บท 8: ‘When’ am I?
"Please--"
There was only darkness all around and not a shimmer of light.
"No, please--"
Despite the lack of light, it did not feel cold.
"Why--"
Body feels heavy yet it is not a sinking feeling-- more like floating in midair.
"Why did you do this?!"
There is pain all over but no scream can be heard. Absolutely nothing.
"No, please. You can't--"
Is this a never ending abyss or is this how it ends?
"Don't leave me!"
How--
"No!"
Who is that?
"No. Nooo. NOOOOOOOOO!"
Suddenly, there was light and an array of images.
Flashes of red.
Terrified screams.
Blood chilling roars and long claws that slashes.
Chaos and panic.
***
"Ahhh!" Isabella screamed and woke up. She was drenched in sweat and her eyes darted around in the room.
Still panting hard, Isabella slowly propped herself up to a sitting position. She was in a bedroom. Most of the furniture was in pastel pink or gold, and there was also a rabbit doll placed on the edge of the vanity table. Her breathing calmed upon recognising the doll.
'This is my room. I miss that doll. I haven't seen it since--' Isabella stopped upon that thought. 'Why am I here?'
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Isabella jumped and turned towards the bedroom door.
"My lady, is everything alright? I thought I had a scream. May I come in?" a feminine voice came from outside the room.
"Ah, yes. It was just a nightmare. Do come in," Isabella replied.
A servant with short, brown hair entered. She looked young and had freckles on her nose and cheeks. Isabella's eyes widened in surprise. It was Sadie; the servant who had served Isabella before she was crowned Empress.
"Do you need me to get you anything?"
"Just a glass of water."
"Yes," Sadie replied, bowing and was ahead out the door when Isabella called out to her.
"Sadie! I--" there was a pause as Isabella hesitated and searched for the right words to say, "May I know what is the date?"
"Oh? It's the second of July, Tuesday."
"Okay... Mm… When… What year is it?" Isabella asked.
For a brief moment, there was surprise on Sadie's face before she realized and controlled her facial expression.
"Ah… Err… It's 638 of the Baudelaire calendar."
"I… I see… That will be all. You may leave now," Isabella said as calmly as she could.
Sadie bowed and left the room. Isabella waited for a few more seconds before rushing out of bed. A jolt of pain shot through her whole body and Isabella staggered. Every step felt like broken pieces of glass piercing the soles of her feet. Afraid that she may have actually stepped on something, Isabella looked down and saw that there was nothing on the carpeted floor.
Despite the pain, there was no blood or injury she could see. Isabella had half the mind to get Sadie call for a physician but she suspected that even the best physicians in the nation will not be able to identify the reason for the unbearable pain.
'Well, unless it is a sorcerer or witch,' she thought to herself grimly.
Biting hard on her lower lip, she fought to suppress a scream and held on to the edge of her bed and then the chair that was placed in front of the dresser.
Just the pain itself made her dizzy and her vision blurred, but Isabella did not stop in her tracks. She slowly limped towards the mirror on her dresser until she was close enough to see her own reflection.
"No…"
The girl who stared back at her from the mirror had the same pair of emerald green eyes and light strawberry blonde hair. However, the reflection showed a younger version of herself.
"This can't be happening," Isabella said softly as she pressed at her soft cheeks as she leaned in close to the mirror.
Her heart beat frantically and her head seemed to throb in rhythm to it.
'The plague will begin in two years' time and if the cycle is allowed to continue, the whole nation will be ruined in the year after.'
Clenching a fist to her chest, Isabella shakily sat in the chair and just stared absentmindedly at her reflection.
'Have I truly returned to the past or was it all a dream? If the ritual had been done correctly, I would not even be here. Then again, I've never been able to have full-fledged premonition dreams-- not to mention, years and years of the events to come. How will I--' Isabella never got to finish her train of thoughts when Sadie knocked and entered the room.
"My Lady, I've brought you the--" Sadie stopped mid sentence when she saw Isabella's face, "My Lady! Are you okay? You look as pale as a sheet!"
"I'm fine. I just got out of bed too suddenly," Isabella simply said.
'Well, technically, it is the truth,' Isabella thought to herself.
"Are you sure you do not want me to call for the family's physician?... Please excuse me." Sadie asked as she felt Isabella's forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever."
"Truly, I am fine. Don't worry about it."
Sadie just looked at Isabella wordlessly with teary eyes. Hoping to calm her down, Isabella smiled and held on to the servant's hand.
'After what seemed to be a long nightmare, I've forgotten what it is like to have someone so concerned for my personal well being, and not because of anything else. James, Lucy and Sir Ethan may have cared and protected me till the very end, but that was because I was the Empress of the entire nation. No… That can't be right… I shouldn't be dismissing their loyalty over such petty emotions. Ah, what am I thinking now? My thoughts are in such a mess.'
"Ermmm… My Lady?" Sadie asked and tilted her head as she called for Isabella's attention.
"Ah… Yes?"
"The Madame had asked if you decided on which dress you wish to wear for the ball next Wednesday…"
"Ball?" Isabella asked.
'Three years ago... I can't really remember but I think I'd attended a number of balls when it was close to my 18th birthday. Wait… If it is currently July, wouldn't that mean--'
"Yes, the ball that His Majesty is hosting for the crown prince's coming of age ceremony... You know, your to-be-fiance?" Sadie teased but Isabella just stared at her in horror which Sadie was oblivious to.
"No…"
Isabella's mind raced.
'Am I going to relive the whole nightmare again? What should I do now? In a few months' time, there will be an official announcement of my engagement to the crown prince, the future Emperor of this nation. It will happen during my own coming of age ceremony.'
"Oh? Shall I call for the tailor to design a new outfit or--" Sadie talked excitedly about the dresses and matching jewelry that would better compliment the appearance as a whole but Isabella had already stopped listening.
'I need to devise a plan to release myself of this bind that I'm in. The ritual clearly didn't work and I am uncertain as to what else could have unintendedly taken place. I need to find a way to not marry the crown prince,' Isabella sighed.
"Oh! I'm sorry for boring you with my incessant blabbering!" Sadie bowed and looked as if she was expecting to be reprimanded.
"No, don't apologize. I was just deep in thought. As for the dress and jewellery, let me consider my options a little bit more."
"Ah… Yes…"
"I instead have a personal errand I'd like you to do for me," Isabella said in a lower voice.
"What is it, My Lady?"
"I need you to get the nation's ancestry books from the library. Do not let anyone see you or know what you're doing," Isabella said.
Sadie looked as if she wanted to know the reason behind such an odd request but just nodded without saying a single word.
Once Sadie left on her errand, Isabella started checking the drawers of the dresser until she found a slip of parchment. Taking out a quill and bottle of ink from the same drawer, she began to scribble in a strange language. Being one of the few polyglots to have existed in the nation, Isabella was certain that no one would be able to either read or decipher the contents of which she was about to write.
'Whether it is a premonition or simply that I've returned to the past, I now have the time to hopefully work a way to prevent the dreadful events that are to come. Thus, I must note down everything that I can remember before my memory starts getting foggy as time passes.'
Isabella abruptly stopped scribbling and ink dripped onto the parchment.
'Being an Empress gave me the power to rule and make political decisions but I didn't have freedom nor the luxury of time to fully investigate and search for clues to solving the plague… Not to mention that I was merely a puppet and had only existed to fulfill a role that everyone wished upon me to do.'
'No, this time, it will be different. I will not become the Empress of this nation!'
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