Annalise's POV
A few days passed, and I still had many unanswered questions. Yet, some things began to make sense. Like why I woke up in a huge, fancy bedroom with a high grand ceiling.
I was staying in a palace. When I finally managed to take a walk out of the room, it marked the beginning of my amazement.
The hallway leading to my bedroom was nearly as grand, reminiscent of a museum, adorned with countless paintings depicting regal hunts and ancient battles.
The walls were painted with intricate designs of swirling vines and silver leaves, shimmering in the sunlight filtering through the high windows. Each step I took echoed softly, heightening the surreal nature of my surroundings.
But it was the outside garden that captivated me the most. It looked like it was straight out of heaven, with vibrant flowers in colors I had never seen, their petals glistening with morning dew.
A small river wound its way through the landscape, its water sparkling as it danced over smooth stones, creating a melody that felt almost alive.
I quickly befriended the two young maids who came with Hannah, though the palace was filled with many more.
After a few days of recovering, I commanded, "Tell me everything you know about me." They exchanged side glances before Roselle cleared her throat and answered with a bow.
"You are Duchess Iris of the Valenhart family… the precious daughter of Duke Edmund Valenhart." She paused, looking at me expectantly. "Go on," I urged.
She lowered her head again and continued, "You are the fated mate of the Alpha King Vincent and are to be married in ninety days, thus becoming queen of the kingdom Estoria, your grace."
"Fated mate…?" I asked
"Yes your grace…we werewolves are fated with one another by the moon goddess and yours is with the Alpha King Vincent"
A deep sigh slipped my mouth. "So where's this Alpha King Vincent… he hasn't visited me since I woke up… isn't that what a fated mate is supposed to do at least?" my wandering gaze fell back to Roselle and Selene who seemed to look terrified at my remark.
"Uhm….uhh…well…your grace…the King is a very busy man…you see" Selene answered, her voice trembling. Their sudden demeanor confused me so I decided to let it go. I wasn't ready to meet my or rather Iris's future husband anyways.
"Iris… Estoria… Vincent." The names rang a bell, but I couldn't place my finger on it. I continued to rack my brain for where I had heard those names before.
Roselle and Selene were eager to answer every question I could think of, though they seemed cautious of my new behavior.
Yet, whenever I mentioned something from the modern world, they exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions hinting at a belief that I might belong in an asylum.
"Does anyone have a cell phone here?" I asked Roselle one afternoon, the words slipping out before I could think.
"A cellphone? What's that, your grace?" she asked back, her brows furrowed in confusion. I sighed inwardly, realizing I was speaking a foreign language in this world. I stopped asking so as not to arouse any suspicion.
As I tried to make sense of the new world I had somehow fallen into, one thing remained at the back of my mind.
"This is nice... maybe this is God's apology for giving me a shitty life before" I muttered under my breath while relaxing under the shade in the lovely garden that sat behind the palace building.
No matter how much I tried not to think too much about it, it felt good, being treated like royalty, I barely had to lift a finger by myself.
For the first time, I had so much attention from so many people, all worried about me if I even took a wrong step or staggered slightly on my feet. It felt good… being cared for… being treated like a fragile being. Flashes of my old life ran through my mind.
Memories of being by myself, even on sick days, when I had no one to call. I remembered my mother casting me aside as a child too, hoping I'd simply fade away from whatever sickness plagued my little body.
But I tried not to get carried away. I had to get to the bottom of my new circumstance.
About ten days after I woke up in this strange world, I found myself hungry for books, something I thought I had lost. "Is there a library here?" I asked Hannah, who was brushing my hair meticulously.
Her brows raised in disbelief at my statement. "I guess Iris wasn't much of a reader," I thought to myself, averting my gaze.
"Of course, there is, your grace… the palace has its own library," Hannah answered, her face dissolving into a warm expression. "Would you like to go there?" she asked, now braiding a section of my hair.
I had only known her for a little while, but she grew on me quickly. She was the one I felt most at ease with, perhaps due to her motherly nature something I craved in my past life.
"Yes!" I answered, showing my excitement. My heart fluttered at the thought of reading exciting stories again.
"Wait! Stories… books… kingdom." My mind started to connect the dots. Everything happening around me felt like something out of a novel from my previous world.
I used to be obsessed with reading, but then I fell into a deep depression. I forgot how to enjoy a book. Most of the stories I once loved slipped from my mind. I barely remembered any of them.
I felt the blood in my body rush violently, and my heart thumped hard as a strange heat crawled up my back. "Am I in a novel?" The thought finally crashed into my head. "But how?" I was starting to breathe hard, and the blood drained from my face.
My pale expression and puzzled look caught the attention of Hannah, who exclaimed, "Your Grace! Is something the matter?" Her terrified voice sliced through my train of thought. "Are you feeling strange? Shall I call the pack doctor?"
"Oh no, no, I'm fine, I promise!" I assured her. As much as I enjoyed her worries, sometimes she overdid it.
"When shall we go to the library?" I asked, trying to change the topic.
Shortly after, Hannah took me to the library, and I scrambled to pick up my jaw. Towering shelves lined the walls, filled with colorful spines, some gilded and embossed reaching up to the high ceiling.
Sunlight streamed through tall, arched windows, casting a warm glow and illuminating dust motes that danced in the air.
I spent the afternoon shuffling through a few books, but even as I tried to distract myself with the happiness in front of me, the conclusion I had come to earlier lingered in my mind.
More days passed, and fragments of information began to align. The werewolf world, the luxurious palace, the scent of wildflowers and earth… I realized they were all details from a novel I had read long ago in my teenage years. It was a story filled with romance, intrigue, and danger.
I could almost hear the words echoing in my head, the pages flipping in a rush as I devoured the story to escape my reality then.
I dug into my memory, straining to remember the title, but it slipped away. "True heart… twisted heart?" I muttered, frustrated by my inability to recall. It had been over ten years, almost fifteen years, to be exact since I read that particular book.
But regardless of how long it had been, tiny fragments of the story began to fall into place. Then it hit me. I was in the kingdom of Estoria, and I was the character Iris, the fated mate of the Alpha King.
"Long curly orange hair… hunter green eyes," I gasped audibly, standing up from the bed where I had been lying.
A wave of déjà vu washed over me as I rushed to the mirror near my bed and looked again at my reflection.
Just like on the first day I saw myself in Iris's body, it dawned on me again: I was the fated mate of the Alpha King Vincent, the hero. Iris was one of the main antagonists of the story and I was dwelling in her body.
A wave of anxiety washed over me, and my body grew cold. The impending marriage loomed over me like a storm cloud, and a chill settled deep in my bones.
In the novel, Iris had met a tragic fate, trapped in a life she never chose. The realization struck me with terrifying clarity: I was living out her story, and I would meet a tragic fate too… all over again.
"Shit". I bit my lips.