In a sharp gasp, Princess Daniela's eyes fluttered open. Her body felt cold and detached, as if her soul was trying to find its way back in. It was a sensation she knew all too well—a throbbing confusion as the pieces of what was and what is fought to settle.
"Are you alright, Princess Daniela?" a young woman's voice asked, laced with an almost desperate concern. Daniela blinked, her vision clearing to reveal a woman in an elaborate servant's uniform crouching down to meet her eyeline. The act gave Daniela the distinct impression that she was a child once more.
"I just have a headache," she said, hoping the simple statement would be enough for the woman to leave her alone so she could assess her surroundings. The title "Princess Daniela" was completely foreign to her, and the stranger's familiarity was unsettling.
As the woman, with a worried frown, backed away to give her space, Daniela looked down at her hands, which she noticed were those of a grown woman, not a child. A sharp fear clung to her chest. She was sitting in a wheelchair. The thought of being unable to walk was terrifying. How could she possibly get away from Eric if she couldn't even run? She was already cursing whatever God kept bringing her back again and again.
Taking a deep, centering breath, she tried to wiggle her toes. Relief washed over her as they moved with ease. Her legs and knees felt fine, too. Perhaps the previous soul that inhabited this body had been weak, but she felt perfectly capable. Pushing herself up and out of the chair, she stood on her two feet. They felt a little sore, but other than that, she felt fine.
Her gaze swept across the massive hall, a room so vast it felt more like a stadium. High-vaulted ceilings were supported by towering columns carved to resemble intertwined tree trunks, with crystalline light fixtures hanging from the branches, casting a soft glow. The air, heavy with the scent of polished stone and the lingering sweetness of burnt sugar, hummed with the quiet energy of a hundred different magical currents. Each section of the hall held a different woman, and each woman had a small group of three other women surrounding her. They were all addressed as "Princess."
The other princesses were a riot of color and magic. One princess, seated at a table, casually raised her hand, and the crystal carafe of water across the table tilted, a clear stream arcing gracefully through the air to fill her glass. A servant beside her used a quick, subtle motion of her fingers to conjure a soft, swirling wind that chilled the water to perfection. Nearby, two maids chatted as one, with a flick of her wrist, sent a small, controlled flame dancing into a stone fireplace, instantly igniting the hearth and filling the space with the scent of burning cedar.
Daniela's eyes nearly bulged as she watched a woman across the way. The woman held what looked like a handful of sparkling dust, which slowly floated from her hand and began to weave together, shimmering in the air before her face. The woman's fingers danced as if she were knitting with thin air, pulling the substance apart until it expanded into a large, shimmering mirror. A princess in her group stood in front of it, turning and looking at herself from every angle.
"Princess, should you not sit down? Are your legs feeling weak?" a maid named Josephine asked, her voice tight with thinly veiled frustration. Her heart sank with the knowledge that she and her fellow maids were paired with the princess least likely to be chosen. The maids of the princesses would go on to be the maids of Queens if their chosen princess was lucky. But no one would choose a powerless cripple like Princess Daniela. Josephine's luck had truly run out.
"Can one of you make a mirror?" Daniela asked, pointing to the woman across the hall. The question hung in the air for a moment.
"A looking glass? Of course, Princess," one of the three maids responded. The women exchanged confused glances. They had not been told that the people from the southern regions spoke in such odd ways or that their terminology could be so different.
Ida, another maid, pulled a handful of glimmering silver from her pocket. Channeling her magic, she imagined the looking glass she wanted to create.
Stretching the material until it was the desired length and shape, she felt her magic weave between the natural elements and her own reserves. The floor-length mirror was suspended in the air, a silver frame twisting around its reflective surface. She held its form, praying the princess wouldn't stand in front of it for too long. It was painful to drain her magic this much, and she had so much work to get done.
Daniela stepped in front of the looking glass and assessed her reflection. Her pale skin was a stark contrast to the hard green-black waves of her hair. Her face was the same, but her eyes widened at the one notable difference: her chest. Her tits were bigger—a whole cup size. She had been a comfortable C-cup, and now she was an obvious D. Whoever kept bringing her back had a sick sense of humor. The one thing she would love was to wake up in a world that didn't have Eric, but instead, she got a boob job. The world wasn't fair.
She looked down at the sickly yellow dress she was wearing, with its large hoop skirt that looked ridiculous on her. No matter what was going on, until her memories came back, she refused to be seen dressed like an absolute imbecile.
"I'm not wearing this! Where are the other dresses?" she demanded. In her previous life, she had wanted to be a fashion designer, possibly working for Vogue. It was a pipe dream she had let go of lifetimes ago, but the part of her that used to be that person refused to look so utterly terrible.
"But Princess, you were so excited to wear this just a moment ago," Lola, her third maid, spoke up, confused by the crippled girl's sudden change in mood. Wasn't it bad enough that they had to serve a cripple?
Could she not at least be compliant?
Daniela ignored their protests, her gaze fixed on the mirror. "And I need to wash my face. I look like a clown."
Author's Note
This is my new book. I hope you all like it. Feel free to check out my other book, The Defective Wolf, as well. Happy reading!