"Elaine, if you come sit on my lap I'll read you your favorite story!" The sweet-sounding voice of Deirdre, my new mother, interrupts my sharp focus. I now fully understand this places language, and can even speak back a little. My accent from my previous language still seeps through from now and then, but luckily it was just treated like a talking quirk common among young children. One of the servants was tasked with making me do speaking practice, making me pronounce all the vowels and sounds I had difficulties with. I never expected to have to have lessons by a speech therapist again.

Deciding that I can finish what I started later I put down my pencil and move away from the canvas. I've been at it for over two hours at least so a short break would be just great. As my mother walks into the room I've claimed as my atelier she takes a look at how my latest work has been coming along. "That's amazing Elaine! That Crumbsnatcher looks like so lifelike it just might jump out of the drawing!" Her genuine praise always makes me happy. I've been spending a lot of the time drawing for well over a year now, and the constant practice has improved my skill immensely. But there is still always the feeling that it is not quite good enough yet, that there were more ways in which my art could improve. It seems like the path of artistry is an endless road. The Crumbsnacher in question is a kind of bird that would often drop by in the courtyard and I enjoyed feeding them some crumbs from time to time. I never knew what they were actually called but it's such fitting name.

I had certainly come a long way from when I started this hobby in my previous life. In school I could never be bothered by artistry and the likes, but after seeing professional scientific illustrators and their works, as well as a colleague of mine that could sketch her experiments and setups with beatiful accuracy I had started doing some practice myself. Even in my last moments, I could not have been described as a good artist though.

"If only it weren't for those eyes of yours, even the academia of the fine arts would not be out of your reach..."

"It is okay mom..." I quickly tried to soothe mothers mood that was quickly becoming melancholic.

"Oh don't worry Elaine, even without colors your drawings are the best in the world!" It still felt like mother was just putting up a strong front for me.

I couldn't help but think about that day again.

It was a warm summer day, but not to the point it could be called blisteringly hot. With little else to do and not allowed to leave the castle I decided to sketch the large tree in the courtyard that was now in full bloom and looked absolutely amazing. As I picked one of my blank canvasses and a fresh pencil from my room I set off towards the courtyard. Before I stepped out into the sun-drenched courtyard however, I heard my father calling my name.

"Elaine come here dear, I've brought you a present!"

"Really?" As I turned towards my dad that was walking towards me I noticed he had both hands behind his back. I could pretty much guess how this was going to play out.

"Now now, don't be hasty. If you guess correctly in which hand I am holding it the present is yours!" A mischievous smile flit across his face. This combined with his pointy mustache totally made him look like some upstart villainous aristocrat. I stared intensely at him for a few second, but he was not giving me an inch. In the end I just pointed at his right arm.

"That one!" With a grin dad pulls a pretty wooden box from behind his back.

"Ah, you got it correct on your first try! Well, as promised here's your prize! O, but whatever could be inside?" Ignoring dads theatrics I take the box into my hands and after finding the two latches on the side and remove the lid. Inside a bunch of fine looking pastel crayons are arranged in neat rows, the ones you could only buy form a good art supply shop back in the empire.

"You've always used pencils for your drawings, so Deirdre and I thought you would like to try using something new. These are called pastel crayons, and they have a very different feel to them than any of the pencils you've used so far. Now go ahead and try them out, I look forward to the result!"

"Thanks Dad!" I gave him a big hug in response, which he quickly returned in kind by lifting me up and hugging me back, nearly making me drop the box. As he gave me a quick kiss on my cheek I noted that his mustache was especially prickly that day.

After setting me down I quickly moved to the courtyard, eager to try out my new tools. There were a lot of crayons in the box, so it would be quite a while before they would all be used up. As I seated myself in one of the corners of the courtyard that had a good view on the tree, it took the whole afternoon before I finally was satisfied with my results. It was quite good for a first try, even if I said so myself. That was how I thought about it. I put the nearly used up crayon back in the wooden box. And went back inside with the canvas under my arms, intending to let my parents see my work.

When I arrived at their favorite salon, where they could be most often found if they weren't busy with work, I proudly held up the canvas.

"It's done dad!"

"Oh let me see it! How has your first pastel work turned out!" Dad excitedly got up from his comfortable chair and I handed him the piece, mother was already looking at the piece from his side. After taking a look at the canvas his expression moved from one of excitement to one of puzzlement.

"Elaine sweetie, there are so many crayons in that box, so why did you decide to only use orange to draw the tree?"

"Orange..?" My mind blanked for a second before the implication hit me. I had never worked with colors before in my work, and decided to keep away from painting as that would be a waste of paint with this sight of mine, and I didn't really want to let my parents know about my condition.

"This is so strange! You clearly gave it your all to draw the tree as closely to lifelike as possible yet this colour choice doesn't seem to fit the rest of your style at all! He started looking somewhat worried now.

“It couldn't be that you...” Before He could finish his sentence my mother cut in.

"What is it dear? It's only a drawing right? Isn't it a cute orange tree!" Mother interjected from the side with some suspicious praise.

"No, it's just... Ah lets just rule that possibility out immediately. Elaine, come with me for a second."

With a sinking feeling in my chest I followed my father towards the bookshelf, which bulged with multiple rows of books. Even if these were the only ones in the house mother and father said they were some of their greatest treasures, and they were actually very expensive. As I stood in front of the bookshelf with mom and dad, dad gently took the box out of my hands and pulled out a crayon.

"Elaine, can you pick a book from the shelf with the same color like this crayon?" I see no way out of this conundrum. Before my eyes the books lined up in a grand display in many different shades of gray. Looking at the crayon and back at the shelf, and after some urging on by my father I just grabbed a book from the shelf. As I turned back towards my parents, I immediately could tell I picked the wrong one. Their faces were now clearly filled with worry.

"Your not pranking us right? Come one, here I have another crayon here. Try to get it right this time okay?" With some apprehension in his voice I repeated the previous action again, and after that another time. After five misses I wished the ground would just swallow me up.

"She can't distinguish any color at all Deirdre! It's just a step back from being blind! What do we do? She might never become a great artist like this!"

"Hush Aidan, don't say such things while shes still here, look at her! You're frightening her even more! Surely there must some way to remedy this!"

"Elaine, please go outside for a while. Mommy and I need to talk about things a bit. Rest easy, this will surely work itself out okay?"

As his hand grazed my cheek I noticed I was nearly tearing up, and the humiliation that made me feel combined with the feeling of defeat I already had. I ran back to my room and hid myself under the covers of my bed, and didn't show myself for the rest of the day.

The following days one healer after another would come for an appointment with me, each using different methods than the other. This was the second time I came in contact with that mysterious phenomenon I witnessed in the cave again, as the healers were clearly using some kind of unknown power. I would surely be far more excited about it if it weren't for the circumstances, but I was certainly going to ask my parents about it at some later time.

Each healer looked and dressed differently than the other and used seemingly different techniques, but the result was the same every time. Whatever was wrong with my eyes, it was impossible to cure. The first few times my parents and I still held hope that some other way of treatment might provide a cure, but as the days went by and the number of healers that had visited could no longer be counted by both hands, that hope had long since vanished.

After a while, no more healers came.

As I was reminiscing about the past I noticed I must have blanked out while sorting my drawing tools, as mom was having a somewhat impatient expression on her face.

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"Are you thinking about something again? If you don't hurry up you might never find out how Grezarius will deal with the great demon Oz!"

"Yes, I'm ready!" I happily followed along with changing subject, and actually do happen to be somewhat interested in the story. I've always loved the epics and legends from the ancient times, and this world too seems to be rich in such myths and tales. Besides that it also fulfills another role. Sometimes I would ask mom to reread some parts of the story and as mother read by following the text with her fingers, it was a good way to help learn the script of this language. After a while mother noticed I was interested in the letters so she would give me a short lesson afterwards.

The script of this world was totally different from the one I was used to in the empire, consisting only of lines dots and accents, and combinations of these could equal a single character of my old word, but they could also form more complex sounds or even small words on their own. At present I could read a story aimed at a younger audience but the more complex books also contained more complex letters, many of which I do not know yet. Besides that, sometimes a technical or unknown term would pop up and even my knowledge of the script would not help me then.

“...........”You are a fool Grezarius, for thinking you ever had a chance to do anything in the first place!” Bellowed Oz with his screechy owlish voice as his bird like visage twisted into a savage grin.

From the start of the fight Oz had toyed with the knight, bombarding him with fiendish magic form above without allowing him a chance to counter. He had held on to his life for so long only because the demon liked to toy with his prey.

“But this play must now come to an end, Grezarius. After I've eaten both your heart and that of the beloved princess Arianne I'll spread my reign of terror over all the mortal realms!” A large glyph sprung forth from Oz's clawed talons and the knight could feel the power behind that fiendish magic even from a distance. A large dome was erected centered around the fallen knight and he quickly realized he was trapped.

The demonic magician sneered at him from outside the dome. “Your air will soon run out fool. Let me accompany you in these last pitiful moments of yours, and see you struggle! No being that holds on to life has ever breached this barriers of mine.” The demon gleefully boasted, after seeing the knight reach for his battered weapon and getting ready for his final bout.

As Grezarius charged towards Oz the demon did not even attempt to move aside, fully confident in the power of his barrier.

“You are the fool Oz!” Shouted Grezarius as he Oz neared the reach of his hallowed weapon. “I've not held on to my own life in the longest time!” Seemingly ignoring the barrier the knight now stood before the perplexed demon, and in that moment of weakness he plunged his blade right through Oz's rotten heart. “I've pledged it to the princess and the country long ago.” Spending a last reserve of strength Grezarius himself was not even aware existed, he lifted the now screeching demon skewered on the blade and smashed his body back into the ground with the fiend still skewered like a piece of meat.

After the screeching stopped Grezarius let go of his sword. He could barely make another step, but he would not dally until the princess was secure.”

With a plop mom closed the book, marking the end of the reading session. I've been listening attentively, but is this really the kind of book you would read to a child child that just turned 3 years old? I am not complaining though, this is far more interesting than some sugar-sweet children's tale.

“Mommy, can you use magic too?” I decide to simply breach the topic that has been burning in my mind for some time. What is magic exactly? How does it work, and who can use it? Sure, in the recent story the magician was a force of evil, but in many of the other tales magic has been a force for good or simply something accepted as normal. The doctors that visited me to cure my colorblindness seemed to use some strange powers too.

“Interested in magic Elaine? To tell you the truth both papa and I can't use it to cast spells, but we have a few friends who can. Perhaps when they visit, I could let them test you to see if you hold the spark!”

“The spark?” That's a term that I've never heard before. I look at mom in puzzlement, hoping she will elaborate further.

“The spark is something innate to all magic casters, though I do not know too much about what it is specifically. A wizard could probably explain it all better. Even if I can't cast spells that does not mean I can't make use of the power it springs from. Want me to show you how a non magician uses magic?” A grin appears on Deirdre's face. I nod along enthusiastically, looking forward to watching a hands on demonstration.

After following mom outside I see her looking around for something before hearing her mutter something along the lines of 'that shall do', before seeing her head off for the stables. She stops before the wooden carriage that's parked near the cables that we once used to travel to the village at the river for some kind of special religious mass quite a while back, before I was able to understand the language.

“Elaine, stand back a bit okay, and enjoy the show!” I would never call Deirdre a hulking woman. She is more toned than the average that I was used to back in the empire, clearly showing some degree of muscle development, but not to the degree that she does not fit into a gown or dress anymore. With that in mind, I'm currently staring at the current spectacle with some amount of disbelief. After taking a deep breath and flexing her arms for a bit, Deirdre proceeded to lift the wooden carriage into the air, even dislodging it from the mud, not stopping before she holds it all the way above her head. Aside from the absurdity of lifting that much weight with such a frame, how does this even work when keeping her center of balance in mind? Shouldn't she topple over?

“Wow, unbelievable....” Some words betraying my mental state leak out of my mouth before I can contain myself. Mother clearly heard them as she carefully puts the carriage down with a broad smile on her face. After the carriage is safely on the ground I try to push the carriage myself to see if I have not been tricked, eliciting some laughter from mother.

“Hahaha, that's not going to work Elaine. It will take you years of training at least before you reach this point.” She was probably right, even going all out the bloody thing simply would not budge.

“How about I teach you the basics on this starting tomorrow Elaine? Even if you end up being a magic caster later, they will surely be of use. It's a good thing to start learning magic early”

“Yes please mom!” I'm getting excited about this! As a scientist I was previously obsessed with nuclear and molecular physics, enjoying exploring a largely unknown field that spoke of near infinite possibilities, and for the first time in this world that glimmer has once again alighted. I need to know more about this! Naturally, I'm not passing on this chance!

“There, there. It's good to see you so excited about something Elaine. I will prepare some exercises for you to do tomorrow okay, but for now I need to get back to work. It's fine if you dissappear to explore the mansion again, but be back for dinner okay?” As she says this she ruffles my hair. It's embarrassing, but not entirely unpleasant.

I wait for a few seconds after the door to the mansion is shut. After walking to the portcullis I look up to the tower and whistle to my fingers, and shortly afterwards a familiar visage peers down at me from the top window. Old man Gazlowe is the same sentry man that carried me downstairs after my first exploration in the keep, and around this time he's usually posted as a watchman on the look out for visitors or threats. After I started drawing I got to know him better, as I enjoyed drawing the vistas from that highest point. He reminds me of my grandfather from my previous life, always doting on me when I was young.

After looking at me he waves and gives me a thumbs up. That means it's okay if I go play outside the keep for a bit, as long as I remain in view. I arranged this with him the previous day. My parents would not let me leave the confines of these walls without strict supervision, but this is a secret between Gazlowe and me.

As I stand on the drawbridges that spans the clove that acts at our moat I can't help looking down and immediately regret it. If I fall down there, its a drop for atleast 10 meters. Bottling up that thought I simply walk to the other edge of the moat. Glorious freedom~! Al this time I've been secluded in that mansion, only going out for several outings over these last couple of years. Even If I've already seen this all from atop the tower, it still feels different finally standing here. As I briefly frolic around and inspect the meadows at the edge of the roads, and the beautiful flowers that release an enticing fragrance. Once again I lament my colorblindness, as this place would no doubt be awash with beautiful colors.

After frolicking around some more, I grit myself and face my actual goal for this little expedition. As I stair at the edge of the moat the enigma that has been plaguing my mind comes into view. At night or at day, every season and all this time since the first time I've noticed her she has been sitting there, the girl at the edge of the moat. Never have I seen her move from her spot.

A while back I told Gazlowe about her after he told me a funny tale one of his pals told him once, but he thought I was merely trying to spook him. He could not see the girl at the edge of the moat. A fire lit up in my chest back then, that would not dissipate until this mystery had been solved. Though I do have some theories in my head, none of them can be proven without taking further action. So time for action it is.

I know I am possibly putting myself into danger doing this as this situation is clearly unnatural, but now that I've come this far there is no going back. Alea iacta est.

I approach the girl that shows no sign of noting my presence, allowing me to have a better look. Unfortunately she has her face turned, but I can now clearly see the long black hair covering her back. It is not as sleek as I thought before, but instead is somewhat scruffy. It totally covers her neck, and reaches to about the middle of her back. The arms that come out of her somewhat cheap looking tunic are definitely a shade paler than I've seen from anyone in the mansion. If I had to guess her age, I would say she is probably somewhere in the middle of her teens.

After I've shortened the distance until I am nearly within touching range I steel myself and call out to her.

“Hey, why are you sitting at the edge of the moat? Is there something interesting there?” I try to come off as innocently as possible.

In an abrupt jolt of motion the girl turns towards me, making me topple over due to a short moment of fright. As I try to regain my bearings I notice the girl has moved over towards me and is standing at my side, peering down at me. Dark bags are visible under her clearly surprised looking eyes, and looking at her face and lips her visage is even more pallid than I expected. But the most surprising thing is visible when my vision lowers to the nape of her neck, where it seems like something like a rope has made a deep imprint.

“Uh, sorry you startled me for a second” I try to play it off, but some cold sweat has been forming on the top of my brow. Shit, I've got to keep myself together.

“You, can you see me?” Her voice sounds somewhat drawn out, like it is difficult for her to breathe.

“Well... yes?”

In my shocked and confused state I had held my hand out to her instinctively for some help getting up, and after noticing it and seeing the girl stare at it I realize my mistake. It is to late to pull it back now and make it look natural, so I look at the girl while suppressing that urge.

With clear hesitation in her movements the girl bends down and grabs my hand, and I feel a cold soft sensation where our hands touch. The girl lets out a gasp that makes it sound like she  might start chocking an second now, but she quickly regains herself and pulls me up.

She is quite tall actually, I barely even reach her waist, forcing me to look up to see her face. The girl is still looking at the hand she touched me with in what looks like disbelief. I guess it's best to keep playing along as I have done until now. She has shown me no hostility or any bad intentions so far, so lets not give her a reason to.

“I was wondering why you were always sitting here. My name is Elaine by the way, what's yours?” I try smiling a bit to keep my fear in check.