Niklaus knew his day had gone to shit when the first thing he heard on waking up were the words said by a familiar voice.
[Aspirant! Welcome to the Nightmare Spell. Prepare for your First Trial.]
He was confused for a brief moment, before he forced down an annoyed groan as he realized what had happened. He'd fallen asleep before he could report to the Police as per the Third Special Directive.
He looked around and saw that he was floating in space, surrounded by millions of shiny stars. Right in front of him was a piece of land. It wasn't a planet, just a piece of flat land, like an island had been ripped out of a planet and was now left to float in the middle of space. It had hundreds of waterfalls falling down the sides of the island, and he could make out a spherical barrier covering the topside of the landmass.
It was quite a beautiful scene, and just as Niklaus was admiring the beauty, everything changed. The glow of the stars turned crimson, and Niklaus watched with both Horror and NEED as a hand made out of swirling red energy descended onto the island, ripping through the barrier like it wasn't even there.
A tremendous DESIRE and NEED filled his body as the image of a woman appeared in his mind, beautiful beyond compare. He somehow even knew the name of this woman, the Great Mother. Niklaus watched as the people of the city fought the great mother, but he couldn't bring himself to care, all he had eyes for was the sheer, unfathomable beauty of the great mother.
The Great Mother's divine power ripped them all apart. He watched the carnage continue for what somehow felt like seconds and days at the same time, before the land itself shattered and exploded outwards with a shockwave that extinguished the very stars.
Suddenly, Time itself began to warp; it somehow reversed, going back in time faster and faster until everything was a blur. There was a blinding flash of white, and all Niklaus knew was darkness.
///
A pair of bright green eyes snapped open as Niklaus woke up with a gasp. He shot upright on the bed, panting from the dream he'd just had.
He suddenly stilled, because the gasp that had just escaped his lips, it was throaty, breathy, sensual, and most definitely feminine. His hand shot to his throat in panic.
What the hell happened to my voice?!
The panic he was feeling intensified when he realized he couldn't feel the bump in his throat that was always there.
Niklaus hurried to get off the bed, pushing the sheer see-through drapes that hung down from the 4 pillars on each corner of the 10-foot-wide bed. Scurrying towards a large ornate mirror hanging behind a heavily designed wooden desk, he stopped cold as he locked eyes with his own reflection.
Only, it wasn't himself that he was seeing.
Instead of the boy with a gaunt face, stringy black hair and blue eyes he was expecting to see, what he saw was a dazzling beauty of a girl with golden hair and gemlike green eyes. She was more beautiful than anyone he'd ever seen, even the Master he'd seen from a distance once. She had fair and clean skin and was dressed in a sheer white nightgown that was slightly see-through, enough that he could see her nipples through it.
"What the fuck…" he whispered, his now green eyes wide with horror. He'd never heard of something like this before. Granted, he knew that the outskirts didn't get much in the way of proper info, but he didn't think that something like this was supposed to happen.
Since when did the First Nightmare start changing genders?!
Snapping out of his Daze, the now gorgeous blonde-haired girl – brr, he shook his head, he was still a Boy! Niklas willed his runes to come forward. They weren't written in any language he understood, but the meaning of the runes just seemed to appear in his head.
Name: Niklaus
True Name: -
Rank: Aspirant
Sequence: 5
Soul Core: Dormant
Memories: -
Echoes: -
Attributes: [The Fire] [Dreamwalker] [Mythical Creature] [Child of Destiny]
Aspect: Princess
Aspect Description: A Princess is born with a golden spoon in her mouth and little strength of her own. She commands servants, enjoys luxury, and rarely faces hardship. She enjoys flaunting her wealth and commanding her servants, but is a good person at heart.
Niklaus stared at his Aspect Description, dumbfounded.
A moment later, he exploded, "What the hell is this!" He shouted, but the sound came out more like a woman-like shriek he'd often heard from some of the streetside whores before, rather than the manly yell that he intended.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he couldn't help but note the way these breasts heaved before he checked the rest of the runes. The first thing he noticed was the Sequence. He'd never heard of anything like that, and what did five mean?
Was it good? Was it bad? He had no idea.
Deciding to figure it out later, he went down to his Attributes.
The first attribute [The Fire] was his innate attribute, so the rest must belong to the girl whose body he was possessing for the Nightmare Trial. He gave the descriptions of the Attributes a read, and was left more confused than ever.
[The Fire] You have inherited the lineage of the Sun God.
[Dreamwalker] You tread the path of a Spectator.
[Mythical Creature] You were born a Mythical Creature, with all that entails.
[Child of Destiny] Destiny aligns for you.
Niklaus frowned, feeling incredibly bewildered and confused. He had so many questions. How did he have the lineage of the Sun God, and why was it his Innate Attribute?! What was a Dreamwalker, and what did the path of spectator mean? Why was he, or rather the girl, born a Mythical Creature? And what was a Mythical Creature?
At least the [Child of Destiny] Attribute was easy to figure out – that things would go her, now his way, more often than not.
Still, he had a lot of questions, and he feared that staying in this room would not help in answering any of them.
As if someone were listening in to his thoughts, there was a knock on the door. Niklaus turned around just in time to see the large ornate wooden double doors swing open and a woman dressed in a maid's uniform come in. The woman was beautiful, admittedly not an otherworldly beauty like the girl he was inhabiting, but a beauty nonetheless.
"Milady," The maid called out, "May I enter?"
"Uh," Niklaus blinked in confusion, before realizing that the maid was talking to him. "Yeah sure, come in."
The maid stepped into the large room, a little confused by her lady's words. More specifically, the way she had just spoken. Lady Cecilia was not the kind of person to stutter or even sound anything but confident, even for a brief moment, so hearing her sound unsure felt quite bizarre.
The maid's eyes widened as she realized what was going on. She placed the fresh laundry she was carrying on the bed before turning towards her lady. "My lady," she started, her voice turning down a few notches, like she was trying to not frighten a small animal. "Do you know my name?"
"Not a clue," Niklaus blurted out before he could think. Then his eyes widened in panic. Oh crap! He thought, realizing the girl probably knew her, given how the maid was calling him 'My Lady' and asking permission before entering the room.
What do I do now?!
"Err…" He racked his head, trying to figure out what to say, but couldn't come up with anything.
The maid nodded, as if she expected that answer, "I understand now, milady," she said. "Do you remember your own name?"
Niklaus stilled, his panic momentarily disappearing as he turned a confused expression towards the brown-haired maid, "Err… what?" He asked. What kind of question was that?
As Niklaus thought that, the maid approached closer towards him, making the boy-in-a-girls-body tense. But she just walked past him, and to the large curtain hanging from the ceiling and touching the white marble floor below. With a swift action borne of years of repetition, she swiped the curtains to either corners and opened the large windows behind, letting the morning light pour in.
Only then did she turn towards Niklaus. She smiled, a sweet, gentle smile that made Niklaus' heart audibly thud in his chest. "Your name, my lady, is Lady Cecilia Xio Hall, of the Royal Hall Family," she said. Before Niklaus could process the words, she continued on, "and my name is Layla, your assigned maid. Should you ever need anything, you can summon me at will."
Niklaus ran through the maid's words in his head, coming up with several new questions. The most burning one of them was about the Royal Hall family.
Was this girl a princess? Like the stories he'd read about during his time in the orphanage before he'd run away from there?
But he digressed. At least that explained the Aspect.
Useless as it was.
"You, my lady, have been cursed since birth," the maid, Layla, continued, unaware of Niklaus' inner thoughts. "Ever now and then, the curse will strip you of your memories and leave you confused and disoriented. One of my main duties is to look after you every time the curse takes hold."
"What! That's crazy?" Niklaus exclaimed. "Who cursed her - me! Who cursed me?!" He asked, basically shouting the last part as he changed his words. The last thing he wanted was to let someone know that he wasn't the girl but a boy possessing her.
And more importantly, was this the girl Cecilia's flaw? Because it sounded like a flaw to him.
Layla did not react to Niklaus's outburst with surprise. Instead, she regarded him with a calm patience, like she had been in this exact scenario many times before. "My lady," she said gently, "please calm yourself." Niklaus opened his mouth to say something, but Layla just raised a hand. The gesture was small, but it somehow carried enough authority to stop him in his tracks. "Every time the curse takes hold," she continued in the same soft tone, "you ask the same question. And every time, the answer remains the same."
Niklaus frowned. "And that answer is?" he asked cautiously. He had no idea what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't what he got.
Layla shook her head. "We do not know."
Niklaus blinked. "You're telling me someone cursed a royal princess and nobody knows who did it?"
Layla folded her hands neatly in front of her apron. "The curse appeared shortly after your birth. The Royal Hall Family spent years investigating the matter. Priests, sorcerers, Beyonders, Awakened scholars… all were consulted."
"And?"
"And none could find the origin of the curse."
Niklaus rubbed his forehead.
Great.
Just great.
Not only had he been dragged into a First Nightmare, but apparently the body he was inhabiting belonged to a cursed amnesiac princess. He glanced back at the runes floating faintly in his vision.
Aspect: Princess.
He grimaced.
This is definitely the Spell mocking me.
Layla observed his troubled expression and spoke again. "You appear more distressed than usual, my lady."
"That's because—" Niklaus stopped himself. Because I'm not your lady. He wanted to say, but forced the words back down. "…because waking up without memories is terrifying," he finished awkwardly.
Layla nodded sympathetically. "Yes. That is why I am here." She stepped closer, her movements calm and practiced. "However, your ladyship does not have the luxury of remaining in bed all morning."
Niklaus blinked. "What?"
Layla gestured toward the window, where sunlight now flooded the room. "Her Grace requested that you join her for the morning meal." She said. It was already later than usual, but considering that the curse had once more taken effect, Layla figured that Her Grace would excuse the princesses tardiness today.
Niklaus stiffened, "Her Grace?" He could practically feel the capital letters in the title, and had a bad feeling about this. He's always had an instinct for noticing trouble before, and those alarms were ringing in his head full throttle at this moment.
Layla tilted her head slightly. "Your mother, my lady."
Oh hell.
Niklaus felt a fresh wave of panic overcome him. Meeting servants was one thing, but meeting the mother of the person whose body he was currently wearing was an entirely different level of danger. And he'd never had a mother before, and had no idea how someone would act around one. Before he could say anything else, Layla turned toward the bed. "Please come here."
Niklaus hesitated. "…why?"
Layla lifted the folded bundle of cloth she had placed earlier. "Because you cannot meet her Grace dressed like that."
Niklaus looked down to see what he was wearing, and felt his face flush
Right.
The thin nightgown.
Which was extremely thin.
And extremely revealing.
With instincts that seemed to come out of nowhere, he quickly grabbed the edge of it and held it tighter around himself. Layla suppressed a smile. "Please relax, my lady. I have dressed you since childhood."
Niklaus muttered under his breath. "Lucky me…"
Layla gestured again, and Niklaus reluctantly walked over. The maid moved with a startling efficiency and professionalism, lifting the garments one by one. "Raise your arms," she said.
Niklaus obeyed automatically before realizing what he had done.
Why am I listening to her?!
But by then, the nightgown was already sliding from his shoulders. Cool air brushed against his skin where it had been covered moments before, and his entire body went rigid.
He immediately froze.
This was… weird.
Extremely weird.
Layla remained just as unbothered as she'd ever been, and moved with the matter-of-fact efficiency of someone who has done this same exact task thousands of times before and could do it with her eyes closed and in her sleep.
First came the soft underdress. It was made of a pale silk and was so light that he could barely feel it.
Then a structured bodice.
Finally came the flowing outer dress. It was white and gold, and when she lifted it, it shimmered faintly under the sunlight. While it looked delicate, it was not. It was surprisingly heavy, and felt really strange wearing it, no matter how much he couldn't help but appreciate the softness of the fabric.
Niklaus stared down at himself. "This thing probably costs more than my entire life," he muttered.
Layla tilted her head. "My lady?"
"Nothing."
Layla ran a hand over the dress to smooth away any wrinkles before stepping behind him. "Sit."
Niklaus sat on the stool before the mirror as Layla began brushing the long golden hair. Niklaus watched the reflection silently. The girl in the mirror looked like something out of a painting.
Perfect skin.
Bright green eyes.
Golden hair cascading down her back.
And a deeply annoyed expression. "This is insane," he whispered.
Layla continued brushing. "You say that every time, my lady."
Niklaus sighed. Of course he did. After a few moments, Layla gathered the hair and put them into a complicated-looking hairstyle, securing it in place with delicate-looking pins and a thin ribbon. When she finished, she stepped back to check her work. "Perfect."
Niklaus stared at the reflection again.
He looked like a noble princess. A very convincing one.
The girl in the mirror moved when he moved. And that was the most disturbing part.
Layla nodded in satisfaction. "Now then." She started walking toward the large double doors.
Niklaus stood up nervously. "Wait."
Layla paused. "Yes, my lady?"
Niklaus hesitated for a long moment, trying to figure out the best way to ask the maid what he wanted to ask. After a moment, he just blurted out the first thing he thought of. "…what is my mother like?"
Layla smiled slightly. "Her Grace is very kind."
That did not reassure him. She was just a maid, and it was probably illegal for her to say anything bad about the royal family. Guess he didn't really need to ask, he'd be finding out firsthand soon enough. Layla opened the doors. The hallway beyond was wide, elegant, and lined with tall windows and marble pillars. She stepped aside and gestured politely. "Shall we go meet her?"
Niklaus took a deep breath.
First Nightmare, he reminded himself. You just have to survive. Nothing else matters.
He stepped out into the hallway.
Layla followed beside him as the doors slowly closed behind them.