Would you like to:
1. Knock on the prince's bedroom door?
2. Go back to your room?
"Crap, I don't know. I am sure Princess Shaya already made her move." Gene looks at her phone, frustrated, then she throws it on the bed.
'This game is getting harder. Maybe I should have chosen a different character.'
"Gene," her mother calls, barging into her room without even giving her a second to answer. "You know I would appreciate it if after a whole day spent working like a dog, I would come to a clean house."
Gene stares at her for a moment. This has become the norm—her mother is always mad at something.
"Were you on your phone all day, again?" She does not allow her to answer before adding. "Do you think it's fair that you are sitting on your ass all day while I am out working since six in the morning?"
'She just doesn't get it. How could she? She has been in denial about her own depression for years.'
Gene decides not to say anything. Talking back will only aggravate her mother more. She found that staying silent until she finished ranting is the best course of action.
"I'm going to bed," her mother finally announces after a moment of silence. She slams the door so hard the whole wall shakes.
A sigh escapes Gene's lips.
She wasn't always like this. She landed a job right after she graduated from college, a very good job. She was the first woman architect to join Morrison Architecture and Design. The third largest company in the country.
Unfortunately, being the only woman there was hard. She had to work twice as much to prove herself. She did not mind, though, as long as her hard work was recognized. The bullying was what she couldn't take. It kept getting worse and worse until she couldn't take it anymore. She quit her dream job only half a year after she joined.
"Damn it, now I feel like drinking."
She sneaks into the living room and looks through her mother's liquor. She always has some for when her friends come over on game nights.
'Bingo, Vodka.'
Gene grabs her phone and heads to the rooftop. She has always thought that the beautiful view from up there was the only good part about living in their crime-infested neighborhood.
She sighs and watches as her warm breath takes shape in the cold. Then, she takes a big gulp of the cheap vodka. The liquor leaves a burning trail in her throat.
It wasn't just losing her job that led Gene to where she was. After she did, she was really depressed, but she was grateful that her boyfriend was there for her. Steven was such a sweetheart. He really took care of her. He gave her the strength to go back out there, apply for other jobs and really try to get over what happened.
One day though, it was all shattered when she found out that Steven was actually married. He had been with his wife for five years, two of which he was dating her as well.
"How can I be such an idiot?" she screams at the city lights in the distance.
She would have never found out if it wasn't for a lucky text message she read on his phone. Her boyfriend's betrayal destroyed every grain of confidence she had left.
'So here I am, thirty six, jobless, fat, and leeching off of my mom.'
The only thing that helped Gene take her mind off of things lately was a phone game that she was sure she was addicted to. She takes out her phone and opens the Love Game App.
"Oh, Prince Brandt." She looks at his picture as the game starts. "I love you." She kisses the screen. "I don't need anyone else but you, my prince."
'I am not ashamed of saying it.'
She discovered this game three months ago while she was watching some Anime online. She was hooked right away.
Gene thought the settings were catchy: After Crown Prince Brandt's fiancée was executed for treason, the king decided to invite princesses from neighboring countries and daughters of noble families for the prince to choose his future bride, and eventually, queen of the country.
Her character was Princess Helga, she was beautiful and smart, and she was almost certain that the prince would choose her in the end.
"Maybe I should just knock on his bedroom door and see what happens." Gene looks at the game options again and clicks on option one. She takes another sip of vodka but notices that the bottle is already empty.
"Crap, did I just finish it? Mom is going to be pissed." She stands to go back downstairs, but suddenly gets dizzy.
'Shit, how drunk am I?'
Gene takes a careful step to the edge to get down, but she loses her footing and falls.
She feels strange—as if everything is moving slowly. She doesn't hit the ground either. Instead, there is a bright light that keeps getting brighter as her falling body floats toward it. Then, everything goes dark as her consciousness slips away.
When Gene opens her eyes, she finds herself in an unfamiliar sunny room. The light is so radiant that she has to squint her eyes.
"Oh, you're awake."
She looks toward the voice, but she only sees a silhouette.
'Crap, am I at the hospital? Was I injured in the fall?'
"The doctor said there are no broken bones," the female voice speaks again, "But there was a blow to the head that might cause you migraines for the next few weeks. He will come back tomorrow to check on you."
Gene hears the woman sigh, she is still not able to see anything clearly.
"Honestly, I was hoping you would just die from the accident."
Gene feels her heart speed up. She blinks fast, hoping the action would help her sight adjust, but it doesn't. The woman walks away and slams the door shut.
'What the hell? What kind of nurse talks like that?'
Gene squeezes her eyes shut, then opens them again. She repeats the action a few times. Finally, the blurry surroundings start to take shape, but something is strange. She is not in a hospital. In fact, she can't think of any place in Budapest that looks like this.
The room is large and the ceiling is high. There is a table with two green chairs by one of the four gigantic windows. A wooden desk in the right corner, a vanity and two doors on the left side. The bed she is in is also big, probably a king size, and it has four posts with white drapery beautifully hanging from it.
'Maybe I'm dead?
No, the woman earlier said she wished I had died. Who the hell was she anyway? She did not sound like mom . She is the only person I can think of who would say something like that.'
Suddenly, one of the doors flies open and a young woman rushes in.
"My lady."
'Who now?'
"I am so happy you're alright." She takes Gene's hand in hers. "Your horse injured his leg in the fall but he will be fine."
'My what?' Gene is confused, she can feel the start of a migraine.
The woman notices her confusion. "Are you alright, my lady?"
"Who are you?" Gene finally asks with a voice that she doesn't recognize. Her question shocks the woman.
"I am Veda, your maid," she answers, but Gene finds her answer ridiculous and a chuckle escapes her mouth.
When she is met with a serious face, she studies the woman. She does look like she is wearing a maid's costume. Something out of a Historical Anime Cosplay.
'Is this a hidden camera kind of situation? Am I being punked?'
She stares at the woman for a moment, then swallows hard when a thought crosses her mind.
"Who am I?" Gene asks with a small voice.
The maid's eyebrows knit even more as she stares at her.
"You are Lady Siv, daughter of the Duke and the late Duchess of Lohja and the fiancée of Crown Prince Brandt, my lady."
Gene's mind goes blank for a moment, not a single thought. She just blinks at the maid a few times.
"Are you kidding me? Did you just throw names of characters from Love Game at me?" she scoffs. "Alright, where is the camera?" she asks as she looks around the room, holding her arms up in surrender. "You guys got me. Is this about reaching level 35?"
Veda mirrors her actions and looks around the room. "My lady, who are you talking to?"
"You can stop the act now, I said you got me."
"My lady, you are not making any sense." The woman's face is pale and alarmed. "I think I am going to request the doctor to come check you right away." She immediately rushes out of the room.
"Huh?"
Usually, when the person realizes that they were pranked, somebody comes out and shows the hidden cameras. Maybe shake hands and have a good laugh.
'Why is no one coming out?'
"Hello?" Gene calls, hoping that someone shows up soon.
She continues to walk around the room and check for small cameras. Until she comes face to face with her reflection in the vanity mirror. Her blood freezes in her veins.
'What the…'
She walks closer to the mirror and touches it to make sure it is real. When her movements match her reflection, she squeezes her face to check that it is not a mask of some sort, then she pulls her hair.
"What the hell? It's all real." Her body trembles at the thought of this impossible situation being real.
'It must be a dream. I have been playing that game way too much lately.'
She slaps herself a few times in the hope of waking up, but she does not.
She looks back at the mirror and studies the face staring back at her. Big blue eyes, long blond hair, a skin so fair it looks like it would burn just by walking outside. Her knees buckle at the realization and she falls to the floor.
'Even if this is happening—which no sane mind can accept—why is it that I am not the character that I used in the game? Why am I not Princess Helga?'
"Why the hell am I the side character who's going to be killed for treason?"
*********
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