Chapter 2 I DIED AND WOKE UP IN THE KINGDOM OF DRAGONS

Joseline's Pov

Mom hasn't stopped yelling since she got here.

Make it stop! Make it stop!

I wanted to scream but peeling the skin off my fingers seemed like a better solution.

I bit the corner of my lip and looked down when she pointed at me. She's probably accusing me of something I didn't do. Just like that way she always tells me that I'm the one who killed dad.

Principal Morris sighed. “Miss Smith, your daughter has refused to be a part of the competition and we respect her decision for that. An avid competitor like herself gets burnt out sometimes so it's best to take a break.”

“She doesn't need one!” Mom turned to me. “Do you need one, honey? Do you need a break?”

All eyes fell on me. I know what to say but if I say it, it'll get me in trouble. If I don't say anything, I'll still get in trouble.

I sit still and say nothing. Mother is probably glaring at me right now but I don't care. I just want to go home.

I blur out the rest of their words and stare at my hands, my calloused hands that had receive more beatings than an entire drumset, and swallow a sigh.

I'm tired.

The next thing I know, I'm being pulled out of Morris's office. A hand lands on my shoulder and my vision refocuses on mom.

She's staring at me with those eyes I hate looking at.

“You will not quit, you hear me?! You will join this competition and win! Losers don't get to live, you understand?!” She snapped.

The words don't form so I nod.

“Good. Now, head to class. I'll pick you up by 4pm.” she brushed past me without a single goodbye.

I'm used to it — being hated on and ignored by my mother. But is that something a child should get used to? I guess not.

My vision trails ahead and I take a step forward but I don't go to my classroom. I go to the rooftop.

As I walk up the stairs, I think about dad. About the day he died. It was my 13th birthday and I'd been too greedy. I'd screamed at him to get me another birthday cake. Knowing he'd do anything for me, dad left. He never came back. Well, he did. In a casket. And ever since, mom hated me.

Instead of sending me out into the streets, she kept me at home to punish me. She forced me into things I didn't want. She made me play 13 instruments, join 13 competitions every year and 13 showcases. And I'd better be perfect in all of them. She'd whip my hands when I play a wrong note, take my glasses so I don't see a thing, beat my back till I can't walk. Every punishment was given to me to remind me of how my father died. It was in a car crash but he broke all his bones and he got glass shards in his eyes. I guess mom what's me to suffer the same fate as him.

How poetic.

I hold open the door and shut it behind me.

I walk and don't stop till I get to the ledge.

As much as I'd endured mom's punishments for 8 years, I was tired of it. I was tired of everything. There were times where I tried to be strong, times where I told myself that I just have to wait till I get to college then I can disappear but I can't wait. Time is cruel and life isn't fair.

I climb into the ledge and smile. Maybe if I die, mom will be happy. She won't get to see the face of the bitch who reminds her of her dead husband. She wouldn't have to deal with a burden like me. If I die now, everyone will be happy. The undefeated student will be gone and they can take first place. If I die now, I can meet dad.

A gentle wind whoosh past my hair and I smile.

This is it.

I spread my arms wide and close my eyes, waiting for my final moment.

I lift my leg to fall over but my body jerks forward.

A gasp escaped me as I felt my body tilt. Somebody pushed me.

I threw my eyes open and stared at her.

Tears welled up in my eyes and I stared at her. How could she do this to me?!

She mouths something I can't read and my eyes widen.

I'm falling faster. I'm going to die… but I'm scared. I don't want to die!

Before my body hit the earth, I screamed. “How could you do this to me?!”

The wind knocks air from my lungs and I close my eyes again.

Then I swore before the heavens, I know it won't be possible but if there was going to be a second life, I would never be kind or merciful, I would be ruthless and evil as they come.

I exhaled my last breath as I fell to my death.

For a moment, it was dark. I could neither see nor hear anything. Then, all of a sudden, I begin to hear. At first, it was voices then I began to hear the sound of playing flutes. Something caught my nostrils and I sniffed the air. What's that smell? Incest? I opened my eyes slowly and froze. The dead don't smell nor do they see or hear.

Am I not dead?

“Your Majesty, she's awake!” Someone cried out.

What?

I laid in the soft sheets, wondering where the hell I was and what was going on.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a man stepped forward.

My lips parted in shock when he sat beside me.

His eyes were the colour of the blood and so was his hair. It was silky and long till it fell past his waist. Not only that, he was dressed in a suit of armour and sported an axe at his hilt.

I blinked. Was he a cosplayer?

He reached for me and touched my cheek.

“How do you feel?” He asked. The look on his face could pass for impassive but his tone was laced with concern.

Who was this man and how did he know me?

I blinked again when he repeated his question. How do I even answer? Who was he?

I looked behind him and froze. An old woman… no, she didn't look human. Her skin looked like scales and her nails didn't look normal. If anything, they looked like talons. She sat crosslegged on the draped rug. Her eyes were closed and she played a flute, a flute that somehow guided the fragrance of three burning incest candles towards my bed. No, not my bed. This wasn't my room.

My room didn't look like something out of a museum. I didn't have a table made of gold or a chaise lounge that looked like the fur of a tiger. I didn't even have a bed. All I had was a thin mattress spread on the floorboard, a tiny freezer, and a closet. This room was three times bigger than my room.

Red drapes went all the way to a ceiling carved in gold. The furniture was made of golden silk. And the temperature… It felt as though I turned up the temperature and forgot to turn it back down.

What is this place?

“Lady Penelope?” The red-eyed man called out.

I froze. Penelope? My name isn't Penelope. It's Joseline.

“It seems Lady Penelope is still recovering. We should give her the room.” the dragon-looking woman said.

Why was she calling me Lady Penelope? And why did she look like that? Was this some sort of joke? Haha, not funny, guys.

“If that is what will make her better then, I will leave,” the red-eyed man said as he rose to his feet. He swept his gaze all over my face and nodded.

I watched him with agape lips as he left the room with what seemed like armoured soldiers.

What is going on here?

“Lady Penelope, I'll send in your handmaids.” She said.

Before she turned to leave, I reached for her.

“Wait!” I scrambled out of bed and grabbed her arm. “Where am I? Where is this place?”

She stared at me like I'd grown an extra head. “Excuse me?”

I swallowed hard. Why was she acting like this? I looked down at her hand. Her skin felt warm and her scales felt so real.

I pulled away with a gasp. She was truly a dragon.

“What is this place?!” I screamed.

“We're in Drakaryon, kingdom of the Crimson Dragons.”

My jaws dropped to the floor. “What?”