I was reborn as a maid to the cruel tyrant prince!!

Chapter 5.1: The familiar

There was a small sound of distant ticking that stirred me from my sleep that night as I rested in the maid quarters. 

My eyes were shut, but I was was annoyingly aware of my surroundings during the night. The breathing of the other sleeping maids around me, the distant rustle of the plants and tree's in the gardens stirred by the nights breeze.  Water.... Ever so quietly there was the sound of a stream flowing in the distance as I turned over perturbed in my bed... it took me back to a really vague time...

A time where I lay floating in a cold sea unable to move.  A time where something, or someone spoke to me, I didn't quite recall what they had to say however...  the recollection of such a memory made my arms feel as though they were once again submerged in that water.  In this time, I was even aware of my own heartbeat... the sound of water became much louder, as though the blood was rushing in my ears? There was an overwhelming pressure hitting my body, was I unwell... ? Once again terrifyingly, I was unable to move or open my eyes... however... I became aware that someone was now staring at me as I lay in my bed.  I didn't know who but they were most certainly watching my restless sleep... they spoke as the water grew louder... however their voice wasn't their own...much rather as the sound of bubbling rushing water became unbearable along with that ticking noise, a familiar voice from a memory reached out.

'Right now you have something important that was left in your possession'

With a sudden clung through the rushing of water and the sound of Madame Murals voice echoing through that, I woke up with a sudden start and panic, leaping forward in my bed in a frantic... I caught my breath, now looking towards my hands instinctively at the experience I had... I was still Annie right... I was still me...?

I came to recognise the sight of my own bed and hands, and gradually my own surroundings. I was definitely in the maid quarters right now... it was the middle of the night. I placed my hand up to my head troubled. Maybe I was having a fever dream... and dreadfully realistic one at that?  The events up until recently certainly could have been enough to cause my head to over heat with all its overwhelming thoughts... but it was as I began to rationalise my experiences to myself... that I became increasingly aware that something wasn't right either. It was night time, but the blue hue that was around the room wasn't a natural one. It seemed to be pretty overwhelming in fact, obscuring everything in it's shade. The noise that I was so painfully aware of in my sleep, both outside and in my room had but stopped. Around me all the maids lay in their bed sleeping... and yet not one of them moved...

In a slight panic, I went to go wake up Sana from beside me.
"Say, Sana, wake up-" I began in a loud whisper- however Sana didn't move, her back turned away from me as I realised that it wasn't normal at all for her to be this still... I went to get up out my bed to see if I could shake this usually very light sleeper of a maid up- however as my feet touched the ground I reflexively jumped back onto my bed... wa-water?! Maybe my dream hadn't been as lucid as I thought it was! Just what was going on... had the manor been flooded? This was the second floor of the manor, so it would have had to have been quite a flood. No something about that seemed off too... plus this didn't seem like normal water, for one it appeared to have what looked like glitter in it. My eyes surveyed the room more, following the subtle water flow that was actually coming from the beneath of the main door in the maid quarter. A door which now had a white glow coming from behind it... yeah, this definitely didn't seem normal in the slightest... in fact it could be safe to argue that maybe I was still dreaming. I gave a somewhat relieved sigh at this thought... though this was certainly strange, it was too strange for me to take as realistic... then again, when had anything been quite that realistic up until this point?

Nonetheless, this rationality in myself prompted me to finally get up out of my bed, and to go and investigate the source of the water. I grabbed one of the oil lamps next to me, going to light it up- which it did... though the moment it did the flame also found itself lit in the same blue hue... I gave it a passing look of confusion, this dream was really weird.  However it was with this passing thought that  I then go up, my feet wading through the ankle deep water that ran along all the foot of our beds, heading over to the the ominously glowing door.