Not once did you see me for who I am. 

Not once did I ever live as the girl named Celine. 

All of my life, I was The Child of the Prophecy, the Future Empress of the Wlior, a prosperous land, blessed by Gods. Even to this day, I never fully realized that no one trusted me enough to be an Empress. 

Wandering around, I tried to swallow this thought that kept wandering inside my head. I knew people were reluctant in trusting me, a girl, to rule over this land, who was always ruled by an Emperor, yet I never would have realized that their attempts to make me fail would be so evil. 

I will be the Future Empress of this land, something like this shouldn’t scare me. Yet, here I was, glancing over to the line that separated the two worlds, prepared to show in front of hundreds of commoners my true powers. 

One step. 

I had to take one step to prove that I was truly the Child that the Prophecy talked about, but there was something about this line that intrigued me. It wasn’t the fact that the border between the two worlds looked as if it was burned down, not was it the fact that it looked so similar, yet so different from the whole forest. 

I think the fact that intrigued me the most was how it was possible for me, a human, to be able to enter the underworld, the realm of those who died. 

Glancing over my shoulder, I looked around to see everyone’s expressions. The moment my eyes met my father’s, I could feel my heart drop. As if a wave of coldness flew past me, I felt shivers on my body. 

The look on my father’s face was one that I had never seen before. His expression swallowed me and I felt as if I was a small child once again. Not once did I have seen such an expression before. 

Is this… the expression of distrust? 

Clenching my fist, I felt a tear that was ready to stain my appearance. I couldn’t show any emotions. Not now, when everyone was looking. 

‘Can it be… she really isn’t the Child of the Prophecy?’ those words echoed in the silence until they’ve reached my ears

Soon enough, a reply came: ‘I think the rumors were true. Her mother for sure cheated. How else would it be that she doesn’t look a bit like His Majesty…’ 

Before I could even react to those words, my father raised a hand. Silence fell over the crowd before my father could even let his hand down. I expected him to order for those who spread rumors to be taken out of the crowd, but he didn’t say anything to them. Instead, his expression changed as he smiled gently at me. 

‘Come, Celine. It’s time.’ He said as he stood up, taking steps to get closer to me, 

I’ve turned around, my back facing the crowd, yet nothing has changed from before: everyone’s glare still felt as if it were burning my body. If I wanted to change something, this was the moment: I had to take that one step. 

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I’ve imagined this moment and how I should act, I never missed any detail, even if my demonstration would fail. After all, I’ve always lived under everyone’s eyes. 

The moment my steps crossed the border between the lands, I didn’t feel anything. There wasn’t any strange feeling that traveled through my body, there wasn’t any kind of revelation that hit me — there was nothing. 

I felt empty. And for a moment, I’ve kept my eyes shut, not wanting to accept my fate. 

The buzz of the crowd grew bigger, and I couldn’t pretend anymore. When I opened my eyes and looked back, the crowd was still there. Looking at me. Draining every bit of hope from my body. 

And at that moment, I truly wanted to be able to use my powers. I wanted to be selfish and use this power for my own benefit. I wanted to prove them wrong. Not only that, but I knew that if people spread around about what happened here — I would never be able to be crowned as an Empress. 

In a blink of an eye, I’ve stumbled upon my feet, under everyone’s disappointed expressions. And, at that moment, when I was certain I would lose everything, my fate changed: the world in front of my eyes changed when your hand grabbed mine. 

Before I could even open my eyes, two cold hands grabbed onto my body and prevented me from falling down. When I opened my eyes, the boy’s eyes caught my attention. From that moment, I knew.

You — You’re the one who changed my fate. I changed my fate by meeting you, someone who I should have never met.