ELIANA'S POV
Warm water.
Cold air skimming across my skin.
Slender fingers brushed my cheek.
Murmurs floated in the air.
Where am I ?
My eyes fluttered open and I met the warm gazes of women. All dressed up in maid attire, their eyes all filled with worry.
"Princess—" They rasped as they noticed I had woken up.
Princess?
Panic surged through me. I threw the sheets off and stumbled to the nearest mirror—
And when I saw the woman staring back at me, I gasped.
How did I get here?
The maids ran after me, calling me a name I didn't quite hear.
I reached for my cheek and caressed it softly as tears streamed down my face. "I'm alive…" I murmured. It was then my legs failed me and I crumpled to the floor.
Damn.
Why was I so weak?
"Princess!" A maid shrieked as I hit the floor. Darkness clouded my vision, my heart heavy and pounding in my chest, sweat droplets trailed down my forehead. What was happening to me?
I felt hands wrap around me as the maids tried to lift me from the floor. They picked me gently and carried me back to the room.
After a while, my eyelids lifted and this time, a woman was kneeling in front of me, her eyes glistening with tears.
She threw her arms around me, pulling me in a gentle but firm hug. "My baby— I was so worried. I thought I lost you." She cried, her voice hoarse from the tears. I blinked, flustered by the sudden affection. Still, I hugged her back.
Not because I wanted to.
But because I didn't want to be rude.
She broke the hug and tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. "How are you feeling? Are you still weak?" She asked, her voice etched with worry as her eyes scanned all over me.
My lips parted, but the words felt so foreign on my tongue. "I'm fine." I answered shortly. It was then I caught sight of my surroundings.
The room was massive — so wide I could fit three carriages in it and still have space to dance around.
The walls were tall, painted a deep crimson, with golden floral engravings curling near the corners like vines. An arched ceiling loomed above, with a crystal chandelier dangling like a frozen star.
A small easel stood by the window, a paintbrush still dipped in dried red paint, as if someone had left in a hurry. Sunlight spilled through slightly parted curtains of velvet, casting soft silver beams across the floor and illuminating the ornate furniture — a carved wooden desk, tall wardrobe, and a chaise lounge covered in silk.
Everything looked... royal. Expensive. Strange.
Nothing I remembered ever looked like this.
I turned back to the woman. "Where am I?" I asked and the woman's eyes widened.
"You don't remember?" She asked instead of answering my question.
I furrowed my brows. Was I meant to remember?
"No I don't, that's why I asked." I answered and her mouth flew open, tears formed in her eyes.
"My daughter has amnesia…" She said and I mentally rolled my eyes.
The last thing I remember was being in bed, clutching to my chest as my heart threatened to burst inside me. My veins burning with fire—a fire I couldn't quench and now I wake up to see myself in what seems to be a palace.
It was then I remembered Lila. "Lila—" I called inside me, hoping she would answer but I was met with nothing but the cold embrace of silence.
"Lila" I called again but she didn't reply.
Where was she?
My heart clenched. No—not Lila. I couldn't lose her.
"You're in the palace and you're a princess." The woman said, pulling me from my thoughts.
As if I didn't know that.
"That's not what I asked. Who am I—and why am I here?" I snapped and the woman flinched from my outburst.
"I…I'm sorry." I muttered, feeling a bit bad for yelling at her.
"It's okay. You're Eliana Kent. The princess of Thornvale. You fell sick a few days back and you almost lost your life but today you woke up." She stated and I nodded absorbing her words.
Had I... reincarnated?
"I need some time alone—" I said and the woman nodded, understandingly.
She kissed my forehead and adjusted the covers on my body then walked out of the room.
Silence wrapped around me—cold, heavy, and absolute.
I had never felt this way before. Lila was always there to talk to me whenever I felt like this but now. She was gone. The curse took her away from me.
What about the others?
What about Sebastian?
My heart stopped at the thought. Was he okay? Did the curse take him away too?
These questions skimmed around my mind like a plague and I needed answers but how? How would I get my answers? Would I see Sebastian again? Even if I did , would he still be alive?
I picked myself up and walked to the mirror. I glanced at the figure in the mirror and a heavy sigh escaped my lips.
My long blond hair was now hazelnut and curly. My blue orbs which used to glimmer in the moonlight, now plain brown. My huge and semi-masculine build— now replaced with this frail and weak body.
My once smooth face now plastered with freckles which danced across my cheeks.
Yes I was beautiful.
But I wasn't me. And I hated that.
I stared at myself for a while and tried to configure a plan to get myself out of here and find Sebastian but I was met with multiple dead ends.
I knew nothing about this place, so escaping felt impossible.
I had never felt so weak in my entire life. God this body was useless.
She's just a pretty face with no strength. I mean if I wanted to reincarnate couldn't it at least be someone a bit stronger? I felt like a piece of paper—Light and helpless.
My throat felt dry and my eyes darted across the room but I didn't see anything to quench my thirst.
I turned to the door and walked out. My heart leapt in my chest as I stepped into the corridor, each footfall swallowed by silence.
My eyes danced across the walls as I looked for the kitchen to at least quench the thirst which burned through my throat.
I continued walking until I reached an open door. I was about to walk in when I heard voices from the inside, considerably a man and a woman.
The woman's voice I recognised as the lady from earlier— my mother but the man's voice was foreign.
"She just woke up and you still want her to get married to him? Why?" The woman yelled, her voice broke from emotion.
"That is not my business, she faked her illness to escape the marriage. She thought she was smart but she doesn't know what's coming. She'll marry Xavier no matter what. My decision is final." The man said sternly.
I couldn't help it. I stepped inside the room and all eyes turned to me.
"Who is getting married?" I asked with my brows raised.