This world I was transmigrated or reincarnated, or reborn into (what ever you wanna call it, I don't even care anymore)
It had too many similarities to a book I'd read in my past life, the names stuck out the most, sure, .. there were some discrepancies, the villainess I'd read about in the book never had sentient eyes.[1]
Or doting parents and adorable siblings. -but the facts aligned too perfectly to dismiss.
The Prince's back story checked out, orphaned at seven, while I.., iris was older by a year, she was very frail, which is true, but ironically had more magical influence than anyone in her time, enough to rival an Arch mage since her young age.
I'd never asked for this life or the gods' interference.
Honestly, I am too lazy to care about altering the plot or even escaping, the characters of the book had too much struggle and drama to their lives,
My plan was simple: minimize my role and avoid drama.
I seemly wanted to minus myself from it, I never played a positive role to begin with, removing myself from the narrative, would be doing the Prince and Extel a favor, I'd be eliminating myself as a potential obstacle to their budding romance.
It was a win-win situationed plan.
(No fuss,No drama, just a quiet exit )
It was perfect!.
.><><><.
So why was I looking at three dead knights and my bleeding Mother, barely clutching onto life,
My heart seemed to freeze, and for a moment, time stood still, and I locked eyes with the dark figure towering over Mother, a man.., piercing white eyes without pupils, that seemed to hold the weight of centuries. His presence imposed dominance, his features were sharp and refined, and his gaze meeting with mine, almost felt like he could see right through me, stripping away every layer of pretense.
His voice was low and measured, with authority hard to ignore, "Would you like to hear her last words?"
My heart stopped for a second, but my body moved, crawling, towards her as if like instinct,I clasped her hand with mine, feeling a mix of desperation and fear, her fingertips were cold at the touch, her body bore bruises I could never imagine on her before.
The pain and shock were suffocating, but her eyes locked onto mine, and for a fleeting moment, everything else faded away.
Even as her voice trembled, she offered me a gentle reassurance. 'It's going to be fine" she whispered, her words a fragile promise.
I felt a sob well up in my throat as I clutched her hand to my chest,
"You knew, didn't you?.., you knew you didn't stand a chance, yet you came here... you knew how it'd end, So why?, why?!, I'm not worth it!, I'm really not" I pleaed, my voice cracking
She patted my hand, and I clutched it to my chest, ignoring my words, her fingers tenderly stroking my hair behind my ear, a gesture that felt like a farewell,
"You should cry more often" she murmured,
her voice a soft caress
As I opened my eyes, tears spilled down my cheeks, and she didn't bother to wipe them away, "What are you even saying?" I choked out, my hands trembled, cold with fear,
(Is she really going to d...) I shook my head freverently, hoping to send the thought away.
"This world is too... hard..." she spoke slowly, softly, "to always keep your feelings bottled up"
Her gaze locked onto mine, and for a moment..it felt like she was seeing right through my soul,
"You never cried to me as a child, sometimes I felt like a bad mother... but eventually, I understood you are an old soul, with secrets"
She chuckled weakly, the sound sending a pang through my chest "But old souls are supposed to be smarter"
" You... you knew?" I muttered, my mind reeling.
She coughed up blood, her face contorting in pain, "Call it a mother's intuition" before suddenly pulling me into a tight hug, It wasn't gentle, it was firm and desperate, as if she could hold onto me forever.
Her lips brushed against my ear. "Listen to me Iris..., you will not die here. You can't let them take you, you hear me, your father.." her words were a fierce whisper, a mother's plea., before the silence..,
Her breath no longer lingering in my ear, her grip loosening as she slipped away.
I lingered in her embrace for a while, before a familiar, sugary voice cut through the silence,
"Well, that was very em... touching " the shorty lady exclaimed, her enthusiasm dripping with artificial sweetness.
I looked up to see her floating above the ground, legs crossed, her face still hidden behind the hood of her cloak.
"We've allowed you to have your time with your mother,"she continued, her voice like laced honey, but with poison instead of lemon, "because, darling, we are sentimental people"
She stood up, descending the invisible staircase of air with an elegance that belied her words. "Personally, I adore sentimental moments, infact I love it!, emphasis is on love,.. So!, now that you've had your... tender moment, heard her last wishes, all that... jazz!, beautiful! beautiful stuff. I'm sure you won't make this any harder than it is already, will you?"
The shadow mage grunted, "What if she pulls that trick again?"
The woman's voice took on a playful tone. "Oh, right!, We'll have to charge a little extra for that inaccurate intel... But," a golden choker materialized in her hand, it had some weird patterns all over it, something about it was mythical
"this will take care of any... unforeseen circumstances"
She gazed down at me, her face still obscured by the shadows of her hood.
"Fay, they draw near" the blind one warned,
I seethed with anguish and disgust, the uncertainty of what came next fueling my anger. 'This isn't how it's supposed to go,' I muttered, my voice low and menacing,
The short lady, squatted before me, her grip on my face like a vice, forcing me to meet her gaze. "What was that?" she cooed. "I didn't quite catch it"
"I said.." a burning sensation turned inside me, I'd long since extinguished these flames for fear of it ending my life, but now... What's the worse that could happen?.
"You should shut the fuck up!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.
Electric run through my veins, every inch ablaze with fury, the world around me grounded to a halt, everything froze in place, I stumbled back, breaking free from the grasp, surprisely easy.
"What the heck..." The Mages weren't moving, birds suspended in the sky, I couldn't even feel the wind, the oppressive silence, punctuated by the sound of my ragged breathing.
"did I...?"
"Stop all of time?, absolutely not!"
An alluring vioce unlike anything I'd ever heard sneakered behind me, I turned and the harmony came from a beautiful tiny ... fairy?...
"I didn't know fairies existed in this world" I said, approaching her with a curiosity that felt almost second nature.
"You must be a sweet soul if that's what you see" she giggled...
That's sound..., it defied any description I could comprehend, it had this flowery feel to it, that resonated from deep within, leaving trails of delight near, vibrating every inkling fibre of your being, almost... music, yet, not quite, the harmony was too complex, too ethereal.
"Then, what are you?" I reached out to her, (I guess she couldn't be a fairy since, she doesn't have any wings)
"I'm Enia" she said, her voice dancing with mirth, "and I just saved your life" glasping onto my finger with tiny hands.
She definitely might not be a fairy, but..., there was an otherworldly aura about her.
"Enia" I repeated, my eyes widen in realization "as in the-"
"god of this world?, yes!" She chimed in, cutting me off, now sitting on my fingers, swinging her leg's nonchalantly,
I brought my hand closer to my face, studying her delicate features in a mix of awe and curiosity.
"Why'd you save me?" I asked, my vioce calm despite the many questions that ran in my mind.
"I didn't save from those evil Mages if that's what you're thinking" she said, pointing behind me "you're still there"
I turned and saw myself still gripped by that thing, frozen in time.
"I also didn't stop time at all, I seemly brought you out of time, or to be more precise, your soul"
"why?" I asked calmly, confused
Enia grined proudly "So you'd pass out, you were about to kill yourself"
Her eyes sparkling with a knowing glint.
"I mean does your power not allow you to stop time, aren't you the creat-" her soft,tiny hands clamped my mouth, silencing me abruptly,
"Never question the will of your god!" she hissed, her face flushing a deep red.
I was taking aback by just how beautiful she was, only at close range could I have grasped how delicate and breath taking she was, her sapphire like eyes sparkled with warn, and slight embarrassment, and her pale, luminous skin seemed like what would golw even in the dark, everything about her said adorable goddess,
But her embarrassed expression was just as precious...I tried to hold it in, but a giggle escaped me, and I just gagged out laughing...
"Why are you suddenly laughing?!!" she demanded, her face growing even redder, if that were possible.
Her eyes narrowed down, with annoyed embarrassment all over her face.
[1] the strange and rear case in this world, only found every 100 yrs in the chosen child of the Hampton family.