She was standing there, in the middle of the square, the crowd of people bustling in the afternoon sun, it was what they called, ' The Sun Market.'
She wore a hood to cover herself thoroughly and didn't carry any particular weapon with her other than money and a few jewels to give to anyone whom she found useful there.
Suddenly as she mumbled the name of Janice's mother, a voice responded, "Yes?"
She flinched.
It was like there was someone who misunderstood something, or maybe the voice was talking to someone else in the first place.
Lots of questions flooded her mind as she was about to turn around.
She took a long breath and dared to turn around.
"Janice?" the voice warmly said.
Janice looked up in the eyes of the owner with a soft and motherly voice.
"She is pretty." Janice thought to herself.
"What are you doing here?" She anxiously asked as she shifted her shopping bags from the left hand to the right hand, just so she could touch Janice's face.
"Mom?" Janice spoke softly as she didn't know how Janice Tyler addressed her mother.
"Oh!" Janice's mother quickly took her hand back.
"So it's you." She mumbled.
"What? I'm sorry?" Janice asked politely.
"Anyways come with me. It's time for lunch. We should have it together." Janice's mother warmly smiled and led the way.
The streets were narrower compared to the outer side of the market.
People seemed to be doing well, not extremely but certainly.
She glanced at the shops that stood on either side of that one-way, compact road.
"How big is this market?" she mumbled.
"Well big enough to accommodate all the people banished from the capital, I guess." Said Hera who was walking ahead of Janice. Janice replied shortly with a surprised expression.
"She has sharp ears I guess." Janice thought as she continued walking behind Hera and admiring the colorful market.
Soon they reached a small building with two floors.
It seemed like a private residence but as soon as they entered inside she saw a huge casino in front of her.
"Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but still they carry on this business right under the nose of royalty?" Janice thought as she quickly glanced through the entire ground floor casino.
"You can be surprised. You are allowed to." Said Hera.
"Excuse me?" Said Janice as she was puzzled.
"Come up with me, will you?" Said Hera as she started climbing the stairs that led to the floor above.
"She knows? How can she? What is her intention exactly?" Again all kinds of questions flooded Janice's mind but still, she climbed the stairs.
They walked a little through what seemed a long corridor and then entered a room.
The atmosphere inside the building was itself dark making it hard to guess was it a day or night outside. But the room was much darker until Hear lighted a candle.
"Why did you bring me here?" asked Janice quite boldly even though she was nervous.
"Settle down first." Said Hera as she placed her shopping bag on the table.
The room was quite big. It was like the room that Janice saw in the ducal mansion.
"This is my bed-chamber. Make yourself comfortable."
It was massive, extravagant, and oozed with what can be called Riches.
"This is how I like my abode to be.", Hera said as she judged Janice's gesture.
"May I?" Janice asked as she pulled out a chair intending to settle down.
Hera nodded and settled down too.
"You are not Janice Tyler.", Hera affirmed with a smile.
This sentence shocked Janice much more than her current reality.
"I must not show any expressions." A decision quickly came to her mind.
"What are you saying, mom?" She said nervously.
"Yes, Janice never called me Mom." She said with a smile as she poured tea for both of them.
A lady, with slight wrinkles on her face, showing the signs of the hard days she would've been through. With a glamourous gown and makeup that made her eyes and lips seem much younger. But still, there was a sharpness that in her expression. Baroness Hera Tyler, she was.
"How did you know?" Janice asked with a certain precaution.
"Since you believed me, about what I told you about Janice. Real Janice Tyler would never come here. But I expected you anyways." She said calmly.
"What is this woman thinking, and what does she mean by she expected me?" Janice thought to herself.
"You didn't come alone in this world child." Hear said placing her cup down.
"You can call me Janice. My name is Janice Green." Said Janice instinctively.
"I know you came here in search of answers Janice. But there are many things that I can't tell you using my abilities. But there are two things I would love to tell you about." Hera confirmed.
"May I know those?" Janice said excitedly.
"Firstly, you accomplice can be you life-saver or enemy who followed you here for revenge. And second important thing is, the answer you desire starts from the place you first landed when you came here. That is Gilbert Mansion." Hera said.
"I can't clearly explain everything directly since my power is declining day by day, but beware of the decisions you make. Be careful to who you keep close Janice." She warned.
"Thank you for everything but can I ask you how you know so many things about the soul which is a stranger in this world?" Janice asked.
Hera smiled and said, "Because I am a witch."
Janice didn't know a secret like this will come to her knowledge like this.
"So, Janice?" she inquired.
"Yes she was one too, but since she used all her powers at once for something.", Hera said.
"Can you tell me about Janice Tyler?" Asked Janice.
"Of course my child." Hera warmly said.
Soon it started to grow darker and it was time for Janice to return.
"While I was listening to all the stories of Janice, I totally lost track of the time. Thank you so much, ma'am. But now I must return." Janice got up in haste.
"Yes sure, you are welcome to return here whenever you feel like. After all, this casino is owned by the Gilbert Duchy." Said Hera.
Janice was too exhausted to even get shocked at this point. So she just smiled and bowed.
"Also call me mom. I like it that way Janice, after all, you are Janice, aren't you?" Hera said as she waved goodbye to Janice.
It grew dark and the true colors of the sun market came out. Few lanterns illuminating the street partially and only drunk and dazed men roaming on the streets. Hera sends a guard with Janice to the other end of the alley. They walked through the chilly and deserted alley. Somehow after hours of conversation with Hera, Janice unknowingly came to trust her. She was the first person Janice could trust. And thus walked with the guard.
Soon they reached the end of the alley.
"Your carriage is here ma'am." Said the guard who wore a black mask, with a bow.
"Thank you so much.", Janice said as she was climbing the carriage.
"Here is something master wanted to give you earlier, but couldn't since there were many eyes watching in the casino." Said the guard.
He handed over a diary and a note.
"Say thanks to mom for this." She said with a smile.
It was a night, that made Janice remember the night of the ball.
"Things here are different to what it was in my world. Maybe because it isn't my world. But I found someone trustworthy here." She said to herself as she was traveling back to the mansion by the carriage.
"Accomplice? Everyone just Is speaking of that person but who could it be? And now I also have a major clue that could help me know Janice's past." She felt a little assured.
"I didn't have parents in my world. The one I felt would be my parent, turned out to be an obsessive demon. The one that I wish for now is never returning to my world." There were tears in her eyes.
"I was supposed to meet Noah the next morning, I wanted to clear all the misunderstandings, but I guess I don't stand a chance anymore. I do regret a lot of things even though I got a new life." She mumbled.
They soon reached the mansion.
"Welcome my lady." The servants welcomed her.
"Where is the duke?" she casually asked as she was removing her coat.
"Why do you want to know that?" said a woman's voice who stood was coming down from the stairs.
"In a night robe? Countess Wendy, you seem to be quite a loose woman." Janice taunted Wendy Brooks.
"Well I was certainly with my lover, and I only have one." Countered Wendy.
"He is a married man. The duke is my man, I am the duchess, believe it or not." Janice said as she proceeded towards the grand stairs.
"Who is your man?" Said Noah who came to that from his office which was on the ground floor itself.
"Wasn't Noah in his bedroom, what is he doing here in his office." Janice thought.
Wendy quickly rushed down the stairs to come and hug Noah ignoring Janice, but Janice quickly went to know and hugged him tightly.
"Of course you are my man, Noah." She said giving Wendy a winning look.
Wendy stood there with a look of an irritated child.
Janice immediately judged her expressions, "She is like an open book. Is she really the one behind all the evils?" She thought.
" Oh am I your man?" said Noah who was still holding Janice in his arms with a smirk.
"So shall we go and do what a man and his wife would do?" he insisted in a teasing manner.
They showed ultimate affection in front of Wendy as she stood there being confused and scared. Even the servants stood there with a shock as they saw a sudden change in the duke's behavior.
"Shall we go then?" said Janice with a naughty expression.
Noah flinched as he heard words.
They went straight ahead to Noah's room.
"Is this really Janice? How is she behaving like this in front of an unknown man? Did she fall in love with this duke's face?" All kinds of questions were running through Noah's mind as they were heading towards his bedroom.
"I guess we should stop now." Said Janice with a cold voice. "They can't see us anymore. So I'll head to my bedroom." She furthered.
"What? All this was just a play?" Noah thought as he got slightly irritated.
"I should be happy that she doesn't like this duke's face but still I am getting annoyed at her words." Noah thought.
"How about you drink wine with me since we can't eat dinner as planned. Let's eat something too." He insisted in a soft voice as he stood with his back facing Janice.
"Sure." She agreed quickly.
"Let's eat together in my room if not a problem." , Janice said casually.