Chapter 2: A New Beginning
December 25th, and the setting light has caused the sky to turn orange. She's so nervous that she's trembling all over. It's amazing that I chose to take this action. Who would meet someone for the sole reason that they sent a letter?
"Do you really want to do this? You appear ghostly pale." Anna worriesly glances at her pal.
"I-I'm fine," she deceives us. I'm not going to back down now! The park is only a short stroll away.
She is accompanied by her two friends, Rose and Anna, to the sidewalk. In order to cross the street and reach Park, they are waiting for the traffic lights to turn red.
"Never fear. If the man proves to be a creep, we'll come to your aid immediately! Rose comforts her, saying, "We'll stay as near to you as possible.
"Thanks," she says with genuine gratitude for having her friends here. She detests to say it, but in the three years that they have been friends, her only thoughts have been of them when she wanted someone to eat at school or on the weekends when she wants to check out a new restaurant. She is amazed that it has taken her this long to recognize their kindness and goodness toward her.
Rose is the innocent joker who makes them laugh, but if she were in danger, they wouldn't hesitate to defend her.
Though rather reserved and reserved, Anna isn't afraid to stand up for her. Since they first entered college, they have always supported her.
She gives them a kind glance and feels more comfortable knowing that they are both on her side. I promise to treat them more kindly going forward.
The walk sign illuminates and the lights turn red. Anna lets go of the thick textbook she was holding in her arms as they begin to walk.
"Anna, you're so clumsy!" Rose pauses to assist Anna in picking up the book off the floor.
She didn't realize she was moving ahead of her two pals on the walkway since her attention was so preoccupied with catching up with the R guy at the park. Suddenly, she is struck by a delivery truck that is speeding.
Anguish. She experienced just anguish and was unable to see, taste, smell, or hear anything else. It was all over her. Every muscle and fiber seemed to be screaming with pain. It seemed like a force was tearing apart every aspect of her.
one by one.
Does death feel like this? Will this be how I die? Not yet, I want to pass away. I still have a lot of dreams that I want to come true. Someone someone come to my aid...
Her eyes snap open, blurring her vision. Was it all in my dreams? She breathes quickly and raggedly in panic. Drops of perspiration run down her neck and forehead. As her eyes began to focus, she realized that night had fallen. She's staring at a complex ceiling partially obscured by what appears to be a canopy made of dark blue velvet fabric. She settles down.
I'm still alive. I'm breathing and I'm alive! Relax. steady respiration. I may just be recovering in a hospital after that vehicle collision.
She reaches out to touch the bed she lies on; it seems too luxurious and fluffy to be a hospital bedcover several days.
"Du-duchess! You're awake at last!"
Glancing to her side, she notices a little girl dressed as a maid in black and white, her red hair neatly pulled back in a bun. Does she work as a nurse? What a bizarre outfit for a nurse.
The girl is sitting next to the bed in a chair. The girl's wet brown eyes betrayed how incredibly relieved she is to see her patient awake.
Entering the room with black armor on his head, a tan guy with dark hair bows respectfully at her and says, "Your grace, let me summon the castle's physician right away!"
She heard a disturbance coming from the opposite side of the room as the man vanishes. What? That man, was he a knight?
"Oh my, did I startle my lady? "she flinches when a soft cloth is gently rubbed over her perspiring body. Your grace is perspiring profusely."
Upon removing her perspiration, the maid asks, "Do you require anything?
Your grace?"
"W-water..." Her voice sounds raspy. She knows she's completely dry.
The maid says, "Right away, my lady," as she gets up to refill a glass from the bedside table.
"Here you go, your grace."
The little girl gives her a drink. She takes a big swallow of the glass and requests another.
"Dr. Lukas is here," the knight says as he knocks and a middle-aged guy with a mustache follows him into the chamber. The elder man is carrying a brown duffel bag and wears spectacles. Where's his white lab coat, though, if he's a doctor? He's got on a brown bow tie and a vest. He appears to be a physician from a bygone era.
After bending over the bed, the doctor says, "I'm so glad that our dear Duchess has awoken after being unconscious for 60 days."
"Sixty days?" She repeats his words.
Her thirst has subsided, which has helped her thoughts clear a little. She scans the big space to determine her location.
The whole floor is covered in a thick blue carpet, and all of the walls have white paneling. She could see a double door to the right from where she was lying on the bed. She believes that these doors open into the hallway. The left side of the room is occupied by four sizable arched windows and a French door in the center, all of which are painted the same dark wood hue.
There are two doors at either end of the wall that faces the bed, and a large marble fireplace sits in the middle.
A portrait of a man and lady in bridal attire is perched on the fireplace. The poor lighting made it difficult for her to discern their faces. In the meantime, two armchairs with blue upholstery facing one another and a wooden coffee table are arranged symmetrically in front of the fireplace.
This space appears really lovely. I should be in a hospital, right? This area resembles a castle's master bedroom more than anything else.
"Where am I?" She queries.
The three persons gathered at her bedside give her a confused and worried face.
"Your grace, what do you mean? You're in your bedroom right now. The maid gives a hesitant response.
How about my bedroom, exactly? Please tell me the precise name of this location," she begs, her anxiety beginning to rise.
We are in Valencia Castle, my lady. Does her elegance fail to recall?" The physician begins to approach her.
Valencia Castle? It's a place I've never heard of before. Hold on for a moment... A castle, a knight, a maid? Have I just stepped into a novel about royalty?
She begins to breathe heavily. She is unsure of whether to feel joyful or sorry over this circumstance.
They called me Duchess, right? What's my name?Why can't I remember who I am? She strains her mind, trying to recall her life as a twenty-one-year-old college student, but she is unable to even pronounce a single sound in her own name.
"My lady, please calm down..."
She is more panicked despite the maid's best efforts to calm her.
"Doctor, please do something!" The knight gives the command.
The physician quickly opens his duffel bag and pulls out something. "Your grace, pardon me, but this will prick a little," he says. This medication will assist in my lady's calmness. Please extend the Duchess's arm.
"My name! What's my name, please? She's currently experiencing a severe panic attack.
She feels a sharp pain in one arm and the knight holds her. I have a ton of questions! I'm really perplexed! Being a character in a novel about royalty has always been a secret fantasy of mine, but I'm not sure if I really want that to happen! Returning to my own world is what I want!
"You are Duchess Violet Carvalho de Valencia , your grace..."
She didn't hear anything else before she loses her consciousness.
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