The Reincarnated Girl Will Live Quietly

 

Many in the Teodora Kingdom agreed that the land of the North was harsh and unrelenting. Not only did one have to contend with the cold weather all year round, but all manner of beasts and monsters roamed the pine forests. Those who lived there warned their children to never wander too far, especially so after the sun dipped below the horizon. 

 

It was the perfect place for someone to disappear. 

 

A lone supply carriage traveled along a narrow road flanked by the forest on either side. The driver of the carriage was carefully watching the tree line while his companion sat in the back of the carriage, keeping an eye on one of the boxes. The journey to the North had taken them two days from the Capital and he was grateful that they hadn’t encountered any detours. Even though it was still the Summer months, the air had progressively gotten colder as they traveled further up and the snow was piling up. It was getting harder and harder for the horses to pull through. 

 

The man rubbed his gloved hands together. The sooner they finished their task, the sooner they could return to the warmth of the Capital. 

 

He heard movement inside the carriage. Looking back, he watched his companion move the partition aside and join him at the driver’s seat. 

 

“Is she still alive in there?” He asked her with a sidelong glance. 

 

“If you mean she’s still breathing, then yes.” The woman replied. 

 

Inside the box, Sable hugged her knees to her chest. To say that the past few days had been rough for her was an understatement. 

 

She was exhausted, both mentally and emotionally. The stormy feelings in her heart were steadily being replaced by a growing numbness. Whether or not it was from the cold, she couldn't tell. 

 

The lack of food and water did nothing to help her weakened state and the box provided little insulation from the weather. Her fingers were already showing signs of frostbite. 

 

The two assassins checked on her periodically to see if she was still alive but showed no intention of helping her. Of course, Sable didn’t expect them to. They were here to get rid of her, not help her. 

 

Her only method of passing the time was to slip into unconsciousness or be trapped with the thoughts in her head. The latter was less than ideal for her already fragile mental state. 

 

Sable closed her eyes in an effort to sleep again when she felt the carriage come to a stop. Not soon after, the lid was removed and sunlight flooded the box, causing Sable to shut her eyes tightly. 

 

She felt someone lift her out of the box and she was carried outside. A cold breeze blew and she shivered. Her body felt stiff from being inside the box for so long. 

 

The man carried her for a few more yards, before she was placed down onto the ground. She swayed unsteadily on her feet and looked around. 

 

The vast amount of pine trees stretched out endlessly around her. They were coated with a layer of snow creating the illusion as if they were frozen in time. Beams of light shone through the trees casting elongated shadows across the surreal landscape. The sun would set soon. 

 

“This is where we part ways, kid.” The man started walking back to the carriage. 

 

“...You’re not going to kill me?” Her voice remained steady as if the words that left her mouth weren’t about her. 

 

The man looked over his shoulder. “Kid, there’s no point killing someone who’s already dead.” 

 

She flinched slightly at his reply. She watched his back as he moved away but made no move to follow after. There was no reason to, after all. 

 

Instead, Sable headed in the opposite direction and deeper into the forest. Her body swayed slightly as she trudged through the snow and she wrapped her arms tighter around herself in a feeble attempt to keep warm. She didn’t know where she was going, but she forced herself to keep walking forward. 

 

The forest was eerily quiet. Not a single sound was heard, save for the crunching of snow as Sable plodded through. The temperature was dropping significantly and it was getting harder and harder for Sable to continue on. 

 

Her chest felt hollow yet at the same time as if a heavy weight had settled onto it. Her mind wandered and she thought about her reincarnation. When she had woken up and seen Aly, she felt that it was a chance to atone for the sins that she committed in her previous life. By saving Aly, she thought she would gain some semblance of her old life back. She planned to live quietly and when the time came, she would not involve herself with her father and leave him to his fate. 

 

Yes, that was the plan. And yet from the very beginning, everything had gone wrong. 

 

Her attempt at atonement backfired against her and she inadvertently got involved with her father’s plot. Her behavior placed innocents at risk and she was unsure if she even saved Aly. For all she knew, her father could have disposed of her maid after she was captured. 

 

In the end, her actions - no, her mistakes - sent her, and probably more, to an early grave. 

 

Nothing had changed since she reincarnated. She was still the same little girl. The same little girl who was neglected, who was given looks of pity and disappointment. The same little girl who foolishly tried so hard to prove everyone wrong. The same naive little girl who was afraid of being alone, who only ever wanted someone to hold her and tell her that, for once in her life, she was enough. 

 

The sad little girl who wanted to be told that she was worthy of being loved. 

 

Sable stumbled forward. Tears blurred her vision and she sobbed and broke down, finally allowing herself to be the child she was. 

 

But no one was coming to hold her. 

 

And that made Sable cry even harder. 

 

~~~

 

Sable laid still in the snow. Her arms and legs were numb from the cold and Sable could no longer move. The sun had long since disappeared. 

 

Although she lay dying, Sable felt a strange sense of peace and calm. She quietly admired the sight of the stars twinkling in the night sky. 

 

Footfalls in the snow interrupted her reverie. She weakly turned her head to see who was approaching her-

 

-and looked into the eyes of herself. 

 

But it wasn’t entirely correct to say it was her. Rather, the Sable who loomed over her appeared older than her, she realized. It was the sixteen-year old Sable. She was still dressed in the same outfit as the day of her execution. 

 

“Have I gone insane?” She thought bitterly. Then the other Sable spoke. 

 

“So is this it? You’re just going to give up?” She sneered. “What happened to ‘living quietly’?”

 

“...” 

 

“What? Are you too busy dying to answer me, little Sable? I guess that man was right, you are a disappointment.” 

 

“...Shut up.” 

 

“Oh, did I hurt your feelings, little Sable?” The other Sable continued to mock her. 

 

“You’re not real.” Sable glared at her older self. 

 

“Oh, I’m much more real than you think.” Her mocking smile grew at Sable’s words. 

 

“Just leave me alone.” 

 

“As much as you want me to, I’m afraid I can’t do that, little Sable.” The smile disappeared from the other’s face and she matched Sable with a glare of her own. “Not until you pick yourself back up.” 

 

“...I can’t.” Sable could barely shake her head, let alone lift her body. 

 

The other Sable examined her for a moment. “You’re not dead yet.” 

 

Sable blinked dumbly. 

 

“Tch.” The other Sable clicked her tongue. “Listen up, brat. As long as you’re still alive, you still have a chance to fight back against that man. Whether you like it or not, you’re already involved and I’m not letting you back out because of him.” 

 

“Why not?” 

 

“You didn’t think that your reincarnation was simply a chance for atonement, did you?” An annoyed expression crossed her face when Sable didn’t answer. “Think carefully. There’s something much bigger going on here and you’re going to find out what.” 

 

“...And he’s involved.” 

 

The other Sable nodded. “Start with the identities of those assassins. It was your first time seeing them, yes?” 

 

“How do you…”

 

“Let’s just say I can see what you see.” The other Sable smiled cryptically. Her eyes flicked to the side and she frowned. “...They arrived faster than I thought.” 

 

The other Sable reached out and a glowing blue butterfly landed on her finger. At that moment her form started to fade away.

 

“Looks like we’re out of time, little Sable.” 

 

“Wait.” Sable furrowed her brow. “Why are you doing all of this? What’s the point?” 

 

“...I won’t let you be thrown away so easily, Sable.” The other Sable gave her a sad smile. “Not like I was.” 

 

“What do you.. mean…?” Sable was met with silence. The other Sable faded away and only the blue butterfly remained. It flew around her and she watched it, mesmerized. 

 

She heard people shouting in the distance and the butterfly landed on her before dissipating. 

 

“Over there!”

 

“What the hell! Why’s there a kid here?” Someone yelled out in alarm. “Claire, get over here!” 

 

Sable struggled to keep her eyes open and felt her consciousness growing dim. 

 

“Hey! Can you hear me?” The voice sounded muffled to Sable. “I need everyone’s coats now! Come on! Stay with me!” 

 

~~~

 

Tonight was like any other night for the Lione Knights. Splitting into four-man squads, they spread out to patrol the forests around the dukedom. Villages often suffered from beasts attacking their livestock and one of the duties of the knights was to check the area and subjugate any beasts they found. 

 

Usually, there were two patrols. One during the day and one at night, but a portion of the knights had left for the Capital to participate in the Midsummer Festival. Fortunately, the majority of beasts attacked during the night so the knights on duty did not have to do a double shift. 

 

On this particular night, Claire was on duty along with her squadmates Talbot, Isaac, and Percival. They were tasked with patrolling the area around Frostford Village, one of the smaller villages located on the outskirts of the dukedom. As it was the village where Claire was born and raised, she knew the area like the back of her hand. 

 

The four spread out from one another, but not too far that they were unable to see their companions. They each held torches and they quietly scanned their surroundings. They hadn’t encountered any beasts, but a knight should never let their guard down. 

 

They continued on until their squad captain, Percival, signaled for them to stop and take a break. Claire uncapped the canteen from her pouch and drank. 

 

“Another quiet night, eh?” Talbot joined Claire and leaned against a nearby tree. He had a boyish charm to him and got along well with the other knights. 

 

“I like quiet nights.” Claire replied. “Don’t have to clean my sword.”

 

Talbot laughed. Isaac and Percival joined them. 

 

Isaac was a knight who spoke very little but was very capable with a sword. Percival was a senior member of the Lione Knights and many respected him. Currently he was their squad captain. 

 

“I hope you’re not slacking on training, Claire.” Percival raised a brow at her with humor in his eyes.

 

She shook her head with a smile. “Of course not, Captain.” 

 

Claire was one of the medics for the Lione Knights. Not only was she training physically, she also studied the books for emergency first-aid and the books that contained information about useful herbs. In fact, she held a reputation for being a workaholic and others recognized her for her efforts. 

 

“Hey, you think anyone will beat His Grace this year?” Talbot grinned at the other knights. 

 

“Do you even have to ask?” Claire smirked. “His Grace has remained undefeated for the past eight years. I doubt that his streak will be broken anytime soon.” 

 

“Oho, you’re quite confident, aren’t you?” Talbot smiled at her. “What if someone does break it?” 

 

“Then I’d marry that person on the spot.” Claire asserted. 

 

“Then I guess you’re gonna be single for the rest of your life.” Talbot teased and Claire smacked him on the shoulder. Of course, that only made him laugh. 

 

Percival lightly chuckled at their actions. He glanced over to Isaac who was frowning. 

 

“Something wrong, Isaac?” Percival called out. The other two stopped their banter and became alert. Without responding, Isaac pointed to something beyond the trees. 

 

Percival walked beside him and looked over his shoulder to see what he was pointing at. 

 

A glowing blue butterfly fluttered in the darkness.