Chapter 1: The Duke's Son
It was a typical Friday evening, Dylan was winding down after a long day and had been continuing that overly hyped novel for a couple of days now. He had no idea why people were "simping" over a fictional prince that killed one girl to win the heart of another. "It's always the bad boys that get the girls", he sighed in disapproval.
Dylan had felt bad for the villainess of the novel, Sophia Godwin was just a girl that fell for the handsome prince only to be blinded by her love for him that resulted in her foolish acts.
01:48 am the clock on Dylan's phone showed. He was just a couple of pages away before he completed the novel when the grogginess of exhaustion hit him. As his eyelids got heavier, Dylan drifted off to sleep with the novel in hand.
He woke up the next morning feeling unusually well-rested even the mattress under him had felt softer. Groaning while stretching out his limbs, the boy opened his eyes only to realize that the ceiling staring back at him was not the one he was accustomed to. Dylan shut his eyes thinking that he must have still been dreaming when he heard two knocks on the door.
"Young Master Clay, I will be coming in."
Said a bespectacled young lady with hair the colour of black tea, as she opened one of the two large oak wood doors. She had her hair pulled back into a simple braid and wore a black dress beneath a white apron. The maid walked towards the windows to draw back the ceiling to floor curtains.
"Good Morning, young master, its time to wake up."
Dylan still believing that he was in a dream, ignored the girl and squeezed his eyes shut even tighter. Judy the young maid sighed and tugged away the blanket that the little boy was hiding under.
Dylan opened his eyes due to the abrupt sensation of his blanket being pulled away.
He blinked. "Why am I still here?" Dylan questioned, before clutching his mouth.
"Pardon? Is there something wrong, young master?"Judy asked, confused.
"Ah-ahhh-ahh."Dylan voiced out, realizing that his voice sounded fairly high-pitched for a grown man. He sat up and looked around, the room was well lit by the sunlight coming in through floor-to-ceiling glass windows, the walls were painted mint green and the cornice was boarded with gold swirls. Noticing the mirror beside the toy box on his right, Dylan crawled off the massive bed and sprinted towards the mirror. To his horror, a familiar-looking young boy stared back at him.
He had light auburn hair, hazel gold eyes, and skin as fair as snow. Dylan touched his face, "What the fu-"
"Young master Clay, are you alright? Are you feeling unwell?" The young maid questioned with worry. The boy's face paled at the realization that he had no clue what was happening and that he had somehow miraculously become a kid again.
"Where am I? Is this real?"
The maid noticing that something was not right with the boy, called for her mistress.
A few moments later, the young boy's mother came bursting into the room. "Clay, what happened? Are u feeling sick?" she asked as she held the boy's face and touched his forehead.
The boy looked at the women's face in shock, but was unable to utter a single word before fainting in her arms.
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"Hey! Wait for me!" Clay shouted. Panting as he chased after the child before him. The well-trimmed grass was soft beneath his soles and the garden lined with bushes of blooming hydrangeas had a sweet scent. The little girl running before him seemed to turn at the notice of his voice. Her strawberry blonde locks glistened under the light as she spun around to face him. She was wearing a yellow dress laced with white and she had green eyes that brighten up with her smile.
"Oh, this must be a dream! I've never seen Ayla in a dress before." The boy thought to himself. But the words that came out of his mouth next were not what he expected, "Sophia! Wait for me!"
The girl was not the familiar Ayla Reed, from Dylan's childhood. She was Sophia Godwin, Clay Hunter's best friend and the soon-to-be sentenced villainess of "My Beloved Prince".
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The next time he awoke, a man donning a white jacket held his wrist. "His pulse seemed to be alright, it seems like the boy had fainted from shock. I will write a prescription, let him rest and take plenty of water". The doctor said to them before leaving the room after receiving thanks from the boy's mother.
"What was that? A dream?" the boy thought to himself. "I'm Clay Hunter but i have the memories of Dylan Carter..." the boy muttered under his breath.