Lily could feel her body rocking back and forth. She tried opening her eyes, but her eyes felt heavy. She frowned, her eyebrows pinching together in a frown. She tried again, and this time her eyes opened. She looked around to find herself staring at the ceiling of a well-decorated carriage.

However much she tried looking around, she saw nothing familiar; she was sure she had died of the plague, but here she was alive.

She raised her hands to look at it, and it was pale; her gangrene was gone, the skin was very smooth, and her nails were neatly trimmed. She glanced down at her clothes, and she saw a pink gown with a tightly fitted corset that accentuated her tiny waist. 

She inhaled and the soft floral scent emanating from her body improved her mood.

 She had always loathed being dirty growing up, even with only a few dresses, she made sure to stay clean always, but in the last few days of her life, being locked up for two weeks without a bath was worse than the plague itself.

"Do people really take carriages to the underworld?" she asked, and then froze when she heard someone chuckle beside her. She wasn’t alone and sat up quickly, turning her head.

 The sight before her made her blood run cold. She screamed in horror as her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

Another laugh rang out, this time loud “What a coward," the voice said, and then the pale girl, who had appeared out of nowhere floated up to the carriage ceiling, hanging upside down. "I'm not that ugly," she added, touching her cheeks. "Just a bit pale."

The carriage stopped. The girl, still suspended upside down, watched as maids rushed in and crowded around the unconscious teenage girl, rubbing her hands and trying to wake her. 

She smiled wickedly as she noticed Lily stir to wake up again. “She’s waking up," she whispered gleefully. "This is going to be so good”, she said.

As soon as Lily's green eyes fluttered open, it moved around, locking on the figure floating above her. She screamed again, her eyes rolling at the back of her head again, and she collapsed for a second time.

"This is so much fun," the girl giggled, rubbing her hands together, and floated down to sit beside Lily's unconscious body as she watched the confused maids try to revive their mistress once more.

"She's going to have a heart attack and die again," she said, laughing. "I should probably stop scaring her” she reasoned with herself.

When Lily finally woke up again, she sat up slowly, confused. "Is this hell?" she whispered, glancing around.

Her gaze once again locked on the pale figure with long white hair, sunken eyes, dressed in a white, flowy gown, and smiling oddly. She looked like a teenage girl, but Lily knew instantly she wasn't human.

Lily closed her eyes and reopened them.

"I'm not going to disappear," the girl said flatly. "And can you stop screaming? I'm tired of your shrill screaming", she said, rubbing her ears.

Lily's eyes widened in horror. "What are you?" she asked softly, and the servant looked at the empty space where their mistress was talking to.

The girl sighed. "We can do this all day. You can keep fainting, and I can keep scaring you as I've got all the time in the world. Or you can listen to me. I'm not going to hurt you. If I wanted to, you wouldn't even be awake."

Lily nodded hesitantly.

"Your Highness, are you alright?" one of the maids asked gently. "Why are you talking to the void she asked.

Lily looked up, startled. Several girls in what appeared to be maids ' clothes and two others in gowns were surrounding her.

"Your Highness?" One of the ladies in a gown called out, looking confused.

Lily turned back toward the girl as she floated lazily in the air and pointed at the maids.

"Send them away. I'll explain everything."

"I'm fine. I just need to sleep. Please leave me for now," Lily said, waving them off.

"But Your Highness...."

"I said I'm fine. Go."

The girls looked at each other, puzzled, but eventually left.

Lily turned to the ghost. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"Where do I even start?" the girl smiled. "Duchess, I'm Liora. I'm the most famous ghost in Velmira. I know everything that goes on in the capital and I'm also from the year twenty twenty-two."

"A ghost from where? And why am I seeing you?" Lily asked, panic rising again.

Liora grinned. "Never mind that," she said. "and you are seeing me because I want you to see me."

Lily stared in horror as Liora continued as if nothing was wrong. "Let's start with where you are, you're in the body of Princess Lisbeth Selmour."

Lily blinked. "What?"

"As for what happened..." Liora paused, brushing her hair out of her face. "I watched you die and after your soul drifted, I followed it. I might have... slightly misdirected it on its way to the underworld."

"You what?" Lily asked, stunned. "You misdirected my soul?"

"You ended up in the body of the princess. Her soul probably left at the same time as yours did."

Lily frowned, holding her temples to ease the pounding headache she was experiencing "Why would you misdirect my soul? Why would you help me? What do you gain by doing that?"

Liora grew serious for a moment. "Why, I don't know, maybe I’m a nosy ghost,” she added with a chuckle. Maybe you reminded me of my past self. I saw everything from the day you caught your husband and best friend together. I felt bad for you."

" It was incredibly satisfying to watch you take your revenge. I wouldn't have helped if you had just accepted death, but you didn't. And I'm probably sure the plague won't kill them, evil people don't die easily, by the way, and it would've been such a shame if your fight was all for nothing."

"You have a second chance now," Liora said. "The princess is on her way to the capital to marry the emperor. With your new identity and my ghostly help, you can take proper revenge on those who hurt you."

Lily narrowed her eyes.  “And what do I give you in return?"

"Hmm, we'll talk about that later as nothing's ever truly free, but I don't need much. Your courage at the end was very inspiring. I just couldn't let it all go to waste."

Lily sat quietly, trying to make sense of what had happened. She had been reborn in the body of a woman with a higher standing than her former self. Now, she had the means, the resources, and the power to take revenge.

She touched her face. It was soft and smooth.

"There's a mirror over there if you want to look at yourself," Liora said, pointing to a trunk on the other side of the carriage.

"Do I have to keep seeing you?" Lily asked.

"Ouch," Liora replied, clutching her chest as if wounded by Liora’s words. "What is wrong with seeing this pretty face every day? She asked, and we just met, and you already want to get rid of me?"

She pouted her lip dramatically acting offended.

Just then, a gentle knock sounded at the carriage door.

"Your highness, we have reached the accommodations in Druchik," a soft voice called.

"Go ahead," Liora said, nodding toward the door. "We don't want to scare your ladies-in-waiting again, do we?