Ianna Chen had never truly belonged anywhere, not in the orphanage, not in school, not even within herself.
From the outside, she looked ordinary. Blonde hair, dull blue eyes, and dark brown skin that blended in the Jamaican sun. She stood at 151 cm, at 15 years old.
She had grown up in an orphanage after being abandoned by parents she couldn't remember. The place called itself a "home," but for children who were never adopted, it was more of a labor camp. Hours of work preceded every meal. Every bite came with blistered fingers.
There was something broken, or maybe too whole, inside her. When someone got hurt, she didn't flinch. She smiled.
It began when she was ten.
The memory came to her in flashes, sunlight on a dusty classroom, a loud boy laughing with his crew, her lunch trembling in her hand.
"Hey Ianna, I'm hungry today. Why don't you give me your lunch and your money?" the boy barked, his grin cruel, his voice thick with arrogance.
Laughter echoed behind him. The rest of the class turned their faces away, pretending not to hear.
Ianna raised her eyes slowly. "No," she said, her voice cold. "I won't give it to you."
The boy faltered. Her gaze made him tremble a bit. Still, pride wouldn't let him back down. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked.
The pain was sharp, but Ianna didn't cry.
Instead, she punched him square in the face.
The crack was loud. The boy stumbled backward, clutching his bleeding nose.
"It hurts! I'm bleeding!!" he wailed.
Ianna only stared, expression unreadable. "You ruined my lunch," she murmured, eyes flicking to the container now overturned on the floor.
He began to crawl away, but she wasn't done.
She dragged a chair across the classroom floor, the legs scraping like teeth on tile. Then she brought it down on his face. Once. Twice. Again and again.
Blood flew. Screams pierced the room.
Ianna grinned, an unholy joy stretching across her face.
"Ianna, stop!!" a teacher finally burst in, his voice cracking with horror.
She turned slowly, her hands trembling, the chair dripping.
The teacher rushed to the boy, who lay unconscious in a red pool.
"I'm reporting this! I'll speak to your parents!" he snapped, panic and fury flaring in his brown eyes.
Ianna dropped the chair. "Sensei," she said flatly, "I don't have any."
She walked out.
The teacher had a sad look on his face as she left. He knew Ianna was a target of bullying, but no one decided to stand up for her, so she always decided to take things into her own hands.
Now as a teenager, people are afraid of her due to the rumors about how she beat up a boy half dead when she was young and was a monster. Not only that, there have been several other cases of Ianna beating people up and breaking their bones, but as she was a minor she didn't get harsh punishments. And Ianna would simply say "I was just defending myself," meanwhile those who decided to attack her always end up in the hospital.
That wasn't the only rumour about her though. Even adults were victims of her too.
There was another rumour about her almost being kidnapped and was about to be sold however the tables turned and Ianna beat them half dead. They say when the police came to find the criminals they saw a girl happily smiling and beneath her 4 kidnappers were bleeding excessively and 2 had their limbs broken off. This made a lot more students afraid of her.
They called her a monster.
Ianna didn't really care since no one dared to bother her, which made her life very peaceful even though she didn't have friends.
Until one day, her life ended.
It was during a quiet afternoon. She stood on the third-floor balcony of the science lab, letting the wind caress her face. Her eyes were half-lidded, mind floating in thought. She didn't hear the footsteps until they were too close.
Before she could turn, hands shoved her back.
She fell, slowly, almost peacefully, through the air.
Above her, a boy stared down with one bandaged eye. His face twisted in hatred.
It was him, the boy from grade school. The one she had beaten up a weak ago. .
His eyes burned with vengeance.
Ianna didn't scream. She never screamed. She simply fell, eyes empty, almost relieved.
'Maybe this is for the best.'
When she hit the ground, her body shattered like glass.
_____
Darkness.
She floated in it, weightless.
"So this is how I die, huh?" she whispered to herself. "Pathetic. And I wasn't even able to enjoy myself."
A strange warmth pulled her toward a light, but shadows swallowed it.
Voices echoed faintly.
Then, light again.
"My Lady! My Lady!" a young maid's voice sobbed beside her. "Please, tell Mr. and Mrs. Gishia the young lady is awake!"
Ianna groaned, blinking. The air smelled of perfume, not blood. Silk sheets surrounded her, and the bed beneath her was impossibly soft.
She sat up, slowly. Her body felt wrong. Foreign.
A girl in a maid outfit stared at her in wide-eyed relief.
"What the hell?" Ianna rasped. "Who are you?"
Before the girl could answer, a grand pair entered the room.
The maid quickly bowed. "Mr. and Mrs. Gishia…"
The woman had flowing crimson hair, eyes like rubies dipped in venom. She wore a high-end black gown that screamed luxury and menace.
The man beside her was no less striking, purple hair cropped neatly, deep blue eyes that smoldered, and a body that carried itself like a weapon.
"So, our dear daughter has awakened," the woman said coldly.
Ianna narrowed her eyes. "Who are you?"
The couple exchanged a glance. Her cold tone had caught them off guard.
"We are your parents, you stupid girl," Mrs. Gishia hissed with a flick of her fan.
She laughed sharply. "Don't tell me you forgot the little incident at the royal ball? You tried to dance with the second prince, and he pushed you away. You hit your head on the table and passed out. What a disgrace."
Ianna blinked, confused, until it all came rushing back. Not her memories. The girl's. This body's.
"Oh… she really was dumb," Ianna muttered. Then, she laughed. Loud and cruel.
The couple blinked in surprise.
The old Ianna, the girl in this body, would have cried.
Ianna stood, wobbling slightly. Her reflection stared back at her from a tall mirror.
A girl with soft brown skin, long golden hair, and haunting purple eyes. Slim, delicate. Beautiful.
Disgusting.
She frowned. "What's with this ugly hair?"
With a thought, her hair shimmered into radiant violet. Better.
Memories of the previous occupant of this body danced in her mind.
The orphan-turned-noble daughter. Sweet. Clueless. An emotional doormat. Worshipped for her looks, used like a pawn. Dumped by the prince at 15 the moment he found a more powerful political match, Ruby Holder.
The original Ianna never fought back. She cried.
Pathetic.
Now, the body had someone else inside. Someone who didn't cry.
She turned to the stunned couple.
"Ah… sorry to inform you," she said with a smile sharp as razors. "Your daughter is dead."
Mrs. Gishia's eyes narrowed. Mr. Gishia tilted his head, lips quirking.
"I'm Ianna," she continued sweetly. "Nice to meet you… Mother. Father."
They stared in silence. Then both burst into laughter.
"Our daughter's name was already Ianna," Mr. Gishia chuckled. "How convenient."