CURRENT MOMENT IN THE KINGDOM OF PHOENIX.
SILVER PALACE.
Ariana tried hard to accept whatever happened to her at that time. She has started adapting by eating all the food served to her. Even though it's just soup and porridge, it's too tasty and suits her palate. There's really nothing to complain about!
So, to some extent, those foods comfort her.
After all, she had already trained physically and mentally to stay calm in any situation, especially when facing the enemy. So she just thinks that whatever happens to her now is just one of the same situations, even though it's obviously different.
Well, at least she is still alive and breathing!
After some time, Ariana, who already finished digesting, was about to make herself comfortable on the bed. Yes, again, even if she already felt tired of sleeping. What could she do anyway when she didn't know what or who she was in this weird world?
But before she could relax completely, Lily, who had run out before, came back at that time with a doctor who looked a little older, which Ariana was unfamiliar with. Behind her, the head butler who managed the affairs of this silver palace also walked inside, with the 'face' she knew very well.
This time, seeing another familiar face, Ariana tried to not freak out like before. She is just feeling curious about whether that person who has the same look as Mr. Smith is the person she once knew as her discipline teacher or not.
"Oh, my God. You are really awake. What a miracle this is. " The doctor said as if he had just seen a ghost but was also excited.
'Looks like me in here has no hope of living before after seeing the reaction. So why am I inside this body when she is dying? Does that mean my real body in the other world is possessed by this girl when I'm also about to die? Have our souls been switched by mistake? Ugh, it doesn't seem to make any sense, and all this thinking makes me feel dizzy.'
"Excuse me, princess. Please allow me to check on you for a moment. " The doctor asked for permission, and Ariana just nodded.
Carefully, he held her arms and began his inspection, together with his many tools, which Ariana had never seen, even if one of her brothers was a doctor. But Ariana can get a rough idea that the doctor is trying to read her pulse or something at the beginning.
Losing interest in the doctor, Ariana started eyeing the head butler.
"You... Is your last name Smith?"
'She talks first and looks me in the eyes without fear. ' He thought for a while.
He was actually taken aback a little by the sudden change, but as Lily was already explaining things when they walked here, he understood the situation. But when he experiences it himself, he cannot help but feel a little stiff.
"I'm the head butler of this Silver Palace, butler John Smith, Princess Ariana."
Ariana's eyes turned slightly sharp.
'He sounds the same. Familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. ' She began to analyze while looking at him intently.
Unknown to her, the head butler began to sweat in nervousness as the princess that he knew was a loner and not doing much talking, but now she is a bit bolder. Worst that he can't say that this change is not good!
"Umm... Do you have anything you wanted to tell the Duke, or you wanted to send a letter like before? I will send the message or take the letter to him like usual."
This question from him is kind of tricky. As awkward as the princess is towards the others, she really cares about the Duke. So if she remembers the Duke and continues her previous obsessive act, then perhaps all this is just acting to get attention?
To the head butler, shocked, Ariana ignored the question as she actually didn't really listen. Her mind right now is occupied with something else, or should she say someone who has- the -face -of -her -discipline- teacher!
"Are you perhaps good at driving a high-tech car in secret, and then suddenly an accident happens when some crazy person takes you to jump into the sea when you are bleeding like a waterfall, but then that crazy person is successful in saving your life?"
Head Butler Smith and Lily, who were standing next to each other, looked at each other before, and both clearly showed confused faces.
Ariana added,
"You know, inside the car? The cliff? And flying? " She just hinted at the 'car' words in case this person is Mr. Smith, whom she knows. It does not hurt to try. Also, she just gets impatient to know the truth even if she appears strange!
No! How could she be the only one trapped in this strange world? She refused to admit when she had calmed down because of the fact before.
"Perhaps you are talking about a horse carriage?" The head butler asked this as he only understood that part of her long words.
"Horse carriage?" Ariana began to imagine.
"Does that actually exist?" She can't believe what she just heard, but also excited to see that in front of her eyes, especially in real life. Yes, she feels that so much until she has already forgotten what the original objective of her previous question was.
"Aaa..." Head butler Smith looked at Lily at that time. He can't really handle this new princess.
Realizing what the head butler was thinking, Lily's eyes started to water again, indulging in sadness.
"Princess, if you want to go somewhere, I will arrange the carriage for you, but because you just woke up and I believe your health doesn't allow it yet, I'm afraid you need to rest a bit more before going out. Am I right, doctor?"
Ariana feels disappointed as she knows now that this Head butler is not the same Mr. Smith as she knows.
'But how can this all happen? Does this kind of thing really happen? Is this science? Or fantasy? Or I am just falling crazy!'
Ariana can just scream all this in her mind right now.
'Wait, did he just call me princess?'
By the time Ariana's new curiosity appears, the doctor has already finished his diagnosis and starts storing his equipment. But as all of them were busy talking, he didn't have a chance to interrupt.
"I'm afraid so, Princess Ariana. The thing is, you just came out from great danger and miraculously survived, even though many doctors and other experts have come to help you. So you need to be careful and really healthy first before leaving the palace. Your pulse is a little bit irregular, and your face is still pale. I advise you to rest for another month before starting to be active. Other than that, I must say, you are just normal now and there is nothing to worry about."
"What about her not really recognizing people and her sudden changes of personality?" Lily asked quickly.
"Ahem..." Head butler Smith warned her as he thought it was better to talk about that without the princess hearing it.
Realizing her mistake, Lily bit her lip.
Ariana didn't care about any of that, as she already knew why. Certainly, because the soul of the original owner of this body is lost somewhere! Not that she can say it out loud anyway.
Therefore, the doctor, Lily, and the head butler finally left the room to let her rest.
~~~~~~~~~~
SILVER PALACE, THE DUKE'S OFFICE.
"Your Grace."
Head butler Smith comes to see the Duke on the West Side of the Silver Palace after visiting Princess Ariana at her residence on the East Side.
As usual, he needs to report every progress of the princess to the Duke, as he has been responsible for that for a long time.
Nothing has changed, not even the accident that happened to the princess. This cold heart Duke didn't even go to visit her even if they were both tied together in one promise.
But still, he asked the head butler only about what he wanted to know.
"So, what did the doctor say today?" The Duke asked while doing his paperwork on the table.
"Princess Ariana is already awake."
The Duke flinched a little hearing that and stopped doing his work.
"She did?"
"She is already stable but needs to rest before being active as usual. The doctor said it was really a miracle that she survived this dangerous stage. Nothing more can harm her life now as long as she rests properly."
"She really is lucky." The Duke smirked while continuing his job again.
"But..."
The Duke raised his eyebrows while looking at the head butler when he heard the long prologue of words.
"The doctor said she is having amnesia. She can't really remember people apart from remembering some names, and that's it. But more concerning is she can't remember her real self. I mean, her ways of talking and behavior are not like the princess we all once knew."
The Duke went silent.
"Is there anything else that you wanted to know, Your Grace?"
The Duke just shook his head.
"Then, I'll get going now." Finally, the head butler excused himself after finishing his job there.
After the butler is gone, the Duke finally starts talking again to himself.
"She lost her memory?"