The sound of bells drift through the castle before dawn has fully broken. Their low, measured tolling echoes across stone corridors and towering spires, filtering through the narrow window of the modest servant's chamber. Golden light creeps through the curtains, painting thin bands across the wooden floor and slowly chasing away the shadows gathered in the corners of the room.

You wake with a start. For a brief, disorienting moment, you stare up at the unfamiliar ceiling and wonder where you are. Dark wooden beams cross overhead. Pale stone walls surround you. A faint scent of old parchment and lavender lingered in the air.

Then the memory returned. The summoning. The kingdom. The palace. Another world.

Rubbing sleep from your eyes, you sit up and look around the room. It is small compared to the lavish guest suites you had briefly occupied after arriving, but far more comfortable than you had expected for palace servant quarters.

A neatly made bed stood against one wall. Beside it sat a polished wooden desk and a narrow bookshelf containing a handful of etiquette manuals someone had thoughtfully—or perhaps threateningly—provided. A washbasin rested beneath a metal mirror, while a wardrobe occupied the far corner of the room.

Your gaze drifts toward the window. Beyond the glass rose the royal palace in all its impossible grandeur. Stone towers pierced the morning sky. Red banners fluttered from distant battlements. Decorative bridges connected elegant wings of the sprawling structure, while gardens spread below like carefully painted works of art.

After a moment, you push yourself to your feet and cross to the washbasin. Cold water splashes against your skin, helping drive away the last remnants of sleep.

You dry yourself off and open the wardrobe. A neatly pressed black uniform hangs inside, untouched. Gold embroidery lined the cuffs and collar, subtle enough to remain elegant but expensive enough to remind you exactly who you will be serving.

After all the disasters, misunderstandings, and humiliating evaluations that had followed your summoning, your new life is finally beginning.

With one final glance around your new room, you adjust your collar and reach for the door.