...
The first thing she noticed was the silence.
Not the kind of silence you get in a library or a quiet park. This was the peaceful kind—like the world was slowly starting to grow. No engine hum. No chatter. No distant sirens or vending machines beeping. Just… stillness.
Then came the pain.
A dull throb pulsed behind her eyes, growing sharper with every heartbeat. Her limbs felt like they'd been filled with sand, heavy and slow to respond. She tried to move, but even lifting a finger felt like dragging it through molasses.
"Where… am I?"
She forced her eyes to open.
A chandelier hung over her head, its crystals catching the morning light and scattering it across the room in soft, dancing fragments. The air smelled faintly of lavender and she could hear the singing of birds.
"Definitely not my dorm."
She blinked again, slower this time, trying to piece together the last thing she remembered.
"The bus. I was on the bus. I went to the last corner seat of the bus so that I could peacefully have the outside view, head against the window, earbuds in. I'd been so tired I could barely keep my eyes open, well that was obvious. Midterms had chewed me up and spit me out, and I'd finally let myself drift off, lulled by the rhythm of the road and the warmth of the sun on my face."
"And now… this? Ha ha must be a dream," as she murmured half awake.
She turned her head, wincing at the stiffness in her neck. The bed beneath her was absurdly soft, like sinking into a cloud. The sheets were silk, embroidered with delicate silver thread in patterns she didn't recognize. A canopy of sheer fabric hung above, swaying gently as if stirred by a breeze she couldn't feel.
"Okay. Deep breaths. Maybe this is a dream. A really vivid, really expensive dream", as she said those words jokingly.
She sat up slowly, clutching her fist. That's when she noticed the chillness on her chest—a necklace, light-weighted and cold, with a pendant shaped like a crescent moon. It pulsed faintly with a soft blue light.
"What the hell is this?"
Before she could process it, the door burst open.
"Your Highness!"
A woman wearing an outfit of a butler rushed in, her eyes wide with panic and relief. She looked about my age, maybe younger, with short-cropped hair and a face that had clearly been crying.
"You're awake," she breathed, dropping to her knees beside the bed. "Oh, thank god. We feared… we feared you wouldn't…"
She stared at her. "I'm sorry, who are you?"
She was stunned by the woman's appearence. She looked at her from head to toe.
"Is she a butler? Ooh... her outfit look so cool", curiously staring at her.
The girl froze. Her mouth opened, then closed again. "I… it's me, Lily. Your butler. Don't you remember?"
"Lily...", that name meant nothing to her.
She stood on her legs and joyfully introduced her self, "Ahh... I see, so your name is Lily. That's a nice name. My name is Miya-Miya Nomel, I really like your suit. So where are the cameras? This whole set-up is so amazing. I can't believe I'm actually being pranked like this. To be honest, I feel like I'm living in a magical world. I'd like to stay here longer but I want to go back to my room and rest, so come out everyone."
The woman looked at her in utter disbelieve. She felt like a mother of a child who is down with a high fever. Then she screamed on top of her lungs, "my... my lady. Somebody call the physician."
Suddenly the wind started blowing through the window and then she saw silver thread like hair flowing over her face. She ran towards the tall mirror standing in the corner of the room.
When she finally looked into the mirror, her breath caught. "That is not my face."
It was close—close enough to be unsettling. The eyes was as bright as the sun, the hair was as silver as the moon. But the shape of the jaw was sharper, the cheekbones higher, the skin paler.
She reached up and touched her cheek. The reflection did the same.
No. No, no, no.
She stared at the mirror, half-expecting it to crack and reveal a hidden camera crew behind it. Maybe this was some kind of elaborate prank show? Surprise! You've been kidnapped and given a makeover!
But no. The girl in the mirror didn't blink out of existence. She just kept staring back at her with those unnaturally bright golden eyes, framed by a waterfall of silver hair that shimmered like moonlight. Ohh God, she is so beautiful!!!
"Okay. So. Let's review."
"I'm in a palace. I've got a maid named Lily. I've apparently taken over the body of a beautiful silver-haired girl. And I have no idea how any of this happened", as she nodded while staring at Lily.
"Lily," she said slowly, testing the name on her tongue. "What… exactly happened to me?"
She hesitated. "You don't remember?"
"Let's pretend I hit my head really hard and forgot everything. Humor me."
She looked like she wanted to cry again. "You fell from the Sky Tower, my lady. During the storm. Everyone thought… well, no one survives a fall like that. But then the Ten High Lords said your soul might still return, and they began the healing magic and started calling your soul back. And now—now you're back." Sob...
"Sky Tower? Healing magic? Soul returning?"
"Oh no. This wasn't just a body swap."
"This was full-on reincarnation."
She was in someone else's body. A dead person maybe. And now I was… possessing her? Replacing her? Sharing space with her ghost like some kind of magical Airbnb?
She sat back down on the bed, hard. "Okay. Cool. Cool cool cool. This is fine. I'm fine. Everything's fine."
Lily looked at her like she had grown a second head. Which, honestly, at this point wouldn't even surprise her.
"Do you… need the physician, my lady?"
"No, no. I just need… like, ten more hours of sleep and maybe a user manual for this body."
She blinked. "A what?"
"Never mind."
She rubbed my eyes. The headache was fading, but in its place was something else. A strange warmth in my chest. Like a fire had been lit inside me, low and steady. Not painful. Just… there.
Also, she was starving.
"Hey, Lily?"
"Yes, my lady?"
"Is there food? Like, a lot of it? Preferably something that doesn't look like it's still moving?"
Her face lit up. "Of course! I'll have the Head Chef prepare your favorites right away!"
"Great. And while you're at it, maybe a map? And a history book? And a list of people who might want to kill me?"
She paused. "…Just the food, then?"
"Yeah. Let's start small."
As Lily scurried off, Miya flopped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. Then again she stood up and went toward the window. What she saw was beyond her imagination, twin moons hung low in the lavender sky.
"But hey. At least I don't have to take midterms anymore."