Lia looked up at the clock that was hanging on her wall, beside her dresser. She looked around with the wheels within her head-turning. Her small hands reached out and pulled her dresser chair and brought it towards the wall. Carefully, she stood on top of the chair, her hands pressing on the wall so she won't fall. She lifted herself up on her tippy toes in order to reach the clock. She felt the cold metal against the palm of her hands before she grabbed it, pulling it off the wall. Immediately, she got down, letting out a long breath that she didn't know she was holding. Sitting down on her bed, she turned the clock upside down.

Lia was trying to find a crystal that was said to be embedded within many devices, they substituted batteries and electricity in this world, allowing bed lights to shine, clocks to move, and blow dryers to blow.

She tried her best to open the small box in the back but her small fingers kept on slipping. She needed something small and way stronger. She thought hard before an idea came into her head. Quickly, she placed the clock on top of her neatly done bed while she went to open the closet doors. Lia quickly moved a bunch of shoes and slippers out of the way, revealing her hidden treasures. A fork.

A couple of days ago, she decided to keep a fork and a knife from her many silverware that was given to her during supper. Her reason... self-defense. Who knows what can happen to her when the maids were not around. She quickly grabbed the fork and walked back to her bed. Pulling herself upwards, she sat down and lifted up the clock, attempting to open it using the fork. To her delight, the marvel cover popped right open, revealing a beautiful green crystal that seemed to be glowing brightly despite the curtains being closed.

"Wow," The young girl was stunned, she had never seen anything like this and although she already experienced magic first hand, it still managed to surprise her. She lightly brushed her fingertips on the stone and it reacted to her touch, glowing a brighter green. She was filled with this weird sensation all over her body, a certain warmth, and a powerful aura that she couldn't begin to explain. But before she could pick up the stone, the door flew open and her head snapped towards that direction. Her maid, Phiona, was at the door, her mouth wide open as shock and horror appeared on her face.

"What are you doing my lady! Do not touch that!" She quickly ran up to the princess, snatching the clock out of her hands. Phiona glanced at the princess's confused expression, down at the clock then at the fork.

"How did yo- Where did you even get that your highness?" She was mad but Lia didn't seem to understand why.

"Why are you so mad Phiona?" Lia asked innocently in order to soothe the situation but it made the maid even angrier.

"For the love of Avrigastan! You can't be touching these! This is a no-no," She said, trying to make Lia understand.

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?! You have no to listen to adults, magic crystals are very bad! It is forbidden to touch them!"

"But why-"

"Why are you yelling at her?" Janette came out of nowhere into the room with a confused yet slightly angry look on her face.

"If I came in any second later then she would have touched the crystal!" Phiona said, wiggling around the clock in the air to show Jennett. The other maid's face went from confusion to absolute horror in just a span of one second.

"Oh my goodness! My lady, thank god Phiona came at the right time," She hugged the princess tightly, but Lia just sat there with confusion written all over her face. Lia didn't know if she should mention the fact that she already made skin contact with the stone or not. The maids were freaking out and it scared her. Phiona ran out of the room yelling for someone while Jennett was crying and stroking the princesses hair.

"What would happen if I touched it?" She asked nervously but she knew that Jennett would be honest with her and tell the truth.

"Instant death," She said through sobs. Lia was spooked and taken aback. Nowhere in the book did it mention instant death but it was probably because it was common sense in this world.

"W-Why?"

"The magic crystals hold very powerful energy that can be harnessed and used to operate for everyday things, however, that energy is too powerful for direct skin contact, it is known to turn even the most powerful of warlocks into dust," She said with all seriousness. Lia's hands began trembling a bit, she didn't know that such dangers existed near her and the thought of dying again was last on her list. This information wasn't written in the damn books.

But she already touched the crystal, how was it possible that she hadn't turned into dust? Did it have something to do with the sleeping curse or the fact that she wasn't from this world? Should she tell this information to Jannett?

"I-I already...touched it..." Lia softly mumbled quietly while Jennett's eyes went wide. She looked at Lia straight in the eyes before picking up her small fingers and examining it.

"C-Could it have something to do with the sleeping curse?" Lia asked, she knew Jannett could be trusted, she stayed by her side even when she was asleep for her entire life.

"I-I don't know. Listen carefully my lady, don't mention this to anyone. It may either be luck or coincidence, if you mention it to anyone else, bad things can happen," Jannett whispered carefully in Lia's ear. The sentence alone was enough to send goosebumps down Lia's back.

"There she is! Quickly examine her just in case," Phiona rushed in, with the doctor that Lia met previously although she didn't catch the doctor's name.

"W-Why? I-I didn't touch it!" Lia lied, defending herself after seeing the panicky look on her maid.

"The crystals are able to affect one mentally, physically, and the magic within too, god knows how long the princess was exposed to its energy," Phiona said.

"Where on earth did you even get a fork! Is there anything else that our princess is hiding?" Phiona asked suspiciously, she began looking around while Lia went into a panic mode. She hid a couple of books underneath her bed so she doesn't have to travel all the way to the library, back and forth every day, the risk of her getting caught just increased. She would also have a lot of explanations to do if the books underneath her bed were found out.

"One more thing," Lia said quickly. Phiona looked back at the nervous princess as she got off the bed and made her way to the closet, she quickly bent down and took out the knife that she also managed to take. Everyone around Lia gasped when she held it out.

"My....Why?"

"Do you not feel safe my lady?"

"We can request a royal guard to always be with you,"

"NO! There is no need for that, really. I just like...sparkly things," Lia said and laughed nervously. The tension in the room vanished. Phiona walked up to the princess and carefully took the knife out of the hands.

"You should have said so, my lady. You are a princess, you can have anything you want," Phiona said. She guided the young girl to the doctor before turning around. Lia let the doctor do a physical check-up on her while multiple maids rushed into the room, picking up anything that could possibly possess a magical crystal. 

"What are they doing doctor?" Lia asked out of curiosity as she sat on the chair of her dresser in the corner of the room.

"They are preparing for the arrival of the royal magician. He can seal off the magic crystals so they won't be able to be opened,"

"That's so much work! I promise I won't do it again," Lia said reassuring the doctor. The white-haired man stood up from kneeling in front of her and sighed.

"You are still too young to understand your highness. Now please, look me in the eyes for a brief scan," The doctor had a peculiar ability to scan people's bodies from within, as well as their own magic. This is also how Lia was able to discover that she did not have one spec of magic within her body which was rather odd considering she was the daughter of the most powerful magician in the Empire, her father, Emperor Klaus, and her mother, Empress Diana who had a rare ability of 'sight', the ability to see into the future. However, she still wanted to know why she didn't have magic? Did it have something to do with her being from a different world? Or perhaps the sleeping curse?

Unfortunately for her, she already received an answer to one of her questions. Magic couldn't be learned, you were either born with it or not.

The doctor took off his glasses, revealing two bright brown eyes that began glowing as soon as Lia saw them. She had experienced a scan before, more precisely the first time she woke up from falling asleep in the garden after her little eating marathon. She recalled feeling awfully tired after and went back to sleep straight away. Lia felt hypnotized to look into the brown eyes of the doctor and she couldn't look away. Before she realized it, she was already falling asleep.

* * *

Lia woke up feeling as energized as ever, it was precise because she slept through the entire day yesterday and now was all full of energy. 

"May I speak with Jennett?" Lia asked Rose who was serving her breakfast.

"Jennett has taken a leave of absence. She must have wanted to talk to you yesterday but other things happened, don't be sad Miss Lia, she'll be back in two days!" Rose tried to cheer up Lia after noticing her sad expression. The young girl wanted to have a talk with her maid, she was interested in knowing why she didn't die after making contact with the magical stone although she knew that the topic is best left alone.

"Oh, I see, do you know the reason for her leave?"

"She said something urgent happened at home so she needed to leave as soon as possible, she looked rather panicked but I don't want you to worry miss, everything will be alright, she's a strong woman," Rose said and Lia smiled, she really did admire Jannett for her strong and friendly character.

"Miss why don't you make something for Jennett? That way you can focus on it and pass more time!" Rose recommended and the princess nodded eagerly. Maybe if she could bake something? Susan was a good cook since she preferred to cook for herself rather than having her housekeepers cook when she lived alone. However, Lia is a small child now, and who knows if she will be let inside the kitchen.

"Here, why don't you draw something?" The maid asked Lia nodded in agreement although she wasn't much of an artist.

"I will go request stationery for the young miss, make sure to eat all of the vegetables before dessert!" The maid said before taking her leave. Lia thought hard while she ate unconsciously even the parts of the food that she didn't like.

If I can find a cookbook in the library...

The library had all kinds of books, from the history of Avrigastan to cheesy romance novels. She was sure that there is at least one cookbook in there. She needed a reference for what to make, she knew some recipes but the ingredients might not even exist in this world. A knock came on the door, snapping Lia back into reality after daydreaming of all the possible desserts that she can make.

"Come in," She said loudly, feeling a bit lazy to get up and open the door. A man in a black and red guard suit stepped into the room.

"Presents for the young miss," he said in a deep voice. Lia looked puzzled, her eyes traveled down to a trolly that he held and on top of that trolly were countless colorful boxes, stacks of letters, and bows.

"Ehm...I didn't as- from who?" Lia was left stunned that the piece of broccoli that she was about to place into her mouth fell off.

"Well there is the young heir of Vertania, Duchess of Mairine, Princess of V-"

"I don't know all these people," Lia said puzzled.

"I suppose not your highness, but they do know of you," Lia got up and made her way towards the stack that was almost as tall as she was.

"But my birthday already passed," In fact, it has already been two weeks since Lia or rather Susan, woke up in this world. She only now started to realize how used she became to her new environment and it made her feel rather guilty.

"It doesn't have to be your birthday to receive gifts, you are the imperial princess, these gifts are from people all around the empire who have heard of you and want to be your friend,"

"My friend?"

"Everyone has heard that the young miss likes sparkly things!" The guard said smiling before bowing and leaving the room. Lia looked puzzles for she had forgotten that just the other day she has said a little lie to prevent the maids from further searching her room. Lia approached and picked up the countless stacks of letters, each from different people and different names.

She didn't want to read all these letters, heck people weren't even supposed to know that she could read after being asleep for so long. Maybe the fact that she was rather bad at pretending was now paying off the wrong way. Not replying to the letters would also be considered as rude. Her own father never gifted her a gift and yet here she was, standing next to a pile of gifts from people she never even met.

It was more than enough to make her feel sad.