.
.
There was a throbbing in Audulie de Sevran's head, and as she squeezed her eyes she moved with difficulty, pushing herself upright.
Her eyes widened. Instead of her bedchambers, with the canopied bed and plush carpets, the walls adorned with filigree and gold trim, she was in a box-sized room, the lights from the blinds making zebra stripes on the bed and the carpet.
"What is this?" Audulie cried, and she ran around the little room, knocking into the kotatsu, which was barely the height of her shins, and crashing into the bookshelf and the cheerful cat-shaped clock whose tail was counting the seconds.
Hours passed. She sat petrified on the carpet, staring at Mebuki's fiddle leaf fig and potted hibiscus, when there was a knocking at the door.
"Mayumi? Hey it's Tomoko. Are you okay?" More knocking at the door. "You're not answering your phone."
Audulie's chest heaved. Quietly she reached a hand behind her and groped for a weapon - her fingers fell on the remote control.
"Mayumi? I'm coming in," the voice said, and Audulie stood up, her heart thudding in her chest. She heard the futuristic click click of a finger pressing the keypad to her door.
"Mayumi?" Tomoko said.
"Stay back!" Audulie said. She pointed the remote control like a sword.
"Hey, are you okay? You're shaking-"
"Who are you and where am I? And wherefore have I been kidnapped?!" Audulie said. Tomoko raised her hands.
"Are you cospaying as a princess?" Tomoko said.
"Knave!" Audulie said, pointing the controller. "You will explain to me what is happening!"
"Um, okay..." Tomoko set down her plastic sack of groceries, lifting her hands. "Okay, see? Nothing in my hands, okay?"
"Who are you?" Audulie said. "Once the King gets word I've been kidnapped, our armies will surely invade! Think carefully your words before you answer me!"
"Uh, King? Armies...?"
"Knave! Speak well lest you deceive me!"
"Why are you speaking like that? You're scaring me," Tomoko said. She stepped around the room, Audulie glaring at her while Tomoko carefully slipped off her shoes.
"I think you have a fever," Tomoko said. "Let me feel your forehead."
"You will step back!" Audulie said. "How dare you try to touch me! I am Audrey de Sevran, First Princess and daughter of the king!"
"Mayumi I'm calling an ambulance," Tomoko said.
"'Ambulance'? What pray is an 'ambulance'?"
"I think you need to see a doctor, there's something wrong with your head. Did you take anything?" Tomoko said. She didn't wait for Audulie to answer; pushing past her, Tomoko stalked over to the bathroom. "Are you on drugs? What did you take, Mayumi?"
Audulie stared. Tomoko threw over Mebuki's trash, looking for evidence. She watched as Tomoko rushed around the apartment, worried.
"You are this lady's friend."
"What?" Tomoko looked up. Audulie lowered the remote control.
"My name," Audulie said, and her voice was tremulous. "Is Audrey de Sevran, from the Kingdom of Sevran. I woke up here, in this strange place, inhabiting your friend Mayumi's body. I am not from here," Audulie said, and her eyes filled with tears.
"Oh no," Tomoko said, and she rushed toward Audulie as she started crying. "Mayumi, sweetie, it's okay. We'll get you to a doctor and we'll fix everything."
"I am not your Mayumi. I have possessed this woman's body. What can I say for you to believe me?" Audulie said. Tomoko took a breath.
"Okay, well, first of all, lets get you to the hospital. You're gonna need a doctor's note to miss work, I'll call your boss and let them know you're too sick to work."
xXx
.
"I-is Mebuki-san okay?" Asahina said.
He and Satou showed up. Tomoko was worried, so she took Audulie back to her place. "I don't want to leave you alone," Tomoko said, and she ushered Audulie to her apartment.
Everything scared her. Tomoko watched as Audulie flinched and clung to her, the crowds of people battering her from all sides. She jumped at the large metal tube of the subway and the speed of the trains rushing by, then gaped wide-eyed at the neon street lights lighting up the night sky.
"Pray tell what are all these artificial torches?" Audulie said.
"They're traffic lights. C'mon, we gotta cross before the light turns red."
Now they were safe in Tomoko's apartment, Tomoko pacing while Asahina and Satou watched, worried.
"Th-that's not Mebuki-san," Asahina said.
"What?" Tomoko said. Asahina gestured.
"M-Mebuki-san isn't like that. That's, that's someone else."
She knew Asahina was a stalker with a crush, but she didn't expect him to also be kind of an idiot. "Yo I don't think that's Mebuki-san either," Satou said.
"What?" Tomoko said. "Clearly Mayumi's going through something psychiatric! Just because the doctors released her doesn't mean there's nothing wrong with her."
"I-I don't think it's Mebuki-san, though. M-Mebuki-san's body language isn't as stiff as hers," Asahina said. Satou nodded.
"And she's speaking in Old Timey language."
"I can't believe she works with you two idiots," Tomoko said. The door slid open. Audulie carefully crept out, after having showered in the bathroom.
"Um." Audulie peeked around the corner. "Forgive me my indiscretions, but the gentlemen here are correct. I have somehow taken over your friend's body through some sort of divine possession."
"You said you're a princess?" Satou said. Audulie nodded.
"Haa." Tomoko rubbed her head. "I think you guys need to go back to the office."
xXx
.
"I have caused trouble for you," Audulie said. Tomoko waved her hand.
"It's no trouble." She hefted a futon at the center of the living room, making the bed. "We can't have a princess wandering around alone in some strange apartment."
There wasn't anything the doctors could do. "She's not a danger to herself or others. We have no reason to involuntarily hold her. You'll have to send her to the psychiatrist on an outpatient basis," the doctor had said.
"But she thinks she's a princess," Tomoko said. The doctor sighed, shaking her head.
"This is the age where schizophrenia often manifests," the doctor said. "Contact her family and make an appointment."
Now Tomoko watched as Audulie carefully made her way around the room, looking fearful and timid. The microwave scared then transfixed her. The light switch was a source of endless fascination for her.
"Wherefore are you helping me?" Audulie asked, as Tomoko handed her a pair of pajamas to borrow.
"Because you're my friend," Tomoko said. She sat down in front of her. "Besides, I'm overdue for a vacation."
Audulie clutched the pajamas to her chest. Tomoko smiled at her.