New Face, Same Reika [1.2]

As I looked at the mirror-like walls, I froze upon seeing my reflection. My mouth dropped. Reflected in the mirror was a little girl covered in ash, dirt, and tomato pieces. There was so much filth, I couldn't see what lay underneath said filth. However, her striking green eyes were reflected clearly, and they were definitely not the eyes I had before. What really caused me to freeze was… Am I really this child?! WHAT?! I waved at the reflection who waved back. IT REALLY IS ME!!!

I heard the door open and jerked my head to look. A handsome man strolled in with a gentle look. He held a file and stopped upon seeing me. His smile disappeared, "Why does she look like that?"

The leader answered apathetically, "The people in the streets did that to her."

He frowned, "And you didn't think to stop them?"

He shrugged, "There were too many. I couldn't possibly stop them."

The handsome man sighed as he shook his head, "You are the Captain of the Knights and you can't even use your authority to stop them? Are you really that weak or did you just not care?"

The Captain flinched and spoke in a low voice, "Apologies Chief… This Knight didn't think to stop them."

The Chief waved his hand, "Whatever. Just go get Ailah to come treat her wounds and clean her up."

He frowned, "Chief. I can't leave you alone with this filthy necromancer!"

I raised an eyebrow. Filthy necromancer? I'm only filthy because of your negligence.

The Chief glared at him, "Are you afraid that this child will do something to me? Do you really think I am that weak?"

"N-No… I just-"

He cut him off, "Leave before I decide to choose a new Captain." The Captain clicked his tongue and reluctantly left the room. The Chief turned to me with a gentle smile, "Don't be too anxious. You won't be harmed here."

Harmed? Why didn't I even think that was a possibility? I forced myself to look away from his eyes, "Whatever."

The Captain entered a few moments later joined by Ailah who wore a frown. She was a simple woman who gave off intense librarian vibes. She spoke to me in an irritated tone, "Stand up."

I followed her orders and stood up. Stand or sit? These people need to make up their minds.

She held out a stick with an intricate design and spoke, "Sanandum."

What kind of word is that?!

I held my breath as a strange blue light drifted out of her wand. It was a truly beautiful and breath-catching sight. I couldn't take my eyes off of it as I watched it in awe. The strange blue light soon surrounded me and I felt my body becoming lighter. I stared at it in disbelief. Just what the hell is this light?! Why can't I get it off of me either?!

They watched as I swatted off the invisible light. I had no idea that they were unable to see it. Ailah spoke without giving me much thought, "Mundare."

The dirt and grime seemed to lift off of me and disappear into thin air. All that filth was now gone and I could see clearly that I was wearing an old worn dress. My mouth dropped as I touched my now clean body in surprise. WHAT THE F*CK IS HAPPENING?!

She turned back to the Chief, "Can I return now?"

He nodded, "You may."

I held my head as my mind struggled to keep up. Wait… Am I going insane? What was that blue light just now?! How did I suddenly become so clean!? Could I really be in a magical world?! That is impossible! It defies all logic!!!

The Chief took a seat and motioned to the seat across from him, "Please sit."

My mind was still muddled by what had just happened moments before. I sat down obediently while I watched him flip through a file in his hands. I had watched enough cop shows to realize I was going to be interrogated and that file was most likely the evidence he had on me. I felt something tickle my nose. Hmm. There's that weird smell again. *sniff sniff*

As I sniffed the air almost unconsciously, the air around the Chief turned a light blue color. It was a relaxing color. I could feel the tension in my body leaving… But then I suddenly remembered the vibrant red color from the Captain which had terrified me moments before. I glanced at the Captain wondering how the strange color could elicit such a strong emotion of fear within me. He looked at me with a scowl that made me flinch.

I nervously turned back to look at the Chief who was looking at his papers. I shifted uncomfortably and went back to looking around the room. Why am I seeing all these colors? Am I going crazy? Or did I hit my head too hard and I'm in a coma? I glanced back at the reflecting glass and saw my true reflection without the mess from before. My long wavy brown hair billowed out wildly reflecting back striking green eyes. Wait… Is that really me? She's a cute little kid… Although… She does seem to have a resting b*tch face… I guess with beauty comes natural confidence.

He spoke, "It says here that you conducted magic which resulted in a backlash?"

I touched my cheek still looking at my reflection and blinked in surprise, "Magic is real?"

He looked at me cautiously, "Yes… Magic is real… However, let's start simple first."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a key-looking item. He set it down in front of me. I furrowed my brow as I looked at it carefully. I could almost see a strange green light surrounding it. I watched as it slowly started to pulsate and envelope the both of us. Weird. This light is all around me, but I don't feel any different. Just what is going on?

Once he confirmed the key seemed to be doing its job, he continued. "Can you tell me your name?"

I forced myself to look away from the key and frowned, "You have a file in front of you. Don't you know my name?"

He didn't seem upset by my condescending remark, "We asked around, but no one knew your name."

I guess that means if I say my original name there won't be an issue. I suppose that's an advantage to not having acquaintances.

I crossed my arms, "Reika."

He spoke again, "Wonderful. It's nice to meet you Reika. My name is Chief Marlow. Can you tell me how old you are?"

My face twitched, "Um… Young…"

"Yes… I know you are young, but don't you know how old you are?"

I shook my head, "I don't know the exact age. However, you have a file in front of you. Just check my birthday on my birth certificate."

They have that here, right?

The Chief laughed in a carefree manner, "Commoners don't record their age or their birthday since it costs money to legally file it."

How far back in time is this place?! Commoner is such an outdated term… Whatever.

He wrote something down on a note, "Since you don't know, I will just guess you are around 8 years old."

"…Sounds about right."

He continued, "We tried to find friends or family that would know you, but we couldn't find any. Do you know if you have any living relatives?"

"I don't know of any."

"That's such a shame…" He looked at me and spoke in a sterner voice, "Can you explain what happened earlier? Were you really practicing necromancy?"

I shook my head, "I have no idea. I can't remember a thing."

No. Rather I don't think I was the same person as before. This is clearly not my body nor is it my world.