[Author's Note]

Wasn't expecting one before the chapter now were you!! HAH!!

*ahem* welcome to the first backstory chapter! Well, not entirely. We've definitely had one or two in the past, but this style is a little different. There's a few characters whose backstories I either really want to tell just for fun, or whose backstories have important meaning, but I also just wanna tell for fun.

So, this is what happened when Vincent first reincarnated. This backstory is definitely important, but if long backstories aren't your thing, when I'm done with this section of backstory chapters (it'll take a few), I'll write a quick synopsis for those that just want the tl;dr.

I'm just trying to experiment here and play with the formula, you know? There's a lot of story to tell, and I know you're only supposed to write a fraction of all the story you come up with and all that jazz yadda yadda, but at the end of the day I'm writing to tell the story that lives rent-free (like a fat and lazy slob) in my head all hours of the day.

Either way, let me know what you guys think of me doing this kind of stuff.... maybe? perhaps? possibly? pwease?

~

Lydia

I shot up out of bed in a cold sweat, throwing the blankets off me, sliding my feet out onto the floor, and trying to focus on any one thing, but my head was spinning.

My ears were ringing and my vision was blurred, but I was quick to notice one thing: I wasn't in my room anymore.

I'd been out of bed after a less than desirable amount of sleep one too many times to know without seeing it that this isn't my bed.

That and I don't have a hard-wood floor, but we don't talk about that part.

It took a few seconds for my mind to put two and two together and for me to realize hey wait a minute this isn't my bed!

So if this isn't my room... whose is it?

I blinked and rubbed my eyes a bit as I stood up to stretch.

That was a big mistake.

My waist bumped into something, and seconds later I heard a crash that sounded like the shattering of glass.

That sobered me up quickly.

I'd knocked over what looked like a dish carrier, shattering a few plates and a cup, as well as spilling a bunch of food everywhere.

Shit.

Looking around at the mess I'd made, my attention began to shift to the room I was sleeping in.

It looked like I was in a mansion. There were three beds, each huge and had drapes over them.

The bedroom had a sort of Victorian style to it, with intricate trimmings lining the walls, which held a sizable round-top window letting broad daylight onto the fanciful beds and paintings.

I was the only one there.

That was at least until I made a loud crash by being a total idiot.

A man dressed in white robes entered through the door across the room. He had glasses, dark dark blue hair, and a sort of quiet composure about him.

"You're awake," he said, his voice soft and light and a gentle smile forming on his face.

I nodded cautiously.

"We found you in an empty carriage near the city, and you looked like you needed medical attention."

Inside of a carriage? What city?

"You've been asleep for almost a day, now. How do you feel?"

I could tell he was trying to be hospitable. He could read the confusion all over my face and my distrust towards him and this place.

Opening my mouth, I tried to speak, but all that came out was an arid wheeze, and I then clutched my throat. It was burning; I felt like I had strep and hadn't drank a thing in months.

He chuckled. "It's nothing to worry over. I'm sure you'll need water after laying out in the dry summer air for that long."

"Dry summer air?" It's the middle of winter, and our winters are practically Antarctic.

The man turned towards the door, gesturing to move.

"Shall we discuss things after you've had a bite to eat?"

I gave him the same slow, cautious nod. After all, I had no idea where I was, who he was, and what I'm doing here.

I suppose the only thing to do is get answers.

My judgement was pretty much nonexistent. I felt like I'd rolled out of a ten-year nap and my body felt tingly and woozy.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

The man led me out of the room, down a hall, and then into another, much larger hall. Well, it wasn't exactly a hall. We were walking along a sidewalk made of a fancy polished rock, and it was all at the edge of a beautiful courtyard.

Now that we were out in the open, something alarming became very apparent to me: I can't see shit.

Beyond the first few feet into the grass, I could see nothing but a blurry mess of shapes and colors. Squinting and straining my eyes did zilch to help.

Probably just the state my head's in right now.

I chalked my near blindness off to the fact that I still couldn't piece together any real complex thought because I still felt dazed, and continued along the courtyard's edge.

We entered a door at the end of the courtyard, then followed two or three more hallways - granted they were relatively small in length - before reaching one final door.

When we opened it, the entire scene changed. My eyes were greeted by dark grey walls, which stretched upward maybe 20 or 30 feet, and were covered in vines and leaves. A tree grew at the center of the room, where several hammocks hung down. Small, round tables made of dark, rich wood spread around the room, and a few people sat or layed, most eating something or reading books.

The man strolled towards a table right next to the tree, where a young girl with long purple hair was being poured tea by a woman in a cutesy long-skirt outfit.

She looked up and saw Mr. White Cloak, who had begun to bow, and her face lit up.

"Lassie! You never told me you got back!" The little girl jumped up and threw her arms around him.

Meanwhile, my head was getting a little bit clearer.

Wait a minute... this isn't my house... and I have 0 clue who these people are.

It was at this point that panic set in.

I could hear my blood as it started to rocket through my body at light speed.

Where the hell am I??

Why am I here??

Aside from school, I almost never left home. I don't have friends, I don't go to clubs, I don't go to parties, and I definitely don't wake up in Victorian mansions surrounded by strange faces.

My breathing got faster, and I tried to look around for a place to sit or lean against so I could catch my bearings before I just fell over, but at the same time I had to be calm about it because I definitely didn't want to draw attention to myself.

"Doctor Kyur, surely you've introduced yourself to this poor girl and at least tried to make her feel at home, right?" the maid demanded.

The man, Kyur, chuckled nervously, slowly raising his hands in innocent surrender.

Now they were all three looking at me.

I'm just- gonna go away now- don't mind me while I go climb this tree and hide in the leaves and never again be seen by humanity-

The purple-haired girl stood up and softly walked towards me.

She placed her hands on my shoulders, waited a second, then looked me in the eyes and shook me back and forth.

Both Kyur and the maid looked shocked.

"My name's Myu," she greeted in a high-pitched, cheery voice, wearing a sweet smile.

Strangely enough, her violently shaking me was actually calming in a way.

"Mister Kyur's a knucklehead and doesn't socialize properly. I'm so sorry if we scared you!" She had a sweet, yet bold radiance about her, and of anyone here, I felt like I could trust her right away.

"My name is Myuila-Renee Sakari, but that's a mouthful, so just feel free to call me Myu," she greeted again. "Wait, I already did that, huh? Sorry..."

I smiled to show that it was fine, my heart still beating rapidly. Myu bowed lightly, and several people in the room looked up over their whatever-they-were-doings with concern and shock lacing their faces.

"Come join me!" she cheered, ignoring the looks and taking my hand. Her fingers were small and cold, and they reminded me of an old friend.

We sat at the table, and the maid, after hiding a look of irritation at Myu, left the room and quickly returned with two small platters, each holding cups and plates of some food I couldn't make out yet.

She set them down, and I realized they were just sandwiches.

"Your lunch, m'ladies," she presented with a formal bow, one hand behind her back, then quietly left towards the back of the room.

Having been given food and with Myu beginning to chatter about the taste and how much she loved sandwiches and tea, my mind started to stray from my situation.

I let myself focus on the small little lunch in my hands, which I scarfed down a lot faster than I thought I was.

The bread was nice and moist, and there were some good, fresh veggies in it and a salty sweet meat, kind of like a ham and lettuce sandwich, but I didn't really know what it was, nor did I care.

I had food, and it was good food.

"With as skin and bone as you are, we should have had Angel make you more food than just that."

"To be fair," the man from earlier cut in, speaking for the first time since we came into the sort of lounge area. "We didn't have any made for the guest yet. This is the extra for you in case something happened to your first plate."

"You guys are too thoughtful," she said.

Kyur smiled at her.

"Well, you feeling up to doing some talking? Maybe a small tour to show you the places you'll be around here?"

I held up my finger and drank some of the hot tea in my cup. The first few sips felt like I'd driven a knife down my throat, but after that I was able to swallow almost normally.

"Start with something easy. What's your name, young miss?"

My name...

My name is Vincent. Yeah that's the one.

I once again opened my mouth to speak, but then another thought struck me, and I snapped it shut right away.

Did he just say... young miss?

Now I was confused. What was he talking about? I was about 90% certain I went to bed a male last night, and I don't really look feminine - not that I look necessarily masculine either.

I could still see the same ginger hair in front of my eyes that I'd always seen, so it's not like I was suddenly in someone else's body.

Is he being an ass to me? What the hell is this?

At that point, I figured something was up, so I decided I'd play along until I figured it out, though my mind wasn't exactly at its best, so it's not like I would be playing detective. Doctor Kyur was giving me a strange, yet patient look, and I decided to say my name.

I cleared my throat lightly. "My name is V-"

I stopped short, completely shocked. My voice felt raspy and wrong, like when you sing a song that goes lower than you can and your throat doesn't appreciate it. Nothing about it seemed mine. I sounded like I had a cold.

But that wasn't what I stopped for. Everything around me seemed to have just... froze. A light hand touched my shoulder, and its owner laughed from behind me, though the voice seemed distant and echoed.

"Your name is Lydia," said a light, cheery voice, but one softer and sweeter than Myu's.

A frail girl, one exactly my height, peeked around my shoulder, then stood in front of me. Her curious look became a light, close-eyed smile as she placed her hands behind her back, and stood up straight, trying to let me get a good look at her.

She wore a knitted pink sweater over a white shirt and a black skirt, and she had hair just as ginger as mine. Her left eye bore an old but nasty scar, and she had round glasses on.

I'd never seen her before, but she looked familiar. What struck me the most was the ever so slight sparkling glow about her, and the way I could almost see through this girl.

She relaxed and opened her eyes, revealing a calming hazel story of time and pain.

"We've both passed away," she said gently, at almost a whisper. "So you're Lydia now, in the flesh."

"What are you talking about?" I pleaded, this time with my own voice.

"Just look." She reached out her hand and gestured it towards me.

I looked down for the first time since I'd woken up.

While there was no pink sweater or glasses, and instead just a dirty, loose shirt and what seemed like sweatpants, there was no mistaking it.

The girl in front of me... I was her.

"It's nice to meet you. What's your name?"

What the hell is happening?