The room in the west wing was off-limits. Only once every week a maid would come to clean up the room, dust off the furniture, polish the floors, and make sure that the one who remained asleep was in a healthy condition. It was no new news that the daughter of the Emperor and the late Empress was asleep, in fact, she was born sleeping. No one, not even once, saw the princess's eyes open, her move, or even twitch a finger.

One would have thought the princess died if it wasn't for her beating heart. Not only had the empire lost an Empress during childbirth, but the child, the product of such strong people, came out to be...disabled, unable to speak, or even move. It was rather peculiar why a child of such high power, status, and magic was born different. But the princess's birth was a complete mystery.

Some believed she was under a curse but no ounce of magic was found in her body. Others turned to science for answers, but there was simply no reason why the princess remained asleep. Although her body was skinny, weak, and small, it was still in a healthy condition.

Whatever curse was cast over her had no effect on her overall well being, in fact, the child still grew even without an intake of food or water. It was peculiar, a mystery that couldn't be solved.

And now here she laid peacefully, with no one by her side or worried sick for her well being. Everyone forgot the story and the title of the 'sleeping beauty' that befallen the princess. No one dared to talk about her, for it reminded them of the late Empress who was loved by all whereas the child recieved no love or care. That is one thing both Princess Lia and Susan Jackson had in common.

* * *

The young woman groaned slightly as she shifted uncomfortably, finally waking up. She woke up with a minor headache that managed to progress as soon as she began to gain consciousness. Susan yawned excessively loud as she rubbed her eyes to get rid of the drowsiness that still overflowed her body.

She carefully sat up, pushing herself upwards and wondering why she was feeling so tired. She always had a sleep schedule to ensure that she got plenty amount of rest since being a CEO of such a successful company came with a lot of tasks.

Speaking of tasks, I still have to make a decision for the binary product...

As soon as she woke up, her brain immediately started working, planning the day ahead and reminding her of assignments that she must operate. But she was yet to remember what had happened to her and the fatal car accident that occurred, after all, how could something so tragic happen to such a good person. Susan sat up, feeling as if a piece of something important was missing from her mind. She couldn't pinpoint exactly what she had forgotten but that was until she looked down at her hands.

Huh? What's this? She questioned herself as she observed her tiny fingers by moving them around and clenching her small fists. She'd always had small and delicate hands, with long and nicely polished nails. She didn't remember trimming them, or the fact that her hands were this small since the last time she looked at them. The girl blinked a couple of times and managed to even slap her cheeks to ensure that she wasn't dreaming. But she found herself frowning, even more, feeling bone around her face rather shocked her.

Where had her sharp jawline gone? Or her firm cheeks? It couldn't have just packed up its bags and ran away in one day! She had a personal trainer who specialized in fitness and life coaching and surely he wouldn't have let her lose this much weight.

Unable to figure out what was going on and why she didn't feel like herself, turned her headache worse. She tried her best to remember what had happened. It took her a while to realize that just the day before she got into a horrible car accident with a truck that was driving completely out of control. It slammed into the side of her car, causing it to flip, and the next thing she knew, she was trying to climb out of the passenger seat before her body went numb. The rest was a blur.

I must have fainted from all the blood loss...

She maintained her shocked expression for quite a while, letting the reality sink in for a moment before her face fell and was concealed with sadness. She must have spent weeks in the hospital for she has not only lost weight but her hands also shrunken.

But that was the least of her worries! She was just glad she was alive! She thought back to everything she did in her life, not even once she did anything bad, she'd always been an outstanding student, and a caring person.

So why was she there during this fateful accident? Was this some kind of punishment for not doing well enough to impress her father?

She shook her head, thinking about him always gave her a headache and she didn't want to worsen hers. Instead, she decided to observe the hospital room she was in...?

Confusion washed over her as soon as she looked up. She sat in a queen-sized bed that was nicely decorated with a red velvet blanket with golden flowers that lay on top of her. There were white see-through curtains that slightly covered her view from what was outside of her silver canopy bed that was deformed into flowers as it reached up the top and center of her bed. The ceiling was made into numerous golden-colored symmetrical designs, with various lines and circles. It took a while for her to snap out of her mesmerizing trance of adoration, she always liked the look of ancient things.

She had so many questions in her head, but a certain one stood out. Where am I?

Although the room was quite dark, there was still light entering from the curtains on the windows to her right. Susan decided to take a look around, she pushed the bed covers aside while she crawled out of the bed. As soon as her legs touched the ground, she lost her balance and fell, almost as if it was her first time walking in a while.

Makes sense, she thought, I have broken a couple of bones during the accident.

She used the edge of the bed mattress to hold herself upwards, while she slowly balanced herself. She watched her tiny bare feet and toes move from one side of the bed to another, slowly getting the hang of walking again. She felt as if something was extremely wrong, she was rather small for her age and it almost felt like it wasn't just her hands that have shrunken, but her entire body.

Nonsense, I must have hit my head harder than I anticipated, she thought as she made her way towards the curtains and the light. Reaching out with her small hand, she pulled the curtain to one side, exposing a vast amount of light entering her room. She winced as her eyes weren't used to this strong sunshine. She had moved to Seattle one year ago and from what she gathered, sunlight days were quite a rare sight.

She lifted her hand and shielded her eyes from the direct sunlight. She waited a while for her eyes to adjust. The window was longer than she thought it was, in fact, it seemed to be covering the entire wall. But what mattered was what it had revealed to her, it was a very bright and morning day, full of crystal clear skies, green trees, and with it came a bright sun. Very different from her casual Seattle grey clouds.

She squinted her eyes in awareness and suspicion that this was not her city, and this couldn't possibly be the hospital. It looked way too damn expensive to be her hospital. She dropped her hand to her side and reached out for the little handle in the window. Her window was actually turned out to be an entrance to the balcony, and she was eager to see what was outside of it. As she pushed on the door, she managed to stumble on her feet when it did open suddenly. It made her question her strength or if the door was simply stuck.

As she walked towards the end of her balcony, she was hit with a fresh and strong breeze that smelled like grass and roses. She inhaled with a small smile on her face, she hadn't realized how stuffy the air in that room was until she stepped outside. She lifted herself and stood up on her tippy toes in order to look down. She saw a big flowery garden on her right and a large green grassy area on her left. But that was not it, there were walls that she spotted past the large field, in fact, it seemed to go all around whatever building she was in.

She decided to go back in if it wasn't for the cold that she was feeling in her thin hospital dress, which looked more like a nightgown that reached out all the way to her ankles. As more time passed by, she started to doubt whether she was in fact in a hospital.

What kind of hospital would have large stone walls? Unless...she was in a mental asylum!

She hurried inside, and as the light entered the room, she was able to admire it even further. The wall designs seem to sparkle in the sunlight which made her wonder if it was made out of real gold. A small chandelier with countless lights and chains hanged in the middle of the room, pointing downward on the floor that was also nicely decorated with marble tiles. Wherever Susan looked, there was something more different and unique to catch her attention.

But two wide and tall doors seemed to grab her curiosity more as she quickly hurried her way there. It didn't matter where she was, she just wanted answers or even better...to be taken home!

For some strange reason, everything to her looked rather small as she walked towards those doors in a hurry to figure out where she was. In the corner of her eye, she saw a reflection of herself pass by a mirror. She quickly turned around and fast-walked towards the mirror, eyes widening as she saw her reflection get bigger with every step she took.

The mirror was a couple of inches away from her when she finally stopped walking. She stood there in shock at what she was seeing. This little girl standing in the mirror couldn't possibly be her, not only did she look different but she was literally a child!

She watched the mirror like a hawk, rising and waving her hand in every direction in hopes to try to expose the prankster by getting them tired of following her every move. However, the only one who got tired was herself and her weak skinny body. She soon found herself to be out of breath. She was no longer her athletic and strong self.

She was a bloody child.

A little skinny and a short one at that, she thought as she squished the cheeks once more. She took a deep breath in, knowing well that panicking and stressing is not the answer. Especially if she really did become this little girl, it wouldn't be good for her body. She took a moment to take in the girl's features.

Her big green eyes looked so bright and different from the blue color she was used to, even her hair changed color. It was still blonde, but a couple of shades lighter than her usual color. Her hair formed beautiful golden locks that stretched out all the way to the child's waist. Her skin was pale, either naturally or from shock. She wore a simple white nightgown, making her hair stand out even more. The little girl didn't look older than five, making her wonder what kind of sick prank was this? And why did it feel so real?