock striking twelve. Kaori tiptoed into her elder brother's room and lightly place it beside him. She turned and ran outside into the cold night. She ran for her life and never turned back. The chilly night wind made her shiver all over. As she bolted down a dark alley, she suddenly froze in her tracks. A dark figure stepped out, holding a gleaming knife. It was her aunt, with her pretty long blonde hair and cold ice blue eyes. She was one of the relatives who had regarded them with a particular disgust. Uncle and Aunt loathed them with all their heart. They viewed the two siblings as horrid, disgraceful children. An evil smile spread on her face as her uncle, springing from the shadows, pounced on Kaori, pinning her against a hard wall. Struggling futilely and sobbing many tears, Kaori stared up into her uncle's dark blue eyes, quite horrified upon seeing those emotionless eyes. Aunt looked exactly the same except for her face had a twisted, cruel smirk. These were the eyes of murderers who killed without remorse. The knife plunged downward into her heart and she closed her eyes, knowing it was the end. She hit the hard cobblestone road and was knocked unconscious. Everything suddenly went pitch-black….

Suddenly her elder brother was frantically shaking her awake and urgently hissed, "Wake up, Kaori!" She blearily opened her eyes and saw his extremely worried face. He knelt down and picked her up with his arms. Kaori leaned against him and put her left arm on his right shoulder.

"Are you alright, Kaori? It's good that we arrived just in time. You've lost a lot of blood," her elder brother murmured. As they walked quietly down the empty streets, snow began to fall for the first time in many years. Kaori looked up at the pure white fluffs that gently brushed past her face. The night sky was brilliant with the shine of many stars that awed her, for she had never seen such a sparkling brilliance.

"It's snowing, Onii-chan…. Isn't it perfectly wonderful?" Kaori whispered, her eyes fixed on the sky. This was the first time she had ever seen snow. She suddenly felt tired and her eyelids began to droop.

"I'm a bit tired, Onii-chan…. I'm going to go to sleep for a while…. Thanks for coming to save me, Grandfather, Onii-chan…." Kaori's voice trailed off into silence as she closed her eyes and slept. Her last feeling was the warmth of her brother as she snuggled as close as she could to him. Afterwards, there was a sudden lightness as she took her last breath and died.

Kaori opened her eyes and saw many white fluffy clouds floating by her in the sky. The stars twinkled all about her. It was still night, but there was no sign of the snow that had been falling. She stood up and walked around. There was nobody there, except for a man sitting on a throne with two staircases on either side. These staircases seemed to lead up and to where, nobody knows. Kaori assumed that the man on the throne was the Chief of Heaven upon noticing the elegant columns that surrounded her. He seemed to give off a high and mighty aura along with the fact that she could not see his face.

"Is this Heaven?" Kaori asked cautiously. The Chief of Heaven, who was lounging on the throne, laughed, quite amused.

"It is indeed, Heaven. You are much smarter than some of the people before you, Kaori," the Chief of Heaven replied. "You are allowed to reincarnate into a person, Kaori, for your deep love, selflessness, and willingness to sacrifice your life for your brother's."

"Will I be able to see Onii-chan again?" Kaori asked sadly. The Chief of Heaven nodded and held out her silver locket. Kaori bowed and took it from the Chief of Heaven's hands. It seemed to have none of the bloodstains she had remembered on it. She traced the intertwining flowery vines on the locket and stared at the K in the middle.

"I will allow you to retain the few memories that still exist within you, Kaori, although you will not understand their meaning right away. It is up to you to find your other memories, which have scattered to many places and will lead you to your brother. When you have finally found all your memories, the locket will return to you. I see you are determined to see your brother, although he may not recognize you until you find your memories and have the silver locket. I wish you good luck, Kaori."

Kaori suddenly felt her eyes closing and everything becoming dark again…

On that very same day, the snowflakes fell in the Raggs Kingdom and a baby girl was born to the king and queen. The baby girl had dark brown hair and deep green eyes, just like her brother Wahrheit Tiashe Raggs, the prince. She was named Angelica Raggs, the reincarnation of Kaori. Little did Angelica know that a great destiny was ahead of her and that she would have to struggle to achieve happiness.

Author's Notes: The next chapter will be about Angelica's childhood in the Raggs Kingdom! It'll take a while, but I'll try to get it done as soon as I can.