"What happened the day your mother died?"

THE rest of the day, Serena has been sitting by her desk scribbling notes on a notebook that was laid around, of all the things that happened prior and present. She reads all the names of the people she has conversed with and tries to join the dots but nothing is summing up.

She sighs feeling irritated and stands up. Going over to her window, she takes in the beautiful scenery forgetting what her mind has been occupied with. The sun is about to set and the warmth that has radiated the whole day is disappearing by every minute replacing it with a cold breeze of the night to come. Her stomach growls and she places a hand over it as if it would make it go away.

Serena hasn't eaten since morning and no one has brought food to her. She could have gone downstairs to grab something but has no idea where the kitchen is let alone every room in the building. However, she hopes that someone will come up and call her down for dinner and even if no one doesn't she'll go down herself even if it takes her the whole night to get there.

Letting out another sigh, she casually walks around the room, analyzing everything, trying to find something that may help her clear the fog in her mind.

The old Serena doesn't have any photos of her, neither of her parents nor her marriage ones. The whole room is bare apart from the cocktail dresses in the cabinet and showering products in the bathroom.

Serena clucks her tongue at the dress choices and reminds herself to order new ones. Descent ones. She wonders how someone can wear such revealing clothes and not feel ashamed. Was this among the reasons why Xavier hates her? Because the old Serena used to dress like a tramp?

"No. Don't call her that. She's still a human being," she says out loud, slapping both her cheeks to reality.

She then jumps on her bed; her body bouncing a bit and smiles at the softness of the bed covers. As much as she hates the color choice of the room—burgundy walls, and dark mahogany furniture, she still relishes the luxury presented to her for free. Laying there, she familiarizes the names of her husband. She feels that she has read such a name somewhere before but can't put a finger on it.

Her eyes start feeling heavy and she allows herself to take some needed sleep. Maybe, this is all a dream and when she wakes up, she'll be back home, in her bed, and seeing her mother.

~

Serena groans and turns on her back, stretching her sore limbs, and slowly opens her eyes. The room is bright and she quickly gets up not believing that she slept through the night till the next day.

"How was your sleep?"

"AAARRGGGHHH!!" she screams, placing her palm over her heart and breathes fast. "You scared me,"

Xavier quirks an eyebrow and his upper lip twitches in amusement. He then gets up and goes over to her and Serena shuffles feeling nervous. He then sits down on the edge—the bed shifting a bit to his side because of the weight and stares at her, not saying a word.

"Get up," he commands, and stands up—Serena's eyes following him.

"Why? Where are we going?" she questions him.

Xavier sharply turns to her wanting to say something rude but Serena sees him taking deep breaths in and out as if to control himself. "We're going to have lunch with my grandparents. So, get up and get dressed," he tells her. "I'll be waiting for you, downstairs,"

And with that, he walks out of the room and shuts the door. Serena scratches her scalp and looks around. Her heart sinks when she's not at home for this will be her reality. Her eyelids brim with tears when she thinks of how she won't see her mother again. By the time she goes back, she'll be in the grave.

She will also not get the chance to achieve her career as a doctor or graduate high school. Is her body still laying motionless in her bed or isn't it there anymore? What year is she in? She knows that she has to be at an early age since there are no telephones. Oh, how she misses her iPhone. It used to keep her busy unlike here where she stares into space until she falls asleep then.

Her stomach grumbles and she winces at the slight pain. She then gets out of bed and starts making it but stops when Judy comes in.

"Miss Serena. That is my job,"

Serena smiles, poofing the pillows by hitting them with her hands formed into fists. "It's alright, Judy. I can do it,"

"Miss Serena, I insist. You have done a marvelous job but let me take over," Judy coaxes.

Serena steps away and Judy hastily comes over and proceeds with the job easily. She then goes over to the cabinet and starts to choose something to wear but her eyes narrow at every piece of clothing. If she is to meet Xavier's grandparents, she needs to be presentable.

"Judy," she calls.

"Yes, Miss Serena.,"

"I will also need more dresses. Modest ones. If possible, throw these out after switching with new ones," she orders, trying to find a decent one—one that will be respectful to the elders. Shuffling through the never-ending outfits, she stops at a black one. Taking it out, she analyzes it, tilting her head side to side, and shrugs.

"This will have to do," she says, placing the dress on top of the bed.

Heading to the bathroom, Judy follows her, and Serena turns and gives her an incredulous look. "What are you doing?" she questions.

Judy stared back at her as if she has brown two horns above her head. "I'm helping you with the bath,"

Serena blushes then shakes her head. "There is no need for that,"

Judy's eyes widen, looking like she hasn't heard a word. "I beg your pardon?"

"I said, I'm fine. I'll do it myself," Serena emphasizes.

"But, Miss, you always wanted someone to come bathe you. It's a requirement in the Alexandria home," she debates, and Serena almost screams at her but maintains her composure.

"Well, I don't want it anymore. I want my own space and peace. Is that alright with you?" she says, slowly as if she is speaking to a child.

Judy gulps and nods then excuses herself. Serena sighs in relief and finds her reflection in the mirror. Dragging her forefinger down her nose and then to her lips, she is still flabbergasted at her beauty. This is the type of face girls go for when undergoing plastic surgery where they pay millions while she got it for free.

Serena stops her thoughts and gets in the warm bath, quickly washes off the dirt on her body then gets dressed. The black straight silky dress does nothing for her decency from the waist down but she is relieved when the top is properly covered.

This is the first time that she has gotten out of the room and taken in the huge space that has enormous painted portraits of the families from old to new but she stops when she sees a familiar face.

"That was the emperor when he was young—eighteen years old," Judy says.

Serena nods as her eyes move to the married couple sitting on the seats.

"And those are his parents and his sister; Lady Jade Alexandria,"

"That's the mother?" she asks.

Judy nods. "Yes. That's the late empress and the previous emperor,"

"She's beautiful," she whispers, mostly to herself but Judy heard it and agreed. Both siblings resemble her but Jade is a duplicate of her to the point it's shocking.

Slicing her eyes on the father, his facial structure and facial expression is the same as Xavier's—long face, sculpted jaw, and Snow White hair.

"Did my father actually kill Xavier's mother?" she asks, turning to Jade.

Jade smiles sadly but nods. "Yes. It is true,"

"Then why did he marry me? Why did he marry the daughter of a murderer? Why wasn't I killed?"

Judy opens her mouth to answer but a guard interrupts their conversation.

"Empress, the emperor is waiting for you at the carriage,"

Serena nods and follows him down the stairs, out the door to the warm air. A red and gold carriage is in front of her and another guard that stood by the door, politely opens the door for her to get in—assisting her in the process.

"Thank you," she tells him.

"My pleasure, empress," he responds and shuts the door.

"Well, you took your sweet time,"

Serena rolls her eyes and turns to him with a wide fake smile on her face. "I apologize, your highness,"

Xavier just stares at her which makes Serena feel uncomfortable but turns to the front. "Let's go," he tells the rider, and the carriage moves forward. Since Serena is from the future, she can't help but compare the mode of transport. The carriage is too slow and a little bumpy and she hopes that the wheels won't decide to dismantle on the way there leaving them stranded in the middle of the forest that may have all sorts of creatures.

The thought of a snake slithering its way to them makes Serena shudder in her seat. She has already seen how her body will be swallowed completely with the reptile's saliva coating her clothes and skin-

"What are you thinking so hard about?"

"Snakes," she blurts out but shuts her mouth immediately.

"Snakes? Why are you thinking about snakes?"

Serena shrugs, watching their home disappear every minute. "Nothing,"

"Serena,"

"Hm?"

Serena turns to him, waiting for a response but Xavier doesn't utter a word and this irks her. Why did he call her if he is to keep quiet?

"I appreciate that whenever you talk to me, maintain eye contact. It's respectful," he says.

"Oh, sorry," she says, looking down at the gold bracelets on her hands that she's affirmative that they cost more than a Ferrari in her time–her face flushed but whips her head up to him when she realizes that she had repeated the same thing that he told her not to.

Xavier doesn't reply and opens a document that is held in his hand that doesn't miss Serena's eyes. She looks down on it, watching his fingers flip the pages but when she strains her neck to see the contents on the document since she has nothing to do, Xavier abruptly turns the papers upside down. She then meets his eyes; his mouth set into a scowl at her behavior.

"May I help you?" he asks her even though he isn't going to expect a reply.

"Sorry,"

"Why are you apologizing? Last time I checked, you aren't a remorseful person,"

Serena frowns, not appreciating the rude comment. "It's good manners,"

Xavier lets out a short laugh. "Good manners," he repeats, as if to imprint in his brain.

"Did I say something funny?" Serena asks, irritation laced in her voice. From the minimal information she got, she isn't the one who killed his mother. Of course, if she were in his shoes she would understand but why should she hate the child when they had nothing to do with it?

Xavier looks back at her and shakes his head. "No. You didn't say anything worth of humor,"

"Then why did you laugh?"

"Let's just say that I was too taken aback that I had no words to say,"

Serena raises an eyebrow and rotates her body three quarters towards him. Xavier imitates her actions and facial expression, his eyes twinkling with amusement as if he found the whole situation comedic.

"What happened?" she asks.

"What are you talking about?" he asks back.

Serena swallows painfully before throwing the question. "What happened the day your mother died?"

Xavier's face immediately drops as if he was splashed with cold water. "I don't want to talk about it,"

"Xavie-

"Don't," he interrupts, glaring at her. "Don't you dare say my name,"

"Then what do you expect me to call you?" Serena asks him, sounding confused.

Xavier doesn't reply and resumes reading his documents. Serena angrily bites on her lip to refrain from saying something terrible like 'if your mother was here, she would be ashamed of your behavior,' but she slowly lets go of the flesh—the red liquid leaving a metallic taste on her tongue, and looks outside.

Serena wishes that she could have a diary; something that will help her remember or know the backstory of what happened but she's all alone. She cannot tell a soul that she's from another world due to the fact that she'll start being referred to as a witch and end up getting burnt alive and that is not how she pictures herself to die.

She would rather throw herself off a building than being burnt alive. The first one seems unbearable; just screaming to your death as you feel the flames eating up your flesh—drinking in your blood as every breath is stolen from you.

They are now in a forest but this kind looks well taken care of. There is even a small stream of water running across it and the fresh air that is filled in the air because of the numerous trees, feels impeccable. One thing that Serena is grateful for in this new world is the fresh air that is surely missed in her old world. Smelling such air made her appreciate the earth more.

The ride almost ends when they stop in front of a metal gate that is shortly opened and Serena's eyes almost budges out of their sockets. She wasn't sure whether Xavier's parents were really emperor and empress or come from royalty because the home that she's looking at, is almost the size of her whole neighborhood.

"This is your grandparents' place?" she asks.

"Have you really lost your memories?" Xavier asks, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Serena looks at him and sadly smiles.

"I think so,"

After that, they alight from the carriage and are led to the entrance of the home. Serena jolts when an arm encircles her waist, bringing her body closer to a warm body and she looks down on it then back up at Xavier as if to clear a fog in her mind.

"Relax," he says, in a low voice. "Act like we're hopelessly in love,"

"What are you ta-

"Xavier!"

Serena whirls her head to the owner of the voice and sees a lady who looks to be in her early fifties walk closer to them with her arms opened wide. Xavier then steps into them and Serena watches him melt in his grandmother's arms.

Her eyes brim with tears at the warm affection that reminded her of her late grandparents, especially her grandma who sadly passed last year.

"How have you been?" she asks him.

"I've been okay, grandma," Xavier replies. "What about you? How was the vacation?"

His grandma sighs in delight and twirls around like a little girl. "It was wonderful. I even rode a horse! Can you imagine that? Your old grandma is still able to climb on a horse and direct it,"

Serena stifles her laugh but Xavier doesn't. "You're still young, grandma. Don't let that title make you believe that," her grandson tries to reassure her and it works when his grandma grins and taps both his cheeks.

She then finally turns to Serena who expects to see a scowl or eyes drawn to slits but her eyes widen when the same smile is still plastered on her lips.

"Serena," she says, and envelopes her into a hug.

Serena then awkwardly returns it. She thought that everyone hates her but that's not the case with Xavier's grandmother.

"You become beautiful each day whenever I see you," she tells her, and Serena blushes. Staring at the warmth in her eyes, a little hope is instilled in her—giving her the strength she needs to deal with the whole tense situation.

"Thank you," she replies, softly.

Xavier's grandmother then takes them to the dining room where— presumably her husband is in.

"Darling," she sings.

"Yes, dear," he responds, folding the newspaper that he previously held in his hand neatly and then places it on top of the table.

"Xavier and Serena are here,"

Her husband then looks up and stands to greet the pair. His kind attitude shocks Serena as well when he hugs and inserts her in the conversation.

"I bet all the men want a piece of your wife," he jokes, and Xavier nervously laughs as he scratches the back of his head. Serena grimaces at the weird response and decides to come to the rescue.

Wrapping her hand around his arm, she says, "He even threatens them that he'll gorge their eyes out if they look at me again,"

The plan works when Xavier's grandfather hollers, dramatically slapping Xavier's arms. Serena holds her head up high, feeling accomplished and turns to see her husband's reaction but her heart stops for a millisecond when she sees the look on his face.

He is smiling down at her.