Chapter 5
2216words
But alas, duty calls, and I must get ready for a new day in this foreign world.
I slowly raise my upper body off the bed while stretching. This thing is far too big for one person, let alone a child, and looks more luxurious than any bed I’ve ever seen.
That makes a lot of sense; after all, this is a royal canopy bed, incredibly sophisticated and fit for only the highest nobility. And in this case, a princess.
Phew, raising my upper body off that thing was a challenge. Now for the bigger challenge–actually getting out of bed.
I take the light blanket off me and lightly fold it to the side, and that's when I notice my clothes have changed. I should’ve realized it from the start since the tightness I felt yesterday is now gone, but things have been so overwhelming and hectic recently, I'm bound to miss a few details.
I’m wearing pajamas now–pink pajamas. Even though I don’t like the color, they fit me quite well, as if they were made just for me. They’re warm to the touch and feel nice and soft against my skin. I really missed out on a lot in my past life.
I used to wear any old clothes I could find in my closet. It didn’t matter if they were old or tight; I wore them anyway because that's all I had, but I don’t have to suffer through that anymore… not anymore.
My memory of yesterday is a bit fuzzy, so I think my… mum must’ve changed them for me. It feels so strange addressing another woman as my mother, but she was the first person to treat me with such motherly warmth and welcome me so deeply, despite all the trouble I’ve caused her.
I spend a few seconds appreciating the feeling of the pajamas before swinging my feet over the right side of the bed and landing on something soft–a pair of fuzzy slippers.
Just how cute is that?
I’ve never owned a pair of these before, so this will be a new experience. I slide my feet into the slippers and adjust them properly before standing up.
Oh, they feel so nice, and the fur makes them even cozier. The pajamas and these slippers already make yesterday’s suffering feel worth it.
While I'm busy obsessing over the slippers and pajamas, I almost miss the small nightstand next to my bed.
On it sits a small lamp, and right next to it, a… digital clock?
I blink in confusion.
That's odd. Just how technologically advanced is this world?
I pick up the clock, and it flashes the current time: “1:23 PM.”
They even use one of the time formats from my old world… How is this possible?
I can understand the concept of a clock being in a foreign world, but seeing it in this exact format and build feels harder to understand and accept.
There's so much to explore and discover–so much to learn. I'll have to explore everything I'm curious about once I have the chance.
The lack of knowledge, however, still makes me sigh. It can’t be helped; being ignorant and unaware of something so important is one of the worst feelings ever.
I place the digital clock back where it was, right next to the lamp, and the time fades away, leaving a dark, blank screen.
I wonder what else I'll find in this world that mirrors my old world.
Some of the engineering and architecture present here are similar to Earth, but their presence makes sense; concepts can cross worlds. But culture itself? That's much more difficult to copy.
I get up from the bed and start looking around, observing the spacious personal room. It's spacious, elegant–fit for royalty. Just by having a quick glance around, I can tell how impressive it is. My old apartment back on Earth could never compare. Not in space, not in cleanliness, not in anything.
It's tidy, furniture methodically arranged, and smells incredible–like fresh lilacs.
The bed is positioned against the back wall of the room. Not my favorite spot; I prefer beds touching the corner of rooms. But… I guess it'll do.
In the middle of the room lies a fluffy, light-pink, U-shaped carpet wrapping around the bed.
Facing the right side of the bed, there’s a window with a light curtain pulled shut, blocking most of the sunlight from coming through.
Right in front of the window sits a brown study table with many drawers and a comfortable-looking chair neatly tucked into it.
On the study table, I spot a small adjustable lamp, a golden pen cup holder stuffed with feather quills, what seems to be a small pot right next to the cup holder, and… a family portrait.
Even from this distance, I recognize the faces.
The queen, Minerva.
The king, Cadel.
And finally… the princess, Astaria.
The three are posed for this portrait, kneeling in the middle of a beautiful garden and smiling widely.
I look away from the portrait, shutting my eyes tightly, not wanting to face that reality right now.
Though, this world has cameras too, huh… guess I won’t feel as foreign as I thought.
Anyway… judging from how young Astaria looks in it, I’m assuming this was taken a few years ago.
How old is this girl anyway? I should find out soon, or else it might cause problems…
I walk toward the table, but a small calendar hung on the wall right by the window catches my eye.
Well, guess I'm about to figure it out sooner than expected.
I head toward the calendar instead of the table, but something feels strange. The calendar isn't hung by a thread, nor does it have a nail pierced through it.
I extend my arm toward it and tug lightly, feeling a bit of resistance.
Oh? What is this? It feels magnetically attached to the wall.
Curious, I press it flat against the wall and let go. Lo and behold, it stays there.
I move it a few inches to the side, and it hangs just the same!
That's so cool! I wonder what's causing this because I'm not feeling any metal or magnets on its back. Maybe a strong adhesive? Who knows.
After fiddling with the calendar for a bit, I notice its cover is still there. A flat, bland pink color, not offering much aesthetically.
Taking the calendar with me, I head toward the table. I pull out the chair, and what do I see? A cute little brown teddy bear placed on it, sitting there diligently!
Hey there, little guy. What’re you doing there? Aren’t you just the most adorable-looking thing?
I lift the teddy bear up and sit myself down with him laid on my lap.
He’s quite big, but I can still rest my chin on his head.
Looking back at the calendar, I notice the perforations of the cover are intact, begging to be ripped.
I tear the cover off and take a look inside, hoping to find something useful.
Flipping through the pages, I discover the names, number of days, and seasons of the months.
The number of days and seasons remains the same as Earth, but the names given to the months are different. Something else to point out is that the names of the weeks and their number are also the same.
Anyway, The new names for the months are as follows:
Juno, Mercil, Munro, Luril, Emuna, Omera, Umpela, Suolil, Sitera, Juolil, Lorir, Dealir.
The days which have passed are marked with silver stars. The last marked day is the 26th of Munro, 101 CE. I don't know what CE means, but I'm assuming it's a marker for the current era.
While flipping through, I noticed one day marked with a golden star–the 21st of Luril. What it signifies, I don't know. Maybe my new birthday?
I close the calendar after examining it thoroughly, but something feels strange.
Despite not being written in traditional English, I can read the names just fine.
I place the calendar on the table and I start looking through the drawers, looking for something to write in.
I find a notebook and I grab it, placing it in front of me on the table.
I grab the feather quill pen from its ink pot, opening up the notebook to an empty page, and I start thinking really hard of the names I just saw and read.
The ink from the tip of the quill drips down onto the empty page as I’m attempting to write what I can read from the calendar.
I can understand what’s written, I can understand what people say, but I cannot write nor recollect what I just heard or read. This is a huge problem that I’ll need to fix as soon as I can.
Sighing deeply, I dunk the quill pen into the ink pot, the notebook into the drawer and I close it back.
I may act sad or disappointed but looking at the bright side, I did discover a few important facts about this world. Mostly that it shares some similarities between it and my old world which hopefully will help make it easier for me to navigate through this new place.
The problems and mysteries just keep piling up. I really need to take it easy on myself.
I get up enthusiastically from the chair, sliding it back a bit while carrying the teddy bear in my arms.
There’s still a lot more to see in this room, so this really isn't the time to sit here and sulk, now is it?
I place the teddy bear back on the chair and tuck it under the table. “I’ll be back soon, be good for now, okay?” I pat its head, acting as if it could respond back to me.
Turning around to look some more, I see a large, beautiful, and elegant dressing table with a big mirror mounted on the wall, directly across from the bed.
On the dressing table, I spot several makeup and beauty products, including but not limited to:
All types of brushes, lip gloss, lipstick, sunscreen, mascara, and many more.
Products I’ve barely seen or used in my past life are all here, and there’s most definitely more in the drawers–but that’s something I’ll leave for later.
I walk towards the dressing table, again pulling out the tucked-in chair, and sit down in front of the mirror.
I take a deep breath and look into the mirror at myself: short white hair just above my shoulders, four-edged stars stretching outward from the golden irises, and a small mole on my chin, just like the one I had in my former life. I’m glad that, of all the things carried over, this was one of them.
I stare deeper at my new self and realize just how adorable I look now–I look like a shiny doll! I’m going to have fun accessorizing and dressing up later.
I take the brush and start straightening my smooth white hair. It wasn’t incredibly messy, but messy enough to need some work.
After brushing it, I fluff it out with a wide smile and sway my head from side to side. It’s so beautiful and shiny. My smile then fades as I'm reminded whose body this actually is. This was the body of another human–a child.
I can’t help but feel extremely guilty about all of this. She had a future, dreams, aspirations, and parents who loved her very much. Then, out of nowhere, I was transported into her body, essentially replacing her soul–at least, that’s what I assume happened.
Although I didn’t do it intentionally and have no clue what to do about it, I promise this girl one thing–I will give this body the best life ever. I’ll be good to my parents and the workers, I’ll work and study even harder than I ever did before, and for however long I live, I’ll always remember you.
That's enough of a promise for now; after all, it’s all I can do.
I place the hairbrush back where it was and get up, tucking the chair under the table.
I look around some more and see a huge, white wooden wardrobe on the left side of the bed. I walk over to it, sliding its door open, and unsurprisingly find a lot of clothes—too many to even count. They’re all very colorful and beautiful, very princess-like. Though I am not a fan of dresses, trying them on doesn’t sound so bad. Rebranding myself as a princess doesn't sound too bad either.
Now isn't the time for dress-up though; I’ll stay in my comfortable pajamas for now.
Right next to the wardrobe, I spot a door. It must be the exit. There doesn't seem to be a private bathroom here in this room, so I’ll have to look for one once I’m out.
I walk over to the exit door, breathing in deeply and then exhaling.
I guess it’s finally time to face the music.
