text: I jump out the window at full speed, eyes closed. Forget falling down a rabbit hole or going through a looking glass. I blink, suddenly feeling like I’m falling. I feel myself wake up in the same way one wakes from a dream where the floor vanishes beneath them and I find myself looking at myself in a mirror. I instinctively look down at the prosthetic breasts and the dress I’m wearing. Yeah...no. I’m getting pants. “Miss!” I cringe, and resist the urge to say “no”. “Yes?” I ask as the maids continue to apply make-up and jewellery. The jewellery, for the most part, is fine. The make-up is not. “Do behave today.” ...what? What’s today? “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten!” I look at the reflection of the person who’s talking to me through the mirror. She’s not quite the head maid, but she’s up there. What’s today? I’m fairly confident the ball-- which I plan to skip-- isn’t until-- “The banquet!” The...the what now? “The banquet! ” She said as if her saying it like that would clarify what she was talking about, “I swear your memory is non-existent nowadays!” To be fair, I am a different person. Literally. I’m pretty sure I’m either possessing or switching places with Emily. I have no idea what she knows. The maid gives a very loud sigh and then explains that, apparently, there is a banquet and that I have to attend. In a dress . I politely signal to the maids that I won’t be wearing earrings. I’ll just go back and let Emily deal with this nonsense. The maids finish up and, after getting more information about the banquet, they leave. I quickly get up and look at the window. Yeah, no. I can barely move in dresses. Pants first, jump later. I try to find where Emily put my clothes and, while it takes a minute, I do end up finding them. I undo the skirt portion of the dress and quickly put on pants. I can’t help but nod in satisfaction. I open the window and take several steps back. It’s easier to run and jump out of the window than to climb out. “What do you think you’re doing.” “Jumping out the window” and “this window is magical. Don’t worry, I won’t die. I’m just switching places” are sentences which people tend to...not react well to so, instead of saying either of those, I answer a different question: “I find dresses uncomfortable.” He-- Emily’s stepfather-- starts loudly ranting at me and calling me names. I mentally curse as I put the skirt back on, over my pants of course, and get forcefully dragged out to the carriage after he slams Emily’s door shut. The household servants all seem to have disappeared as I’m dragged through the hallways. I resist the urge to put him in his place, reminding him that he technically he has no power. Emily’s mother does. Emily does. Hell, technically speaking Emily’s younger siblings might have more power than him in this household. I resist though because this isn’t my life. It’s Emily’s. I yank my arm out of his grasp and enter the carriage. Emily’s sister comments that I look pretty and I nod, give a gentle smile and thank her. Her demeanour changes as Richard-- Dick, as he actually prefers to be called-- enters the carriage. As the carriage takes us to the banquet, I’m reminded of how I used to live a few years ago. Even if it wasn’t...optimal...circumstances, I’m glad I got out. I ignore that forbidden thought which tries to pass through my mind. I stare out the carriage window, admiring the scene moving before my eyes. We weren’t in the city. We, from my understanding, were going to some private property that’s surrounded by...well, it’s basically surrounded by forest even though most of the forest is private property. There’s a seemingly never ending wall of trees, tangling one and overlapping one another. I think about that window that connects us. I wish I knew more about it. Did Emily create it? Regardless of who made it, why? Also, why in the seven hells is it a freaking window? Like why not a door? Or some other entryway? I rest my head on the glass and try to see the stars. I love looking at the stars. I wonder if the person who linked the windows misses the stars over there? Wait. What if they jumped between worlds? It still exists and there’s no magic over there so either they stayed there, died there or died over here before they could do anything else with it. Why that world though? Was it random chance? As the carriage comes to a stop, everyone climbs out. We’re eventually escorted to a table where we all sit. I lean back and to see if the stars are visible in spite of the light. I smile as they are. I hear familiar footsteps as I turn to see a familiar face. His hair is a different colour, but it’s definitely him though. Without thinking, I stand up and walk towards him and start chatting. Ronald gives me a look and I raise an eyebrow as I cross my arms. “And who might you, who dares speak to me so casually, be?” “Come on-- what? Do you seriously not recognise me just because I’m wearing a dress and my hair is down?” His look hardens. Dick quickly gets up, pushes me into a bow and starts apologising to Ronald while berating me. I brush him off and stand up straight, looking Ronald in the eye. I pull out and toss aside the prosthetic breasts and quickly style my hair so it looks like my usual hairstyle. I gesture to myself as Ronald’s face morphs into realisation and something that looks like panic. “ E-Emery!? ” “ Listen , I know I probably look different with a dress and my hair down, but I’m not Clark Kent, Ronald--” “How dare you refer to Prince Roland in such a manner!” Wait-- What. I turn to...Ronald? Roland? He shifts awkwardly. I stare at him. Prince? Wait-- Hold on-- He grabs me by the hand and leads me away in a way where I can’t see his face. I frown, but let him lead me away in silence. We eventually enter a room. He lets go, stands still for a minute, seemingly in thought, before he starts pacing back and forth and running a hand through his hair. He suddenly stops and turns towards me. “You and Emily...you’re different people, right? And the window story...that’s real too, right?” “I’m surprised you believed me.” “Of course I do!” I nod and give him a smile. “...do you want a change of clothes?” “Hmm?” I furrow my brows. “Do you want a change of clothes? You seem uncomfortable in a dress.” “Oh,” I stand up and undo the skirt portion of the dress. The apparent-prince quickly goes to face a wall. I raise an eyebrow, “By the way, Ronald or Roland?” “W-What?” “Ronald or Roland? Which name do you want me to call you? Or does it not matter? Oh-- you can turn around whenever now.” “...Roland.” “Cool,” I remove the jacket/sleeve portion of the dress as well and I watch him flinch at my bruised arms. “You technically have all the power,” Roland hands me a ribbon to do my hair. “What?” “You technically are the head of the household.” I knew Emily had power, but...wow. That’s...wow. But... “I’m not Emily.” “You could be.” “That’s--” “Emily is dead.” “W...What?” “Emily was poisoned. When you...when we were sparring, that one time the sword flew out of your hand...I got concerned. Perhaps it’s the paranoia that comes with being in power, but...” “You looked into it.” He nods, “Yes. I went to talk to you about it once, but...I met Emily instead. I realised that dresses meant it was Emily and pants meant it was you.” I nod and we sit, “That’s why you were confused.” “Yeah... ” “I see a potential problem if I were to stay here.” “Ah, your life in--” “The window.” “Ah?” “The window. I don’t know how it works. I don’t know what happens if someone else tries to come through. I don’t know what happens to my body. I’ve been assuming I’ve been...well, I assumed my body was either in a coma or sleeping.” He blinks in a way that reminds me of a specific meme. “Like sure, I’ll stay since it’s an empty vessel now but I want to one or two more things in my other life before moving. And, you know, making sure I don’t get screwed over by a magic window is also nice.” He nods, “Makes sense.” “...so...any ideas? Like I only discovered magic after coming here.” It looks like he was about to start talking, but then stopped himself, “Wait-- how did-- if--” “I was pushed out the window.” “ Wha-- ” “Anyway--” “ Wait-- ” “Would either smashing the glass or sealing the window or something work?” “Wha-- Maybe?” I nod, “So, take control of the household, maybe tie up some loose ends of my previous life and mess up the window. Seems...yeah...” I groan and look at the ceiling. “Well, at least one of those is rather simple.” “Eeh?” “You kind of just have to declare it-- ideally at an event-- and that’s basically it. If anyone has any issues, I, prince of the empire, will declare my support. After that, you can decide what to do with the household whenever.” “...it can’t be that easy-- it’s never that easy.” “I mean...it is. You wouldn’t be aware of it, but there was this whole big thing-- long story short: due to events before you came here, the household has always belonged to you -- well, Emily-- but it was simply...delegated. You can un-delegate at any time.” I blink, stupefied, and then stand up, “I guess I’ll do it now then?” Roland laughs as he stands. Before we go back to the event, Roland stops and runs off somewhere only to return with a sword. “Wanna join the competition?” “Of course, may the best man win,” I give Roland a grin as I take the sword. As we walk back to the banquet, we discuss a bet. As we walk towards the banquet, Roland grabs the megaphone from the announcer and gives me a mischievous smile. “ Roland no-- ” “ Roland yes~ ” He takes a deep breath and then bluntly announces that I am now in charge of the household in what I’d argue was the most embarrassing manner possible. After Dick throws a tantrum and me telling him we will discuss this later, as I have no idea what to do with him at the moment, the rest of the banquet was rather uneventful. Unfortunately, the hunting contest was a tie and Roland and I immediately started planning a tiebreaker. Once we return to the mansion, I declare that Dick would no longer live here. I would loan money for his (new) lodgings and would give him an allowance of sorts-- which would be paid back-- for about a year (or until he found a job). Depending on his behaviour, he would either have a week or a month to find a place to stay that’s not here. I also told Emily’s siblings and mother that they are free to do what they want-- whether it be staying, going with him, going back and forth or something else entirely-- and then left to figure out what needed to be done next. After a few days of me un-delegating the household and figuring out what to do now, Roland comes over with a mage and the three of us stare at the infamous window. I also tried finding info about the window. Unsurprisingly, I find nothing. “Tell me about the window.” I confidently face the mage, “I jump through it and end up in a different universe and in a different body. On the other side, there’s a window that I jump through and end up in this universe and in this body.” “...” “...” “...and?” “That’s it.” “...” The mage gives us a look and then stares at the ceiling, as if it would give them the answer, “...I’m guessing it’s the window itself rather than the glass.” “...does that mean I have to remove the wall or...?” “We might be able to just have the window re-done--” “Magical seal.” We both turn to the mage who has a blank expression. “I could apply a magic seal. It’s more cost-effective and less destructive.” I turn to Roland. We both shrug. Yeah, that works. I turn to the window and smile. Something of a second chance at life, eh? Something tells me it won’t be too bad this time around.