I slowly open my eyes.
I yawn, stretching my back and my entire body.
"Huh? What are these bandages on my body?"
My eyes focus on the bandage tied around my ribs, chest and waist. I touch my forehead and I also feel the bandage on my forehead.
I take a look around the room where I am. It's different, it's sparsely furnished, yet better than the room I grew up in.
I smile wryly.
I survived... They all thought that I wouldn't, they thought I'd die... And what that Phoenix said...
I shake my head. "No, now isn't the time."
I stand up from the bed.
Then, at that moment, the door opened.
I turned to look at the figure at the door.
Crash!
A ceramic bowl filled with water and a rag falls from the hands of the maid and breaks.
Drip drip.
Tears pour on the floor from her cheek.
I smile warmly.
"I told you I won't die."
I look at her face.
It's rumpled, she's sniffling and tears roll down her cheek.
"Y–you're awake."
Jennette chokes with emotions and starts crying like a baby.
"I thought you were dead.. we– we.. all did, I thought I'd lost you, I thought I'd never see you again." She continues crying profusely and runs to hug me.
I flinch, and a startled expression flashes on my face, then I smile and hug her back.
She's kneeling to hug me because of my height. I hold her and pat her back.
Her regality really deflates around me..
I smile warmly.
"There there. I'm alive."
I pat her back.
***
"I've been unconscious for three days? And.. he changed my residence to the Family's main residence?"
I ask Jennette, my hand on my chin, I keep caressing it, forgetting that I no longer have a goatee.
She nods solemnly.
"Yes. The Patriarch ordered it."
"That Ice Cold demon did? Why?"
I ask, surprise mixing in my facial expression.
I'm sitting on my bed and Jennette is sitting next to me.
"I don't know. He said something about you being a genius... Oh! And he ordered me to tell you to meet him as soon as you're awake."
Jennette smiles broadly, her voice is no longer shaky and filled with sorrow, it's firm and is back to the dignified tone that I recognize.
I smile slightly and let out a soft "Okay, I'll go meet him," my eyes still focusing on her, I decide to ask her about the thing that's been bothering me.
"And what are these low green rings of light that are circling you? It's weird and new."
Her face contorted into an inquisitive expression as if to ask 'What the hell are you talking about?' and she forced a fake smile on her lips and looked at me.
"W–What do you mean Charlie–No.. I mean Young Master Charles?"
The smile on my face faded, Young Master.., it's weird hearing her call me that, after all, I grew up hearing her call me Charlie.
"Never mind, my eyes were just a bit groggy." I clean my eyes, feigning innocence.
I see.. based on her facial expression and her reply, I can assume that I'm the only one who can see this.. sight.
I look around the room, and I see strings of different colors of dim lights everywhere, floating in the air, on the bed, on everything.
I look outside the window that overlooks a garden of flowers, with the gardeners cautiously tending them. I can see little strings of light wrapped around the gardeners, the color is like moonlight. Then two teenagers walk past the gardeners, they're wearing blue uniforms like students, and I see red rings of light revolving around them.
I turn to look at Jennette, she's surprised by the way I'm looking around the room and gazing outside the window, to her, I'm displaying an odd behavior, almost like I'm insane.
"He also told me that I could stay in the main residence too, but in a room reserved for maids.. He did that because.." she smiles wryly. "Because I raised you– a genius."
What is all this nonsense about me being a genius?
I'm slightly annoyed by the new change in treatment from the Patriarch.
"That's good. I want to go shower now so I can go meet him." I tell Jennette with a stern voice.
She looks at me for a second, at my face, my body and then my eyes before sighing.
"...Okay" she stands up from my bed, cleans up the broken bowl of water and heads out of my room.
"Now... what's this?"
With Jennette gone...
I look at myself. I see a darkness. A single Plain ring of darkness revolving around me, it's eery and it's as if the darkness is rippling the space around it as it revolves around me.
This can't be good. Although I've not seen many people, but on the few people I've seen. They have rings of either warm moon-like light around them or green or even red. But I have a... What even is this darkness?
I ponder, my back is straight, and I'm tensed about my sudden discovery.
"This can't be normal..."
I shake my head, I have other things to do. I don't have time to keep thinking about something that I know nothing about, who knows if it's an ominous thing or not? Just because it's dark doesn't mean it's bad, I mean this world might be different... I think... I hope...
I stand up to go take a shower.
***
I've removed the bandages wrapped on my body, revealing my body– and I'm pretty sure this wasn't how I looked before entering the pool.
I stand in front of the mirror, having an intense staring contest with my reflection.
And then I look at my body.
"Isn't this body just 4 years old? How can it have muscles like this? It's Odd."
My reflection in the mirror shows a short, mildly muscular child. Having defined muscles as a four year old child wasn't on my list of things to do if I die.
I rub my forehead and let out a sigh.
I dress up in a white shirt and leather pants and I walk out of my room, heading to go meet the Patriarch.
***
Knock Knock!
I knock on the door.
"It's Charles."
My voice rings and echoes in the silence.
"Come in."
I hear his voice. Cold, indifferent, lacking emotion, depth or any warmth.
I open his door and walk in.
My eyes widen at the sight of the red rings of light revolving around him. They're... Eight. And they're shining brightly, like the sun. I turn my gaze to the ground.
I curtsy.
"I greet the Patria–"
"You." A smirk shaped on his face.
"You're really an entertaining child."
He breaks his usual icy cold demeanor and smiles like a child who just found a perfectly good toy to play with.
I swallow hard. Tensing my body and preparing for whatever he's about to throw at me.
"What... What do you mean, sir?"
I ask with a hint of caution.
His eyes widen. He's surprised.
His kids probably haven't asked him anything before, at least when they were my age. Not that I'd blame them, this man is scary.
"You didn't die. And looking at your body, it seems you even went through a body reconstruction. This is the first time it's ever happened to a Flameworth in hundreds of years." A creepy smile emerges on his face, going ear to ear, showing his long canines.
"You're a Genius Charles, no, more than a genius– You're a prodigy. Staying in that water for two weeks and surviving means you didn't pass out, you held your breath in that water for two weeks!"
I can see a dangerous flash of madness in his eyes. He's excited, dangerously so, and it feels like I can hear his heartbeat directly inside my head, beating like loud drums.
"I'm wondering if you should begin training now, why wait until next year? But hmm.." He drops his excited demeanor in an instant and sinks back into his chair.
"You haven't had your affinity detecting test yet. Okay.. after that test, you'll begin your official training to become a flame mage..."
I stand there, at the door, looking at him who sat on his chair, over his table of books and documents and a plate of cake. His black-gloved hands caress his jaw as he's deep in thought.
I don't like the sound of that...