"Where the hell am I?" I ask myself, looking around. It’s been half a year since I was reborn, and I have so limited control over my movents, and I can now understand a bit of my situation.
My mother and the other won in this den are slaves, and so am I, as a slave’s daughter. I was reborn, and I was happy to have a second life, in what looks like a fantasy world... only to learn the harsh truth.
Apparently, the n who enter sotis are the overseers, and they usually take one or two of the won out of our room, and bring them back a couple of hours later, or the next day. My mother is often taken, and now I can see that when she cos back, her eyes are red from crying, and her face is in pain.
I feel powerless, with this baby body of mine, but I swear to myself that I will put an end to this. Lillian, my mother, I swear to you that I will free you and everyone else here as well. Of course, I can’t speak anything, but the intention is in my heart.
From the day that I understood my situation, I redoubled my efforts to learn the language and to do my ditations.
Yes, I’ve been keeping up with the ditation exercises, as well as the recounting of my own previous life to myself, since the day I was reborn here. I don’t know if it’s because of that, or if I would rember everything anyway, but I’m still able to recount everything that happened.
One thing that I noticed is that my mind is a bit fuzzier than it used to be, and that even small things can incite overwhelming emotions that cloud my judgnt. It’s probably just the biology of toddler brains at play, so I’m not too worried. I just shelf it to examine later.
So, over ti, I started focusing less on the recounting of my previous life and more on the ditation itself. That’s because ditation in this world feels different from the one I usually did back on Earth.
I could feel an undercurrent right below my grasp, in the core of my soul. So, every day, I spend a good chunk of hours in contemplation, trying to grasp that undercurrent and understand it.
:::
As the months go by, I start learning the words of the language. I still can’t speak, but I can follow most conversations now.
My mother’s na is Lillian, but most won here call her Lily. She is the only human here, and she seems to be loved by the others, who treat her with a lot of respect.
The woman with cat ears is Cambucy, and she is a cat beastkin. She also has a tail, but she hates when I grab it, but it’s sooooo fluffy I can’t contain myself. There are so other beastkin, elves, and a dwarf.
All female slaves. From ti to ti, a new one joins the group, or another is taken and never returns. They always put a brave front, smiling and caring for each other, trying to hide their feelings, and that’s why it took so long to understand the situation I’m in.
The daily routine by itself is not bad for as a baby. I’m starting to eat solid food, and everyone around is kind and caring.
They’ve been shielding from the overseers, but I know that they know about ; they are just leaving be because, at my age, I am not worth much. But I know that at so point I will be sold out, and that thought sends shivers down my spine.
I know that I need to get stronger, and I feel that the thing I’ve been sensing inside will make stronger. It’s an isekai trope, isn’t it? That the reincarnated person have an OP ability? I should have one, so I double down on my exercises.
Nobody seems to notice what I’m doing, as the issue is never brought up. The only hard thing in my daily life is the sound of cries and moans that happens almost every day.
One day, my mother, Lillian, says, "Happy Birthday, Aurea. Today you are one year old". I have no idea how she knows that, as our room has no windows and we have no way to know about the passage of ti. But it might be true, as I’m finally able to walk around and talk.
The room we live in is more like a big hall, and it is probably underground, as the air is stagnant and the walls are humid. The only light cos from so devices that look like lamps.
I wonder if they are powered by magic or electricity, but I still don’t know the words for those things, so I set it aside in my thoughts. I’m more interested in other things.
"How do you know it’s my birthday, Mom?"
My mouth is still not fully developed, and I still struggle a bit with pronouncing the words, but the mind inside is 40 years old. Actually, 41 now.
So my thought process and phrasing are that of an adult person, not a toddler, even though the sudden emotions sotis overrun them. Everyone is rather startled by my way of talking, but they seem very proud of , so I don’t care much.
"Heh, let show you a secret, little Aurea", Lillian says, taking to a section of the wall near her bed. The wall has so scribblings made with a stone.
"Every ti they bring us the midday lunch, I mark it here. That’s how I know how many days have passed since you were born. And today it makes one year".
I stand there, impressed by her ticulousness. I stare at the wall, but the scribblings are completely alien to . They look like a calendar of sorts, but the characters are unlike anything we have on Earth.
"What is the na of this?" I ask, eager to learn a new word, the one for calendar.
"That’s a calendar, my dear." She answers , frowning. Her face looks pained and worried, but proud at the sa ti, a delicate soup of mixed feelings.
"You are a very smart girl, and I’m very proud of you, but please, never talk this way in front of the overseers. If they discover how intelligent you are, they will take you from here on the sa day. I don’t want to lose you".
"Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll play dumb in front of them." I can’t tell her that I speak this way because I rember my past life, but I’m aware that standing out is a guaranteed ticket to Hell. "I will find a way to take us all out of here, I promise."
I hug her, and we stay like that for so ti. I need to learn more, to beco powerful. I will learn magic all by myself so I can get everyone free.
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