Chapter one: A strange place

'It's so dark.'

'And yet, I feel so peaceful and calm.'

Qianhui snuggled into the soft, cozy blankets while sleeping peacefully and smiled. 'Wait. My blankets aren't soft and cozy. I usually sleep on a thin blanket or a sheet!' Her eyes snapped open, and she sat up straight quickly. Her head began to hurt, and she grew dizzy the second she sat up.

She put her hand against her head while looking down at her lap, which was covered with a luxurious black that is red and made out of silk. 'What the hell?' She wondered when she removed her hand from her head, gripped the blanket, and continued looking at it. She finally stopped looking at the blanket and checked her surroundings, and she was even more confused that she didn't even think about freaking out about the whole situation.

'This room...' It was big. It is more significant than her old room and looks luxurious and vintage. It was dark, and the only colors she could see were red and dark brown, with some black here and there. She threw the covers off of her and went to stand up quickly, dizziness overwhelmed her and she fell onto the ground next to her bed.

She let out a small groan when her knees collided with the hard ground; she let out a huff, pushed herself off the ground, and remained balanced when she finally got on her two feet. 'Finally,' Qianghui thought to herself when she turned around, and there, she saw a vanity table with a mirror, but what shocked her was the person reflecting in the mirror.

She took a shaky step forward, and once she reached the vanity table, she leaned her hands on top of it and stared into the mirror, only for a pair of foggy gray eyes to stare right back at her. She lightly touched her cheek with her fingertips, then her eyes, mouth, and hair. 'Smooth pale skin, gray eyes that look like fog, long white hair. Why do I look so familiar?' She wondered as she continued staring at the unfamiliar yet familiar appearance in the mirror. Qianghui knows that her eyes are widened, but the person in the mirror shows an uninterested expression; even though her expression lacks emotion, she still looks elegant.

She looked down at herself and saw that she was wearing a long-sleeved cotton nightgown that reached to her ankles. As she continued examining her attire and face, someone opened the door and walked inside without even knocking. She flinches and quickly looks towards the now open door to see who walked into her room, and there she sees a young woman wearing a maid uniform with her hair up in a bun. "My lady," the young maid said, looking at Qianghui with annoyance, "you should be already dressed. Why are you still in your nightgown?" She asked, looking at Qianghui up and down.

'My lady? Does she mean me? Of course, she means me. I'm the only one in this room,' Qianghui didn't say a word and stayed silent, lost in her thoughts as this maid continued speaking, 'If she's a maid, why did she barge into my room like that? Her tone... it's like she's speaking down to me. How interesting,' Qianghui found this situation interesting rather than annoying. "Are you listening?" The maid asks in a rude tone, crossing her arms, "I swear, why did I have to be a maid to an idiot who's ill?" The maid asks herself in a harsh whisper and walks towards me. Qianghui doesn't realize how tiny she was once; she is now standing in front of her, looking down at Quinghui.

"I suppose I have no choice but to dress you myself. I can't believe you're making me do this..." She said that last part in a mumble as she grabbed Qianghui's wrist. She winced in slight pain and looked down at her wrist, seeing how she could see the bones of her wrist. 'Should I let her keep yapping her trap? This entire situation is far more interesting than I thought. Should I stay silent and let this rude maid screw herself over? Should I talk back and say something since I'm the lady and she's a mere maid?' Qianghui went through many options that she could do to that disrespectful maid.

The maid sat Qianghui on a chair in front of the vanity table and mirror; she walked off to the closet and started looking through various dress options, "I don't know why the duke would want to eat with an unwanted child like you. Why does he act like this when you are that disgusting woman's child?" The maid grumbled, and if Qianghui could smile, she would have the biggest smile on her face right now, 'oh my, she talks a lot of trash about me when I'm right here. This maid has some gall.'

After some time, the maid returned with a black dress with long sleeves, and judging from how long it looked, it would most likely cover her feet. 'Is she trying to make it look like I'm attending the funeral? Should I say something?' She began to debate herself when she stared at the plain black dress. "I don't understand why Duke Arthur would even want someone like you to eat with him and Duchess Edda..." she trails off. 'Duke Arthur? Duchess Edda? This... this can't be real?' It was then that Qianghui finally started weighing the mere thought of being in an unknown place with people that sounded familiar, and yet it brought her so much dread.

"A thing like you is a stain on the Windsor duchy," Qianghui wanted to widen her eyes in shock and disbelief. 'Windsor duchy. Duke Arthur. Duchess Edda. Now I know why everything seems familiar and why this scenario interests me even more.' Looking down at her lap with a disdained smirk, she thought, 'I'm that wretched villainess, Camilla Windsor. How interesting,' this entire situation is exciting, and the fact that she is Camilla somehow brings her both joy and terror. What should she do with this information and the exciting scene before her? Qianghui can't wait to find out.