Alicia slowly opened her eyes, and when she sat up, she found herself inside her room.
This was the room she had lived in for two years now. She remembered how fulfilled she had felt when her manager brought her here for the first time and showed her around the three-bedroom luxury penthouse their Bosses had decided to move her into after she won the nation's grand award as the 'Best Actress' for two years in a row.
This apartment was her greatest achievement, reminding her of how she had moved from being a lowlife to earning it with her hard work.
Now she was here.
She weakly sat up on the bed and looked everywhere. She was muddleheaded initially until she noticed someone standing by the window, looking out into the bustling night city.
She loved looking out that window. Seeing the world below her made her feel like she was really on top. That thought brought a smile to her face until her muddleheadedness began to slowly clear, reminding her that there was someone standing by her window!
She narrowed her eyes and looked closely at the person, who had a very similar figure to her and was wearing a plain white, long, simple dress.
It was... herself?
How was she in the bed and by the window?
She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts.
What was wrong with her? Why did she feel stupid?
The person by the window turned to look at her, and just as she had guessed, the person had her face!
"We meet again." She said this, smiling softly.
"You... Anne?" Alicia called out as her head began to get clearer.
"Your world... is a fine place." Anne turned to look out the window again.
That seemed to snap Alicia out of her daze, and her eyes widened in panic as she quickly looked all around her, also leaving the bed quickly.
She was here. She was in her room. What was happening? How did this happen?
"What happened to me? Why am I here? What happened?" She asked Anne in panic.
"This isn't real. Your consciousness has been resting here." Anne turned around and informed her.
"What happened to me?" Alicia asked in confusion. The last thing she remembered was...
She shut her eyes tightly and searched her brain to remember the last thing that had happened. Why was she unconscious again?
She slept with Harold.
She remembered.
They had spent the night together IN each other.
Had he done it so much that she fainted?
"Why are you appearing to me again? Did something happen? Is this the past? Present or future?" Alicia asked her curiously.
"I used to think your destiny was to free our wandering souls. I guess... I was wrong." Anne spoke quietly.
"What... does that mean?" Alicia inquired. She could not read Anne's face to know what she was thinking or feeling. It made her confused.
"It's the Blood Moon in seven nights," Anne informed her, ignoring her question.
"The twentieth age is very significant for our kind. So is the Blood Moon. Even if I couldn't practice witchcraft, I could feel my witch core burning when I turned twenty." She paused and added,
"Since Amber will be turning twenty on that night, her core will burn by force, and her soul will be the strongest. Whether or not you are in control of her body."
"I... am lost." Alicia said before she remembered something and then asked, "You asked Lord Zealot to keep Amber protected until she was 20. Was that to deceive him so he would keep her alive until she became a full witch?"
Anne shook her head. "I used my entire core to protect Amber when she was born on that night. So practicing witchcraft was impossible for me. It was the reason you were able to save her body from dying that day. It was what drew you in when she said those spells."
Alicia was still lost. Was it because she felt lightheaded or because it was just too complicated for her to understand?
"If Amber decides to lift their curse or fight against them, it would be her decision. But at least, she would be able to protect herself."
"Why... me?" Alicia asked, lost. "Why did I have to be the one to save her that night? Why not you? I mean... it was your witch core, right?"
"Our times are different." She informed Alicia. "But our souls mirror each other. Looking at me, you can see that clearly."
Yes. They did look the same.
"However, I and Amber's flow on the same tide. The present cannot be altered. It is against the natural forces." She paused again before adding,
"We can also say that fate is messing with us. I was able to do that after I met you for the first time. I had to do all it would take to save her."
"So if the curse is not lifted, things will continue to go bad for the Moon Kingdom?"
"In every generation," Anne answered immediately. "They... will keep destroying each other." Her tone was serious.
Was that why the King was ill? And also the reason one problem or another had been happening? Would it continue like this?
"How... can the curse be lifted?" She asked Anne desperately.
"Lifting the curse requires a huge sacrifice."
Alicia did not like the sound of that.
"My mother... burned her soul for it," Anne said in a tight voice.
As much as she tried to hide it, Alicia could feel how much pain she was in. She felt it in her heart.
"It can only be lifted by another soul of a descendant."
"W-What?" Alicia exclaimed in surprise. "You were... going to let Amber die in exchange for lifting the curse on the same people who ruined her life and ended her lineage?" Alicia asked in surprise.
"That is your first emotion." Anne smiled softly at her. "Now, think about it." She moved closer to Alicia.
"Think about the friends you have made there. Think about the fact that many more generations are going to die for what their ancestors did. Something that they do not know about. How... are we then different from them?" Anne asked in a heavy voice.
"I hate them. I hate them all. And I hate that even after death, they continue to make us suffer. I hate that one of us would have to give our souls if we wished to free them. I hate it." She said with misty eyes. "But it is not my nature to continue on that path."
Alicia looked at Anne with teary eyes that mirrored hers and thought about all they had done.
Making the witches live in hiding all their lives. Burning a witch for a potion for their King. Sneaking an attack on them and killing them all, including Prince Wilder, their kind, whom Anne loved. Celebrating that night with every full moon. Seeking after Anne, who was already trying to survive with her daughter, executing her, then sending her little daughter off into exile.
It was all too much.
But on the other hand, innocent people would continue to suffer for it. Harold had done nothing to deserve it. Alvin did nothing. Susan and William did nothing. Tyra and Luciana did nothing. And even she, who had simply been married here, was being affected by the curse and making her life miserable. They would continue to hurt each other, unaware of the fact that they were under the influence of Lady Avery's curse.
"Amber would never do it. She would never." Alicia said as tears dropped from her eyes. She didn't know Amber personally, but she knew it was going to be impossible for Amber to exchange her soul to free them of the curse.
Rather, she was going to curse them again. She was sure of that.
Anne nodded. "I wouldn't want that for my daughter either. She... has suffered enough." Anne sniffled and wiped her tears with her hands. "I wish she could leave all the hate and live a nice life. One I never got to experience."
It was too late now.
"Is there anything I can do? Anything to help this situation—"
"You can do nothing." Anne cut her off before she could finish. "Maybe this is not your destiny."
"Why—?"
"You are a part of them now, Alicia. You are one of them."
"Because I wined and dined with them?" Alicia asked in disbelief.
"You laid with our blood's enemy," Anne said. "You carry their mark on your soul. You... can do nothing."
Alicia let out a quiet gasp as she stared helplessly at Anne.
"If you care about them, you can try to stop Amber from destroying everything. That is as far as I can go for the Moon Kingdom. This... is the last sacrifice I can make to the kingdom of the one... I cherished."
Alicia could tell she was talking about Prince Wilder.
She could see the pain in Anne's eyes. Even in death, was it never going to end? When was she going to be free?
"Is... it ever going to get better?" Alicia asked hopefully.
Anne shook her head. "I do not know. Maybe it has to do with why you are really here. Maybe... maybe we will know someday."
Those were the last words Anne said to her before she dispersed and everything turned black.
When Alicia opened her teary eyes again, she was in a place she now recognized as her home.
Not the luxurious penthouse.
It was an old-fashioned chamber.
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