“Beep… beep…”

The sharp noise rang in her ears. Natalie Hall blinked open her eyes on the hospital bed, staring at the white wall in front of her, completely dazed.

Wait… didn’t I die?

Where the heck am I now? Could this be… the underworld or whatever?

And that bright thing on the ceiling—what is that? A glowing orb?

Do they have pearls that glow this big in the underworld?

She glanced around the room again. Next to her was a huge white metal thing with weird images on it, and further along, there was a bottle hanging upside down with water inside.

What’s this little tube thing?

Natalie followed it down… and realized it was stuck to her own hand.

“Ah! What is this?!”

Still freaking out, she hadn’t noticed the door open. Two women rushed in and hurried over to her.

She sensed people approaching and lifted her head.

In front of her stood a young woman with a worried face, eyes glued to her like she might disappear any second. Behind her was an older woman, looking slightly calmer on the surface, but you could still see the anxiety in her eyes.

“Natalie! Are you okay?” the younger woman said anxiously.

“Who… are you?” Natalie frowned, wary.

“Natalie! You don’t know me?” The woman looked crushed and immediately teared up.

“Am I… supposed to know you?” Natalie asked quietly, confused by the overly emotional reaction.

“Tamara, Tamara! Go get the doctor now! Something’s wrong—Natalie’s lost it or something!” The younger woman spun around and looked to the older woman, who turned pale and quickly ran out the door.

Doctor?

Natalie frowned even more. What’s a doctor?

Where am I, seriously?

Everything’s just way too weird!

Before she could make sense of anything, a group of people in white coats came in. Natalie looked toward them, stunned.

Huh?

Why are all the men’s hair so short? What kind of style is this?

Before she could think more, the man in glasses leading the group walked up.

“What happened to the patient?”

“She doesn’t recognize me,” the young woman said through sobs.

The man glanced at the medical chart hanging on the bed, his expression thoughtful.

“Looks like the concussion caused a blood clot, pressing on certain nerves. It’s temporary. Once the clot shrinks, she should recover.”

“How long until that happens?” the older woman finally asked, her voice tight.

“Could be as quick as a few days. Worst-case scenario, a week or two.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” the older woman said, nodding politely.

After the people in white walked out, Natalie’s gaze slowly returned to the two women standing by her bed.

They’d said a bunch of stuff just now, but the one word that stuck out was “amnesia.”

She lost her memory?

But that makes no sense…

Didn’t Queen Victoria just push her into the pond at the Imperial Garden?

She remembered that crystal clear.

She even remembered that almond cake she'd left uneaten!

Sitting bewildered on the hospital bed, lost in the memory of her “death,” Natalie looked completely out of it in the eyes of the two women.

The younger one turned to the older woman, eyes filled with panic and helplessness.