章 1: Awaking In A Strange World

Aveline's eyes snapped open, but before they could focus on anything, she shut them again in anger and resentment.

Her hands clenched into tight fists as she recalled how Victoria had pushed her off the award stage at the most important moment of her life, when she was about to receive her first-ever award as the Best Actress of the Year.

Everything felt like it had just happened a moment ago. She'd seen her life flash before her eyes as she tumbled down the stage like a sack of grain in front of thousands of reporters. If the soft mattress beneath her meant she hadn't died from that fall, then Victoria Harris had better be prepared.

Because Aveline Eamon never backed down without a fight! She was going to make sure Victoria regretted ever crossing her. First, she would beat the living daylights out of her, and then she'd ruin Victoria's beautiful image in the entertainment industry.

But first, she needed to open her eyes and face her manager and probably the tons of gifts she must have received from her fans while she was unconscious.

She was more eager about the gifts part than anything else. Fans could be crazy and would go to great extremes to satisfy their idol, and she was a greedy little witch who would take every single one of their offerings.

Aveline opened her eyes again, but what she saw was completely different from what she expected.

Her brows furrowed as she stared at the odd-looking golden high ceilings, unlike anything she'd ever seen in her entire life.

Something was very strange about her surroundings. She was supposed to be in a hospital or even dead after what had happened on the stage a few minutes ago.

But she was in a dim room that looked nothing like a hospital, nor a grave!

The room had no lights, just a dim glow filtering through the silk curtains. Her head throbbed, and the scent of incense filled her nostrils, making her feel so nauseous she wanted to throw up.

"Who the hell put such strong incense in here?! Are they trying to kill me again with this scent after I somehow survived that fall from the stage?"

Aveline thought as she pushed herself up on the bed, feeling the weight of unfamiliar thick blankets around her.

She could barely see anything with the little light in the room.

"Where the hell am I?" she murmured, touching her heavy head only to find it bandaged. Feeling the bandage made her sigh in relief; it meant she hadn't suffered any severe injury after her fall.

It was a surprise she didn't even die and only suffered a head injury. She moved her legs and hands experimentally to see if they were still intact and in good condition. Her relief at knowing she was fine, apart from the pain in her head, made her smile. But the smile quickly disappeared when she looked around at her surroundings again.

"This doesn't look like a hospital...!"

She was about to jump out of the bed when she heard the door creak open and someone walked in. She watched as the person walked towards the curtains and pulled them apart, letting in the natural light that gave her the first clear view of her surroundings and the person's face.

It was a young girl in a weird-looking dress who looked to be no more than eighteen. When she noticed that Aveline was awake, her eyes widened in surprise before they welled up with tears and concern.

"Your Highness, you're finally awake!" she cried out, running towards the bed and collapsing before it, crying and pleading. "Please forgive me for my incompetence, Your Highness! It was all my fault!"

Aveline was taken aback for a complete three seconds. Your Highness? What was this girl talking about, and how on earth was she still "Her Highness" when the movie where she'd played a tyrant princess was over months ago?

"Who are you? Where am I? And why does this place look like a movie set? Did that white lotus Victoria hire you to play some foolish prank on me in my hospital room?" she demanded with a scoff.

The girl, who had been crying and asking for forgiveness, stopped and glanced up at her in confusion. With trembling lips, she said, "I-I am Lydia, your maidservant, Y-Your Highness. Y-you're in your chambers. You had an accident at the inn when..." She broke down again and bowed her head. "I'm sorry, I really tried my best to..."

"Hold on right there, young lady!" Aveline held up her hands as she jumped out of bed in an unladylike manner that momentarily stunned the crying girl, her confusion deepening with every word the girl was saying.

When the girl stopped crying and looked up again to say, "I am not a lady, Your Highness. I am a mere servant who deserves to be punished for her incompetence..."

"Enough of all your nonsense and tell me where the nurses and doctors are. Why did they allow you into my..." She trailed off as she glanced around the room that looked nothing like a hospital room. It was more like an ancient chamber with golden decorations and a king-size bed with a weird-looking fur blanket.

Even the curtains were made of strange materials, and the middle of the golden-themed room had a fur center carpet. She'd be damned to mistake such a room for a hospital room. There was no smell of hospital, nor was there an IV drip in sight.

"This must be some kind of joke! Or am I on a hidden camera show?" she thought, starting to hurry towards the door to see if she'd find the people behind this nonsense.

"Your Highness, where are you going?" called the maidservant in concern, with tears streaming down her cheeks.

But Aveline ignored her. She'd been unconscious for who knows how long after a fall that would have killed the most fragile person. Thank God she was anything but fragile, but some idiot was here trying to prank her after she'd just woken up.

Where the hell was her manager, and why did she allow this nonsense?!

Opening the room's door, Aveline stepped out only to be met with a long hallway lined with young women in similar outfits as the girl calling after her in the room. A plain, boring brown dress. They all had their heads bowed down.

"Are you guys kidding me!" she exclaimed in disbelief. She couldn't believe the person responsible for pranking her would go to such great lengths to make it believable.

Her exclamation made all of the servants tremble and fall to their knees. "Your Highness! We are glad you're awake!"

They sounded more scared than glad, Aveline thought.

Whatever this was, she didn't want to be part of it. All she wanted right now was to speak to her manager and tell her Victoria had pushed her off the high stage stairs when she pretended to give her a congratulatory kiss on the cheek.

Her only goal now was to get back at Victoria, not to be part of some stupid prank show right after she'd woken up!

Ignoring the women around the hall, she began to hurry down the hallway, and when she realized that the crying girl, who said her name was Lydia, was chasing after her and crying even more, Aveline started to run.

But to her disbelief and horror, all the other women started to chase after her, calling, "Your Highness!" Their faces filled with intense worry and fear.

"I need to get out of this stupid set-up and speak to my manager! Stop chasing me around!" she shouted, ignoring their pleas for her to calm down.

After several frantic minutes of running around aimlessly, she stopped running, her breath coming in short gasps. She'd run out of the weird-looking building and was now standing outside it. She looked around, taking in the intricate details of the enormous ancient building with men in armor standing around, but upon seeing her, they all looked taken aback for a moment before bowing down.

"Your Highness!"

"Wait a minute... This doesn't look fake. What's going on?" she thought, panic starting to set in. She felt her stomach clench, and her knees shook beneath her.

This couldn't be what she was thinking, could it? She'd seen movies and read books about people transmigrating, and she'd even been offered a role in a movie where the character transmigrated to ancient times, but she would be insane to believe something like that could ever happen in reality.

This must be a prank, or she was playing a role in a movie without her consent. Nonetheless, the fact that there were no cameras nor directors and crew in sight made her heart begin to beat faster in panic.

Turning to the maidservants, who'd finally caught up to her, she yelled, "What movie is this? And why does everything look so real?"

The servants trembled, their faces pale with fear. "Your Highness, you've been unconscious for a day after your accident. There is nothing that is moving and everything is real," one of them stammered.

Aveline was about to speak again when something caught her eye. She noticed red strands of hair falling over her shoulder. She was a natural blonde. Where did this red come from?!

Panic and fear began to set in. "Someone bring me a mirror! Now!" she commanded, gathering the red hair between her fingers in disbelief. She must be dreaming, or someone had dyed her hair while she was unconscious.

"Yes, Your Highness!" The maidservant hurried to fetch a handmirror and came back within minutes, panting heavily as she handed it over with trembling hands.

Aveline knew a mirror was the least of her concerns when men in armor were beginning to come forward, curious about the commotion. But she couldn't help it when her hair was a different color, and she seemed to be in a dream.

She looked in the mirror, her eyes widening in shock at the familiar and yet unfamiliar face staring back at her.

"That's not me... Why is Victoria staring back at me in the mirror?" she muttered in horror and confusion, as she saw the person in the mirror move her mouth just like she did. She touched her face and saw it reflected.

"Holy hell!" she exclaimed and then her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed to the ground like a sack of grain.

The next time she woke up, she was back in that room, but a different kind of tension filled the air. She saw a tall, imposing man standing by her bed, his face a mask of cold fury.

"Here we go again. Who's this angry guy now?" she remarked in dismay.