(Where am I? Am I dead? No.. This feeling... I'm definitely alive. But somehow...)

My eyelids fluttered open but my vision was blinded by a bright light. Almost reflexively, I cringed away from the light, throwing my arm over my eyes.

"Judar! Judar! She is awake!"

(Who's voice is that? What is... Judar?)

"Well, well. You've been asleep for a while now," I suddenly hear another voice from very close by.

I peek curiously over my arm and find a pair of bright red eyes gazing back at me.

(Who...?)

The man leaning over the head of my bed and peering down at me wore an excited grin, his black ruffled hair framing his face. I leaned forward, sitting myself up in bed. I couldn't help but notice my hands.

(These... Aren't mine.)

I glanced quickly over the rest of my body, throwing the blankets that covered me to the ground.

(This... Isn't my body. And this place around me-)

My eyes shifted around the unfamiliar room, studying the faces of the two men who were also present with me.

"You must have several questions for us," the man nearest me spoke. He smirked again before continuing, "But first, we have a request of you. Please, give us your name." His crimson colored eyes gleamed as he waited for a response.

(No point in really hiding it, I guess... After all, I should be dead anyway, right?)

"My name," I started, trying to accept the unfamiliar voice that had just escaped my lips. "I am... Ren..."

At the sound of that name, I could see from the corner of my vision the relief in the priestly man's face. My next words, however, drained the man of his newfound relief.

"Mei... of the Ren family," I told them. Judging by the reactions of both men, I'd apparently said something upsetting. The color drained from both their faces until the man nearest me spoke again.

"You mean you aren't Natalia?" he asked, his tone sharper than it was before.

I shook my head, "Natalia is... Was my mother. I am the daughter of Empress Natalia."

"Judar, what do we do now?" the farthest man said, panic ringing in his voice. His robes swayed as he spoke, resembling that of a trembling child.

The man nearest me, Judar, as he's been called, gritted his teeth before directing his gaze to me.

"She's still got Ren blood in her. She's a candidate nonetheless. Everything will proceed as planned," he replied sternly.

By this time, I was more than lost in my thoughts, almost completely unable to think at all. No one had explained anything to me yet and this fact alone was enough to frustrate me.

"Where am I? And who are you people?" I asked, my voice barely a muffled whisper.

Judar's gaze met mine. He smiled as he spoke, "Oh, yeah. I'm Judar, a Magi for the Kou Empire. Might as well explain why you're here too since we're doing introductions."

I stared at him, waiting eagerly for more information as the priestly man left the room.

"Well, see. The King Candidates for this era are all pretty powerful and, at any rate, entertaining enough. But I just wasn't satisfied. They're your typical lot of powerful people. Which, I supposed for any other Magi, would be good enough. But I wanted to shake things up a bit, you see? So I gathered up some things and did a few things... to summon one of the most powerful leaders this nation has ever seen," Judar explained, drumming his fingers along the bedpost as he spoke.

"My mother?" I interrupted quietly.

"Precisely," Judar nodded.

"But you've gotten something wrong and summoned me here instead..." I continued.

Judar's eyes met mine, perhaps trying to gauge how I felt about the entire situation. Honestly, I felt indifferent about everything. I didn't really care that I was alive again, nor did I care for what reason this Magi had brought me here or what he planned on doing with me.

"I want to go outside," I said sharply, casting my gaze towards the door.

Judar's expression became quizzical but he nodded nonetheless, shrugging his shoulders. "I suppose that'd be fine," he said.

I gave a brisk nod before planting my feet on the floor and pulling my body away from the bed. I began to walk swiftly towards the door before Judar's voice pulled me to a stop.

"But in this time era, going outside completely naked is looked down upon," he said, his voice taunting.

I glanced down and noticed that I was completely in the nude. I looked back up at Judar, taking note of how tickled he was by his own remarks. I guess he expected me to become flustered and embarrassed.

"Why should I care? This body isn't mine," I said stubbornly, crossing my arms and standing tall without slouching a single bit. "If that's what you care about, maybe I should have been dressed already. Or at least supplied with suitable clothing for this time period," I went on as harshly as I could manage without laughing at Judar's annoyance.

The Magi only grunted at the death of his fun and pointed me towards the closet before exiting the room. Without further interruption, I quickly got dressed, examining every bit of this new body that my soul now inhabited.

I was taller now. This body is tall but well-filled. It's thick around the waist and thighs but the rest is slender, almost bony.

(I wonder what my face looks like...)

I reached up, twirling the tips of long white locks of hair. Slowly, I let the curled strands slip through my fingertips, allowing them to fall back into place.

(White hair? Odd for a young girl... Unless... I'm actually an old woman!?)

I searched for any wrinkles on my skin but found nothing. After a minute of prolonged searching, I finally accepted that this body belonged to a young woman.

(Well, that should be the least of my concern right now. Judar, the Magi... of the Kou Empire... wants to use me as his King Candidate.)

I sighed, feeling remotely unmoved by any of this information, and headed for the door.