Aarav lay in his bed. he had walked from the lab to his room here on the third floor and not fallen once the whole way. “Well done, Aarav! You did really well today. Keep working, and you will be able to walk again someday!” The little pep talk was not going well; frustration repeatedly rearing its ugly head.

I should be happy that I have made this much progress in only a day when it can take most people years to relearn walking. I guess I have my physical stats to thank for that, but the saying is true, nothing is ever good enough. If I improved twice as fast, I would still feel frustrated. Instead, I should just focus on the next thing I can do and proceed step-by-step.

Aarav looked down at his left foot. It was so complicated, and he was so tired from all the walking and balancing and falling and getting up again. But he should do as much as he could and then continue tomorrow. There were more than twenty bones that he could see. From what he remembered of the diagram, he had seen a lot of ligaments and muscles would go over it but could not remember exactly how many or where they went. Looks like it’s trial and error time. Aarav though.

Starting with saturating the left leg with Mana, Aarav observed how the energy swirled around the bones and mimicked how the tendons and muscles might form around it. Since Aarav could not remember the diagram well from the book he read, it was hard to tell if the reticulation was accurate. It was safe to assume it was similar. “Wow, that is really nice. The Mana seemed to be holding the leg in the ideal position for maximum comfort. Maybe it is pulling from my subconscious.” From when he had assimilated the skeleton, he knew that the textbook was rattling around somewhere.

It was time to tweak the Mana strands to see what happened with the preparations. The foot can make hundreds of different micro-movements, many required for balance, working with the Cochlear fluid. Without that, Aarav had his work cut out for him. Aarav used the active part of Zen Meditation to improve his concentration by clearing his mind of errant thoughts. The key to success is; focus. He breathed, allowing the sensations from his left foot to filter through. Then getting his instincts to guide him on the right strings to pull to articulate the foot in the directions he wanted.

It worked to a degree, and he could move the foot in the direction he wanted about two times in ten in the beginning. After a while, though Aarav’s eyes began to droop, the returns on the time he put in were less efficient. It was time to sleep. He would not achieve anything if he just kept pushing relentlessly. I also need to –

He had not even completed the thought before falling into an exhausted but blessedly dreamless sleep.

********************************************

The following morning Aarav woke up without a knock on his door. It was his second day waking in this room, and so less of a shock this time. His entire body ached. The familiar joint pains and teething issues that he associated with being alive were present. It was the first time he had felt those in half a year. Well, it was half a year, by Earth standards. Half a year here was actually eight months.

Another amazing thing happened, his recovery values were back to normal! Even though he couldn’t use the talent again for another two weeks, his recovery values for Health, Mana and Stamina had returned to full. His relief was so great that he felt a tear form in his eyes. Yesterday had been emotional and heavy but today seemed a brilliant start! Aarav actually jumped out of bed and regretted it instantly when he overbalanced on his legs and fell. God, I have been doing that so much recently. But my recovery is back to full. There was absolutely nothing that could put a damper on his mood today! He was in such a good place.

A knock came at the door, and without waiting, the person on the other side opened the door and walked straight in. Aarav’s mood plummeted like he had been dumped in a river with a ball and chain attached. “Good morning!” he tried to sound chipper and reclaim the day.

The Queen waved it off. “I don’t have time for your pleasantries. I have a task for you. You must prove your loyalty to the royal family before we can start to trust you.” Aarav felt the chill in his stomach turn to a pit and dig deep in his gut. He did not like where this was going. He didn’t even have a belly! Why is this happening right now? I have so many other things I need to focus on.

“I understand, My Queen.” Aarav started. Hopefully, that was the correct form of address. “How can I be of service?”

The Queen raised an eyebrow, “I see Haemish has been teaching you to waste time on formalities. I suppose it is necessary sometimes.” The stern expression remained on her face. “I require something of you. I need you to keep an eye on Haemish and report if you see anything unusual. Do you understand?” The queen said with such a commanding tone that Aarav found himself nodding on instinct. Report on Haemish’s activity? He had no idea how he was supposed to do that; also, why would he want to. Their relationship had started rocky, but yesterday he had been really friendly.

“You suspect him of something?” Aarav asked. “I can’t spy on him without understanding what I am looking for.” The Slime continued.

“It is not your place to ask questions, and it is your place to listen and obey a direct command. You have my authority to use whatever means you deem necessary short of harming Haemish. Not that you could if you tried, like a fly trying to decimate a boulder by blowing on it.” She laughed at the wittiness of her joke. She was alone in her laughter.

“I understand the command, but I don’t understand why you would want this of me.” This was getting a little complicated for Aarav, and these entanglements were what he wished to avoid. He just wanted to walk! Maybe he could ignore it and report nothing out of the ordinary.

No, that would never work. The queen probably had other spies if she was willing to use him, the newest kid on the block, to do some snooping. In the end, Haemish probably wouldn’t do anything suspicious…probably.

Instead of replying to Aarav’s perfectly reasonable question, she stared him down until the Slime’s bones rattled audibly. Then spun on her heels and marched out of the room, leaving Aarav to sweat as he considered his options further.

*****************************************

Aarav had not progressed on his predicament when Haemish knocked for him. Aarav gasped at seeing the man. It’s crunch time. Do I tell a man I have known for less than 48 hours that the queen has ordered me to spy on him? For all I know, this is some elaborate test where the Queen wants to see who I am loyal to, Haemish or the royal family. And since the royal family are the ones holding my Oath, it seems prudent to appease them rather than Haemish. If I am wrong about Haemish, it is a blip in the relationship. He would understand, knowing the Queen’s, ahem, temperament. The risk is too significant; I’ll just keep reporting nothing. That’ll be for the best.

The decision might have been logical, but he felt sick. The idea of betraying the man’s trust was just too challenging to consider, so he ignored it like he always did and buried it deep. Maybe the guilt will go away. Why was this life starting to become the same as the last, forced to betray someone close to him? They would have named him Judas if Rash had not already stuck as his nickname.

“Everything alright, Aarav?” Haemish said as he stepped in, “I didn’t know you liked sleeping with the door open; I recommend keeping it closed. Draughts and such.”

Oh right, he had not closed the door after the Queen left, and he was too distraught. “Aarav? Everything alright?”

“...”

“AARAV!” Haemish yelled, and the Slime jerked to attention.

“Yes, Master!?” Aarav’s flustered look and distracted gaze said it all. Only one thing could cause anyone in this palace to behave that way. Haemish sighed, and Aarav would have seen the gears ticking in his head if he hadn’t been distracted by his own thoughts.