Chapter 4

SHEBA'S POV

"Your Highness, are you alright?" Their voices seemed so far away.

I could barely hear them.

All I could hear was the frantic beating of my heart, It was so loud that I wondered if they could hear it too.

I stared at my reflection, completely frozen. I didn't even notice when one of the maids hurried out of the room. The other maids dragged me towards the bed.

My mind raced in a hundred different directions.

If I was truly Princess Alera...and if Alera's story ended with her death...

Wasn't all of this for nothing?

Me dying in my world, the accident, the pain, the struggle to breathe. I remember every detail even to my final breath, I know I died.

So I just came here to die again....

Technically, this was better than being dead, but that didn't mean I wanted to die again.

Especially if Princess Alera didn't get a peaceful ending. She ended up beheaded.

I swallowed hard.

Absolutely not.

I didn't want to die like that, there had to be another way, I already died once. Surely I wasn't going to accept another death simply because some author had decided that this woman deserved it.

My mind went completely blank for a moment.

Then, just as quickly, it switched back on.........Wait.

I blinked.

If I really was inside They Will Always Protect Me...

Didn't that mean....... Ezra?

My heart skipped.

I straightened.

If Princess Alera was still alive, then Ezra had to be alive too, he had to be. Her death happened long before the war.

The war came later, his death came later, which meant........ Ezra was alive.

A strange warmth spread through me.......My Ezra.

For the first time since waking up in this strange world, I felt genuinely excited. somehow, thoughts of him calmed me.

Don't get me wrong. The entire situation was still completely insane, I died and I woke up in the body of a fictional character.

I am, apparently, a princess in another world.

And I know that this woman's future involved getting beheaded. There was nothing normal about any of that.

But I was dead in my real life.

The least I could do was try to get used to this one.

And perhaps...

Perhaps this was my chance....yes my chance to change everything.

My chance to make sure Ezra doesn't die.

The sound of strong footsteps approaching the room pulled me out of my thoughts.

I turned toward the door.

A moment later, it opened and a man wearing a white coat entered. That must be the physician.He approached me with a worried expression while the maids stepped aside.

"Your Highness, I was told you became dizzy."

I gave him a small smile.

"I'm fine. I was just a bit dizzy from standing too long."

The lie slipped out so naturally that I almost impressed myself. The physician, however, didn't look convinced.

"Nevertheless, I would like to examine you."

I sighed internally.

I hoped he'd simply accept my explanation and leave. Instead, he began checking me and I allowed him to.

There was no point arguing.

The sooner he was satisfied, the sooner he would leave me alone. He checked my pulse and examined me carefully, asking a few questions along the way.

I answered everything as calmly as I could.

Eventually, he seemed satisfied.

"There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with you, Your Highness. You should rest for a while and avoid standing for too long."

"I will."

He bowed and left.

The moment the door closed behind him, I exhaled, that was exhausting.

Then I remembered something important about Alera. Her father loves her.

Everyone knows it.

King William Von Asta adores his daughter, and because of that, the people around her were always extremely careful.

If anything happened to her, her father would probably blame whoever was responsible. That explained the panic in the room.

Nobody wanted to be the person who failed the king's precious daughter. I looked around at the maids.

They were still waiting patiently.

"Let's get you ready, Your Highness," one of them said.

I nodded.

The next part was...

Awkward........Very awkward.

I quickly discovered that princesses apparently didn't bathe themselves.

The maids began preparing everything, and I stared at them in disbelief when they indicated that they intended to help me.

"No."

They paused.

"I'll do it myself."

They exchanged uncertain glances.

"Your Highness...."

"I can manage." I cut them off

They looked reluctant and I understood why. Perhaps Alera had always allowed them to serve her. Maybe refusing their assistance was strange.

But there was no way I was going to stand there and let seven strangers bathe me.

Eventually, they gave in and I was grateful. Once I was alone, I finally had a moment to breathe. The bath was luxurious, far more elaborate than anything I was accustomed to, but I barely paid attention to it.

My mind was elsewhere.

I had too much to think about.

When I finished, the maids returned and helped dress me. The clothing was beautiful, elegant and completely unfamiliar.

I let them do their work without saying much. Once they were finished, I looked at myself in the mirror again.

Princess Alera stared back.

But behind those green eyes...

Was me.

Sheba.

I still didn't know why this had happened, I didn't know if there was some explanation. At this point I didn't even know if I can return back to my world since I was dead....and quite frankly I am not too sure I want to return

I was dead there.

There was nothing waiting for me anymore.

Here, however.....Ezra was alive.

That alone was enough reason to stay.

"That will be all," I said.

The maids bowed.

"Yes, Your Highness."

One after another, they left the room.

The door finally closed.

Silence settled over the enormous bedroom.

I sat on the edge of the bed and stared ahead.

Now I could finally think.

I needed to remember the plot and every moment that eventually led to Alera's death and Ezra's.

I needed to understand where I was in the story and most importantly ,I needed a plan.

Because I wasn't going to sit around and wait for the story to happen to me. I already lost one life.

I wasn't going to waste this one.