- And how long are you going to pretend, lea?

Realizing that there was no point in further making myself a lady in a swoon, I opened my eyes, meeting the mocking gaze of an elderly woman.

- And what are you, lea, afraid of?

Hearing another question, I involuntarily glanced toward the closed door. Not that I was afraid of anyone, but, perhaps, I was not yet ready to meet with the owner of a formidable voice.

- Don't be afraid, girl, you're not in danger here.

Frowning, I was about to comment on the strange treatment, but remembering that you don’t argue with psychos, I decided to just say hello.

- Good morning.

She said hello and froze. The strangeness of my voice could be attributed to a cold and a sore throat last time, but not now. My throat was no longer sore or itchy. I just spoke in a quiet, girlish gentle thin voice. How can this be? I did not know the answer to my question and only silently opened and closed my mouth, unable to find words and afraid to make even a sound. The old woman chuckled and shook her head.

- What morning? The day has already been around for a long time.

When I heard the answer, I looked out the window. And when she saw the mountain peaks in the distance, she breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what happens, they didn’t take me far. I'm still in the Urals. It remains only to determine exactly where. Although, again, the Urals are very large and have a decent length.

- Where I am?

Hearing once again the strange sound of my voice, I could hardly restrain myself from grimacing in displeasure. It's not that I didn't like him or that he was terribly unpleasant, it was just the opposite. I must admit, he sounded soft and sweet. Except it wasn't my voice!

- Oh, leia, have you forgotten our last conversation? It's OK. It's easy for me to repeat everything. You are at Durchars Castle. It is located in the Sintari Mountains and belongs, along with the adjacent territories and the mountain range, to the banneret Ader Oc'Tarner. Our master is an earth bender, so he was able to sense and save you from a mountain stream when you were caught on a stone protruding from the water.

So, apparently, I can’t learn anything worthwhile from this old woman. Someone, but it does not make sense to ask about anything.

- What's your name, lea?

- Oh-oh-oh ... Dariyayaya Ta ... - out of habit, I wanted to introduce myself as Daria Tarashchanskaya, but I remembered that I decided not to give my real name, so I managed to introduce myself crumpled.

- O-Dari-Ta. Is your name Odarita?

I never liked to lie. I did not want to start doing this even in my old age, but now there was no other way out. So I nodded in agreement, confirming that it was my name. At the same time, I expected that they would now catch me in a lie, saying that such names do not exist. But no, even in the look of the old woman, I did not notice the accusation or indignation for deceit. This made it even more annoying. After all, be that as it may, they saved me and nursed me. But they didn’t give me time to suffer remorse, pouring out a few more questions on me.

- Could you, Odarita, tell me the name of your father's clan? Then we will find your relatives as soon as possible and inform them about the rescue of their daughter. Also, tell me, please, what gift do you have? Apparently, escaping from the collapse, you have completely exhausted your reserve. This greatly slowed down your recovery and put you on the verge of life and death. I understand you had no other choice, but be careful next time. If we knew what element you wield, then the master might be able to feed you with his magic. And then you would get back on your feet faster. And so all the forces of your body go only to the physical restoration of the body, thereby slowing down the replenishment of the reserve of the gift.

Hmmm, the farther into the forest, the stronger the insanity. The talk of magic and the gift unsettled me somewhat. In fact, I started to get annoyed. I would like to talk about the state of my health with someone normal, and not play these games.

Okay, let's discard all unnecessary, isolating the main thing. Do they want to know my father's family name? Most likely this is the last name. It is unlikely that they are interested in the patronymic since it will not give them anything. Does this mean that those who saved me have no idea who I am? Or is it a test? Whatever it was, I definitely was not going to tell anything about myself.

Every minute it was becoming more and more difficult for me to refrain from interrupting the flow of the old woman's delirium and not asking to call someone saner. Hope there are some here. And in order not to start to resent myself, I had to clench my teeth and take a few deep breaths in and out, mentally saying the mantra that everything will be fine. The old woman took my silence in her own way.

- What is it, leah? Are you sick again?

- No, everything is fine. But I would like to sit down.

Yes, I tried to take the conversation in a different direction. Be that as it may, I was not going to start inventing something in order to support the game of local sectarians. I was not in that state.

- Now.

Taking my shoulders, the woman helped me to sit up, after which she shifted the pillows so that I could lean on them and, straightening the blanket, stepped back to the table. I, feeling slightly dizzy, closed my eyes, but as soon as it passed, I immediately opened it and stared in surprise at my hands, this time lying on the blanket. So. And what is this?

No, there was nothing terrible there. Hands like hands, with small hands, neat, well-groomed nails and thin fingers. Unless they were very thin, with almost transparent, pale skin, through which the wreaths shone through. My fingers moved at my request, and then completely clenched into a fist. But how is this possible?

My mouth was instantly dry. Again, the question arose about what is happening here. I slowly raised my hand, following her every movement and at the same time realizing that this unfamiliar hand does everything I think about. And everything would be fine, but no matter what creams and oils you use, no matter how you take care of your skin, by sixty it cannot remain in this state.

I clearly remember my hands with rough, dry skin and pigmented age spots that appeared on it, with wrinkles and a small scar on my right hand, almost imperceptible if you do not know about it. There was nothing like that here. This hand was of a young lady. As is the voice. And they called me a girl and even a girl.

Not fully aware of what I was doing, I reached for the hair on my head and realized that instead of my short, comfortable haircut, there was a mop of thick hair. Pulling on a strand, I tossed it forward, gauging the length and color. Well, in my distant youth, I was a brown-haired woman with curly hair. Now I have become a blue-black brunette with straight and smooth. And yes, my hair was now at least to the waist, and perhaps even lower.

It is not clear what I was hoping for, I twisted my hair around my palm and pulled it down. Although it is clear why. Still, a thought flashed through my head with a slight hope that it was a wig. Yes, yes, the most common wig. But the resulting pain made me quickly discard the idea.

Completely bewildered, I leaned back on the pillow, looking around the room with an absent-minded glance and stopping it on an elderly woman. And then another thought came to my mind. What if it's not them, but I've lost my mind?

- Leah! Lea! Gifted! Can you hear me? What's happened? Do you feel bad? Come on, let's go back. Judging by your appearance, it's too early for you to sit down.

- No need. Everything is fine, - I stopped an elderly woman who was about to remove the pillows from under my back and put me back. - Tell me, do you have a mirror?

Why do you need a mirror?

Frowning, the old woman looked at me questioningly. I, because of the strange state in which I was now and the mess that formed in my head, muttered the truth.

- I want to see my reflection.

- For what? Take my word for it as a healer. After the illness, everyone does not have the most flowering appearance. But it will take a few days, and you will recover. Youth does not need much time for this.

- You did not understand. I don't care what condition I'm in or how I look, sickly or blooming. I just want to see my reflection, the way I look.

- You don't remember what you look like, leia?