I'm not Natalia Crestfall

Will stared into the mirror, looking at the reflection that wasn’t his own. He blinked, rubbing his now green eyes in disbelief.

“My lady,” Shisa began. “I was worried. You barely responded to me these past three days.”

“Three days?” Will turned to her. “It’s been three days?”

“Yes, it has,” Shisa said, shuffling her feet. “How is your wound?”

“Wound?” Will tilted his head.

“Your chest wound,” Shisa pointed. “The High Priestess did her best, but she said it will have some pain for a couple of days. She had to completely restore an entire lung. Do you want me to check on it?” Shisa stepped forward.

“Check on it?” Will looked down at his chest, turning bright red. “No! That’s all right! It doesn’t hurt at all! I’m fine!”

“I see,” Shisa backed off. “That’s good.”

“Yep! No need to strip me! All good,” Will nodded.

They stood there for a moment. Shisa continued to shuffle her feet, look from side to side as if trying to say something.

“Listen…” Will began. He intended to explain what was going on.

“My deepest apologies!” Shisa bowed.

“Huh?” Will gasped in confusion.

“I’m a failure of a maid!” Shisa groveled, still not raising her head. “I didn’t notice how stressed you were, and I wasn’t there to stop you from getting into that fight with that boar!”

“Who are you calling a boar?” Will nearly bit his tongue.

“I should’ve kept a better eye on you,” Shisa said. She had started crying.

“Ah!” Will panicked. “Don’tcry, it’s all right!”

“I understand,” Shisa finally lifted her head, tears streaming down her face. “I’d understand if you want to replace a failure.”

“Don’t say that,” Will comforted. “If anything, it’s probably my fault.”

Will assumed Natalia was at fault, given her personality. It took a few moments for Shisa to compose herself. Will stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to do with this current situation.

“I’ll redouble my efforts,” Shisa wiped her tears, gripping her fist in resolve. “I’ll be extra vigilant. I will make sure never to leave your side,my lady.”

“Uh, yeah,” Will nodded. “That will be appreciated.”

“I swear to you,” Shisa continued. “I will not fail you again!”

“Uhm,” Will let out, waving his hand to try and calm the excited maid. “Can you tell me what happen, after the deep delve?”

Will realized he didn’t know if his friends were alive or not. He was distracted by the fact that he was now in Natalia’s body.

“You have been locked up in here for three days, I suppose,” Shisa said. “Shortly after the High Priestess teleported us out of the dungeon, the cargo train was attacked.”

“So that’s what happen,” Will said, putting his hands on his hips. “Wait, why were all the S ra… I mean,why were we teleported out?”

“You don’t remember?” Shisa asked. “I suppose it was a traumatic event for you. That man, the one they’re calling the Forsaken King. He killed Lady Zena, and wounded everyone else, yourself included.”

“Forsaken King?” Will pondered.

“A powerful foe,” Shisa explained. “One who possessed multiple skills.”

“Is that even possible?” Will wondered, practically pacing back and forth in across the room, his night gown flowing behind him.

“The Guild is planning a meeting this afternoon,” Shisa said. “I was going to attend in your place if you were still feeling unwell. They will be discussing everything we know about this king.”

“Wait, I can’t be thinking about this right now!” Will shook his head. “Listen, I’m going to tell you something.”

“Yes, my lady,” Shisa leaned in. “I’m all ears.”

“I’m not Natalia Crestfall,” He said.

Shisa blinked.

“Look, I’m not her,” Will said. “My name is Will. I was the guy who fought Natalia? Somehow,I switched bodies with her.”

“My lady,” Shisa began. “That’s not funny.”

“I’m telling the truth,” Will stated. “I’m not her. I think she might be in my body. If you help me, we can find her, and then we can get this sorted out. Plus,I want to check if my friends are okay.”

Shisa looked at him for a long moment.

“My lady,” she growled. “This is a new tactic to avoid your responsibilities, isn’t it?”

“No, I,” Will tried to speak.

“I’m not hearing it!” Shisa interrupted. “Look, I may have been working you a bit too hard, but that was because I care about your success. We’ll go easy today, you don’t have to attend the S rank meeting, but I can’t have you running away again. I almost lost you last time.”

“You’re not listening to me, I’m really Will!” Will protested.

“Enough with excuses!” Shisa yelled, shoving him back. “Come now!Your hair is a mess, and you can’t just stay in a night gown all day!”

Shisa forced him into the bath. He closed his eyes the whole way through. Luckily, Shisa did everything, so he was able to keep his hands to himself. Shisa then paraded him towards the changing room, selecting a simple dress to wear.

“Now, I couldn’t stop him from coming,” Shisa pushed Will along the manor hallways. “So you’re going to unfortunately have lunch with Doran Allborne.”

“Who’s that?” Will asked.

“You ask me that every time, my lady,” Shisa sighed. “He’s the head of the banking guild. He urgently wants to speak with you. Don’t worry about the proposal, we’ll deal with that later. Right now, I need you to accommodate him, lest he cut our funding.”

“What does this have to do with fighting the Forsaken King?”

“Everything, my lady, everything,” Shisa shoved him into the dining room.

“Ah, Lady Crestfall,” The well-dressed dwarf downed his glass of wine, before shuffling over to Will. “Always a pleasure.” He reached out and grabbed his hand for a kiss.

“You smell like booze!” Will exhaled, plugging his nose. It was a very strong smell.

Shisa turned pale white, watching as Doran stormed off. She tried to give chase, pleading with the guild owner to return.

“I’ll have nothing to do with that rude woman!” Doran yelled.

“She’s recently injured, she doesn’t know what she’s saying,” Shisa tried to explain.

The door slammed shut, leaving Shisa standing there, a befuddled Will standing some distance behind her in complete disbelief.

“Sorry,” Will apologized.

“Well,” Shisa took a deep breath. “We can still fix this later, it’s my fault again. I should’ve pushed the meeting back.”

“So, we're eating lunch?” Will gestured towards the wide spread of foods.

In the afternoon was sword practice. Shisa had changed Will from her morning gown to a much more practical dress meant for outdoor activities. The older gentlemen Natalia normally sparred with was waiting in the courtyard, two wooden swords ready in hand.

“Shouldn’t we be dealing with the Forsaken King?” Will asked again, Shisa pushing him towards the sword gentlemen.

“Lady Crestfall, glad to see what that you’re doing better,” He said, offering Will a wooden sparring sword.

“Ah, hi, how’s it going?” Will greeted. Shisa punched him in the ribs. “I mean! Always a pleasure to seeyou, my lord!”

“Bow.” Shisa commanded.

Will did so.

“Now then,” the gentleman readied his sword stance.

“Well, at least I get to do something fun now,” Will said.

Will suddenly noticed something strange. Several floating blue threads, almost like free flowing spider webs,appeared in hisvision as the gentlemen approached. The man lunged. Suddenly, Will saw an image of himself getting hit in the face.

“What?” Will questioned.

Will got hit in the face.

“Ah! Mylady, I’m so sorry!” the gentlemen apologized.

“You’re open!” Will yelled, slamming the man in the chest with his wooden blade.

The gentlemen practically skid across the garden, kicking up dirt and flowers before slamming into the courtyard wall.

“Oops, sorry…” Will apologized. “What the heck, this girl is ridiculously strong…”

Shisa bit her lip, her fists trembling, trying to contain her anger. She took a deep breath, before walking over to Will.

“Your face, it’s bruised,” Shisa said lifting a hand to her bruised cheek.

“Ah, it’s all right, I’m used to it,” Will said.

Shisa cast healing magic. Relief filled Will’s cheek as the bruise faded. After checking to make sure Will was healed, Shisa lunged, grabbing him by the ear.

“What are you doing!” Shisa screeched.

“You’re way too bipolar!” Will complained. “I apologized!”

After confirming the gentlemen was alive, the rest of the afternoon was packed with various short meetings that kept Will busy until the evening. These went without incident, once Will realized that he didn’t really have to say anything. Most of them were important businessmen or guild officials that liked to talk about nothing. All Will had to do was smile, and nod, and that was enough. Will spent the time thinking about how he was going to escape. He needed to find the others, but Shisa never left his side once. Even when he was forced to go to the bathroom after holding it, she followed him in. He bid his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity.

In the early evening, a carriage was called. Shisa made Will changed again, this time to a much more formal dark dress.

“Now remember,” Shisa adjusted the back of the dress, making sure it wasn’t squeezing his bust too tightly. “After the incident, the other S rankers aren’t looking favorably towards the Crestfall name.”

“The incident? I mean, from what you toldme, we all went down fighting,” Will said. “I don’t see how the Bla…I mean,how my losing a fight really affects any of that.”

“That’s not it, my lady,” Shisa sighed. “Again. I don’t blame you for it, but you did cower in the fight.”

“I did?” Will blinked in astonishment. “But I’m an S ranker.”

“Exactly,” Shisa continued. “But with your performance, and Lady Zena’s demise, certain individuals seek to remove your S ranking.”

“I see,” Will nodded.

“I’ll be there with you, helping you along the way,” Shisa assured. “We’ll recover your reputation, but be prepared for some harsh words.”

After checking and making sure the dress was in order, Shisa pushed Will out into the courtyard towards the waiting carriage. He contemplated making a run for it when he left the gates, but Shisa had put him in tight heels. He stumbled as he walked, trying his best to maintain balance. Shisa pushed him along, shoving him up into the waiting carriage.

“Okay,” Will resolved. “Sorry to do this, but…” Will turned.

Across the street, past thecrowd, Will saw someone. They locked eyes. Will was looking at himself.