Short story to prevent me from feeling too guilty

OK, I have been really busy with real life and the Anime Event I am in charge of for tomorrow at the library, so the chapters sadly are still not done, but I am tired of not delivering anything to you guys, so here is a short story I wrote back in December of last year. I wasn’t planning on posting it at first, but I want you guys to have something to read. It is kind of a broken engagement story in the point of view of the first prince. I hope you guys enjoy it and hopefully I can have the chapters done next week when I am not swamped with work.

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The Villainess Returns?

            My name is Eric Classman, first prince of the kingdom, so why do I have to attend this funeral? I know my younger brother was her fiancé, but the engagement was annulled and she was due to be executed for treason anyway. What difference does it make that she committed suicide by poison? That does not take away her wrong doing. Besides the treason, she also spread malicious rumors of Abigail (the girl I love) just because she was jealous. She bullied Abigail to the point Abigail nearly ended her own life. Abigail loves my brother, but I still helped her get justice against this villain. The members of the student council, my brother, and I exposed her crimes in public and she still had the audacity to say she was innocent, but we had witnesses of her wrong doing. In the end, it was a success and we also managed to find out that her uncle had stolen money from the kingdom and was sending information to enemy kingdoms, so he was arrested and that added to her crime. Her uncle and her were to be executed and my brother, Derrick, was engaged to Abigail.

The day of her execution (she was to die before her Uncle) she drank poison in her home and so here I am attending her funeral along with my brother and the other members of the student council: knight in training, Horatio; prodigy, Phillip; and magician, Neptune. Abigail is also attending, since she is the new fiancé of Derrick. I guess it is because of our status that we have to attend this funeral.

It was close casket, so we only saw the coffin as the priest read from the bible. This villain, Garnet, deserved to die, so why do I feel a little sorry for this dead girl?

I can hear Abigail asking Derrick how long the funeral would be. I guess she was uncomfortable attending the funeral of her tormentor. In my eyes, even though she didn’t choose me, she is still an angel.

KNOCK!

Where did that sound come from?

KNOCK! KNOCK!

It is getting louder.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

That sound is coming from the coffin. What is going on?

“Open the coffin!”

It was my immediate order. Someone was trapped in the coffin with that villain or maybe she was never dead to begin with.

Soldiers rushed to the coffin and had to pry it open, since it was nailed shut at first. The first thing I heard when the coffin lid opened was the cries of a young girl. The lid was fully off and I saw a girl no older than five crying in the coffin with a loose black dress falling off her shoulders. Tears fell from her eyes as she sat up. Her brown hair was really long and I could have sworn that she looked oddly familiar. At closer inspection I recognized the rose birthmark on the nape of her neck.

This young girl is Garnet…that villain…it couldn’t be. One of the soldiers carried her out of the coffin asking who the girl was. The girl just wiped her tears from her eyes and spoke in a small voice.

“I don’t know…I’m scared…where am I?”

This young girl doesn’t even know who she is. Her being Garnet couldn’t be possible, but where is the body of that villain?

The soldier carried her in his arms and then approached my father, the king, asking what they should do with the girl. My father looked troubled and I can’t blame him. That villainess girl’s body is missing and an unnamed girl was in her coffin. What is going on?

The young girl suddenly faced me and I noticed the tears filling up her eyes. She was bawling as she held tightly to the soldier. The soldier, I believe his name is Hans, looks troubled as he tries to comfort the crying girl.

“Scary, scary, scary.”

She says that repeatedly as she refuses to meet my eyes….I have to admit that I feel insulted. How am I scary? I noticed the girl’s eyes wander toward Abigail. Her face looked terror stricken. She practically clung to the soldier during her crying.

“Don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me…please, don’t.”

Is she seriously saying that to Abigail? Even Abigail looks appalled.

Why is my father looking in our direction? Does he think we did something to this young girl?

My father looked at the young girl and asked, “Do you find these people here scary?” The young girl nodded.

“I…I tried to tell them…”

“Tell them what?”

It looks like a memory surfaced in this girl’s mind.

“I tried to tell them that I was innocent.”

“Innocent?”

“I never did anything bad. I just read books. I was too scared to interact with people…people are scary.”

What is this girl saying?

“Do you remember your name?”

“No, but I remember that I was accused of something I never did and even though I was the one hurt, the culprit was believed in.”

Hang on, could this girl really be Garnet? Garnet claimed to be innocent, but it was all lies. She nearly drove Abigail to suicide. We all saw Abigail’s arm bleeding and Garnet had the knife in her hand…the knife was in Garnet’s hands not Abigail’s. That’s strange, I remember Abigail with the knife in her hand and Garnet with an evil look in her eye as Abigail was bleeding from the arm. That’s what I remember, but now…Abigail was bleeding, but Garnet had the knife and the look in her eyes weren’t that of a villain, but of someone worried and scared. Were my memories changed? But how?

“Can you tell me more?”

“I was in the library as usual reading books, but then a scary lady came and told me that I was bad for spreading rumors. I never spread rumors. I didn’t know what she was talking about. She pulled out a knife and tried to stab me, but then I heard footsteps and she then stabbed her arm. I pulled the knife out. I didn’t want her to die and then people came and started calling me a villain. I was the one attacked, so why?”

The young girl began to cry again burying her head in the soldier’s shoulder. I remember now, Abigail claimed to have tried to kill herself because Garnet told her, but Garnet claimed she was the one attacked and she even tried to help Abigail, but we slapped her away. After that, we exposed her crimes to the school with the witnesses of Garnet’s crimes gathered…who were those people? My head hurts. It’s like everything in my memories was rewritten, but how? I saw Abigail as an angel, but now that these memories are flooding in, I realize that Abigail was always lying. The rumors of her being malicious didn’t start spreading until she met me and the student council. We heard of the rumors the moment we saw Abigail’s eyes. Mind magic? That might be it. Garnet never could spread the rumors because she was always in the library. She had social anxiety after all. There was no way and yet the student council, me, and my brother believed Abigail.

I looked toward Abigail and saw that she looked angry. Hold on, the other student council members and my brother look confused as well. Could they have realized that our memories were rewritten? Derrick suddenly shoved Abigail away with anger in his eyes.

“Derrick, what are you doing?” Abigail asked as she stared at Derrick.

“It was you…you witch, you made me believe that Garnet was evil, but it was you. Garnet could never have done all those things.”

“She did do those things. She spread those rumors, slandering my name….”

“There were never rumors,” Phillip claimed as he adjusted his glasses, “I spoke with the students and learned that the rumors were never spread. They weren’t even aware of any rumors. When the students ‘heard’ a rumor was when you were around apparently and even I believed there were rumors when you spoke to me in secret.”

Horatio also glared at Abigail saying, “I remember the day you said Garnet tried to make you kill yourself. I was there and I saw you try to attack Garnet. I was going to reveal what happened, but then you looked at me and…my memories were rewritten.”

Abigail was gritting her teeth staring hard at us, but then Neptune made a bright light that forced Abigail to shut her eyes.

“That won’t work this time. You caught me off guard when we first met, but not now. I know your trick and it won’t work ever again.”

Abigail was screaming in anger. I immediately ordered the guards to take her away. I can’t believe she made me believe I loved her.

Abigail was blindfolded, so her mind magic wouldn’t activate, and then was dragged out of the funeral service.

That’s a relief, but Garnet was already dead, so we couldn’t apologize for what happened. Garnet was truly the victim.

…Garnet…that’s right. I looked toward the unnamed girl…no, I looked at Garnet. I don’t know why she became a little girl, but it is her. It looks like the others realized it as well.

My father only sighed and looked at Garnet saying, “I am sorry that such a wrong happened to you. Can we make it up to you?”

“…I don’t know…”

“Garnet.”

She looked at me the moment I said her name. I approached her and held her small hand.

“Sorry isn’t enough, but know that I am willing to atone for what happened to you.”

“I am the same,” said Derrick as he knelt on one knee before her, “I allowed myself to be manipulated and as a result lost you. I hope to make it up to you.”

I noticed the others kneeling before Garnet with guilt in their eyes. We were manipulated, but it doesn’t change the fact that Garnet got hurt.

Garnet stared at us.

“I hold it true…”

This line, I know what follows it…we all know…

“Whatever befall; I feel it.” (Derrick)

“When I sorrow most.” (Horatio)

“Tis better to have loved and lost.” (Phillip)

“Than never to have loved at all.” (Neptune)

“A quote by Barron Tennyson.” (Eric)

Garnet said this line before when she was with us. She wanted to show how much she loves her books by telling us this quote…a love quote that we cherished and yet we forgot when we were manipulated.

Garnet smiled and I could have sworn that she looked like the Garnet we were used to…the Garnet that was always smiling.

“Welcome back…”

Garnet vanished from Hans’s arms like a ghost. She was gone. Not even a body was left.

After that day, Garnet’s uncle was reinvestigated and it was discovered that the true culprit of the treason was Abigail’s father. Abigail gained mind manipulation when she entered the school and used it to gain everyone’s favor, get the queen position; and to cover up her father’s crimes. Her plan would have been perfect if it weren’t for Garnet returning as an infant and revealing the truth. Why Garnet became an infant and then vanished is still a mystery, but at least we know that she forgives us and that her uncle was saved.

Now that I think about it, she might have returned to rescue us from Abigail’s mind manipulation. If Garnet hadn’t returned we would have been puppets forever.

It’s funny, now that Garnet is gone, I realize that I really loved her, even when she was engaged to my brother. I wish I could have told her my true feelings.

“Brother!”

“Derrick, what brings you here?”

“Father wanted us to see him.”

“If it is about getting engaged then tell him that I am not ready.”

“I’m not ready either, but father says we have to see him.”

I don’t know what father wants to talk about, but I will see him.

When Derrick and I arrived, I saw father with the soldier Hans next to him. I wonder why Hans is here.

“Derrick, Eric, I am glad you two came. I was just discussing with Hans of what a good job he did with the investigation.”

That’s right, Hans did the investigation of Garnet’s uncle after the funeral service and discovered the truth. I should award him later.

“Hans did such a marvelous job, so I decided to award him the right to enter the royal family.”

“That’s a generous award father.”

“When do you plan to adopt him?”

“Not adopt…I was planning to have his future daughter marry one of you.”

“WHAT?”

So it was an engagement thing, but what did he mean by future daughter?

“Hans’s wife is now with child and the magicians say that the child will be a girl, so I made the proposal.”

“The answer will still lie with my daughter of course when she is old enough.”

I wonder how his daughter will react when she learns that she might marry into royalty. I don’t plan to marry, so it will fall on Derrick. He is the crown prince after all, since I refused the throne ages ago.

Who knew that when Hans’s daughter was born the first words she said to me was: “I hold it true…”

The End