When Andy finally opened her eyes, she was lying in bed with a healer beside her and an agitated old dwarf watching her.

The healer smiled at her and turned towards Old Hanner:

“You see, it was how I said, the spell had backfired, and she had a lot of inside bleedings!”

“How do you feel, young Andy? OK?” - asked Old Hanner with a worried voice

Andy put her hand on her belly. The insufferable pain was somewhat attenuated but still present. She felt dizzy and tired. As she touched her naked belly with her fingers, she winced. The healer put her hand over hers in a soothing movement:

“Patience, young girl, patience. It needs more time to recover. In a couple of days, you'll be ok; I've repaired what I could with my spell and put a couple of healing crystals under your bed. You'll be OK.”

Andy looked at the healer, surprised. She was not used to people being kind to her. As the healer covered her with a white bed sheet, she still expected something terrible to happen, somebody to hit her. She was confused and tried to make order in her head.

She knew she was Cala, but not really her. It was such a confusing feeling. She knew Cala was a powerful mage; how could she be Cala when she was just a low-level mage and angry with those limitations?

Limitations? A couple of days ago, she had been nothing but a slave ready to be sacrificed, and now she was a mage?

Was it true that she knew more types of magic, something unheard of, or was it just a dream?

She knew she was an escaped slave. Cala had freed her. Her breast rose as she took pride in that fact: a mighty warrior mage had taken her over and freed her. She still had Cala's thoughts in her mind, but she knew she could not possibly be Cala. Cala had not been a slave!

She was too busy in her thoughts to pay attention to the dwarf and the healer conversing near her bed.

Why did Cala take her over? Then she remembered the spell she had just cast, the spell that was the cause of her illness, but she was happy for the trade. Yes, Cala had used her, but at the same time freed her and taught her a lot of spells!

Then she remembered she could heal herself. Could she really heal herself? Since when?

But she had done it, and that part of her who thought she was Cala knew it. Then she must know it.

She remembered the thought. Was it only a thought? Probably! It had worked like this:

It was just a thought, a simple thought, and yet she saw the silver light passing between her fingers and spreading over her body.

She closed her eyes and inhaled. The thought had been the spell.

She recognized it, that had been the feeling, and that had been the spell. Plus, she was feeling better; the magic had worked.

It was not how healers did their spells; it was not how mages did their spells. They all chanted and vocalized their magic. She didn't have to say a word; she only needed the thought.

She grinned happily and thought at it again:

It worked again.

The healer had not seen her. She was just leaving, talking with the dwarf, but the dwarf had seen her. His brows raised up, surprised, but he said nothing.

The dwarf left the room behind the healer. She stood up. She was not yet fully healed, but another two spells were enough. She checked her belly with her hands: it pained no more.

At that moment, the door opened again, and the dwarf came back into the room. She turned to greet him and grinned happily, but the dwarf turned his face away as if shocked to see something.

He was not happy.

A wave of panic washed over her. Oh, fuck, she had again moved freely without her master allowing her to do it! Years of training compelled her to fall instantly on her knees. She placed her palms down on the floor.

"Oh, sorry, master, I'm ashamed my appearance did indispose you! I deserve punishment!" - she bowed her head waiting for the deserved punishment. Something in her rebelled against this, she almost stood back up, but the habit was too strong.

The dwarf took a step back, surprised, and turned away from her.

"Uh, no, young Andy, there is no master here?"

"I know I'm too ugly to look at; I was told that many times; sorry."

She curled up, trying to make herself small, but slowly her brain started to realize that something was off and the 'training' that she had received was not applicable here.

The dwarf hesitated, then answered:

"You are looking marvelous young Andy” - he sighed - “don't let anybody tell you something else! That is not the problem."

He moved awkwardly to reach for a blanket. She stood up even more awkward, realizing again she was no longer in that damn cavern. How easy was it to fall back in those damn patterns? She did not have to follow those rules. She still asked:

"Then why can't you look at me?"

It was such a sincere question that he sighed in despair. He turned and looked at her:

"When I say marvelous, I mean it!" - he shrugged, smiling weakly, trying somehow to fit the blanket on her back beside the wings- "It is only the convenience in this society. Look, there is your inventory box and..."

She was now angry with herself. Why did she give in to that instinct to abase and prostrate herself? She was free! She had fought brutal battles to free herself. Yes, true, Cala did that, but Cala was her; Cala's thoughts were still in her mind. Her body and her life had been on the line.

When he pointed to the desk where her inventory box was, she saw the slime, and more memories from the previous day's fight came to her mind.

"Bubble!"

She jumped towards the desk where Bubble was imprisoned in a glass container. Old Hanner wanted to protest, but she opened the container, and Bubble sprang instantly on her hand, then rolled to her shoulder.

"So it is your... ahem... animal?"

"Companion!"

"Oh, I see, companion. Not familiar?”

She saw his red face, but he did not abate his eyes. Maybe this was natural with dwarfs? At least he was not angry with her. She smiled, recognizing the appellation:

“Oh yes, she said it was my familiar!”

“Who said that?”

Andy hesitated to answer. No, she will not rat Cala out:

“I... I... said it... "

The old dwarf raised a brow but did not comment. She added, trying to explain:

"When I saw through his eyes."

"Oh. You should keep that secret; the powers of your familiar are your and his secrets. I did not know they had eyes..."

He smiled and added with a guilty look:

“Ahem... I had quite the trouble to... put it there..."

She furrowed her brows:

"He is outraged that you forcibly imprisoned him!"

Old Hanner made an apologetic shrug:

"Sorry. He did not want to let me approach you... I wanted to help, and then I feared it would harm you, so I closed it there."

"Bubble to harm me?" - she laughed, a happy laugher - "No! Never!"

Bubble bubbled two times on her shoulder. She was finally dressing up, and old Hanner sighed, relieved. He shrugged, amused:

"Please tell him my apologies; I only meant the best for you!"

*

I opened my eyes. I was in a hospital room. There was a nurse there and a lot of devices on the wall supervising my health. The nurse bowed, looked at me then pressed a communicator device:

"Doctor, she regained her consciousness!"

She came closer and adjusted the infusion I was getting.

I wondered where old Hanner was. Did that old dwarf pick me up and bring me to a hospital?

But this did not look like a Mephisto nursery but rather like an emergency room on Earth. What was happening?

I tried to check if I had horns, but I could not move my hand. It was tied down to the bed.

"It's for your security," - the nurse said, observing my movement.