Waking up in silence, I was glad that this obsession was finally over. But as soon as I opened my eyes and saw all the same stone walls, the realization immediately came that everything that had happened was true. In confirmation of this thought, I again looked at my not my hands. And it seems that I should rejoice at the second youth, especially the fact that I did not drown and I had the opportunity to live another life. That's just the precariousness of my position in the body, and in the world as a whole, somewhat strained. I still did not understand where the soul of the hostess of the body had gone. During the time that I have been here, she has never made herself feel, and the question immediately arises why. What happened to the girl and how did she end up in the river?

    Yes, of course, I heard that here too there was a collapse of the same plan, under which I fell, and all the accompanying girls died under it. And then another question arises, how exactly did the child manage to escape and why did it not work out for others? In my opinion, there are two possible answers. The first - she ran away, because of which she and her pursuers were separated by a distance, thanks to which they were under a collapse, but the girl was not. The second - the escorts remained to protect her from someone and fell under a collapse. Hmmm, something I categorically did not like in any of these layouts. Or am I still paranoid?

     While I was left alone, I decided to take a closer look at the body that I got. The fact that her skin was pale as if she had never seen the sun and her mistress had spent her whole life in the basement, did not surprise me. I remember that not in so distant past it was considered very fashionable. And for the sake of this very aristocratic pallor, girls and women drank vinegar, and also rubbed their skin with all sorts of muck, thereby causing irreparable harm to their health. I only hope that this is really a fashion and not my first guess. 

  Even the girl clearly did not know any physical labor or other activity. But it was not this that alerted me, but the exhaustion of the body, as if this child was malnourished. I need to know how long I've been unconscious here. If a few weeks, then the general thinness of the body does not raise any questions. But if not, then it would be necessary to find out if those who failed were escorts or, possibly, escorts. 

   But that wasn't the only thing that worried me. If the girl's soul returns and says to release her body, then there's nothing to be done. It would be right and fair to yield to her. Still, I've lived my life. But what happens if this doesn't happen? How does the world perceive strangers like me? Will they begin to cast out like the devil or some other evil spirits? And half the trouble, if at the same time, they begin to read prayers or they begin to pour holy water on me. But I can and try to send home, burned at the stake, or something else to come up with just as painful. I the extent to which human imagination can be boundless and sophisticated, I know perfectly well. 

     Whatever it was, I loved life. And if I was given a second chance, I was going to use it to the fullest. And if so, then it would be necessary to keep quiet about myself and take advantage of the old woman's assumption about my loss of memory. It will also be possible to write off all my mistakes and ignorance of local realities on this. By the way, about reality.

   I felt much better today. I don’t know what was in the broth that the stranger gave me, but it not only put me to sleep but also gave me strength. Of course, I was still far from participating in the marathon, but I could walk around the perimeter of the room. Anyway, I hoped so.

  Lowering my legs to the wooden floor, rubbed with something like mastic, I slowly got up, controlling my condition. The slight dizziness passed rather quickly, but the weakness in the legs still remained, so I should hurry.

   At first, I went to the table, remembering that the old woman on it was mixing something all the time, but now it was empty. Then I looked into both chests. One was empty, and the second, apparently, contained a change of bed linen and a few pieces of fabric that looked like towels. Candlesticks mounted on stands on the walls were made of bronze. They had the simplest design without any decorations and curlicues, just like the grate by the fireplace. In principle, I did not notice any decor or stucco in the room, except for the tapestry, which depicted a hunting scene. Even the bed stood on straight, simple legs without carvings or any decorations, and most importantly, without a canopy. And the last fact made me happy. This dust collector was once invented in order to

   The last thought made me take a closer look at the ceiling, but no, it was clean. And while I was sleeping, nothing bit me, which could not please me.  

  By the way, there was not only a canopy but also curtains or something else of the same kind. The windows were closed with wooden shutters. In any case, in bad weather, they were closed. Now the sky was clear and, despite the early morning, the shutters were open. This is what I decided to use.

    Approaching the window, I hoped that I would see the master's yard or something like that, in order to more accurately assess the level of development of the local society. I didn’t really hope to see people, since the sun, even though it painted the horizon with bright tones, had not yet appeared because of the mountains. 

   The fact that this is the Middle Ages, I already understood. The only question is, closer to what century, the tenth or the fifteenth? Although, in a good way, I was not satisfied with any of these options. Yes, in my youth I gladly went on expeditions in which I had to live in tents or hastily created temporary barracks in the forest or mountains. So cooking over a campfire doesn't scare me, just like the lack of a hot bath or other benefits of civilization, but all this was a temporary phenomenon. Now, this was clearly not an option. But it was not even the lack of electricity, the Internet, and normal medicine that scared me, but the unreality of everything that was happening and the lack of understanding of the current situation, as well as what awaits me in the future. It also made me nervous to have to lie and pretend to be someone I'm not. I may have to do this for the rest of my new life because it is not known what laws are in this world and time. But worst of all, I still couldn't get used to someone else's body. No, I felt it as my own and managed it easily to the best of my current physical state, only emotionally, it was still alien to me.

Along with the last thought, I looked at the small palms with thin fingers, after which I clenched them into fists and unclenched them again. Yes, perhaps the most terrible and incomprehensible for me was the lack of understanding of who and how placed my consciousness in someone else's shell. And, most importantly, why. The fact that nothing just happens, I always knew. So someone needed it. And after all, I never believed either in God or in the presence of souls in people. Was she wrong?

   I couldn’t get answers to my questions at the moment, which means that it’s worth switching to something else for now. Realizing this, I shifted all my attention to the view outside the window. 

   I was not lucky. There were no outbuildings. There, in general, there was almost nothing. The castle in which I ended up, and judging by what I could see through the window, it was it, was built on a rock. And the edge of this rock could be seen about hundred and fifty meters away. Perhaps a little more. At the same time, only a meter-long stone parapet and a row of bushes separated people from the dangerous cliff. From the latter now only sticks were sticking out of the ground. Those few trees that fell into my field of vision also stood without foliage for the time being. Apparently, early spring has come in this world. 

    Looking at the uninformative landscape, I noticed some movement with my peripheral vision and immediately turned all my attention to the man who came out from around the corner.

  Despite the fact that the window was closed, the wind still blew through the cracks. So I knew it was still quite cold outside. But this did not affect the stranger's clothes in any way. At the moment, he was wearing only a light-colored loose-fitting shirt with long sleeves. She was tucked into dark trousers. Soft knee-high boots are worn on the feet. That's all. Her chestnut hair, just below her shoulders, was pulled back into a ponytail and tied with a dark ribbon. The stranger appeared to be in his thirties. Rather tall, with an athletic, pumped-up figure. He walked with a confident, slightly springy, yet soft gait of a predator. Due to the distance, it was not possible to understand whether he was unshaven, or whether he had a small beard and mustache. I couldn't see anything else.

  Not wanting to be caught peeping, I stepped back into the room. So you won't be able to see me from the street. Meanwhile, the stranger reached the middle of a cleared and well-trodden piece of land.

   A sword was fastened to the man's belt. And now, taking it in his hands, the stranger began to move slowly and unhurriedly, as if warming up, at the same time writing out the sign of infinity with his weapon. At the same time, he stepped carefully, gently shifting his weight from one foot to the other, as if he were walking not on hard rocky ground, but on a minefield. For the first five minutes, I was still interested in watching what was happening, but after the next five minutes, I got tired of the monotony of movements. Yes, and weakness rolling in waves hinted that it was time for me to return to bed. But then the object of my surveillance accelerated, and soon I could barely track the movements of the sword. Lunges alternated with blocks, and attacks with dodges. That's just it was not all.

  At first, I couldn't figure out what was going on. It seemed as if the ground under the stranger's feet became unstable, trembled and turned into sand. Then, despite the fact that I did not feel any seismic activity, I was afraid that an earthquake or some other cataclysm had begun, as the soil under the warrior’s feet began to tremble and hummock. And when I was about to open the window and call someone for help, I noticed a pattern associated with the movements of the stranger and the behavior of the earth. Here a man makes a lunge, and the rocky ground comes to life, diverging in all directions in waves. Here he bounces and the earth swells under his feet, throwing him even higher up. Here he puts a block, defending himself from an imaginary enemy, and a wall of stones grows in front of him. It was something amazing and incredible. I remember I saw something similar in some movie. But now I haven't been to the cinema. And I didn’t even watch TV but watched a real person. If I had not seen what was happening with my own eyes, I would never have believed that it was possible. And then I remembered the questions the sorceress asked me about magic and the gift.

   If until this moment I had the idea that I was in the past of my world, now I have seen with my own eyes that this is not so. I was clearly thrown into some other. And not just another, but a world in which magic exists. And if in the first case, I had a chance to use my knowledge of history and adapt to the events that will take place, then in the second case everything is much more complicated. After all, it turns out that I know absolutely nothing about the world in which I found myself. Moreover, judging by the questions of the healer, I also have some kind of gift.

     From a guess that suddenly arose in my mouth, everything immediately dried up and I again, now with suspicion, looked at my hands, as if a flame would burst out of them, or even something worse. And what is the power of this body? And most importantly, how will it manifest itself, and how dangerous will it be for me and others? I don't know anything about these kinds of abilities and have no idea how to manage them. And most importantly, is it not because of this very gift and the danger that has arisen for the girl that we exchanged bodies with her? Or whatever happened. 

   The last thought made me turn all my attention back to the warrior. If until this moment I had been watching the fighting technique, now I tried to catch at least some signs of how he uses his power, subjugating the earth. And I was so immersed in it that I did not hear the door to my room open. The fact that I was no longer alone, I realized only by the evil hiss in my ear.

  - Don't even think about it, girl, he's mine.