Fog…my mind feels clouded, my memory…gone? I'm alone, isolated, numb, or this fog just gives off that feeling. Who am I? Oh, I know that, I'm Adrael. How old am I? Hmm…oh yes.
I raised my hand to eye level and extended four fingers. My short arm trembled in the cold.
Wait, I'm cold? Huh? How did I end up outside? Where did I come from? That, I don't know.
I stopped walking and looked left and right. I was standing on an empty dirt path with green grass in all directions, as far as the eye could see. No, wait. There were trees, too, or maybe bushes? They're too far to tell. I turned to look behind me but flinched when the sunrise caught my eye.
"Ah."
My voice was raspy and raw. Then suddenly, I realized I was thirsty, very thirsty. I must've been walking for quite some time. My ankles throbbed as soon as those thoughts came, forcing me to my knees.
"W-Wh—ahem—What's going on?"
I began feeling very dizzy; that fog in my mind remained strong.
I have to find help. I thought.
I slowly climbed to my aching feet, almost stumbling backward, but I caught myself.
"Are you alright, young one?" A soft voice called out.
"Huh?"
Standing before me was a young woman with long, silky brown hair and green eyes that reminded me of the plains we were standing in. Her skin had a smooth glow from the sunrise or the sun that was now right above us?
When did it become noon? How long was I sitting here after my legs gave out? I wondered.
"Maybe you should come with us? We can get you cleaned up and fed. Then we'll help you find your parents." She said with a warm smile.
Not knowing what other options I really had, I just decided to accept her offer. It was either that or continue to flash in and out of consciousness due to severe dehydration and the accursed fog that held its firm grip tightly on my mind.
"O-ok," I replied.
She offered me her hand. After I grabbed it, she gently led me to a lightly decorated carriage I only noticed just now. An old skinny man with a curly gray mustache and a flat black hat sat in the driver's seat. He looked at me with pity in his eyes. The reins he was holding were harnessed on a powerful-looking beast, a horse, I think it's called. It was dark brown with a blond hairy tail and looked pretty healthy.
The lady helped me into the carriage before getting in herself.
"Now, let's get to the manor quickly, Titus. We've had enough delays." Grumbled a deep, grouchy voice from in front of me.
"Right away, lord." The old driver replied.
Again, as was the trend of my current woozy state, I didn't notice the man until he spoke. It might have been my eyes not having adjusted to the darkness of the carriage yet after just being in the bright sun, but either way, I didn't seem to be able to take in my surroundings at all—not until they affected me, at least. Anything I focused on gave me a sort of tunnel vision; the fog blocked everything else.
I squinted my eyes to get a good look at the man. He had a well-toned body and was dressed in nice clothes, much like the driver, but instead of a hat, he let show his parted blond hair, which sat above brown eyes, small ears, and a strong jaw.
"Find something else to stare at, boy. Your gaze irritates me."
Without responding, I just turned my head towards the woman again. She met me with a smile and placed a soft hand on my head, rubbing gently. My head began pounding; it started slow and quiet, then sped up and became so loud I could hear nothing but it. Then, the fog overtook my vision.
Suddenly, I woke up lying on a big, soft bed inside a small, wooden room. I tried to sit up, but my arms felt like there were pins bouncing around inside them. I couldn't even lift them; they were so numb. Fortunately, my head wasn't pounding anymore; instead, spinning like I just rolled down a thousand-foot hill.
"Finally, you wake, gray one."
Slowly, so as not to throw up, I looked to the left. An old woman with a light brown dress and small glasses was sitting in a rocking chair reading a book, her left leg over the other. She had white hair that stopped just above her shoulders and bangs peeking from a small hat that matched its color, with the addition of a solid pink feather on the side.
"W-wh-!"
Trying to respond to her, I took a breath, but it turned into a fit of coughs. The old woman set her book down and walked up next to me. But I only heard these actions since my eyes were forced closed.
"O' Water, grant nourishment for the parched body."
After she muttered this, a mouthful of water spilled onto my dry tongue. It was cold but not to the point that it made my teeth hurt; very refreshing.
I wiped my mouth and face as my arms recovered.
"Thank you," I said after a deep breath.
"Mhm."
She walked back towards her chair and grabbed her book, then headed for the opened door to the room. Without looking back, she said,
"Get into the clothes on the desk there and come downstairs for lunch."
My body felt a bit better, at least enough to get up and do as she said. When I emerged from the small room, I was surprised to see a wooden balcony overlooking a vast living space with seemingly comfortable furnishings. It stretched both left and right about 60 feet, with doors on the decorated brown walls leading to what I assume are other bedrooms.
The balcony ended to my right, but to my left, it turned into a set of curved stairs, which I took, bringing me to an aromatic kitchen. Titus, the old driver I saw back on the dirt road, was cutting vegetables and throwing them in a stew pot. The young woman who helped me into the carriage and the old lady who gave me water were sitting across from each other on a long brown table with an expensive-looking chandelier hanging above them, giving the room a smooth orange glow.
The young woman looked at me with another bright smile and motioned for me to join them. I did as she said and sat next to her.
"Are you feeling any better?" She asked politely. "I washed you up and healed your body for you. I have to wonder how you ended up like that? And why were you all alone in the middle of nowhere?"
The fog became more intense as I thought about what she was saying. It was still lurking but not as bad now that I've had some water and healing.
"Thank you for helping me. Unfortunately, I can't answer your questions, I don't remember."
She opened her mouth to ask another question, but the old woman spoke first.
"Don't remember? Or won't tell us?" She said curiously rather than speculatively.
"Don't remember. I'm not even sure how I ended up on that road, where I came from, where I was going, or why I was going there. It's all as much a mystery to me as it is to you."
The old woman smiled slightly, but the young woman looked troubled before saying.
"Well, is there anything you remember at all? Maybe the person who taught you to speak so fluently?"
"I don't remember. I have common knowledge, at least, but some sort of fog is clouding my mind and memory. The only thing I can recall about myself is that my name is Adrael, and I'm four years old."
This time, instead of a smile, the old woman's face scrunched as she thought deeply about my words. But the young woman brightened up after hearing I had at least some recollection.
"Such an elegant name! Well, Adrael, I'm Eleeza Garnier, wife of Lord Robertus Garnier, Head of House Garnier. And by the stove, there is our lovely butler, Titus."
"You honor me, lady," Titus said with a slight bow before resuming his cooking. Eleeza nodded with a smile before continuing.
"And this is my-" She couldn't finish introductions because the old woman cut her off, speaking her thoughts aloud.
"Some sort of spell clearly, but I've never heard of such a magic type capable of memory erasure. Maybe...an enchanted item? An Enigma? Couldn't be, most likely it's…"
She quickly stood up and walked over to me, pulling out my chair to gain better access to my body. Then she began running her hands and fingers through my hair and clothes, searching for something. At least, I hope she was; otherwise, this would be stranger than it already was.
"M-Mother?! What in Lalyira's name are you doing?" Eleeza shouted, almost jumping from her chair.
The elder didn't reply, just continuing her search until Eleeza tried to pull her away. Once they made contact, the old woman spun around to look her in the eyes.
"When you washed the gray one yesterday, did you see any rune spellforms on him?"
"Uh, n-no. He was quite dirty, but there was nothing like that on him anywhere. Did you see any when we washed Adrael, Titus?"
"I am sure I did not, lady," the butler replied while looking at the pot intently.
I know they are speaking of magic, but I'm not really sure what a 'rune spellform' is, and right now, I don't feel well enough to ask for a full explanation. I'll just have to learn some other time.
The old woman once again spun around. Then, she bent down to look at me and probe intensely. Her face only inches from mine as she rapidly tapped her chin with her finger.
"I thought it might be on his head due to his strange hair color. But his eyes are strange, too. I've never seen someone with such a color or this kind of trait combination. It makes me wonder whether he's actually human," the elder said.
"Well, maybe we can postpone the investigation until after lunch?" Titus suggested as he carried a tray of silver soup bowls and bread towards the dining table.
"Yes, that would be preferred."
Instead of the three in here, it was the man I'd seen briefly in the carriage who answered. I'm assuming he's Robertus Garnier, the head of this house, as Eleeza introduced him. He wore much more comfortable clothes now than when I last saw him, but his blond hair was still parted.
Once he stepped into the kitchen, it was as if someone had flipped a switch. Everyone was silent now, and Elancy quickly retreated to her seat. Robertus walked confidently to his chair at the head of the table and sat down. Titus passed out the dinnerware, but nobody touched their food.
Wow, it smells delicious. I thought.
Since arriving here, I hadn't eaten anything; the only nourishment I received was a ball of water forced into my mouth. It will be good to finally consume some food.
I reached for the spoon but stopped, then turned to look at everyone else. They were all staring at me, so I pulled my hand back and sat straighter.
“Hmpf.” Robertus grunted.
Then, he picked up his spoon and began to taste the soup.
"You may eat." He said after swallowing his first scoop.
Simultaneously, Eleeza and Elancy picked up their spoons. I followed as they did, and we all began eating in silence.
I'm not sure if that's some kind of standard practice in this area, but from the knowledge that isn't foggy, I don't think that wherever I used to live had the same custom. The questions I had flew to the back of my mind as the pleasure of finally receiving food overtook me.
"I'd rather have spiced fish today, but Eleeza begged for this peasant meal so you'd feel better."
I looked up from the bowl of life that I was scooping from. Robertus was glaring at me condescendingly. I shifted my eyes to Eleeza, who had a look of guilt on her face, not as much for herself but for me.
"Oh, well, thank you, Lady Eleeza," I said, moving my spoon back towards the soup. But before it could touch the broth, a sharp and scorching sensation filled my face. My vision was filled with white, and my ears started ringing.
Instinctively, I flinched, but my feet didn't touch the ground in this oversized chair, so I couldn't scoot back. There was suddenly screaming and shouting around me, though I couldn't fully make it out behind the loud whistling.
When my sight returned, I realized the dining table; specifically the spot right in front of me where my lunch was, had been burned away, leaving a charred, black half-circle hole in its wake.
I turned to look at everyone else. Titus was wetting a cloth, Elancy was standing behind her chair, looking worriedly at me, and Eleeza was arguing with Robertus. The ringing soon quieted, and I was finally able to hear again.
"-e should learn some damn manners before eating at my table!"
"He's clearly from a low family! You can't expect him to-! "
Before Eleeza could finish, Robertus slapped her across the face, sending her to the floor. Elancy seemed to want to help her daughter but ultimately looked towards the ground, deciding to stay where she was.
"You bitch! Remember whose house this is before you start raising your voice!"
Eleeza began crying softly, Titus came over to me with the wet rag, but Robertus stopped him before he could use it on me.
"Look at him, he's not even crying. He doesn't need help with some small burns."
The demon stormed towards me, kicking Eleeza as he stepped over her. Then he picked me up by my burned shirt and pulled me to his eye level.
"Tough boy, I think I'll keep you. Make you into a fine royal knight."
After saying so, he threw me to the floor so hard that little fireflies filled my vision. He followed that with a hard kick to the stomach, knocking the air clean out of me. I rolled onto my back as I struggled to breathe.
Minutes passed, my breath returned, and everything calmed down, so I sat up to see the situation.
Titus and Elancy were tending to Eleeza, but Robertus seemed to have left. I slowly stood and dusted myself off. Then I walked over to the three and kneeled.
"Are you ok, Lady Eleeza?" I asked.
"I'm a-alright, how about you? You're the one who got the worst of it." She said sadly.
Elancy slid over to me to check my wounds.
"Hmm, the gray one seems to have a fire affinity. Even though the fireball didn't hit you directly, it came awfully close. Luckily, your body seems resistant. You would have at least ended up with some moderate burns had it not been for that. These probably won't even scar."
I was glad to hear that I'll be fine. Still, Robertus is clearly not a nice guy, but it seems I'll be stuck with him for now.
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