The engine screamed under my foot.
I pressed harder on the speed break, my grip steady on the wheel. The road curved ahead like it always did. Sharp, dangerous, beautiful. This was my kind of place. The kind where you feel the excitement into your bones.
"Easy," I muttered to myself. "You've got this."
The crowd was a blur beyond the barriers. I didn't need to see them. I already knew what they were doing, cheering, screaming my name, waiting for me to win.
Because I always did.
"Hehe."
The turn came fast. I leaned into it, tires screaming against the road. My heart stayed calm. This was the final stretch. One more clean move and… "Huh?"
A shape flashed in the rearview mirror.
My jaw tightened.
No. Not him. "That mf."
The car behind me grew larger, too fast. I knew that car. I hated that car. I hated the man driving it even more.
"You've got to be kidding me," I said under my breath.
The engine behind me roared. Vrooom.
I glanced again at the mirror.
He was right there.
"How the hell did you catch up that fast?"
My focus snapped back to the road. The curve was coming up again. I adjusted my hands, ready to take it then…
BAM.
The impact came from the side.
My body jerked hard against the seat belt. The steering wheel wrenched in my hands. Metal screamed. Glass shattered.
"Shit!"
Another hit slammed into my car from behind. Everything tilted. The road disappeared.
The sky spun.
"I can't lose! Not to you!"
For one frozen second, my car felt weightless.
Then it fell.
The world flipped. My head slammed back. Pain exploded behind my eyes. I tasted blood. The sound of crushing metal swallowed everything.
"Hahaha."
Darkness crashed down.
ৎ────
Noise dragged me back.
A sharp, repeating sound stabbed into my head.
Tito, tito, tito.
"Shut it down."
I groaned. My mouth felt dry. My body felt heavy, like I was buried under something.
Then.
BING. That sounded like a church bell.
I sucked in a breath.
My eyes flew open.
White light filled my vision.
No.
Not white.
Gold.
I blinked.
The ceiling above me was… fancy. Too fancy. Carved patterns twisted across it, detailed and clean. No cracks. No hospital stains. No flickering lights.
I stared.
"…Why does the ceiling look expensive?"
My throat felt weird. Tight. Soft.
I tried to sit up. My body moved too easily. No pain. No wires pulling at me.
That was wrong.
Very wrong.
I lifted my hands.
They were pale.
Too pale.
And small.
"What the heck…Did I lose too much weight?!"
The sound that came out of my mouth wasn't right.
My eyes widened.
"…Why does my voice sound like that?"
I swallowed hard and grabbed my neck.
Smooth.
No Adam's apple.
My heartbeat picked up. Fast. Loud in my ears.
Okay. Calm down. You just crashed a car at full speed. This is probably a dream. Or drugs. Or some very illegal painkillers.
"I need to ask uncle."
I pushed the blanket away.
The fabric was soft. Ridiculously soft. The kind of soft that screamed rich people only.
I looked down.
Long sleeves. Thin wrists. A dress.
A dress.
I froze.
"…Nope."
My breathing went shallow.
I scanned the room. Tall curtains. Wide windows. Furniture that looked like it belonged in a museum. And there.
A mirror.
Big. Tall. Standing across the room like it was waiting for me.
My legs carried me forward before my brain could catch up. Each step felt wrong. Light. Balanced in a way I wasn't used to.
I stopped in front of the mirror.
The person staring back at me wasn't Zach Mitchell.
She had pale skin. Long purple hair spilled over her shoulders like silk. Gray eyes stared back at me, wide, sharp, and very much alive.
Beautiful.
Too beautiful.
My mouth opened.
Her mouth opened.
"…What?"
I raised my hand.
She raised her hand.
"No no no no no."
I leaned closer to the mirror. Touched my cheek.
Warm.
Real.
"This isn't funny," I whispered. "Okay? You can stop now."
The woman in the mirror whispered back.
My chest tightened.
Then I screamed.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!"
The door bursted open.
Footsteps rushed in.
"My lady! You're awake!"
People poured into the room, maids, servants, all dressed neatly, eyes wide with relief. One of them rushed to my side.
"Thank the gods, Lady Elise!"
I stepped back.
"Who?"
They froze.
The air went strange.
"My lady?" one maid said carefully.
I laughed. A sharp, broken sound. "No. No, you got the wrong person. I'm…"
I stopped.
My name didn't come out.
My head throbbed.
Another maid stepped forward. "Please, my lady. You frightened us. Do you remember anything? You fell from the carriage. You rolled down the hill. You were unconscious for days."
Her words didn't make sense.
Carriage?
Hill?
"What are you talking about?" I snapped. "I was in a race. A car race. I crashed."
They stared at me.
One servant's smile trembled. "My lady… what is a car?"
Something inside me cracked.
I pressed my hands against my head. "Stop. Just stop. This place. This room, this is some kind of prank, right?"
No one laughed.
No one moved.
The silence pressed down on me.
I took a shaky step back, then another.
The walls felt too close.
"I need air."
"My lady, please, you should rest."
I shoved past them.
Hands grabbed my arms. I shook them off and ran.
The hallway stretched long and wide, lined with paintings of people I didn't know. Sunlight poured through tall windows. My footsteps echoed loudly against the floor.
"Lady Elise has awakened!"
Voices followed me.
I didn't stop.
I ran faster, skirts tangling around my legs. Doors flew past. Stairs appeared. I took them two at a time, nearly tripping.
I burst outside.
The air hit my face.
Green spread out before me. Gardens. Towers. Stone walls reaching up into the sky.
A castle.
A real, actual castle.
"Wait what."
I staggered to a stop.
"No. No no no no."
My hands shook.
"This is a dream," I muttered. "It has to be."
A maid stood nearby, frozen in place.
I grabbed her shoulders. "Slap me."
She gasped. "M-my lady, are you feeling unwell?"
"SLAP. ME."
She hesitated, then gently tapped my arm.
"That doesn't count!"
I slapped my own cheek.
Pain flared.
I hissed.
"…Ow."
Real pain.
Great.
I ran again until my lungs burned. When my legs finally gave out, I collapsed onto the stone steps, breathing hard.
"Okay," I panted. "Okay. Think."
I sat there, legs spread apart without thinking.
A few servants stared.
One coughed politely.
I looked down.
"What? This is how a man sits."
Before I could fully process my humiliation, a shadow fell over me.
A calm voice spoke.
"So," it said, smooth and cool. "You're awake, Elise."
I looked up.
A tall man stood before me. Silver hair caught the light. His clothes were dark and elegant, stitched with quiet authority. His eyes studied me like I was a problem he hadn't decided how to solve yet.
My stomach dropped.
Something told me this man was important.
Very important.
And very bad news.
I swallowed.
"Yeah," I said weakly. "But I don't think so."
And somehow, deep down, I knew…
My life had officially gone completely off the track