"Speech."

'Thoughts'

........

'Where am I?'

Her body was floating in a black sea where gravity didn't exist. She tried to open her eyes, but all she could see was emptiness as if she had gone blind. The memory of the car crash was still vivid in her head, the blood that was coloring the gravel. The pungent smell of iron, she could still smell it.

Anna could still remember the trembling lips, the hot tears falling on her burning skin. Her step brother, holding her body like it was a fragile glass, Ray calling her name, for the first time ever, the boy would always address her by degrading insults. Her brother was crying and that stung her heart even more.

'Did I die?' Tears cascaded down her face, death was never on her list, so just why, was her life taken just like that, in a second she lost her life; and it was that bastard's fault. Whatever she felt for her bother a moment ago, disappeared and bubbling anger took place. If he didn't throw the money away, Anna would have still been alive, begging for forgivness for kicking his jewels.

'...'

'THANK GOD I AM DEAD,'

Hell, just the thought of kneeling in front of the arrogant asshole made Anna want to spit on his face.

At least now she doesn't have have to live in that house, no need to wear her mask to nor endure the stupid-family. No need to work under that baldie! Well, well, it ended all right. Maybe, now she can meet her mother. God, she missed her a lot.

'Heaven, I'm ready, so take me away!'

God must have heard her, a bright holy light engulfed her, and then she was lulled to sleep.

___________________________________

The second time Anna opened her eyes, she expected to see her mother, and they'd have an emotional reunion where she's shit talk about her step family.

God must have had another plan ready for her, she took in her surrounding, which was weird for as she could only look straight ahead, it felt that her head was stuck.

Anna squinted, nice roof, she blandly thought. Wait, roof? Was this heaven?

She tried to focus on the carving on the wall of the roof, it had thin silver lining adorned on the spiral carving, It looked expensive, she was getting suspicious of this place, wasn't heaven supposed to be a bright, but the space was dimly lit? Moving her limbs was close to an impossible task, they didn't listen to her when she wanted to move them. Her arms felt like jelly, it took an effort to move her unresponsive finger.

Anna felt frustration build up in her chest, 'Move, stupid body,' The next thing she heard was a cry that belonged to a toddler, her body stiffened; 'There is a baby in the room?!'

The shock managed to move her right arm successfully, which in turn hit a motionless, cold object. Anna froze in her place, 'W-Wait, wait, what was that?!' The cry grew more distressed, as if the baby had not been fed for a long time, now thinking about she was famished!

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Anna gathered her strength and swung her arms as hard as she can, which in turn forced her to turn side aways, 'step by step' Anna bemusedly thought.

Her eyes widened as she finally realized what she has been hitting continuously.

It was the most beautiful, ethereal person she ever saw, 'What a pretty person...' Okay, so one thing Anna confirmed is that she is laying on an extremely soft mattress. There was also an angel laying beside her. Her overflowing honey locks was thick and silky, covering her bare shoulders. Her finger grazed a strand of the soft hair, 'It is soft as a feather,' her eyes glittered with amazement. How can someone look so beautiful? Her creamy, white heart-shaped face shone with a healthy glow, eyes so round that put amber to shame.

Something in Anna believed that she was connected to this brunette, call her crazy, she was insanely in love with the lady in front of her. She was experiencing love for the second time.

Her first love was her mother, and to think that Anna was experiencing love once again was crazy, with a woman on top of it! Her heart yearned for the angel's affection, Anna moved her hand, this time with ease, but the abnormal flexibility her joints displayed was a bit worrying.

'Let's worry about that later,'

Oh, the crying subsided, something must have eased the baby's sadness. Anna focused back on the woman, her fingers trailed on the milky smooth cheek, "Oou," A weird sound came out of her, wait? That sounded weird.

Opening her mouth again, "aa," Ugggh, she meant to say hi, why can't she speak properly. She lost her attention once again when the smiling lady came into her blurry vision again, "ooo bbwooo" (Oooh, pretty lady, hello!)

Hmm, she caught a reflection of someone on the lady's eyes. Anna wriggled her body closer to the lady and squinted, or tried to squint, her facial muscles were too lax for her liking. Uggh, she couldn't make out what was reflected against the amber orbs, it looked like a monkey to her. Wait, if a monkey was reflected, then doesn't mean she was the monkey?! The only person sitting in the lady's personal space was her!

'Don't tell me that I became a MONKEY?! B-But I'm sure that I dieeed!' She looked back at the blurry shadow in the brunette's eyes, yup, it had big ears! 'I have been reincarnated as a MONKEY!' From all of things she could have been reborn as, it had to be a freaking monkey!

A grumbling sound rumbled off her wobbly lips, so the crying was all her. 'I can't even speaaaak! God, what the hell have if I ever do to you?!'

Anna slapped the woman's cheek repeatedly or more as tapped, fingers are all pudgy and soft, so it wouldn't cause any harm. She waited for the lady to pick her up, but it was to no avail. Anna was conflicted, she knew that she had no strength in her hands, but how can someone not feel when something hits their face.

Anna's hand stayed on the angel's cheek, "OOuu Uiooou" (Miss, how can you have such smooth skin?)

Why isn't she responding when her eyes are wide open? Anna felt the coldness seep into the tip of her fingers, she felt her eyebrows getting closer in confusion, "Aaaa ooa!" (Miss, why is your skin so cold? you are literally freezing, cover yourself with a blanket!)

It was eerie how the woman's eye didn't blink even once, doesn't she feel them drying up? Catching her reflecting once again in her golden eyes made her all sad, 'God why did I end up as a MONKEY?!"

Wait, what was a monkey doing with the pretty lady in the first place, laying on the bed together and all?! Uggh, all the questions are making her dizzy.

"OOHU UHH!" (PLEASE WAKE UP!) Anna cried out loudly, yup, she was not responding, she was still as if she was dead.

"..."

She touched the cold skin, took in the still, unblinking eyes, Anna brought her little fist and placed it her mouth, 'THE PRETTY LADY IS DEAAAD!'

She thrashed around this time trying to move away from the rotting corpse "AAAAA!" (Sorry, lady, you may be a beautiful person, but a corpse is a corpse!)

"12:00 AM," Anna flinched at the voice that came out of the blue, 'Wha-Where?Wait, who? Jesus!' She lamely tried, her stiff head slowly moved in the direction of the voice. There stood behind the dead body a woman who held her head high with an air of authority surrounding her.

Anna's face paled at the bruising coldness her eyes oozed, and her heart pinched with fright as the maid's gave her a disgusted glare, "The day the empire had been blessed with imperial twins, the illegitimate child has been born. A curse had fallen upon the Kriston empire,"

What did the maid just now, Kriston? Twins? What was she blabbing on? Illegitimate child?

"The concubine had declared this one's name to be Anastasia,"

Anna kept staring dumbly at the woman who had her slicked back into a bun, 'Why was the monkey's name Anastasia?'