Kyoh Myung-Dae's vision suddenly brightened as he looked around. He saw the canopy of a bed attached to a bed frame and noticed a weight on his body. He also quickly noticed a foreign feeling, his limbs weren't quite right.
He looked around more as his vision began to clear a bit and noticed it was late at night and he was in a large room with various pieces of furniture. A couch sat at the end of the bed and on the far wall is a vanity dresser with three mirrors.
Suddenly, he heard faint talking from outside the room and attempted to listen in. "She's been asleep for a week, it's not looking good." A male voice said.
"Doctor, are you sure there is nothing you can do? Please, if you can do anything, just do it." A different male voice said with desperation.
"Unless there is some miracle, I can't do anything, I'm sorry, Athel." The doctor said. Kyoh Myung-Dae heard the doorknob begin to turn and quickly turned to face the door.
The door opened and a man walked in, quickly looking toward you and after a moment, he became shocked and ran out of the room. "Doctor! She's awake!" He yelled. After another few moments, the man came back with another man.
This time, they walked over to the bed. 'Who are these humans? Why are they looking at me as if they know me?' Kyoh Myung-Dae wondered.
"Astrid, do you remember me!?" The man asked.
'This human needs to get away from me. I may have been peaceful to them, however, I never said we are equals. We will not be equals for at least a few centuries when they garner power equal to that of us dragons.' Kyoh Myung-Dae thought as he looked at the man's face.
"Astrid, why aren't you talking?" He asked.
"Athel, calm down, she's three and has been in a coma for a week." The other man said.
'Wait, are they talking about me?' Kyoh Myung-Dae asked himself as he raised his upper appendages and saw the hands of a small human. 'The fuck?' He thought. He pushed himself into a sitting position. "Hu-" He started, but quickly stopped as he realized how minuscule his voice was. 'I was called Astrid, that is a female name, yes?' He thought. (Gonna refer to Kyoh Myung-Dae as Astrid from now on and also say she.)
"Astrid, did you try to talk to me?" Athel asked. The doctor sighed.
"Athel, get her some water, she seems dehydrated." The doctor said.
"Right away." He said as he stood up and ran out of the room.
"Human, tell me where I am." Astrid said as she glared at the doctor.
"My, quite the attitude for a young girl. Are you playing elven empress?" He asked.
'So I am a female child. Useful information that I figured was the case, nevertheless, it is useful having that confirmed. Although, it would be nice if he answered my question.' She thought.
"Your father will be back shortly, do your best to behave for him." He said.
"You ignored my question." She said as she aligned her gaze toward the vanity mirrors. She couldn't really make out her features due to the distance, but she could see her hair is violet in coloration and somewhat long for her age.
"Can you not see you are in your room?" He asked.
'I see, so this is this body's room. Well, I suppose it is mine now.' She thought. "I seem to be having problems recalling anything other than speech. I request that you put me on the ground." Astrid said.
"Quite the vocabulary for a girl of your age. You are certainly a strange girl." The doctor said. "Well, as of now, you should have some water before trying to stand." He added. Astrid glared at the doctor.
"Fine, I will heed your advice. But not because you have said it, but rather I think it is the best path forward." She said as she crossed her arms and waited. After a few moments, Athel returned with a pitcher of water and a cup that was already filled.
He handed the cup to Astrid and she quickly drank the entire cup of water. 'Well, it didn't entirely get rid of the pain I felt in my throat from lack of hydration, however, it has helped greatly.' She thought.
"Would you like some more, Astrid?" Athel asked. She glanced at him and nodded as she handed him the cup.
"I would like to stand now, I request floor access." Astrid said. Athel looked at Astrid with shock.
"When did you become so talented!?" He asked with excitement as he placed down the pitcher and cup and hugged Astrid.
'This man is overly excitable. This new life may wind up being hell.' She thought. "Get off me! You're the one who offered me more water!" Astrid yelled in response. Athel flinched and quickly got her the cup of water.
Astrid quickly downed this cup as well. "You didn't answer me." She said with an annoyed tone of voice. Athel looked at the doctor. He sighed and nodded. Athel picked up Astrid and placed her on the ground.
She attempted to keep her balance, however, she fell. She stood up once more, however, the same thing happened. 'Damnit! This is embarrassing!' She thought.
"Did you forget how to walk?" Athel asked.
"No! I am just having trouble regaining my balance, ignorant human!" She yelled in anger. 'Shit, I called him human...' She thought. Athel stood up and offered Astrid his hand.
"Allow me to help you with your balance." He said with a warm smile. Reluctantly, Astrid accepted his help. "Though I am curious as to where you learned to speak in such a manner." Athel said as Astrid began taking a few steps, trying to learn where her center of mass is.
"I just heard someone say that is how dragons spoke." She said.
"Was it one of the maids?" He asked.
'Maids? Is this family well off?' She wondered.
"I'm not telling!" She said as she looked away from Athel. 'This should get him to stop ask-' She thought as Athel poked her cheek.
"Come on, Astrid, you can tell your papa, I won't be mad." He said. Astrid began to get annoyed as he continued to poke her. She yanked her hand away from him and attempted to walk away, but only managed a few steps.
'I hate this.' She thought. The doctor walked over to Athel.
"We should allow her to rest, for now, she seems to be a bit overwhelmed and is putting up a front. A sort of way to figure out what is going on. We can check on her later." The doctor said. Athel sighed.
"Alright." He said as he walked over to Astrid and picked her up, then placed her on her bed. "Astrid, I'll see you in the morning. Do your best to get some sleep." Athel said with a more serious tone.
'He suddenly seems like more of a father.' She thought as she nodded slightly and got into a more comfortable position. She closed her eyes. 'I'm going to have to learn as much as I can tomorrow.' She thought.
In the morning, a maid had woken her up and taken her to the dining room. The dining room is rather large and has a rectangular table in the center. The table could easily fit twenty people or more.
At the end of the table where the most extravagant chair is. Athel sits there and in the chair to his right is a woman. Astrid is placed in the chair directly across from the woman which is raised up significantly. Upon being sat, the woman gave a slightly annoyed expression.
"It is good to see you are doing well, Astrid." The woman said gently as she got her expression under control.
'She clearly doesn't like me. What is my relation to her?' She asked herself. One of the maids got food for Astrid and put the plate in front of her. Astrid began eating with her hands, ignoring the utensils next to her plate.
"Astrid, use your fork." Athel said as he grabbed her hands and wiped them clean, then gave her the fork next to her plate. Astrid began using the fork, albeit clumsily.
"This is ineffective." Astrid mumbled as she watched how Athel used the fork and got much more food in every bite than she did. She attempted to mimic his movements, but due to her lack of dexterity, it was a clumsier version of the proper way to hold a fork, though it still worked much better.
"You've gotten better at using the fork, Astrid." Athel said, praising Astrid.
"It was a simple task and not difficult to figure out when the correct way to hold the fork is practically shoved in your face." Astrid said blandly. The woman looked at Astrid with a surprised expression.
"Was Astrid always this well-spoken?" She asked as she looked at Athel. Athel shook his head.
"She said she heard someone say that dragons spoke in that manner." Athel said.
"My, how cute~! She wants to be like the dragons~!" The woman said happily.
'I don't wish to be like the dragons, I am one!' Astrid thought angrily. Athel had finished quickly and left to do some work. Once he was out of the room, Astrid looked at the woman and placed her fork on the table, then she placed her elbows on the table and put her hands together and rested her head on them.
"So, why is it you dislike me?" She asked.
"I'm afraid I do not understand what you are saying." The woman said. Astrid sighed.
"It's clear you don't like me. I asked you why that is. I'm not an idiot and I am certainly not oblivious." She said. Suddenly, a maid walked up to Astrid's ear.
"She will not tell you the reason." She whispered.
"Then you tell me." Astrid said. The maid hesitated.
'Do I really tell this to a three-year-old?' The maid wondered. Astrid glared at the maid. 'The answer is yes, yes I do.' The maid thought as a shiver went down her spine. "It is because you are the child of a concubine who is cared for like the daughter of a mistress. The mistress is in front of you." She whispered. Astrid nodded.
"Dismissed." She said. The maid walked back after hesitating for a moment.
'That child is terrifying...' She thought.
"So, what will it take for you to accept me?" She asked. The mistress was taken aback for a moment.
'Is she really a child? She seems so level-headed. Completely different from the emotional brat from before.' The mistress thought. "I have already accepted you, why would you say such things?" She asked as she placed her hand on her cheek.
'Right, human politics, a game of lies and conspiracies, how wonderful. If I want to continue a comfortable life, I suppose I will have to play this game. So, I've decided I will thrive in it.' Astrid thought. Astrid sighed. "Fine, I will thrive in this game of yours." Astrid said lightly as she moved her elbows off of the table and finished her food.
Once finished, she was taken to the bath and cleaned, then put into new clothes. Her hair was braided into a crown braid and she was put into a room of toys. The room has maids on every wall.
In the room, there are various toys, a rocking horse, woodblocks, and other such items. She decided to pretend to play and began to construct a structure out of the woodblocks. There are several containers of woodblocks.
'My next move should be learning to read. As a dragon, I did not have access to the written languages created by humans. Of course, we dragons had a written language, but it was for a different purpose.' She thought as she placed blocks down.
'I assume I require Athel's permission to get a tutor. Of course, reading isn't my only interest. Swordsmanship and magic would be useful as well. The issue is, I do not currently know the current wealth of this estate. Not only that, but unlike dragons, only some humans have an affinity for magic. Assuming that I retained my previous affinities, I should be able to use it.' She continued thinking.
'Other than that, I can assume that the mistress is not the only threat I have to face in this estate. If I am the child of a concubine, there are probably other children. Not just the mistress's children but other children from concubines. Though I do not know how many my father has.' She thought as the first part of her structure was finished.
The structure is the main portion of a castle, however, as of now, it is lacking its towers and the walls which would usually surround the castle.
'Alright, assuming that the children of the concubines envy me and the children of the mistress have a certain disdain for me, I must be careful. It is likely the only individual I can trust, at least somewhat, would be Athel, my father.' She thought.
After a while, she had finished constructing a replica castle which she had once seen in her life as a dragon. 'This certainly brings back some memories.' She thought.