The Fifth Wife

The next time I woke up I was feeling a little lightheaded. I thought I would have woken up with a massive hangover since I'd drunk quite a lot the night prior however I felt...normal. All the memories of the previous night came to mind. I was at the club drinking and dancing my problems away. I then danced with a random man and ended up kissing him. Then we went back to his place and had....wait, what?!

My eyes widened as the realization of my actions clicked. I can't believe I'd had a one-night stand. Of all the stupid things I could have done why would I do that? Who goes to a stranger's home? I immediately sat up on the bed and looked to the side to see the man I'd spent the night with, only to find no one there. What? I thought. I was alone on the bed. Had he left?

But that wasn't the strangest thing about the situation. I looked around the room in search of any sign of him and noticed how bizarre the room was. It was large and spacious but was this really the man's place? Everything in the room seemed so... antique-like?

The walls, the ceiling, and the furniture were all made of wood and their design looked so simple. They didn't seem like something you would find in a modern-day bedroom at all. The bed which I lay on was much lower to the ground. The ceiling had no light, and I couldn't see any switches on the walls. Was this really the place I spent last night? There wasn't a lot I'd remembered about the night we'd spent but I'm sure I remember switching on a light at some point.

What's more when I finally looked down at myself that's when I noticed I was fully clothed. But what was I wearing? I was in a thin white gown that had frilly designs like something from the 16th century. Who clothed me? Was it him? I touched the front gown getting a feel of the material and that's when I felt my chest. It felt a lot plumper than usual. Both my hands went to touch my breasts.

They were full and large there was no way these were mine. I was a B cup, maybe a C on a good day, but what was in my hands right now was definitely at least a D cup. Then I noticed the long braid of jet-black hair that hung over my shoulder. My hair was shoulder-length and dark brown not black. In fact, as I suspiciously inspected myself, my whole body seemed different. My skin looked paler than usual. What was going on?! I frantically looked around the room for a mirror.

I found one in the corner of the room and quickly went to it. Looking at myself I screamed out loud in shock. Clear silky smooth skin, full pink lips, big doe-like green eyes, long jet black hair. I looked absolutely beautiful. I looked healthy, well fed, and not to mention my voluptuous curves. The image in the mirror looked nothing like me. Was this really me? Was I dreaming? Did I drink so much that I was dreaming so deeply of a body I wish I had and it felt so real?

'Ayan Sivar' I then thought to myself suddenly as I took in my image. That was my name. I wasn't sure where the thought came from, nor how I was sure it was my name but I just knew.

A few moments after I screamed I heard footsteps fast approaching. The door opened and in walked an 'unfamiliarly...familiar' woman. I know that's a bit of an oxymoron, but I swear I'd never met this woman in my life, yet I felt like I knew her. She also wore strange historical clothing. 'Teeka' I then suddenly thought to myself as I looked at her face. She was a young woman with a noticeable scar on her face.

When she made eye contact with me an unimpressed almost angry expression appeared on her face. "You're awake my lady. Is something the matter?" She asked. Her question was polite but her tone of voice was not polite at all. She appeared angry and annoyed. She clearly did not like me, or more accurately this Ayan person.

"Yes, I'm alright." I slowly responded.

She then turned away as she headed for the door. "The fifth wife has woken up!" She announced as she poked her head out of the room.

'Fifth wife?' I thought to myself. What did she mean?

Within seconds a swarm of women who were dressed very similarly to Teeka walked into the room. "Prepare her for the day," she said.

"Yes, Teeka." They all said in unison.

Teeka then turned to me and bowed. "My lady, the General will see you this morning after you are done getting ready to give you his judgment."

Judgment? Had I done something? The women quickly began to attend to me. They lead me to another room where a bath was drawn for me. They helped me undress and I got in a bathtub.

I did all this quietly with no questions or objections. For some reason, this routine, of being bathed, and being attended to by these servants, was familiar to me as well.

I was extremely confused. I had never seen this place or met these people before but there was a strange familiarity to what I was experiencing. I found myself remembering things about where I was, and the people who were serving me. Slowly but surely, random information about my surroundings was coming to mind as they washed me. I found myself in a dazed catatonic state as I tried to process my thoughts and piece together what was going on. The servants observed me curiously as they washed almost as if they were in shock at what they were witnessing.

Once they were done washing me they wrapped a towel around my body they lead me back to the room I had been sleeping in. As we got closer to the doors of the room we heard some voices speaking from inside the room.

"The lady is being awfully quiet this morning isn't she?"

"The vixen's usually screaming out orders or complaining. You can hear her no matter which room of the house you're in.

"Maybe she's too busy worrying about what the general will do to her. I know I would be worried if I was in her position."

One of the servants accompanying me opened the door and entered and the two servants inside jumped in panic and quickly stopped talking. They ran to get my dress for the day ready.

Clearly, this Ayan person didn't have a very good reputation if all the servants talked about her like this. In any case, I was quiet because I was still trying to understand what was happening. I was dressed in a luxurious gown made of high-quality materials. Then they proceeded to do my makeup putting on strange powders and inks to my face. I'd never felt so pampered before in my life.

I was given breakfast an assortment of different dishes consisting of meat, vegetables, fruit, and bread. All this was for breakfast? My mouth was watering at the sight. For months I'd been eating cup noodles and other cheap convenience foods this was the first time in a while I was having a home-cooked meal. I immediately began to dig in. The servants gave me odd looks again. But I didn't care the food tasted amazing. Was this real? It couldn't be. As I savored the food I momentarily forgot about my problems.

Was this a dream? A very long dream. That kind of felt mentally draining once you finally woke up. If it was then how come that water from the bath felt real? The food I was eating felt real. I felt the weight of the jewelry I wore. My body felt real. Everything felt real...

Once I was done being prepared for the day, I was led out of the room by Teeka. I was now being taken to the general she mentioned earlier. We went down a long hallway, I took note of how large the house was. It had multiple rooms of varying sizes and once outside, I was met with a large beautiful garden. This was all Ayans' house.

We proceeded to cross a great courtyard as we passed by other houses that were similar to Ayans. They were the other wives' houses I thought to myself. Not quite sure what that meant yet, the information that was coming into my mind was still slowly being put together.