I died.

I mean everyone dies at some point, but the way I died still pisses me off.

I had only been crossing the street after working overtime – for the third day in a row. I wanted my bed and to sleep for the next week without interruption. The universe – or perhaps my own lack of self-preservation– kicked in halfway through the crosswalk.

I didn’t see the light change – because why would I? My mind was focused inward.

A loud honking ripped through the air and I turned my head, just in time, to see the headlights barreling toward me.

I couldn’t react fast enough. My body froze from confusion and fear.

Oh. Shit.

I squeezed my eyes closed seconds before the truck slammed into me.

Pain flared through my body – white hot.

I heard screaming – shouts to call 911.

Damn it. I thought, my consciousness slipping away. I should have been a ballerina or something instead.

The darkness wrapped its hands around me and I fell into an empty dark void.

…and then…I woke up under a bright blue sky.

Confused and disoriented – I rubbed my eyes – blinking from the beaming sunlight.

“What happened?” I murmured – head throbbing… “I don’t remember…”

The sound of laughter and dogs barking wound through the breeze. I sat up, and turned my head toward the noise. A few yards away, a group of five children were playing fetch – encouraging each other to throw the stick further.

What is going on? I blinked a few times, as the world began to wobble before snapping back into place.

“My lady,” A loud, frustrated voice sounded to my left, her dark brown eyes flashing in irritation. “Why do you keep doing this? You know running away won’t do a damn thing in your favor”

“Me? Run away?” I shook my head. Who is she and why is she wearing a maid’s uniform?

She stomped over, and grabbed me around the wrist. “Lady Kyla, you can’t keep acting like a brat.” She snapped, squeezing me.

“Lady Kyla?” I flinched from the pressure. Why does that name sound so familiar? “Get your hands off me.”

“Honestly.” The maid snapped – jerking me to my feet. “Why did I have to be stuck with you of all people?”

“Ow. What’s your problem?” I snapped, pulling out of her grasp. How is this woman so strong and why is she treating me this way?

“My problem is you.” She turned, tugging me along behind her. “How many times have I told you to stop trying to escape the house? Do you think the Duke has time to actually care about you if you do?”

“What are you saying?” I pulled my arm back – or tired too. She only increased the pressure and marched us down the grassy knoll.

“Honestly,” she snapped. “I don’t know why his Grace assigned me to you. I really don’t.” she huffed. “You’re a handful and barely worth the pay. I could be working under the young master but instead I’m forced to babysit the likes of you.”

“I don’t-” I cut off, stumbling as we reached the bottom.

Before us, an old dirty carriage waited. The sides were dented and the wheels looked like a faint breeze would blow them apart. A man sat on the driver box, looking bored and smelling strongly of alcohol.

That’s a death trap. Why is it being used?

“You can’t be serious.” I muttered. “I’m not riding in that.”

“Yes,” the maid pulled me forward and tossed me inside. “You are.”

I heard the door slam shut as I fell with a thud against one of the benches. Pain shot up from my hip – jolting me.

What the hell? I pressed my left hand against my hip and reached toward the door with my right. I’m not staying in this thing.

Unfortunately, I was. The door was locked and the handle wasn’t budging at all.

“What the hell is going on here?” I grumbled moments before the carriage lurched forward.

I almost fell again – only catching myself at the last second.

Why the hell are these people so rude?

The carriage bumped forward – hitting every single rock to the point I was beginning to wonder if it was on purpose. I don’t know what’s happening – but I’m already over this.

I reached toward the curtain and pulled it open. Hills and trees lined the scenery – but behind it buildings that looked suspiciously European and made of rock and stone – loomed. How strange. Did I get taken somewhere without knowing it? I don’t live in the countryside.

There should have been large looming buildings made of glass and metal. Cars should have been zooming past – cursing at other drivers. People should have been wandering around the streets – hustling and ignoring one another – in an attempt to reach work on time.

A knot formed in my stomach – clenching and unclenching. I pressed a hand against it and closed my eyes in an attempt to remember what was happening.

A thick fog covered my mind – as though the memories were somewhere lost in a mist. Each time I grabbed one, it slipped away. Slowly, almost painfully, a faint feeling of pain and the smell of twisted metal drifted through my senses.

That’s right. I opened my eyes – staring blankly ahead. I died.

There was no chance – at all – that I had lived. The truck didn’t just hit me lightly, it had completely crushed me.

“Then…where the hell am I?” I glanced toward the window again. “When am I?”

The thought of questioning the time period sounded ridiculous even to me. People can’t time travel – that’s impossible.

I sighed, pressing my fingers against my eyes. And what was that about a name? I wondered – recalling that maid’s words. Lady Kyla.

I knew the name – but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember when. Everything was a scrambled mess, and absolutely nothing was surfacing.

“Damn it.” I swore – both at another bump in the road and my own mind refusing to reveal anything. “This isn’t good.”

Several minutes later, the carriage jolted to an abrupt stop. We must be here.

I turned toward the door in time to see it pull open. The maid reached in – grabbed me gruffly again – and tugged me out.

“Get your hands off me.” I snapped, stumbling out. “You wouldn’t even treat an animal like this.”

“Be quiet.” She hissed, dragging me toward a large brown door. “You’d be lucky to be treated like an animal.”

I hesitated following after her – when I realized the expanse of the building we had pulled up to. It was large and looked to be made of an off-white marble. Four floors stretched high into the sky, large intricate windows littered the walls.

Damn, this place is huge.

“Why are you gawking?” The maid pulled me inside. “I better get a raise for this.”

She pulled me through a long corridor – where other maids were busy working. The majority of them stopped what they were doing and began to whisper quietly. Some snickered as the maid pulled me toward a flight of stairs – which evidently pissed her off further.

Her hand constricted tighter around my wrist and she began to mutter about how she deserved better. It would have been comical, if she was not leading me around forcefully.

We continued climbing up the spiral staircase – until we reached the fourth floor. She stepped into the hall and continued on until we reached a door that looked all but rotten. Scratches seared across the surface and a faint smell of mildew tickled my nose.

She pulled the door open and shoved me inside – a sneer on her face. “Don’t try to pull anything like this again or I’ll tell the head maid.”

“What are you-” I broke off when the door slammed shut between us.

The tinkling of keys rattled, seconds before I heard the lock click into place.

“What is your problem, lady?” I asked, turning away from the door.

The room sprawled out before me – empty save for a bed that looked well worn, a shoddy wardrobe, and a desk that looked like it was seconds away from collapsing.

“They couldn’t have put me in a better room?” I shuffled across the floor and paused when a reflective surface caught my eye.

A body length mirror sat nestled against the wall – dusty and warped. Although – it wasn’t the mirror itself that made my stomach drop.

The reflection showed something that should be impossible. I ran toward it – pressing my hand against the surface.

“Who are you?” I asked – horrified when the reflection mimicked me. “Oh shit.”

The girl that stared back at me looked to be eighteen – seven years younger than I had been. Her face was milky white – almost porcelain in color. Long curly red-blonde hair cascaded over her slender shoulders, framing her soft heart shaped face. Plump lips – that looked like they had already been kissed – shimmered in the light.

“Just who…” I trailed off staggering away from the mirror – when a memory slammed into my mind.

“No.” I shook my head, taking another step back.

My foot caught on the nightgown I was wearing and I tripped – falling to the floor. “This is impossible.” I muttered. “Completely impossible.”

I wanted to deny what I was seeing, what had already happened, and what I had heard. Had I not already experienced pain – I would have assumed this was some twisted dream. Some nightmare that I was having after dying.

Reality, though, wouldn’t let me pretend.

The person who I had seen in the mirror perfectly matched the description of a horrible woman from a novel series I had been reading for several years. She wasn’t just a horrible woman either – she was the ultimate villainess in the story that had attempted to kill the female lead on more than one occasion.

Kyla Thornevale was the youngest child of Duke Thornevale – and a complete social pariah. Of all the characters I could have reincarnated as – why did it have to be her?

Toward the end of the second book in the series How to Snag a Prince – Kyla died by beheading. The description had been so detailed that I remembered it vividly.

I laughed dryly – dropping my head into my hands.

What did I do to deserve this?