A Little Morning Jog

It's already been at least one hour since Susan first saw her reflection in the mirror. Currently, she was sitting down on the bed with her legs crossed as she stared into space, trying to possibly make sense of this situation. Every now and then she'd get up to look in the mirror, mumble something, and then sit back down. She tried to make sense of what was going on, but she only could come up with silly theories with low probabilities.

Did my brain get transferred into a five-year-olds body, she wondered.

She knew technology was great and powerful these days but she didn't know it was this powerful, she didn't even know a brain procedure was possible! But one thing did stand out however, whoever this person was, whose body Susan was occupying, they had memories, just not the ones you'd expect a child to have. In fact, these memories happened to be meddling with her own. All of the girl's memories consist of her laying down in complete darkness with different voices speaking every now and then.

It also felt as if she was asleep for a very, very long time. But she know that couldn't possibly be true. In the darkness, she laid still on the very bed, with people walking around her, cleaning, she guessed.

She remembered their conversations, sometimes they would talk to themselves, or maybe perhaps to her? Most of the things they said didn't make any sense but she did manage to get a name from her so-called memories.

Emilia.

And that happened to be her name, well the owner of the body's name. She had become Emilia, a little girl.

She let out a groan before hitting her head against the pillow, she didn't solve the mystery but added even more questions. She was dying for answers and she wanted them now. And what better way to get an answer by going to actually look for them. She was sure that someone in this weird hospital will be able to help her answer them.

She stood up with a sign of newfound courage and strength as she walked towards the two big doors that located all the way at the end of her room. She passed by the mirror but this time she didn't glance at it, it was time to finally and hopefully get out of here.

She pushed the doors open but they wouldn't budge. She pulled them towards herself with a small groan at how heavy they were. A light blush appeared on her face even though she knew no one saw her struggle. She pocked her head out, looking right and left, but all of the hallways were empty. Finally, she took a step outside her room, after taking a deep breath. She didn't know where she was headed, but she really hoped to bump into someone on her way. Her prayers were answered, but luck was not on her side.

"Excuse me," A rough voice called out. It was a guard in a uniform, his stern face showed surprise as he spotted a young child roaming the halls, looking like she was lost. Susan was walking for only about ten minutes and she was already exhausted, but she knew she had this body to blame. The suspicious stares that she had recieved from the guard made her nervous and even more difficult to catch her breath to say something, anything.

"Who are you?"

"W-Well...I..." She couldn't even say a word due to her being out of breath. The guard raised his eyebrow, clearly unfazed. He was not only losing his patience but he had the rest of the west wing to petrol before his lunch break. Finding a little girl walking through the hallways was very suspicious, no commoners had the right to enter the palace unless they were working men and women. And standing in front of him was a mere child.

"I'm going to ask again, who are you?" He asked, his hand slowly reaching for the sword before pulling it out in a quick motion. Susan's eyes widened as she took a step back.

"I-Is that r-real?" She asked with wide eyes but she already knew the answer to that question. She studied fencing to impress her father and she was perfectly able to tell the difference of a real blade and a fake. The one standing in front of her was real by the looks of the weight it portrayed on the guard's hand and the sound it made when he took it out.

"Insolent child, of course, it is real, you won't see palace guards carrying fake swords, now would you? Now, I will not repeat myself again, who are you and what business do you have here?" Susan gulped. She heard the word palace and the word swords. By the looks of this place, it was clear it was some kind of rich mansion or maybe even a palace due to the walls that were swirling with gold or perhaps the weird clothing that both the guard and herself wore.

Based on movies and research that she did of medieval times, as well as royalty for her school project, her mind knew this couldn't be some sick joke. The figure of speech and the strong accent sounded very foreign in her ears. In his eyes, she was viewed as a trespasser rather than a patient due to the fact that he didn't know who she is. Even if he didn't know the name, he'd at least be aware of what she is wearing, if it really was some kind of mental asylum or hospital gown

Susan's analytical mind was running a hundred miles an hour and she came up with a solution on spot, she decided to run. Why you may ask? The guard was holding his sword in a threatening position like any second now he would strike. The serious atmosphere around here was enough to bring Susan to tears, and she wasn't known as a girl who cries, the only time she cried was when she was young or the time of the car wreck.

Thinking about dying again didn't appeal to her, and so she ran as fast as her two small feet could carry her. Which wasn't far at all. At this speed, the guard yelling behind her would catch her any second. She had to revolve to a completely different approach a zig-zag motion, almost as if she was running from a crocodile. The guard was helplessly trying to catch the girl without hurting her with his sword, he didn't want to shed blood of a child even though he was the royal guard, he still had his dignity. But the child was getting on his nerves every time she dodged his grasp and ran even further away.

Susan was beginning to get out of breath and energy. Any minute now her body was going to give up and she'd collapse out of exhaustion but the thought of dying again kept her running further. Eventually, she bumped into more people, guards, and maids, and all of them made their mission to chase the imposter.

Susan was overwhelmed by everyone who was chasing after her but she was also surprised by how they haven't caught up to her yet even though she was much shorter and weaker than everyone else. She managed to come across a giant courtyard after running down countless hallways. Because of her small figure, she was able to easily crawl inside bushes to hide from the passing mob of castle workers that were after her head.

She knew that if she stayed any longer then they would find her and she didn't want to die again. It was the truth that only now she realized how much death had scared her. She still had the vision of herself numb and paralyzed from the car accident that just even the thought alone was enough to make her hands shake. She got up after the mob was out of her line of sight and decided to run back the way she came from. Only after a couple of minutes and a bunch of drastic turns, she finally saw someone, actually, bumped into someone.

She rubbed her nose after a collision with something hard. She dried her eyes, to make out of what she bumped into. Or rather who. A young boy sat on the ground, his books scattered everywhere. Susan's eyes widened at how familiar the boy looked. In fact, he looked like a similar resemblance to her, but with dark brown hair instead of blonde. He looked a couple of years older than Susan's body. His dark green eyes were shooting daggers at her for knocking all the books out of his hands.

"Who are you?" He asked after standing up. He dusted off his suit but his eyes never left the girl on the floor. Susan wasn't just feeling the glare of a twelve-year-old boy, but rather a death-like aura which surrounded him. It was enough to make her cry more even though she tried to calm herself. Yet again, she was in a weird country, with a bunch of guards and maids cosplayers chasing after her, not to mention wanting her dead.

"I'm not going to as-,"

"She must have gone this way," They both heard the voice in the distance and Susan immediately got up on her feet, wanting to make a run for it. However, the boy's reflexes were too fast. With one swift motion, Susan was in the air. Something strong and invisible was grasping her throat as she dangled in the air. Her eyes were wide with a shock that she didn't even realize she was unable to breathe.

"Who sent you, intruder?" The boy yelled, his eyes glowing a brighter green. That's when it hit Susan, the boy was using some kind of force to keep her in the air, some kind of magic. Susan's brain, however, pushed that silly thought away. Of course, there was no such thing as magic. It isn't scientifically possible. Either her eyes were deceiving her, or she must be dreaming. Although the feeling of being chocked in the air was too real to ignore.

What the actual f*ck?! Her mind was throwing all existing curse words at what was happening to her.

Susan struggled in the air, trying to remove whatever was holding her up. She grabbed the air but felt nothing, whatever force was doing this couldn't be felt. Her only option was the young boy in front of her, she looked at him, pointing at her throat as if trying to tell him she couldn't breathe or even talk.

"Right," he mumbled and dropped his hand by his side. At the same time, the girl dropped on the floor. She gasped for air as tears ran down her red cheeks.

"Now, tell me, who sent you and for what purpose?" he asked, his voice dropping with authority. Susan snapped out of whatever trance she was in and came up with a plan on spot. She grabbed one of the books that the boy dropped, with a swift movement, she smacked the boy across the face. When his head faced the other way, she used all of her strength to push the boy on the ground. A couple of gasps were heard in the distance but she didn't bother to turn around, she was already gone around the corner. Running as fast as she could, her life literally depended on it.

Eventually, she spotted the exact door that lead to the room that she woke up in. It wasn't hard to find considering the fact that it was the only door in the hallways. For some reason, the door was slightly open rather than closed as she left it before. She burst through it and immediately used her body weight to close it. Her head rested against the door as she felt her deep breaths and sobbing sounds. Her vision was already beginning to fade as the room spun. She turned around and kneeled against the door but the sight in front of her made her rethink the safe feeling.

In front of her was a woman, in her twenties, staring back at her with a shocked expression. She wore a maid outfit, the same ones she saw other women wear who were chasing after her. In her hand, she held a broom protectively in front of her. Susan couldn't take it anymore, she just finally let go of any strength she had left and let herself fall on the ground, fainting completely. The maid let out a gasp, finally snapping out of her shocked state, she ran towards the girl, grabbing her by the shoulders.

"Princess?!"