Musk and Ambergris

Li Lianying woke up with a start, panting. Her forehead was covered in sweat and her body felt weak. What just happened was truly terrifying! The noise produced by the dings, the loud System voice echoing in her head, she felt like she was going mad! Was she finally awake in her Parisian hospital room? She really wanted to be reassured that everything was alright, that it was just a dream, that she had not transmigrated and that she had just read way too many reincarnation stories.

She stretched her hands, touched the bed curtains and felt her blood go cold. These cursed bed curtains were still here! Was she still in Versailles? Was everything NOT a dream and did she truly transmigrate? She aggressively pulled the curtains away and got out of bed. The room was pitch dark and she could not see anything. However, she proceeded to touch every random thing that she could to make sure that she was still in a modern room and not some 18th century palace. She touched the walls. They were covered in wood paneling and carved in exotic flower patterns. She tripped on the small golden barrier separating the bed from the rest of the room. When she managed to jump over it, her hands touched the cold marble of a fireplace. She lifted a heavy candleholder, and felt a wave of despair and panic submerge her.

Her entire body felt numb and her arms lost all of their strength. Her hands could not bear the weight of the candleholder and dropped it. It smashed against the parquet floor. A loud clang echoed in the huge empty room. An attendant rushed in and whispered : "Your Royal Highness! Are you okay? May I help you with anything?"

Li Lianying stepped backwards and sat on the golden barrier around her bed.

The attendant lit a candle and stared at her disheveled appearance. She was obviously worried, or even, scared.

"It's okay, I just needed to use the chamber pot, but got distracted."

The attendant asked if she could do anything and Li Lianying answered that everything was fine, she just needed the light of the candle. The young woman placed the lit candle on the fireplace and helped Li Lianying up. She then assisted her and brought a cloth for Li Lianying to wipe herself.

"What is your name?"

"I am Rosalie De Beauchamp."

"Rosalie De Beauchamp… are you a noble?"

"Yes."

Li Lianying smiled. She actually met an attentive and hardworking noble!

"Thank you for your help. Have a good night, Rosalie."

Feeling reassured and less anxious, Li Lianying finally dared go back to sleep. She was greeted by another loud ding, and the familiar neon screen appeared again. It seems that after her transmigration, she will never be able to have a proper sleep. Li Lianying spent the rest of her night browsing the system's interface and consulting its help center.

The next day, she went through the tiresome Levée Ceremony again. This time, during her make-up session, her makeup artist brought a pretty little perfume bottle carved in the purest crystal. She opened the recipient while Li Lianying was sniffing the air in anticipation. What kind of perfume would European royal families be using? Flower-scented fragrances? Honey-scented fragrances? Li Lianying was dead wrong. A terrible stink of dead animals came out of the cute and limpid crystal bottle. The makeup artist was just about to smear it on Li Lianying's neck when the latter raised her hand.

"No thanks. I don't feel like using such a strong perfume today. Do you have anything else?"

"Your Royal Highness doesn't enjoy this musk perfume? It is a top grade product though… It was made with secretions from the glands of a rare species of Himalayan deer! We had to import it all the way from Asia to France… If it is not to your taste, we also have this other perfume made of whales' intestinal secretions, or this other one made of -"

"Don't you have anything more flowery or soft?"

"Would Your Royal Highness prefer a pouch of orange and mandarin blossoms from the Orangerie ?"

"Yes! That would do very well. Thank you."

"Your Royal Highness has good taste. Our beloved ancestor, the great king Louis 14th, specially had them shipped from China to Versailles. He loved their sweet yet strong scent that could mask any body odor, and thought that they were a much better alternative than the previously popular perfumes made of animal secretions."

Li Lianying nodded enthusiastically. Flowery perfumes were indeed better than animal stink!

At lunch time, the transmigrated crown princess invited Lady De Lamballe to eat with her. She stared intently at the platinum blonde locks of the young Italian woman. That was such a rare combination! She would have imagined Italians to be much more Mediterranean-looking, with healthy amber-colored skin and luscious brown or black hair. Instead, a Scandinavian-looking pale girl was staring back at her.

Last night, Li Lianying had spent her Daily Internet Ticket reading about Marie-Antoinette. Lady De Lamballe, born Maria Luisa Di Savoia-Carignano, was the most loyal and precious friend Marie-Antoinette ever had. Anyone who had a friend like her would be the most blessed person on Earth. Li Lianying definitely had to preserve this bond, for Lady De Lamballe might be her most trustworthy ally. This Italian princess - for she was a princess in her own right - was not a schemer and hated plotting. She was a simple, shy girl who was never jealous or upset at people. Even after Marie-Antoinette cast her aside for a prettier girl, Maria Luisa (or in French, Marie-Louise) never got mad or outraged. She simply left Versailles and went traveling to comfort her sad and broken heart. She found peace with a countess and spent years traveling with her. However, when Marie-Antoinette got into serious problems because of the Revolution, her pretty friend who had now been promoted to the rank of duchess ran away to the land of political refugees, Switzerland. Marie-Louise bid farewell to the countess and went back to her beloved queen. She lovingly comforted the woman who abandoned her, and in the end, died for her.

Li Lianying swore that this time, she will protect her.