Life is Good

It wasn't a hard life growing up on the land in Scotland. Harriet's parents were good folk; they raised two boys and a girl together. All their children grew up to be okay, brave, and strong. Her brother, John, became a respected doctor of some sort. When her father died from an illness, it was left to her mother to take over the house and run things.

Harriet works for the Lord in the local castle. Lord Wilkinson is kind to her, though she knows he doesn't care about her skills or abilities. She's only working because that's what's expected of her, and it's the work she likes best. She'd like nothing more than to go off to university and study art or something equally prestigious, but there is simply no opportunity for her to do so.

Therefore she works as a scullery maid in the kitchen. It isn't exactly a glamorous job. She's sure she'll have enough trouble doing laundry herself without someone else to help. At least when it comes to the men she's serving, she gets tips from her boss instead of the other way around.

The rest of the staff doesn't mind her presence either.

'This job is a 10 out of 10! Very satisfied!'

Harriet is preparing for bed in her dormitory when a strange man appears at her window. He looks different. A dark cloak covers him from head to toe, with a hood covering the top half of his face. His eyes glow eerily white in the darkness.

Harriet can see vague shapes in the shadowy corner of her room.

Her heart races at sight, even though she knows the figure cannot physically harm her. There's just something about this stranger that makes her wary. Something that makes the hair at the nape of her neck prickle.

'What's a strange man like you doing in my bedroom?' Harriet thinks, still frozen to the Despite her fear and trepidation, she can't seem to move away from him. She has no idea if she'll be able to leave him alone, but she needs to get back home safely.

The man takes another step toward her, and she takes a few shaky steps. He says nothing.

She tries to scream for help but finds herself unable to utter a word. Her lips are sealed.

'I think I'm going to faint.'

She reaches the edge of her bed and falls onto it, landing face down on the sheets and letting out a whimper.

'Oh, mama... this man will have his way with me! You're right! All men are animals!

'That's how they treat women.' Her thoughts blur into an incoherent panic.

This isn't how she imagined it would end. If only she had stayed home, this nightmare could never have happened.

He kneels next to the bed, and she flinches violently when he lays a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't hurt me!" Her voice trembles slightly

"Please don't make me talk again..." She begs.

He chuckles lowly, then presses a kiss on her temple. He pulls back quickly.

'Woah, man. I know this will eventually happen to me once in my life, but let me prepare the right state of mind first, all right?' she thinks, confused by the sudden intimacy.

The strangest thing about this situation isn't the fact that he's kissing her forehead but that she didn't feel anything. Not even a tingle. No warmth, no softness, and indeed not any lust. It's as if the man isn't touching her body at all. Seeing his clothes, she's already thinking about how to raise children. 'Boohoo, how unkind. These nobles take what they want!'

Suddenly the man bites her neck.

'Oh no! It's starting!' she thinks frantically.

Blood drips down her neck. The stranger stands, walks towards the door, and shuts it softly behind him.

Harriet sits up in terror.

'You've really done it now! Oh, god...'

Her mind races. This is bad. Really bad!

She slumps down on the side of the bed and clutches her stomach.

'I'm totally getting pregnant.' Her mouth gapes open in shock.

This isn't just happening to her. Somehow, she's already having a baby.

'I need to find the man that penetrated me!' she huffs and jumps on the bed, rolling around in it.

'Ow!'

She stops moving immediately. 'Damn it!' She turns her face away, hiding her blushed cheeks in the pillow. 'How am I going to explain that? Mum will freak! She'll tell the whole village about it!'

Harriet rolls off the bed and lies on the floor for a little while until she feels comfortable enough to stand again. 'I'll have to hide my pregnancy. That'll be harder. What should I wear?! Oh, dear God, what do I look like?'

The image of herself standing with her feet apart, naked with a kid popping out of-

'Hey hey hey!'

After calming down for a moment, she lies on the bed.

"Well, let's worry about that in the future! Future problems for future me," she mumbles to herself.

While everyone is sleeping, a fire ignites in the castle's pantry. It burns brightly, lighting up every part of the building. In the distance, smoke rises from an area outside town. Several soldiers rush to the location. They discover bodies and skeletons scattered amongst the ashes.

******

Harriet wakes up and stretches her arms. "Hmmm! Good morning!" she yawns.

She opens her eyes and blinks twice. "Huh? What's happening here?" She looks around and finds herself in a weird room. The room looks just like her bedroom in Scotland. The only difference is that this space does not smell like crap.

She opens her eyes and blinks twice. "Huh? What's happening here?" She looks around and finds herself in a weird room. The room looks just like her bedroom in Scotland. The only difference is that this space does not smell like crap.

"What? Why does it smell so good!" she stands up, elated. She smells her pillow, smells her clothes, smells her bedsheets. It all smells so good! She runs downstairs excitedly. When she reaches the bottom step, she freezes in shock when she sees the person sitting in front of the couch. A tall, pale man in a Victorian-era gentleman's outfit is staring at her. She knows this type of man. He's an evil wizard!

She tiptoes towards the man. "Um... Mr. Wizard? Why are you here?" she asks tentatively. She then looks around and realizes that this isn't the castle at all!

"Mr. Wizard, where am I!?" she gasps. The wizard seems unfazed by her question. Instead, he starts to get up from the seat slowly. His face stays emotionless. Her eyes go around in fear. "Who are you?! Why are you here?! Where am I?!" She doesn't know what to do. What if this guy hurts her? Or worse!?

She pats her nape and finds two small bite marks. Her face contorts in shock. This man bit me!

"Step back, fiend!" she takes two steps backward.

This makes the wizard smiled. Her breath catches. She didn't expect that he would smile at her. But that was precisely what he did. He smiled! She shivers. Why did he smile!? It sent chills down her spine.

"Where am I?" she asks again, softer this time.

The smile on the wizard's face freezes, replaced by sadness and regret. He walks away slowly, heading into another part of the house. She follows him, staying close enough for their arms to brush occasionally. When he stops, she pauses next to him.