She saw green lines and scripts she didn’t understand across her vision, racing up and down every corner of the blackness she saw. It drew corners for her vision, filled with words she couldn’t understand. Suddenly, the green corners in the blackness were finalized, and two boxes appeared, each with more words she couldn’t understand. She tried looking at one of them, but they moved with her vision. Suddenly, both disappeared, and the green corners vanished as well.
“How is she doing?” Eos heard the voice that distinctly belonged to her father.
“She still hasn’t woken up but she’s still stable” Thea replied.
Eos let out a small groan and tried to open her eyes. As her eyes tried to open, the light overwhelmed her eyes, and pain shot through her head, forcing her to close them. She heard a rush of activity in the room as both Thea and Moore went to care for her.
“Are you awake?” Thea asked, Eos’s only reply being a groan. “Thank god,” She said, “I was worried sick”
“How are you feeling?” Moore asked.
Eos opened her mouth to try to speak, but only managed to get one word out, “Bad.”
“Don’t worry, you’ll be okay.” Thea replied.
Eos slipped back into slumber. The next time she awoke was during the night. She tried once again to open her eyes and successfully opened them. The world around her was bright- as if she was looking at it during the daytime. Eos left her bed to look outside at the moon, and the glittering lights of the ring. She thought about how the moon never seemed to move, locked in its eternal place in the sky. The ringlight and moonlight were gently twinkling, and seemingly covering everything around her. Is it a day? She wondered, but looking across the sky she saw nothing but the ring, moon, and stars. Her mind felt dull, but she knew now that she could at least see. She turned back to her bed but instead decided that her hunger and thirst were too great. She headed downstairs to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water from a pitcher. She looked into it and was startled- she saw her own reflection. Her face was fine, unmarred by the fall, but her eyes were different. She saw her eyes were green- the same green she saw race across her vision before. Was that a dream? She wondered, was any of that real?
“Eos?” Moore asked, and Eos turned to him in the night. He was simply wearing his pajamas and looked as if he had just woken up. She wanted to ask about her eyes, but she didn’t want to startle him.
Eos drank from the glass of water before responding, “I’m okay dad.”
He looked at her wearily, “You should go back to rest, I can carry you.”
Eos simply nodded before being carried back to her bed and falling asleep again. More time passed in the fugue state until Eos finally woke up during the day. The sun was brightly shining into the room, and she again tried to open her eyes. Slowly they opened, pain shooting through her head. But she persisted, waiting for her eyes to adjust before opening them slightly more. Eventually, she got her eyes open fully, and looked around the room. It looked the same as every other time she had opened them, but this time she could feel the heat of the sun. She left her bed and meandered downstairs hungrily. When she reached the downstairs room, she saw Moore sitting at the table, surrounded by documents, and Thea sat near them.
“Good morning,” Eos said, looking at her parents.
Both of her parents jumped at the sound and looked at her. As they looked at her, Eos realized she made a mistake. Panic visibly set in on the face of Thea, as she rushed towards Eos.
“Your eyes!” She said, taking Eos’s face in her hands, “Are you okay?”
“Mhm,” Eos said, “I think they're fine.”
“Oh god are you sure?” Thea said, staring into Eos’s eyes.
“Yeah, I’m sure.” Eos replied.
“It’s a shame too,” Moore said, standing near Thea now, “Your eyes used to be the same as your mother’s.”
“It’s not a shame,” Thea said, “I think they're beautiful either way. From sapphire to jade, precious either way.”
Moore nodded in agreement, before going back to sit down and pulling out a clean sheet of paper, and beginning to write.
“Come sit down,” Thea said, bringing Eos over to the table, “do you want to tell us what happened?”
“Uh… I’m not sure what happened,” Eos said, “do you know what happened?”
“All we know is that Aderyn woke us in the middle of the night saying you were hurt in the forest, and Saer led us to where we found you unconscious in an empty, flaming crater.” Thea shook her head, “Saer didn’t say anything the entire time, just showed us the way. Do you know how you ended up in the forest?”
“Yeah, I saw something at night and wanted to go see it. I just.. didn't expect that to happen.”
“That?” Thea asked, looking at Moore. Moore was still writing on a piece of paper, which Eos identified to be some letter.
“That,” Eos said, moving her hands around in a vague way, “The stuff that happened. I don’t remember what happened, sorry.” Eos looked down at her lap and started fiddling with her hands.
“It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re safe. How do you feel right now?”
Eos nodded, “good.”
“I think you’ll need some time before you’re fully healed, but we can take a walk outside if you’d like to.”
“That sounds good,” Eos replied.
As Thea and Eos went outside, the sunlight overloaded Eos’s eyes for a moment. Once her eyes adjusted, she looked over the grassy knoll the house sat on. She realized she could see far- much further than she could see before. She saw that Saer and Aderyn were playing with Cedric in the town square, several miles from where Eos stood. She was disoriented for a moment with just how good her vision was now, but she tried to ignore it. She thought, for a moment, if she could see the stars when she looked at the sky during the day.
Eos looked towards the twin suns, and saw something she should not have. Her eyes adjusted to the two suns rather quickly, dampening the brightness and making the stars behind them visible. The green lines in her vision appeared again, startling her, and circled the suns, highlighting them with scripts she again couldn’t read. Then, she turned her head slightly, and the green lines circled something else. A third object, a star. Small, but larger than any other star in the sky, but like the first and second suns, it had a circle and small writing in the script she could read.
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A thought raced into her head. “The three-body problem,” She said aloud, looking at the ground. Thea turned towards her, confused. I shouldn’t know what that is, she thought. What’s going on? This world is doomed because of the three-body problem? Wait, this world is doomed?
“It's fine,” Eos said, “Let’s go on a walk.”
Thea and Eos went on a walk, making a simple but meaningless conversation. The entire time, Eos’s mind was focused on a different subject, racing as fast as it could during the fugue state she found herself in. I know things I shouldn’t know, She thought, I have someone else’s memories. But why? And why do I not know what I know?
She looked back at the sun, her eyes adjusting again and creating green lines, labeling the sun. Except, this time she could read the labels. The labels were in English, and for some reason, she knew that she knew English. The larger sun was named Atum, and the smaller sun was named Khepera. The last object, the third body, was named Apepi.
She knew the last name, but she needed to make sure.
“Mama, what’s our last name?” Eos asked, oblivious to whatever Thea was saying at that moment.
Thea hesitated for a moment. “We’re Apepi elves,” She responded, gently, “Our family line is Apepi. But remember, if anyone asks, you’re an Atum.”
“Why’s that?”
“It’s because… People don’t usually like Apepi, they think bad things about us before they know us. But people like Atum elves; they think highly of them, and most people can’t tell the difference.”
“Can anyone tell the difference?” Eos asked, trying to get a grasp on the situation
“Of course, other elves will know. Khepera elves are particularly good at that, but Atum will probably be able to tell as well.”
“Atum, Khepera…” Eos muttered, “Where do the names of the elven families come from?”
“They’re ancient words,” Thea replied, “Atum meant something like light. Khepera used to mean shadows.”
“And Apepi?”
Thea’s face visibly soured for a moment before covering it with a smile. “Let me try to remember,” She said, “I think Apepi means beautiful.”
“Why wouldn’t people like us if we’re beautiful?” Eos asked, confused.
“I’m not sure,” Thea replied, “Maybe they want to be us?”
“I see,” Eos said, solemnly. She decided she’d have time to ask more questions later. “My head is starting to hurt again.”
Thea crouched down to face Eos. “Are you okay? We should head back.”
Eos nodded her head in agreement, and together they walked back in peaceful silence. When they returned to the house, Eos saw her father sealing a letter.
“Daddy, what’s that?” She asked
“It’s a letter,” He said, looking towards Thea, “It’s just for my work.”
“Archalvist?” Eos asked, trying to pronounce the word.
“Yep,” He said, picking Eos up, “Daddy and Mommy are archivists. We keep things in order for the kingdom.”
“Anyways,” Thea said, “Let's try to get you to sleep again. You still need plenty of rest.”
Eos nodded in agreement, and let herself be carried up to her room. She was gently laid in bed and left to sleep. Thoughts she was keeping at bay all began to suddenly flood into her mind, and she began the task of diligently solving them.
What is going on with me? Where are these memories coming from? Why does my head feel slow? She thought, the last question having an immediate answer, I have a concussion. It feels like the one I had before- wait, not I, the person whose memories I have. Are they me? What do I know? Math, I know math. English. I know of-
One word flashed through her mind, a name- Paper.
Suddenly all of the memories of the white void were pulled into her mind, and she remembered all of it diligently. With one fell swoop, many of her questions were answered but she spawned even more.
Am I him or am I me? If I’m just his reincarnation, which of us is real? I guess it doesn’t matter- but am I saying that or is He? Is He here? And this world- It’s the three-body problem, that’s the answer. Right? It takes what I know and what he knew to answer his questions, but I suppose my questions are his questions. I’m only 7, why is this happening? He was 20 when he died. But he bargained for me- well him- us?-, to be immortal; that must be why he- I- was reborn as an elf. But the other thing? I can’t steal powers- what did Paper mean by that? Well, I gue-...
Eos slipped into a slumber, and the night passed silently. She awoke to knocking at the front door, as the light was streaming into her bedroom. She heard some light chatter from downstairs. Once she heard Saer’s voice she rushed downstairs.
“Is she okay?” Saer asked, worry creeping into his voice.
“She’s woken up, but she’s been bedridden.” Moore replied.
“Oh what a poor thing,” Saer’s mother said, “Do you know when she’ll get better?”
“We’re not sure,” Moore replied, “hopefully we can get a doctor to come to check her.”
“How unfortu–” Saer’s mother was cut off as Eos rushed into the room.
“Saer!” She exclaimed.
“Eos!” They embraced, but Saer was swiftly pulled back by his mother.
Eos looked up at Saer’s mother’s face, and saw a smattering of negative emotions- but two stood out: Fear and Hatred.
“I’m so glad your safe, Eos. I think it’s time to go, unfortunately. Let’s be on our way, Saer.” Saer’s mother said through clenched teeth. Eos watched as she dragged Saer away- the door hung open as Saer resisted being pulled away, but eventually relented after a short fight. After a few minutes of stunned silence hanging across the room, Moore closed the door.
“Eos, I think you should go to sleep.”
Stunned, she listlessly wandered up to her room, and time faded for a while as she was lost in her thoughts. She realized what she had to do, and she steeled her resolve. Eos sighed and got out of bed. She wandered down the hallway to talk to her parents, but she heard her name come up between her parents.
“We can’t help what happened to Eos,” Thea said, “What’s done is done- we can just do the best for her as parents.”
Eos hid behind a wall, intent on listening. “You damn well know that she’s going to get called a demon with those eyes. She’s already an Apepi, and now you want people to think she's a demon?”
“There’s nothing wrong with being a demon!” Thea said, her voice rising.
Moore sighed, “You know I agree with you, but most people won't. 9 out of 10 humans will think she’s a demon, and every elf will know she’s Apepi. How is she supposed to get anywhere in life like that?”
“We came here because anyone can become anything,” Thea said, “Look at us, look at where we are. She’s smart, she’s brilliant- I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
“I just want what’s best for her,” Moore said, “we both know something is wrong.. Especially with what's been happening recently, it’s not like we can…”
“Yeah,” Thea said gently, “but we can’t just…”
“Mhm,” Moore muttered in agreement, “No one said raising a child would be easy, but I just wish we could have a bit more time.”
“We’re already blessed with that,” Thea said, “or we would be, but…”
“We’ll be attacked soon, a few weeks at most- we’re fortunate we could prepare. Most towns that are going to be hit…”
Their conversation quieted down, although Eos was sure she could hear muffled weeping. After a few moments, Eos loudly stomped in place.
“Eos?” Moore asked, and she turned the corner. Thea’s eyes were red, but she had managed to hide all other signs of tears.
“Papa, Mama,” Eos said, her next few words shocking her parents,
“I want to learn magic.”