Prologue

ONCE UPON a time, there was a witch who closed herself off to the world and lived in a very secluded mountain.

She wasn't lonely. In fact, she has a dragon by her side and the fairies whom she saved from extinction.

She lived harmoniously with them for thousands of years.

The witch's life is so harmonious that there were no fights and threats in her land. So much so, that she slowly grew tired of it and became unhappy.

She was tired of the continuous cycle of her life in which what she only does in her daily life was to eat, sleep, read, and so on. There was no excitement for everyone and she wanted something new.

And so, she came up with a plan.

It was a plan to leave her old body behind and find a new one. To escape such a life and live with excitement, just even once.

She carefully crafted a plan in which she will cast magic that will separate her soul from her body and enter a new one, preferably a dead one.

When she succeeded in creating such magic, she left behind a letter for her beloved dragon and fairy friends to see.

Unaware that her reckless action will soon cause chaos to befall the continent.

She then cast magic on herself and saw as to how her soul left her body, her body dropping to the ground and disintegrating into the wind, for it is a thousand years old.

Her soul was the only key component in making her body appear youthful.

She set on to her journey after that and in a faraway land, saw a light calling for her.

She races to that light and the moment she touched it, it engulfed her and carried her to her new body.

A new life waiting for her.

~ ~ ~

"THE EMPRESS! THE EMPRESS IS GIVING BIRTH!"

Chaos soon filled the palace as the head maid shouted the news in a hurry. The meeting was disturbed and all of the people of high status are excited and annoyed at the disturbance but it soon dawned on them what the head maid shouted.

"A birth to a new heir!"

That news made every stilled in shock and surprise.

The emperor quickly stood up and was out in a flash, his cape fluttering behind him as his advisors rush with him to where the Empress is.

As soon as they came, they saw the Empress tired and weak on the bed. By her side is the newborn baby with her eyes closed and her chest unmoving.

Silence filled the room as they waited for the baby to cry but none came.

Tension filled the air like a thick fog as they nervously glanced at the emperor, fearing for the worst.

The emperor rushed to the empress' side and held her hand. The empress' eyes are still on the child as she felt the warm hand of the emperor on her.

It was clear that the empress had a hard time giving birth as her face is still drained out of color and traces of sweat can be clearly seen on her beautiful face.

"Is… Is she alive?" The emperor asked nervously, seeing that the baby didn't cry.

The empress didn't answer but soon smiled, turning her gaze to him and bringing her finger to her lips as a sign to be quiet.

"She's asleep."

The emperor sighed deeply and smiled at her, gently tracing her hand with his thumb.

"I'm glad."

He peeked to her side, where the baby is, and saw the most beautiful baby he had ever seen.

She has his hair, which is almost a silver color as her eyebrows and eyelashes are in a shade of gold, like the empress' hair. The eyelashes touched the baby's plump cheeks as her lips are slightly open.

She looks so fragile and tender which made the cold emperor look at her softly.

It was his first baby girl, a princess.

The emperor could clearly see that the child is not alive, as the baby's chest didn't rise after some time.

It dawned on him that the child is stillborn, and that breaks his heart.

He slowly stood up and walked to the other side, his feet wobbling in defeat as he saw the baby. He looks closer and held her in his arms, the empress looking at both of them with such adoration and love.

"You look alike." She said, a small smile plastered on her face.

The emperor held back his tears as he nodded, "It is because she’s, my girl."

The empress let out a satisfied laugh and closed her eyes, tired and exhausted.

"I'm sleeping now, Xerxes. Take good care of our child and give her love, in my stead."

As soon as she said that, her body went limp and all the people in the room broke down crying as the doctors and physicians frantically crowded the dead empress.

The emperor anticipated that she will not last long, from her state and her strength when he held her hand, but he didn't expect her to go like that.

The only woman he ever loved, died when she gave birth to their princess.

A lone tear escaped from the emperor's eyes as he hugged the baby closer to him, giving her all his warmth.

While the people are busy crying and trying to revive the empress, the tear that the emperor shed fell on the child's cheeks.

Which made the child flinch at this and opens her eyes before it rested on the crying man holding her.

She slowly reaches for his cheeks as if she tried to console him.

Upon contact with the small hand, the emperor looked at the child as he is met with the most beautiful ocean blue eyes that seemed to have a golden hue when the sun hits it.

The child looked at him curiously as his eyes widened at the awakened child who he thought had died along with his wife.

He thought he was seeing things because of grief but when the child gently patted his cheeks, that seemed to wake him up.

"Owho-ho?"

The child made gurgle noises towards him.

He just stared at her in disbelief as she looks back at him, her blue gold hues met his and he felt that they were drawing him in.

He didn't realize that the people crowding the empress are now looking at him in shock because the princess was alive and breathing, holding the emperor's cheek.

They thought it was a miracle that the once dead baby came to life.

"Alesteria."

The emperor called for the baby by a name that they assumed to be her name.

The baby responded with a giggle while still holding onto the emperor's cheek.

Everyone was frozen in place.

This was also a shock to them as they heard the emperor himself bestow the princess her own name.

The head maid who interrupted the meeting was now beside the door and looked solemn as she stares at the dead empress on the bed.

"You will be Alesteria Alaric of the Vlatka Empire."

The emperor continued as his voice resounded in the room, like it was the law.

As he finished this, he glanced at everyone in the room before his eyes landed on the dead empress that seemed to be sleeping.

He closes his eyes and with a heavy heart, he turns towards the door as he carried the baby in his arms, being gentle as he possibly could.

The newborn unknowingly went closer to him and that made his eyes look at her softly.

"The first princess of the empire has been successfully born. News about Alesteria should be distributed nationwide, no mentions of the deceased empress will come out of this room."

The people lowered their heads and knelt in front of him, all swearing loyalty to the emperor.

"We shall do as we are commanded." They said in unison as they solemnly pledged.

The emperor seemed satisfied with this and nodded. He gave the dead empress one last glance before giving his final order and goodbye to his beloved.

"The body of the empress should be handled with care, and bury her in her favorite garden. After you buried her, set this place on fire and build it into a garden which shall be named Aleria."

The people all looked up to him and nodded, a fierce look on their faces as they wholeheartedly answered.

With the emperor's command, all the people get to work for the funeral of their beloved empress but also the spreading of the news about the birth of the newest royal.

The emperor left the place with a grieving heart.

Memories of the empress flooded his mind as he stared at the empty halls, a dark void filling his heart.

"Ovuwha!"

The gurgle of the baby awoke his mind and the dark void that he felt earlier slowly dissipates.

He stared at the baby's eyes as they looked back at him, he sighs and walked out of the palace with the bundle of joy in his arms.

The sun greeted them as soon as they stepped out and the newborn closes her eyes momentarily to adjust to the brightness.

She opened her eyes again and stared at the bright blue sky, almost reflecting her own. She was in awe of everything around her and when her eyes landed on the emperor, she saw him smiled softly at her, making her smile back at him.

A new life…has been born.