My eyes snapped open
"Nina!" I gasped.
The word flew out of my mouth before I could even stop it and I shot upright in where i was laying, lungs aching like I had just come up from underwater. My chest tightened, eyes scanning every corner of the room as panic clawed its way up my throat.
She wasn't there.
A cold sweat broke across my skin, and fear twisted my features "Nina" I whispered her name like a prayer but silence answered back.
But what truly sent a chill down my spine wasn't just her absence—It was the room. The dim morning light slipped in through tall, unfamiliar windows, casting soft gold on polished floors and carved furniture.
This wasn't our room
Not even close.
Gone were the messy piles of laundry, the wall of K-pop posters, and the mismatched pillows stacked on our shared bed. The pastel curtains Nina insisted on hanging were nowhere to be found. Instead, this place... was something out of a fairy tale or maybe a history museum.
The bed I sat on was massive, king-sized or maybe even larger with soft sheets that felt impossibly smooth under my fingers. The frame was ornate and golden like it had been plucked straight out of a European palace. Heavy, embroidered drapes hung over the bedposts like curtains on a stage and the ceiling stretched high above me, covered in pale cream paint and carved moldings and even the walls gleamed like they had been hand-polished.
It don't feel real.
Slowly, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and let my bare feet touch the cold marble floor.
A shiver ran up my spine, not from the chill but from the growing dread building in my chest.
Where I am?
Where the hell was Nina?
I stood, unsteady, my knees trembling slightly as I took in more of the room. There were paintings on the walls, oil portraits of people in frilly clothes, all of them pale and noble-looking. A small writing desk stood by the far wall with a single quill resting in an inkwell. No pens. No notebooks. No graceful with white flowers blooming at the tips. A stone fountain bubbled gently in the center, surrounded by soft-looking benches and pathways. Birds flew past the window, actual beautiful birds, not the feathered rats I was used to seeing in the city.
I backed away, heart pounding harder now.
"What... is this?" I whispered to no one.
I pressed a hand to my chest. I could feel my heartbeat slamming beneath my palm, fast and chaotic. I tried to tell myself it was a dream. Just a dream. Some vivid fever-dream I had wake up from soon, maybe with Nina laughing at my sweaty face.
But my hands were shaking.
Everything felt too real.
The chill in the floor, the faint scent of lavender and candle wax in the air and the distant sound of wind moving through the trees.
I need to calm down..I need to think.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath
Knock. Knock.
My heart jumped into my throat.
A soft knock at the door, followed by a voice, gentle and polite.
"My lady?"
I froze.
Did she just say 'my lady?'
I didn't move, I didn't even breathe. My thoughts were racing so fast I could barely hold onto one of them long enough to make sense of it.
What if they thought I broke in? What if I was locked in here with some creepy roleplaying cult
The doorknob turned.
No no no!
No time to hide. No time to do anything.
The door opened and in stepped a woman, tall, poised, dressed in a long black and white uniform that looked straight out of the 1800s. Her hair was neatly tied back in a bun, her posture perfect.
Our eyes met.
I braced myself for the scream, to yell "Intruder!" or "Guards!" but instead, she just smiled. A calm, polite, almost warm smile.
"Good morning, my lady," she said, as if everything was normal. "Your family is waiting for you in the dining hall. The Count and Countess are already seated."
I stared at her.
Count? Countess? What was she even talking about?
"I–what?" I croaked, my voice hoarse. "Who are you talking to?"
She tilted her head slightly, still smiling. "To you, my lady. Who else?"
Nope.
Nope nope nope
I took a step back. "I think there is been some kind of mistake. I'm not a 'lady.' I'm Lana..and I don't know any Count or Countess and for the god sake where is Nina?!"
The smile faltered, just a little but she caught herself quickly and nodded, almost like she was humoring me.
"You must still be tired, my lady," she said gently, walking across the room like this was all completely normal. She opened the huge wardrobe near the window and began pulling out dresses, silk, lace, pale pastels in shades I usually only saw in historical dramas.
"I will prepare your clothes, milady. What would you like to wear this morning?"
I gawked at the closet.
Was this seriously happening?
"No, you're not listening," I said, my voice rising. "I'm not your lady and again, where the hell is Nina?"
That made her pause.
For the first time, a flicker of something passed through her eyes. Confusion? Concern?
She turned to face me again, hands neatly folded infront of her.
"My lady... who is Nina? And why do you keep saying you are not our lady? That would be quite impossible. You are Lady Elena."
The name hit me like a punch to the chest.
I blinked.
"Elena?" I repeated. "Did you just say... Elena?"
She nodded. "Yes, my lady, Elena Grace. Do you not wish to be called by your full name today?"
Elena Grace.
The words echoed in my skull. Familiar. Too familiar.
That name Elena Grace, the one I had heard too many times from Nina. The main character of her favorite romance series, the perfect heroine, the hopeless romantic and the damn naive little angel in heels and lace.
The girl I couldn't stand.
"Elena Grace…"
I whispered the name like it was cursed.
This has to be a joke..what the hell is happening here..
My fingers trembled as they curled into fists as my legs carried me backward without thinking until I bumped against the foot of the bed, needing something anything to ground me.
This wasn't just a weird dream.
This was a nightmare crafted by the universe itself.
Because Elena Grace wasn't just a name.
She is the Elena
The woman I mocked relentlessly, the heroine Nina adored, the delicate flower of a character who never raised her voice, never questioned authority and always forgive the man who break her heart.
"This is impossible," I whispered, pressing the heel of my palm to my forehead.
The maid watched with concern. "My lady… you look pale. Would you like me to fetch the physician?"
Physician?
I nearly laugh, yeah I needed a doctor but not the kind who will bleed me with leeches.
I forced myself to breathe. In. Out. Don't scream. Don't faint.
"Wait," I said, voice brittle. "Tell me again. Who... exactly do you think I am?"
The maid tilts her head. "Lady Elena Grace, daughter of Count Theodore and Countess Miriam. Firstborn of the House of Viremont."
I keep blinking, waiting for it all to blur, to melt away like dreams do but it didn't. The room remained the same, cold and unfamiliar in a way that felt violent. I wasn't stupid, I could tell the difference and this wasn't sleep. I don't need to test it. No pinch, no punch and no whisper "wake up" under my breath. The feeling in my stomach, the panic twisting like a blade, the ache in my chest, the frost on my skin... All of it told me the same thing, this wasn't a dream. I was completely, terrifyingly awake.
"Right," I said numbly. "Sure."
I turned slowly away from her, dragging one shaky step after another across the room toward the tall mirror near the armoire. I don't want to look, I don't want to know but I have to.
I needed to see with my own eyes.
The mirror's ornate gold frame loomed in front of me, the gilded vines and roses curled around it like something out of a museum as I stepped closer, my reflection came into view and my stomach plummeted.
This face.
This is not my face..
Long, red hair flowed down my back in soft, perfect waves, thick as silk. My skin was pale and flawless, not a zit or sunburn in sight. My lips rose pink and full, parted slightly in shock and my eyes..my eyes were a brilliant, impossible green. The kind of green that didn't exist in the real world.
"Holy shit," I whispered.
I reached up and so did she.
I frowned, she frowned.
I touched my cheek. She mirrored me, smooth fingers grazing smooth skin.
No acne scars. No eyebags. No trace of the me I know
I tried to laugh but it came out broken and hollow.
"This… this is not happening," I said, staring into those emerald eyes, "You lying.." the reflection didn't argue.
Because it was me.
It moved like me, breathed like me.
Except it wasn't Lana Salvador anymore.
It was Elena.
"Elena Grace," I said again, as if saying it out loud will make sense of it.
It didn't.
Behind me, I heard the maid's voice again, so calm like this was normal.
"My lady, should I inform the Count and Countess you won't be joining them for breakfast?"
I spun to her, my heart still thundering in my chest. I have no idea what these people were capable of, If I said I wasn't who they thought I was, will they throw me in an asylum? Tie me up and call it hysteria?
No..I can't risk it.
Not until I figured out where the hell I am or why.
"I…" I swallowed, then gave a weak wave of my hand. "Just say I'm not feeling well."
The maid nodded with a bow. "As you wish, my lady. I shall bring your meal here instead."
With a smooth curtsy, she turned and exited, closing the door gently behind her.
Silence fell again.
And in that silence, I sat back down on the edge of the bed, my body numb, heart still racing.
Where the hell was Nina?
Did she get pulled in too? Was she here somewhere, also trapped inside one of the characters? Please tell me she doing alright right now
I gripped the bedspread tight, trying to keep my mind from spiraling.
"Think, Lana" I muttered to myself. "You woke up here and now you are in Elena Grace's body. You are stuck in some historical fantasy romance..."
My hands found my face, elbows braced on my knees as I took slow, shaky breaths, just trying to stay calm.
I'm going crazy
"Did I really… woke up as the perfect heroine I hated."