"Ugh, what happened?"
I grab my head, but I freeze when I remember what just happened.
"THE INTRUDER!"
I take a moment to stop and recall everything that happened.
'They appeared via the portal and then broke through my defenses, and I... I died...'
'And yet, I am not dead? Could Operation Phoenix have worked? No, that's highly unlikely; it was strictly theoretical. I had barely started getting it operational. That and I don't think this is one of the labs.'
I look around and I find I am in a room that seems strange.
What happened to my past body is irrelevant. The 15 contingency plans should have been activated and possibly dealt with my killer. What's the higher priority is figuring out where I am and possibly when.'
The room was old. Or at least old-fashioned.
'Oak, I think, I was never much of a botanist. But this bed seems to be made of fur. Bear perhaps. And I think I see some Wolf pelts. So have I time-traveled?'
The condition of the room, along with the distinct lack of anything even slightly resembling modern or semi-modern technology, led me to consider only a few plausible explanations. But that all stopped when I realized the largest hole in this scenario. I looked down at myself.
'Huh, I am small.'
I had the body of a child. A very small child.
'If I had to guess, I am likely a toddler or slightly older. Which means there must be a caretaker of this body. But what is this body called?'
I get a massive spike of pain from asking that question. It seemed the Universe was following the Cartoon Laws, where as long as I didn't say anything, I would be fine.
(AN: I.E., Hey, if we're underwater, how could there be a- )
It took an unknown amount of time, but I processed the memories, and luckily, there wasn't much, as this body was a child with a low-power brain, which meant fewer retained memories.
'So I live here with my mother alone. My mother has gone to gather supplies. And I have never left the house in the 2 winters that have passed. Or at least I think.'
That was the issue with child brains, I was finding it hard to think. My mind or soul had a high processing power, but my physical body wasn't able to keep up too well. I had great software, but my hardware couldn't run it properly.
'This is fine. I have dealt with worse situations. I just need to lower my thought level slightly to fit this body a bit better, and with enough exposure, I should slowly increase this body's tolerance for higher thought.'
'Oh, and I should stop referring to this body and myself as separate. We are one and the same. We even have the same name.'
That was what was most fascinating to me. We were from very clearly different eras, but we both shared the name Rio.
'Speaking of which, I think it is safe to say I likely reincarnated. Whether it was because of Project Phoenix or not is impossible to say. For now, I should focus on adapting to my body and figuring out when and where I am exactly. Which also means I have a few more hours to adjust to this new situation.'
I started by trying to get out of bed. It was a bit unwieldy at first. Like my legs were asleep, and I had to wake them up.
'Or like I was drunk.'
After a few wobbly steps, I was able to move around safely. I took this chance to look around the house or cabin, depending on your point of view.
'Hmm, either we are from a wealthier family, or we are in the Late Middle Ages. That is assuming I am on Earth or some equivalent.'
My mind tries to wander to all the worst-case scenarios, but I force my mind away from those topics.
'Stay focused. And don't lose hope.'
The house had 4 rooms. A kitchen. A bedroom. A common room. And a bathroom. The bathroom was the most interesting find.
'This makes no sense.'
What was in front of me was what I could only describe as a toilet of some kind. But that was preposterous.
'Indoor plumbing wasn't invented until the early 1800s, but this house doesn't look like it would fit in that era. So the question is. Is it an outlier, or is the house the outlier?'
From what I could see, it wasn't impossible that this was a house in the 1800s, but that wasn't the only issue.
'The toilet clearly isn't movable, but also has no clear signs of plumbing or even a mechanism that I can recognize. And I have no memories of how this thing works.'
I had apparently not been potty trained yet. That was an unpleasant thought, but I would make sure that it was resolved soon. I moved on to the bath, which was more standard for my initial estimation of the Middle Ages. It was a wooden tub with no visible signs of plumbing or any other features. It was also clearly carved by a craftsman and not a machine. That was the other point about the toilet that was odd. It was made of stone. Of what kind, I had no idea.
'Let's just leave it for now. Everything will be answered eventually.'
I moved to the common room, which I recalled had toys I played with. One was a favourite. It was a fox.
'Hmm, I can recall a vague memory of a fox, but I think it had more than one tail. Child imagination? False memories? Or true?'
The last option scared me more than I liked to admit. It opened a can of worms I didn't want to deal with. The rest of the common room didn't have much of note. Just a fireplace and a rocking chair, my mom uses.
'Hmm, Mother or Mom?'
I test both words before deciding on Mom. I wanted to feel more connected to this life, not less. Mother was too uptight and formal.
'But I am not using the term Mommy.'
My past life had ruined that word.
'Damn humans. Always having to ruin innocent or good words.'
I refocused myself as I was finding my mind kept wandering. It was a minor side effect, but nothing I couldn't deal with. I kept going through the house and searched for everything I could. I discovered some things that I didn't know civilizations had at this era.
'Who knew female instruments of pleasure existed this far back. I wonder if this was always true and I never heard of it during my research, or if it is something exclusive to this world. Or perhaps it was never discovered. Also, I should try to clean my hands after this. I do not know where that has been, and I have no intention of finding out.'
I placed the instrument back where I found it and went to wipe my hands with a little bit of water and an old rag. But after that was done, I stopped and thought for a moment.
'Do I have enhanced senses? Is that normal for a child? I don't know, I never really looked into Developmental Psychology. But I think being able to detect the faint scents left by my mother on that instrument is abnormal as far as I know. Now the question becomes. Is it a power, or is it just a bloodline trait of my race? I can't even confirm if I am human after all.'
That also brought up another point. It was fine that she had such things that a healthy adult would have, but it made me question if I had a father.
'I have no memories of a father here, but I do have a vague sense of paternal affection. Or at least I think it is. I never did have a father in my first life, so I am not sure. But the question becomes, if he exists, where is he? Is he dead? Is he on a trip? Did he go out to buy milk and never come back?'
I didn't help that there were no photos in the house nor was there any paintings.
'That could indicate that we are either a more moderate-income family or we are indeed in the Middle Ages.'
I decided to ignore those questions as I had no way of answering them right now, and instead did more tests before my mom came home.
Several Hours Later...
'Well, that didn't answer much.'
I had tried everything I could think of, and nothing gave me a result that I could say for certain was a conclusive answer. Now I hear my mom coming home. It sounded like she had to walk through a gate, which I know exists but have never seen. But this time was different. I heard two sets of... footsteps? I couldn't say if the second was footsteps exactly. One sounded like my mom, but the other was really strange.
'Almost as if it was dragging its feet or maybe like it wasn't touching the ground at all.'
Whatever it was, I was about to find out what it was. The door opened, and I heard my Mom call out quietly for me. I found it a bit odd.
"Rio, I'm home. We have a guest, so please be very quiet."
'What? A guest is over, but we need to be quiet. Are they asleep, or perhaps they are on the spectrum? I guess I never thought what a person on the spectrum would have lived like in the Middle Ages. I don't imagine it being very well.'
While I was distracted, my mom got closer and picked me up in a hug. I reflexively hug her back, and I feel a strange warmth I had forgotten about.
'How many years has it been? I must be a few decades since I last visited her grave... Huh, I guess I will really never see them again. Won't even get revenge.'
"Rio, why are you crying? Are you hurt?"
I notice that I am crying, and I can't even tell if I am happy or sad. But I decided to just accept the happy idea.
"No, Mom, I am just happy to see you."
Her smile goes so wide that I fear she might break her face. Then she squeezes me and starts to spin.
"Oh, you are such a cutie. I love you sooo much!"
I start to feel dizzy and I can hardly breathe, but it seems we had forgotten the guest Mom had mentioned, and Mom's outburst was too loud, as the next thing I know, Mom is gone and I am being held by someone else. I hear a soft crash, and I try to reorient myself, but I get smothered by lots and lots of hair.
"Oh, you are right, he is very adorable. I will forgive you for being loud. But you should go make supper while I play with this little one here," said the stranger.
I get oriented again and get the hair out of my face, and see my Mom outside in the front yard. Her head had been embedded in the ground, and I was worried she might be hurt, but she glowed golden, and then her head popped out.
'Huh, did she just glow? Wait, who is holding me?'
I turn around and come face to face with a smiling face that looks fairly mischievous. It was holding me with its hair, but I was frozen when I finally recognized what was holding me.
[Image Here]
"HUHHH!!!!!!!!!?????!?!?!?"
Then my little toddler brain was overloaded, and I fainted.
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Authors Note:
So here is the first chapter. It took me a while to get around to starting it. The childhood phase won't last too long. Just want to introduce the setting and some characters. If you notice any errors, let me know. Until next time, Ciao.