《Melancholy》 PROLOGUE Darkness She could feel the suffocating darkness all around her she tried to open her eyes but all she saw was nothingness. It was as if she had been plunged into a deep dark silent void devoid of any form of life or a spark of light. She tried to look around ,moving with all her might in the hope of seeing a silver of light in the born chilling darkness but it felt like she had moved for decades with no ending . She lost the little hope she had been clinging to. Whatever maniac that had thrown her here was curse to eternal torture by Rose. She was sure if this was heaven then she''d very much like to go to hell and rather burn than be left in this nothing less that scared her. She tried to open her mouth to speak but she felt like something had been lodged in her throat preventing her from uttering a single word. What did she do to deserve this torture. Well she was always the good child at home never disobeyed her parents. She might have done a little bit was wrong but that did not warrant this kind of torture. Humans were never solitary creatures and being thrown in this place really challenged her bottom line and sanity. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. When she taught she might just be left there a pathetic little soul forgotten in the river of time a heart wrenching pain assaulted her. She tried to scream, instinctively reaching out for someone to save her but it was all in vain she could feel her whole being being torn apart and could do nothing but scream in agony not knowing who to turn. Death was not as it had been likened as a peaceful sleep but more of a feeling of being churned in a grinder, maybe she was an exception. The feeling of losing ones being was not pleasant. As she lost her last bit of consciousness she still wondered what had she done to warranted this kind of torture. Maybe she had angered the gods in some way . She could never know as never believed in the gods any way she was a pure atheist . Maybe the devil could hear her agony as the well praised gods seemed to have forgotten about her. She felt like an ant beneath giants squirming helplessly unnoticed. Gods have been said in the books to be cruel beings such is the case of Medusa who was raped by the sea god Poseidon but the very goddess she worshiped, Athena, blamed her for the abuse she suffered and cursed her. Way to traumatize a rape victim. Gods were no different from Devil . Everyone was born selfish. Birth " Get the healer she''s losing too much blood," she could vaguely hear the sounds of people talking . Heavy breathing permitted the air as she could feel people frantically moving. ''where was she '' she couldn''t come up with an answer. " My lord congratulations the goddess of light has blessed you with two healthy baby girls,? " How is my wife ?" An indifferent tone asked " My lady is safe and sound just needs to restore a little bit of blood , she''s unconscious," "The children?" " Safe and sound none of them have any problems," Rose could feel someone carrying them from the room they were in. Her vision was dark and could not see where they were going. Her though process were a little muddled and she couldn''t come up with an absolute answer. She fell asleep. Duke Patrick claret looked at the two new born children sleeping in the baby coat. This were his second children and he had not expected to have twins. His wife had already birthed him an heir and more children ment more benefits. He deeply loved his wife and was more than inclined to not have any more children this would be his last. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.The duke looked at the children and prayed to the goddess that they would not disappoint him. " Would you like to give them a name," a soft voice ask him. He turned towards his wife with a smile. She was as beautiful as always. " The first will be called Adeline Luna claret and the second will be called Rose melody claret that will be their names," he turned to his wife with a dotting smile. " Those are beautiful name ," she said to him while leaning into his embrace even with the healers healing she was still exhausted from childbirth. Word of the birth of the twins spread really first throughout the kingdom. It was rare for twins to be born and the dukedom was then considered blessed by the goddess of light. The king sent his congratulations to the duke as other nobility sent gifts to the dukedom as the children were too young to be seen. Most were envious of the duke as females were considered as a source of wealth to the parents especially due to marriage. The duke in honor of the duchess made the day the twins were born were celebrating day in the dukedom. The continent CHAPTER 2 Rose looked around the corner trying to see if there was any gaurds it took a lot of efforts for to be able to sneak out of her room and see how the duke''s house looked like . After their birth they were basically looked up in their own mansions . Their mother visited them regularly but the duke rarely showed himself around them. Mother said that he was busy managing the whole dukedom and has to personally teach their older brother on how to manage it. Rose did not care for her new parents attention but Adeline practically thirsted so much for their attention. She would cry and throw tantrums in order to get what she wanted which she did. Adeline was born sickly body hence could easily get away with anything. She became too spoiled. At the age of seven they were being prepared for etiquette classes. Rose dreaded those classes as she had read how hard and time consuming they were. When Rose found out she has been given a second chance she was not pleased the though of dying again after another life gave her goosebumps. He pain of being separated in that void really made her scared of death and she knew she would still face it again really scared her. When Rose was at the age of one she read the history books of the place she was reborn. She was reborn in the new continent of Redulsia . Redulsia had five kingdoms and two empires. The holy empire with consisted of people who are wholely devoted to the goddess of light and the Rodes empire the empire was formed by non humans who managed to get an upper hand during war. The five kingdoms included the kingdom of jezebel, kingdom of souls , kingdom of mania , kingdom of adelbarn and the kingdom they are in the kingdom of crusher. She was born after the continent had undergone a catalytic where the whole continent merged during the war of the world. That was 5000 years ago. The war lead to almost the extinction of all life in the continent which lead to a peace truce among the war mongering tribes . The continent was divided among them in accordance to the achievement, power and money leading to the formation of the kingdom and empire. Rose lived in the second largest kingdom. The Crusher kingdom was famed for it''s beautiful crystal and magic stones. It was the main supplier of magic stones to the continent. The empires and other kingdom have tried invading it but to no success due to its mountainous terrain. The kingdom of crusher was surrounded by mountains which acted as a natural defense against the other nations. In Crusher there are four dukedom who have sworn their loyalty to the crown . Six marquise houses , baron house , more lower nobilities which is given to outstanding commoner soldiers , merchants and commoners. The kingdom is ruled under the nobility which is considered the highest status. The four dukedom Dom''s are the Northern dukedom situated by the borders they mainly produce soldiers who are responsible for guarding against invading magical beasts. The Northern dukedom is always covered in snow all year round hence their soldiers are stronger and more adept to harsh environment. The second dukedom is the Claret which is situated near the capital city. The duke mainly produces the most magicians and duke Claret who are always the head of the magic association ever generation. The third dukedom is the brailler dukedom situated by south east of the kingdom, they produce the most scholars who are known to be best politicians. The fourth dukedom is the Serena dukedom which values female heirs more than male and mainly monitored either dukedoms and deals in information collection through the whole continent. The Serena dukedom is known for producing the best assassins and is known to be the most loyal to the crown. It''s the most feared dukedom as they have no moral and does the king''s dirty work. The division of the dukedom is equal to prevent treason among them and their vassals. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.Outside the Crusher kingdom the other empires and kingdoms have their own merits. Jezebel Kingdom is known for its beautiful people, exotic food,spices, beautiful landscaping and gold reserves. Jezebel kingdom is known to be the best tourist area for travellers. The kingdom of Mania is the richest kingdom among the kingdom. It dubs on everything. It''s mostly build around prostitution, gambling, jewelry and craftsmanship. The residents of the kingdom are known for their selfcontrol and banning of gambling among the citizens. It caters mainly for runaways and gamblers. The most unique thing is it''s low crime rate and rarely initiates war with other kingdoms. The kingdom of souls is unique as it is built underground. It mainly consist of dark elves and other creatures of the night. Most of the residents are hostile to outsiders are they were the most affected race. The kingdom of adelbarn is found under water. It''s the most mysterious kingdom in the whole continent. It''s residents are mermaid, sirens and other creatures that breath underwater. They have the ability to transform upon reaching land and are hunted for their blood that is believed to cure most illness . The holy empire is the richest empire as most kingdom worship the goddess of light hence are required to pay tribute to the empire in the name of the goddess. The bandy empire is an empire that only consist of non human residents. Elven species, wolverine, were wolf , dragons and other non human creatures. They are ruled by dragons as they are considered among the strongest species in the whole continent. Training Rose was fascinated by the unique consistence of the people of this world. It was a new experience that she was never thought she could be able to experience except through books . Magic was what made her even more happy she was eagerly awaiting for the day in which her magic will be unlocked and she can practice. She found it peculiar that the goddess locks the magic of the people before they are twelve years old and gets it back after they have reached their debutante age. Twelve is the age where children are introduced to the king and the society. Magic is dived into levels as one affinity with their magic grows their level and proficiency in magic increases. The known highest level is level thirteen. Higher levels are said to have disappeared or are mainly too tired to take part in worldly matters. The higher the level increases the more the living age increases. It is believed that one can achieve immortality the more they practice. The levels are represented by stars that appear in form of tattoos on the body that follows the color of the magic one possess. The magic that are found are organizing in four categories godly , rare, uncommon and common. The godly magic are space magic , light magic and dark magic. Rare magic are plant magic, ice magic, shadow magic and enchantment. For uncommon magic are wind ,fire, water and earth magic. The common ones are face changing, intelligence, strength and body modification. This are the magics that are commonly known in the continent. Children at the age of twelve are required to go to the temple to pay for the unlocking of magic. People have tried unlocking at home but were unsuccessful and others were cursed by the goddess for disobedience. The church had the firm control on the unlocking but it mainly affected humans. Non humans are innately born with magic as they do not worship the goddess of light or any God. They believe in the dog eat dog world the strongest will always be on top of the food chain. Rose and Adeline have both started physical training which is a way to modify the body inorder to receive magic. The body is treated as a vessel for magic they believe that if a body is well trained they can get a better magic compared to un untrained body. Rose believe that magic is innate whether trained or not. Those who don''t have magic can train their aura and practice swordsmanship and become sword master. By training in this weapon and become proficient one can join the knights of any duchy or the kingdom imperial knights. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.Being named a knight especially of the Northern duchy is a great honour to knights as they are the most well trained knights in the kingdom. Like any other child Rose couldn''t wait to get her magic Even mediocre aptitude can still be valued as magic is a very loved profession. "Rosy," Rose turned around to look at Adeline who was sitting under the tree. She had only practice for a thirty minutes before getting tired. Her being a little weak gave her good excuse to slack off. Rose wiped the sweat dripping down her forehead before looking at Adeline. "What''s wrong?" She looked at Adeline with a smile "Don''t you remember we have visitors in the afternoon. Mother invited other children for a playdate . I''m just so excited to meet the others," she said while smiling. Adeline looked the most beautiful while smiling. Her beautiful honey colored skin, a symmetrical face, pouty red lips and her blue eyes accented her beauty. She always smiled at every one while Rose had the same skin color and face but was born with heterochromia had blue and red pupils. She had a cold personality and rarely talked to others people tend to avoid her where ever she went. " I know but it''s still five hours away I''ll train a little bit more before going to prepare," she turned around and continue slashing her wooden sword. "Young misses it''s time to prepare for the afternoon tea party," a head maid entered the large training ground. The knights that had been staring all turned away and continue their training. Adeline practically ran to the head maid and greated her respectfully who smiled at her . The head main usual stoic face cracked and she smiled back at Adeline. Rose put the training sword in the sword stand which contained numerous wooden swords , some were broken while others were not but showed signs of wear. Rose greeted the head maid respectfully and the maid nodded at her. The head main just like the butler had in in the duchy for more than fifty years and was both feared and respected by all in the ducal house. The duke and duchess trusted her exclusively with the management of the household and held a lot of rights. Her brown hair was tired in a rigid burn pulling her already wrinkled face. She had raised three generations of the Claret duchy and was expected to retire after Jeremy Claret went into power as the new duke. Nightmare Rose weas wisked into the large bathroom as big as her room surrounded by maida. She had already gotten used to the feeling of hands touching and undressing her. The pure while bathroom floor and walls gave a clinical feeling to the environment as the maids continue to skillfully undress her. The bath tub in the middle of the room was filled with jasmine water and gave off a mild smell. The roses were sprinkled all over the water and around the bath tub while Rose scented candles surrounded the whole bath tub. I gave off a whole enthrall view and feeling. This was a rare bath routine for Rose. She sank into the bath tub with a sign of relief as the stoic maids started to clean and massage her joints and muscles. This treatment led to her falling asleep. Rose could feel herself in the familiar darkness but this felt different, it was more claustrophobic and suffocating she could feel that it was alive. "Hello," she called out in a trembling voice," is any one there" Rose tried to move but her feet were stuck as if being held. She looked at her feet and was meet with a very horrifying sight. Countless of black insects that had formed a shape of hands were holding her down. Their rolling little eyes that were black with a small hint of red in the middle were trying to climbing over each other in a bid to reach her skin. The most terrifying part was they still remained in the form of a wringling hand. She sound of tiny legs crawling and cracking could be heard all around the void space. Rose could feel her heart dropped she had no way of knowing weather she had died during her bath or she was experiencing the worst nightmare anyone could ever get. She hands seemed to be unable to go past her calf this gave her an even more terrifying feeling. What was out there that could control this millions and millions of insects. This insects were things that should not even survive. A faint sound of breathing came from behind her, she cold breath brushing past her sensitive neck. It was behind her the thing that made her terrified. She looked down at her feet and found all the insects missing. They must have run away when the master came back. Rose didn''t waste any time to look back she ran just like a prey that senses out danger. Her body subconscious reacted on its own before her mind could catch up. She could hear the soft foot steps behind her but she couldn''t bring her self to turn around and look at the monster behind her. Sweat accumulated on her body causing her clothes to get wet. She felt like she had ran for a long time but still could not find a way to escape. It was toying with her. She heard a scratching laughter behind. The laughter felt like it was alive crawling and penetrating through her skin into her head and echoing over and over again like a taunt showing his enjoyment on her weekness and suffering. She could feel her eyes burning as tears started to stream down her chicks uncontrollably. She stumbled and fell. She started to crawl forward as long as she got away from the monster she would do anything. She could feel the little black dots covering her eyes , she was loosing consciousness fast. The last thing she heard was the irritating mocking laughter. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.Rose opened her eyes with a star. Her heart bet fast in her chest as she tried to assess the situation around her. "My lady are you alright," a black curly haired maid asked her. That didn''t have a personal maid yet. " How long have I closed my eyes," "Ten minutes my lady we''ll be done in another two hours my lady you can continue to rest," she skill fully answered. Rose signed and closed her eyes. She had only closed her eyes for ten minutes but in the dream it felt like a millennial. She continued to wonder what that dream was all about. Maybe it was a conjure of her fear of darkness which formed a more horrifying, visual and scary projecting. This was the only explanation she could think of. But the feeling of the disgusting insects, the laughter and the foot steps that approach her little by little. The feeling of being powerless and your life being held in the hands of others made her feel her helplessness of this world. Maybe she was visited by a dream walker but those did not exist in that world so she could only blame it on her subconsciousness and weakness. Rose didn''t notice the black insect tattoo on her neck that flashed and disappeared. Rose stood in front of the large dressing mirror and could not help but be surprised by the way the maids had beautify her. She looked more like a doll than a human child. She had been dressed in a black colored princess dress with red lining and diamonds inlaid around the neckline while pearls had been put at her back by the zip area. The diamonds sparked around as she moved and had been matched to the dress diamonds. She dress reached her calf while the shoes were flat red shoes that looked like ballet shoes. The little anklet bracelet shined with ever lift of her skirt. She was the True definition of noviech rich. Diamonds were still considered a luxury with even their availability in the kingdom of Mania. She drew a deep breath smiled to herself in the mirror as this was the first time she was meeting people who are not from the residence. She was looking forward to making friends like every child her age. She looked at she maids that looked at her with proud eyes probably complimenting themselves on a job well done. Being given an empty canvas and working and turning it into the perfect canvas that can show case the five hour hard work. She had to admit she looked beautiful. She turned around and walked out of her room. She had a tea party to attend.