Chapter 1: A chance more

     She took a walk along a path in the garden. This had become a habit of hers over the years. Her heart seemed to be at peace as she admired the flowers.

      On the night of the full moon, a woman in a red dress stood amidst the flowers. Her beauty was as dazzling as the moon and as radiant as the sun. Even the most beautiful of the flowers couldn't hold a candle to her beauty. A skin as fair as jade adorned in a red dress that fluttered in the wind; The sight was truly breathtaking. This was the otherworldly beauty of Royal concubine Amber.

       She stood by a pond in the garden. Her limpid azure eyes stared at the moon and a faint smile appeared on her heart shaped lips. She opened her mouth and said in a very relaxed manner;

       "Rose, if it hadn't been for my foolish act, you wouldn't have been stuck in the palace being bullied everyday by the Queen's maids. Do you detest me?"

        Rose stared at her lady's back and her eyes teared up. As she made to answer her lady's question, a dagger flew straight towards her and stabbed her right in the abdomen.

       "Rose!" Royal concubine Amber screamed and quickly caught her maid before she could fall.

        "My lady...if not...for you I would have died...a long time ago...I have...never...and would never...detest...you" Rose managed to say before she stopped breathing.

        Royal concubine Amber held Rose's body in a tight embrace and wept bitterly. She was oblivious of her surrounding as she wailed loudly. It was not until she heard a devilish laughter that she raised her head only to see four men. They were dressed in black and had a sword on their waist. She could clearly see their faces as they weren't wearing any mask but she couldn't remember having any dealings with them.

        Seeing the baffled look on her face,one of the men said with a sinister smile;

        "It's such a pity a beauty like you has to die. Don't worry we'll make your death as painless as possible"

        Well, no one would be happy to hear such a thing. Royal concubine Amber was determined. Even if she was going to die, she would fight till her last breath. Her father had taught her a little bit of martial art and with all her might, she fought with them. Although she ended up losing, she left each of the men with a few scratches. The men had fought with her without using their swords. They made sure she had no injury and she wondered why. Two of the men held her down while the one that had spoken earlier squatted in front of her, his lustful gaze looking all over her. He really wanted to have a taste of the beauty in front of him but he dared not go against the order of the person that had sent them.

         "Little beauty, don't hold a grudge against us, okay? We are simply following the Queen's order" the man said as he raised her chin and forced a poison down her throat. The two men holding her released her and she clutched her throat as she felt a burning sensation. She writhe in pain as her insides contorted. The excruciating pain was really unbearable but she couldn't even shout. She could only cry silently while cursing the queen in her mind. Finally, the pain stopped and she felt herself sinking into a world of darkness. With tears in her eyes, she prayed to heavens to give her a chance to live once more. Unable to keep her eyes open anymore, she gave in to the darkness and finally stopped breathing.

        The men threw her body into the pond and left without turning back making it impossible for them to notice the white light glowing in the pond.

         On the night of the full moon, the alluring beauty, Royal concubine Amber died.

         Somewhere in another place...

         A young man was sitting on a small mountain. He looked like he had just came out of a painting as he gazed at the full moon with a smile on his face. His amber eyes were filled with longing yet his lips were arched beautifully. Down the small mountain was a lake surrounded by flowers. The sight of a young man on a mountain surrounded by nature was simply heart moving. No one would have believed that this young man was the ruthless king of Elgad! 

         King Maxwell was enjoying the sight. On every night of the full moon, he would always come to this mountain as it held a lot of good memories for him. Just when he was about to reminiscence, he heard a lady's scream for help. It seemed to be coming from the other side of the mountain. He leapt off the mountain and tore a piece of his clothing to cover his face before rushing to see what was happening. When he entered the forest behind the mountains, the sight he met was truly surprising.

         Three men were surrounding a lady in a ragged cloth. One of them had a dagger that was covered in blood in his hand. They were all looking lustfully at the lady.  The lady's lips were pale. Even though the night was chilly, she was sweating profusely making part of her hair cling to her face. She was crawling backwards on the ground, her cloth covered in blood. It seemed that one of the men had stabbed her because she tried to resist. There was a look of determination on her face, as if she would rather die than to be stripped of her dignity.

         Two of the men held her down while the third one tried to make a move on her. Before he could do anything, a sword flew towards him and pierced through his throat. The two men holding the lady were frightened. They tried to run away but they were no match for Maxwell's speed. He swiftly sliced their throats before they even knew what was happening. With the disgusting men taken care of, Maxwell rushed up to the lady whose eyelids were now slowly closing. He lightly tapped her cheeks to keep her awake but after struggling to keep eyes open for a while, she finally gave up and closed her eyes. Maxwell hurriedly checked her breathing. The lady had died! He really felt pity for her. 

       'From the clothes she wore and how thin she looked, she is most likely a slave' he thought.

         He stood up and debated within himself whether to bury the lady or not. As he was thinking about this, a pair of slender hands reached out and grabbed his leg.

        "Help me" the lady said before losing consciousness.