The final task was to set the gem in her forehead. Rin was cold and tired so she decided to huddle with the blankets and get to the task while being as comfortable as possible.
With all that had happened, she had completely forgotten to check if she already had a gem in her forehead. She had certainly seen one in the red haired ghost, so she was surprised to feel none in her own when she touched it. She would have liked to have a mirror at hand but since there was nothing else to do, she took the gem from the pouch where she had stuffed it and since it had not changed from its clear form from the morning, Rin shrugged and put it in contact with her skin, as it seemed that was the only thing she needed to do.
What came after could only be described as having her head drilled open with no anesthesia. As soon as the gem touched her skin, the pain blinded her to the point she could not even scream. If she could have seen herself, she would have been terrified to see the gem melting her skin, her bone all the way until it touched her brain. When it did, the thing sprouted filaments that extended all over her body. There was no bleeding because the gem and filaments cautherized everything they touched to avoid more damage than was needed.
When the pain subsided, Rin felt her mind was attacked, an information overload that felt like being buried under rubble, pressured and hit from all angles. She heard herself breathing with difficulty and tried to concentrate on that to keep herself from losing counciousnes as memories upon memories and so much knowledge from the late Rin became available to her. Meanwhile, it seemed as if entirae blocks of other information from her past were also opened for her in her new b1ody and somehow, she felt more like her old self than before. Soon, she was certain that the gem was akin to the nanotech every human being carried within their bodies in her previous world. Rin had a ghost of a smile because she felt she could access all the features of her armor without restraint and that meant, she could at least defend herself if needed, no permission needed from the upper ups in government. If she had had her entire capabilities activated while she was in Mariner Town, the entire incident where she died woud not have happened. By grafting the gem in her forehead, she had been given back her entire military capacity and also the whole information she needed to know from her new world.
Still, this body was weak and tired after all it had been put through. Rin decided to sleep to get some strenght back. It would also help the process of recovery that the machines would make within her. Dusk was still some hours away and she now knew she would need her strenght if she had to help the person the ghosts had mentioned.
While she rested, she sifted through the memories of the late owner of this body. It turned out she was a highborn lady named Rin Coesen, daughter of Lady Aren and Lord Zen Coesen, the current main head of the great Coesen clan. Her little brother, young Lord Nain Coesen, and her were the legitimate children of the couple and in normal circumstances, they would be the cherished new generation at the top of the family tree. The problem lay with the fact that lady Rin Coesen was an anomaly within the family, even within the nation, a person born without a soul gem.
Her father had despised her since he first saw her as a newborn. The rest of the family were not different. Only her mother and later her brother had really loved and protected her despite everything. She was perceived as such a shameful existence that the Imperial family had threatened other families with a betrothal to her as a way of punishment and succeded. Since she was a little girl, barely able to walk, her marriage prospects had been discussed and negotiated sometimes even more than border treaties after a war. She had had been thrown about like a hot coal unwanted by all the families, her father punished commonly with so many broken engagements that he became a joke in court. Only the fact that the Coesen clan was ancient, rich and his work valuable had saved his political career. He hated the useless daughter that had brought him only problems just by existing.
Her mother had been shunned too, both had been sent to live unseen by the public eye in a remote part of the huge Coesen estate. Only two servants had stuck by their side because they had come from the lady´s maternal family the powerful Nen family and were loyal to death. Meanwhile, her father had taken 2 other women to live with him as concubines and they bore him children that pleased him. However, one night after drinking a lot, he had searched for his wife, maybe because a memory of their romance in their youth remained and thus, her little brother came to be. When he was born and her father had seen a beautiful boy with an even more beautiful baby blue soul gem in his forehead, the great rift between her parents became smaller and they were moved back to the quarters designated for the Lady of the clan. Rin was seriously bullied by the other children in the clan when the change was made, specially her younger sisters and brothers born from the concubines and became even more of a recluse whose only joy was to spend time with books, a little flower garden and her little brother.
The hut and wood were Rin was now, was part of the Coesen estate, located in a remote area where a mountain range started. The nearest part of the official house was hours away by walk. And they had been sent here to die by common decision between everyone in her father´s family. All because her father had been assasinated and the Coesen clan felt they needed to get rid of the young heir and install a stronger person so as to not lose their political weight in court. Her brother was barely 9 years old and would need much time to be fully trained in the intrincancies of war and imperial matters. Her mother and Rin were also a nuissance, valueless chess pieces they could afford to discard as the Nen family was currently out of good relationships with the Imperial family. Her father´s concubines and their children were to be protected at the price of their absolute silence on the matter and they gladly accepted. Thus, they had been brought here in the middle of winter, dressed in rags and their servants taken away, maybe even killed; the three of them were given only the barest of supplies and poison had been added to them so soon, be it from cold, hunger or poison, they would be dead.
Rin heard voices shouting nearby after some time. The fire had been detected and guards had been sent to take a look at the charred remains. It was already late in the afternoon so they just took care of looking for the bodies and found only pieces of bone among the mess left by the fire. The hut´s roof had been a thick construction of wood beams and grass and as the hut collapsed, the charred bones had been further damaged. They brought a bag along, swept what they could hastily find of the bodies as to show their superiors that the deed was done and left as soon as they could. They knew innocents had been unjustly killed and were superstitious to think that the ghosts might turn vengeful.
As the guards retreated in their horses, Rin peeked from her hidden position and saw them taking the direction towards the setting sun, and so, she knew the path to the official house was in that way. She would later have to decide wether to head that way or to go somewhere else altogether. It was clear that going back to the official Coesen mansion would prove very stupid. It was dusk already and Rin was waiting for the stranger her brother had foretold. Maybe this person would be key to what would happen next with her.
Her thoughts were interrupted as a figure stumbled near the remains of the hut as snow began to fall and crossed the brook in her direction. Rin guessed this was the stranger her little brother had mentioned. Rin got out of her shelter fast by brushing some snow aside and arrived at his side just as he was falling to the ground. She did not waste time to inspect him much because it was clear he was running away from something and she needed to get him to her hidding place fast if both were to make it.
It was a man alright, heavier than her by several pounds, dressed in white and cream shades that could easily blend in the snowy landscape. Rin gritted her teeth at his weight and whispered that he should help her move. The man was clearly disoriented but still, at the sound of her voice, reacted by helping out until they reached the shelter entrance. Rin had to shove him in the end and hurry because the snow was falling more heavily and the wind blew very strongly. She really hoped it was enough to cover the trail they left at the end because it was becoming darker by the second outside and she did not think it was a good idea to go out in the bitting cold to risk getting lost in the storm. The man had fallen unconscious over the straw as she was kneeling and working to cover the hole in the entrance so they could not be spotted. She heard then shouts over the wind and just as she decided to use the blanket as a part of a makeshift door, three figures came down from the trees barely meters away from their shelter.
-The trail is lost by the hut, but another one is still visible in the direction of the Coesen mansion-said one of the men, They were dressed in full black, their attire screamed assasins loud and clear.
-Maybe the Prince had people from the Coesen family helping and our Lady did not know?-
-Register the hut-ordered one of the figures-if nothing is found, let´s search the Coesen mansion grounds, the Prince was affected by the medicine and getting away is already a feat but even he cant fight the effects of it for long and will need release no matter what, otherwise his life is in danger. If we find him in the Coesen mansion raping anyone, all the better-he smirked.
-But the plan was to have him and the Crown Prince found together-
-That plan has to change if necessary-the leader said-dont waste time here, the storm is already setting us back.
Then they vanished and even over the howling wind, Rin heard how they searched the burnt hut because they used tremendous force to further move things around. Then the sounds quieted and she thought they had finally gone on the direction of the Coesen mansion.