I had just released a sigh and fell back onto the bed after examining my Status when I heard a knock, followed by the sound of the door to the room opening. I sat up and turned towards the door only to suddenly feel a pair of arms wrap around me while my head was pushed into between two rather ample, though disappointingly clothed breasts.
"You've finally awoken, you poor child, it's okay I'm here." A somewhat low and gentle woman's voice practically whispered in my ear. Slightly panicking I struggled and tried to extract myself from the woman's embrace. Confused and flustered I looked at the woman in who had suddenly intruded and hugged me.
Her strawberry blond hair was like the setting sun, pulled into a single tight braid that flowed down her back. Her bright amber eyes were filled with empathy as if they could provide me comfort. Her white sleeves were loose and gently swayed back and forth while her seemingly loose red dress hugged her waist due to a belt from which hung a few items, revealing a figure that was quite curvy. Her smooth sun-kissed skin contrasted greatly against mine which seemed like a porcelain dolls.
Probably seeing my confused expression the woman quickly released me. "Sorry you must be confused, I got ahead of myself." She lightly coughed as if she could rid herself of her embarrassment before sitting next to me on the bed. "My name is Marian Eldur, I am Duke Eldur's wife and starting today, your new mother."
"Eh?" It took me a moment to process what she said, and even then the only thing I said was, "Excuse me?" I didn't even know where to start asking questions, but before I could Marian began to explain, a sorrowful look coming across her face.
"My husband didn't tell me everything, but according to him a patrol of knights tasked with thinning the numbers of dangerous monsters in the Forest of Darkness came across the corpse of a badly burnt Arachne. You were clutched in its arms, alive, but badly injured. When the men brought you back and had a healer treat you, it was revealed that you have inherited a phoenix's blood. The phoenix is the Eldur family's guardian spirit and my husband said that it must have been fate that brought you to us. The paperwork finished this morning so you've officially been adopted as our third daughter."
My mind raced as a myriad of emotions spun around in my head. My memories of my Awakening were hazy, but I did recall that my mother had been panicked, and that at some points she'd screamed in pain. Rationally, I knew it wasn't really my fault, there was nothing I could have done to prevent such, unless I had known about the future.
However, despite the fact that I had nearly thirty years of memories, my body was that of a five year old girl. I could feel myself shaking, while hot tears began to form and steak down my cheeks despite my efforts to prevent such. I didn't want to show weakness or vulnerability to some stranger I'd never met, yet when Marian gently embraced me once again, I couldn't prevent the rush of sorrow and guilt that washed through my body. Like a breaking dam, by tears began to leak, before it completely broke and I began to uncontrollably sob while wailing with grief.
I was unsure of how long I cried into her arms, but when I eventually calmed down and pulled away from Marian I could see a somewhat large area that had been dampened by my tears. I reflexively sniffled as I rubbed my eyes to clear them, while Marian ran her hand through my hair. As she did so I took some time to sort through my feelings and thoughts. This experience had taught me that I was not as in control of myself as I'd like to be. In my past life, those I worked with thought me emotionless, as I had no issue suppressing myself and focusing on the task at hand. I hadn't always been like that but the events that had transpired made me like that. It was clear to me that I while I had my memories, I was no longer the same person, and likely as time passed I'd change even more.
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