The War Bride

3 | The Bride

The magical concoction sent fire down Luwen's throat and into the pit of her stomach. Her heart pounded against her ribcage. A pain arose in her chest, as if something was clawing out.

Black dots edged the corner of her vision. Her eyelids and breathing grew heavy. The fire had now spread to the rest of her body, numbing her movements. Her knees went weak, trembling, until they buckled and she fell forward to the ground.

Everywhere hurt.

This was a mistake. The matriarch had lied to her.

She was dying.

The last thing she saw was the matriarch approaching her while smiling. When she knelt, she whispered into Luwen's ear, words that were proud, unsympathetic and the least comforting.

"Don't be afraid," she coaxed in a sickly sweet voice. "Make me proud, my daughter. I'll be waiting for your return."

***

Someone shook Luwen's arm urgently, urging her to wake up.

"Luwen! Wake up! Luwen!"

Her eyes snapped open, finding herself staring up at a ceiling in a bedchamber that wasn't hers. Thick, luxurious curtains draped by the wooden awning. The bed she lay on was softer than any she had slept on previously.

Her friend, Qiqian, knelt by her side. Clutching her arm and shaking her worriedly.

"You're finally awake!" she cried. "How are you feeling? Has the medicine worked? Are you hurting anywhere?"

Luwen frowned, still feeling a little disoriented by her surroundings. There was a pressure weighing down on her body. Her fingers and toes wriggled slightly, but her arms and legs remained heavy. She needed more effort than usual to lift or move them.

"I-I'm fine—" No, wait. Her eyes widened, and she touched her throat immediately. "T-this..."

This voice isn't mine.

Memories of her exchange with the matriarch flooded her mind. "Who am I right now?" she croaked. "Am I really...her?"

"You–" Qiqian's face sank in sympathy and remorse. "You're still Luwen, but physically you're the princess now. It's all my fault. If I had taken better care of her, she would not have passed away."

The girl sobbed while Luwen remained in a daze. "What about my own body? Where is it?"

In a soft voice, Qiqian explained her body was sleeping on another bed in the room. "After you drank the concoction, the matriarch chanted some words and extracted your soul to place it in a princess's body. She left a small portion behind to keep your body alive."

Horror descended upon Luwen. "She split my soul?"

"Yes," Qiqian exclaimed, her devastation and anger thickening. "I hope the old witch dies a painful death someday! How could she do that to you?!"

"What about the princess's soul? Is she truly gone?"

Her face fell. "Yes. After they completed the soul transfer, the matriarch made me feed the princess's body with a potent medicine to restore the life energy in her meridians and cure her fever. It took half a day to drop the temperature and wake you up."

"I still feel terrible." Letting out a groan, Luwen pushed herself onto her elbows and sat up slowly. She had to see her own body for herself. With Qiqian's help, she reached the back of the room.

And there she was—her real body. Deep in sleep.

As much as she hated accepting the truth, seeing her own sleeping face forced herself to grasp the horrifying reality of this situation. To have her soul extracted from her own body was akin to losing her own identity.