She had barely fallen asleep and already regretted it.

Blanche was sitting at a small round table that was covered by a white cloth. At first, she was disoriented, with no knowledge of where she could be. She was only able to make out the surroundings after some time passed. Without a doubt, she was in her own chambers, so why would she have trouble identifying it? That was strange.

She lowered her gaze onto the table, which was set with multiple plates, teacups and a steaming pot as well as a cake. The dishware was positioned to allow two people to eat together, but the chair across from her was empty. Before she could understand what she saw, her hand began moving without her influence. She grabbed the pot and poured tea into the other person's cup and set it back onto the saucer before repeating the same thing with her own. The whole time, her fingers were shaking so much that she feared spilling the liquid all over the cloth and thus ruining it.

She had put the porcelain down, and in that instant, a voice from across the table cut through the silence.

“What have you called me here for?”

Again, Blanche's body responded against her will. She lifted her head at a painstakingly slow pace to look at the person, who suddenly sat on the other chair.

It was Seraphina. The empress was adorned by expensive jewelry and wore a gorgeous dress, but this majestic image was destroyed by the expression of pure hatred on her face.

Without her ado, Blanche's mouth responded in a quiet and trembling voice. “I apologize if I inconvenienced you, Your Majesty. I merely wanted to enjoy a cup of tea with you.”

The heroine's eyes narrowed, but that didn't conceal the flames of fury burning inside them. “What makes you believe that I wish to bear the sight of your face for a second more than I have to? If you want to say something, do it now before I decide to leave.”

The concubine's grasped her cup tighter with both hands and remained silent for a moment. She only spoke when Seraphina moved to get up. “I... I haven't congratulated you on your pregnancy at all, have I? I sincerely hope that the royal heir will live a happy life without worries.” Her voice was even weaker now than before.

That didn't stop the empress from answering in a tone that was cold enough to freeze a sea of fire. “Coming from you, that sounds more like a curse. Now, don't make me repeat myself. Tell me what you wanted to see me for.”

Blanche let out a shaky breath and felt how the fingers of her one hand moved to gesture towards the cups. “Doesn't Your Majesty wish to drink a little tea first? It's chamomile flavored.” At the other's indifference to her suggestion, she added something else. “Or some cake? It was made with fresh lemon and blueberries.”

“I do not have time for your nonsense. Spit it out, or I will leave.” The empress' tone didn't leave any doubt that she was lying.

Blanche's arms moved down on their own, and her fingers dug into the fabric of her dress while her gaze was firmly trained onto her lap. “If Your Majesty is asking me to, I will.” A short pause followed, in which her body closed its eyes and took a few deep breaths before opening her eyes again and continuing. “I know that I'm not in any position to voice something like. I don't even deserve that Your Majesty is listening to-”

Seraphina cut her off at that point. “I do not want to hear your hypocritical words. Is that all you wished to say?”

“No!” For the first time, Blanche's voice had reached a normal volume, but it still cracked as she raised it. Another moment of silence followed before she finally opened her mouth. “I have a request. I don't want anything but one thing. Please, I'm begging you, don't-”

This time, the empress didn't interrupt her, but the crashing of the door as it flew against the wall did. Before Blanche could realize what happened, knights rushed into the room and surrounded the women. All of them pointed their weapons at the concubine, who jumped up and took a step back, which caused them to move their swords closer towards her. She froze in fear, and her body didn't dare to move, except for her eyes, which darted across the guards.

Another hurried set of steps was audible from the entrance, which made her turn around. Theodore stormed into the chambers as well. For a second, their eyes met, and she thought that everything would be alright. He would protect her. But that hope got crushed and turned into a hollow feeling around her heart as soon as he ran to Seraphina. “Did you eat something yet?” His question was filled with as much panic as it was filled with wrath.

The empress replied as an expression of concern appeared on her features. “No, I didn't.”

Immediately, the emperor's face relaxed with relief as he scanned his wife for injuries and began muttering. “I'm so glad. I thought that...” His voice cracked before he could finish. After that, he remained motionless for another few seconds. Then, without a warning, he turned around, and his eyes fell on Blanche. The relieved look on his face changed into a mask of pure rage. “You...” He growled with such malice in his voice that the concubine took a step back despite her legs' constant shivering. “You truly lost your mind, haven't you? You try to kill the empress and think that nothing would happen?”

This sentence full of hatred was enough to destroy Blanche's self-control. Tears streamed down her face as she began crying. “Why are you... Theo, I-”

The emperor didn't even allow her to finish before addressing Owen, who was standing behind him. “Throw her into a cell. Now.”

Owen, who actually frowned for once instead of being emotionless, ordered his men with a singular wave of his hand. Within an instant, the guards were closing in on Blanche.

Her attempts to back away were pointless from the very beginning. Thanks to her non-existing strength, the guards overwhelmed her in an instant. They tied up her hands behind her back and started to drag her towards the door. Her struggling didn't do anything but cause her to get scrapes and bruises on her skin, and her wailing didn't award her any sympathy. Even crying out her lover's name didn't provide any help.

Theodore faced Seraphina and was busy listening to her low whispering.

Still, Blanche yelled when her voice finally allowed her to be as loud as she wanted to. “Why? Why are you doing this to me?” Though she quickly realized that she had made a mistake.

Theodore made a small movement with his hand that caused the guards to drop her onto her knees. “You're asking me ‘why’?” He spoke without turning around. The blazing fury in his voice had disappeared and was replaced by one that gave the listener the impression of standing in the middle of a blizzard, which wasn't much better.

Though even Blanche's hazy mind recognized the danger, she replied with a sob anyway. “Yes!”

As if time had stopped, Theodore moved to look at her with a blank stare. “So, you're saying that you don't know what you did?”

“I don't!” By confirmed his question, she had made the second irrevocable error, and Blanche vaguely noticed that. Yet, her body didn't listen to her as she tried to make an attempt to redeem the situation.

The emperor strode towards her as the knights sidestepped to clear his path. “You really don't? You have no idea?”

The tears blurred Blanche's sight so much that she could barely make out his expression and blinked multiple times to wipe them away. By the time she had finished that, Theodore was already standing right before her, and she had to look up to see his face. “I truly don't!”

Theodore stayed completely silent.

The rapid beating of her heart was the only thing that echoed in her head while she waited for his response.

Then like a switch had been flipped, Theodore's wrath flamed up again, and he raised his voice. “How self-righteous can a person be? After everything you did, you still dare to say that you don't know what you did wrong? Maybe this will help you remember!” He reached into his coat and pulled out something, which he threw onto the floor before Blanche.

With a clink, the small item met the ground and slid towards her.

She was only able to identify the object when it stopped. It was a little transparent vial without any liquid in it. Blanche didn't recognize it, but then again, her brain wasn't working well right now either.

“Does this seem familiar to you?” Theodore's voice trembled with anger.

Blanche hurriedly shook her head while trying to respond as loudly as possible. “It doesn't! I've never seen this before!”

The emperor's expression darkened even more. That wasn't a good sign at all.

She tried to stand up to approach her lover and pacify him, but the knights kept her shoulders in place. Though her shivering legs also wouldn't have allowed her to stand either. Speaking was her only option, but even as her mouth moved without her desire, it didn't help. “I really don't know what this is, so please let me-”

The emperor cut her off before she could finish the sentence. “You're going to be lying to the very end, aren't you? Convincing yourself that you are the victim and ignoring all the destruction that you have left behind on your egoistical quest for power. This...” He pointed to the vial that still lay before her knees. “Is the empty container of poison that you put in Seraphina's tea. I should already have known that you were a vile person after all that happened. But to try to kill my child and wife because of your twisted jealousy... Just how warped must your sense of morality be?”

A realization dawned upon Blanche as she heard his accusations. This was the scene of the villainess' condemnation at the ending of the novel. So, it had to be another dream. But this recognition, which should erase her fears, didn't serve to dry her tears and calm quivering breathing. Nor did it stop her from feeling the cool floor below her legs and the tight rope, that was beginning to cut off her hand's circulation.

She remembered this chapter and knew that all the denials she voiced wouldn't save her. Still, her body responded without her intention. “What? I would never do something like that! How could I hurt your child? Theodore, I love you!”

Her desperate objection only served to irritate the emperor even more. He gnawed his teeth and narrowed his eyes to slits as he stepped forward. He halted his movements directly in front of her and stared down at her.

Raw fear filled up her mind, and for a second, she really thought that he would reach for her. Would he hurt her? Every one of her muscles began trembling, no matter how much she tried to hold them steady. Except for looking into her lover's hateful eyes, she couldn't do anything but shrink in herself.

Both of them remained quiet for what felt like an eternity until Theodore exhaled shakily and ran his fingers through his hair. “I'm so sick of you, and your sea of lies.” He didn't even sound angry anymore, just disappointed. With these words, he spun around and returned to Seraphina's side.

His wife was quick to throw her arms around him. Unlike her husband, the empress didn't have an expression filled with hatred but looked like a frightened rabbit instead. That was so unusual for her. She said something to her husband, which caused him to nod slightly.

The longing look in Theodore's eyes made Blanche nauseous despite the graveness of her situation. Yet, she could not speak. She could just let her body continue to cry while praying that this dream would be over soon.

After a while of silence, the emperor turned around. This time, all the anger had disappeared and only left behind exhaustion. “Arrest her.”

The knights jumped to follow his order without acknowledging the concubine's attempts at freeing herself or her screaming.

Blanche wanted to stop resisting so badly, but her body didn't listen to her. “No, why are you doing this? I didn't do anything!” It didn't help either way.

The guards lifted her up with barely any effort and began to drag her to the door.

Theodore spoke in the typical serious tone he always used, but when met her gaze, his eyes looked like he was dead on the inside. “We will investigate the matter and have a fair trial.” Why was he this composed when his lover was about to be judged for the attempted murder of the empress?

Blanche would be executed for treason if he didn't change his mind. She knew that that would be exactly what happened to the villainess, but still, her body didn't give up the useless fight. “No! Let go of me! Theo, tell them to stop! Please, Theodore!”

However, once again, no one pitied her. Her former lover stood there and said something to Owen without sparing her a single glance while his wife clung to him. He didn't turn around, even as the guards pulled Blanche out of the room and down the corridor.

During the whole time, Blanche yelled his name and didn't let her increasingly hoarse voice stop her. She repeated this until the very moment that she was thrown onto the cold floor of the cell.

The impact knocked all air out of her lungs and left her breathless, but it also freed her from the invisible chains that controlled her.

In an instant, Blanche's body listened to her again, and she pushed herself onto her knees. She looked around with widened eyes.

The white walls and expensive furniture proved that she had returned to her room.

She inhaled the much-needed oxygen and took a few attempts to stand on her weak legs before collapsing back onto the floor. Her landing wasn't as harsh as she had expected it to be since her blanket was lying below her. She gave up trying to stand and sat instead, with her back leaning against her bed. It seemed like she had fallen out of it again. Apparently, her struggling in the nightmare had caused her to roll over the edge once again.

Blanche pulled her knees against her chest and hugged them. Why was fate this cruel and showed her the future in such a realistic vision? It wouldn't help her to change it and just make her live through this scene twice in the worst case. So, instead of being granted a hint on how she could survive, why was she forced to witness her doom before it had even arrived?

Maybe the gods just despised her and found it entertaining to see her suffer. Blanche let out a dry laugh as she buried her face in her arms and focused on keeping her breathing steady. Starting to cry now would only please whatever malicious entity had made it its task to torture her.

For a moment, she thought that she could control her tears before the vivid image of Seraphina putting her arms around Theodore appeared in front of her inner eye. As salty drops streamed down her face, she couldn't keep her mind in line anymore.

Blanche was so full of hatred that she didn't know how to deal with it. She resented the author, who forced her into this gruesome situation. She despised the heroine, who would take away all of her happiness just with her cursed existence. And most of all, she hated herself for being unable to do anything but sobbing alone in her room. Keeping herself from crying had never been her strength, and now she herself was frustrated with this. It was no wonder that Seraphina had often been annoyed by the concubine's response to the slightest inconvenience.

But that wasn't her biggest problem by far.

Why had the villainess been so keen on lying, even in the very end after all of her evil deeds were revealed? Had she really believe that the emperor's love would protect her? That would be stupid. Instead of simply denying any accusations, the villainess should have begged for forgiveness and pleaded to be exiled. Then she might have survived. Without Theodore, but she would have been able to evade her execution. But instead of that, she had refused to admit her connection to the schemes against Seraphina, which only infuriated the emperor. How stupid had Blanche's counterpart been to believe that she could get away with that without consequences?

In her anger, Blanche felt the desire to destroy something, anything she could project her wrath onto. The first thing in her field of view was the cup on the nightstand. She grabbed and lifted it up with the intention to throw it across the room but stopped at the thought of Stella.

Her maid would be the one responsible for cleaning this up. The servant would once again be forced to pay for her mistress' lack of self-control.

Within a few seconds, Blanche's rage turned into despair. She lowered her hand and looked inside the empty cup for a while before setting it onto the floor beside her. She leaned her head back onto the mattress and stared at the ceiling.

She didn't want to witness that scene in real life. She'd rather die, even if it sounded cowardly. Blanche was a coward. She wouldn't endure going through all of that again. If this was her future, she would rather end it herself so that everyone else could be happy.

She immediately pushed that stupid thought away again, but her resignation still made her paralyzed. She couldn't bring herself to move for what felt like an eternity until a clinking from the door sounded. She turned her gaze towards the entrance, just in time to watch Stella entering,

The maid froze as she spotted her mistress sitting on the floor and let go of the cart to rush over to her. “My Lady, what happened?”

Blanche considered rubbing her eyes to clear her sight but didn't find the motivation when she knew that everything would be blurred just moments after that again. “I had a nightmare.” She was too tired to mask the resignation in her voice. As Stella came closer, the concubine pointed to the cup in a minimal motion. “Be careful. I didn't put that back.”

The maid made a wide step to avoid crushing the porcelain and crouched down next to her mistress. “It's alright. Let's get you up first. You don't want to stay on the floor, right?”

Blanche huffed and stretched out her still-shaking legs. “I don't think I have a choice. My feet don't work like they're supposed to.” Her voice didn't either.

“I'll help, hold onto me.” Stella put an arm around the other woman's torso and pulled her up slowly.

Even though her legs wobbled below her and Blanche expected them to give in, she managed to sit on the bed with her maid's help. She watched her servant pick up the blanket and the cup before Stella placed the items back onto the mattress and the nightstand respectively. In that time, Blanche managed to calm herself down enough to stop crying, but only because she forced the horrible memories to the most distant part of her mind.

Stella took a seat next to her and observed her mistress closely before speaking. “Do you want to tell me about it? About your nightmare?”

For a couple of seconds, Blanche considered warping the narrative into a story that she could present to her servant. Though in the end, she didn't find a way to explain the scenario without abstracting it completely. So, she gave the most basic summary that didn't even include Seraphina. “Some knights attacked me and imprisoned me in a cell in the palace. Theodore watched and didn't care.” She glanced towards the maid, who gazed at her with such worry that she felt stupid for troubling her with something that Stella couldn't change. “I'm pretty childish for crying because of a bad dream, aren't I? I'm sorry for scaring you.”

The servant carefully put a hand on her mistress' shoulder and rubbed small circles into her skin. “That's not childish. If something upsets you, it's important to get it out of your system, even if it's only because of a dream. Should I bring you some water?”

Blanche denied the offer by shaking her head. “I'm not thirsty, but thank you.”

Stella turned to look outside and then stood up to pull open the curtains. “It seems like it will be a beautiful day. Do you want to go out later?” Apparently, she wanted to take her mistress' mind off this, which was very much needed.

The concubine agreed weakly. She definitely had to distract herself from this dejecting experience, or she would dwell on it without a break. She wouldn't bear that.

Luckily, Stella seemed to have a good understanding of her mistress' mind and began to tell a story of her vacation. She stayed by the other's side until Blanche's body had stopped trembling. Only then did the servant propose to get ready to leave for breakfast.

There was only one little problem.

The concubine was reluctant to meet her lover so soon after witnessing the side of him that was normally reserved for his enemies. She would like to postpone the meal for a few hours, in which she could fully process the second one of those fragments of her bad ending. But she didn't have any magic powers to make this possible, and too much time had passed while she got soothed by Stella. If she didn't want to be late and worry Theodore, she had to go now.

So, Blanche got dressed with her maid's help and stepped out onto the corridor while still being a bit uncertain. But after she had just walked forward a bit, she noticed something in the distance.

At the end of the hallway, two figures were standing together in front of a window. They were hugging each other, as far as Blanche could determine it from a distance.

She didn't want to interrupt them in whatever they were doing, but she needed to reach the dining room. Normally, she would have taken a detour, however, that would mean circling around the whole palace. She didn't have the time that this would require, so she was forced to pass these people if she didn't want to arrive too late.

As Blanche approached the figures, the silhouettes became more clear, and she was able to identify that they were both wearing maid uniforms like Stella.

The figures were still immersed in their own world and didn't notice the women coming closer. One of them had her arms circled around the other's waist and pressed her against the window sill, while the second person playfully tried to push her away.

The embraced maid squealed as the first woman stroked her lips against her neck. “Not here! What if someone sees us?”

“Don't worry, no one will find us. Just give me a short kiss, and I'll let you go.”

Her companion gave in after hearing this and returned the hug. “Alright then. I don't seem to have much of a choice.”

Blanche stopped in her tracks as she recognized Darlene and Angelica, two of the servants that she had met in the kitchen. Those two apparently weren't just friends, which made Blanche consider taking a detour once again. It would be really odd for her to interrupt them now. But the choice was taken from her anyway.

The women moved their heads closer to each other, but before their lips could meet, Angelica's gaze turned to the side, and she paled at the sight of the spectators. She pressed her hands against her colleague's chest to shove her away carefully.

Darlene realized that something was wrong and followed the other's gaze. Her eyes widened, and she jumped away from Angelica. In contrast to her ‘friend’, she didn't pale, but the blood rushed to her face as she stared onto the floor. “This now was just... We weren't...” She was unable to finish the sentence.

Instead of her, Angelica spoke up in a voice that was just as frightened. “We were only messing around. We often do strange things like this, but that doesn't mean anything. Please, forget what you just saw.”

Their panic made Blanche feel bad for deciding against avoiding them, so she quickly reassured them. “Don't worry. What you two do is none of my business. I won't tell anyone.” She probably hadn't sounded very cheerful thanks to her resignation, but she tried to sound as supportive as she could.

Instantly, the maids' shoulders sank down in relief, and Darlene looked up again. “Thank you so much. Something like this won't happen ever again.”

The concubine gazed down the hallway to confirm whether they were alone before responding. “As I said, I don't mind what you do together. But if you don't want others to notice, you should rather go into your private rooms for matters like this. The royal guards are patrolling the corridors constantly, so the chance of running into one of them after less than five minutes is pretty high.”

Her answer wiped the last remained nervousness off the maids' faces and turned it into surprise.

Stella chimed in as well after her mistress had finished. She lifted her hand to imitated locking her mouth and throwing away an imaginary key while a bright smile formed on her lips. “Naturally, my lips are also sealed. But you could have told me, you know. I was always worried about imagining things.”

This caused the two women in front of the window to look at each other before Darlene addressed them with disbelief. “So, the both of you don't think that we're...” She cut herself off before the end, but by the tone of her voice, it was clear that she had some derogatory word in mind.

Blanche hurriedly shook her head. “Why would we? Just be more careful if you want to keep it secret.” Her gaze wandered across the walls in search of a clock, but there wasn't one in the hallway. This meant that she couldn't check on the time and see whether she was late. She didn't want to run away after this conversation, but she didn't want to be late either. So, she turned back to the maids to bid them farewell. “Maybe we can chat in the kitchen in the near future? I would love to talk, but I have to leave now, or I will let Theodore wait. Have a nice day.”

Angelica blinked a couple of times before replying. “Gladly. Goodbye. We hope that the two of you will have a nice day as well.”

With a nod towards the maids, Blanche picked up her pace again and rushed down the corridor as fast as she trusted her legs to go without losing her balance. She reached the staircase and stopped for a second to turn back once more.

Darlene and Angelica were walking in the opposite direction with linked hands, which painted a faint smile onto Blanche's lips.

Stella came to a halt next to her and began to speak. “I would have to lie if I said that it never crossed my mind that these two like each other like this. But even after working with them for years and being friends the whole time, I didn't notice that they were together…”

Blanche climbed down the stairs to the lower floor while thinking about all the times that Angelica had played with her ‘friend's’ hair and that Darlene had cuddled up against the other woman. There were surprisingly many occurrences of those two being close. Thinking about that was much more pleasant than worrying about her nightmare, so Blanche was quite content with remembering all of that. Now that she paid attention to it, there had been signs. “That you didn't notice must be because they didn't want anyone to. I haven't thought about it before either, but they are adorable together.”

Stella turned away from the figures at the other end of the hallway to watch the stairs as she followed her mistress. Her face was also adorned by a smile. “They really are.”

But even that wasn't enough to take Blanche's mind off the nightmare and off the prospect of her needing to face Theodore.