Pacing the room, Rayyan sorted through the most recent of her memories. The ones specifically that culminated in her, Ray, coming into this unknown world.

The next day after Rayyan had been favoured, a great storm erupted. Empress Calista had swept into the rooms, face pale as she surveyed the remnants of the night Emperor Darius and Rayyan spent together. She had thrown the bedding – stained red with Rayyan’s proof of innocence – straight into the fireplace, and quickly shuttled the new consort out of the rooms and into another section of the palace.

Darius was not there to bear the brunt of her fury, but Rayyan was. The other consort candidates were quickly let go from the palace under the guise of a well constructed excuse, and Rayyan was set up in the furthest corner of the castle – a neglected, half-forgotten set of rooms becoming her new home.

As the young girl was not too kindly pushed into the rooms, the Empress swept in after her, crouching down to where she had fallen on the floor.

“You must be feeling so proud of yourself,” Calista whispered harshly, eyes red with unshed tears. “You were able to seduce his majesty on the day of his – no, our – coronation. You couldn’t wait another day more to secure your place, could you?”

She had straightened back up, gazing down at the young girl by her feet. Blinking back her tears, she composed her face into an icy countenance, tone clipped as she addressed Rayyan.

“I will never forgive you for this insult Rayyan Dillon. You may have taken his majesty away from me on our coronation night, but never forget – he is my husband and I am his wife; you, are nothing but a consort. We have been married three years now and have a son – the Crown Prince Hugo. Remember your place and your duty, and do not stray from it for even a moment.”

The doors shut heavily after the Empress’s departure, but the resounding bang that echoed around Rayyan was like the proverbial gavel of a life sentence for her.

As a newly crowned Emperor, Darius became busy dealing with a multitude of items; trying to close the gap of his inexperience and age as quickly as possible. With the Emperor handling the matters of the nation, the Empress assumed her responsibilities handling the matters of the court.

Calista decidedly took charge of those court matters, and made sure to especially take care of the matters relating to Rayyan. With Darius submerged in work, he very readily forgot about the consort he spent a single night with.

Rayyan’s days in her corner of the palace were… passable at best. The beloved daughter of the Dillon household was at the mercy of the Empress and gone were her days of girlhood comfort.

The clothes she had were barely passable for the season, as was the case for her furnishings and food. In less than three months time, the young woman who was on the road to a flourishing womanhood slowly began to wither away.

It was during a bout of fever, that Rayyan had become aware of the miracle that had occurred within her body the night she was favoured. She was with child!

The news frightened her greatly as she understood the circumstances and position she was in. She bribed the doctor with her most precious set of jewelry, given to her by her mother on the last birthday they spent together before she passed, to keep mum. But, the palace had eyes and ears everywhere.

Soon after, the meals sent to her became even more scarce than before. Rayyan began to agonize about the unborn child in her room, quietly crying to herself each night as she wrapped her thin arms around her still flat belly.

Please, someone please help me. Please save my baby.

She repeated this mantra over and over, hoping for a miracle – a reprieve, an out… something.

This is how Ray found herself now inhabiting the body of the young girl. The frail Rayyan couldn’t hold on any longer, succumbing once again to illness in the cold environment she was in. Even in her dying moments, she fervently wished to somehow protect her child.

And so, through a twist of fate, Ray’s soul was pulled into the body Rayyan left behind – to hopefully fulfill the young mother’s final wish.

“This is crazy,” Rayyan whispered to herself. “This shouldn’t even be possible. I was shot dead, and now I’m alive, but not as me…”

She let out a frustrated groan, combing her fingers through her hair. Standing up in front of the fireplace, she dragged herself back to bed, curling as tightly as possible underneath the covers and pulling a pillow against her body.

A small hand skimmed her body and lay against the still flat stomach.

“Are you even alive in there?”

Something, maybe a weird ‘mothers’ intuition told her that yes, that little seedling in her body was still alive.

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Rayyan closed her eyes, mulling over the situation.

Sigh… well, it’s not like I really have much choice. Even if I wanted to go back, I don’t even know if that’s at all possible.

Sleep soon consumed her, and for a few hours she was allowed reprieve from thinking about the bizarre situation she found herself in.

----------------------------------------

It was the combination of sunlight and the sound of movement that pulled Rayyan from her dream heavy sleep. Yawning slightly, she sat up in bed, observing a young woman moving about her rooms.

“Ah, my apologies Lady Consort,” the servant said softly, noticing the owner of the room was awake. “I’m helping Clara today and came to bring you your breakfast. I was told to leave it if you were asleep, but noticed the fireplace needed to be refreshed.”

The nervous explanation was barely audible, as its speaker had her head deeply furrowed to her chest.

“What is your name?”

Surprise at being addressed had the young woman snapping her head up, staring at the inhabitant on the bed. The vision she was greeted with left her breathless.

It is clear why his majesty chose to favour the Lady Consort, she thought dazedly.

Amongst the white linens illuminated by the morning sun, the young woman child looked heaven sent. The sickness she had been recently dealing with was evident in her face but past that her still blossoming beauty was evident.

If Empress Calista was as bright as the sun during morning glory, than Lady Consort Rayyan was the splendour of a moonlit dusk.

Her hair, while currently quite disheveled, at first glance seemed as black and sleek as a raven’s feather. However, the sun spilling into the room uncovered its true colour; a rich dark plum. The waved ends weren’t a result of her sleep, but rather a softened curl pulling apart during the tossing and turning of her slumber. Most breath taking though, was her eyes, unique to the House of Dillon and one of their most prominent features. They were a rich honeyed amber, and slowly sunk you into their depths.

“ – your name?”

The young servant snapped out of her daze, reddening at her absent mindedness. “My apologies Lady Consort! My name is Vira” she trembled, wondering if she would be punished for disturbing the noblewoman’s rest and failing to answer her.

“Ah, then thank you for bringing my breakfast Vira.”

The simple gratitude left the young servant dazed again. Was this really the rumoured Lady Consort? Evil seducer and schemer?

Rayyan slipped down from bed, noting thankfully that the stone floor had warmed with the morning sun. She stretched languidly, and subconsciously headed to the small adjoining bathroom of her room.

Vira hesitated, watching as the she went to the bathroom then glancing to the unkempt bed. When she offered to cover her friend’s shift, she had been advised that all she needed to do was drop off the rather sparse breakfast and then leave. But, seeing the frail young woman enter the bathroom by herself, and the condition of the room made her hesitant to leave.

Her internal struggle lasted a few moments more, before she strode to the bed and prepared to make it. Grabbing onto the covers, she was surprised to find them damp with sweat.

Right, Lady Consort has recently been sick… should I change the bedding?

She worried at her lip, wondering if she was overstepping the instructions provided to her when she first took on the task.

“Oh, do you mind showing me where I can find some fresh sheets to change my bedding?”

The question had Vira whirling to address the master of the room. Rayyan looked even younger, freshened up and hair pulled into a low pony tail pulled over her shoulder. Vira’s heart softened, her younger sister coming to mind as she looked over the frail girl.

“Please let me take care of it Lady Consort. I will bring a fresh set and change it over, this is not work you should be doing,” Vira explained, stripping the bedding. “Please have your breakfast.”

Rayyan was too tired and hungry to argue. She thanked the palace worker – not servant, no one should be thought of as a servant – and settled in front of her breakfast, smiling wryly.

Sorting through her memories, this would be first hot breakfast she would be having in a while. All other mornings, her breakfast was brought in very early, quietly left while ensuring she was still asleep. No matter how hard she tried to time waking up, she still ended up with a cold breakfast.

Tucking into the bland bowl of oatmeal, Rayyan internally scoffed. These petty types of actions irritated her to no end, but she could understand how effective they were. The breakfast consisted of bland oatmeal, watered down tea – which might as well have been hot water with a tint of colour – and a small bowl of over ripe fruit.

She took her time eating, paying mind to her recovering body. Eyes sweeping over the room and thinking of how she ended up here, the first manner of business was to improve her living conditions – both in space and relating to her meals.

Sitting back in her chair, she sipped at her tea from the cheap porcelain cup, thoughts straying to the life housed in her body. Pregnancy was complicated enough on its own, lack of proper food and environment would only make things more difficult. However, despite her position and status, she couldn’t simply ask for improved changes.

Her thoughts turned towards the memories of her time here, finally settling on Empress Calista. Letting out a sigh, Rayyan stared into her cup, meeting her partial reflection’s eyes.

Calista was not right in her actions but… she also wasn’t wrong. From a modern viewpoint, Rayyan could be considered the mistress, third party, homewrecker, or what have you in Calista’s marriage. The Empress technically wasn’t wrong with the words she spoke when she first brought Rayyan to this corner of the palace. Emperor Darius was her husband, she was his wife, and they did have a son together.

Rayyan helplessly rubbed at her temples, contemplating how to approach the situation. Her modern beliefs and values could only hold so much weight in the current world she was in because Rayyan’s position and admittance to the palace was all done within the parameters of the customs and laws of this world and nation. For now, her best approach was to single mindedly focus on herself and her child, preparing to navigate within this world as best as she could. Considering she hadn’t been visited by the Emperor since their one night together, she could only hope he wasn’t too keen on the whole consort thing. If that was the case, she could steer clear of any more complications in regards to the relationship triangle she found herself in – couldn’t call it love, seeing as she didn’t… well love either Darius or Calista.

“I am finished now Lady Consort,” Vira advised. “I will take the breakfast items back now, and advise Sir Lenin that you will not be attending morning court.”

Rayyan began to nod, stopping as she realized the last sentence.

“Not attending morning court?” she questioned.

Vira paused in her gathering of the breakfast plate ware, slightly embarrassed. Had she overstepped? Lady Consort had not attended morning court since she first entered the palace, so she naturally assumed this morning was no different. Clara had even told her to relay the message to Sir Lenin, regardless of if Lady Consort advised it or not.

Similarly, Rayyan realized that her predecessor has quietly holed herself in her rooms after being brought to the cold corner of the palace. The fear of the Empress alongside her covert machinations, mixed with the sorrow of the recent death of her mother, had her shutting herself in.

But, it was now time for that to change. If Rayyan was to survive, she needed to be an active player. The passive and scared young girl was gone, and she’d be damned if she continued to play within the confines of that role.

“I will be attending court,” she commanded, sweeping to stare at Vira and trying to exude strength. “Can you please help me prepare?”

Vira could only nod dazedly, watching the frail figure standing proud, illuminated by the glowing sun behind her.