To my joy I didn’t awake to a bunch of cleaning that needed to be done as a result of last night’s drunken stupor. But on the other hand where the actual hell am I right now some sort of palace? 

“Prisoner number 1849 please step forward for your judgment immediately.” 

In that very moment I realized not only were my hands tied but there were fully armored men wielding swords and spears as well as some sort of audience past them. 

“Listen buddy,” my voice squeaked out a few octaves higher than I was used to, “I don’t know what sort of medieval times knock off show you got going on but I want no part.”

A crooked smile grew on his face in reply to my confusion, “hard way it is then,” he said nonchalantly winding me with a heavy punch to the stomach. 

My mind blanked as I coughed profusely almost like there was an invisible object caught in my throat. During my fit of pain he grabbed the back of my potato sack looking shirt and threw me in front of what I could only presume was a sort of throne. Through blurry vision obscured by a wave of tears I could make out the silhouette of a women with piercing purple eyes.  

“Prisoner 1849”, she spoke with a silky smooth entrancing voice, “your crimes include grand theft, larceny, use of magic without license, and injury to an individual of high nobility. How do you plead in the presence of your queen?”

Queen.. She just announced herself to be a queen, but on top of that right above the throne lay a sigil that seemed to be some sort of fancy crest of the family. A snake enveloping itself around a golden sword with two griffons on both the left and right side just like in A True Queen's Gambit… No way! 

"Anastasia von Norfolk there's no fucking way!" I stood up failing to resist my inner fangirling in the presence of this absolute beauty. Not only did I get to avoid a messy cleanup but now I'm living my literal fantasies I've had for the past year is this some elaborate prank? 

Gasps bursted out of the audience members like they've never heard somebody swear before murmurs of, "what vulgar language she's using," as well as, "isn't that Norfolk family the one whom were killed off a decades past?" 

Ohhhhh right, the whole secret of her entire family being mascaraed before inheriting the throne thing wasn't made public knowledge. Although I’m just waiting for the gotcha moment there's gonna be no real consequences to my actions anyway. 

A large set of hands grasped my shoulders from behind tightly and shoved both my body and face to the ground to where I could taste my own blood. Huh, well, I stand to be corrected if tasting my blood is any indicator this is very much real and marginally more terrifying than before.

Anastasia without flinching or even looking the slightest bit annoyed stood from her throne sauntering to where I lay putting a foot on my back and her face right by my ear whispering, "who are you really?"

I knew this was supposed to be some sort of intimidation tactic but OH MY GOD IT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING. I've read countless fanfictions of this very situation attempting to self insert myself in order to get even a crumb and here I am living the total dream. She must've noticed my change of breath as she backed off for a moment before raising my face into hers with a single hand. 

Deadly soft with coy smirk she remarked, "your face is redder than a tomato girl are you humiliated enough now to tell the truth?"

"C-can you do that again?"

Oh no, my internal dialogue has somehow escaped in the tirade of emotions I'm experiencing right now. Her face twisted into something of such utter and complete confusion almost as though her entire brain had to begin a system reboot. Despite this slight slip of tongue I have all the cards I know all the secrets that they would want to know I just need to say something persuasive. Like.. Like... 

"Um.. Y-you're really pretty." 

Dropping my face she covered hers which had been making an expression that was so conflicted to the point of being unreadable. 

“Bring this one to the dungeons for execution they’re far too inconsolable.” She barked at the guard clearly losing patience at the current circumstances. 

Being picked up half haphazardly by the guard who previously enjoyed delivering my pain it really set in how dire this position was. I racked my brain for a way out Anastasia as much as she hates criminals there’s something she hates much more. 

“There’s a betrayer amongst your ranks!”