Chapter 3

I get another year of quiet, peaceful happiness. A year of watching my sister grow up a little more, a year of finally deciding to grow my hair long. A year of relearning to play music - somehow my muscle memory from my previous body translates into Hector’s body, too. 

My life as Victoria starts to feel further and further away, like it almost didn’t even exist.

But then I see the scars, and I remember. And then I feel the pain - phantom, nonexistent pain from many years passed. And it’s like I’m dying all over again. 

It comes to me in my sleep, along with snippets from my life as Victoria. I keep thinking about that last conversation I had with Rachel, where I didn’t manage to tell her I love her. I keep thinking about that story she loves, she one she always tells me about after reading a chapter.

Coincidentally, I’m pretty sure she mentioned a Princess Agnaria in that, but I guess it’s a kind of generic fantasy name maybe. I don’t remember her talking about a Hector or anyone from my family, anyway, so it’s probably nothing.

I don’t remember much about what she used to tell me…just some random plot points. She mentioned someone’s family dying, something about the princess - in fact I’m fairly sure Agnaria was the protagonist in that book. It was some fantasy romance about a princess meeting and falling in love with a prince from another nation - not my nation though, because the name wasn’t Hector. I think it was…Lyon? Yeah, Princess Agnaria marries Prince Lyon, and they escape from Agnaria’s evil dad and live happily ever after or something.

Oh, and the villain of the story wasn’t Agnaria’s dad, like Rachel first thought - apparently it was this man possessed by a demon, called some cliché ‘Lord of destruction’ or something similarly ridiculous. Anyway all I really remember was this villain trying to kill Agnaria, I think, but I’m not sure if Rachel ever told me why. She used to just talk and talk and talk about the story, but since I hadn’t read it myself, it all kind of went in one ear and out the other.

Anyway, it’s got nothing to do with me now, but I can’t help but keep an ear out whenever Agnaria is mentioned, just in case I hear the name Lyon. Because that would be a bit too much of a coincidence.

Getting up off the piano stool, I decide to go find Lisette. It’s been oddly quiet this evening, and I’m wondering if Lisette has noticed. The thing is, I always trust my instincts. They may not have saved me in the past, but I’m not going to assume that they won’t save me in the future.

So when I feel something is…off, I’m not just going to do nothing about it.

About to knock on my sister’s door, I pause, holding my breath as I listen. It’s…too quiet. Lisette is always chattering away to herself, and I just- I have a bad feeling.

Wrenching the door open, the room feels hot as my heart jumps into my mouth at the sight of Lisette’s window wide open, and a figure all in black with my sister draped over his shoulder.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I rush forwards, desperate to get to my sister before the person can kidnap her. “What am I doing? What are you doing alive? Hector is supposed to be dead,” the figure snarls, throwing my sister at me. Catching her unconscious form before she can hit her head, I catch sight of the figure disappearing out of the window.

Fuck.

What did they want with Lisette? And how did they know about Hector?

And then I hear a scream, the room feeling increasingly hot around us; the faint smell of smoke sends a jolt through my system. Holding Lisette to me tightly, I look out of her window, betting that it’s safer to escape the fire before it can properly reach us. 

I made sure to be strong, in this life - after I was unable to fight Jack off, I wanted to ensure that if Hector was ever in the same situation, that I could protect myself.

Still though, the sight of knives has me terrified. 

Strangely, swords I don’t have a problem with, and small kitchen knives are fine. It’s just…anything that reminds me of how I died that I have an issue with, obviously.

I’m a lot better prepared for most situations, now that I am Hector, but still. Even I can’t jump out of a third floor window while carrying my unconscious sister. 

The potentially fiery corridor it is then.

—————

Everyone managed to make it out safely, bar a few minor injuries. But no one saw anything strange, and the figure in Lisette’s room is the only intruder anyone saw. Apparently, not a single guard saw anything odd.

Mother and Father sent Lisette and I away for a few days to stay in a small house in the mountain, after Lisette and I told them about her attempted kidnapping. They wanted to sort everything out before we come back, to ensure our safety. I also made sure to tell Father about how I thought it was odd that I didn’t see any guards near Lisette’s room, and that it was so quiet.

There was something foul going on, but I left it to my parents. I had to protect Lisette.

Even though I failed in the end.

We went to the house with Lisette’s maid and a few of our most trusted guards, but I should have trusted my gut. I knew something couldn’t be trusted about the guards, but I thought I was just being paranoid after the whole incident. I thought that since Mother and Father trusted them so much, that Lisette would be safe.

I could have saved my sister, but instead…

Instead I lost my whole family.

Instead, I lost everyone I cared for, and I lost my freedom.

I lost everything.