Remembering the forgotten

*Early the next morning*

"Come, child. You will need to lay down for this." The elderly woman brought up a stool for herself to sit on, then patted the simple wooden bed next to her with her hand. Her face showed a kind smile and a pair of clear brown eyes that seemed to know everything.

Marella nodded her head at her, then awkwardly sat on the bed next to her. She felt a variety of emotions fill her chest, making it alittle hard for her to breathe. Her legs slightly twitched as if she was ready to run any moment. It was hard for her to lay down still.

This was it. She would finally have some idea of who she was before she woke up in that forest. Half of her was eager to discover her lost self, but the other half felt immense fear for the unknown. Something inside her screamed for her not do it, to let it go. That she was better off forgetting.

She had willingly given up her memories before, and now she wanted them back? Even she felt as if she was crazy. But there was an incredible emptiness inside her that she couldn't ignore. She felt like she gave up not only the memories she wanted to forget, but something incredibly important for her as well. She wanted it back.

[I'm not that girl anymore. No matter what I see... I'll be okay. I HAVE to be okay, Maya and the doctor are waiting for me. I'll be strong.]

"Lay back." the grandma kindly repeated.

Marella's completion was notably pale, but she still complied despite the turmoil in her heart.

Her silvery-white hair pooled around her small frame and spread across the bed. She folded her hands on top of eachother and placed them gingerly on her stomach.

The old lady's smile never faded as she turned towards Collin whom was standing with his hands on his hips near the fireplace. He looked slightly worried for her wellbeing, but also felt confident in his grandmother's abilities.

"Colin, bring me the potion."

Almost as soon as the words left her lips, he quickly jumped to bring her what she asked for without complaint. A pot was hung perfectly over the fire in the fireplace that contained a dark green boiling liquid. It smelled strongly of herbs and something pungent that neither him nor Marella could put their fingers on.

He filled a bowl half way full with the strange liquid, and promptly handed it over to his grandmother.

She patted him on the shoulder after taking the bowl, then turned her attention back to the silver hair girl laying infront of her. She dipped her fingers into the bowl, coated them with the thick green liquid, then touched them to Marella's forehead making a small green circle. Before long, her small body was covered in little green symbols from head to toe.

It felt strange to have someone draw such things on her body, and it made her desperately want to squirm out of her reach. Despite her displeasure, she stayed still and allowed her to continue on. Though she could some how keep her body from moving, she couldn't do the same with her mouth. She had never seen such complex symbols before and she couldn't contain her curiosity.

"What are you writing on me?" she asked as if it didn't really matter to her, but her eyes shined with uncontained curiosity.

The grandma looked back at her adorable conflicting expressions and let out a soft chuckle. Her hand never stopped drawing as she answered.

"They're runes. Ancient symbols used for amplify magic spells. On their own they're quite useless, but accompanied by a mage whom knows how to use them, it makes them very powerful. The spell I need to cast on you is hard to complete with just my skill alone, so I'm using runes to provide me an extra hand."

She finally put down the bowl on the nearby nightstand, and grabbed Marella's hand to hold encouragingly.

"Now close your eyes, Child."

Her eyes clamped firmly shut, and a cold sensation spread from her hand to all across her body. It felt like someone was dipping her into an incredibly ice cold lake.

She could still hear the old woman chanting something next to her in the language of the mage's, but couldn't understand what she was saying.

Her eyes were shut, but some how the darkness behind her eyes became even darker every second that went by. Even her thoughts began to slowly slip away from her, leaving her completely unconsciousness and alone.

....

[Where.. am I?]

When her eyes opened, she felt like her heart would drop into her stomach. She was surrounded by brick walls on three sides, and a thick metal bars on the fourth. There was no ceiling to protect her from the elements, and the walls towered too high to attempt climbing.

The ground was made of loose clay mudd that sunk up to her ankles, making it hard to walk. It must of recently rained because the floor had a thin layer of water that pooled into the many dents in the mudd.

Despite being able to look up and see the bright blue sky above her, the cell was unnaturally dark and cold. Like the sun wouldn't reach such a desolate place, because even the sun was disgusted to see such a sight.

She wasn't wearing her clean white robe like before, but now dirty mudd incased rags that bearly protected her body from the cold. When she looked down at her hands, they looked like someone else's. She knew they WERE her hands, but they were thinner and covered with mudd and scabbed over cuts and bruises and much smaller.

Then it suddenly hit her. Nothing here felt right at all, or even truly real. Like it was just a dream she was having.. or maybe a memory?

[I guess that old women's spell must of worked.]