World Reincarnation System: Pandora and the Seven Princes

CHAPTER II TWO

Chapter Two:

Who is that girl staring back at me?

~*~

Lyma woke up on a queen sized white bed in a dimly-lit room. Only small wall-mounted lamps and the light from the big window beside the bed illuminates the room. It is already deep into the night which means that Lyma have slept through-out the afternoon and early evening missing her dinner.

Lyma sat up and look around. It’s dimly-lit but still you can see most of the parts of the room. She moves towards the left side edge of the bed and stood up. The room is divided into two sections. The first part is where Lyma is, the bed chamber, it has the queen sized bed on the center and two large windows on the sides. There is a single door on the right side wall and a small coffee table and divan on the left side. Facing the bed chamber is the second part which is separated by a thin white veil that overlaps in the center. She walked towards the veil. She was surprised that the two parts does not only is separated by the veil but a three-stepped stairs. Which makes the first part, bedchamber, elevated than the second part which is some kind of a small receiving area with an office table.

Lyma descended the steps and examine the place. From her point of view, on the left side wall is a double door which Lyma thought is the entrance to the room. And just three to four steps from the door is a small receiving area with two large and long navy blue sofa that faces each other and a gold-rimmed glass table between them. Then on the right side is a large brown wooden table that’s like an office table of a president parallel to the door and behind it is a wall embedded bookshelf. On the wall facing her, behind the first sofa are a series of large glass door cabinets that holds different things such as stones and gems, colored liquid substance in multiple jars, and a couple of framed preserved-flowers. It’s a like a collection. And Lyma thought for a moment if the book mentioned Pandora having a hobby of collecting stuff.

‘As far as I can remember, there was no mention of Pandora’s hobby other than she enjoys going to the garden and taking care of the rose flower beds.’

Lyma walked towards the door and open it slightly. Peeking outside, she saw only a long hallway with a series of small wall-mounted lamps. On the left end of the hallway is a large window while on the right is corner wall. Lyma was about to close the door and return back inside when another door opened on the same side as hers near the corner wall.

“Your Highness?” A small voice came and Lyma suddenly recognized it. The girl is holding an oil-lit lamp on her right hand and is walking towards Lyma. “Do you need something, Your Highness?” She asked and Lyma can hear the grogginess in her voice. It seems like she just woke up or rather woken up. Then Lyma remembered something crucial whenever Pandora sneaks out to wander around the palace alone. Pandora never goes out her room’s door. The King have hired someone to put on a spell on Pandora’s door. Whenever the door will be opened, her personal attendant will be notified immediately. And Pandora’s personal attendant’s name is Lilian Grace Parindough in short Lily.

“I just…woken up.”

“Then you must be famished. I shall inform the kitchen to prepare you something. Please do wait inside your room for now. We shall bring you your food as soon as possible.”

Lyma wanted to argue that she is far from being hungry but Lily is already on her way down the hallway.

‘That girl moves fast! I just blink and she’s already a few steps away.’

So Lyma went back inside and sat on one of the sofa facing the bedchamber. She leaned on the backrest and stared nowhere in particular.

‘What’s really happening?’

Everything was serene and so thoughts flowed out of Lyma’s mind. Thoughts that have been suppressed during the day. She thought back to the very start of everything.

‘I can remember having the attack. The scrutinizing pain in my chest. The struggle to breathe.’

She can still vividly feel everything. It’s as if there is a large screen in front of her that plays her life’s last scene.

“I died.” She whispered.

It was a lonely death. She was alone. There was no one who could have helped her. No one beside her.

‘If I was not that lucky to survive the accident I would have died with them.’

Her mind wanders to that time. The time during the accident where leads to her being an orphan.

It was a fine chilly night. The sky is clear and stars together with the moon are brightly shinning. She’s sitting at the back seat of their white sedan car and her mother and father are singing along with the familiar music from the car’s stereo. It was the music that haunted her for several weeks after the accident. Lyma was holding her favorite toy, a white bunny, which she received on her ninth birthday. It was a medium sized stuffed toy which Lyma can hug from time to time. It wears a two piece clothing, a dark blue crop top and a golden yellow ball skirt, and a red ribbon on its head. She named it Snow. Lyma was busy playing with Snow when suddenly a bright blinding light made her looked up and the next thing she knew she was upside down and smoke is everywhere. It was hard for her to breath and her vision is hazy. She cannot see everything clearly, just a little bit, because of the beam of light ahead. She can see Snow below her, its white fur now covered with dark dust and flecks of blood. And because of the beam of light she cannot see her parents. She tried to call for them. She called for help. But no one answered her. And no one did even after.

A soft knock brought Lyma back and she just noticed the stream of tears on her face. She quickly wipe them using the back of her palms. Just then Lily entered the room with a food stroller.

“Dinner’s here, Your Highness.” She said and then placed the covered food on the table in front of Lyma. “We have prepared a light dinner since its already quiet late. I hope it is to your liking, Your Highness.” She said as she opens the food covers. Then she adjusted the oil lamps inside the room, beside the one in the bedchamber, to its full capacity.

“I will be leaving. If there is something that you have in need of just ring the bell, Your Highness.” She placed a gold bell on the table and then went out of the room.

She’s alone again. Lyma stared at the food in front of her. In Lyma’ point of view it’s just a bunch of leaves and vegetables. She don’t know what the food is called and how it taste exactly.

“I’m not really that hungry for some reason. But there’s no hurt in eating something prepared just for you. Oh well!” Then she dive in.

It did not take Lyma long to finish everything. And much to her surprise it did taste amazing. She rang the bell and instantly the door creaks open. Lily went in and proceeded to clean the plates. Then she moved the food trolley outside.

“Is there anything that I can be of help, Your Highness?”

“Lily.” Lyma wanted to confirm if she was in fact Lily.

“Yes, Your Highness?”

Lyma don’t know if she’s happy or not that the person in front of her is indeed Lily, Pandora’s personal attendant.

“No. Nothing. You can leave now.”

“Alright. I shall wake you up in the morning. I shall be leaving now.” Lily bowed to her and went out.

‘According to the novel Lily and Pandora have a close relationship. But I feel like it’s different.’

Now in full light, Lyma can see in full the entirety of the room. The room is painted yellow and the pillars a dark shade of blue. The cabinets that made Lyma wondered a while ago is not just wooden but has this reddish color finish and gold rimmed on the edges of the glass doors. The chair behind the office table is colored red with gold designs on the header part and the handles. Overall the room’s color theme is yellow-gold, blue and red. And somehow its Lyma’s favorite color coordinates since these are the primary colors which is very common among clothes and things.

‘Did I really went inside a book? How would that happened?’ Lyma massaged her temples.

After a minute of cracking her brains for an answer for her confusions, Lyma once again took a look of the room and noticed the cabinets. Lyma neared one of the cabinets. The ones with the preserved flowers. Lyma can only identity a few of the flowers inside. Daisy, sunflowers and mostly roses. Other flowers that of color blue and violet are familiar but Lyma forgotten their names. There are also quite a few flowers in red and white that Lyma is not familiar with.

Then something caught her eye. Her reflection. It’s not a clear reflection since it’s a glass that she’s facing but it reflective enough for Lyma to noticed something in particular.

‘My eyes!’

Lyma blink a couple of times and tried to stare harder on her reflection. But nothing changed, she did not see wrong. Her eyes are different. Or should we say it’s normal. She no longer have the same set of heterochromia eyes.

She quickly spun around. She looked around and tried to spot a single mirror. But there is none! The room does not have a mirror!

‘This is impossible. Who would have a room without a single mirror in it? Maybe it’s just somewhere not easily visible.’

She walked back inside the bedchamber and looked. She opened the bedside drawers.

‘Even a compact mirror?!’

She’s already reaching the peak of her frustration level when she noticed the door on side.

‘What’s that door for?’

She slowly walked towards the door and grabbed the handle. What greeted her is a small dimly-lit room with just a single oil lamp illuminating. The lamp is just beside the door frame and so Lyma reached for it to adjust the light. Then she found what she was looking for.

‘There you are.’

She rushed towards the big wall mounted mirror only to stepped back three steps after.

“Who…?!”

Eyes wide, she gape at the reflection in the large mirror in front of her.

‘Is that me?!’

She did not only have a different eyes but a whole different body! From head to toe, it’s different. Originally, she have a long wavy hair but now she has longer black straight hair. The length almost touches her buttocks. Her eyebrows become broader and darker. And of course her eyes, they no longer are green and blue but hazel colored eyes. Her nose is thinner and sharper. Her lips, from having thin upper lip and full lower lip that is almost the shape of an apple to wider and heart shaped lips. Her face structure is also visibly different. Her jawline is more prominent. And the mole! The mole on her neck is no longer there. In replace are the moles on her lower right eye and her chin. Her skin is also paler than before.

“I look totally different.” She breathe as she walk back to the front of the mirror. She stared at her reflection, mainly on the color of her eyes. It was her favorite part of her appearance. It’s the only thing that reminds her of her parents that she can carry anywhere she goes. And now it was gone. Tears instantly stream down her face as she tries to let everything sink in.

“I’m no longer me. That girl on the mirror is not Lyma. I’m not her anymore. This place. This body. This appearance. They are all Pandora’s. And right now she’s me. I am her. I am Pandora.”

Right after the words left her mouth. Something inside her somehow unlocked. Something was freed. And she felt that freedom. As if she was flew out to the sky.

Then light started to emit from the mirror. Right at the reflection’s chest, where the heart is. The light grew stronger and instinctively she blocked it using her arms. Then she felt warm envelopes her. It’s like the sun’s rays are shinning on her, giving her warm. And the warmth made her relaxed to the point of sleepiness. Her eyelids become heavy. Then she fell to the floor in a thud.

The light from the mirror ceases and the room was back to how it has been. Just then, a mysterious silver came out from the mirror and made its way to Pandora’s left ring finger. Knotting itself and disappear leaving a small shimmer of light.

The room’s windows then opened and a light breeze entered her room. The door to the small room where Pandora was laying creaks open and the breeze went in and instantly coated Pandora’s body, lifting her into the air and guided her body towards her bed. As if its task was already accomplished, the breeze exited the room through the windows. The windows then closes as if nothing happened.

‘System Notification: Body Adjustment Measures in progress. Post Memory Removal in progress. Pre-Reincarnation World Data Modification in progress.’