The Unexpected

  I opened my eyes once again, staring up at the ceiling. It wasn't so unfamiliar this time. It had been three days since I first woke up in the room, and I hadn't left. The maid had been the only one who regularly entered to bring in food and ask about my well-being. I didn't feel like eating and when I did, I would only nibble on the wheat bread and drink water. The little girl from before also hadn't entered to see me since the first day when she only open the door and quickly closed it.

It all was, so much. Sitting in the room, I was able to remember a few things. The first, as hard as it was to believe, was that I died. I could only vaguely remember but I died along with my parents and little sister. This realization wasn't easy to come to terms with, but the glimpses of memory from that night made it clear as day. It was an attack I think. I could still feel the cold steel of a blade being thrust into your belly and how my body was bathed in the warmth of my own blood. The memory of that night was still a haze to picture how it all unfolded, but the feeling was real and etched into my brain and body as it shook from the realization. It was rather ironic remembering such a memory right after forgetting it.

The other thing I realized was that even though died I was still alive. After some time pondering i realized this wasn't the afterlife. I had awoken in the body of a pre-pubescent boy called Alrich. How that was possible I couldn't dare wrap my head around it. I was now in the body of a child four or five years younger than me, and it all felt unreal, like something you would read about in a storybook, yet it was all happening to me.

I finally had the chance to look into a mirror and to see how I, or well, how he looked like. He had short brown caramel-colored hair, the same as the little girl, and hazel-colored eyes to match. A plumb round face and chubby red cheeks. I had the urge to pull on them, thinking I'd probably wake up. It hurt to admit it but for a kid that looked to be ten or twelve, he looked better than I did.

There were other things I realized as I slept in the room. For example, the room and things inside all seemed old, without any appliance or hint of wiring. And the windows didn't show much; I only saw a vast forest and a little garden in front of the house from the first floor. There was no hint as to where this place was and which city I was in. If I wanted to understand anything, I would need to finally go out.

Taking steps in the new body was weird in every sense, but I got used to carrying myself around the room. Outside the door was a hallway with a few other doors. I opened a few of them and noticed they were as heavily decorated as the one I had slept inside. With that many rooms and decorations, it was obvious this was a rich family's house. It would explain why the maid called my young master. But then who was this Aldrich that I now had their body?

A door out of the few I passed was slightly opened. Curious, I took a peek inside. At first, it looked to be a library with books all over and packed all over, but on taking a closer look, it was too small, nevertheless still big on its own.

"Just a little..." someone muttered reaching for a book on a shelf above. It was the little girl from before.

"Is this what you want?" I handed her the book, still having to stretch for it.

I seemed to have startled her as she took her time to look at me before slowly replying. "I was trying to get the other one.", she said, pointing slightly at another book on the shelf.

"Oh, sorry. I'll get that one then," I replied, stretching again. The second time made me realize how short I had become, and I knew it would be a problem along the way.

"How... are you feeling now?"

"Oh, I'm feeling much better now. Thank you for asking.", I replied awkwardly, smiling as I reached for the shelf again`.

"We thank the heavens."

As I gave her the book, she did a slight bow with a whisper of thank you and run to sit on a stack of books. The room fell silent and awkward as she sat there quietly reading beside the large desk at the center of the room. Talking to children wasn't something I was great at doing, so I just ignored the silence and looked through the books without saying anything. The room looked to be more of a study as I looked around. The desk in the center had a few books on it, some open and others closed.

The girl muttered to herself as she read. Once, then twice, then a third.

"Did you say something?" I asked right away. She hesitated before answering.

"Could you please tell me how this is pronounced? It's a bit difficult to read...", she asked meekly, pointing to a page of the book.

"Sure thing. Which word?"

"This one here."

Her little finger pointed to a word within the top paragraph of the book, and I drew close to look, confident in my high-level English. My eyes widened as I glanced through the book. The words of the book almost looked alien. Sharp and squiggly characters mixed up. There was nothing in there my high school-level English could hope to challenge and win.

I stood there dumbfounded for a while before the girl called out to me.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing, it's nothing. Umm, what language are you learning?" I asked, trying to find an excuse.

"This book is a storybook Father gave me...", she replied softly without saying anything else.

I looked back at the book and the word, trying not to look dumb. I squinted my eyes in hopes of making something out. And weirdly enough, i was about to make something out.

"Necessary." I paused for a bit before repeating the word again. "The word is necessary," I said.

"Necessary..." she repeated just as I did, looking back at the boo.

How did I know that? It didn't even look remotely similar to the English word, yet I pronounced it right away.

"It is necessary, right?" I asked for reassurance.

"Is the word not necessary, as you said?"

"No, it is necessary."

"It's, necessary?"

"No, I mean the word."

"But you did say that was the word. Is it not?"

"Ah, no no, it is. That's the word. Sorry."

I gave up after losing myself midway through the conversation. It still was amazing I could read that in the first place. The word popped into my head. It still confused me. I picked up a book from the shelf and it was the same. By looking at the text for a while, I could read the word, the sentence, and then the whole paragraphs. I did not want to begin to understand how that was possible, but I guessed it was due to the body I was in. It still felt weirdly magical and awesome.

After reading through the book, the little girl broke the silence again.

"This was father's study.", she paused. "He used to bring me here when he had work in Ashen."

She wore the same lonely expression she had back in the room.

"Father had wanted to bring you here as well, but you were always busy with the academy."

The mood of the room had just shifted. She was talking about her parents, Aldrich's parents. People I was supposed to know as him, yet didn't. I could only stand still, grasping a book in silence. What was I to say when I had never seen or known the people she spoke of?

Another awkward silence emerged between us as neither spoke. The door to the study swung open as the maid entered—a godsent intervention.

"Miss Nyla, it's time for your afternoon lessons.", she called out to the girl before looking behind the door to notice me. "Oh, young master, I didn't know you were awake. I hope you are feeling much better now?"

"Yes, I am, thank you.", I replied, slightly bowing. She frowned slightly as I did that.

"I'll be right there." the girl responded as she got up.

The girl's deminer almost seemed too mature for her age, a far cry from how she was in the room a few days ago. Again I could not say a word as she excused herself and walked away. I gave out a sigh of breath.

"Is there something the matter, Young master?"

"Oh, no, it's nothing at all."

"Mr. Albert has arrived and would like to meet you downstairs."

I froze for a moment as I placed the book back on itself.

"Oh, ok.", I responded nervously. "Should, I change clothes?"

"No, it's fine. The wouldn't be necessary."

"OK...". I slowly followed her as she went out of the study.

Downstairs was as spacious as upstairs, decorated with ornaments, making me question again who Aldrich really was and where I was. The questions I ask might be answered when I speak with this person. The main living room had an actual bear-skinned rag, and a boar head mounted on the wall. They looked so real and fierce to be fake. A few scars ran down the bear's pelt, which made me wonder who was brave enough to face such a thing head-on. Upfront in the main hall was where the butler stood.

"Oh! Young master! A pleasure to see you are doing well!", the man greeted with a bow. The title of Young Master was something I wasn't going to get used to. I nervously nodded and bowed in reply as I took a long look at him. He looked like a stern man, possibly well around his 40s, with slick back gray hair, and a mustache. And just like the maid, he wore a suit of black and white. He had everything to be right to be called a butler.

"Hmm? Do I perhaps have something on my face?" the man asked, noticing me staring for too long.

"Oh, no, forgive me for staring.", I replied in a half-hearted attempt to sound formal.

"Haha, not at all. My face does need a little trimming. But please, sit."

The joke he made lightened up the mood, but by the moment we both sat, the mood had tensed up again. I didn't know a thing about this man or anyone, and if he asked questions, I wouldn't be able to answer. But as we both sat there with his eyes glued to me, he slowly lowered his head.

"I thank the heavens once more that our young master is out of harm's way and apologies that as the servant of the master and mistress, I was not able to do anything."

It took me by surprise, but he continued.

"Miss Lina has informed me of your slight amnesia and what happened."

"Yeah..." I hesitated in response.

"Very well then, I shall take no time in delaying." He gave me a long stare before continuing. "Young master Aldrich, your parents have passed away in a bandit attack as your carriage returned home from the capital of Fallmiul. You were the only survivor."

My heart tugged in response to what it heard but my mind quickly thought of the little girl. "That means she..." I aired out without realizing it. Back then, the little girl was talking about her parents, that had just passed away.

"It has been one week since the incident, and we are trying our hardest to apprehend the people responsible for this." He paused and looked at me. "I am grateful that your life-treating wound on your belly has managed to heal with this time."

I quickly raised my shirt up to look at it. It was the same place where I recalled being stabbed, almost the same size too.

"Have there been any other issues, Miss Lina?"

"None. The young master is well and only needs to rest for a few nights." the maid replied as she stood behind me.

"Good. Young master?" he looked at me with a serious expression. "With the master and the mistress no more, it is now up to you to head the Silford family.

"Wait. What, but he's... I'm still too-"

"Many have taken the role of the family head at an age even younger than yourself. And as a third-rate merchant family, it is crucial that we prevent any such opportunities for our enemies to use. Do you understand?"

I looked down at the table in front of us. I wasn't ready to understand what he meant by all of that. It was incredible that I hadn't passed out from all the information I had received. The maid placed a hand on my shoulders to comfort me.

"Young master." the man called again. "It is a lot to take in, I know. No child should have their parents taken from them at this age. As servants, it is a shame that I stand here in all my well-being while you feel such pain. Do not think that you will be left alone to handle such a burden. We will always be here to aid you however we can."

His head was bowed as he said these words. I cried for some reason, probably because those were the words I wanted to hear at the moment. I wiped the tears and also bowed my head, replying with a thank you before he raised his head.

There was a surprise on his face, but he quickly smiled soon after.

"The academy's debut ceremony and examinations will also be in two weeks. It's sudden with everything that has happened, but you must be ready. It is an important event for the entire kingdom."

Hearing examination within his sentence wasn't something I was happy about.

He got up and bowed again. "I must return to Bluma City to make a few arrangements."

"Would it take you long?" the maid asked, moving towards him.

"Not at all. There are a lot of arrangements, but it shouldn't take me more than four days."

" I understand."

The man paused and looked towards the stairs. "Cancel all the young mistress's lessons for the week."

"All of them?"

"Yes. She has been through a lot as well. She deserves the rest."

"I will see to it then."

"And do have some rest as well, Miss Lina. Rest is important to maintain your beauty." the man jested as the maid only smiled opening the door for him.

As the maid opened the entrance, I could see the sunlight peering through. Thinking about it, I had never gone outside the house since being there, and I didn't know where I was. The towns and cities that they had mentioned sounded foreign too. I followed them outside, feeling the soft breeze of the wind that blew. It felt nice.

What I could see as my eyes wondered about was a garden in front of the house and a road leading down into a town. The rest was just patches of forest and vegetation scattered about. I couldn't tell which country I was in with just the buildings alone.

What caught me off guard the most was what I saw at the other end of the road as it pulled up to the mansion. It would have easily been mistaken for a horse with how it galloped, but it was entirely bigger than a horse if I ever saw one. A cross between a yak and a horse would be my best description of how it looked. Whatever popped into your mind when I said that is probably the correct image of how they look. The two beasts looked ferocious as they clapped their hooves on the road and thrashed their head side to side, drawing the coach. I stared in confusion at the animals, ignoring the driver's greetings to the man and me.

"Good day. How has business been?" the man responded to his greeting.

"It's going well, sir. Good day to you too, Miss." the driver nodded to the man and the maid.

My eyes were forever glued to whatever horses these animals were supposed to be. Was it another cross-genetic experiment by scientists with too much funding? Whatever they were, it had me second-guessing what was going on, something I had been doing too often since arriving in this place. I would have wanted to move closer to see more of the creatures, but the maid pushed me back with her hand. With my eyes meeting one of them and with how fierce it looked back at me, I was surprised how the driver had been able to control them with how much they thrashed about. They did it a little bit too much, and it began to seem like a problem even for the driver.

"Wow girls, what's got you spooked?" the driver exclaimed, tugging at their rope. "The yelks are never like this." Tugging their rope seemed only to make it worse as they started to stand up on their hind legs, kicking. Like with everything that had happened so far, l only watched, the maid pushed me further behind her.

Just ahead on the road was a boy approaching the scene.

"Sir! The bridge ahead of the town seems to be open for you to use!", the boy shouted running. That seemed to be the stick that broke the camel's back, or in this case, the yelk's - as the man called it, as one of them broke its stripes, heading for the boy. Another amazing thing about these animals was how fast it was able to close the distance between themselves and the boy. With that speed, the boy didn't have a chance.

"Miss Lina?", the man called to the maid with her only nodding. With a gust of wind around her, she disappeared from my side, racing passing the yelk towards the boy's side.

"Oh, young master Aldrich, lest I forget.", the man said, lifting up his hand. My mind quickly moved from him towards the maid and the boy as a wall appeared from underneath the ground behind the maid, using it as a platform to push herself and the boy upwards over the yell in another gust of wind. Before I knew it, the yelk had hit the wall and the maid and the boy had landed perfectly on the ground. "Young Master, do remember to practice your magic."

I looked back at him as he wore an honest smile on his face. Without thinking I replied.

"Yeah...sure."