Normally, people wake up in a daze from their dreams. But there was no brain fog this time, just pure, unadulterated confusion.
"Master Orochi?"
A soft, unfamiliar voice called out an even more unfamiliar name. The boy tucked in white satin sheets tried to blink away the rays of sun that filtered through the dusty curtains. His long, black, dishevelled hair reached nearly past his shoulders from months of being ungroomed while lying in a coma.
"Master Orochi?" The soft voice of a concerned woman tried to call out to him again. This time, he felt a gentle pressure against his temple as the woman felt for his temperature.
Finally managing to focus his eyes, the boy managed to frame his caretaker in view. She was young and clearly beautiful, wearing the traditional black and white outfit of a maid, with her hair tied into a blonde bun. Orochi? Was that his name?
It took Orochi a moment to realise he couldn't actually speak. When opening his mouth, only muffled, incoherent sounds managed to make their way out of his dry throat.
Quickly realising that the young master was trying to speak but to no avail, the maid rushed out to get a physician. She seemed to be in quite the panic as Orochi heard her shouting down the hall, alerting the other members of staff that the young master was awake.
Normally, people would be panicked when they realised they had lost their voice. Orochi did not feel this way. It allowed him a moment to bask in the warmth of the morning sun, slowly permitting him to adjust to this strange new environment.
Looking around, it was clear this was either a dream or... or what exactly? For some reason, he couldn't remember who he was but remembered a totally different world. Earth. Strange. For some reason, his instincts told him this wasn't home. Something told him the maid with the pointed ears might have been the reason, something about her seemed unhuman.
Slowly sitting up, Orochi could hear the sound of creaking joints that hadn't moved in ages finally being set in motion. Looking down at his palms, he was dumbfounded to find that they were the size of a child's. His mouth let out a wispy gasp of surprise, eyes widening as he began touching his body all over, a slow creeping horror starting to rise from within. Was he a bloody kid?
· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·
The maid's name was Althea, information Orochi had gathered as Althea and Physician Thalos spoke as if he didn't exist. An unaccounted-for benefit of being mute was that people forgot you existed, while also forcing the cursed one to listen more intently than ever before. After all, there was no other choice.
Althea recounted to the physician dutifully all the events that had happened, how all of a sudden Orochi had awoken from his six-month slumber out of the blue. From what Orochi was able to gather, he seemed to have been involved in an accident of some sort during a hunting trip that the young master's body was seemingly forced to partake in by one of his older brothers.
It started to become apparently clear, from the decrepit state of the room, cobwebs in the corners of his master bedroom, that the family of this Orochi was also struggling financially. The physician mentioned that debt collectors had come to his father asking for payments, making it difficult to afford his treatment.
It seemed things couldn't get any worse. He was in a kid's body and broke.
Althea seemed to be the only solace in this dim atmosphere as the physician began doing his routine checks on the young master. Orochi himself was slowly starting to come to terms with things. His mind was filled with memories of another world. He remembered things like cars, trains, planes, skyscrapers built on skyscrapers, his real home a metropolis filled with millions of people, and books. A lot of books.
Historical battles and names flooded his mind from his past life as he tried to come to terms with this new reality, still unable to quite put his finger on who he really was. He was Orochi. And he was not.
The physician, finally done with his checks, leaned back on his stool, brooding in his own thoughts.
"Hmmm... this is truly a bizarre day for House Moon-Born," he muttered under his breath.
Althea stood like a guardian statue, hiding her anxious, sweaty hands behind her back, awaiting the news. Part of Orochi couldn't help but steal glances at her as he slowly realised she definitely wasn't human. Sharp ears, delicate cat-like eyes, and the way the short black maid skirt framed her petite body gave her the slenderness of a cat. The skirt stopped just a bit above her knees, giving clues to her toned thighs.
An elf. A real goddamn elf. A really attractive one at that. Thinking of her that way confirmed one other thing for Orochi, in his past life, he was definitely an adult man.
"What is it, sir? Will the young master be alright?" she finally asked, breaking the silence.
"More than alright, it's a miracle. Almost as if nothing had happened. His constitution is still weak like before, nothing abnormal in his condition. It is as if the young master has just woken up from a nap."
A nap? Orochi felt like he had woken up after an eternity.
"Should I inform the Lord?"
"No. For now, inform Lady Moon-Born. I think it is best no one knows that the young master is awake. You catch my meaning, don't you, Althea?"
A coded conversation to which Orochi was not privy. Why not inform the head of the house? So many questions rang through his head, but Orochi had one advantage over this world that no one else did. The whole world saw Orochi as a defenceless child thrust into the unknown.
Looking around, remaining silent, the gears started turning in Orochi's head. No. He was rather a defenceless adult thrust into the unknown. The game was different.
A quote from something he had read in his past life sprang forth: "It is not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters."
A steel hardened behind Orochi's eyes. Patience. That was the virtue he would have to hold onto most right now.