Cornelia
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 118653
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When the girl woke up a few hours later, she sat up blearily, looking around in confusion. "Hello, girl," said Arahim, and she looked over at him, blinking slowly. "How do you feel?" She frowned, shaking her head vigorously, her long curls whipping against her face. "I feel funny," she said, clearly becoming distressed. "Now, now," said Arahim, who had foreseen this. "I've made some tea. Won't you come and join me?" The tea, of course, was laced with a calming potion, and as she drank, she relaxed. "Now," said Arahim when she was halfway to the bottom of the teacup, "we need to find out who you really are. What's your real name?" She looked up, her forehead creased in confusion again. "It's Fred," she said slowly. "I told you." Blast! Well, maybe it could still work out. "Fred is a man's name," he explained patiently. "You are a young girl. Don't you see how silly that sounds?" "I told you," she said emphatically. "Bel-Belb-" She stopped, straining. "Belboz didn't do anything to you," Arahim said, gentle but firm. "My magic showed me that. The mind can play some funny tricks on us sometimes. Believe me, girl, you're mistaken." Fred, for her part, was extraordinarily confused. Arahim was speaking so clearly, and reasonably, and Fred had always known how smart he was, but... but she knew she was Fred, of course she did! But... but then why had the magic not shown that? Why... why was it so hard to think? "Well," said Arahim, changing tactics, "let's put it this way. If you were really a knight, you would know all about battle strategy and guard formations. Tell me, how did Prendergast Keep handle its low resources during the Eight-Month Siege?" ...What? She... she knew this! Or at least, she should... She strained to think, her teacup trembling between her tightly pinched fingers. "Don't hurt yourself, now," said Arahim. "See, you don't know, but a knight like Sir Fred certainly would. It's okay, girl. Why don't you take some time, see if you can remember where you really came from. If you can't, we'll figure something out." He escorted her to a guest room, where he left her to finish her tea and have a good cry. She was Fred! She was<! She didn't remember everything being so hard to understand before... but... but... What was happening? What if... what if she really wasn't? It did sound so stupid to say, that she was really a knight... She went to the full-length mirror to look at herself. She... she was obviously a girl. A very young, pretty girl. Even if she wanted to be a knight, she wasn't going to get anywhere with that dream. Maybe... maybe Arahim was... right? She abruptly broke down into sobs, and that was how the wizard found her the following morning, still sniffling to herself as she lay in bed, hugging her pillow. He sat in the chair by her bedside and asked, "Well, have you given any more thought to your real life?" "I can't even remember," she murmured piteously. "Can't you just give me a new name?" "Me? Oh, I couldn't possibly-" "Please? Your brain works better than mine. So much better." He sighed. "Okay. A nice girl's name. Um." He thought. It couldn't be remotely similar to "Fred." At length he said, "How's... Cornelia?" The girl nodded miserably. "It's fine. Just call me that." "All right then, Cornelia," said Arahim. "The king has graciously d ecided to give you some supplies and put you up in an inn for a little while. After that, you'll have to find your own way, but you're a very pretty little thing; just find a good husband and he'll take care of you, all right?" The poor girl's eyes widened in alarm at the very notion, but it was true that she didn't feel at all equipped to take care of herself... She buried her face in her pillow and started sobbing anew. She was escorted out of the castle and to a lovely nearby inn, where she sat in her room for a while, just trying to think. She... she knew too much about Fred to not be him, didn't she? But then, she really wasn't sure of anything she thought she knew, not anymore...
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1/20/2022 9:10:02 AM
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