Princess Levara?

[The Nation of Avenor — Imperial Palace — Hallway — Towards Princess Levara's Bedroom]

Elly walked down the long hallway toward Princess Levara's bedroom, her footsteps faster than they should have been. The heels of her shoes struck against the polished marble floor, echoing through the otherwise quiet corridor.

She didn't look at anyone, she didn't acknowledge the servants who stepped aside the moment they saw her approaching.

She simply wanted to get away from the ballroom, people, Elias and the throne. Most importantly, away from the terrifying reality surrounding her.

Bodyguard Kaein followed several steps behind her, his expression calm as always, but his eyes remained fixed on her.

"Your Highness, please walk slowly. You may—"

As soon as Elly reached the doors of her bedroom, she stopped, her breathing was uneven and for several seconds, she simply stood there with her head lowered, her golden-brown hair falling over her shoulders.

Then she spoke.

"No one is allowed inside."

Kaein paused.

Elly finally turned her head slightly toward him. "Do not let anyone enter my room...until I order otherwise."

There was no room for argument in her voice.

Kaein studied her for a moment, his expression remained unreadable, but something in his eyes changed. The Crown Princess had always been composed, he has never seen his princess behaving this odly.

Still, Kaein lowered his head respectfully.

"As Your Highness commands."

Elly didn't respond, she immediately turned around and just like that—

SLAMMM!!

SHUT!!!

The bedroom door was slammed closed. Elly stood with her back against it for several seconds.

Silence.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly, as the enormous bedroom stood before her.

The same bedroom she had woken up in that morning, except...she had never been here before, this wasn't her room, this wasn't her life and yet every object seemed to recognize her.

Elly's gaze slowly moved toward the bed, her legs suddenly felt weak as she swallowed and her voice came out barely above whisper.

"I...have to sleep. I'm sure once I wake up...I'll be back at the church."

She nodded to herself, as though repeating it would somehow make it true. "Yes. That's it. I'll wake up. I'll wake up in the church, and this whole thing will be over."

She didn't bother removing the jewelry around her neck or the earrings in her ears. She didn't care about the elaborate gown anymore, she simply removed her shoes with trembling hands and climbed onto the bed.

The moment she pulled the blanket over herself, she curled into it, wrapping her arms around her body and her entire body was shaking.

"This is a dream... just a dream." Her breathing became fast as she pulled the blanket tighter around herself.

"A horrible dream, that's all it is."

But the more she said it, the less she believed it.

Because dreams weren't supposed to hurt. They weren't supposed to have weight, smells, or pain. She still remembered the sharp sting in her arm when she had pinched herself in the ballroom, she remembered how real the pain had been.

Still, Elly pulled the blanket over her head and forced herself to close her eyes because she needed to sleep.

It wasn't easy.

Her mind refused to quiet down, every time she closed her eyes, images of the ballroom appeared again. The Emperor, the Crown Princess. Elias. Narissa. Kaein.

The enormous chandeliers and the hundreds of people bowing to her, she kept turning beneath the blanket, desperately trying to find a comfortable position and muttering one single thing.

"I'm going to wake up."

She repeated those words again and again until her own voice slowly became nothing more than a whisper.

"I'm going to wake up..."

Perhaps there was some truth to the old saying that when a person was frightened enough, sleep became the first thing to wrap its arms around them because eventually, despite the fear clawing at her chest, Elly's exhausted body surrendered.

Her breathing slowly became steady, her trembling stopped and she fell asleep.

But it wasn't a peaceful sleep.

***

[The Dark Room — Elly's Dream]

Darkness.

That was the first thing Elly noticed, there was no floor beneath her feet that she could see, no walls, no ceiling, no door, no window, nothing...just darkness.

Endless, suffocating darkness stretching in every direction. Elly stood completely still, her eyes widened as she slowly turned around.

"Where...where am I?"

Her voice echoed strangely through the darkness and yet there was no answer. She took one cautious step forward and her heart began beating faster.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

Again, nothing.

Elly's breathing became shallow as she wrapped her arms around herself. "This isn't funny. Okay...this is officially the creepiest dream I've ever had."

She tried to laugh, but the sound died in her throat as there was something wrong with this darkness.

It didn't feel empty, it felt like something was watching her.

Elly slowly turned around and then she heard a footsteps coming from somewhere within the darkness.

"Who's there?"

No answer, the footsteps continued as her heart pounded against her ribs and took a step backward. "Please don't be a murderer...I've already had enough trauma for one lifetime."

The footsteps stopped.

Elly held her breath, then a voice emerged from the darkness.

"Are you the one who wasn't letting me go?"

Elly's blood ran cold as her eyes widened. The voice hadn't come from in front of her. It hadn't come from behind her. It had come from everywhere.

Elly's lips parted.

"What...?"

Then she heard footsteps again, this time, they were closer and a figure slowly emerged from the darkness. Elly stared, her eyes widened in disbelief and her heart seemed to stop.

"Princess...Levara?"

The woman standing before her was unmistakable. Long golden-brown hair, pale skin, crimson eyes and soft pink lips.

The beautiful face that Elly had seen on television countless times, the beloved Princess of Avenor.

Her princess.

Levara.

But something was terribly wrong, Levara's eyes were empty, there was no warmth in them, they looked almost lifeless. As if the woman standing before Elly had already died long before her body had ever stopped breathing.

Elly swallowed.

"Princess...?"

She whispered her name again.

Levara didn't answer, she simply stared at her and Elly's fear slowly disappeared, replaced by something completely different, excitement.

Her lips parted into a huge smile.

"Oh my God..." She took a step forward. "IT'S REALLY YOU!"

Levara remained expressionless.

Elly clasped her hands together beneath her chin like an excited fan who had somehow been given front-row access to her favorite celebrity.

"I knew it! I knew you weren't really gone!" She dangled princess hands like spring. "I cannot believe I finally get to meet you!"

Levara continued staring without any expression and Elly didn't seem to notice the terrifying emptiness in her eyes.

"You're even prettier in person!" Elly suddenly looked around the endless darkness and then back at Levara. "Okay, technically, you're in my dream...but still! This is amazing!"

For a moment, the darkness seemed almost less frightening because Elly was too overwhelmed by the fact that her idol was standing right in front of her.

Then Levara spoke.

"I can see why you cursed that god to bring me back."

Elly's smile slowly faded as she stared at Levara. "How did you know that?"

Levara didn't answer immediately, she simply looked at Elly with those empty crimson eyes as he voice came quiet, almost fragile.

"The God has heard nothing but your voice since the night you cursed Him and even me...I only heard your voice in this endless darkness."

Elly's expression changed, ofcourse, she had cursed God for taking Levara away from her and somehow...Levara had heard every word.

Then...

"You wanted me back right? But I have no desire to go back to that same life."

Elly heart thundered as she heard those words from her Princess.

"What are you talking about? The people of Avenor would be heartbroken if they heard you say something like that. You can't just—"

"That's why..." Levara gently cut her off. "...I sent you in my place, Elly."

Elly froze, her hands slowly loosened around Levara's. "In your place?"

A faint, sorrowful smile appeared on Levara's lips as she lowered her eyes.

"It's pathetic isn't it? Perhaps it is shameless of me to ask this of you. You never asked for any of this. You never asked to become me, you never asked to carry my name, my responsibilities, or my life."

She looked back at Elly.

"But can you take my place?"

Elly's lips parted as Levara continued, her voice growing softer.

"Not the Princess everyone expects you to be. The obedient daughter, the forgiving fiancée and the woman who smiles even when her heart is bleeding."

Her crimson eyes glistened.

"I want you to become the Princess I was never brave enough to become."

Elly couldn't speak.

"A Princess who fights for herself."

Levara's voice cracked as she swallowed painfully.

"A Princess who doesn't forgive people simply because she loves them, a Princess who doesn't sacrifice herself just to keep everyone else happy."

Elly stared at her in disbelief as her voice trembled.

"So that means...I wasn't dreaming?"

Levara said nothing. Elly's breathing became uneven as she looked around the darkness.

"All of this...everything was real?"

Levara remained silent. Elly's heart sank.

"But why? Why would you do this? Why would you give your life? Why do you not want to go back princess?"

Levara's expression finally broke as her lips trembled.

"Because...I am exhausted."

The words were barely a whisper but they carried years of pain.

"I am so tired, Elly. I trusted people I should never have trusted, and I hated people I should never have hated."

She gave a broken laugh that contained no happiness.

"I spent years believing that I was doing the right thing. I thought forgiving people made me kind. I thought enduring pain made me strong. I thought if I loved people enough...they would eventually love me the same way but I was wrong."

Levara's shoulders trembled.

"When I finally realized the truth, it was already too late, they tore me apart in ways I didn't even know a person could be torn apart and I have no desire to live that life again."

Elly couldn't move.

She had spent years looking at Princess Levara through television screens. The perfect Princes, the beloved jewel of Avenor and the woman who always smiled.

The woman everyone believed had everything but the woman standing in front of her now wasn't smiling, she was simply tired and broken.

"But...I am still trapped here, maybe...because I caused a pain to him, he never deserved."

Elly looked at her.

"Him?"

Levara's smile now became gentler as she said, 

"The one because of whom I exist in this world. My father, emperor Arvellan."

Levara looked into the darkness as though she could somehow see beyond it.

"I broke him in so many ways and maybe that is why i couldn't leave this place.  I trusted the wrong people. I believed the wrong words, and I made choices that hurt him, even when he was trying to protect me."

She lowered her eyes again with a bitter smile.

"I thought he didn't love me and I was wrong and that's why I cannot leave."

She smiled faintly.

"I need to see him smile again."

Elly stared at her Princess, the woman she had loved without ever meeting and the woman she had believed was perfect. Now stood before her like a ghost who had finally been allowed to admit that she had been suffering all along.

Then Levara whispered,

"And, Elly...you were right, my death...was never caused by cardiac arrest."

Elly's breath caught as Levara looked directly into her eyes and she finally said the words that had been waiting inside her soul.

"I WAS MURDERED."

The darkness around them suddenly seemed to shake and Elly could do nothing but stare at her Princess.

"So...please live my life, I am not asking you to correct the mess I digged, just...take the right decisons, that will be enough."

Elly could not believe, the Princess she had mourned, the Princess she had cursed God to return and the Princess whose life she had now inherited was MURDERED?

But who? Who killed Princess levara? And why?