"Learn everything? Sounds like lots!" Blizzie says enthusiastically. Sounds like he was also listening to the story. I wonder how intently he is listening and how much he can understand.

"Yes Blizzie. Lots." Alias says and boops him on the nose.

"Shall I continue?" Alias asks me, waiting for my permission.

"Please do."

"Very well." he says, clearing his throat.

"Many of the subjects Aria had to learn were not to her liking. She liked learning to ride horses but did not like knitting. She liked science class but hated math. She loved reading but didn't like her grammar class. It was possible that she might have just not liked the teacher on that one. He was a bit of a jerk."

I chuckle at that. I have had my fair share of teachers that people would call jerks. They would call them that because they were. They were jerks.

"Another thing that made Aria's life difficult was her new stepbrother. He hated Aria, thinking that it was her and her mother's fault that his mom died because his dad was paying more attention to Lila than to his own mother. He felt that his father was too distracted to get the best physicians. He didn't want to hear it when he was told that she had gotten the best physicians but the disease that she had was incurable. Don't ask me what the disease was, I don't remember."

I nod to him. There were a lot of details in this story that he did remember, I am not going to fault him for one thing that he doesn't remember. Also, what the disease was isn't the important thing.

"Irick would bully young Aria, teaching her the wrong things so that she would make a fool of herself. He would step on the back of her dresses so that she would fall and rip them. He would spook her and cause her to dump food on her lap. He would set up traps in her room and create noises that kept her up at night. Everything that he could do to make her life more difficult, he would.

"Aria needed an escape from everything so in her free moments she started reading everything that she could about potions. Alchemical ingredients, the easiest potions to make, the potions that took the fewest ingredients, dangerous combinations. Anything and everything she could learn she did. For her next birthday she asked for an alchemy set and was gifted one. The king thought that this was a more appropriate use of her time than swordsmanship because it involved a lot of mathematics, science and reading comprehension. Needing these skills caused her to pay more attention in her classes. She started excelling at all of her classes and everything that the king wanted her to learn. Him and her mother were very pleased with her.

"They were so pleased with her that he let her go back to visiting the knights. Aria was so excited to see them and her old friends again that she wasted no time in going. The knights were happy to see her, but there was now tension between her, Iris and Jason. They tried to pretend there wasn't and have fun still, but Aria knew. Aria knew that they didn't expect her to come back, and after seeing the way Jason was looking at Iris Aria believed they didn't want her to come back. Aria's heart was broken.

After this Aria began having more accidents, and the people around her also began having more accidents. At first people thought that it was a strange coincidence, but after it kept happening, they did not think it was anymore and began to blame Aria. Aria had no idea why she was being blamed. It made no sense to her. They told her to stop using her magic in such a manner, but Aria wasn't even sure what her magic was. She knew that she wasn't the one doing it, but she didn't know who to blame.

"Aria's visits to the knights became less frequent until they stopped altogether. Her mother confronted her on why this was. Tearfully Aria confided in her mother, who just held her as she cried. Lila was sad that Aria was going through this, but she did not regret becoming the queen. She was able to help make new laws that improved the quality of the lower classes. She felt bad for her daughter but thought that a few tears now would be worth it in the end."

"Poor Aria." I say, feeling my heart break for what she went through. I have a feeling that none of this ever stopped. That would further explain the reactions of the townsfolk.

"Poor old Aria. Sad." says Blizzie.

"What do you mean old Aria?" I ask him, startled.

"You no smell the same. Different soul. Cats know these things." he says as though he was stating the obvious. Perhaps to him he is.

"Besides potion making, was there anything else that brought her joy?" I ask, hoping that she had a few good things in her life.

"There was. Her baby brother Bennett brought her the most joy. She loved holding him, taking him on walks, talking to him about the things that were happening in her life. She would spend most of her free time in the nursery playing with him. This wasn't a one-way affection either. It was clear to everyone that Aria was his favorite person. As he got older, he would sneak into Aria's room when he would have a bad dream and she would cuddle him to sleep. When Aria was having her classes, he would bring in paper and a pencil and pretend to take notes alongside of her.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Whenever anyone would talk poorly about Aria in his presence, he would walk up to them and hit them in the knee with his little fists. People learned to keep their mouths shut around him. Little or not, he was a prince of the kingdom.

"These little joys in life kept Aria happy. Even though there was a lot of bad things in her life, she still saw all of the good things and focused on to those. She knew that she had a privileged life and would and that she would continue to be given opportunities that others weren't. She kept on being a happy and joyful little girl until the accident."

"The accident?" I ask, wondering what he was referring to.

"Lila's death. You see, Lila was called away to a women's conference. She asked Aria if she wanted to go, but Aria turned her mother down. Bennett was sick, and Aria wanted to be there for him. Lila understood. Aria always accompanied her mother; this is the first time that Lila was traveling without Aria. It made the both of them a little sad, but Lila was proud of how well Aria was caring for Bennett. Lila told Aria that she was proud of her, kissed the foreheads of her children and left.

"On the way back from the conference there was trouble. It was a clear night, so she expected to be able to make good time on her way home. Instead, her carriage was attacked by a group of bandits. It seems that they didn't mean to kill her, but things got out of hand, or so they said. They seemed to not even know that she was the queen.

"Aria was devastated when she found out. The castle staff was afraid that she would blame Bennett, like other young teens would, but she didn't. This actually brought Aria and Bennett closer together. They would have nights where they would just be up all-night crying. No one wanted to tell them to stop as they were afraid of an accident befalling them.

"The king tried to comfort Aria and Bennett the best he could, but he was finding it harder to be around Aria. He thought that she looked too much like her mother by the day, and he was also upset about the accidents. The king stopped the Daddy-Daughter dates and instead started to just buy Aria things. Pretty dresses, pretty jewelry, swords and alchemical ingredients. He tried to keep in mind what Aria liked, but distance made him forget little by little.

"Iris and Jason also stopped by every now and then to see her. They wanted to pretend to be friends, at least a little. This was how they met Irick. Eventually they visited Irick more and more and forgot that they were supposed to be visiting Aria. This created more tension between Aria and Irick. Aria always tried to be understanding, but that really hurt her.

"Poppy, who had entered into the picture at some point, decided that she knew how to cheer up Aria. She began taking her to salons and tea parties. They would spend a lot of their time having fun. At first it was harmless, but eventually Poppy started to talk trash about the people that they were around. This made Aria uncomfortable, but she went along with it as she didn't want to lose her only friend.

"Aria made the best of her life. She would go to parties, salons, balls and whatever else she was invited to. She even opened her own shop to establish a life for herself. She helped Bennett learn to wield the sword and took in a kitten."

"That's me!" Blizzie shouts excitedly.

"She wasn't thrilled with the way her life had turned out, but she still did her best. It wore on her though. Her breaking point came when the old god of this world corrupted everyone's personalities. She couldn't take it anymore. That led to her death, and you taking her place.

"Sorry that it might not cover everything that you want to know but I hope that gives you a better understanding of the life that you have taken over."

"It does. Thank you, Alias. That helps a lot." I tell him. And it does. I now have a better understanding about some of the connections and who Aria is as a person. She really isn't a villainess. So, what is going on? What caused all of the accidents that caused everyone to turn against her? What is Aria's magic? Is it possible that it was her magic going out of control? Wouldn't the king have given her a magic tutor then?

"What is Aria's magic?" I start to ask but am unable to get an answer to that question as I find the surroundings in my dream changing. Not long after the change I woke up. Questions answered, and more questions that need to be answered.

"Good morning!" I hear a chipper voice says as Poppy walks into my room. "Do you know what you are wanting for breakfast this morning?" Poppy asks me.

"I was actually thinking maybe I could have a lighter breakfast this morning? I want to make sure that I make it over to Alex's nice and early. I was hoping to take a look at the blueprint and have some time after to go to the library. Even though I am a genius I might not know all of the ingredients on the list." I tell her.

"Light breakfast it is! How about you get dressed while I whip up some eggs, toast with jam and diced fruits?" she asks me.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea Poppy!" I tell her and give her a bright smile. She nods her head and happily skips out of the room.

I walk over to my wardrobe and pull it open. I wanted a dress that was comfortable and easy to move around in. I paw through them and pick out a nice sky blue one with a white flower print along the bottom. I pull it on and sit down to brush my hair out.

My hair is fine and brushed ever so smoothly. I don't think I want to do anything fancy with my hair as we might be starting in on our work today. I braid the right side of my hair and twist in around the rest in a cute updo. I put in some pins to make it look pretty and pull out a lock of my bangs to frame my face. Pretty!

As I am finishing my hair Poppy walks into the room and sets our plates down on the table. She also has a nice full plate for Blizzie.

"A familiar has to have a nice full tummy in order to help out with any spell craft. Eat up Blizzie!" Poppy says and pets him gently on his head.

"Food!" Blizzie says then stuffs his face into his plate, gobbling up the mixed meats and grilled fish. Is there anything happier than an eating cat? I can argue that there isn't.

"A nice simple look today? Don't you want to turn his head?" she asks, and I see the suspicion bar raise the smallest bit.

"I don't need fancy clothes to do that. Also, I will be doing crafting work today and want to make sure that I have an outfit that is easy to move around in. I'll probably be dressing similar for the next few days as well. It will make the impression of me in my gown at my birthday all the most impactful." I tell her. I see the suspicion bar lower, and affection bar rise a little bit.

"That is one way to leave a lasting impression." she says and laughs. It is a true laugh, and it makes me smile. I can't help but think that Poppy can't be all bad. No one can be all bad after all.

Poppy and I make light conversation as we eat. Poppy makes a lot of wild guesses about who Bobby was using his love potion on. I of course refuse to tell her, which makes her guesses even more spectacular. I think that she might actually know and is just having fun with it. She is even beginning to guess popular familiars. She keeps us laughing the entire meal.

Once we are done eating, I wash my face and put on my makeup. It isn't quite the same as how Poppy did it, but I like the way that it came out. I did accentuate my eyes the way she did, however. My eye shadow patterns is what is different. I make it a smoky eye, except I use light colors. Instead of smoke it looks more like a dusting of snow.

"Pretty." Poppy says when I finish. "I like the way the glitter under the eyes makes the eye liner look bolder." she says.

"Why thank you." I tell her.

I had watched a few beauty-tubers and picked up some tips and tricks from them. It wouldn't be my normal thing to watch, but I needed to stand out on my platform. There are some other girls that streamed games and I needed to differentiate myself. I used killer makeup to help. Also, I was just the better gamer. Glad those beauty tips are helping me here too though.

"Alright Poppy, I am heading out.

"Have fun! Don't blow anything up today!" she says. Do I have a habit of blowing things up?