A Whole New World

Jace’s eyes could have popped out of his skull like a cartoon.

“Huh?” Jace asked, “I’m getting married?”

Emily looked surprised at his reaction.

“Yes, my lord, you are, to Princess Rachel of Viridian.” Emily frowned, “Are you feeling quite well?”

“I… I’m not sure.” Jace said.

“Would you like me to place Princess Rachel in some suitable living quarters for today, to give you some time to recover? I would warn you, though, my lord, she probably would not be happy about that.” Emily advised.

“Right. Uh… no, I’m- I’m fine.” Jace shook his head, but a strange whirling of colors entered his head, sometimes coalescing into vivid pictures of events Jace never lived through.

There he was holding Dana in his arms, there he was pounding a brunette girl who had her face pressed into a bed, there he was sitting upon a throne of some kind looking at people covered in dirt, there he was holding a sword and standing opposite an unfamiliar blonde girl also holding a sword.

“My lord? You look faint.” Emily fussed over him worriedly, and she placed the back of her hands on his forehead.

“You’re burning up.” Emily gasped, and she guided him towards the bed, which he obediently laid on, “I’ll tell the princess that you have fallen ill.”

Strange images were rushing through Jace’s mind, too fast to see, but none of them felt right. Felt like his memories. They were weird, twisted, almost like they were damaged or something.

“I just… I just need to get out of this fucking room.” Jace groaned.

Emily’s lips pursed at the word ‘fucking’, but despite her earlier claim she’d never heard of the word, she seemed to get the general gist of it.

“I’ll get you dressed.” Emily said reluctantly but obediently.

———

It took only a little time for Emily to dress Jace in brown pants and a white long sleeved shirt.

He pulled on boots, and looked at Emily curiously.

“Why are you doing all of this for me?” Jace asked.

“I’m your servant, Lord Holland.” Emily said, wide-eyed, “I would do anything you asked of me.”

“And I’m… a lord?” Jace asked. His headache had mostly alleviated, and right now, he just wanted some damn answers.

Emily looked very worried.

“Are you sure you’re feeling alright, my lord?” Emily asked.

“I’m just… I’m having some issues remembering things.” Jace shrugged, unable to come up with a better excuse.

“Yes, my lord. You are Lord Jace Holland, master of House Holland. Betrothed to Princess Rachel of Viridian, sole daughter of King Leonard of Viridian, master of House White. Your mother, Lady Danielle Holland is mistress of House Holland. You have two sisters, Lady Dana Holland and Lady Daisy Barnes, mistress of House Barnes. Your father, Lord Jeremiah Holland, vanished five months ago, which is when you became master of House Holland.” Emily said, very helpfully.

Jace blinked.

“Wait, Daisy Barnes? What?” Jace asked.

“Yes, a year and a half ago, Lady Daisy married Lord Adam Barnes and became his Lady Barnes.” Emily explained. Jace blew out a breath.

“Damn. Alright, so who’s this Princess Rachel girl I’m meant to be marrying?” Jace asked.

“She’s the princess of Viridian, which is the neighboring kingdom to the north. Our king, King Jonathan of Amaranthine, master of House Wayne, has no surviving sons, so as the Lord Vassalship to the king, you are the closest thing Amaranthine has to a prince, so when an alliance was broached, it was you who King Jonathan suggested Princess Rachel wed.” Emily answered.

“King Jonath- so Skylar’s dad is alive? But Sam’s dead?” Jace shook his head in complete confusion.

“Of course King Jonathan is alive, my lord. And yes, Prince Samuel perished several years ago, to the great sadness of our nation.” Emily said.

Jace rubbed a hand across his face, once again encountering the unfamiliar short cropped beard on his face.

“Right. I.. I need to take a walk. Postpone whatever meeting I have to do with that princess, please, Emily.” Jace said. Emily nodded swiftly and hurried from the room.

Groaning, Jace left his bedroom and was accosted abruptly by a gorgeous blonde girl. She had bright blue eyes, and wore a buckled metal breastplate over a navy long sleeved shirt that showed off a little bit of flat midriff. She wore thick black pants and heavy boots. Over her shoulder protruded the hilt of a simple sword, and she had a small shield strapped to her left forearm, a circular metal plate with a purple dragon emblazoned upon it and upon her breastplate. On her left forearm, she wore a leather bracer with white angel wings on it.

Her boots had greaves on them, and she wore a belt with a variety of different knives strapped to it, along with a horn and a pouch of something.

“Lord Holland.” she greeted with a smile, though it looked a little wry. She was probably 21 or so, Jace decided.

“Hello… uh… may I help you?” Jace asked.

“Emily informed me that you would be going on a walk, and that you are having some memory issues. I hope you don’t think that amnesia enables you to leave me behind. My Lord.” she added on with a bit of a smirk.

“Right… and you are?” Jace asked apologetically. The hot blonde’s eyebrows lifted.

“Ellie Westchester, your sworn shield maiden.” the girl said, her eyebrows furrowing.

“Shield maiden?” Jace blinked.

“Shield maiden. It’s an elite group of all female warriors, an independent group who are frequently hired by lords and ladies to defend them.” the gorgeous warrior, Ellie, said.

“Right. And, uh, do I need defending? Are people trying to attack me?” Jace asked.

“If the king were to topple over dead today, you would become king. A vast number of people have interest in killing you.” Ellie said bluntly, “My lord.”

“Oh.” Jace said, and swallowed, “Well, come on then. I need you to show me how to get out of this castle anyway.”

“You seem very different, my lord.” Ellie said.

“I don’t remember much.” Jace said. Ellie nodded a little.

“Alright, then. I’ll show you to the front gate, and help you avoid the Viridian delegation while I’m at it.” Ellie said loyally, “I like how docile the new you is.”

“I’m docile?” Jace asked, unsure if he was meant to be offended or not.

“You didn’t used to be.” Ellie said sweetly, then winked. “My lord.”

Her hips swayed as she led Jace forwards, and despite how crazy and outlandish his new surroundings were, Jace was only human.

He admired how Ellie’s hips and flawless bubbly ass looked, and wished her breastplate looked like the horny breastplates from some video games back home, where it was molded to the shape of the woman’s tits.

He was pretty powerful here, it seemed, maybe he could slip the castle blacksmith some notes or something.