Despite (or perhaps because) it was already mid-afternoon, the kitchen was fast. They even suggested setting up the folding table against the back wall of the stable, where we could enjoy the warm afternoon and the view over the roofs of Krenburg. Which we enjoyed indeed, especially after being down there and back up again. But foremost, we enjoyed the large raw cabbage salad with a sweet and spicy wine sauce. Even the cabbage was excellent, as I could now tell from my travels. Although I would have eaten a welk one at this point ... The same went for Larina, who had even more body mass to sustain.

And lucky for me, the food was free for the lady. Because now, I was totally broke. However, that thought lingered in the background. The main attention was on the rapidly diminishing contents of the bowl. A sacrilege, in view of the truly excellent taste.

The bowl was almost empty when Freya came through the back door of the stables. "There you are! I looked all over the castle."

"Please try the cabbage salad. Here." I shoved a forkful into Freya's mouth before her high brain function could veto it.

"Ok, well, tasty," she admitted, chewing. Then she shook her head. "Kiara."

"Lady Kiara, please," Larina interjected, nodding towards the grooms, who were also relaxing in the sun.

"What?" Freya stopped herself. "Lady Kiara, the mage was awake for a moment and asked for you."

I nearly knocked over the table. "Going," I said, still chewing. "Where?"

Freya ran ahead. "To the healer's room."

And off I went, still chewing.

* * *

The door of the healer's room to the courtyard was wide open to let in the warm, dry air. As soon as I entered, a healer came by. "Lady Kiara, thank you for coming," and led me to the bed with the mage. The bed was set back from the wall so that the healers could walk around it.

Defying my expectations of wizards, he was more teenager than man and did not resemble an old crook with a beard. Perhaps only a little older than Freya.

In my original world, I would have said twenty or so. There were neither wounds nor bandages on his face. Just a dry, smelly substance covered the upper left part of his head. Only his right arm was not under the blanket.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, light as a feather. "Thank you for coming, Lady Kiara." I did not have to turn: This was the senior healer's mindspeak. "I shall examine him." He removed his hand and bowed over the mage. Then he simply tapped the mage's forehead with his finger, as if he were touching a glowing stone.

The mage opened his eyes. And he opened them wider. "Kash," he said in a hoarse voice, and then he began to smile. "Kash so rrayon kash!" The senior healer translated. "You, it is really you. He speaks Kwal." Well, I could have guessed that after Larina's demonstration this morning. And then the mage began to speak more in Kwal, and the senior sealer answered in Kwal as well. The mage fell silent. The senior healer asked me to introduce myself.

I racked my brain for a more fitting greeting for a mage who knew me and knew about centaurs. But my vocabulary left me no choice but the bare basics. "Hello. I am Lady Kiara of Earth. Nice to meet you." I bowed.

"Verry good, you can shpeak," the mage croaked in Kren. And he switched back to Kwal.

The senior healer sighed. "Dear Mage, Sir. I do not speak Kwal very well. Shall we do mindspeak?"

The mage stopped. "I'm sorr-rry," he said slowly again in Kren, badly mangled by his hoarse voice and the Kwal accent, "Yourr name is Kiarra, yes? My name is Tarik. I, I," he struggled for words, "I made you. I worrked half yearr." The harsh accent did not suit his smile or his young face.

"Thank you. You making good," I smiled, it was meant honestly. But was it appropriate to stand in front of my creator? "Yutan, please translate." I put the healer's hand back on my shoulder. "Tell him I am very grateful for this second chance at life. And he has done well, this body is great. Especially climbing trees is so much fun."

The senior healer looked at me critically but managed to catch my gibberish and turn it into proper Kren sentences.

Now the mage wanted to know what language I spoke, and I just said Earth, since I could not remember that either. And I told him how I had awoken and remembered the original life of my human soul.

He became even more agitated. So much so that the senior healer put him back to sleep with another finger tap on his forehead.

"I am sorry, Lady Kiara, as you can see, he has not fully recovered from the shock. And he needs more rest or his injuries will not heal properly. But he insisted on seeing you and did not speak of anything else".

Not only the mage was shocked, I was shaken, very much out of my mind. So this young mage had created me, had worked on my body (whatever that meant) for half a year? Now I fully understood how Luke Skywalker felt when he learned that Darth Vader was his father. Unfortunately, lacking laser swords and devoided of the Force, Skywalker had nothing to teach on how to cope.

Without a word, I left the senior healer and went outside. Freya was waiting for me. Before she could say anything, I just uttered, "My room" and started walking. To Freya's credit, she kept quiet and jogged along.

The room had been cleaned, even the blankets had been changed for bigger ones, with clean sheets. A very thoughtful servant had also given me a scented water bowl with a floating flower. Obviously to clean my paws. I dipped them in and wiped them on the towel beside the bowl, a most welcome detail. Then the encounter with the mage came back with force. I turned to Freya and hugged her tightly. I felt dizzy and empty and uncertain and - I needed an anchor.

We hugged for a long time.

"Are you feeling better?"

Was I? "I'm suddenly not sure who I am. I mean, he made me."

"And he made other centaurs. For the war."

I was silent again for a while. "I am not sure. He seemed so innocent."

Freya snorted. "Innocent. The worst butchers were young. Where is Lady Kiara?"

"I don't know. Now I am just a confused squirrel. Maybe he could make me human?"

"We can ask him. Maybe. But I think you are human. More than human, with super fluffy fur and some extra legs, strong. Do you want to be a puny human?"

Huh, I never really thought about it. Would I? I wouldn't be a lady. Or would I? I was still off-world, even as a human. And being a lady was nothing I really needed, just nice to have. I was penniless anyway. But could a lady work as a courier? And then, in the wild, as a human, I could not climb trees. Well, I could, but not properly. Huh? So squirrel style was the way to go? I was even more confused and hugged Freya again. "Let's make me forget, make me stupid."

Freya grinned. "You know what's good for you," she said, unbuttoning my shirt provocatively slowly.

* * *

The sky outside my window had a red tinge when I woke up next. Freya was still sleeping on her side, her quieter sleeping position. I had needed her attention and the sleep that followed. Now I was even more certain that I did not want to become human, even if the mage could do it. As far as I could tell in my shaky state of mind, I was fine with four legs and fluffy fur.

The next time Freya turned around, I tickled her little nipple. She moaned and opened her eyes.

Stolen story; please report.

"Let's going dinner."

As usual, Freya made a big show of getting up. Even though all she had to do was sit up and pull the dark tunic over her head.

"Dinner with clerics," I declared. "I needing."

"Please, please, stop with the -ing. Please."

"But is not verb -ing?"

Freya sighed. "Not now, I am still too tired. Let's find the hall of the clerics."

* * *

We did not even try to find the clerics' refectory ourselves. As the kitchen was next door, we simply asked a servant to let us know when a dish was due for the clerics. And I ordered a cabbage salad, like the one I had eaten with Larina for our very late lunch. Hopefully, Freya would eat it too.

I was pretty sure they just sent a random vegetarian dish to the clerics to keep the lady from having to wait. We walked through all the five courtyards. The fifth and last one was different. No rough stones here, but smooth plastered walls painted orange, with many coats of arms in a band from left to right between the first and second floor. High glass windows on three floors and the wide staircase with marble balls on the sides indicated the former royal quarters from a time when Kren was not yet a republic. But the servant turned right, to a side building with white walls.

The servant went on, but we stopped at an archway that was clearly the beginning of the clerics' domain. A few seconds later, a young cleric arrived.

"Good evening, Lady Kiara of Earth." He bowed. "I am delighted by your presence."

"Good evening," I stammered, "Freya!" and nudged her side.

"Good evening. Lady Kiara would like to join you for dinner, if possible."

"Of course, the clerics' doors are open to all. Please follow." Then he led us to the right, through another arcade that curved backwards along a small garden. It was only three steps between the pillars of the arcade and the outer wall of the castle, but it was the only organised green space in the entire castle that I had seen so far. But there was no time to admire the garden in the fading twilight, as we entered the hall. No announcer, of course, and no great works of art. But an even more, hmm, civilised atmosphere than in the noblemen's hall. There was laughter and conversation, yes, but in a very orderly fashion. We went straight to the table where Sir Hofengart was seated. He stood up and bowed a little.

"Good evening, dear Lady Kiara of Earth. What brings you to our humble table?" Without Freya, that would have been far beyond my comprehension.

"Good evening, Sir Hofengart. I need talking. Freya translating."

"Ah, Healer Apprentice Freya. According to the senior healer, the best mindspeaker in the castle. Good evening to you as well."

Freya froze again. I am not sure what Freya expected when she agreed to have dinner with the clerics. And she had met Sir Hofengart, so she knew that high-ranking clerics could be present. This was the capital.

"Please, Freya, for me. At least greet Sir Hofengart."

Then she straightened only to bow. "Excuse me, Sir Hofengart, Healer Apprentice Freya, at your service."

Sir Hofengart smiled. "Fortunately, your service will only be for translation. Otherwise, please take a seat at our table. We are almost finished, but you can eat through the evensong. After that, I will be at your disposal. Enjoy your meal and excuse us. And then Sir Hofengart got up and walked out with some other clerics.

Now, only among the normal clerics, Freya relaxed and colour returned to her face. And we began to eat the leftovers since the clerics had mostly finished their meal.

Sir Hofengart and the other clerics returned a little later, this time all in purple robes, and went to a low stage at the other end of the hall. Each of them carried a small instrument, two lyres, three flutes and a bodhran. The three women stood to Sir Hofengart's left and the three men to his right. A bell was rung.

Then everyone stood up, and so did we. All bowed towards the entrance in silence.

"Lament of the evening," Sir Hofengart announced and began to recite verses in an unknown language with some melodic variation to the slow beat of the bodhran. He repeated himself after six sentences and the lyres joined in with a second voice. At the next repetition, the flutes joined in and four voices sang together. On the next repetition, two more voices joined in, but they shifted and sang a different verse. Two more repetitions just increased the volume until my ears were ringing.

Then there was an abrupt silence and a bell rang three times.

Sir Hofengart now picked up a lyre. He sang a few phrases in the same alien language, which I was sure was neither Kren, nor Kwal, nor Earth. Freya had no idea either. After Sir Hofengart had finished, a choir answered. And then answered itself. There were two interwoven answers, sometimes contradicting, sometimes agreeing. Only in the pauses between the verses could the instruments and Sir Hofengart's voice be heard.

Although I did not understand a word, it was clearly some kind of prayer. Perhaps to the beauty of the music. Or for the safe journey of souls. I did not care. I had never been religious, but this music spoke to me. Maybe because I had died and my soul had been called to this world. A little more respect for the things beyond my humble mind was overdue. My humming followed the voice of the clerics next to us. I felt a sense of belonging. Even Freya, who was still sitting a little stiffly, began to relax.

I had no idea what they were saying, but the verses were short and soon I could repeat what they were singing. My voice felt too low; otherwise, the singing went well. I had done karaoke before, and although I was no professional, I had a decent voice and it was fun. And somehow my singing talent had survived my transfer to this realm. And here my voice could serve a purpose.

Again the song ended abruptly. I was the last to stop, a moment later than the others. All eyes turned to me and I tried to shrink or hide. In vain, of course, given my size.

Sir Hofengart smiled at me. "Please come!" I looked at Freya, but she was hiding under the table. Why had she become so afraid of authority since we arrived at Krenburg?

I nodded to Sir Hofengart and then walked through the parting clerics onto the low stage. "Follow me," he whispered. I nodded.

"The Four Souls," he announced, and this choice surprised some of them. Then he began a very simple rhythmic intonation, like "Ha, hen hi ho", only 16 syllables long and repeated. After the third repetition, I felt more confident, and I raised my voice a little bit more. After the fourth repetition, the two clerics on the left and right of the stage started another voice with the same rhythm but different syllables and melody. Another four repetitions later, eight more clerics joined in, again with the same rhythm but a slightly different melody and text. On the following fourth repetition, the sixteen clerics closest to the stage joined in. Somehow, they still knew what to sing to keep the same rhythm with a different lyric. At that moment I was lost in singing. I did not care what happened after the next four repetitions, no, I felt it was my duty to keep the voice, to keep it from droning out. So I sang with all my might, feeling the resonating rhythm even in the air of the hall. At some point, it felt as if the vibrations were fading away. Just more incentive for me. Then, at the end of a cycle of four, came a powerful command in mindspeak. "Stop!" I fell silent and opened my eyes, then landed on my forelegs, which had been high in the air. A trembling Freya held my tail. "Are you all right?" she asked in mindspeak. I turned to Freya to smile. But I was already smiling like crazy.

"Let's conclude this evensong." Sir Hofengart nodded to the others. A bell rang and everyone bowed again to the door.

Then he motioned for me to get off the stage, which I did, still not sure what had caused the sudden end. Freya came close to me.

"What did I do?"

"You started moving to the rhythm, almost dancing. At first, it was entertaining. But you fell into a trance. You jumped more, only on your hind legs, still singing the same verses with such verve it was frightening. As if you wanted to call your world across the realms".

Uh oh. Kiara, what have you done?

"Even after everything had faded away, you still sang with fire. I was afraid. So I came to you to get you out, please, are you all right?"

I stopped and hugged her. "I'm fine," I said aloud in a very husky voice that betrayed the same words.

Sir Hofengart turned to us and smiled. "Lady Kiara, that was the most powerful rendition of The Four Souls I have ever witnessed." Freya translated and added, "Yes, powerful. My hair stood on end."

Sir Hofengart knew how to distract me. "I see the lady's salad has arrived. I will get the lady some mulled tea for her voice."

Slowly the euphoria from the singing and dancing of the Four Souls wore off, and indeed I felt a very dry throat and tired hind legs. Still happy though.

But for the rest of the evening, I could not talk much. Freya stayed very close to me. But her heroic cry in mindspeak to stop me had earned Freya the respect of the clerics and given her the courage to endure, even in front of Sir Hofengart. While I slowly chewed the salad (the excellent sauce was burning in my raw throat), she dutifully translated the clerics' explanation of how souls settle into a new life in this world, only to fly on after the dead to renew themselves by merging with The Soul. And then part again as soul sparks to repeat the cycle of life. The Soul holds all the wisdom of all beings, it was, is, and will be. For this reason, the clerics abhorred soul magic, which had once used to kill by ripping souls from their bodies long ago during the War of the Soul Mages.

Understandably, they were suspicious of the creation of centaurs; and especially of me. My creation alone had obviously altered the journeys of several souls, a disturbing thought even for the most casual of followers. And yet I was in their midst, even singing hymns with them. For the raison d'être of every soul is to gain knowledge and experience, explained the cleric to my right. By my very existence, my soul would return with more experience, enriching The Soul. Learning was therefore the ultimate goal. So being here and participating in the hymns would enrich The Soul, probably more than the souls of a cat and a squirrel could carry in a lifetime. Probably. After all, centaurs were new, so the debate was still going on.

"Please, can we stop now? This is getting really abstract," Freya asked in mindspeak, suppressing a yawn.

How right she was. "Sorry, tired," I croaked, yawning so wide that even my large hands could no longer cover my fangs.

Sir Hofengart turned to us, still smiling. "Sorry, Lady Kiara. I will see you off to the courtyard."

I stood up and bade him good night with a bow, which Freya followed. Several clerics scrambled to their feet to see us out. They touched my fur on the way out as if I were a mystical good luck dragon.

In the courtyard, I yawned again and Freya was barely awake too. Well, she had worked a long night shift with the injured mage and had to translate the difficult concepts of their faith into mindspeak for me. I had just gone shopping, literally down town, met my creator and danced a soul hymn. Peanuts. Yawn.