Rays of the morning sun are falling on my face. It is so warm and soft. Yes, softness. I don’t want to wake up.

  loud knock on the door

  — Sir Albert! Time to wake up!

  Albert… who is Albert? Is that my name? I don’t remember.

  The door suddenly opens with a slam

  — Albert!!!!!! Wake up!

  Not being able to resist this intrusion anymore, I open my eyes. In front of me, I see a young lady with blonde hair and green eyes. Her green dress looks like one from a fairytale. Taking a closer look, I realize that even though the dress looks very presentable, it also has a bunch of pockets and is probably made from some sort of sturdy material, judging by its appearance.

  — Mmmhmm, good morning. I yawn. Where… what…? I feel very confused at this moment — don’t judge me. I look around and can’t really recognize this bright room with large windows. You… what’s your name?

  The girl looks at me with a puzzled gaze.

  — What are you talking about? What is this gibberish?

  Suddenly, my head hurts. I struggle to pronounce the words.

  — I… don’t feel… good…

  With that, everything goes black.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Darkness. It persists. It doesn’t go away. It never goes away. I want to — I really want to — I want to see the light. But I can’t. It doesn’t matter how hard I try to open my eyes; it is still there. Darkness. I’m scared. I’m so, so scared. I feel like… I’m searching for something. No… someone. Please… help me.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  I can feel someone touching my chest and a strange sensation. I have never felt anything like that before. It really is impossible to describe. It’s like I suddenly learned about the existence of a new color. I open my eyes once again, and now I see a much older lady in a formal suit. The suit is dark and looks tight. I has some golden emblems on it. It’s hard to tell, but emblems seems to depict some sort of fantasy creature. The lady’s shoulders are radiating a transparent blue light. Suddenly, the light fades away. She turns and speaks to someone that I can’t clearly see.

  — He is fine. I can’t feel any disturbances. His body is also in great condition; I don’t see any problems so far. Now please let me finish the tests.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  The lady turns back to me.

  — Good day, sleepyhead. Look at me. Okay, fine. Now tell me your name.

  I open my mouth to reply, but the words are somehow hard to pronounce.

  — I’m… I’m Albert… I think. I’m not sure. One beautiful girl called me by that name this morning.

  — Hmm. Try to speak slowly. She frowns. What day is it today?

  I am visibly confused by her question.

  — Do you know where you are?

  I furrow my brows even more. She turns to the blurry person.

  — Okay, this is troubling. Has he been under the sun too much lately? He could be overheated. Did you use enough water spells? She looks toward the farthest corner.

  — …

  — Oh, so you were practicing fire magic. Okay, well that explains it.

  She turns back to the person, who is now less blurry and looks like a tall man with greying hair.

  — He needs some rest. Apply rejuvenation once a day just for safety, and don’t let him go play with fire in this scorching heat. Your maids should’ve known better. She glances at the corner.

  She turns back to me.

  — Okay, dear, now please hold my hand.

  Her shoulders start to shine green, and I feel better. I can feel my headache improving.

  — Th… thank you.

  — What is it are you saying?

  — Thank you.

  She leans forward.

  — Come again? Is that some local dialect?

  Suddenly, I feel a severe headache and scream.

  — Aaahhhhh! THANK YOU!

  The lady jumps slightly.

  — Holy Matron and by the Sixteen Blessings! Don’t play with me like that. She removes her hands from me.

  — He will be fine.

  She suddenly stands up. Shaken and mumbling some sort of prayer, she walks away.

  The tall man leans toward me. I can finally see him clearly.

  — Albert. He laughs. I know you are not fond of religion, but you don’t have to scare off the High Priestess the first thing when you wake up. Ha ha ha. She came here to help you, after all. … You played with fire spells again, huh?

  He has low and powerful voice. His tone changes, becoming stricter.

  — I know you like fire magic, but you must focus on learning your set of holy spells. I know you are only ten; however, being my son, you have certain duties. So please, fulfill them.

  He turns to the corner.

  — Meli, bring him some water and splash him if you must, haha. Don’t allow him to push you around. He is only ten. You serve me first, and your task was to help him practice, not to allow him to do whatever he wants.

  A faint and audibly scared voice from the corner replies.

  — Y… yes, sir. Will do, sir.

  With that, both of them left my room.

  What was that headache? And did she not understand me for some reason? I need to figure out what’s going on, what I am doing… and who I am. I feel like I’m missing something.

  With these thoughts, I stand up and look around the room. I can feel how light my feet are and how easily I move. This feeling is so strange. I jump a couple of times to double-check. Wow, this feels so refreshing. Like I’ve never jumped before.

  I look around the room and see a chandelier, a bookcase, and an empty armor stand. On the other wall, there is a painting of a man fighting a dragon. I see gigantic windows, so I walk closer and look outside. My heart starts to beat faster. The scenery is fantastic. I can see wheat fields. Behind them, I see a forest. It is so big — I can’t see where it ends.

  I put my head outside and look around.

  It looks like I’m in some sort of mansion on top of a hill. There is a village at the bottom of the hill, with a small river flowing through it.

  I feel tired. Probably the holy lady was right, and I just need some time to recover.

  With these thoughts, I go back to bed, and as soon as I close my eyes, I fall into slumber.