“Irene, you must marry Henry, the son of Marquess and Marquise Narcar of Arbor. You need to save our reputation from declining. We need the power of the Narcar family,” Mom said to me seriously. I stared at her eyes, blinking and making sure that I am not dreaming. No, this can’t be happening! Why sacrifice my happiness for the sake of maintaining the family name? Is restricting my freedom to choose the man to love not punishment enough? “But I love William!” I suddenly blurted out. “You know I am willing to do everything including sacrificing my freedom and all the good things that come with this title just to be with him. Please, I’m willing to sacrifice - ” “Never! Not that son of traitors! You know the family’s rule IRENE ROMAN, OBEDIENCE is better than SACRIFICE! I made this clear from the very start and your dad did, too. You can love any man but William. Over our dead bodies!” she answered and angrily stormed out of the room. There really is no hope. I shook my head as a tear fell from my eyes, outlining my cheek. Why do we need to suffer for the past? It was never our fault to start with. That past was our parents’ doing and not ours. My parents, Marquess and Marquise Roman and William’s parents’ Marquess and Marquise Lans were known to be very close friends with the royal family, King William and Queen Irene of Ekron Kingdom. That's why our parents named us, their kids, after the king and former queen. However, one event that led the royal family to be broken that also caused the breaking of the relationship between our families since William’s parents sided with the queen, but my parents sided with the king. Desperate to escape from the engagement, I rode my horse, ran away, and disappeared into the thickness of the forest surrounding our land only to stumble over a place called Exercitatione where I entered in as a trainee and aimed to be earmarked. Now, I have to support one of our leaders, Princess Aldrea in reclaiming her right to the throne. I raised up my sword and waited for the man running angrily towards me. I was so focused that I did not see the other enemy at my back. It was too late when I faced him and saw his sword ready to strike. I closed my eyes and waited for his sword to pierce my body. I felt no sword. Instead, I felt warmth enveloping me. “I must be in heaven now,” I whispered bitterly at the thought of dying young. However, the arm hugging my waist tightened. I opened my eyes at heaven’s bitter-sweet surprises. “William!” I whispered as I stared unbelievingly at the face I had longed to see for many years now.

"You are a chosen people, a chosen generation to fulfill the mission. You are no longer your own. From now and beyond, you are to live for the cause of these people. You are earmarked to be slaves to the call." Those were the words that I heard before opening my eyes. After rigorous training and fight for the final selection, I was too exhausted that I passed out. Now, I have no idea about the result of the selection process. I felt sad. For sure, I was disqualified for fainting at the last minute. I began to hate myself. "Congratulations, Aldrea! You made it!" I frowned as I turned my head to look at the source of the voice. My jaw dropped when I saw the cruel trainer. "Sir Lucas?!" I uttered in disbelief. "You are now free to execute your mission. You can either choose to work alone or work together with the others who qualified." I was taken aback at what this strict trainer said that I wasn't able to reply immediately until the time he turned his back and left me. I looked around. There are some people like me. All of them are holding their ears. I did the same and felt something different. Wait, was I literally earmarked?! I stood up in horror and looked for something that could reflect my image. I looked at my ears in horror as I realized that indeed, there is an earring placed in it. I'm dead. How can I ever explain this to my dad, the king of Ekron?! He will hate me for this all the more. My father will surely hate me for bearing this mark of the least tribe, if they are even considered that, in this kingdom. Ah, I was so careless. Yeah, up until now, I never told them that I am a princess of this kingdom and I am not supposed to bear this mark on my ear. With this, I just made my dad and the whole of Ekron kingdom my enemy!

I entered inside the room where I am needed right now - the Asylum. This is a world I can call my own, one where I am free to punish as many criminals as I can. I've been enlisted here by my frat mate since law school days who is now a judge, saying that I am the best candidate for this. "Welcome to the Asylum! Be ready. Enemies are around the corner. Defend the weak. Save the earth!" I became alert. Looking left and right, I can see all sorts of enemies - all creatures you never thought existed. I smiled. This is really a world where time knows no limit. Imagine gladiators, zombies and aliens all placed inside a planet to eliminate the human race. These are all my enemies and yes, I am here to save the world. I am Ygritte.

“You are not limited by the circumstances of your birth but by the size of your dreams.” (Dr. B) Miss Otaku, The Introvert, Miss Flat Affect - that's what Lily has been known for in her school. She looks so ordinary and average, having no talent or beauty to offer to the world except her good heart. She is one who can attract less attention when placed in a sea of people. What’s more, she always stays inside her small room and does ‘who-knows-what’. In short, she is no one as her classmates put it. She has been an outcast in her school, one who has always sat in the corner of the room and wished that the teacher never noticed her. She grows short hair at the back with shaved hair from the neck up to half of her head but long bangs that covers almost half of her face. She has always been bowing her head on the desk and only raises it up when answering questions. Having only a couple of “costumes” that she alternately wears at school, she has been criticized, ridiculed and laughed at as being poor, dirty and weird. Regardless of the criticisms and rejections though, she remains silent wherever she goes. She has always been one who has kept a low profile for so long. That's why it all came as a shock when her name was seen in the national news as “the high schooler who turned the world outside down”. Not everybody knew that she is “The Character” that emerged in the computer game who made everyone crazy in the virtual world recently. While everybody was busy criticizing, rejecting her personal preferences and pushing her away, she has been busy building her world where no man could dictate who she is or what she could become. Nobody knew that she has been building her world where no one could dictate what she should be or do. She has placed everything she wanted in there – and no society could ever criticize her. Join Lily as she explores the cruel world and discovers who she is in the process, from obscurity to prominence.

Smack! Norrie stared at Nolan in disbelief. He just slapped her face after pushing her to a corner ruthlessly with all his strength. She couldn't take it. What happened to the prosecutor who has been treating her so well all along? He had been treating her tenderly and dealing with her as if she is so fragile. He has been her shield from the evil men who wanted to pursue and kill her because of her riches. She shook her head, unable to accept what just happened. However, the way he stared at her drained the remaining streak of hope in her eyes. The man who used to look at her with all tenderness in the world is now looking at her as if he was his prey, his next victim. His eyes are red and he looks like he could kill right now. She cringed. "P-prosecutor?" she said as her body trembled in fear. "I finally found you, Norrie Grande!" he snarled. "Let's end the battle that your parents started here!" he said as he mercilessly strangled her neck. Cough! Cough! Tears rolled down her eyes. Too late. She has voluntarily walked to the trap of the person whom she should have been running from all her life!

"Love comes from the most unexpected places." (Barbra Streisand) It was all a case for Mandy at first. When her client came in to seek for her help in winning the case and attaining justice for his brother, she took it without a second thought. She can fight this and win at all cost. Little did she realize that the case is one of the most taunting murder cases that has ever happened in Country H, and it has never been solved even after so many years. In her dedication to her job, she did all that she can to win the case, even pretending to be the lost daughter of the murdered family to get close to her enemy, the father of the most powerful man in Country H, President Bill Grande. Like a moth playing near the fire, she went closer and closer to President Bill until it was too late for her to realize that she has fallen completely in love with him. Torn between love and justice, what will she choose? Will she yield to her feelings and live with the man she loves or attain justice for his client and lose the only man who made her heart beat for the first time in forever?

"She wasn't looking for a knight, she was looking for a sword." (Atticus) Lenette took one last glance at the man on the table who is busy doting on the lady beside him. Her heart is twitching inside her as if being purged and broken into pieces. It hurts, she can feel that, but she cannot cry to ease the pain. She just feel weak as if her body is drained out of energy. Nicholas is her friend, no, her bestfriend. At least for her, he was. They have been friends for three years now. They are the exact opposites. She was the smartest student, but he was an ordinary one. She is the daughter of a poor family who is struggling to climb the ladder of success while he is the son of the richest business tycoon in Z City. In fact, she is a good girl while he is a bad boy, one who makes women cry for being playful. No one expected that they would become good friends then, but they did. The tragedy started when without her knowing, she fell into his trap, she fell in love with him until she cannot take her heart back. She forgot one thing though - that Nicholas is a playboy and he never changed his nature. Yes, he treated her special, but not special enough for him to give up playing around. Now, he announced to the whole school that her girlfriend is here. Lenette felt her world turn upside down. All of a sudden, she remembered that they are worlds apart. Yes, his riches, fame and power is beyond her grasp. Feeling empty and pitiful, she turned her back and walked out from that hall never to appear in his life ever again.

"Second chances are not given to make things right, but are given to prove that we could be better even after we fall." "No!" Chastity cried in horror when she realized who she really was. Having made to believe for who she is not for two years in an island, she finally remembered who she really is - a reputable criminal defence lawyer, not a plain housewife of a billionaire in an island. "No!" she kept crying, but she panicked when she realized that deep down in her private part, a sticky substance is slowly gushing out. What will I do? What will I do? She kept repeating in her mind. Of all times, this is the time when the baby in her womb needs to be birthed. She held her tummy. "Baby, have the courage to be born," she talked to the baby in her tummy. "Help! Help!" she shouted, hoping that someone below would hear her cries. "Please help me!" she shouted as tears are falling from her eyes. She needs to survive. Regardless of how painful life treated her, she should survive for her child.