"Lady Isabella?"
Maeve frowned at the intrusion, her head burying into her pillow so she could block her landlady's voice away.
Except— except her landlady always sounded like she was croaking and would have woken her up with a bucket of cold icy water.
And her name wasn't Isabella.
Maeve shut up from the bed, the sound of people gasping in shock echoing through the room though she didn't notice any of it. Instead, she took note of the white canopy draped over her bed— though this wasn't the same bed she knew. This one was soft, and dry. Very dry. And her clothes— they felt like silk on her skin— and they were silk too.
"L-Lady Isabella? Are you alright?"
Maeve's eyes scanned the entire room, noticing seven women— well, girls all the age of around sixteen to twenty staring at her with worry in their eyes, wearing maid outfits.
"M-My lady! Where are you going?!"
Maeve didn't bother to answer them. Instead, she hurried out of bed, rushing to the extra large vanity mirror in a corner of the room created in gold then stopped in front of it, her eyes widening.
And then she screamed. "AHHHHHHHHH!"
In front of her was a body and face made only for fantasy books. The woman in the reflection had auburn brown locks that curled to her waist, pale porcelain skin that looked like the moonlight had kissed her, and brown eyes that shone with an innocence Maeve knew for certain she didn't have.
"Oh, oh, by the gods, something is wrong with her!"
"We knew how worried she was about the Presentation day! We should have been by her side all through the night to make her feel safe!"
"Someone! Call the Count and Countess here!"
Maeve grabbed her hair and fell to the ground, realizing that the soft hands yanking on her scalp were hers. No. No. No. She was in her story. But that wasn't possible. It couldn't be! No. She was dreaming. This was a cruel dream. Maybe she had successfully set her room on fire and this was a coma.
Yes. Yes, that was it.
"M-My lady—"
Maeve suddenly shot up from the floor, her head slamming into the nose of the maid crouching behind her. Two other maids hurried to that one as she fell to the floor, murmuring under her breath, "Our lady has gone mad. My life is meaningless. Please, somebody shoot me,"
She didn't check on her though. No, Maeve didn't even pay attention to a single person in that room. Instead, she moved around the room, noticing that her joints were working fine. There was no shooting pain or creaking bone.
She jumped, earning another scream from the maids. One fainted from shock but she still didn't care. Slowly, the panic she was feeling disappeared as a wicked grin began to come on her face. To the other maids, it looked exactly like their dear lady had become possessed by a very powerful demonic creature.
One of them clasped her hand in prayer, bowing her head down as she mumbled words that Maeve didn't understand. She heard holy fire, and something about the maid wishing that she was dead.
Maeve ignored. Instead, she focused on grinding her waist in a circular motion, something that elicited more gasps of terror, then when she realized that she couldn't feel a single pain in any part of her limbs, she realized it all at once. "I AM DEAD!"
"NO! MY LADY, DO NOT SPEAK OF SUCH!"
"MAY THE GODS FORBID IT!"
"DONT CURSE YOURSELF!"
"WE WOULD RATHER DIE IN YOUR STEAD! CURSE US INSTEAD!"
"PERHAPS DO NOT CURSE US BUT ALSO DO NOT DIE!"
Maeve raised her hands, an action that instantly silenced every maid around her. They all held each other, awaiting what other madness would fall out of their former princess's once upon a time heavenly lips before they heard her say quietly, "So I am Isabella, yes? Isabella Montague?"
One of them slowly stood erect. She had her hands still clasped in prayers as she said, "Y-Yes, my lady. Would you… would you like us to fetch your morning tea? Or a local priest, perhaps? We promise, no harm will come to you. The exorcism will be quick and painless. I know the man personally. He's helped me a great deal,"
Maeve stopped hearing from the first part.
Because she realized again that all of this meant that she was in her book. A stupid, quite foolish book— but she could recall that Isabella wasn't just the only child of a Count and Countess— but she was also the daughter of extremely wealthy parents.
Wealthy parents = No work. No need to suffer anymore. It meant sleep, eat, rest and never move a muscle for one day in your life.
Maeve grinned.
"By the gods, she has that demonic face showing again. I don't think she's winning in this battle."
"I will be going to bed," And as soon as she said this, she shot into the bed, falling into the squishy mattress with a bright smile.
Instantly, all the maids gathered around the bed. They tried to grab onto her legs but she instantly curled them into the extremely soft foam she laid on as she hissed at them, "If you touch me, I'll order for all your heads to be off!"
"We do not care about ourselves, my lady!" One of them said. "Today is very important for you, have you forgotten? You pick your suitor and find out your mana ranking,"
Maeve let out a dry laugh. "I'd rather die than leave this place."
Another one fainted. They screamed again, falling to their knees as they began pleading with her. She didn't pay them any attention. Instead, she carried the blanket arranged on the bed and put it over her body, covering her head as well.
A big bright smile flashed across her face as she closed her eyes, snuggling into the bed before some bright light began pulsating in front of her. She frowned, wondering what could be under her blanket, and the second she opened them back, found a floating blue screen blaring brightly at her with the words, [WAKE UP YOU MORON]
Another scream erupted from Maeve's mouth as she fell to the floor— except this time, the maids were too terrified to cushion her fall with her body in fear that they would be possessed too and so she fell, hitting her head hard on the marble floor and passed out.