My head hurts. A lot. I can't remember what happened last. I try to recall. I recall nothing except my name being frantically called.
Reina! Reina! Please wake up! Reina, please!
"Please wake up, Regina." I heard a soft feminine voice murmuring in my ears. I felt my hands. They were clutched by someone's hands. I felt a drop of water on my eyes. That wasn't rain, this I knew. What confused me and brought me back from dead was my name change.
Where did that "G" in Regina come from? I am Reina, for Heaven's sake.
The drop was now becoming drops as they slided from my cheeks into my eyes. I blinked furiously against it to get the salt water out. I looked up to see a girl crying over my face. I realized the salty water were tears.
"Why the-" I was about to say something, but I stopped. This wasn't my voice. This was too deep, too musical, too velvety to be mine. You could describe it as a luxurious voice. That's how it sounded to me.
That's not the point, Reina!
I looked at the woman again. Now it was my time to get surprised. She was wearing a long purple ball gown with mutton legs sleeves; I could almost see how tight the corset was. Her eyes were green. She was a stocky redhead. I didn't understand the color combination. Her outfit too had several layers of black net. She had a choker on her neck and several other chains hanging around connecting to one another in ways I had never imagined before. She had her hair loose with another set of jewelry.
What was this? Was she King Tutankhamen's wife or something? Who was this rich to afford all that props?
I looked around. I couldn't find a trace of bronze or gold. Everywhere my eyes grazed was either silver or diamonds. Pristine luxurious white. I wondered whose taste was this good in this. And then I realized something.
Something I hadn't registered yet.
There were no cameras or recorders in the room.
The room's decorations looked way too real than the props.
I hadn't ever seen this lady in movie industry, it was impossible for her to imitate a genuine confusion and concern I could see in her eyes right now.
Regina, was it?
"Could you please tell me where I am right now?" I noticed how young my voice was. I sounded like a teen, not a woman in her thirties.
"Did you not recover? I should call the Royal Physician, again. Ah, it should be the Imperial Physician now." She touched my forehead with the back of her hand. Imperial Physician? Nice.
"Can you just tell me where in the world I am?" I asked irritated. Why was she so dumb? Ask her name and she questions back if you don't remember her. Like why on the sane world would people ask if they already knew the answer? Unless they were a teacher.
"Xeneth. You are in Xeneth, Regina. I can't believe you don't even remember where you were." She wiped her tears and now she seemed a bit furious. I couldn't tell if that was a bad sign or good sign. Because I had no time to waste.
Xeneth. I knew there was no such place on Earth. But I knew exactly where it was.
My head hurt again, and I clutched at it, trying to suppress my scream. The girl too clutched my arms and asked me something. But I couldn't listen.
Regina. Regina Patrissia. The hundredth consort of the King Rex III was not the first one to die amongst his wives but was the last one. Because after her came the Empress, everyone was waiting for. It was not amongst his formers but a foreign princess who had stolen his heart. She was the first consort after the Royal family turned into an Imperial one. Indeed, the number one hundred and one was always auspicious. And after her, the consort Liliana, no one died amongst his wives. No one accepted any bribes. They said she created a hallucination. Everyone was bewitched with her. Everyone heard to what she had to say. And it became one of the idlest Empire of the world.
The words of the book floated around my head. The book "The Saintess".
Right. I just had to die. Perfect, just perfect!
This wasn't what I had in my mind when I cursed at the God saying that wasn't the end. If my life now wasn't the perfect example of the end, I didn't know what was.
Out of all things, out of all people, out of all-
Something slammed into my face. Well slap might be better word. It was furry, I felt. I took it out of my face, the thing that was clinging to me like an octopus and glared.
I couldn't glare for more than 0.1 second.
On my hand was sitting a small-no, a very small sugar glider. It had big, round black eyes. And it was about the size of my finger.
"I know you are not Regina." I heard a voice in my head. I tried not to panic. "Nice acting, master. At least you understood how I communicate." The voice said. As if on cue, the little thing on my hand tilted its head.
I smiled. At least, God had enough sense to give me someone who knew things. Things like who I was.
"What's next, what do I do?" I thought, hoping it would be a successful telepathy.
"It's a one-way communication, master. I can't understand what you are trying to say."
Alright. I take back what I said about gratefulness. Living the world of the novel "The Saintess" should be easier than dueling with God.
"Pray, what's your name?" I recalled what I knew regarding the formalities of the time period that the novel was set in. I would have to be careful about people who were close to me. Though there was not much point in that. Regina was officially the most neglected character by the author and the characters in the story.
"REGINA!!! I am your best friend!" The woman shouted, her eyes widening in surprise.
?!
What? The Regina had a best friend? Okay, I successfully busted myself.
Now, I had to use my brain. What was the drill in transmigration stories and novels? Right. WWTPIAPD.
What Would the Person I Am Possessing Do?
Answer: I don't know. As the character I am possessing just breathes for existence and to fill in the number hundred in the consort list.
Next. Character Assessment.
Has one close acquaintance. Unexpected and unexplained variable.
Next. Victim Card.
"I have forgotten everything." I blurted. Her eyes narrowed. She had a look of pity in her eyes.
"Regina. I am so sorry. I... can't even imagine how confused you must be feeling now. And I have been imposing myself on you." She kneeled and kept her head on my thighs.
Well, how was I supposed to react? My being-Regina being wiped out of existence had changed a crucial point. Because her death marked the last misfortune in the history of this clan. There was no way the plots in the story would remain same. The more I change the plots, the more entangled I become.
At least that's what I learnt from hours of Mangas and stories.
The person who possessed would have been marked for death and the person would try his or her utter best. If they are a supporting character, they become protagonist. And the consequence was making a whole new batch of enemies. Inviting and courting enemies and then blame the course of events that brought in some trouble.
So, Survival 001. Do nothing. Right. Makes sense.
Let's start with my rules and to-do-list.
As expected of my master who is a woman of 21st century. She is perfect. The fluffy thing's voice sighed.
If something goes wrong in the damn plot, I am feeding you to the Emperor. I thought, even if I knew it won't work.
First things first. Never change the plots. The main characters were the Emperor who must be-
Hold on.
I closed my eyes in frustration. How the hell did I forget that?
The Emperor came home to a mourning family. A family member who he never knew had existed was dead. The celebration to mark his victory would still commence. The dead couldn't be brought back with mourning. They could only be respected and wished well for their next life.
If I woke up in this body, then Regina must be dead. If Regina was dead, the kingdom should be mourning her. The Emperor was about to arrive. If this lady was shedding some tears for me today then I must have died today, and the mourning period was three days. I should at least have three days at most.
Right?
A maid bursted in and seeing me awake got startled and jerked to a stop. The lady glared at her. Might be her subordinate.
"I-I-I can finally see the Young Lady-y-y well." She said looking at me. Though I didn't know what made her so anxious and nervous.
I guess that was the normal reaction to a dead who was now alive. I nodded at her and smiled. She then looked at the lady and bowed.
"Master, the Emperor has arrived. The Queen Dowager has summoned all consorts to pay their respects to the Sun of the Empire. There's a victory celebration in the evening."
Hah! Just my luck. Barely a few hours in this world and I am already meeting a person I shouldn't, the story has accelerated and now we're being summoned. The next moment I would be beheaded for all I knew.
"You are coming, right?" She looked hopeful.
"Sister, I have forgotten everything. As in, etiquettes and everything. I better not go and disgrace myself before his Majesty."
I had to be careful not to lose my head as soon as I entered the body. The story should be good in track for a few more days.
"But it will be fun. I know you want to go. Don't worry, His Majesty won't pay attention to you at all. So even if you do a mistake, you won't be noticed." She smiled as she convinced me.
Nice try, lady. A backhanded compliment I see. Might not have been her intention but the motive was crystal clear.
Something was going to happen soon. And it was going to come for me. Because my death didn't do the job, 'this event' would surely bring the story to its original track.
Nice. Getting started, are we?
Word count: 1869