The complete absurdity of this whole situation was finally settling in, and I had half a mind to get up and grab Derrick or Mia by their collars to demand answers.
Mia was a sweet girl though; she had always been by my side. We grew up together, and she protected me from bullies. How could I even consider manhandling her?
She was a stranger!
One of my closest friends.
My hands flew to my head again, mind reeling.
Derrick’s sigh soon followed. “Her body needs to recover from healing magic. Mia, please watch over her. I’ll inform the Lord and Lady of Miss Bea’s situation.”
Despite my hazy vision, I watched him leave, the wordmagicringing in my head.
This was such a terrible dream.
Chapter One
As it turned out, two weeks was enough time to acclimate to your new surroundings.
That was a lie.
I really thought it was a huge, elaborate prank. Or maybe a drug-induced nightmare. But no, it was very real, and I was very much transported to this vague medieval fantasy setting, complete with magic, monsters, and annoying nobles.
Like in stereotypical roleplaying video games.
That was the first thing I made sense of when I let my head rest and my panic subside. No point in making a scene where I could be branded as crazy or possessed, and risk getting executed for it. That was how it usually worked, right?
So, for the past two weeks, I tried to understand as much as I could about this world, about the people around me, and especially aboutme.
The new me.
The old me was Bea, a nineteen-year-old woman, recently graduated from high school and about to attend state university. She lived in a cheap studio apartment and had an okay job as a fast-food worker. She had parents living in their home province and had an older brother finishing his diploma for his psych degree.
The new me was also Bea, a nineteen-year-old woman, about to attend a magic academy. She lived in an opulent mansion,complete with maids, butlers, and several staff who worked for the barony. She had loving parents busy governing the estate and had an older brother finishing his schooling in the same magic academy.
Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either, that I laughed like a wild banshee when I put the information together. Thankfully, I was alone in my room that time.
Another fact was my pseudo parents were barons, the lowest in the hierarchy of nobles. Despite that, we had enough money to employ at least fifty people in the manor alone. The barony encompassed this town plus the three villages surrounding it. In the modern world, they'd probably be called a mayor, or something similar.
We were still considered the “poorest” of the nobles, though. That was a fun fact.
These were the most important info I gathered so far. Noble ladies like me didn’t go out of the manor’s gates out of nowhere, apparently, even for the sake of research. The one time I tried, five of our guards stopped me, while my governess scolded me.
“You must stay inside, Miss Bea!” she had said, hands on her hips. “If you must leave, at least bring your knights with you.”
I had my own freakingknights.
While I was sure they would accompany me, I didn’t want to bother them. Watching the manor’s knights at the training yard made me wonder which ones were mine becausehot damn, it was like everyone was cursed to have good looks.
Anyway, most of my time was I stayed within the confines of the mansion. Perused the library, found out I could read the language well enough. Realized I already knew the important bits the library could offer me. Original Bea was an avid reader.
That wasanotherthing …
“Are you excited for school, Miss Bea?” Mia asked me with glee as she brushed my new shoulder-length, bouncy peach-pinkhair. Couldn’t say I missed my lame and limp brown hair, but I digress.
“A little bit, maybe,” I hedged, since I wasn’t sure if Original Bea liked the concept of studying magic.
I loved it.
