"Your highness! You need to wake up soon. Remember, there's a celebration for your arrival today. You need to look presentable for your husband and his guests."Nanisha heard it through her half-conscious haze.Her eyes flickered open.Where am I? she questioned.Is this… the afterlife? she wondered to herself.She looked beside her and saw a lady in an ancient dress, bowing her head.Nanisha touched her body.Am I alive? Where am I?
Nanisha pushed herself up and looked around.Everything felt… different. Weird.Her eyes caught a mirror across the room.She stepped closer, heart pounding.And then she saw it.Her reflection.It wasn't her.Not really.Her face… it was different.
She touched her cheeks, her eyes, her lips."Wha..what happened to me?" she whispered.Her voice sounded the same, but the face staring back was someone else.Some part of her panicked and some part of her was glad she was still alive.
But where was she?
"What's wrong, your highness?" the female butler asked, her voice full of worry.Nanisha stammered."I..I..d.don't understand. I got married a few days ago and…"She paused, the painful memory flashing in her mind."Yes, your highness," the butler, Lagartha, said gently."You got married a few days ago," she repeated, worry written all over her face.Like Nanisha was in the wrong hands."Please… dress up soon. If the king sees you like this, he may get violent again," Lagartha said sadly, bowing her head in pity.Nanisha's mind raced.Confused.Yeah, she got married days ago, but not to a violent king.She got married into a disgusting betrayal.What is going on?
She decided to go with it.She didn't want the lady before her to know it wasn't really her in this body."So… where is my husband?" Nanisha asked, curiosity lacing her voice.
"My queen," the butler stammered."You're forgetting a lot… are you okay?""The king… Lucifer…" she hesitated."He went to crosscheck his followers on Earth. He goes to Earth every seven days."
"And by the time he's back, you need to be fully dressed," Lagartha said."He'll be back with visitors, welcoming you."Nanisha froze.Went to Earth? Lucifer?Where is she?And who did this body get married to?
Nanisha's heart started racing.No. This isn't real.This can't be happening.She grabbed her head with both hands.What if… what if I'm stuck here forever?What if Maxwell… no. Not him. Not Sophie.Her mind was spinning.The body she was in… the life she didn't ask for…Everything felt wrong."I… I can't… I can't do this!" she whispered, her voice shaking.Tears started falling.She couldn't breathe.She didn't know where to start… or what to do.
Other maids bowed as they came in with her dress but froze when they saw the queen still in her nightwear."Your highness," Lagartha said, worry in her voice."The king is already on his way back. Please… go and quickly take a bath. It's prepared as usual."She was led to the bath and went in.The warm water soothed her tense body, but her mind was still spinning.Afterwards, she put on the dress.Medieval as it looked, it actually fit her new body perfectly.Her blonde hair, blue eyes, and the wine-red dress highlighted every curve.She didn't know where she was… or what she was doing."The king is here," Lagartha said nervously.