Chapter 1
I woke up with the second worse headache of my life! I was sure that I was about to die when I heard the long beep and took my last breath. So why am I awake now? I groaned as I lifted my hand to try and ease my headache. The light from the moon and stars were too bright, so I kept my eyes closed for now. I did not want to make this headache worse.
I failed to notice that my hands were different and looked much younger than they had been.
Suddenly, I saw a bright light flash beneath my closed eyelids, and I went back to sleep. I dreamed about a 16-year-old girl who lived in a fantasy novel called, Oh My, I Messed Up the Story! She wasn't a character listed in the novel, but she lived in the barely mentioned Kingdom of Stanarussi, the most scientifically and technically advanced kingdom in this fantasy novel's world.
She had lived with her father, Oliver, and brother, Alexander, in a tower located in the mountains near the edge of Stanarussi. She was as far east as possible from the Kingdom of Annalaias and the Independent Nation of Kanta! Blaise had mentioned Stanarussi in the novel when he traveled before returning to Abby in the Kanta region.
Well, I guess it's not that bad to be in the most advanced kingdom! At least I didn't end up in the barbaric lands! Alisa thought to herself as she took in the details from the dream.
The original owner of this body was named Elisabeth Blanchard. Her mother, Arabella Du
Pont, was one of the ladies-in-waiting who came with the Princess of Annalaias to Stanarussi. Arabella met Baron Oliver Blanchard, an inventor from Stanarussi, at the coronation ball. He fell in love with her at first sight. Her curly, golden blonde hair and blue eyes had caught his attention. They were different from his wiry red hair and green eyes. He was distracted by her beauty and almost lost his footing. He bumped into her and turned it into a dance offer, which later became a marraige proposal.
Elisabeth had inherited a mixture of both of her parents' genetics. She had strawberry blonde, wavy hair, and aquamarine eyes. Her brother, Alexander Blanchard, had similar eyes and hair, but slightly favored his father's coloring. Her brother was a few years older than Elisabeth and had resented her ever since she was born. Her mother died shortly after giving birth to her, so her father and brother distanced themselves from her as they blamed her for the loss of Arabella. Alexander was only 3 years old and loved his mother more than anyone in the world! He hated his sister because she killed his mother, especially since he did not want to share his mother in the first place!
Poor girl! It wasn't her fault that her mother died during childbirth! Alisa thought to herself.
Dying during childbirth was more common during this era since modern technology and medicine were not available here. They did not know how to do emergency C-sections or how to do a hysterectomy if the woman started to hemorrhage. There were no ultrasounds, and little was known about women's health. Alisa, now Elisabeth, shook her head as she slowly opened her eyes.
The dream had given her a lot of information about this new life, but it was still a little unbelievable. Alisa was a 50-year-old woman from California. She never remarried after her husband died from a heart attack. She lived with her cousin's family until she died. Her original body had been sick since she was a teenager, and she had multiple hormonal issues that made having kids almost impossible. She regretted not traveling more due to her illnesses.
She had died alone in a hospital bed after her favorite author came to visit her. She was thankful to the author for visiting and her well wishes. She was sure whatever the author had written had caused her transmigration into this character in this novel. Now was not the time to think about her past life. She had a new beginning in a healthy body, and she was going to live life to the fullest. No regrets this time!
She got out of bed very quietly and made her way to the bathroom. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a vial next to the bed with an herb that she did not recognize. There was a receipt from an apothecary and instructions on how to make a poison. Did the original body kill herself? Poor girl, I will make sure to live every day better. She made a silent vow to live a better life.
As soon as Alisa entered the bathroom, she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. She was wearing a frilly pink nightdress that was thick enough to keep out the chilly night air. The main thing that caught her attention was the young face and bright aquamarine eyes staring back at her! As Alisa, she had grey-blue eyes with medium brown hair. She was pretty, but the face staring back at her was beautiful! The strawberry blonde, wavy hair was a little messy, but it was long, thick, and lustrous! She ran her fingers through her hair to smooth it out and noticed the reflection do the same. It started to sink in. This is really me now!
She was overwhelmed with emotions and decided to take a bath to calm down. This had
always been one of her remedies. She stared wide eyed in the doorway to the bathroom. The myriads of dials, pressure valves and gages made her long for the simple hot and cold knobs for her old bathtub. Despite Stanarussi's unique technological achievements, they were not as advanced as her home world. The technology here relied heavily on steam-powered machinery. She noticed a lot of curved copper pipes and strange gadgets. It reminded her of some steampunk novels she had read before. There were knobs and something that looked like an old telephone handle. What does that do?
It took her a little while to figure out how to run a warm bath, but she was pleasantly surprised that this kingdom had indoor plumbing! She debated looking for someone to help her start the bath but decided against it for now. After soaking in the warm bath with scented bath salts, her mind began to relax and process all the current information. She closed her eyes and sank into the water. She was in completebliss until she suddenly remembered that this body had an arranged marriage
with a much older man, Count Silas. He was one of the investors for her father's inventions and had taken an interest in Elisabeth when she was 13. Yuck! No wonder this girl killed herself. Her brother was about to sell her off with no care about her future happiness. Count Silas had been married before and had children almost her age from his deceased first wife. His wife had died under suspicious circumstances, but no one investigated the matter.
Even though her father resented her, he waited until Elisabeth's debut in society to accept the Count's proposal. He still had to keep up appearances with the nobility, and it would look bad if he married off his minor daughter. Her debut was scheduled for next month when she turned 17. She had to be long gone before then! There was no way that Alisa would stick around and wait to be married against her will! That was not going to happen!