Fraud

"This is ridiculous. I can't do these any of these things. I can't be who you say I am. It's not possible! I'm just a child!"

The shadowed figure standing in front of her seemed to shake its head. It spoke again, a disembodied voice in her head, neither male nor female. "You are she. She is reborn. Your soul has been reborn time and time again. And you, Jenetia, are no longer a child."

She fell to her knees, screaming in agony as her limbs began to stretch. This was impossible. This could not be. The pain seemed to go on for hours, days, years. Time was no longer a barrier. Time was no longer a thought. Time no longer existed. There was only pain. 

And then darkness.

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There were voices. Barely above a whisper. The words made no sense. A different language maybe? Echoes perhaps?

Jenetia's eyes fluttered open. When her eyes finally came into focus, she saw the thick rafters high above her. She felt the cold stone beneath her back. There was heat to her left. She turned her head to see a fire blazing. A thin scratchy blanket was draped over her. She moved her hand and felt her naked skin. 

There was a familiar smell in the air. Was she really back at the Castle? That means she was almost home. How? The last thing she remembered was pain...

Her eyes widened suddenly. She pulled one arm out from under the blanket. And stared at the long, thin fingers, the longer arms. Glancing around she noticed that the people speaking were not close. She was completely unnoticed. She cautiously lifted the blanket and choked back a cry as she noticed the small but firm, definitely adult, breasts. The shadow was right. She was no longer a child.

Slowly she sat up. There was a dull ache in her body, but she could move. Carefully she took stock of where she sat and where the stairs to the upper levels were. She slowly wrapped the blanket around herself, and quietly got to her feet. Still no one seemed to notice her. She felt like a ghost as she made her way to the stairwell to head up to the apartments her parents kept here. 

There was no way the shadowed figure was right. What had it done to her? She wasn't used to her longer limbs, not used to being taller. Still no one seemed to notice her. Maybe there was magic involved somehow. She bumped into a table, rattling the dirty dishes piled on it. She paused looking around. It was like she was invisible. 

She'd heard a word once. She remembered that Mama had used it when referring to someone who was pretending to be something she was not. Fraud. Jenetia felt like a fraud in this new body of hers. Her mind didn't seem any different than before, but her body was completely new. 

As she began to climb the stairs, she started to weep softly, wondering whether her mother and father would even recognize her, wondering whether Norbert would still be there. Oh my goodness. Norbert!?! If she wasn't a child anymore, he wouldn't be able to come to her. He'd be assigned elsewhere and...

She started to weep harder. In between sobs, anyone listening could hear the word "fraud" choked out over and over again.