A Quest To Woo the Prince

Darkness surrounded Eleanor. It was not the comforting kind of darkness where the world was just simply asleep, but it was an unsettling void that swallowed every sense of her. Eleanor floated in it, weightless and uncertain. She tried to move her hands to see it but only saw the translucent shape of her hand. Her thoughts were scattered as the stars she couldn't see. 

'Am I dead?' Eleanor thought to herself. Her memories came rushing back–she was hit by a cold steel blade to her chest. She still could remember the beggar's terrified eyes when she pushed him aside. 

Eleanor felt pain… panic… and then nothing. 

Suddenly, Elanor heard a voice somewhere. She looked around to see who was it, but there was no one there. She was alone in the darkness. 

"Ding! Welcome, Eleanor!"

"W-Who are you?" she stammered. "Where am I?"

"You're in the transitional void between lives," the voice said, bright and cheerful. "Congratulations on your heroic sacrifice! It's earned you a second chance at life."

"Second chance?" Eleanor repeated, smirking. "I'm dead, right? You don't just… get second chances!"

"Oh, but you do! Under certain circumstances, anyway," the voice chirped. "And you, dear Eleanor, are among the rare few deemed worthy."

A mix of confusion and unease churned inside her. 

"Worthy? For what?"

"To fulfill an extraordinary mission!" the voice declared. "You've been chosen for reincarnation in a new life—but with one condition."

Eleanor swallowed hard. "And what's that?"

"You must make Prince Adrian fall in love with you within one year."

"What?" she whispered. "What do you mean, fall in love'? And who is Prince Adrian? Why does this matter?" 

Eleanor felt a surge of panic. She was confused. A second life was already too good to be true, but making a prince fall in love was out of her league. 

"Let me explain," the voice said, its tone almost too patient, like a teacher indulging a slow student. "When you died, you disrupted the threads of fate in a rather… significant way. That beggar you saved? He was pivotal to the balance of this world. Your actions created a void—a ripple that needs mending. And so, you've been selected to fix it."

'The beggar.' Eleanor remembers the beggar she saved. He was filthy and wearing tattered clothes. He looked too helpless that was why she couldn't just walk past when she saw the blade glinting in the assassin's hand. She couldn't understand why a beggar was assassinated. He doesn't look like someone important. Instead, he looked desperate and scared. 

"And what was the connection of this beggar on making a prince fall in love for me to fix anything?"

"Because," the voice said, almost smugly, "the beggar you saved is Prince Adrian."

Eleanor froze. She felt like her heart skipped even though she knew she didn't have it now. Her mouth opened. 

"That's impossible!" she exclaimed. She shook her head. "He wasn't a prince. He was—"

"A prince," the voice interrupted. "He was temporarily exiled and in disguise. The prince is crucial to the kingdom's future. And now, thanks to you, he's back where he belongs. But there's a problem—he's become… difficult."

"Difficult?"

"Closed off. Distrustful. Bitter. You see, his exile wasn't exactly a vacation. Now he's the crown prince, but he's pushing everyone away—including those who need him most."

Eleanor's head spun. This was absurd. She was just a servant girl, a nobody! How was she supposed to make a prince fall in love with her? She chuckled. 

"No. I'm sorry. But I think you've got the wrong person, whoever you are. I'm a nobody!"

"You can," the voice insisted. "And you will. You don't have a choice." It said with a warning. Insisting that Eleanor should accept her fate. 

"B-But I'm nobody. I'm just a servant girl! No novelty would dare to look at me!"

"Don't worry! I got you!" The voice becomes cheerful once more. "You will be reborn as the daughter of one of the most powerful nobles in the kingdom, the Duke of Hawthorne. You will have the beauty, wealth, and status at your disposal. Everything you need to complete your mission."

Eleanor didn't know whether to laugh or cry. What the system proposed to her was everything she didn't have in her previous life. "But I don't know anything about being a noble! I've spent my life scrubbing floors and serving tea!"

"Then you'd better learn quickly," the voice said, unbothered by her panic. "Time waits for no one—not even the reincarnated."

Eleanor sighed. She felt like she couldn't do anything, the voice didn't give her much of a choice. 

"What happens if I fail?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

The voice hesitated, just for a moment, and when it spoke again, it was colder.

"Failure means your second life ends, and the balance of fate remains broken. Neither outcome is ideal." The voice's tone became serious like it was giving her a warning. 

Her stomach—or whatever stood in for it here—dropped.

"So, no pressure, then," she muttered bitterly.

"You'll be fine!" the voice said, cheerful once more. "You're kind and resourceful, and you've already shown you're willing to risk everything for others. You just need to… channel that into romance!"

Romance. The word felt foreign to her. Love had never been something she'd thought about, let alone pursued. Her life as a servant hadn't exactly left room for it.

"But I don't even know him," she protested. "How am I supposed to make someone like that love me?"

"You'll figure it out," the voice said lightly. "Besides, I'll be here to help! Think of me as your personal guide—or System, if you will."

"System?"

"Yes! I'll provide you with quests to complete, all designed to bring you closer to Prince Adrian. Succeed, and you'll earn rewards to help you on your journey. Fail, and… well, let's not focus on that!"

Eleanor sighed. "This sounds like a nightmare."

"Oh, don't be so dramatic. It'll be fun! Now, are you ready to begin?"

"Wait—" she started, but the void began to shift, the darkness peeling away like a curtain. A blinding light enveloped her, and the voice echoed around her one last time.

"Good luck, Eleanor. Remember: one year. Make it count!"

Then everything went white.

~~~

Eleanor felt her body lighter. She was already awake but she didn't move. And when she opened her eyes, the emptiness was gone. Instead, she found herself lying on a bed so soft and plush. It felt like clouds beneath her. The room around her was beyond anything she'd ever dreamed of–gilded mirrors lined the walls, silk drapes cascaded from towering windows, and a chandelier glittered overhead, casting soft, golden light across the space.

Her heart raced as she sat up, trying to take it all in. This couldn't be real. It was too grand, too perfect, like something out of a fairytale.

Then her eyes caught on the mirror across the room, and she froze. The face staring back wasn't hers—not the freckled, ordinary face she'd known her whole life. Instead, a vision of beauty gazed back: golden curls framed delicate features, and a pair of vivid emerald eyes shimmered with an otherworldly glow. Eleanor's breath hitched.

The woman in the mirror was not her. 

"Ding!"

Eleanor jolted when she heard the voice again. The voice—no, the System—chimed in her head. Just like in the void, she still couldn't who was behind it. 

Only the voice. 

"Welcome to your new life, Eleanor! Your first quest will be arriving shortly. Good luck!"

Before she could respond, a loud knock sounded at the door. Eleanor looked at it. A servant girl entered and bowed at her. She slightly felt embarrassed because that was her job. To serve. But now? She had her own servant. 

"Lady Eleanor," a servant called, "your father wishes to see you in the drawing room."

Her father. The duke.

Eleanor stared at the door, her pulse racing. This was her new life, her new identity. And somewhere out there, the beggar-turned-prince was waiting, icy and untouchable.

The thought sent a shiver through her.

One year.

She just needed one year.