Emeris_Rose

“I was chosen for a mission I never asked for, and honestly, I don’t even know if I’m the right one for it. But the King believes in me—he thinks I can do the impossible. Me, a poor girl from the village. I never thought a life like mine would lead to anything grand, let alone to the royal palace. But here I am. The King has tasked me with a mission: to change Prince Lilian.

Prince Lilian—the heir to the throne, the one who is everything a prince should never be. He’s rude. He’s arrogant. He doesn’t care for anyone or anything except his own desires. His manners are a disgrace to the kingdom, and his pride is as towering as the castle itself. 

The King believes I can change him, shape him into the man he needs to becometo rule this kingdom. But, how? How can someone like me—an orphan with nothing but my honesty and humility—make him listen?

I’m not like the people here in the palace. They’re all about power, beauty, and status. They see me as nothing more than a tool to fix the Prince, and I’m not sure I can succeed. I’ve spent my life surviving, not leading. How can I change someone who has been given everything and yet still chooses to be selfish and stubborn?

But I have no choice. I must try. For the sake of this kingdom, for the Prince, and for myself. I have a mission. I must complete it. No matter the doubts, no matter how impossible it seems. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll discover that there’s more to me than even I knew. 

Will I fail? Or will I finally see if I’m more than just a girl with nothing?”

Working On You: My Uncompleted Mission

The world around Mai was nothing but darkness. A void. A silence so deep it felt like she was floating in an abyss. She could not feel the weight of her own body, nor the air that usually surrounded her. Was this death?

She had not meant for things to happen this way. She had only wanted to protect herself, to fight back against the overwhelming forces pressing down on her. But she had not known the price of what she carried within her—the power that had been dormant for so long, waiting for a moment to be unleashed.

The last thing she remembered was the palace walls trembling, the blinding surge of energy erupting from her core, and then—nothing.

Soft whispers curled around her like tendrils of mist. They were distant, yet strangely familiar. Some were kind, filled with sorrow, while others dripped with malice.

"She was never meant to survive."

Mai's fingers twitched. Slowly, awareness seeped back into her limbs, bringing with it a dull, throbbing pain. A groan escaped her lips as her eyes fluttered open. The first thing she saw was fire.

The once-pristine halls of the palace were now ruins. Chunks of marble lay scattered across the ground, the golden chandeliers shattered, their broken pieces reflecting the dim light of the remaining torches. The great pillars that once stood tall were cracked, some barely holding together.

And in the center of it all… was her.

Mai barely had the strength to push herself up. Her limbs trembled as she struggled to her feet, her head spinning with the effort. Around her, guards and servants lay unconscious—some breathing, some not.

Her heart clenched as she realized what she had done.

A presence stirred behind her. A familiar one.

The voice was sharp, filled with a barely contained rage. Mai turned weakly, her eyes landing on Prince Lilian. His face was covered in soot, his royal attire tattered. There was blood on his forehead, a cut running along his temple. But his gaze—his gaze was unlike anything she had ever seen before.

It was no longer filled with arrogance or indifference.

It was filled with fury. And something deeper—betrayal.

"Do you even realize what you've done?" he hissed, stepping closer. "You destroyed everything. The palace—" he gestured around them, "the people—" his voice caught, but he quickly recovered, "—and you expect to stand here, alive?"

Mai opened her mouth, but no words came.

But something—someone—had saved her.

Before she could respond, a cold gust of wind swept through the ruined halls, carrying with it the scent of rain. The torches flickered violently, casting eerie shadows against the broken walls.

From the darkness, King Eric emerged.

Despite the destruction surrounding him, his expression was unreadable. His royal robe was in tatters, yet his posture remained firm, his presence suffocating.

"So," he said, his voice calm yet laced with menace, "the little commoner is no ordinary girl after all."

Mai stiffened, her instincts screaming at her to run. But her legs refused to move.

The King's gaze bore into her, calculating, hungry. "I have waited long for this day," he murmured. "For the truth to reveal itself."

Lilian's fists clenched at his sides. "What truth?" he demanded.

The King smiled, though it did not reach his eyes. "The truth about who she really is."

The world seemed to slow. Mai's breath hitched.

But before she could protest, the King raised a hand, and a squad of elite royal guards stepped forward, their weapons drawn.

And just like that, the ruin of the palace became the least of Mai's worries.

The Aftermath Of Power