User blog:FateAlbane/Illusionary Encyclopedia - Samantha Fortepiano

History
Samantha was born in a Higher Mirage World, as the oldest daughter of a rich (and noble) family and her name, that she would one day abandon, was Sabrina. Sabrina had two siblings, a boy and a girl - the Fortepiano family was regarded as a great line of nobles that earned respect from many others. Sabrina lived in a castle, and her homeworld as a whole was somewhat similar to "what one would see in a high fantasy romance book" (in her own words).

Her life was as "normal" as it could be. She made some friends. She made good memories; and then bad ones. She laughed and cried. But she was satisfied with all of that. Treasuring the good moments and trying to learn with the bad ones.

The girl called Sabrina loved her life. And while she would strive to make her future, she couldn't ask for anything more in the present.

... All of her life started to sink more and more as time passed.

While still a young girl, the first thing she lost was her father, who was murdered by bandits during an assault. Not long after that, her life slowly but surely started to fall into dark times. The exact events that transpired in that night are uncertain, what happened to her mother on the occasion or why her father had to die - due to Samantha avoiding the subject - but the the loss of Sabrina's father was followed by her mother's.

Unable to stand the pain, she eventually commited suicide, leaving the house and everything else in the hands of a young girl, who was now alone, having only her siblings at her side and responsibilities that she simply couldn't understand.

In fact, she could hardly understand how all of these things were happening. While at first her caring nature and the good times with her family were pointing out to a bright future for her, all of it just fell apart. So suddenly.

The only conclusion she could come to in her young age was that life was like making a castle of cards in the open fields; or in the meadows. You can only try and make it one card at a time, hoping that the wind won't suddenly just blow and take all of it away.

In time, "Dollhouse owner" is what the others ended up calling her. They could only wonder what would be of the Fortepiano name because in the end, no matter how hard she tried to keep the name and status of the family, she was just a child. A little girl trying her best.

And a little girl trying her best to meet the demands of owning such a status was no more to the others than "a child playing grown up life with her dolls". She was cute at best, and incompetent at worst. She always believed in histories about fighting impossible odds, and loved words such as determination, courage, willpower and love, but the weight of reality crushed all of that like it was nothing.

With not only her life and feelings damaged, but also the family reputation and everything else she had valued in life to this point being ruined, she still had to struggle to protect the only things she had left: Her younger siblings.

By the time Sabrina had nothing else left aside from them, she had already made up her mind. To let the two of them have a better life, she would sacrifice anything else - even her own well being, if necessary. With no options left, the only alternative she had in order to go on living with them was to sexually sell herself to noblemen.

At this point, knowing that she was the only person her little brother and sister could depend on was the only thing that kept her from ending her own life, much like her mother did. And as time passed, she ended up gaining the favor of some clients, and even the affection of one of them.

This man eventually became close to Sabrina, and by getting to know her better, also came to understand her story and feelings. Thanks to his efforts, help and connections, not only the future was starting to look better for Sabrina - who was also falling in love with him - but for her brother and sister as well, who were both employed in the house of this rich lord of a foreign nation.

Just like a fairy tale, all of it seemed just too good to be true, but it was as real as all of the world around her and everything else she had lived. He would go so far as finding a way to marry her, no matter the obstacles.

And just as everything was starting to make Sabrina feel like all she went through in her life was finally over and that from this moment forward she could be happy...

"Therefore, with the blessings of God, it is my pleasure to now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride!"

...These were the last words she ever heard in that world. Embraced and kissed by her beloved, while the family that she always protected was applauding her... It was at this point that everything disappeared. The person she loved the most disappeared, as if he never existed. The world around her, and even the things that she protected with the utmost care, with body and soul.

All of it, like a Mirage, simply disappeared. She didn't feel relieved. She didn't feel sad. She didn't feel anything at first.

She simply couldn't feel anything. She would deny it, if she could. She would scream, if she still had a voice.

One could say that everything was taken away from her. Or one could say that she had nothing from the start. But in truth, she was left with the one thing that most would rather have lost - her memories. She doesn't exactly consider herself as the same person, however, and she changed her name to Samantha based on her own beliefs and understanding of herself, like she explained at some point in the story.

"Until death do us part... Yes. Even in a world that was false, that girl struggled to find true peace and died. By reaching it in that altar at the happiest moment of her life, Sabrina was complete. As for me, I'm not the same person. I may carry her memories but I will never be like her. Not anymore. Those parts of me are simply missing. And no matter how much I want to, I will never see them again. I will never find myself ever again. Dying, only to find yourself alive and then mourning your own passing... Can you understand how sad it is, how sad it feels to live like this?"