'Uhh' I groaned while rubbing my head, still feeling dizzy from all the events that took place. For a minute, I actually thought they were all just a bad dream until my eyes adjusted, and I looked around me only to realize I was in a bedroom, one that looked somewhere between a king and a hormonal teen.
I'll be honest I don't know how long I've been asleep and still haven't fully comprehended What The Hell actually happened to me. All I know now is that the body I'm currently occupying is not mine but is that of someone very, very dangerous.
Why does life have to be a mean piece of shit?
Glancing at the mirror nearby, I realized that my new body was completely different from my original one. As I walked closer and all his distinct features came into view.
He looked right at me with the same curious and cold eyes I saw the other night. The sunlight that poured in from the tinted window made his tan skin glow. He sure was attractive even if his clothes were messed up and probably had the worst bed hair I have seen. He had long jet black hair that reached his shoulders, and I had to constantly push the bangs away from his face to look at myself.
Other than a mole under his left eye, his face was spotless, but his body had a different story. His chest and stomach seemed like a canvas made for cuts and scars, a few close to vanishing and few goods as new. The latest addition was the scar from the bullet wound. My contribution to his collection.
He was shorter with a lean, well-toned athletic body. I had lighter hair, not a single scar and a body more heavily built. The only similarity I could find was our fingers, both calloused. I spent hours mastering my guitar, and he wielded weapons. The one similarity we had made us even more distinct. Although this new body was a nice upgrade, I still preferred my other body, mainly because it was 'my body'.
"Uhhhh, why did I have to reincarnate into this stupid psycho's body? All I wanted to do was have a peaceful retirement at 60 and live with my 3 cats," I shouted to the walls.
At this moment, the door was thrown open, and in came Nova holding a tray with a bowl of porridge. After spotting me; eyed me from head to toe and said,
"I was about to wake you up, good thing you decided to do that part for yourself."
"Uhh, good morning to you too," I said, heart still hammering in my chest thanks to that scare.
"How long have I been out for?" I asked her as she set the tray down next to the bedside cabinet.
"About 3 days", she replied capriciously.
"3 Days, what did you make me drink!?" I exclaimed.
"The drug that I gave you only had effect for 2 days. You can thank yourself for spending the entire 3rd day sleeping," Nova answered.
"Now hurry up and eat your breakfast. We have a busy day ahead."
"But I-"
"Should I force you?" she asked while glaring at me.
"No, please…" I said as I took a seat on the bed and hastily swallowed spoonfuls of the warm porridge, it didn't taste bad, but I was scared Nova might shove the rest if I delayed. Meanwhile, she went through the wardrobe next to the large vanity mirror, pulling out a loose white shirt, which looked like a Victorian-era blouse and long black trousers. She placed them on the bed and turned towards me.
"Put it on quickly and come to my room" she paused. "You do remember where it is, right?"
"Yeash" I said with my mouth full.
"Good", Nova replied, "You know what to do if you encounter someone in the hallway."
"Good morn-"
"No!! You say nothing, absolutely nothing" Nova immediately interrupted me.
Does no one in this castle enjoy a good morning?
"Now listen carefully. As long as you are in Rhy's body, you cannot be your pitiable self. The moment your identity is exposed, all hell will break loose. Do you understand me?" She says.
Pitiable?Me? But I nodded as she turned to leave. Little did she know in my original life, I was an actor and a quite successful one, for that matter, though initially, I started out as a musician. One day I got a chance to join a web series and then discovered my passion for acting and climbed my way up. Though my career started not too long ago, I did get the chance to play a variety of roles. The ones I had played included A Doctor, A psychotic criminal, A boxer and one with a romantic CEO with a tragic story.
"Oh, and one more thing, unless I'm with you, never ever interact with Agaté; the old man you saw that day, he will see through your lies immediately," she said, and for a split second, worry-filled her face.
With that, she left the room leaving the door wide open, probably expecting it to close on its own. I gulped the rest of the porridge, picked up the clothes, quickly put them on, and left the room. The moment I stepped out, I was confronted by a tower of fabrics. A load of laundry perfectly folded and collected on top of each other. An older lady popped her head out from behind the pile, smiling cheerfully.
"Oh, good morning, Master Rhys. I didn't see you there." She said, dropping her basket to the floor.
Yea, I wonder why? I thought sarcastically but kept quiet.
"Don't worry about me, Master Rhys. You must be busy. I'll make sure to clean your room before you get back". She smiled once again before picking it up and walking past me. So people do say good morning around here. I smiled at the thought and continued on my way to Nova. As soon as I reached the automatic door, it pushed itself wide open for me to step in.
"You", Nova called out, not taking her eyes off her work.
"I have a name, you know" I mumbled, scared she might try poisoning me again if she heard me.
I walked closer to the giant crystal table where she had spread out different kinds of equipment and liquids. She grabbed the silver bullet that was covered in dried blood and other debris with a pair of tongs and dipped it into a purple liquid. Soon all the unwanted materials drifted to the bottom while the entire solution turned light green in response.
"Woah," I said, immediately shutting myself when nova looked at me.
"Soon, Rhys soon", I'm pretty sure I heard her mutter while rubbing that strange bracelet I had on me when I first arrived here. Which made me wonder if she knew that she was just a character in a novel…
My mind spaced off to a world before I came here. As I sat in the backseat of my car, listening to the music on the radio, I heard a notification from my phone go off. Please let it not be my ex again, I prayed, and to my surprise, it was a chapter notification from my favourite web novel. Words can't describe how I felt at that moment. It for once felt like the universe was on my side. I almost jumped in joy. It had been way too long since they had uploaded.
I wasn't a big reader, but when my career was just starting to blossom, I came across this underrated author named Vanilla. I simply fell in love with their stories. They were mostly clichés but somehow kept me intrigued.
The author was writing their third book called 'Aella - The Queen's legend' and it was becoming my new favourite, but it had stopped updating almost a year ago. It was simply like they had vanished. Since they wrote under a pseudonym, it was hard to even consider tracking them down.
The story was about a beautiful princess who overcame multiple challenges and became the queen of her land at the early age of 22. But this new chapter was different. It focused on a particular villain and his rebellion group. This character barely had a role in the previous chapters other than once threatening to kill the queen.
The whole chapter just went on with the queen planning on taking him down with some other useless monologues and dialogues until eventually, a messenger arrived with the news that he was shot dead.
What? That's it? I waited a whole year just to get this half-assed short garbage of a chapter?! All that build-up, and the guy is dead?
RING RING RING.
A call cut my train of thought. The caller ID showed an unsaved yet very familiar number, and in frustration, I answered.
"Hello?" I ask just to be met with a very familiar voice. One that I never wanted to encounter again.
Ah...My ex. What the hell is her problem? This is the last time I am going through this, and then I am blocking her again.
"Hello Jay", Emma's calm voice greeted me. What is this improvement? Usually, every time she calls me, it's angry cries and shouting, begging me to take her back.
"Why have you called me?" I ask, hiding the surprise in my voice.
Thinking about Emma only brought me painful memories. She was my first girlfriend, and I thought I found my one true love, but no.
Initially, the incidents were small, but it got to a point where she started spreading malicious rumours and even threatened to kill a co-worker of mine if she ever got within 5 feet next to me. After our break up, I have been doing soo much better, but she still hasn't left me alone. This is the second number I've changed in the past two months.
"Please, for one last time, come meet me. I promise it will be the last and will never bother you again. Please just come see me," She says with a sorrowful and pain-filled voice.
I sighed, hopefully after this time she might leave me alone and besides I wasn't in the best of moods. Might as well blow off some steam.
"Where?" I ask
"The-the lighthouse. You know our special spo." She says.
"Yes, I'll be there," I say, hanging up...
"Ahem." Nova cleared her throat, bringing me back to the current world.
"I have found a way to bring back Rhys."