As soon as Martha leaves, I release a sigh. I try to figure out what's happening. Then, I come to an inevitable conclusion. This is not my home. This is not my neighborhood or city. With some effort, I get up and go towards the window. It looks like I am in a medieval castle. And beyond the window, where I look I see lush green trees and grass and a village with scattered straw hut houses. I have somehow been transported from my world to this place.
I piece together what has happened so far and I have no rational explanation. It is when I begin to panic. Years of training in the hospital, in the emergency rooms could not have prepared me for this situation. But my medical training kicks in. It is like a second nature to me.
What do they teach you in medical school?
Think first, stay calm, panic after.
And so, I take deep breaths.
Breathe in. Breathe out. And I repeat this for five times. I close my eyes and open them, I still am in the same room. I pinch myself. This is real. It is not a dream.
I need a starting point. I think back to how I came to be in this situation. The haze in my brain clears out and it is when I start remembering. I blacked out in my bathtub. But not before I was reading the book. The book's contents that eerily represents my current surroundings. I connect the dots. That book is somehow linked to my presence in this world. And if I needed any answers, finding the book would be the best place to start.
Though I panic, I try to reassure myself that I have a solution and I needed to pursue my goal. It might or might not work and I refuse to be negative. Then the words of the man who spoke earlier come back to me. He was talking about marriage.. specifically mine. Realization dawns on me. I am princess Rosalinda and they are my parents and the man I am supposed to marry is King Cosmo the Wicked.
I stagger but get a hold of myself. Women might be expected to be meek and weak and if its one thing am not, its meek and weak. I needed to strategize. If I ever need to find that book, I need to blend in with my surroundings. First things first, I needed to run over the things I already knew.
Rosalinda, that is me has a brother named Albert, but he was taken as a prisoner of war by King Cosmo. Peace talks and treaties have failed. The King and Queen, that is my parents have agreed to a marriage alliance between me and King Cosmo because that is the only way Albert can be released.
There might be more history and politics involved, but the knowledge I have now would suffice. I need to find the library and read the books there in order to gain knowledge. I needed to know the customs and traditions of Rosalinda's people and also find out more on how to be a princess. I need to be vigilant and sharp and not let others doubt me at all.
I eat the cold meal placed beside my bedside by my thoughtful maid Martha. An idea strikes me. Asking any questions to the monarchs would rouse suspicions. I will have to befriend Martha and hold on to the hope that I will get answers from her.
Game on King Cosmo. I don't know who you are but watch out.
ns 172.71.254.108da2