"Oh my, look at her. She is still sleeping. Did she think she was a princess or something?" I covered my ears as the sharp sound annoyed me.
"Let her be. If she is still sleeping then we can go and enjoy the sun too. It has been days since the sun was out this winter.
It is not like anyone is going to come and check on her." I heard the sound of giggling and a few more curses around me when my eyes finally fluttered open.
"Thud!" The first thing I saw was closing the door with a bang when I opened my eyes. The room was empty but why did it look so big?
Wait a minute, room? Why was I in the room? Didn't i.. I died?
That vicious woman had killed me slowly, stabbing me slowly and hard until all my internal organs came out with pain, she continued to hurt me.
I remembered the pain and it still makes me tremble. But this room.. It is my room. I used to stay in this part of the palace when I was young.
But how could that be? Dead can not watch dreams, so it is not one. But did that mean I came back to life?
No! That is an absurd idea. I was not an angel that could come back to life if I still had this kind of policy. I was nothing but a burden!
I tried to move my hands and touched the sheets. They are not soft but rough too. I was never treated as a princess but a maid. But even the maids have soft beds in the palace. So, I am treated worse than them.
I sat up on the bed as I tried to assess my situation. If it is some kind of punishment given to torment mentally in hell, I will soon find out about it.
I tried to step off the bed but I suddenly felt that it was too high for me. Is this some kind of giant bed?
I shook my head and forced my way down only to notice the small legs that looked like a stick. A stick!
Wait! I raised my hands in front of my eyes and they were so small that they ended before they even started.
What kind of joke was that? I touched myself slowly and noticed not my hands or legs but I am small now. I look like an ant.
I jumped from the bed and was glad that there was a carpet below my feet so I was not hurt.
I dragged my tiny frame towards the mirror and peeped in it to find a small girl staring back at me.
I raised my hands and she repeated when I pinched the cheeks with them. There was no doubt that the baby reflected in the mirror was me.
It has the same green eyes and golden hair that I used to have but I have turned much smaller. Well, I am glad that at least I can walk and speak.
"Anna" I called myself slowly with some relief in my voice as if I felt myself hearing it back.
Once I was sure that I was alive and a baby, I scanned the room. The room was simple with a bed that did not fit a kid and furniture that meant for an adult too.
The table had some fruit and cold eggs. I walked and ate it silently. I did not call the maids since I remembered they have never treated me kindly.
They give food to me, of course. But they pass sarcastic comments and leave no chance to tell me that my father is a monster and I am like him.
They even remind me that I was abandoned and would never be loved.
I am not qualified to do anything and I am nothing but waste that was dumped here. I used to cry for hours or throw a tantrum when I met their scornful gazes. But with time, I started to believe in their words and accepted that I was worth noting.
Ha! To think that I was such a fool when I was kid. I remembered making so many mistakes and accepting my fate as a maid in the palace.
Even if my father did not love me, I am still a princess. Well, I should have been the daughter of the duke but my father had killed the old emperor and seized his palace and announced himself as the new emperor. So that makes me a princess too.
But my step mother never treated me like one. It was always about her and her daughter who are treated well. But if I am back, then in this life I am not going to repeat my past mistakes and suffer again.
I am going to live happily even if I have to snatch my share of happiness.
I silently finished my meal and then jumped from the chair again. I need furniture that suits my height or I am going to break a few of my bones with all this jumping.
Once I felt full, I realized that I was smelling gross. Ewww! I closed my nose as I felt humiliated. When was the last time they gave me a bath?
They truly treat me like a fool since I am a baby and could not do anything against them.
I walked towards the bathroom and looked at the bathtub that was of adult size too and sighed.
Making sure that i did not trip or fall in it, i sat on my knees so that my head would stay out of water as i started to wash myself.
"So, at what age have I returned?"