When I opened my eyes I found myself in a familiar room. The really boring room with no doors or windows. I groaned. After repeating four days, the test, and meeting Larissa, I had been quite eager to live out the next day but instead I got to have a lovely conversation with Anastasia. 

Looking around however, I found myself alone. Standing up and taking a slower look around revealed nothing. It was still a depressing pink room with a sofa.

It didn’t make any sense. This was Anastasia’s room so there was no reason for her to not be there. The room had no doors, there was no way she could have just left. I tried in vain to peek behind the sofa but of course Anastasia was not there either.

“Sit down”

I lost my balance and with my quick reflexes managed to dodge the sofa and fall directly onto the floor. It hurt. 

Wasn’t this a dream? Why did it hurt?

“Not what I meant. Use the sofa.”

I hurriedly looked around again. I was as far as I could tell still alone. Still, I didn’t want to get on the bad side of the mysterious voice. I sat down.

I heard the sound of a door opening and closing which was of course impossible. Just as impossible as the person materializing in front of me. I first assumed it was a woman but something seemed off. Whoever this person was, their features kept changing. Their eyes changing color, hair lengthening and shrinking slowly. Not even their height remained the same. It was quite entrancing, watching this person change height and gender from one second to the next. Maybe they realized it too since their features settled into a curly haired look; tall, brown-skinned, with dark wide eyes currently looking at me quizzically. Who was this person and where was Anastasia?

She blinked. If I didn’t know better, I would say that like Anastasia, she could also hear my thoughts. 

“I guess you could call me Eiris. It’s what I call myself now.” They may have been speaking but their mouth never opened.

“Where’s Anastasia?” I looked around in vain again but the stranger and I were alone.

“I thought you were Anastasia?” I didn’t like the sneer on their face. “Who else are you supposed to be after they took your name and your past from you?”

Trying to move past the twinge of anger I felt, “What do you mean they? You don’t mean the Gods, do you?”

“Of course I mean the Gods. You are here because of Faramund mainly but Ozul is not exactly helping you out. In fact he is very much part of the scheme. This is like entertainment to them. They want to see you fail.”

Why was this person looking at me with pity? Who do they think they are?

“I already told you. I am Eiris. I am not sure how else to describe myself.”

“Are you not like them?” How do you ask someone if they are a God or not…

The mere idea was absurd.

“It’s possible. I don’t think so, though. I don’t exactly exist right now. I am not sure how else to explain. I live in darkness but every once in a while I can talk to someone in a place like this. Though it is usually a different girl. I believe her name is Larissa? She’s got orange hair, I’m not sure if you know her.”

“Oh, I know her.” 

I looked more closely at the stranger. Their hair had gone from curly to slightly wavy but apart from that, they looked pretty much the same. 

“Are you Ainsley?”

I guess the person was not expecting that question. She physically cringed away from me as if the question were painful.

“No. Ainsley is dead.”

Not sure what answer I had expected but that had definitely not been it. 

The silence that followed was a long one.

“What do you mean, they want to see me fail?” I asked at last for a lack of anything better to say.

“Oh, they think it’s amusing. They reset you when you failed, right? They will probably keep doing it until you achieve whatever they consider ‘doing better’. But of course they won’t tell you what the goal is because they want to watch you struggle. It would not be the first time they-”

Eiris did not disappear, not exactly. Mid Sentence it was as if she had never been there. The buzzing started in my head and the next thing I knew there was a different person in the room with me. 

Anastasia looked up. She was standing directly in front of me looking startled. 

“Where did you come from? No, where were you?” She asked before I could open my mouth to ask her the same questions. 

“I was here but there was someone else in the room. It was so weird.”

I tried to recall their appearance but it made my brain go foggy so I stopped. No, it would probably be easier to avoid any thought that would cause me pain. 

“I didn’t see anyone. The wall I can use to watch you just went dark.” She gestured vaguely. “It just felt wrong. I thought you died again or something. That’s what happened when you died.”

“Oh yeah, you watched that.” I almost felt embarrassed. 

“It was an entertaining attempt! And you passed! I tried several times but I never figured out the maze. My dad ended up paying the judges. It got me into the Golden Cauldron Institute.” 

Was it just me or did Anastasia look oddly happy?

“The Institute? Was that what the test was for? Was all that just an entrance exam for a school?” In retrospect that made a lot of sense.

“What- What did you think the test was for?” 

“I guess I didn’t think much of it. I was just living out events as they happened.” I shrugged.

“Don’t you think you are being a bit lax?”

“Who cares. This isn’t my life. If I do it wrong we just get reset. Then I can figure it out from there. I don’t want to waste time worrying right now. Actually, what can you tell me about the Institute place?”

For some reason, Anastasia seemed a bit angry.

“Oh, you want to know things now? Why bother asking, just take things as they come. It will probably be easier for you.” 

Yeah, she was definitely angry.

“Oh, I can. Unfortunately to do whatever ‘doing better’ is, I am beginning to think that I might need some more information so start making long term plans.”

“Unfortunately I cannot just tell you.” Rather than look angry, Anastasia simply looked defeated. “Remember how I told you we talk every day? Every time I bring up something that happens in the future, it’s as if the conversation never happened.”

“What about the past? Have I asked you about what happened before I took over your life?”

Anastasia’s eyes widened.

“Come to think of it, no, you haven’t”

“Okay, what happened to your… well, I guess I can refer to her as our mother. How long has she been sick?”

I sat down beside Anastasia and waited. For several seconds, Anastasia stared at the wall blankly. 

“I don’t know. It happened after she came back from Alacran. Whatever it is she must have caught it there but no doctor’s father has consulted have come up with anything. If I remember correctly, she’s been sick for about a month at this point”

I pondered her words while I thought up something else to ask.

“Do you have any friends? I haven’t heard from anyone around your age so I was beginning to think that is odd.”

“Oh.”

Anastasia looked away from the wall and right at the floor.

“I guess I don’t really… I mean, the few children I knew are currently at the institute. Most kids enroll at the age of seven usually but I failed last year. Before that they used to visit my house every couple of weeks but I think they were more friends with each other than… with me. None of them bothered to keep in contact with me after starting at the Institute. I thought it would be interesting to let the maid’s child join in my lessons since it made me feel less alone but then the maid got in trouble and became angry with me.”

“Who is the kid who trains with the magic teacher in the evenings?”

Might as well ask about that little mystery. 

“The magic teacher? His name is Allen, he’s the king’s brother. He didn’t have to take the time to teach me. He usually teaches at the Institute but after I failed the test he decided to help out. It’s hard not to feel like a burden sometimes.”  She laughed to herself. “The kid is his son. I don’t actually know his name, we never really spoke. I think he grew up to-”

I woke up. I was finally back to my stupid pink room. My head felt a bit fuzzy but I remembered talking to Anastasia and maybe to someone else. No, who else would I talk to in my sleep. I yawned. Looking around I saw light coming from the window but I thankfully found myself alone. 

If the test from yesterday was some sort of entrance exam for the Golden whatever Institute, then that must mean I would be heading there soon. Or at least I hoped. I was getting bored hanging around this house. I heard the door open and close but I didn’t look up right away. I should have asked Anastasia more questions while I still had the chance. I still had no idea what to do other than take things as they came. 

“Lady Anastasia?”

The maid was here, like she was every morning. Still, I didn’t want to get up just yet. I needed more time to think. I needed a few more minutes to think. I barely stopped myself from sighing. No, I would not be able to figure anything out by just sitting around. I looked over to the maid. She was not alone.

“Larie!”

“It’s Larissa, the maid snapped. 

“Larie is fine. It sounds like a nickname.” Larissa was half hiding behind her mother but she gave me a small smile.

“It is not fine! Get up already!” 

I scoffed. 

“Who do you think you are, ordering me around?”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Your father asked me to go get you.” She said primly.

I rolled my eyes but got up just the same. Right, I had plans to make and hopefully a school to get to soon.