"Where the hell am I?" I ask myself, looking around. It's been half a year since I was reborn, and I have some limited control over my movements, and I can now understand a bit of my situation. My mother and the other women in this den are slaves, and so am I, as a slave's daughter. I was reborn, and I was happy to have a second life, in what looks like a fantasy world... only to learn the harsh truth. Apparently, the men who enter sometimes are the overseers, and they usually take one or two of the women out of our room, and bring them back a couple of hours later, or the next day. My mother is often taken, and now I can see that when she comes back, her eyes are red from crying, and her face is in pain.
I feel powerless, with this baby body of mine, but I swear to myself that I will put an end to this. Lillian, my mother, I swear to you that I will free you and everyone else here as well. Of course, I can't actually speak anything, but the intention is in my heart. From the day that I understood my situation, I redoubled my efforts to learn the language and to do my meditations.
Yes, I've been keeping up with the meditation exercises, as well as the recounting of my own previous life to myself, since the day I was reborn here. I don't know if it's because of that, or if I would remember everything anyway, but I'm still able to recount everything that happened. So, over time, I started focusing less on the recounting of my previous life and more on the meditation itself. That's because meditation in this world feels different from the one I usually did back on Earth. I could feel an undercurrent right below my grasp, in the core of my soul. So, every day, I spend a good chunk of hours in contemplation, trying to grasp that undercurrent and understand it.
As the months go by, I start learning the words of the language. I still can't speak, but I can follow most conversations now. My mother's name is Lillian, but most women here call her Lily. She is the only human here, and she seems to be loved by the others, who treat her with a lot of respect. The woman with cat ears is Cambucy, and she is a cat beastkin. She also has a tail, but she hates when I grab it, but it's sooooo fluffy I can't contain myself. There are some other beastkin, elves, and a dwarf. All female slaves. From time to time, a new one joins the group, or another is taken and never returns. They always put a brave front, smiling and caring for each other, trying to hide their feelings, and that's why it took me so long to understand the situation I'm in.
The daily routine by itself is not bad for me as a baby. I'm starting to eat solid food, and everyone around me is kind and caring. They've been shielding me from the overseers, but I know that they know about me; they are just leaving me be because, at my age, I am not worth much. But I know that at some point I will be sold out, and that thought sends shivers down my spine. I know that I need to get stronger, and I feel that the thing I've been sensing inside me will make me stronger. It's an isekai trope, isn't it? That the reincarnated person have an OP ability? I should have one, so I double down on my exercises. Nobody seems to notice what I'm doing, as the issue is never brought up. The only hard thing in my daily life is the sound of cries and moans that happens almost every day.
One day, my mother, Lillian, says, "Happy Birthday, Aurea. Today you are one year old". I have no idea how she knows that, as our room has no windows and we have no way to know about the passage of time. But it might be true, as I'm finally able to walk around and talk. The room we live in is more like a big hall, and it is probably underground, as the air is stagnant and the walls are humid. The only light comes from some devices that look like lamps. I wonder if they are powered by magic or electricity, but I still don't know the words for those things, so I set it aside in my thoughts. I'm more interested in other things.
"How do you know it's my birthday, Mom?"
My mouth is still not fully developed, and I still struggle a bit with pronouncing the words, but the mind inside me is 40 years old. Actually, 41 now. So my thought process and phrasing are that of an adult person, not a toddler. Everyone is rather startled by my way of talking, but they seem very proud of me, so I don't care much.
"Heh, let me show you a secret, little Aurea", Lillian says, taking me to a section of the wall near her bed. The wall has some scribblings made with a stone. "Every time they bring us the midday lunch, I mark it here. That's how I know how many days have passed since you were born. And today it makes one year".
I stand there, impressed by her meticulousness. I stare at the wall, but the scribblings are completely alien to me. They look like a calendar of sorts, but the characters are unlike anything we have on Earth. "What is the name of this?" I ask, eager to learn a new word, the one for calendar.
"That's a calendar, my dear." She answers me, frowning. Her face looks pained and worried, but proud at the same time, a delicate soup of mixed feelings. "You are a very smart girl, and I'm very proud of you, but please, never talk this way in front of the overseers. If they discover how intelligent you are, they will take you from here on the same day. I don't want to lose you".
"Don't worry, Mom. I'll play dumb in front of them." I can't tell her that I speak this way because I remember my past life, but I'm aware that standing out is a guaranteed ticket to Hell. "I will find a way to take us all out of here, I promise." I hug her, and we stay like that for some time. I really need to learn more, to become powerful. I will learn magic all by myself so I can get everyone free.