As Sweet As Saccharine

Chapter 1 - WHERE AM I?

"The stars of midnight shall be dear to her; and she shall lean her ear In many a secret place Where rivulets dance their wayward round, And beauty born of murmuring sound Shall pass into her face." 

-William Wordsworth-

CHAPTER 1

Ugh, what happened? I feel like I got hit by a truck. I slowly pealed open my eyes and wait until my eyes focus. Am I dead? The last thing I remember is drowning in the Murray River. I shifted slightly in my bed and slightly raised one of my arms in front of my face.

Wait a minute, why is my arm so small? Why does my room look different? Is this heavens? Why are there so many bandages on my body? I forced myself to sit as I observed my surroundings. The room is huge, with relatively simple designed pastel-pink colored furniture. The comfy king-sized bed is located in the middle of the room, right in front of the door and an abundant amount of light illuminates the room through the elegant large window. A beautiful crystal chandelier hangs on top of the bed, gleaming.

Just as I am about to get up from the bed, a young girl with red hair and green eyes in a maid uniform comes in with a tray of what appears to be medicines. "Oh my goodness! Princess!" The maid appears to be panicked. I am completely lost now. Who is she talking about? What does she mean by princess? She quickly walks towards the bed and put down the tray on top of the bedside. She gently push me back down the bed and touch my temple. "How are you feeling? Excuse me princess while I go and call the doctor!" She said as she ran out of the room.

"Wait!" I said hoarsely while lying on the bed. Hearing my voice, the maid halted. "yes princess?" she faced me with a confused face. "uhm.... May I know... what's your name?"

"Arlene, princess, my name is Arlene Arkwright, at your service" She curtsied. "With all due respect princess, did you lose your memories?" The maid looked at me concerned. "Ah... no, I was just a bit... confused" I denied even though I literally do not know what is going on. "Hang on princess, I'll call the doctor" Arlene finally left the room.

She returned with a man in his 50s with a bag. I assumed that the man is the doctor Arlene refers to.

"Excuse me princess, my name is I will check your health" The old man said, and he proceeds to do whatever it is he needs to do to check my condition. "Hmm" The old man hummed after he completed his task. "It appears that the princess is suffering a mild concussion. Her arms and legs seem to be healing nicely. I will be prescribing another medicine that the princess needs to speed up the recovery" The man puts away his medical tools and leave the room afterwards.

"Princess, you made me so worried!" Arlene quickly approached me after the doctor left, she looked like she was about to cry from relief. "What happened?" I asked her, confused. "Don't you remember? You do not want to attend the princess training and you climb Jacaranda tree to run away from the guards chasing you and you fell! You are unconscious for 5 days! You made his majesty, King Alexander Addington, so worried!"

After Arlene mentioned King Alexander Addington, something clicked in my head. Could it be? I frantically asked Arlene to help me get up to see myself in the mirror. Saying I was shocked was an understatement. A beautiful young girl is staring back at me. She has a ink black hair with enchanting indigo eye color. She looks tiny and fragile. Is that really me?

As I observed myself in front of the mirror, Arlene also stares at me in confusion. If my hunch is correct, the physical appearance matches Viola Addington in the Novel As Sweet As Saccharine. "Hey Arlene, my name is Viola right?" I asked a bit unsure of myself.

"Princess, are you alright?" Arlene touches my temple again to check if I had a fever. "I'm okay Arlene but answer my question" I touched her hand and move her hand away from my temple. "yes, your highness, you are Princess Viola Addington, Princess of Hermosa" Arlene answered with a tint of confusion and worry seeping through her tone and facial emotions.

Oh. My. Lord.

And I fainted again.