Inside Rowan's families house...

Isabella's POV...

'I don't think I can do this. I killed their daughter. They won't like me.' Rowan opened the front door and we walked in. I looked around and noticed that the interior hasn't changed since the first time I came here. The first time I came here was in my third life. It was after Rowan got killed, I came here let his parents know. That was how I died in my second life. 'Will they still be the same?' 

"Rowan! I thought you couldn't come today? Did the princess reject you?" 

I looked behind me and saw a woman coming down the stairs. So I quickly hid behind Rowan, making sure she didn't see me.

"Mom, be nice. I brought Bell with me. I was hoping you would like to meet her." Rowan replied

"Of course! I want to meet the one my son loves to protect. Although where is she?" Rowan's mom asked

"She's right here hiding behind me. It's okay Bell. Mom is going to love you." Rowan replied

"Are you sure? She looks like she might want to kill me."

"Mom, please stop glaring at Bell. You're scaring her." Rowan complained

"Hi Duchess. My name is Isabella. I'm sorry your son couldn't come home more often."

"Blessings and Glory upon the 1st star of the Obelian Empire. You look just like your father and yet you have your mother's beauty. Thank you for joining us today. I know today is a very important day for you. I heard today you are turning 14, which means soon you'll have your debutante. I heard that Rowan is gonna be going with you."

"Thank you for your compliment ma'am. Please call me Bella. And it's an honor to have your son being my escort for such an important day. I hope your not mad that I have been keeping your son from going home."

"Of course not. As long as you can make my son happy. If you need any support from the Rowan household please let me know." Rowan's mom replied

"I thought Rowan is his name? It's his last name?"

"Yes Rowan is his last name. His first name is Aspen. But since you have called him Rowan for so long, you can continue to do so. Please come on in." Rowan's mom replied

So I stepped out from behind Rowan and followed his mom. 'She's different. Maybe this time I can make it all the way.' we went to the family room There I met Rowan's father and little sister. She looked so much like Lyla. 'Maybe fate keep us together. Lyla, I might not have been able to protect you, but I'm going to protect Rowan and your little sister. I won't let anyone hurt them.' 

"Rowan, how can you let your friend wear this little when it's cold outside?" His dad yelled

"It's okay sir. The cold doesn't bug me. Besides my powers actually are stronger in the cold."

"I see. How did Aspen meet you?" His dad asked

"Bell and I were slaves at the same place. She was there longer so she helped me and Lyla. We became friends. When I heard that she is actually the first princess of Obelia, I decided to find her and become her knight." Rowan replied

"I guess you don't know about this then..." His mom replied

"Yes mom, we know about the engagement between our families. Anyway, way don't we eat. I have to get Bell back before it gets dark." Rowan replied

So we went to the dining room and had dinner. Afterwards, Rowan took me back to the palace. Then he left without saying a word. I decided to get ready for bed. 

After 2 hours...

"I give up. I can't sleep. I'll just go on a walk."

I walked to onto my balcony and jumped. When I landed, I saw my brother further up. 'Looks like he could sleep either. I should avoid him.'

"Bella. Is that you?" Alex asked

I turned around and left. When I was sure that he couldn't find me, I stopped and sat down.

"I'm sorry brother. I knows what happens in the future. If I let you get any closer to me then I will get betrayed by you and sister. This time I will make it to the top, and I will get rid of anyone who tried to stop me."

After awhile I started to feel tired, so I went to bed. The next day, I went to visit mom's grave. I made some flowers out of magic so they don't wilt since it's winter.

"Don't worry mother. I will avenge your death. I just hope it wasn't her. If it is then I won't stop until her and her whole family is dead."

"You really have changed sister." Someone said

"Amir?! Long time no see. How are things going back in Sidonia?"

"You're looking at the new emperor. So now I can help you become Empress. I also looked into your grandmother's death. It wasn't because of your mom. She was poisoned by your mom's uncle." Amir replied

"That can't be. My mom's uncle was dead when she was born. Nevermind, He already used black magic to come back alive. He was always jealous of my grandfather. Anyway, why do you want to help me? What do you get out of this?"

"I don't get anything out of this. I have been in contact with Rowan. He told me that if I don't help you that he will make sure I will lose everything. Anyway if you had contacted me then I would have helped you from the beginning. I'm glad that my little sister is going to be empress. When that day comes, Sidonia and Obelia can come together as one." Amir replied

"I see. I hope you aren't thinking about that way to unify the two empires."

"No! I meant to sign a peace treaty. You are my sister and that law got banned a long time ago. Anyway, do you know who killed your mom?" Amir replied/asked

"Not yet. Although it's either my mom's cousin or someone more close to us. The thing is Prince Alexander was with mom before she was killed. He should have been able to hear someone breaking in and yet he said that he didn't. I just hope it wasn't him because..."

"Because you can't kill him or won't kill him?" AMir asked

"Neither. I can kill him and if he gets in my way then I will get rid of him. I'm just curious about what he is going to do. Although I wonder if it's a good thing to let him live. In each of my lives he betrayed me. So I wonder if he finds out that I'm on to him if he is gonna get rid of me."

"True. But you're stronger than you used to be. You took on people who used black magic. You were even able to save your brother. Although are you distancing yourself from your brother and sister to protect yourself or them?" Amir asked

"Of course to protect myself. I have to go. My father is waiting for me."

"You agreed to learn from him?" Amir asked

"Yes. Bye brother. I hope you won't let me down."

"Never. See you later sister. I hope you'll be the most prettiest girl at you debutante. I heard Rowan will be your escort. Good luck." Amir replied

After that he disappeared. 'When did he become emperor? I wonder what happened to the crown prince and the 1st princess?'

"Why am I even thinking about that? I need to hurry and find dad. Today he has inspection and I get to go."

After a couple of minutes...

"Father, Can I talk to you?"

"Of course. What is it Isabella?" dad asked

"I wanted to tell you that I thought about you teaching me. I agree. But Prince Alexander and Princess Estelle won't know anything about this. They might think that this is no longer a fair fight."

I felt someone was watching, so I walked over to window and used magic to catch that person. When I caught that person, I noticed that it was Alex's dragon.

"So, we are using these cheap tricks. Tell your master that if he wants to fight me then he has to fight me himself. Also if you tell him what you heard, I'll send Lyla to find you. I wonder if she is going to like dragon food."

"Take it easy on my dragon will you? Anyway I didn't think you would actually turn father down. Don't you want to take every opportunity to get ahead of us?" Alexander asked

"It wouldn't be a fair fight. But seeing how you made use of you dragon, I guess that playing fair is out of the cards. Have fun." I turned towards father. "Father, I want to investigate who killed mom. I have some connections who can help me. This person already helped me figure out who killed grandmother."

"Okay. I'll let you take care of this. Don't let me down, Isabella." dad replied

"Don't worry Father. I won't stop until I find her killer. If you'll excuse me father, Rowan is waiting for me."

"Okay. Are you guys going to the center?" dad asked

"No. We have to get supplies, so they can survive through the winter. Even with my magic they won't last long. I'll see you later father."

I left after that. I teleported to my room and got changed. When I came out, I saw Alexander standing outside my door, so I walked past him. All of a sudden, Alexander grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him. Then he kissed me. Luckily no one saw us.

"What are you doing brother? Did you forget that we are rivals?... Wait a minute... Rowan?"

"Surprise. There are knights surrounding the palace. So I had to use your brothers identity. Let's go. Lyla used some magic when you were with your father. It should help us sneak out." Rowan replied

"Are you talking about my beast?"

"No. My twin sister. You never told me that you saved her. You also helped her get back home to Obelia. Would you like to see her again?" Rowan replied/asked

"No. I made her promise not to try and find me. I knew a long time where I came from. Before you came to Sidonia, there were many attempts to kill me. People knew that there was a princess who could already use magic at the age of one. After you and Lyla came, things got more dangerous. Mostly for Lyla since she could also see black magic and was my friend. The day she 'died' I fought back against that person who used me. I saved Lyla in time because I owed it to her. After she recovered, I helped her escape and get back to Obelia, that was when she told me who I was. In return for the info, I told her that if I ever get back home she must not come to meet me."

"You did it to protect her?" Rowan asked

"Yes. I'm sorry that I lied to you. I did it to protect you and Lyla. I couldn't risk getting you involved and you try to find her. She knows more about my family then even my family does. She also knows who keeps trying to get rid of me. Let's go see her then."

So Rowan and I walked outside. I looked around and saw the knights were lying on the ground due to sleeping magic. We continued walking, when all of a sudden Rowan stopped. I noticed he was looking over to the tree that I planted when I was 7. That was when I noticed someone was standing there.

"Go on. I already talked with her. Now it's your turn. Although she might yell at you since for getting me involved." Rowan replied

"You got yourself involved."

I walked over to the tree and saw a girl standing there. 

"Hi, Bell. Long time no see." Lyla replied

"I told you not to come and find me. That also meant not to help me. Why are you here?"

"So many questions. Not even a hi, how are you. Anyway, I came here to warn you. Be careful of your brother. The other night, I was on my way back home because I was hanging out with my friends. I saw him talking to someone. I overheard part of their conservation. Your brother hired someone to get rid of you. Be careful. Have my brother around you at all times. You'll also gonna need this." Lyla replied. 

She handed me a sword. Then waved Rowan over. We continued talking for awhile, until I noticed that the knights were starting to wake up. So we quickly left the palace and went to a cafe that was in town.

"So I heard that you and my brother are engaged. I can't believe that my best friend is going to become my sister-in-law." Lyla exclaimed

"Can we not talk about this right now? What did my brother give to this person?"

"It was in a bottle. So maybe some type of poison. He also gave this person a dagger made out of black magic. I think this person is someone close to you." Lyla replied

"Maybe. But I don't have any maids. I got rid of them when I turned 10. So, there is no one close to me. Rowan, you don't think he showed up without us evening noticing?"

"Most likely. He is a black magic user. So he can get past us without us even noticing. We need to be careful." Rowan replied

"Are you talking about that guy? I think I should become a knight to help protect Bell." Lyla replied

"No. I told you not to come find me because of that guy. If he finds you, then when I saved you will be for nothing. I just hope he isn't here yet."

"Why?" Lyla asked

"After I saved you, I got cursed. He can find me faster because of that. ..."

"What?! You got cursed?! There is always a price for black magic. Wait... why are we by our tree? Did something happen?" Lyla asked