A/N: Hello my sweet peeps! Now, I know what you're thinking, and yes, I am very alive and very excited to introduce to you, Reborn Royalty.
Anyway, I just want to mention that I have a Tumblr or four and that is where Imma post all my stories, including notes and disclaimers about my writing. I will also post a random one-shot on there from time to time, so feel free to go check it out! Anyway, this chapter is brought to you by my Tumblr account, on which I realized I haven't posted a story at all, so this is a sort of apology.
On another note, if any of you've read Pixie The Elf(my old account)'s "Celestial Sisters", yeah. This is a rewrite. Gahddammit. And in hindsight, that story was god-awful. The pacing, grammar, vocabulary, every single thing of it was completely fucked up. So, now, I'm fixing it!
Well anyhoo, that's enough outta me and my long, drawn out sentences, so let's get to it!
Reborn Royalty
Book 1
Chapter 1: Heartfilia
Nighttime in the winter was as cold as it could get without snowing. Rain pelted down into the dark and dreary streets of the neighbourhood, the lights of the city shining like little gemstones amongst the darkness. The streets were mostly silent, except for a few cars and vehicles driving by, and somewhere in the distance, a few dogs barked and howled at the night.
The sound of footsteps echoed through the empty street, and two women stepped into the moonlight.
"Are you sure you'll be okay?"
I groaned. "Yes, Katie. I'll be perfectly fine, I don't need you to baby me. This is like- the what, eighteenth time you've asked me this? It's getting irritating."
Kate and I had been best friends since high school, and to be honest, I never thought her to be the mom-friend type. She was normally the more eccentric one in our group, and always did stuff without thinking. Well, at least she grew out of it. "Hey, I'm just trying to be a good friend. You could just stay over at my house, it really wouldn't be a problem, you know?"
"And Luka?"
Luka is my little sister, and she was an absolute angel. She had been living at my apartment ever since our parents died, and the poor thing was extremely shy around other people, even Kate. She has a social anxiety disorder and will only ever talk to other people when it's absolutely necessary. She also has a problem with nightmares, and as such, taking care of her and comforting her can be difficult. Despite all that, she's extremely polite, and avoids conflict like the plague, which is, I suppose, one of the key differences between the two of us.
Kate frowned. "You know you two can always just stay at my house if you've got any problems, right? Especially since he hasn't been caught yet."
I smiled reassuringly. "It's fine, Kate. Besides, It's not like he's going to come out hunting for my blood anytime soon. Probably already left the country, too."
"If you say so." Kate appeared thoughtful, before snapping her head to the right and sighing. "Well anyway, we're here. See ya tomorrow!"
"Ciao."
"Luka, you awake?" The door to the apartment creaked open into a dark living room, the only light coming from outside. It doesn't seem like anyone... I flicked the light on, shaking the doubt from my mind. Really, I'm getting way too paranoid. There's no way he could have found this place. Not yet, anyway. This neighbourhood is a lot different from that of my previous home, There's no way he'd suspect me to come here. He always did say he hated the quiet.
The small bundle on the couch shuffled around underneath the heap of blankets and Luka reared her head, 'looking' around. "Mh? Oh hey, Kora, what took you so long? It's pretty late, y'know. "
"Yeah, sorry about that. I had some deliveries to complete. Why're the lights out?"
"I dunno. They're useless anyway, though." The girl reminded, settling back into her bundle of blankets and cushions, smiling softly, eyes closed. Well, she does have a point. Luka and our uncle got into a car accident a few months back; she lost hr sight and he his life. Despite her condition, Luka could move around fairly well. She had more than excellent hearing, and more often than not, she'd hear noises most people couldn't, forcing her anxiety levels to rise drastically. Whelp, they do say the body adapts to weaknesses, right?
"Fair enough. So, how was your day?" I walked over to the couch and flopped myself next to the girl, smiling warmly.
"Dark." Luka muttered, turning her head in my direction. "And boring. Do you think I'll ever get my sight back? I can't even walk around without bumping into something, and it's getting annoying."
"Luka-"
She tilted her head to the side and groaned. "I knowww, I know. I was lucky to make it out alive. A girl can dream, dammit. But do you think they'll fix it? My appointment with mister Schwartz is tomorrow. I really want to see again. Do you think if I focus hard enough, I could fix it?"
My silence was telling. Dr. Schwartz was a great optometrist, sure, but even he doubted that he could fix her eyes. Something about optical nerves being severely damaged? I sighed. Perhaps we should change the topic. "Hm. Read any good books lately?"
Luka ignored the obvious change in conversation choice(thank god) and smiled. "Yep. It's a book about dragons called Arimore. I like it, but I finished it in half an hour. It wasn't very long. You?" Luka had studied Braille throughout her life, because she wanted to become a teacher for the disabled. Thank god for small mercies, because she absolutely loved to read and would have gone depressed without her books.
"Well, I read a manual on computers, so that counts, right?" Luka giggled at my (terrible, really) attempt at humor and frowned adorably.
"I'm gonna force you to read a real book one of these days, just you watch me."
"Pft. Alright kiddo, have fun with that." I glanced at my watch and frowned. 6:37. "Well, anyway, I should get moving. Dinner's not gonna cook itself, ya know?" I joked and stood up, walking to the kitchen with a few quick strides. The living room and kitchen were right opposite each other. The dining room was next to that, the bedrooms at the far end and the study right next to my room.
I turned on the stove plate and started heating some oil and entered the pantry, grabbing a bag of flour and a container of baking soda. Flapjacks are easy enough. What else... eggs, milk, sugar and salt. Maybe I could add some chocolate chips or cocoa in there too... Nah. Too much effort. Besides, Luka probably already finished the chocolate chips earlier. Not even blindness can stop her from stealing my chocolate, dammit. Luka's ailments momentarily forgotten, I set to work preparing the 'dough' mixture,
While I worked, my mind started drifting off to other things, and soon, I found myself daydreaming on the job. I know that was probably dangerous, but I couldn't stop myself; today's been a busy day.
Well, this is weird. I gazed around myself, finding nothing but white light all around me. White, white everywhere. The light was so bright, I don't think you could even see a single shadow in this place. The light's coming from everywhere. What's going on? Where am I?
"Greetings, child."
Wha-who's there?
"I am *#% $$^%*. You are currently in purgatory, child."
What?
"I apologize, human. I suppose my language is rather difficult to understand. Call me E, then. "
I looked around anxiously. Where... "Where are you?"
The light pulsed brightly, and the voice was silent. What the? I glanced down, expecting to see my lower body and legs, holding my arms out in front of me.
.
.
.
I saw nothing. No body, no me, just the everlasting light around me. "What...happened to me?"
"I am unaware of how any of those that come here arrive. All I know is that you're here, and apparently dead. That is all I can tell you. I am sorry, child."
W-what?! I- I can't be dead! I've got to find Luka... what happened to her? Is she okay? How did I... Ohhh. Oh fuck no. What have I done?! Memories from the past hour flashed through my mind.
Fire. Fire everywhere.
"Kora! Where are you?!"
Pain. Terror.
I watched weakly as Luka ran through the apartment, hands cupped around her mouth. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, and I heard her call out to me once more.
Then, darkness.
Relief.
"Hey, do you at least know if Luka's okay?"
"I cannot tell you that. My apologies."
"Can you tell me ANYTHING? Or are you just here to with me? IS LUKA ALIVE?" I snapped. "Please..."
"I'm sorry."
"IS THAT ALL YOU CAN SAY? YOU'RE SORRY?!" I snapped.
"No."
"Oh? So what CAN you say?" I challenged, gazing around the light. Might as well have been darkness for all the good that it does.
"Do not test me, human. You are interrupting my work. DO you want your new body to be ruined?"
I paused. New...body? What the fuck is she talking about? I voiced my thoughts out loud.
"I am crafting a new body for you, human. Your previous body was burned to ash, and as such, cannot be reused. Do you not want a new chance at life?"
"What?! No, I just want to go back home! Luka needs me!"
"Strange, most humans would jump at a second chance at life. Well, that doesn't matter right now, we're finished here."
Before I could object, I felt myself being thrown into the darkness, wincing when the cold air hit my naked body.
Why do I feel so...cold? I felt myself being lifted into the air by a huge pair of hands. Why do I feel so small? What's going on? I forced my eyes open, wincing when the light entered my eyes. I blinked, trying to get used to the rapid change in lighting, and winced. What's going on here? i opened my mouth to speak, when...
"Wahhh!"
...a high pitched scream rang through the air instead.
"Congratulations..." A voice spoke, and I struggled to make out the words between the noise. Shut up, me! "Baby... girl...name?" I felt myself being handed to someone else. The new person's hands were soft and smooth, like silk, and I forced myself quiet down. Wait, the screaming was me? What the fuck is going on here?
"Jayden. Jayden Heartfilia. The woman spoke, her voice just as soft and smooth as her hands.
Wait... Heartfilia? Where do I remember that...
Oh. Oh fuck. Wasn't that the last name of that anime's main protagonist? What was it? Fairy Tales? Fairy's Tail? F...Fairy Tail?
I did not sign up for this shit! E, send me back! I know you can hear me!
Another high pitched scream cut through the air.
Well, hello, my sweet peeps! This was the first chapter of Reborn Royalty! I hope you enjoyed it, and while this chapter was a little short for the sake of cliffhanging, The next chapter should be quite a little longer. Mnyehhh, that was rather fun to write. Gah.
Anyway, constructive criticism is much appreciated.
Ciao!
-Amber