Lily could feel her body rocking back and forth, and her eyebrows pulled together in a frown. She opened her eyes to find herself staring at the ceiling of a decorated carriage. She looked around but saw nothing familiar. She was sure she had died of the plague.
She raised her hands. The gangrene was gone. Her skin looked smooth, her nails neatly trimmed. Glancing down at her clothes, she saw a pink gown with a tightly fitted corset that accentuated her waist. She exhaled, and a soft floral scent rose from her. It lifted her mood.
She had loathed being dirty. Being locked up for two weeks without a bath was worse than the plague itself.
"Do people take carriages to the underworld?" she muttered aloud, then froze when she heard someone chuckle beside her.
She sat up quickly and turned her head. The sight before her made her blood run cold. She screamed her eyes rolled back and she fainted.
"What a coward," the voice said, laughing. A pale girl floated up to the carriage ceiling, hanging upside down. "I'm not that ugly," she added, touching her cheeks. "Just a bit pale."
The carriage stopped. The girl, still suspended upside down, watched as servants rushed in and crowded around the unconscious teenage girl, rubbing her hands and trying to wake her. She smiled wickedly as Lily stirred.
"She's waking up," the girl whispered gleefully. "This is going to be good."
As soon as Lily's green eyes fluttered open and locked on the figure floating above her, she screamed again and collapsed a second time.
"This is so much fun," the ghost giggled, floating down to sit behind Lily's unconscious form. She watched the confused maids try to revive their mistress once more.
"She's going to have a heart attack and die again," the ghost said, laughing. "I should probably stop scaring her."
When Lily finally woke up again, she sat up slowly, confused. "Is this hell?" she whispered, glancing around.
Her gaze locked on the pale figure with long hair, sunken eyes, dressed in a white, flowy gown, and smiling oddly. She looked like a teenage girl, but Lily knew instantly she wasn't human.
Lily closed her eyes and reopened them.
"I'm not going to disappear," the ghost said flatly. "And I'm tired of your shrill screaming."
Lily's eyes widened in horror. "What are you?" she asked softly.
The girl sighed. "We can do this all day. You can keep fainting. I've got all the time in the world. Or you can listen to me. I'm not going to hurt you. If I wanted to, you wouldn't even be awake."
Lily nodded hesitantly.
"Your Highness, are you alright?" one of the maids asked gently. "You were staring so vacantly."
Lily looked up, startled. Several girls in servants' clothes and two others in gowns were surrounding her.
"Your Highness?" one repeated, confused.
Lily turned back toward the ghost. The girl floated lazily in the air and pointed at the maids.
"Send them away. I'll explain everything."
"I'm fine. I just need to sleep. Please leave me for now," Lily said, waving them off.
"But Your Highness...."
"I said I'm fine. Go."
The girls looked at each other, puzzled, but eventually left.
Lily turned to the ghost. "Who are you? Where am I?"
"Where do I even start?" the girl mused. "Duchess, I'm Liora. I'm a ghost from the year twenty twenty-two."
"A ghost from what? And why am I seeing you?" Lily asked, panic rising again.
Liora grinned. "Never mind that," she said. "It's because I want you to see me."
Lily stared in horror.
Liora continued as if nothing was wrong. "You're in the body of Princess Lisbeth Selmour."
Lily blinked. "What?"
"As for what happened..." Liora paused, brushing her hair back. "I watched you die. I'm the most famous ghost in Velmira. I know everything that went on in the capital. After your soul drifted, I followed it. I might have... slightly misdirected it on its way to the underworld."
"You what?" Lily asked, stunned. "You interfered with my death?"
"You ended up in the body of the princess. Her soul probably left at the same time as yours did."
Lily frowned, her head pounding. "Why would you misdirect my soul? Why would you help me?"
Liora grew serious for a moment. "Maybe you reminded me of myself. I saw everything from the day you caught your husband and best friend together."
"I'm a nosy ghost," she added with a chuckle. "But I felt bad for you. It was incredibly satisfying to watch you take your revenge. I wouldn't have helped if you had just accepted death, but you didn't. The plague probably won't kill them, by the way. It would've been such a shame if your fight was all for nothing."
"You have a second chance now," Liora said. "The princess is on her way to the capital to marry the emperor. With your new identity and my ghostly help, you can take proper revenge."
Lily narrowed her eyes. "What do I give you in return?"
"Hmm, we'll talk about that later. Nothing's ever truly free, but I don't need much. Your courage at the end... it was inspiring. I just couldn't let it all go to waste."
Lily sat quietly, trying to make sense of what had happened. She had been reborn in the body of a woman with a higher standing than her former self. Now, she had the means, the resources, and the power to take revenge.
She touched her face. It was soft and smooth.
"There's a mirror over there," Liora said, pointing to a trunk on the other side of the carriage.
"Do I have to keep seeing you?" Lily asked, her tone flat.
"Ouch," Liora replied, clutching her chest as if wounded. "What's wrong with seeing this pretty face every day? We just met, and you already want to get rid of me?"
She pouted, dramatically offended.
Just then, the carriage came to a halt. A gentle knock sounded at the door.
"Your highness, we have reached the accommodations in Druchik," a soft voice called.
"Go ahead," Liora said, nodding toward the door. "We don't want to scare your ladies-in-waiting again, do we? Wouldn't want to faint a third time before we even get started."