Chapter One: New life, new struggles

Where am I? My eyes quickly dart around the room. This room was way too nice to be a prison or torture room. It's nicely painted, has elegant drapes, a large comfy bed, and even the blanket is embroidered in a fancy design. There's probably more, but the room was dim, and my body felt sluggish and unresponsive. Speaking of body, I push my sluggish body up and move to the side of the bed.

I feel around my forehead but notice a lack of a gunshot wound, or any wound for that matter. Odd, I could have sworn that I was shot in the head. Looking down at my leg, and sure enough, there was no wound and no broken leg. However, something is off. It seems like my legs are shorter.

How can my legs shrink? Maybe I'm just out of it, or perhaps the room and bed are just too large. Is this some kind of new torture technique? *sigh* Overthinking things will get me nowhere. Time to investigate the strangely large room.

I jump down from the bed and quickly realize the height difference between me and the bed. The bed was so large that my shoulders barely peaked over its side. Why did they even make a bed this size? Hell, I can't even imagine how much one would even cost. Looking to my left, I see a nightstand that is shockingly just as large. Alright, I guess I got taken by giants or something.

Whatever, I turn around and start walking towards the other end of the room. At the other end, I see a large object reflecting light around the room. It's a mirror... *sigh* a large mirror. Though the light is dim, it's enough for me to see my reflection. I look into it, but the person in the mirror doesn't look like me. The face lacks scars, the hair is straight and well-kept, and the eyes are blue, not brown. The only thing that seems the same is the cold, soulless gaze that my eyes give off.

Just what in the hell is going on? Would the military go this far to mess with me? Ok, Stop Think Observe Plan. Take a deep breath and work this out. Let's see, I was shot trying to flee from the military. Then, I woke up in a strangely large room without any injuries. My face and appearance are not mine, and this room is too nice to be a prison.

Okay, I can think of two possible scenarios. Scenario one: I have been captured and turned into a living doll and sold off to some rich pervert as punishment for everything I have done. Scenario two: I have been reborn/reincarnated, like in one of those shows my brother used to watch. The second one is more plausible, considering it would explain the large room because the room isn't bigger, but I have just gotten smaller.

*Clap, clap, clap* I quickly turn around and see a tall figure slowly approaching me. "It hasn't even been five minutes, and you have already figured out what happened to you." The tall figure slowly steps into the light. "You know, the last person I reincarnated panicked and cried for almost an hour before I had to step in."

Now that the figure was entirely in the light, I could see her feminine features. I'm not one for fashion, but her clothes seemed to have the impression of the goddess or some divine being, and her ...assets... were very pronounced, and she wanted to emphasize them. "How rude to stare at a goddess's body. To think I summoned another pervert." That kinda sounds like a you problem. I mean, you're the one who put on that ridiculous outfit.

*sigh* Whatever, god or not, an enemy is an enemy. "I wasn't staring. I was assessing a potential threat. If you didn't want people to look, then maybe you should have dressed more modestly." She gave me an annoyed glare. "Wow, would it kill you to at least play along? The last one was so fun to tease, but you have shown no emotion whatsoever. Then again, that cold, calculating attitude is the reason why I summoned you." The reason why she summoned me? So that means she wants something from me in exchange for a new life.

"Bingo, there is something that I need you to do." Wait, did she just read my thou.. "yes. I can read your thoughts, even those comments about me being an enemy and how I dress. Well, as long as you are here in your dream." Dream? "Yes, technically, you are dreaming, but I have hijacked it to talk to you. My ability to interact with the world is limited, so this is the best way to talk to you." Great, now my nightmares will be filled with a skimpy so-called goddess.

"Hey, I told you that I could rea..." "You summoned me here to do something. So what is it that you want?" She looked perplexed, almost like no one had ever cut off her useless ramblings before, or maybe she had never been talked to with such a stern tone. "You know you could benefit from not being so serious all the time, but fine straight to the point, I guess. Well, all of the gods are having a little game to see which of their followers will take over the world. War is inevitable, so I figured someone good at it would be a perfect summon, unlike the last one."

"So you summoned me because you believe I am capable of doing that." "Correct, I believe you have the skills necessary to defeat the other God's followers. After all, I'm the goddess of humanity, so you have quite a difficulty curve."That's not something to be proud of.

"You're right, but humans are the weakest of the races and probably won't survive wars that will eventually happen. That's why you're here, little Miss Angel of Death. With your skills of being a cold-blooded terrorist, you could turn our hopeless fight around." "And what makes you think I will help you?" "What do you mean? I brought you back to life." "You're assuming that I want to live and, let alone be a pawn to some failure of a god."

"Listen here, you don't have a choice. You're stuck here, and your new home will be engulfed in war whether you help me or not." "Then the choice is easy. I'm done being other people's pawn." This is my dream, right? So, if I concentrate, I should be able to create a weapon. I focus my thoughts on the handgun that I always carry with me. Sure enough, the gun appears in my hand.

Racking the slide back, I can see that the gun is loaded. I aim the gun directly at her head. "Do you think that's going to work on me? I am a goddess, and you cannot physically hurt me." " who said it was for you." "Huh?" She had a puzzled look, like she didn't know what I meant. That doesn't surprise me. She doesn't seem to be very bright. I take a deep breath, and I point the gun at my head. "Wait, what are you... " Without a single hesitation, I squeeze the trigger.

I quickly sit up and gasp for air. Ow, even though that was a dream, it still hurt. There was no wound, but the side of my head was in quite a deal of pain. Looking around, sure enough, I was in the same room as the dream. Now, let's see if the mirror shows the same thing. I get down off the tall bed and walk over to the mirror.

Yup, it's the same face I saw in the dream, but now that the room is lit by the sunlight coming through the windows, I can see much more in the reflection. I have been born into some type of nobility. My clothes were very elegant and frilly, and this room looked well-kept and was filled with expensive furniture. Just who am I? Where am I? What kind of world is this?

*sigh * Don't overthink things; the only way I'm going to get answers is to find the answers. Let's start with what kind of world this is. Judging from the light coming from the windows, it's probably morning. The windows are covered in elegant-looking curtains. By their looks, they aren't silk but very well made.

I open the curtains to reveal a bright light that blinds me for a second. My eyes slowly adjust to the blinding morning sunlight. Out the window, I see a sizeable town with buildings that have a late medieval or maybe an early renaissance look. Judging from the size of the town, I would say it probably has a population of around two thousand or more. Assuming that this might be a large town in this world, that would place my family pretty high in nobility. That would explain the extravagant bedroom.

*knock, knock* Someone was knocking on the door to my room. The door slowly opens. "Pardon me, but breakfast is ready." A lady dressed in a maid outfit enters the room. She looked to be in her early twenties or late teens. Her hair was brown and put into a ponytail, and her eyes were a light brown.

"Is there something wrong, Lenka? You look white as a ghost." Wait, she called me Lenka? That was my name before I died. Is it a coincidence or divine intervention? Either way, I should play along and find out more about who I am in this world.

"I'm fine. I just woke up from a nightmare." "Another one? If you would like, I could go ask the physician for some remedies." "No, I'll be fine. You said breakfast was ready?" "Yes." I started walking towards the doorway, but she stepped in front of me. "Lenka, you are old enough to understand that a lady shouldn't go out in her nightgown."

Right... I never really thought about my clothes. Guess I'm used to wearing whatever doesn't have a ton of holes or is covered in blood. It didn't cross my mind that people might have clothes just to sleep in. She let out a sigh.

"Do you need help getting dressed?" "If you don't mind." She walked past me to the dresser and started opening the drawers. "I don't mind, but your father is worried that his only child is wasting her talents." Well, I just learned that I'm an only child in this world, but I am curious about what she means by talents.

"What do you mean I'm wasting my talents?" She grabs a dress from the dresser and then turns to me. "What I mean is that you are eight years old and have been severely neglecting your studies. You can barely read and write. I understand that you may still be grieving the loss of your mother, but you need to put your cleverness to better use. You are starting to get a reputation for being this house's fool." She handed me the dress and then went back to looking through the drawers.

There is quite a bit to unpack there, but now I know that I am eight years old, which would explain my size. If my old memories are anything to go by, it would explain a lot. In my old life, my mom wanted me to learn the violin, but I would always skip out on practice and visit my dad's shop. We would both end up getting scolded by Mom.

I do wonder why my life in this world started at eight. Does it have to do with the fact that my brain isn't fully developed yet? I guess trying to cram eighteen years worth of knowledge into a baby would probably not be a good thing. The maid grabs a pair of stockings from the dresser. She took the dress out of my hands and put it on the bed with the stockings.

"Turn around and raise your arms." I did what she said. She grabbed the bottom of my nightgown and lifted it off of me. This is probably the part that most people would freak out, but unfortunately, I am used to people seeing me in my underwear. I mean, it's hard to fix battle wounds if your clothes are in the way. Plus, I don't think anyone can invade my privacy more than a doctor digging into my chest cavity to remove a bullet and then draining blood out to reinflate my lung. The maid took the dress and put it over me and then fastened the strings on the back to tighten it. The dress was very nice. It was blue with black embroidered accents. She grabbed the stockings, kneeled, and started tapping her knee.

Taking the hint, I lifted my dress a little and placed my leg on her knee. Grabbing my foot, she slid the stocking over my leg. The stockings are black with an embroidered design at the top. They were surprisingly comfortable and warm. In the past, I never had the luxury of having feminine clothes like dresses. It was always handy-downs or whatever was available.

The maid walked over to the door and grabbed a pair of boots that were beside the door. She put the boots on my feet and tied the laces. The boots were oddly ordinary. I guess boots at this time are already somewhat expensive, or maybe it's more a utility thing rather than being fashionable.

"Now, Lenka, I do hope next time you will be able to do this yourself. After all, your father would like you to be a little less reliant on us." I'm a little surprised but also quite impressed. I didn't think that a noble's maid could talk down to their masters. Maybe my father allows them to scold me.

"My apologies. I will do it by myself from now on." The maid gives me a very shocked look. "... you are?" I guess my sassy trouble making younger self got to her. I would feel kind of bad, but it's not like I have any memories of what I put her through. "Well... I guess even a broken clock works sometimes, but let's see how long you will keep dressing yourself." I must have struck a nerve with her.

"Well, come on before breakfast gets cold." she opens the door and walks out of the room. I follow her out into a long hallway. The hallway has nice wood flooring and wooden paneling on the walls, and there are large paneled windows on one side, and on the other side is lined with a few doors. There were three rooms on this side of the hallway, and then there is a gap and what looked like three more rooms.

The room I came out of is the last one at the end of the hallway. The gap in the middle of the hallway is for the staircase that leads downstairs. Downstairs, there is a large foyer with several rooms off the sides. I followed the maid downstairs into the room on the left. Inside was a large rectangular table with five chairs on both long sides and one chair on each end. The room has many cabinets with plates and drinking glasses in them.

The maid pulled out the chair on the end closest to us and then gestured for me to sit. I sat down, and she pushed my chair toward the table. It's an odd feeling to be so small again and to have my feet dangle from the chair. There is also a pillow on the chair to boost me up so I can properly see over the table.

I would say it is nice to be a kid again, but years of war and suffering don't exactly just disappear. After all, you can leave the war, but it never really leaves you. Another maid enters the room from a door in the back. She is carrying a tray of food to the table. The maid looks maybe in her mid-forties, has gray hair in a ponytail, and her eyes are a light brown. Both of the maids look alike, and they are probably mother and daughter.

"Good morning, Lenka. Here is your breakfast. Please enjoy." She puts down a bowl and a plate on the table in front of me. Then she gives a bow, and walks to the side of the room, and waits next to the other maid. The bowl looks to contain some kind of oatmeal, and the plate has two eggs and bread on it. It's not the extravagant noble meal I was expecting, but it looks a lot better than the MREs I used to eat. I start eating and quickly notice how bland the food is.

It's not bad. It's just flavorless, but I guess I shouldn't expect too much, considering the time period we are in. Salt seems to be a go-to spice, or maybe the only spice that seems to be used, unless they keep the better spices for special dinners. There is still a lot I need to learn about where I am and who I am. Lack of knowledge and information always leads to terrible things. I've had many injuries and near-death experiences in my past life from lacking crucial information. If I can help it, I would prefer not to relive those experiences.

As soon as I finish my meal, a person walks into the room from the foyer. "Good morning, my lord." both maids say in unison as they bow. The man has elegant clothes, short salt and pepper hair, a small beard, blue eyes, and looks to be mid to late thirties. Judging by his looks and the maids' reactions, I probably assume that he is my father in this world.

He sits down in the seat to the right of me. "Sorry for my late arrival, Annabelle, but I was busy dealing with a problem that came up. Could you please get me my food?" "Not a problem, my lord; it will only take a minute." The older maid then quickly left through the door in the back of the room. The man looks at me and then at the food I have finished.

"Mary, I see that your plan has started to work. You have my thanks." "You're welcome, my lord; let's hope that it continues to work." Both of them look at me and give a slight chuckle. "If you may excuse me, my lord. I will be taking Lenka to her lessons."

"Okay, but do make sure that she doesn't escape this time." She glares at me with a very hostile intent. "Will do my lord." She pulls the chair back and then grabs my hand, and pulls me along. I'm guessing that the food, as well as Mary's attitude towards me, is some form of discipline for my actions.

Whatever, I don't care; I mean, food is food, and people treating me like crap is nothing new. If anything, this is a vast improvement from my past life. Plus, I got some useful information from this exchange. I learned that the younger maid is named Mary, and the older one is Annabelle. It's a good thing to know. After all, it would be odd for someone you have probably known for your whole life to just completely forget your name.

I'm curious about what these lessons entail. I will admit that I am feeling anxious about not knowing anything about the world that I am in. For all I know, at the moment, this world could be absolute hell. Well, at the very least, I know that Mary has a very strong intent to make me learn, judging by how hard she is holding onto my hand and pulling me along with her. We go up the stairs, and then she stops and looks at me. "You won't be escaping me this time, so don't even try it. I'm tired of getting lectured by my mother." She tightens her grip and pulls me along. *sigh* New life, new struggles.