Two years have now passed, the few days were spent in that same church. But after a week we left, I heard my mother tell the Father that we were going to a place called ‘the temple’. I was excited but nervous to see where we would end up, but alas, we didn’t go. I’m not sure why, but my mother decided to go to a strange house instead. I lived there for a year and a bit, and grew considerably, always remembering to act my age. It wasn’t too difficult because I was only twelve years old when my last life ended. Soon when I turned 2 years old, we left the house. I remember that day like it was yesterday. Then again, I do have a really great memory, so that’s the truth for all days.
My mother told me to get up from where I was sitting. Ever since we left the church she hadn’t been very kind. Sometimes she even forgot to feed me, I could go hungry for days at a time. But I didn’t complain. I was scared, it felt as though one wrong move could cost me my life.
“Aretta, get up, we're leaving.”
“Ok”
My name was Aretta and I was 2 years old, I didn’t have a last name, or I didn’t know it. I stood up and about to follow my mother, Constance. My arms wrapped around my faded pink bunny, I stepped forward. This body was still young and uncoordinated, I could walk, but not for long. But at this age I could finally speak comfortably without sounding too old. I tried to stick with short phrases, and one word answers. Throughout my two years living in this body, in this world, I had pieced together a few things. This duchy, ruled by Duke Downbringer, or Duke Lambourg as the commoners referred to him, worshipped the God Ermes.
Each duchy has one main god to whom they pray and build churches and temples. One temple per duchy is built, using the funds of the royal family who oversee the duchies. These temples have smaller branches throughout the duchy which are churches. Temples have two main figures of power, the high priest and head priest. The head priest would handle all day to day affairs, while the high priest was, for the most part, a figurehead. Other than the high and head priests, the temple contained many normal priests, these priests could be commoners or nobles. However, a noble joining the temple as a mere priest was frowned upon. Between commoner priests and noble priests, the commoners would effectively just serve the noble priests and travel around the duchy offering prayers to the gods, and blessing the land. Churches usually contained two or three priests, while the church I was born in only had one for some reason.
We were in the duchy of Lambourg, which was next to the ocean and maybe a place called Salborough. I often overheard my mother speaking of this place. Apparently she was planning a trip there. When I discovered this I began to cry, thinking that she’d leave me. But apparently I was mistaken. When this happened we were in public, and as an attempt to quiet me she told me “I’d never leave you”. She wouldn’t lie to me, so I believed her. I don’t know much else about life here, only that there are nobles and commoners. In my experience, nobles are rude.
Once I ran up to a stall with apples, it was in the nicer part of town, and asked for one. I wanted to get a feel for the value of money, so after I found some on the ground I decided to spend it. While I was asking about the price, I realized that I didn’t have enough. The nice shopkeeper gave me an apple for free, after all, I was a little girl asking for a single apple. But after this happened a rude man appeared, he took the nice shopkeeper's entire basket of apples and kicked over the stall! I could see the shopkeeper’s face sink as she dropped to the ground. Apparently this man was Baron Shanler, a noble, he had come to the capital, where we were, to meet with the duke. He threw a silver coin at the shopkeeper as he left.
According to a passerby the man was having a ‘bad’ day. So he took it out on the shopkeeper! Not knowing what to do at the time I just stood there, remembering something similar that had happened to me. I had set up a lemonade stall outside our house, it wasn’t in the way or anything. My oldest brother was walking past and kicked over my lemonade stand, I was drenched. My mother walked past a few seconds later and she laughed. That was when I first realized that I wasn’t wanted. Snapping out of my stupor I felt a tear roll down my cheek. Why was I still bothered by this? I then proceeded to help the shopkeeper fix her stall and save some apples.
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After this experience, I learnt two things, stay away from nobles, and the system of money. 10 small copper coins is a big copper coin, 10 big copper coins is a small silver coin, 10 small silver coins is a big silver coin. 10 big silvers is a small gold and 10 small golds a big gold, there were also platinum coins which were 1000 big gold coins. Barely anybody had even seen a platinum coin and all this knowledge about currency proved extremely helpful later on.
I was still walking after my mother when I finished daydreaming, clutching the bunny tightly. We hadn’t left the house together in almost 6 months. Last time I left was for shopping, because my mother had overheard the neighbours gossiping about me, and how it was as though I was confined to my room, which I was. Now we were leaving, but I couldn’t think of a reason why. I stepped out the door of our ratty apartment, built from rotting wood. It was, mostly, where I lived alone. Almost every night my mother would disappear and return in the afternoon. We were poor, I was almost certain of it.
For some reason there was a carriage waiting outside, mother stepped into it and I followed. How could we afford a carriage? It was difficult to make it up the steps with my short legs, but I managed. By the time I made it in, I was huffing and puffing. While we sat in the carriage silently, I looked down at my hands, they were covered in grime. Here, in the common districts, we had no plumbing, no taps. I wasn’t allowed outside and I couldn’t go to the well as a result. I barely ate and I barely exercised. To put it lightly, I was sickly. I couldn’t walk further than a few metres and I barely made it to the carriage. I felt the carriage pull to a stop, the driver getting out to open the door.
This is fancy, how can we afford it? Are we not poor after all?
These thoughts had barely crossed my mind before I was ordered to stand up by my mother. Obediently, I stood, and then, I felt a heel make contact with my back. I tumbled forwards, whacking my head on the steps as I went. My conscience was fading, I remembered the familiar moment well. It was all too familiar, after all, it was just like that day and just like that, I blacked out.
The eyes slowly blinked open, before shutting again. I was staring directly at the sun, I rolled over, confused.
“Mama…”
I don’t know whether I was calling out to my old mother, or my new one. But something told me that I wouldn’t see either one ever again. Groaning, I opened my eyes, this time strategically looking the other way. The first thing I noticed was that I was surrounded by people. Their faces dirty like they were covered in soot, they looked like telltale orphans. I put my arms beside me before pushing myself into a sitting position.
“Where am I?”
With those three words the room exploded with chatter.
“See! I knew she could speak.”
“Ha! I win, now you have to do my chores for a week!”
“Noo! I already have extra chores.”
“W-What’s going on”, I asked, visibly disoriented. The barrage of voices and people hurt my head. It was as though they were all yelling in my ear. I wanted to grasp my head, to block my ears. Oh, I was already doing that. All the voices went silent, everybody staring at me, they obviously thought I was weird. My face going red, I lowered my hands, trying to play it cool.
“Um… hello”.
Soon enough, everybody lost interest and left. I was left alone in this strange place, nobody having answered a single one of my questions. I tried to get up, finding myself on a strange bed, dirtier than even the crib at the church. I stood up, only to instantly fall back onto my butt. That small movement had made my head spin. Laying back down I felt my eyes grow heavy, and I fell straight back asleep.
I opened my eyes with a start, startled at the face above, sitting up I banged my head into the boy’s. He looked only a few years older than me, maybe six? I just remembered that I had recently turned three years old. We both recoiled, clutching our heads in unison. He laughed, I looked at him strangely.
That boy was Damian, my first friend. This was the moment I realized that this all felt oddly familiar. Why?
I recognised his name, I recognised this situation but I didn’t know from where. This boy was Damian, the future son of a viscount.
How do I know this? What’s a Viscount?
Then I remembered something else. There were five ranks of nobility in the duchy, duke, marquis, earl, viscount and baron. Damian would be a noble. I ignored this fact, becoming friends with him regardless, besides, where was my information coming from? Was it even credible?
My past life.
I realized, the memories from then are still fuzzy. After all, my memories of this life are perfect, so I could tell them apart instantly.