Chapter 3: 3. New life

Waking up sluggishly, I slowly gained awareness of my surroundings. Thoughts and actions came slowly to my underdeveloped brain and my senses felt inadequate. As I felt the softness of the blanket beneath me and a gentle rocking, I opened my eyes.

What greeted my sight first was the slightly blurry face of a fatigued looking woman dressed in what seemed to be a maid uniform with her eyes closed. She had dark circles under her eyes and hanging shoulders. She was the one rocking the cradle that I was in. As I watched her take care of me, I was reminded of my mother. Feeling a sense of loss, I started to cry. Why did she have to die so early?

Due to my shrill crying, the tired maid opened her eyes droopingly and quickly took me in her embrace. Softly whispering confusing words that I didn’t understand, she held me gently and slowly rocked my tiny self back and forth until I calmed down.

As I closed my eyes and tried to calm down to get my undisciplined emotions under control, I felt something soft touching my mouth. Opening my eyes, I could see that the maid was trying to feed me. Barely being able to control my own body, I instinctively opened my mouth and began suckling, feeling the tasty milk flowing into my mouth. As awkward as it was to be breastfed, I could feel myself calming down. As the maid was humming a calming tune, I fell asleep.

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Two years passed after I had been reincarnated. At first, I struggled with my senses, as my eyes were slow to focus on the things around me. However, over time, my eyesight improved and my vision became clearer. I could distinguish between shapes and colors better.

My ears became more attuned to different sounds and I could distinguish between all the different sounds. My nose picked up new scents, from the sweet aroma of milk to the earthy smell of the outdoors. My sense of touch also grew, as I began to feel the different textures of things around me. As I reached my first birthday, my senses were much more advanced than when I was first born, and it was fascinating to explore the world around me.

I was so excited the first time I found out that my new family was rich! My own room alone was proof enough. The walls were made of stone and decorated with intricate tapestries in shades of gold and silver. The ceiling was incredibly high, easily 5 meters, and in the center hung a glittering chandelier with dozens of burning candles. The floor was covered in a plush carpet, and a large fireplace took up one wall, providing warmth and light with a roaring fire. To top it all off, I had a big balcony with a beautiful view of the outside.

Unfortunately, besides my loving maid Alaya and my 6-year-old big sister Eleanor who played with me daily, nobody else seemed to care that I existed. The only time I had seen my father was about a week after my mother died. I shivered just thinking about the encounter. His cold, piercing silver eyes gazed upon me indifferently, as if looking through me rather than at me. He never once touched me, and the rejection stung, even though I expected it as I had only seen him a week after I was born. For some time, i even wondered if there was a father in the picture at all.

Besides my father, I only encountered a few maids from time to time when they came to tidy my room or when I was finally able to crawl out and explore. However, my adventures were short-lived as I was always caught shortly after and brought back to my prison cell of monotony.

I did use the free time that I had as a baby as much as I possibly could though. Retraining my body from the beginning took most of the time, and I could proudly say that I was already able to crawl at 6 months and began walking shortly after too!

As I grew up, I also learned that my name is Amber, apparently that’s the name my mother chose for me before she passed. It’s a beautiful name.

Thanks to Alaya, I managed to grasp the basics of the language rather quickly, she has pretty much been my babysitter all this time. Mostly just lounging in the room, taking care of me when I needed her to and reading me lots of stories. At that point I could also understand a few simple sentences.

Growing up wasn't all boring, however. My sister Eleanor came to visit me every day and we talked or played together. Although the games we played were childish, such as peek-a-boo or hide and seek, I preferred bonding with her to being bored to death with nothing to do. That was how I spent most of my time until then.

 

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As I was practicing my walking, taking my wobbly steps, I felt proud of myself. I had come a long way already. My tiny legs felt strong and I was filled with excitement as I took step after step. I focused on keeping my balance, taking one foot in front of the other. My arms were outstretched to help me stay upright, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

After what felt like having run a marathon, my legs gave and I let myself fall down on my butt, the babyfat softening the impact to protect my body. I sat, recovering my energy as I watched Alaya humming a happy tune while cleaning the room.

My eyes widened as she waved her hand casually over the window sill and all the dust got swept away by a seemingly passing wind. Catching my look, she gave me a small smile and I realized that she was doing magic. There was real magic here! It was a fascinating thing to witness and I couldn't help but stare in awe as she continued to clean with another wave of her hand.

Seeing that there was magic in this world was a shocking revelation! All the fantasy novels I had ever read couldn't have prepared me for it. As I watched Alaya using more magic, I felt an indescribable sensation of wonder and excitement. Can i learn it too?

I walked up to Alaya, pulling on her royal blue gown to get her attention and pointed towards the clean window sill. “Are you hungry sweetie?” she said in a highly affectionate tone as she picked me up. Scrunching my eyebrows, feeling confused as I didn't understand anything, all I could do was point my finger again and with more force toward the clean window sill.

“The window sill?” she tilted her head in confusion, “Ah!” she cried out, seemingly having realized what I wanted, “You want to learn magic?” she asked, walking up to the sofa and showing me her magic by cleaning a slightly dusty spot.

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I nodded my head hard at that, acting the two-year-old I was supposed to be “yesh, yesh!”

She laughed at my excited actions and shook her head “You’re too young to learn magic sweetie, wait until you’re a bit older okay?”

Pouting at her actions, I flailed in her grasp and pointed at the sofa once more and yelled out loud “I want!”

Softly putting me back down, she stopped smiling and said sternly “No young lady! You’re not allowed to learn magic before you start your education.”

Scrunching my face in frustration, I crossed my arms and walked away from Alaya. Feeling the bed compress slightly by my little body plopping down on it, I contemplated on how to acquire magic.

As I schemed on how to make Alaya teach me, I got an idea. Instead of making her teach me magic directly, I would have her teach me how to read instead. I could always learn magic from the books in the library! Surely we had some kind of magic manual from which I could learn. Teaching me to read early should be fine right? Not like reading is harmful to a child.

Having thought about it, I quietly picked up a children’s book with almost more pictures than words in it and walked up to Alaya, where she was methodically tidying the closet with all my clothes sitting in it. Pulling on her gown, so she would notice me once more, i prepared my expression to look as cute as possible, making puppy eyes as i prepared to plead.

“Alaha.” I tried my best to pronounce my caretakers name with my underdeveloped tongue as she turned towards me.

“Aww, you’re so cute” she started gushing about me, putting her hands on my cheeks and kneading them at my expense. She noticed the book I was holding in my hands and asked me, “you want me to read with you?” while pointing at the book.

I nodded eagerly at that, “reed”. To my consent, Alaya picked me up in her embrace and sat down on the sofa, book in hand. Then she started reading with me, carefully and slowly.

 

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After we finished reading the book and prepared to get up, I quickly jumped off her lap and pointed at the book “Moar!” I said as demandingly as a two-year-old could.

Alaya chuckled at that “diligent, aren't we? Ok, let's get you some more books”, she declared as she walked outside, presumably to get me more books that we could read together.

I did my best to follow her on my small, stubby legs, but it was impossible so I quickly called out for her “Alaa!”, so she would walk slower.

She slowed down to take my hand, and as we resumed walking towards the library slowly, I took this moment to look at the sights around me. The floors were made of gleaming marble, and the walls were adorned with gold-framed paintings of important-looking people, some resembling my father. The ceiling was high and painted with intricate designs, making me feel small and insignificant.

It gave me a sense of wonder every time I walked these hallways. The sheer size and luxury of the hallway. Must have cost a fortune, I thought to myself. And now I live in it. Being a noble sure had its upsides, though I'd rather have two happy parents who loved me than be rich.

Finally, we reached the library. The door was massive, and even Alaya grunted while pushing it open with effort. We stepped inside, and I was filled with awe. The room was filled with books from floor to ceiling. The smell of old paper and leather filled my nose as I stayed in place, taking in the beautiful sight. The room was dimly lit by sunlight coming in through the windows. This was like heaven on earth. I felt excitement at the prospect of having this huge library to read all sorts of books.

I followed Alaya as she led me to a small table in the corner of the room, pulling back a chair for me to sit in. I sat down absent-mindedly, still admiring all the books. I knew that I would probably never be able to read them all, but the idea of trying was exciting.

After waiting for a short while, Alaya came back with a handful of children's books. Hiding my disappointment, as I knew I wouldn't be able to read anything else yet, let alone a manual about magic, we made our way out of the library. I took one last look at the beautiful library, and a deep yearning to learn more about the world surfaced. If magic exists, what else does? Fantastical creatures? Long-eared elves? Stocky dwarves? I wanted to see them all! This was only a dream in my last life, but this time it might become reality. Soon, I thought to myself as we walked back to my room.

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