"Clara! Clara!"

"Ugly, wake up."

Noo! Let me sleep some more! I'm too tired for this...WAIT!

Clara?!

Ugly?!

Clara my past life's name...and the only person who calls me "ugly" is...

I quickly opened my eyes and saw two gods in front of me.

"Shai and Gadia?! WOW! It's been so long since I saw you two!!" I was honestly really excited to see them again.

"Welcome back to the gods' world, Clara. Did you have fun?" Shai asked in his signature bright smile.

"Yeah! This world is so much fun! I am actually having a lot of fun," I said excitedly.

"Humph. There would be no reason to send you here if you didn't die from that old hag's poison! Seriously, you need to learn some caution!" Gadia said angrily.

Wait...I died?!

"Did I die? That's not possible...the tea my mother gave me wasn't poisoned! I confirmed that she drank the tea too! My teacup couldn't have been poisoned either-I'm smart enough to check for things like that," I said quickly.

How in the world could I have been poisoned?!

"This is why you are an idiot. You may be smart, but you don't have good instinct. Being near that woman is equivalent to death," Gadia grumpily said.

It didn't seem that he was mad at me, but rather, Gadia seemed to be mad at Amelia since she poisoned me.

"Your tea and teacup weren't poisoned. You never learned what Amelia's magic power was, right? Her magic is space magic. So while you were drinking your tea, your mother teleported some poison directly into your body," Shai explained.

"Things like this could have been avoided if you had a big enough brain to bring a guard with you! They have magic nullification amulets! Also, her magic only affects things 10 feet away from her, so you could have lived if you didn't come close to the lady," Gadia yelled.

"Yes...she made it seem that the maid, who poured the tea, poisoned you. But in reality, she was the true culprit," Shai said sadly.

My mother had space magic? I had no idea.

I died before I even made it to Greenwood Academy.

I failed...

"So what happened to my mother after she poisoned me?" I managed to choke out. I hope that she was caught or executed.

"Nothing! Because the stupid investigators couldn't find any evidence against your mother, your mother was declared innocent. Your dragon died after you did too," said Gadia.

Did Ace die too? Did that woman kill Ace? As I heard these words, my mind went blank with fury.

I felt so powerless right now and it was so frustrating.

"Ugly, that woman didn't kill your dragon. As part of your contract, you supply mana to your dragon in order for it to survive. If you die, your mana supply will be cut off from it and it will die," Gadia said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Huh?

...Ace will die if I die?

Why was I never told this?

I felt my stomach drop and my throat turn dry. I was a little dizzy.

My mother, Amelia, didn't only kill me, but she killed Ace too.

Perhaps my face paled because the gods sighed.

"Clara, it's going to be okay. Gadia and I have decided to give you a choice," Shai said with a serious face.

"Lucky for you, two benevolent gods decided to let you choose if you would rather come back to life or if you would like to go back in time," Gadia said.

"If you choose to come back to life, we will make it so that it seemed that you miraculously survived the poison. But...there will be some setbacks," Shai said grimly.

"Most likely you will become mute and disabled. We can't heal your body to its original form if you come back to life," Gadia said with an irritated tone.

"However, if you choose to go back in time, we will send you back to the moments before Amelia poisoned you. You will have another chance," Shai continued.

"But if you happen to die again, we can't bring you back to life or send you back in time again. Because you are probably too stupid to understand, I'll make it simple for you. If you die, you permanently die," Gadia said.

So basically, I can choose to guarantee my life with setbacks or to risk my life with no setbacks.

I thought about this carefully. This choice would affect my future after all.

As I was thinking, the face of my mother, Amelia, came into my head and I burned with hatred.

I would do anything to have my revenge-even if I have to kill my own mother.

One more chance...I will survive.

I will definitely survive.

I will have my revenge for Ace.

I will meet the capture targets and keep them from killing me.

I will survive.

"Alright. Send me back," I said with an unwavering will.

"But actually live this time, okay? I don't want to see you die again until you are old," Gadia sarcastically said.

"May you find happiness and accomplish your goals, Clara! I'll miss you," Shai said while smiling a smile that was too bright for human eyes.

"We give you our blessing," Shai and Gadia said together.

Then, I disappeared.

.

.

"Do you think Clara can save this world?" asked Shai seriously.

"Maybe or maybe not," Gadia answered with an uncaring tone.

"What will happen if she fails?"

"Yeah...I hope the ugly girl can save this world...It's MY world after all."

"I agree."

"Stop acting so serious, you idiot."

"...please forgive me! I'm very sorry! I'm so sorry! Forgive me...!"

.

.

I stared at the door before me. Beyond this door was Amelia. I told my thanks to the maid who accompanied me here and she bowed before leaving.

As she walked away, I hugged Ace. I had a few tears in my eyes but I calmed down.

I was so happy to see Ace again.

Ace was surprised, but he didn't say anything.

"When I walk in...don't follow me. Go to my father. Speak to my father in English. Ask for some guards. Say that Amelia will poison me. Don't tell him that I told you this. Immediately return. Then..." I explained everything to Ace and what he should do.

"I see...I will follow your orders, but will you be okay on your own?" Ace asked with a little bit of worry in his voice.

"I'll be okay. Just do everything as fast as you can," I said quietly.

Ace nodded and flew off.

I opened the door, leaving it slightly open, and saw my mother sitting in the same position I saw her in before.

Before, I thought that she was beautiful. Now, I thought that she looked as beautiful as a pig.

"Good evening, sweetie! It's been a while and your mother has missed you so much. It's such a shame, isn't it?" she said in her annoying pitch.

"Yeah, Amelia! I miss you so much too! I am very happy to be able to see you again!" I said while giving her my own fake smile.

"Amelia? Please call me 'mother,' sweetie!" She said with her smile twitching.

She was clearly upset that I called her by her real name and not "mother."

Unfortunately for her, I would never recognize this woman as my mother ever again.

"Okay, Amelia!" I said, trying to make her even more annoyed.

"How sweet...your mother has been waiting for the perfect chance to meet you too! How was your day?"

"It was lovely. I went through a lot though..." I said grimly.

"I see...I hope you feel better later on! You must be tired after such a busy day! Would you care to join your mother for some tea?" she said with her eyes squinting.

"Sure! I am pretty thirsty," I said.

It was the truth.

I was pretty thirsty for revenge.

"That is great then!" Amelia said while gesturing to the maid to pour us some tea.

The poor maid didn't realize that this woman wanted to frame her with murder.

Amelia drank her tea and ate some desserts just like before.

"Is the tea today good?" I asked innocently.

"The tea is very aromatic today! You should drink some!" Amelia said in another one of her disgusting smiles. I nearly wanted to puke. But I needed to stall some time.

"Really? What type of tea is it?"

"I believe that it is mullein flower tea."

"Wow! I like this type of tea too."

After a few moments of talking with my mother, Ace flew through the slightly opened door. Amelia paid him no attention as she continued to sip her own tea. She must not think of him as a threat to her plans.

It made me angry.

5...4...3...2...1! Now!

I brought the teacup to my lips carefully. I could see Amelia's grin as I brought the cup to my lips. She flicked her hands, activating her magic.

The poison was definitely in my body now.

I immediately removed the teacup from my lips and threw some cake at her face. She screeched at me and quickly attempted to wipe away the cream on her face.

As she was doing so, Ace activated some of his magic and bound her limbs together.

We heard the door slam open and looked to see my father sweating in a rush.

"I got your message! Are you okay, sweetie?" my father asked quickly. He immediately gestured to some healers to remove the poison from my body.

They efficiently did their job and I could physically see a dark substance leave my body. They placed it into a cup.

I pretended to be scared as they did this.

To be honest, the extraction of the poison hurt a little. They probably had no time to put me to sleep before removing it or else I would die from the poison first.

But this pain was nothing in comparison to the agony I felt when I heard Ace died.

Amelia was shocked. She didn't even imagine that my father would come running through the door at this exact moment.

"Daddy! Daddy! I was so scared!" I said while running to my father after the healers finished. I hugged him as he knelt down and then fake cried into his shoulder.

"It's okay now, sweetie. It will all be okay," my father said while comforting me.

After a bit, he stood up and glared at Amelia.

"You..." my father growled.

"Wh-what?! Why are you so angry?! I haven't done a thing and this stupid dragon tied me up! This is unfair! Unhand me at once!" Amelia screamed.

"What do you mean? You don't know the reason why I am angry!? You tried to poison my daughter! The proof is in the cup," he said without a doubt.

Amelia couldn't do anything but sweat in fear. She was too far away from the cup to remove the poison.

My father picked up the cup from the healers and handed it to one of the inspectors that came in with him. They examined it and finally declared that there was indeed poison in the cup.

I grinned while no one was looking.

Amelia was arrested immediately.

All that was left was to finish the rest of my plan secretly from my father and Ace.

I wanted to give Amelia a taste of her own medicine. Literally.

For some fun, I took a sample of the poison and recreated it using our estate's greenhouse and library as resources. It took only about two weeks with my genius capabilities.

I changed a few things about the poison though. First, I made it a slow-acting poison. Then, I made it a painful poison that would sap away a person's strength.

The poison was no longer a painless instant death.

I snuck it into Amelia's prison food, which was easy.

All I needed to do was look at my father with puppy eyes and beg him to take me to Amelia's prison.

He, of course, caved in and let me come visit the prison with him.

The guards there didn't really worry about a three-year-old child, so I was easily able to put the poison in her food and bring it to her with my own hands.

I had an enjoyable talk with Amelia as I watched her eat the food with anger and disgust.

A week later, word had gotten around that Amelia had died in her jail cell.

I, of course, felt no sadness at the loss of my mother. My father didn't care about her death either.

We lived happily while she was gone.

Another week passed and it was time for my fourth-birthday debut.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Sometimes I feel that Cordelia is heartless...but oh well.

Anyway, I am updating a little bit earlier than normal today, because I have a sleepover with my cousin tonight, so it isn't possible to update later.

But more importantly, "Another Life, Another Me" has successfully reached 100 votes!!!!!!

I would like to thank my 100th voter (and yes, I know exactly who you are) and every single person who has ever voted on my story ever.

I wouldn't still be writing if it weren't for all the support (whether it was through voting, simply continuing to read my story, or commenting things that make me laugh).

So.... thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you didn't count, there are 100 "thank you's" above!

By this point, there are more than 100 votes, so...idk. But, thanks once again!

Okie byeee!

Word Count: 2139