Colette woke up that morning with an incessant beep echoing painfully in her head, she guessed the discomfort was related to drinking three bottles of wine in a row, she couldn't complain much about her hangover, it was already a miracle she hadn't died after that blurry night.
She stretched, throwing the sheets aside, whose fine fabric she did not recognize, perhaps she had fallen asleep in some other room while drunkenly wandering through the palace.
The rays of sunlight dazzled her as she tried to open her eyes and complained in a loud growl, her throat too dry to shout for someone to shut up or kill the bug that was making that infernal sound.
She squirmed back into the sheets and hid her head under the pillow, waiting for the noise to eventually stop, however, the slam of the door being abruptly opened made her jump and sit up in a hurry.
She didn't know of a place in the entire kingdom like that, the blue walls adorned with strange images and symbols, all kinds of colorful gadgets on the shelves, dressers, and bedside tables, and right in front of her an older woman with dark brown hair staring at her in an enraged expression.
"Do you have any idea what time you arrived last night?"
The woman asked crossing her arms.
"That is none of your business Madam." Colette replied, standing up in a defiant posture with her chin raised not caring that she was wearing only a nightgown.
"I can't believe you answered me like that! What's going on with you April ?! You're grounded!"
The woman yelled.
Colette was about to go slap the woman for having the audacity to raise her voice until she realized several abnormal aspects in the situation, which she mentally numbered as the shouting began to seem far away.
First; she wakes up in a totally unfamiliar room. Second; her body felt strange, she touched her face, her skin seemed younger, she looked inside the nightgown finding breasts and hips much smaller than usual, and finally; that woman had just called her April.
She felt dizzy and had to sit back on the bed, looking to the side she saw her face reflected in a large mirror across the room, she hastily crawled until she was a few inches from her reflection, looking at her in disbelief.
"Why do I look like a maiden?"
It was her face, it certainly was, but it still had the youthful glow of years ago, similar to how it looked at the time she met the one who would become her husband.
The only thing truly strange about her appearance was the absence of her long, wavy hair, being replaced by a hideous tangle of short hair.
"Someone will pay with his life to do this to me" She said clenching his hands into fists.
"As charming and friendly as ever"
A feminine voice answered, when Colette raised her head she saw a girl with blond hair wearing something similar to underwear, with a skirt that barely covered her thighs, before she could even turn around it lunged on her back.
"I'm happy you're alive, I thought your mom would kill you after yesterday."
Colette grappled with the extra weight on her back until she was able to shake it off with a slashing motion.
"Don't touch me".
"Api, I can't believe you're so ungrateful after I took care of you and brought you home safely."
"I don't know who you are. And you don't seem to know who I am since you dared to jump on me." She replied, standing up and brushing out the wrinkles on her nightgown.
The blonde imitated her by standing in front of her, grabbed her shoulders, and spoke seriously.
"You are April Morgan, and I am Emma, and we'll be two students in trouble if we're late for the welcoming ceremony."
"I'm not the one you call April, and I shouldn't be here."
The blonde nodded, for a moment Colette thought that she understood and could now give her directions on how to return to the palace.
"You're absolutely right, you shouldn't be here like an idiot trying to evade your responsibilities, you should be in the bathroom cleaning up to go to school."
"You said your name is Emma, right? I need you to listen to me carefully Lady Emma, I'm not April, my name is Col-"
"Tell me on the way, go shower."
She was interrupted and pushed into a small white room with a large porcelain bowl and a seat of the same material with a hole where it contained water, she did not know how long ago that water had been put there, and she needed fresh water to wash so for want of a bell he chose to shout the only name he knew.
"Emma! Emma! Emma!"
Hurried footsteps were heard approaching before the door was opened by the blonde looking flustered.
"Are you okay? Did you fall? Do you need medical assistance?"
"I don't know how to wash in this place, do it for me." Colette replied, beginning to undress.
After being groomed by a very grumpy Emma, arguing about having to wear 'such indecent clothes for a lady', refusing to eat any food that hasn't been tested by someone else before, refuse to get on the strange metallic carriage, and complaining all the way from having to walk, April finally made it to school and Emma sighed wearily.
The principal gave a short speech to the students and directed them to their classrooms, Emma had to stop April from being enthralled by looking at every electrical device or flashy accessory on the way. By the time the blonde managed to make her friend sit in her place, she was already exhausted.
"Emma!"
A boy greeted her as she entered the classroom, then went to her side to kiss her on the cheek.
"Enough, I'm so sick of my name, this girl has been yelling it all day."
She responded by pointing to April, who was looking curiously at a pencil.
"Hey Api, everything is fine?" The smiling boy approached and put an arm around his shoulders, Collete violently shook off his touch, turned towards him, and with a cold and distrustful look asked him.
"Who are you?"
Chris, who used to greet April affectionately, was surprised, although the girl was usually not very assiduous in showing affection, she was not so serious when she pushed him away, and her eyes didn't give off that dangerous shine.
"Ignore her Logan, she's been like this all morning, I don't know what she's playing at."
Emma said dismissing it with a wave of her hand.
A crash caught the attention of everyone in the classroom, a boy had tripped over some seats and was about to fall.
Colette looked at him only by reflex, but then she recognized those green almond eyes and messy black hair, the boy seeing her almost fell backward again.
"You, I know you ..." She stammered without understanding what was happening.
The boy closed the distance between them in a couple of strides and looked at her closely.
"Colette. How did you get here?"