Seraphina Hesperia De Gaspariz.
That was the name they used to whisper with disdain, the villainess in Akisha and Maverick's story.
The woman painted as cruel, arrogant, and heartless.
But behind that name.. there was me.. A girl who was never given the chance to simply be loved.
Growing up, my father forced me to become the perfect daughter he always wanted, graceful, disciplined, obedient. Every smile I gave him was a lie, forced through trembling lips.
He would make me kneel for hours if I failed to memorize a passage, strike my hands with a cane when I stumbled over words, tell me I was worthless when my embroidery wasn't perfect enough to show the other noble ladies.
There were days when I'd cry quietly in my room, clutching my swollen palms, whispering to myself that one day… I'd be enough.
My stepmother was worse. She smiled in front of others, all sweetness and silk, but when the doors closed, her hands were sharp and her words sharper.
She called me cursed, unloved, unwanted and I believed her.
No one ever knew the bruises beneath my sleeves or the quiet sobs muffled by pillows at night.
She took everything that was soft in me and made it ache.
And then there was my sister, Novaria.
Beautiful, raidiant and shimmers. But she has secrets too.
She hated me, I could see it in her eyes, in the way her smile vanished whenever I entered the room. She thinks father loves me more than her, but she is wrong.
Yet still… I loved her. Because no matter how much pain she caused, she was still my sister. And love, even when broken, doesn't fade easily.
The man I loved, my fiancée, Maverick, the crown prince of Eldryn.
Once, he looked at me as if I was his entire world.
He would smile faintly whenever our eyes met, his voice soft whenever he called my name.
But love… love doesn't always survive silence.
He drifted away, slowly, painfully, until one day, his gaze turned cold.
And I had no one to blame but myself.
I wasn't ready to open my heart, how could I, when all my life I was taught that love meant pain?
The trauma of my childhood clung to me like a shadow.
My inner child that frightened little girl still hiding in the corner of a cold room, never stopped crying.
And no matter how much I tried to be strong, she haunted every decision I made.
Akisha, my beloved friend, my companion… and Maverick's beloved. She was everything I was not: Gentle, adored, angelic, a light that drew everyone near.
While I… was the villainess in her story.
People looked at me and saw cruelty, arrogance, jealousy.
They saw only what they wanted to see.
Was it because she shines brighter than anyone else's? Because she was the angel, and I was the devil who stood beside her?
In the end, my story ended as all villainess tales do.
I was executed by the very hand of the man I loved.
Falsely accused of betraying my kingdom, of selling Eldryn's secrets and poisoning Lady Akisha.
How could I ever do that?
Why would I ever harm the only people I cared for?
But the world… the world was cruel to me.
Even my beloved brother, my protector, my light, turned his back when I needed him most.
In that final moment, as the blade hovered above me, I wondered…
Was I truly the villain they made me to be?
Or just a broken girl who no one ever tried to understand?
(BEFORE EXECUTION)
The sun had barely begun its climb when Seraphina arrived at the royal gardens, expecting, hoping to speak with Maverick in private.
Her steps were careful, almost hesitant, as though the world itself might betray her if she moved too quickly.
Then she saw them.
Maverick, the Crown Prince, lips pressed against Akisha's, hands tangled in her soft hair.
The scene froze Seraphina where she stood; her chest tightened so sharply she couldn't breathe. Her golden eyes, once full of trust and warmth, flared with a mix of confusion, betrayal, and raw pain.
"Your… Your Highness?" she whispered, but even her voice sounded strange, distant, as if coming from someone else entirely.
Akisha's eyes widened in surprise, but not with fear, only shock. Maverick pulled back, guilt flickering across his face, but the damage was done.
Seraphina turned on her heel, her hands trembling. That was the first crack. The first moment her world tilted.
She wanted to scream, to demand an explanation, but the words wouldn't come. Instead, she walked back through the halls of Eldryn, each step heavier than the last, until she found herself alone, facing the reflection of herself in a cold, polished marble wall.
Her reflection was a stranger. Golden hair dulled by worry, eyes bright with unshed tears, lips trembling as they whispered, "What did I do to deserve this?"
The whispers started shortly after.
At first, they were subtle: servants exchanging glances, courtiers murmuring behind fans, nobles sneering as she passed. Then, more concrete accusations began to take shape.
A sealed letter allegedly found in her chambers, a secret agreement files near her favorite study nook, rumors whispered to Maverick in the dead of night: Seraphina had been planning to sell secrets to foreign kingdoms.
Seraphina tried to fight back, tried to speak her truth. But every word was twisted, every protest dismissed.
Even those closest to her hesitated, their loyalty fragile against the tide of court politics.
She found herself walking through the halls alone, every familiar corridor now an eye of suspicion.
One evening, she entered the library to find the Prince waiting. His gaze was colder than she had ever seen, and though she wanted to flee, she could not.
"You've lied," Maverick said softly, each word precise, deliberate. "To me. To the crown. To Eldryn."
"I- No! Your Highness, I-" Her voice cracked. "I would never betray you. I would never betray anyone. I-"
"You sold informations," he cut her off, voice low but deadly. "And you tried to kill Akisha. And yet, here you are, pretending innocent."
"But-" Seraphina's hands shook as she reached for him, for some trace of the man she had loved, "I would never… I've never… I swear!"
"You swore before," he said, stepping back, eyes sharp as blades. "And look where it got us."
The betrayal in his tone, whether real or imagined, felt like a dagger in her chest. She left the room trembling, tears burning her cheeks, but no one came after her.
Days passed. The accusations grew louder, fueled by Novaria's cunning whispers behind closed doors. "Sell the secrets, and the crown falls," she murmured in corridors, framing Seraphina as a traitor. "Threaten the future crown princess, and no one will save you."
Seraphina's nights became a cycle of sleepless terror. Guards patrolled outside her chambers, eyes suspicious, hands ready to restrain her. Every whispered conversation, every hushed glance, felt like a knife twisting in her heart.
Hours later, few royal guards came to the royal court, bringing poisonous drink from Seraphina's own chambers, she was framed clean.
"No!" Seraphina fell to her knees, hands clutching her head. "I never… I would never hurt Akisha! I never- please believe me!"
"Seraphina, Enough. Stop your innocent acting." Maverick looked at her disgustingly, "You betrayed me.. and now you're going to betray the woman that I love?"
"No! No-"
Havoc stepped on infront of Seraphina, "Forgive my nuisance, your Highness, I would like to deal with Lady Seraphina by myself."
Maverick looks at them cruelly. "Deal with her..?" He asks, his voice mocking. "Deal with her, then." His fists were clenching.
Havoc looked away and turns to Seraphina, she was kneeling.
Without hesitation, Havoce pulled her roughly by her wrist outside, it was heavily raining due to rainy season. Then, he pushed Seraphina hard on the cold cement floor at the garden, not caring if she is in pain or getting hurt.
He saw it, he saw how she roughly grabbed Seraphina and her wrist is red now. Then, Seraphina looked up at him with tearful eyes.
"Brother, you believe me, don't you?" She grabbed Havoc's hand desperately, "please, tell me you believe me." Her tears streaming down her face.
Havoc's looking at him with mix of guilt and coldness, "I wanted to believe you, my lady, but. There are proofs." He speaks coldly, he was not like before, he is not my elder brother who always comforts me and believes me.
"B-Brother!" Seraphina cried, "I really didn't do it! Please believe me!"
Havoc wanted to comfort her, to hold her in his arms, to escape her and live with her happily, but different actions and words came out. "I am more loyal to his majesty than you, my lady."
"No.. no! Brother, Havoc! Please! I beg you.. I beg you!" She desperately begs and cries and reaching for his hands.
But Havoc pulled away and pushes her hands away, he didn't mean to push hard but Seraphina fell, "Seraphina!"
"B-Brother... why aren't you believing me?" She was crying and rubbing her eyes with her hands. "B-Brother you swore your life to protect me since we were just little kids! We-"
Havoc cuts her sentence, "Stop it." He speaks coldly and his voice shaking, he wanted to reach out. He wanted to comfort her. "We were kids that time, young and naive, we were innocent and know nothing."
Seraphina looks at him with tearful eyes, "r-really..? Then, I am nothing to you brother?"
Havoc forces a smirk, "Promises are meant to be broken, Seraphina. I am not your foolish brother who used to love and protect you, no matter what happens, I am different now."
"So, if you're asking me if you are nothing to me now. Then, you are right." He turns away cruelly and walks away from Seraphina, the sister he loves so much, the sister he protected since they were kids, the sister he swore his life to protect on.
And now.. and now, he is throwing all of it away, just because she rejected his confession.
"Brother, no!" She cries loudly, "you can't do this to me! They will kill me please.. so please, come back!" She was crying, blood coming out of her nose.
Later that night, Seraphina came back to her own chambers, her maids that once respects and sweet to her, now. They were looking at her with pure disgust. Akisha tried reaching out on her, but she ignored her. Not wanting to listen.
She waited for her brother for days now, Havoc didn't came on her chambers, but he used to come in here everyday.
"Brother... where are you..?" She asks herself, crying and broken.
The maids were mistreating her ever since she lost the royal Family's respect.
And then the final accusation came, delivered by Zyran Havoc Vane, the general of Eldryn, and Evan Felix Kierston, one of the high-ranking soldiers of Eldryn.
"Your highness, the assassins have repented their sins, it was indeed Lady Seraphina who sent them."
But it was too late. The web of lies, fear, and ambition had trapped her. By the time the royal court assembled in the square, she was already a shadow of herself: pale and broken by betrayal, surrounded by whispers that burned like fire.
A few days later:
The square of Eldryn was filled with thousands of whispers, their voices like a storm waiting to break. The stone platform was drenched in morning light, yet for Seraphina, it felt darker than any midnight she had endured.
Cold chains clung to her wrists as the royal guards pulled her forward. Her once-proud white-golden hair, hung in tangled waves, framing a face pale with exhaustion. Still, she held herself with dignity.
And her eyes... those golden eyes, the unmistakable mark of a blessing, shone not with fear, but with quiet defiance.
At the center, Maverick Caleb Salvatore, the Crown Prince. His armor caught the light, radiant and cruel, his expression carved from stone. His gaze bore into Seraphina with an icy judgment that cut deeper than any blade.
The Queen, Samantha looked at her with pure hatred and disgust, she once adored Seraphina, but due to the accusations, she lost an interest at her and stopped complimenting her.
And.. Members of the Royal Family: Salvius, Haelyn, Kaliea, and Kieran, they are Maverick's younger brothers and sisters. They're now looking at Seraphina with their cold eyes.
Haelyn were fanning herself with her golden shade fan that her father, the King Ezekiel gave her. "Tsk."
"Pathetic." Salvius murmured.
Kaliea was with her brother, Kieran, they both do not care and just eating secretly.
Lady Akisha Leonhart trembled, her delicate hands clasped to her chest. Her voice was thin, desperate with tears in her eyes. "Your Highness… this isn't right! Lady Seraphina is innocent. You must know this-"
"Silence, Akisha." Maverick's tone was sharp, merciless. He did not look at her, but his hand tightened around the hilt of his sword. "She betrayed the crown. Betrayal has only one end."
And in the shadow of the dais, Ophelia Novaria De Gaspariz tilted her head, a smug smile tugging at her lips. Her amber eyes sparkled with feigned pity, her tone dripping with poison disguised as sweetness, Prince Alistair by his side, holding her arms gently.
She let out a soft laugh and low voice, delicate yet cutting, speaking in her mind, "Pathetic, really. Even in chains, she thinks she deserves sympathy."
The crowd erupted, wanting to see blood.
Seraphina raised her chin, her voice steady at first.
"I never betrayed Eldryn. I never sold secrets. And I never once sought to harm Maverick... or anyone."
Her words were swallowed by jeers.
Haelyn laughs, "She said she never betrayed Eldryn? And there are proofs?" She said mockingly, Kaliea looks at her and her eyes saying: Do not interfere.
Novaria remained moving with modesty, playing safe, she was the fiance of Prince Alistair, Maverick's younger brother.
Seraphina flinched at the sting of her sister's action.
Akisha stepped forward, tears threatening to spill. "She's telling the truth! Please, Your Highness, you cannot-"
"Enough!" Maverick's roar cut through the square. For a fleeting instant, something flickered in his eyes, hesitation, sorrow perhaps... but it vanished like smoke.
"Havoc, do your duty."
Havoc was staring at her, the sharp whip on his hand ready to strike.
"Please… don't kill me." Her golden eyes, brimming with tears, searched desperately for Maverick's.
"I swear, I never betrayed you… I never betrayed Eldryn. Please… I don't want to die…"
"Lady Seraphina!" Akisha cried but Maverick pulled and hugs her.
The square wavered, as if for a moment the world itself pitied her. But the crowd only roared louder, their hatred deafening.
Maverick's fists tightened at Akisha's back. His gaze lingered on her, longer this time, yet still he gave the order. "Do it."
But as the guards forced her to kneel infront of Havoc, Seraphina's strength crumbled.
The weight of every false accusation, every wound, every lonely night pressed into her chest. Her voice broke, shattering into the silence.
"Please… don't kill me... If you will kill me, don't make me suffer like this! I don't wanna die in this way!" Her golden eyes, brimming with tears, searched desperately for Maverick's.
"I swear, I never betrayed you… I never betrayed Eldryn. Please… I don't want to die…"
Novaria releases a soft laugh that no one hears but.. Seraphina.
Maverick released Akisha from the hug, but he was still desperate. "Don't you feel ashamed? Akisha is still protecting you after you threatened to kill her!"
Akisha's eyes with tears as she asks innocently, "I-Is... that true Lady Seraphina?" Her voice, broken. "You tried to kill me after all the things and memories we shared?" She was crying.
Seraphina's eyes widens, "I never tried to kill you Akisha! Believe me.. I was framed!"
Akisha believes in her but she have no power against the crowned prince. "I believe you, please release her!" Maverick turns around Akisha not to see Seraphina's sufferings.
The square wavered, as if for a moment the world itself pitied her. But the crowd only roared louder, their hatred deafening.
Lady Novaria fanning herself and grinning.
"S-Sister.. please, believe me." Seraphina's voice is broken, not aware that Novaria, her own sister is the root of all this accusations. Seraphina turns to Maverick
"Your highness! I am your fiance!"
"Fiance?" He laughs mockingly, "You still believe that I will choose you? After you tried to kill my beloved, Akisha?"
"Your highness!" She cries, "You're not like that before, the old you will believe me and investigate properly!"
Maverick's fists tightened. His gaze lingered on her, longer this time, yet still he gave the order.
"Do it.. The only woman I will love is Akisha. Not you. And.. I no longer love you."
The words hit hard and digs deep into Seraphina.
The executioner, General Havoc stepped forward with a practiced, mechanical calm that made the square feel colder.
He raised the heavy blade once, the crowd's breath hitched and the first strike landed with a brutal, bone-shuddering force. Seraphina's body jerked, a cry ripped from her throat, raw with terror.
She begged again, voice cracking. "Please… stop… I-"
Prince Alistair speaks cruelly, "Beg louder, Seraphina. Maybe the gods will finally listen." He was looking coldly at her. "That's what happens when you crossed the line with a royalty."
His laugh, sharp, mocking, ranging through the air as the crowd roared their hate.
Novaria pulling Prince Alistair, she's acting innocent and crying as Alistair comforts her. "Shhh.."
"Oh, how dramatic. The villainess pleading like a child. How fitting." One of the noble said.
The executioner, General Havoc did not falter. The blade fell again, each strike ringing across the stone like a verdict hammered into flesh.
Guards held her down with steely arms; the world narrowed to the pounding of the executioner's blows, Seraphina's sobs, and the crowds laughter loud.
Each hit, Havoc's guilt is growing. He is the general of Eldryn, Maverick's right hand.. but his older brother who swore his life to protect.
She screams in pain, "No, please stop! This is all a lie!" Seraphina crying broken.
"Lady Sephy.." Havoc said with his cold and merciful eyes.
"Havoc..." She was crying. "I'm sorry.."
Havoc speaks coldly, "you shouldn't be here now if you just chose me before." He raises the sharp whip.
Akisha screamed, collapsing in tears. Maverick's jaw tightened, but he did not stop the scene he had commanded.
And Novaria, smiling as though it were a performance staged just for her, watched until the life drained from Maeve's golden eyes.
Seraphina's knees buckled, her body weak and trembling as the blade cut into her again.
Every breath was shallow, every gasp burning her lungs. Her golden eyes, wet with tears, searched the faces before her.
"Y-Your highness…" her voice cracked, barely louder than a whisper.
The Crown Prince she loved so deeply only glared, unmoving. The hurt twisted sharper than any steel. "Please… I never betrayed you…"
She turned her gaze to Novaria, her sister, blood of her blood. But Novaria only smirked, eyes gleaming with spite, her chest tightened, her heart breaking as she choked out,
"Why… sister? Why do you hate me so much?"
The world grew heavy, sounds fading into nothing but her own desperate heartbeat. She felt so small, so utterly alone. Her lips trembled one last time.
"Why won't anyone… believe me…?" Her form now is unrecognizable and full of blood.
Maverick wanted this to stop, but.. his pride is eating him. "Sera..." He walks slowly towards Seraphina and lift his chin up, "I never expected you to be like this."
"Y-Your highness.. I never did this kind of thing." She was crying and hopeless.
"I wanna believe you, but." He backhands Seraphina hard. "But your still the villain everyone knew. Now, does it hurt?"
"Your highness! It hurts so much! Stop please.." She was desperate to live...
Maverick looks at her coldly, "I hope it hurts so much... so deep it shreds your soul, so raw it burns through every breath you take, so endless that even your tears run dry yet the ache still lingers, clawing, gnawing, until pain itself feels like mercy."
"No... No! I do not deserve this!" She cries loudly.
He raises his sword, poised to sever her neck, forgetting the memories they once shared, as if their past had been nothing but ash beneath his merciless hand.
Her body falls open, damaged and silent, a cruel monument to the moments they once share now erased in blood and emptiness.
Akisha screaming and begging to stop. "Your highness! Please spare her!" She was crying and hopeless. "LADY SERAPHINA!"
"Please... hear me out Goddess of Violence and Magnificense, Inara, if you're really my creator." Closes her eyes for the last time, tears on her eyes, her voice full of pain.
Haelyn says on a low voice while chuckling, "To be loved is to be fooled." She rolls her eyes and kept fanning herself before turning away with her siblings and their Queen mother.
- Vivianne ( ≧∀≦)ノ