Chapter One: Young Again
I woke to an unfamiliar ceiling.
“What’s this?” I mumbled.
I was lying in a large bed, surrounded by unfamiliar objects. Opulent furniture filled every corner of the high-ceilinged room. Moreover, the room was so large that I couldn’t reach any of the furniture, no matter how far I extended my hand.
“Who needs this much space?” I mumbled again.
My voice surprised me. It sounded childlike and faltering. Without thinking, I looked at my hands. They were small, like those of a young girl.
“Huh?” I asked. “What’s going on?”
I climbed out of bed and walked towards the large mirror in the back of the room.
“Uh, yep, I’m a child.”
I stared at myself while clinging to the mirror. Yes, I appeared to be a child of around four or five years old—no two ways about it. I was quite pretty with soft, golden hair and beautiful eyes of deep purple.
“I look like a mini version of Alexandra,” I noted.
I was, in fact, Alexandra as a young girl.
“Why did this happen?”
As I continued staring at myself in the mirror, I heard the rattle of a doorknob, and someone entered the room.
“Are you awake, Lady Alexandra?” a woman asked.
“Mary,” I answered, uttering her name by instinct. Apparently, I had both Alexandra’s memories and my own.
“I’m so glad you’re awake,” Mary said with a somewhat teary-eyed expression. “I must inform the duchess.”
With that, she left the room. A little while later, she returned with a gorgeous woman with neatly tied golden hair. As I continued inspecting myself in the mirror, the golden-haired woman raced over to me and squeezed me in her arms.
“There you are, Ally!” she cried, tears spilling from her stunning, sapphire-blue eyes. “You’re finally able to get up. I’m so relieved.”
“Mother,” I said.
This beautiful woman was indeed Alexandra’s mother. For some reason, I had remained in Alexandra’s body and returned to her childhood.
“How does your head feel?” Mother asked. “Does it hurt?”
“No ouchie,” I replied.
“How wonderful to hear. What about your stomach? Are you hungry?”
“Tummy rumble-rumble.”
“I see,” Mother answered with a laugh. “Well then, let’s have dinner a bit early. I’ll go ahead and wait while you change, dear.”
“Okie dokie.”
My childish speech made me somewhat uncomfortable, but what could I do about it? At this point, I couldn’t articulate myself like an adult. Simple as that.
“I’ll prepare some hot water,” Mary said before leaving the room.
“What’s going on here?” I mumbled.
As I struggled to grasp my situation, a voice rang out from somewhere. “Alexandra,” it called out to me.
“Who’s there?” I asked.
The voice laughed. “It’s me.”
“Goddess?” I responded after recognizing her. “Hey, do you know why I’m small?”
“It’s due to the change.”
“Oh, right. You mentioned a change when the ground shook.”
“Yes, things have changed significantly thanks to you,” the Goddess said. “The original Alexandra has been reborn and is enjoying a different life. On the other hand, you reverted back to Alexandra’s childhood. The fifth loop has begun.”
“Huh? I’m gonna have to relive all that drama again?”
“No, Alexandra’s life has already changed. You fell off a horse and lost consciousness. That never happened in her previous lives.”
“I fell off a horse?” I repeated.
“Indeed. Headfirst.”
“Yeah, it’s coming back to me now.
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“CAN’T reach,” I grumbled.
I couldn’t possibly reach the back of a horse as a five-year-old. Thus, I looked around for something to use as a platform. The head chef had given me carrots, and I’d visited the stable to give them to the horse. Afterwards, I’d decided to ride the horse since no one was around to stop me.
“This should work,” I said upon finding an old wooden box in the corner of the stable. Somehow, I managed to carry the somewhat heavy box over to the horse’s belly. Though the horse looked rather uneasy, I completely failed to notice.
“Upsy-daisy,” I said while heaving myself onto the wooden box, which was two-thirds my height. Then, I continued clambering onto the horse’s saddleless back. Along the way, the horse nudged my rear with its nose, allowing me to complete the climb.
“Alrighty,” I said.
Now, I just needed to stand up and straddle the horse’s back. Unfortunately, I had made a grave miscalculation. Children had incredibly heavy heads in proportion to the rest of their bodies. Despite my best efforts to climb onto the horse, I plunged towards the ground upside down. Powerless to stop myself, I knocked my head against the stable floor and lost consciousness.
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“CHILDREN sure have some big heads, don’t they?” I mused.
“Indeed,” the Goddess replied. “But thanks to your fall, I can speak to you again.”
“Did I forget about you until now?”
“That’s right. Though we can speak normally for now, this will be our last conversation.”
“Really? Just when we’re finally able to chat again?”
“You’ve already begun your life as Alexandra,” the Goddess said. “You won’t be coming to my realm anymore, and as such, my meddling ends here.”
“That’s sad, but I guess it makes sense.”
“We won’t be able to speak, but I’ll still be watching over you.”
“Thanks,” I said with a laugh.
“Also, I’ve bestowed my divine protection upon you. Your magical abilities should be enhanced compared to Alexandra’s previous lives. Likewise, you can use all elements.”
“Enhanced abilities and all elements? Wow, I’m looking forward to using magic. This might be the best part of being reincarnated. I’m so excited.”
“I’m glad you’re happy,” the Goddess responded with a titter. “I enjoyed my time with you as well. Have fun as Alexandra. I’ll be watching over you even if we can’t speak to each other.”
“Got it. Thanks, Goddess.”