A soft snore echoed throughout a dimly lit room.
Sunlight began to seep through the gossamer curtains, highlighting the gently snoring lady nestled among layers of silk. Her icy baby blue hair twinkled gently in the rising light, catching in its waves the sun, which seemed to be tangled with the surf of the sea.
As the light continued to rise along her porcelain skin, it gently kissed her eyelashes and brows, bringing out the myriad of darker blue hues that were contained within them. As her sharp yet large eyes fluttered open, her dark pupils caught the light. Reflecting an unusual shade of mulberry-red, as her eyes roamed the details of the room she had woken up in, the more purple they became.
Forming an exquisite juxtaposition to her overall colouring, more purple-toned in the dark, redder in the light. As she took in the stone flag floors, the velvet carpets, the silk sheets and drapes, the gossamer curtain-covered arches, and finally the expensive hand-carved, exotic wooden furniture dotted around the room.
Her lips parted before settling into a disturbing sneer.
"Oh fuck".
Her laughter started slow and deep, before bouncing off the walls of her chambers.
"Seriously, again?"
Sighing deeply and running a hand dryly down her face, she stopped to stare at the ceiling above her.
"Wow, they even painted the ceiling too. Pretentious fucks."
Tilting her head to the side, she finally noticed her hair sliding down her shoulders. Running her fingers through it, she twisted it this way and that before dropping it and sighing again.
Jumping up abruptly from the generously sized bed, she paced around the room until she spotted a door partially hidden behind a curtain. Pulling it open, she walked directly into a bathroom containing an inset flagstone bath and copper piping running along the ceiling, leading to its taps. To the left of which was a large arch, where a mirror was partially visible. Practically leaping into the room, she quickly glanced around.
"There are no dresses? How positively odd. This has to be the dressing room, though. There's the mirror, a dresser, chairs and… what on earth is that?"
A large metal contraption, resembling a wardrobe, stood before the young woman. Taking a brief pause, she scanned around it. However, with it being set directly into the stone, there were no accessible edges besides the front door to open it. As she stepped towards it, she received the scare of a lifetime.
Identity confirmed.
Jumping backwards, she spun around to identify where the voice was coming from, before realising the 'wardrobe' had now opened up.
"Sci-fi? No, sci-fi fusion, right? Am I on some remote but rich exoplanet? Ah, let's take a look already."
Stepping into the now firmly set in her mind as a wardrobe-like contraption, she was delighted to find she was correct. There was a large selection of women's clothes housed on metal spinning racks that came forward when she faced in their direction.
Mildly unnerved by how whatever it was knew which way she was looking, she noticed a large amount of the clothes were a combination of trousers and delicate women's shirts. Ruffled chests, lace patterning, and even jewelled cuffs were plentiful. Leather high-heeled boots, lace-ups, slip-ons—the list seemed to go on.
Corsets, high-waisted straight-legged trousers designed for women to ride, were also in abundance. Basquines, aiguillettes, and bustled dresses were also present on a few of the racks.
Tilting her head once again, the young woman finally noticed what was odd.
"They're all Victorian styled, but there's also some unusual hardware."
As she was nodding to herself, a shelf slowly slid out from beside one of the racks. Once it was fully extended, it was clear to see. It was full of large weapons. A soft gasp dropped from her lips as she looked on at the array of weapons, glaives, spears, and longswords that dominated what was clearly visible to her.
A few decorated crossbows also caught her eye, but no guns? She narrowed her eyes as she realised this. Stepping out of the wardrobe and back into the dressing room, she finally turned towards the mirror situated in the corner.
"Oh, Heavens above…"
She was a beauty, fine-boned yet clearly toned, and, ah yes, curvy in all the right places. She nodded her head at this. She was obviously someone important and well taken care of, with good genetics to boot.
"Hmm, the changing eye colour is a little disconcerting, though. Where have I seen this colour combination before? If I let my face relax, I definitely have RBF too…"
Silence settled in the dressing room as she pondered. As it stretched out, the air took on a tinge of embarrassment. Looking squarely at the floor, the young lady seemed to be avoiding looking at anything besides her toes.
By this point, the translucent square that had been around since she opened her eyes felt it needed to be more aggressive as it began to edge into her line of sight, just beyond her bare toes. She suddenly snapped her head up and slapped her fist onto her palm.
"Steam Punk! It's not sci-fi fusion, it's steampunk or steampunk fusion!"
"Hmm, steampunk is truly a genre I never really read much of. But why is this face so… Recognisable?"
The young lady began to meander her way back to her bedroom before settling down into one of the armchairs that made up a corner of the room. Briefly noticing it semi-faced the bed, a thought flitted across her mind.
However, finding out where she was and what was going on was more important to her at this very moment. Glancing around once again, she realised the armchair she had decided to rest in had hidden a low bookshelf filled with books of varying thickness.
"I have to read through those later, hopefully there's a diary or something similar. Maybe a history book?"
As a sigh slipped out through her nose, she decided she might as well address the elephant in the room. That is to say, the very obviously sparkling translucent square that gave off the vibe it might simply explode if she didn't start paying attention to it.
"Wow! What's that?"
To anyone who might have viewed this scene, she looked like the kind of person who genuinely had flowers growing between her ears instead of a brain. Truly, it didn't suit her face, but somehow, it also fit too well.
Maybe it was the fact that she was still in her nightdress. Besides, pointing in the direction of what was a potted plant could be excused; not everyone knew about plant varieties. What an inquisitive young soul!
[WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF MAREVEIL, NEW USER]
[I AM YOUR INTEGRATED SYSTEM TO HELP YOU SETTLE INTO YOUR NEW LIFE]
[DIFFICULTY LEVEL SSS HAS BEEN DETECTED]
[ASSIGNED CHARACTER- DELPHINA DE VELASQUES]
"Fuck I know where I am."
[shop unavailable]
[perks unavailable]
[transmigration status '@*$%….]
[...]
[ERROR DETECTED]
[ASSISTANCE REQUESTED]
"No, thank you, I'm fine."
[ASSISTANCE REQUESTED]
[ASSISTANCE CONFIRMED]
[THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION. THIS SYSTEM WILL NOW TEMPORARILY TERMINATE]
A small sound echoed throughout the room, like an old-fashioned TV screen turning itself off, and the sparkling screen disappeared from sight.
The silence left behind was truly pregnant, perhaps with triplets.
Delphina de Velasques began to yank at her hair in frustration, before slumping back into the armchair.