It took a while for Alicia to process everything as soon as she opened her eyes.
Her soul had left the body to somewhere else, and she had met Anne, and now her soul was back, so they were all too much for the brain to handle at once.
She just lay in bed with her eyes faintly opened and staring at the ceiling, knowing she was back here in this chamber. She had seen the ceiling too much to not know where she was.
Light filtered into the room, so she could tell it was daytime and not nighttime, which she was glad for.
Mirror. She needed to see herself.
However, she felt too lazy to sit up. She weakly turned her head to the side and squinted when she noticed someone was there.
It was Paulina.
Paulina was seated on the floor with her back resting on the door and her eyes shut, her head slowly dropping.
"Why is she sleeping there?" Alicia wondered to herself. Where was Harold?
Paulina's head dropped at once, startling her awake momentarily. She dragged her head back up, her groggy eyes glancing at Alicia.
"You are awake," Paulina said sleepily before she shut her eyes, going back to sleep, but it took only two seconds before her eyes snapped wide open and she looked at Alicia, exclaiming.
"YOU ARE AWAKE!"
Paulina quickly stood up from the floor and hurried to the bed, where she sat down beside Alicia.
"I feared you were going to be asleep for a long time again. Do you feel hurt anywhere? Should I call the physician? How do you feel? Please don't fall unconscious again." Paulina said the last part with worry.
"Calm down." Alicia said in a weak tone before murmuring, "Help me up."
Paulina quickly did that and helped her sit up. As soon as she sat up, Alicia realized just how weak this body was.
So many things were not making sense. Firstly, Paulina was here instead of Harold. And if Paulina recognized her, it meant the effect of the potion had faded and she was back to Amber's looks. Thirdly, was this weakness a result of what had happened between her and Harold?
Judging by Paulina's reaction and what she had said about calling for the physician and pleading with her not to fall unconscious again, it meant she had been unconscious, and remembering Anne's words, she had said her consciousness was resting there.
What was with this place and making her faint all the time? She had only fainted once in her real life. And that had happened on her birthday five years ago, which had almost started a rumour about her being pregnant. But here, it was back-to-back for her.
She felt she hadn't been unconscious for long because she was neither very thirsty nor hungry. Or maybe it was because of the empty bowl of soup on the floor beside the bed. Even though she felt mentally exhausted, her body generally looked healthy. It was all thanks to Paulina, who looked awful.
She looked like she hadn't showered. Her hair was also a mess, and not only did she look pale, but she also had dark circles under her slightly swollen eyes.
"My lady?" Paulina called in worry when Alicia just looked at her face with concern and did not pay attention to her.
"Should I... get the physician here?" Paulina asked hesitantly and looked at the door.
She didn't want to leave. She had been too scared to step out of the room after what happened yesterday. What if someone came to drag her mistress away? Or drag her away too to punish her? Even though Lance had saved her, she still felt that it was only a matter of time before something happened to her again.
Alicia had a lot of questions to ask her. But seeing how scared Paulina looked made every other question pend.
"What is it?" Alicia asked her, and at the same time, she lifted her hand to reach for Paulina's hair to smooth it over when she noticed it was wrapped with a bandage.
"After what happened yesterday—"
"What... why is this on my hand?" Alicia asked in confusion, cutting off Paulina. She could faintly feel the pain from it. She could not remember getting cut that night. And why would she get a cut while she was unconscious?
"The physician had to get the cut treated before it got infected. What... happened between you and Princess Tyra? Why did she do that to you?" She asked with genuine concern. Paulina hadn't been in the room when Amber cut herself, so of course she had no idea it had been done by her.
"Wait..." Alicia put her hand up to stop Paulina from rambling. She was lost here.
"What exactly happened yesterday, and what did Princess Tyra do? I... was unconscious, wasn't I?" Alicia shook her head to clear her thoughts. "How long has it been since I fell unconscious?"
"You... don't remember?" Paulina asked quietly.
"I wouldn't be asking you if I did, Paulina. How long have I been unconscious?"
"By... chance... are you... are you not... Are you Lady A-licia?" Paulina asked hesitantly while looking at her face closely.
"Why... would you ask me that?" Alicia asked and only a second later, her eyes slightly widened.
"Amber." She breathed quietly.
"She was... here?" Alicia asked her in surprise.
Looking at Paulina's face, it was the first time she could not tell what the girl was thinking, as they were filled with different emotions.
But there was one that she could not mistake. It was disappointment.
"You... are Lady Alicia." Paulina echoed quietly before she stood up.
"I... should get the physician." She said and was about to turn when Alicia caught one of her hands and looked up at her face.
She thought she had grown past the stage where other people could affect her emotions, but that was a lie. Seeing Paulina in a hurry to go away from her made her feel hurt.
"Tell me what happened. Where is Harold? Why... am I here like this?" Alicia pleaded with her.
Now, she could tell there was more. She hadn't just been sleeping. Something had been happening.
Paulina turned to look at her.
"You need to be treated now that you are awake. You also need to eat something. After resting, I will tell you all that you need to know."
"Paulina—"
"I will be back shortly," Paulina said and quickly left the room before Alicia could say another word.
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