Chapter 2

Chapter

2

 My New Life as

Jael

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The queen laughed as she walked

closer with her whip.

*whack*

*whack*

*whack*

She whipped her hand as she drew closer to me. I tried to

run but my legs felt heavy as they wouldn't budge. It was like I was cast in a

block of cement as I tried to move. She finally approached me as she towered

over me. She stands at a staggering 20 feet or so as she brings down her whip.

I scream as the fear envelops my body unable to run from the monster before me.

Right before it hits my face I awaken with a jolt as someone shakes me awake.

"Jael, it's okay you're safe. It's going to be okay, I'm

here, I'll protect you." my dad said as he held me with his one arm.

It seems it was all a dream. Dad began to wipe all my

tears off my cheeks and the sweat off my forehead as I tried to catch my

breath. My rooms floor is covered in rugs like the rest of the apartment. The ceiling

has exposed beams going across the room and the walls are the same dark cobble

as the other rooms. I look over to my left to see a window radiating light from

the sunny outdoors. I tried to move towards the window to get a better look

outside, but my back ached as I tried to move. My dad noticed and went to pick

me up, but I shook my head to stop him.

"I need to do this." I said to him I figured out how to

overcome this obstacle on my own.

Hesitantly he unstretched his arm as he stayed beside me

in case, I needed him. I stubbornly rolled off the bed and steadied myself as I

stood up. My back now having to put on weight started to hurt but I only

continued on in desperation to win this small victory. With every step I took

my dad was right beside me at the ready to catch me if I fell. I made it all

the way to the window and held onto the trim of it. I looked out with a proud

grin as I looked at the sight before me.

 In my mind I

struck a victory pose at my achievement. I would have done it in real life if not

for me possibly hitting my face on the window and falling over. I looked up to

my dad and smiled a big toothy grin at my achievement. He smiled back at me as

he was simply just happy to see me smile. I turned my head back to look out the

window to look at what was out there. As I focused my eyes, I saw a beautiful

flower garden. It shone with a large variety of colors as it stretched for what

seemed like hundreds of feet. It was then that I noticed that we were actually

on the second floor.

 Normally servants

would be on the first floor, but since dad was at one point the head butler, we

were moved up here for closer convenience. After having his arm taken, we

should have been kicked out, but all the other workers hid the fact that we

were still here from the royals out of respect for all the stuff my dad did for

them over the years.

Having taken in everything I decided to head towards the

kitchen and out of my room. It was fairly small compared to my room growing up

on the farm but roughly around the same as my dorm in college. Since it was so

small, I thought I could make it to the other side, but it turns out I've

already used up all my energy. As my legs gave out and I started to make my way

to the ground dad caught me with his arm. He picked me up and carried me into

the kitchen. As I laid my cheek on his shoulder, I noticed that instead of soft

it was actually fairly hard and like me he doesn't want to let his injuries

limit him and his daily life. He didn't want to be a victim to the queen's

antics or let the fact of missing an arm keep him away from a normal life.

He opened the door, and I was welcomed by a wonderful and

familiar smell. As I turned my head to look at the source

I was welcomed by the wondrous salty and savory sight of bacon that mom was

cooking for breakfast. As the smell wafted through the air my stomach growled

very audibly for everyone to hear. After a moment of silence, we all burst out

into laughter.

"It seems 'someone' is excited for breakfast this

morning." dad said teasingly as he sat me down in a chair at the kitchen table.

I puffed out my cheeks and pouted as he chuckled at his

own joke. He poked my cheek to let some of the air out then made his way to hug

mom good morning. She continued to cook as he rested his chin on her shoulder

watching her as she finished our breakfast. I stopped pouting as I looked at

the loving couple in front of me.

I wonder, if I didn't die, would that be me

and Jesse every morning?

I sighed as to let go of the unproductive thoughts. Dad

on the other hand thought it was me getting annoyed at their lovey dovey

romance as he made his way back to the table. He sat next to me and ruffled my

hair playfully. I sighed again, this to him actually being the reason behind

it.

"Daaaaad, don't mess up my hair." I whined as I tried to

fix it. Even though I was complaining I was still smiling and giggling.

"Sorry my bad, my bad." dad said as he chuckled and

raised his hand in the air to surrender.

We had our breakfast together as a family and enjoyed

every minute of it. It's so refreshing being with my family after all that has

happened. As we were finishing our meal, someone started to knock at the door.

The fear of it being a guard or even the queen started to weigh on me. I

trembled as my father went to answer the door. I wanted to move from my seat,

but I couldn't move an inch. Whether it's because of my back or due to fear, all

I know was that I was stuck in that chair.

Once dad opened the door the person who was there was

welcomed in. It was Miss Margarette, and she was carrying some of her equipment

with her. The tension in my body melted away instantly as if it was someone I

could trust.

"Alright Jael, time to start physical therapy and get you

back to normal." she said as she set everything up.

 As I watched her

set it up, I became curious about some of the equipment she had. I was able to

turn in my chair, but I still can't get up myself.

This is already getting on my nerves.

While watching me get antsy in my seat, mom came over,

helped me get out from my seat, and set me closer to all the equipment. Once I

got a closer look at everything, I was enraptured by all that was around me. In

my past life I was an engineer and loved working on projects people would get

stuck on. It was during one of my habits of helping others' projects that I met

Jesse.

"What are the functions of these tools?" I asked as I

eyed the equipment before me.

Miss Margarette stopped in her tracks and looked over her

shoulder to see what I was talking about. Once she was able to track what it

was that caught my attention she smiled softly and started to explain each of

them aplomb.

One of the ones she showed me was two cuffs that adjust

to the users' wrist or ankle accordingly. Once attached, the healer can make

the necessary adjustments for what level the patient is at. This one stuck out

to me so particularly since it was an advance version of resistance bands used

in my old world. Through all the memories of this world I remember the fact

that they have magic tools but the fact that their tools had advanced past some

of modern earthly technologies blew the wind out of me.

"How was it made? Is it mainly through magic enchanting

or using magic imbued resources? How are you able to adjust it remotely while

it is attached to someone else? How does it keep its charge? Does it use my or

your mana, or does it have to recharge after a period of time?" I shot off one

question after another as I was completely filled with an overwhelming

curiosity.

Amazed by my sudden excitement over magic tools, not just

Miss Margarette but also mom and even dad were in shock. The first to break out

of their daze was dad. He smacked his face a bit before urging Miss Margarette

forward to answer my questions.

"Hey, kids are normally curious creatures. So, it only

makes sense that she would take interest in something new. Granted, I wasn't

expecting her to be so interested in magical tools like this too." Dad said as

he brought everyone back to earth.

It then reminded me that even though I now remember

everything from my last life I never thought about the difference in how to

talk. Normally a kid at eight years wouldn't be interested in this sort of

thing, and even if they did their questions wouldn't sound like that of an

adult. If I recall before all my memories returned, I was interested more in

things like sewing and cooking like my mom was, but now it's as if everything

has been switched in, basically in an instant.

I probably seem like another person and not the daughter

they raised for the past eight years. I need to think about what I say and do

more carefully so as to not raise suspicion. I may still remember both lives

fondly. I'm now a new person made from the two lives that merged into one. Not

only did the little girl known as Jael die by the queens' hands, but so did the

woman who went by the name Lindsay. She died by the hands of her childhood

friend while in the arms of her lover, Jesse. I have to adapt as this new

person I have become.

"I just, I just want to learn what it is that's going on

my body. I'm sorry." I said as I contained myself so as not to scare them

anymore than I already have.

Noticing my meekness, mom came over and sat behind me as

she stroked my back gently so as not to hurt me. As she lovingly gazed at me, I

leaned my head into her chest as I took in her familiar embrace. Her love

enveloped me as my entire body relaxed in her warmth. I closed my eyes and took

deep breaths as I could hear her steady heartbeat calm my anxieties. I was no

longer stressed about everything going on, so I refocused on physical therapy.

"Alright, since you seemed so interested in the Therapy

Rings, we'll start with those and work our way up till you are back to normal."

Miss Margarette said as she started to put them on my ankle and then my wrist.

Once both were put on, I could feel my mana start to get

sucked into them as they adjusted to my size. It was an interesting feeling to

say the least. It's not painful per say, but more like the sensation you get

when you lose circulation from poor blood flow. So, is mana similar to blood

and that it is an organ, or is it something blended into our blood stream

itself? I'll have to study more about this later when I have the time.

Getting back to the therapy she had me pull them apart

gently so I could start building muscle. The session didn't last long since I

soon got too tired to even raise my arms anymore. The pain got too much for me

to do it myself, so we called it that for the day since today's main goal was mainly

to get an idea where we were starting at. After she was done putting most of

the training equipment back, she pulled out two metal rods stuck together from

the box.

"What is that used for?" I asked.

"It's to look on the inside of your body so that I can

have a better understanding of what we're dealing with. James, can you close

the curtains, and Serena can you roll Jael over onto her stomach so that I can

get a reading." She ordered my parents as she pulled the two rods apart.

When dad finished closing the curtains and I was rolled

over by mom, Miss Margarette began to fill the two rods with mana. A pale blue

began to spread between them as the light filled the room. Speechless I watched

as I lied on my stomach. An image of my body began to spread across this

magical scroll of sorts. Once the image was clear to see properly, she called

dad over to hold one of the rods so that she could have a hand free to use. He

took it from her, and she took her now free hand and started to move the image

around. She took two fingers and spread them apart to zoom in and would pinch

them to zoom back out.

Hold on, isn't it just a mana smartphone/ x-ray? This

world is so advance and yet they still use candles and hand washing for clothes

like medieval times. Not that I am complaining since it is currently being used

to make me better, but the span between the two is astronomical.

"If you look here James, you can see that most of her

back muscles have essentially been ripped apart." Miss Margarette said to dad

as they looked over my scans, bringing me back to the present.

"So, what does this mean for Jael?" he asked, looking at

Miss Margarette.

"It means that it's not the end of the world, but it will

take a few months before she is back to normal." she replied.

Dad sighed in relief as he feared that this was

permanent. Mom on the other hand was still concerned about something else.

"What about the scars on her back?" she asked.

"That... can't be fixed. I'm sorry but the scars are too

deep in her flesh for magic to fix." Miss Margarette answered, her eyes down cast

in defeat.

Mom gasped and tears formed in her eyes, while dad's

excitement was put out like he was dowsed in cold water. Everyone fell into

silence, but I was confused by everyone's reactions. I'm satisfied to just be

able to get back to moving normal and be able to get back to helping mom and

dad. Granted, I rather not work for the queen anymore. Maybe I can work with

the developers of this world's technologies. But everyone was acting like my

life was ruined. Curiously, I used all my leftover energy to flip over on my

side as I continued to rest my head in mom's soft lap.

"Isn't this good news? I get to be a normal girl again,

what more could I ask for?" I asked looking at the adults gathered around me.

"But Jael, you won't be able to get married to any man

when you grow up." mom said as she looked down at me with saddened eyes.

"That's okay I don't want to get married. I just want to

help mom and dad with everything anyways." I said with a clear resolve.

My parents face changed as they watched me worry about

them more than myself. Dad walked over as Miss Margarette put away the mana

x-ray. He bent down on one knee and wrapped his one arm around both me and my

mom, all the while tears streamed down his face.

"I've been blessed by God himself who has given me the

both of you to me." he said as he held us closely.

As he was hugging us, I could smell a hint of coffee from

breakfast this morning as it lingers on his clothes. I went to try to hug him

back and felt his rolled-up sleeve where his right arm was missing. I felt a

sting at my heart at the fact that a man so strong having to face daily life as

a challenge every day. It was then that I resolved myself to become stronger

and healthy as soon as possible so that I could help him.

Don't worry dad I'll become strong enough so

that I can be your right hand.

During our heartfelt moment Miss Margarette watched on

with a tear in her eye while watching us. Noticing that I was watching her, she

wiped her tears away and straightened her back and walked past us and towards

the windows.

"Alright everyone, it's time to talk about our next

step." she said while opening the curtains.

At her summoning both mom and dad's faces became serious

as they both got up with dad carrying me. He carried me into the other room and

put me in bed apparently wanting me to rest instead of the adults'

conversation. Before he closed the bedroom door, I heard another knock at the

door as Aunt Jeane welcomed herself inside.

Not one for waiting for others, huh?

"Stay here and rest Jael. The adults need to talk about

something that you don't need to concern yourself with." he said as he closed

the door.

"Oh, now I really want to know what they are talking

about." I said determined to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Not until later did I find out that the very conversation

would be what shaped the rest of my future forever.