The Bookworm's Awakening

Chapter Eight

She was just eighteen, in her second year at university and obviously broke - very broke, too broke to marry a man because she would never be dependent on him.

Her heart raced, all of this was making her feel dizzy.

Somebody

Anybody

Pour me water

Wake me up

"Mother, let us give her some time," the girl at the door said, her face calm.

Why wasn't she the one getting married?

The woman smiled and touched Sarah's cheek.

She felt nothing; this was not her mother after all.

Her mother was plump and always wore a wrapper and buba, well not all the time, and her face and voice were calm.

"The wedding guests will be here soon, please don't take too long," she stood up and left.

Sarah growled, or rather Zoey.

Wedding?

The wedding was happening today?.

Her shoulders shook and she began to cry, tears flowing freely on her eyes.

"Oh Zoey," the girl walked in the room, sat beside her and evolve her in a tight hug. But Sarah did not hug her back; she refused to find comfort in a fictional character.

"Do not cry. You are a princess; princesses don’t cry," her voice was soft and soothing, and Sarah wondered if she was older or younger than Zoey.

"Just do as they say. I heard they can be ruthless if you go against them. Just do as they say, okay, and fear not, he will not feed on your blood."

Oh, stop it.

Blood.

Marriage.

Wedding.

Who cares about all of that? She wants to go home, wants to be away from here.

But she did not tell her that, that she in a book for it felt foolish; this girl would not understand.

The girl tightened her embrace around her, and surprisingly, it calmed her. Maybe it was because it was the first time for her to be involved this way, held tenderly.

She released her grip and sniffed.

The girl waited, watching her until she was calm before she spoke, “If you have trouble, you can always send a message home. Nothing will happen to you,” for the first time, she heard fear in her voice even though she tried wearing a calm face.

Sarah wanted to ask her what her name was, but it felt odd. She would know eventually with time, but it could have been better if she knew earlier so she would know what she was up against.

Why didn’t Cynthia Hall make her know? She felt helpless at the moment. And the only person she could blame was the author. After all, she was the reason she got here.

Sarah, or rather Zoey – it has to be Zoey because the Sarah she knew would never be getting married so soon – nodded at the girl.

The girl smiled, “The maids will come in and get you ready; those tears, my dear, have stained your makeup. I will give you time, then I will call the maids to you,” she left.

Makeup?

She never wears makeup?

What the hell-

“You are Zoey, not Sarah,” she breathed and walked towards a mirror stand.

She gasped as she saw herself. She looked different, or maybe it was because she had never dressed this way, aside from her big polos and sweaters. The white cloth was decorated with many jewels and flowed down, the slit was too much, exposing her smooth leg.

"Was my leg ever this smooth? Maybe it was the way the gown has pushed out my chest and made my waist look smaller that made me appear a bit taller." Her braids were packed into a ponytail that made her face very visible.

She wore big white earrings and a necklace that were too large. This would cost millions in the real world, she was sure. She touched them and felt their hardness.

They are words on paper; they are not real. None of this is real.

“Are you ready, my lady?” A tap on the door jolted her.

“Of course, of course,” she had to make her accent sound more like theirs.

She had flown to an armchair in front of the mirror and crossed her legs when they entered.

As they started tending to her face and clothes, she sighed as she gazed at her reflection. Now, she was in a book, which was unbelievable but true. At least, she was lucky enough to be a princess.

She took a deep breath. To survive, she must first act the way Cynthia Hall wanted her to, then with time, if she finally knew how this world works, she could find a way out.

She had little idea about Bloodlust One and didn’t know if this was really Book Two – it had to be. She was sucked into Bloodlust Two.