Elizabeth felt her senses return one by one as she slowly opened her eyes. The first thing she did was check her arm, which was still tied up in restraints. 'Oh yea… it's good to be whole again.' Despite having been lying here for who knows how long, she did not feel any sense of discomfort in her body.
Her ears twitched when she started hearing the sounds of shouting around her. She quickly inspected the room and noticed Tessie standing in the far right corner, looking angry as she was the source of the shouting.
'Who is she getting mad at now…'
Shifting her gaze, she noticed a tall woman wearing a lab-like coat, with long jet-black hair that had a few silver strands mixed in. The woman stood in a calm and composed manner, radiating elegance and confidence, but in a way that seemed artificial, as if she was forcing herself to be so. Her face was slightly wrinkled, and she had noticeable bags under her gem-like green eyes, but it did not hide the beauty she possessed. She was so beautiful that she could easily be mistaken for an Awakened. But Elizabeth could never make that mistake, as she recognized the woman instantly. Her one and only mother, Jennifer.
"Are you serious? Don't you feel a tad bit of shame showing up now? Your daughter has been facing her nightmare for a week. Why didn't you visit before she was taken?"
Tessie did not look great either. Her normally wavy hair was in a tangled mess, and she looked disheveled. Elizabeth glanced to the side and noticed a desk filled with paperwork, as well as takeout food packs.
'She… stayed here.' She was slightly surprised by that, not that she did not appreciate the action, but because saints were the busiest people in the world. For Tessie to take a week of her time was already extraordinary, and she knew she would have stayed longer if she had not woken up today.
"I apologize, I was… not in the area at that moment. As you know, getting from LO49 back to Falcon Scot takes a while, especially this time of the year when we are the bus—"
Tessie slammed her fist into the metal-plated wall and instantly left it dented, yet Jennifer did not even blink at the display, as if it was an expected reaction.
"You—"
Sensing things were getting heated, Elizabeth cleared her throat to get their attention. Both of their heads instantly snapped toward her direction, so fast she thought the sheer force would snap their necks.
"Elizabeth? You are awake—" Tessie's voice suddenly halted midway, and her eyes widened in surprise. Jennifer looked just as surprised, if not more.
"Uhh, yea… I am awake. What's wrong? Why are you both looking at me like that?"
It only took her a second to understand the reason for their confusion. 'My flaw!' She turned toward Tessie.
"A mirror. Quick, I need a mirror."
Tessie snapped out of her shock and instantly summoned a memory that looked like a mirror, turning it toward her.
'Gods…'
In the reflection she saw her mother. A healthier, more beautiful version of her mother, although she looked slightly older because she had more strands of gray hair and a few more wrinkles. She would have easily mistaken it for some weird edited picture of her mother, if not for the fact that her reflection of surprise was reflected back at her.
'How… distasteful.'
She had already started to hate her flaw when the nightmare spell had announced it to her, but this took it up a notch. She really did not like the face she was looking at, and this was supposed to be how she looked in the future?
Tessie slowly dismissed the memory.
"…Your flaw, I presume?"
Elizabeth could only nod absentmindedly. "Untie me, please."
Tessie nodded, grabbed the keys from the desk next to her, and proceeded to unlock each lock. Jennifer snapped out of her shock before walking toward her.
"…I am glad you survived, Liz."
Elizabeth stared at her. Jennifer's expression had not changed much as she said those words. If not for the slight shaking of her hands, and how warm her voice sounded, she would have thought her mother did not care for her at all. She only nodded in response.
Once all the shackles were undone, she slowly got up from the hospital cot and stood.
'I can't even tell if I really have been in a coma for a week. The wonders of being an Awakened.'
Other than the increase in weight from her chest, and the weird imbalance of suddenly standing three inches taller than before, her body was in peak condition, the best it had ever been in fact. The clothes she was wearing had tightened around her body, complementing her figure. She took a few moments massaging herself, trying to get a feel for her body, and before too long she started to feel herself a bit too much, almost forgetting the people watching her.
'By the dead gods, look at the size of my ass!'
Tessie gave her a strange look before she cleared her throat.
"Okay… uhh, first things first, welcome back to the land of the living. Congratulations on surviving your First Nightmare, Sleeper Elizabeth."
Elizabeth smiled. "Sleeper Elizabeth? Oh please, you can call me Elizabeth, Saint Tessie," she said in an exaggerated tone.
Tessie's eyebrows twitched for a second. "I see you are in a good mood for you to be joking like this. I guess your nightmare was not all that bad."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "I am in good spirits because I survived that hellhole."
Both of them slowly started to laugh before Tessie dragged her into a hug.
"Welcome home."
Elizabeth could feel the relief and stress wash away from Tessie's shoulders and leaned into the hug.
"It's good to be back…"
She glanced at her mother, who was standing awkwardly on the sidelines watching them with a small smile, before the watch on her wrist started to vibrate. The expression instantly melted away, returning to its casual aloofness.
"Excuse me for a moment…"
She walked toward the exit.
Elizabeth felt a pang of sadness watching her leave, but she forcefully pushed it down.
Suddenly, she heard a sniff next to her ear.
"…Tessie… are you crying?"
Tessie broke the hug and wiped her tears.
"What a stupid question to ask. Of course I am crying, you don't know how worried I was… and with my flaw added to it, it was practically torture."
Elizabeth sighed as she patted her shoulders. She knew what Tessie's flaw was. Almost everyone knew what it was. It was more of an open secret due to how it worked. Her flaw multiplied her emotions many folds, and Tessie as a person was known to have a short temper, so she was famous for her lash outs. Elizabeth understood where she was coming from.
"There, there, everything is okay now. I am okay."
Tessie eventually calmed down. "Hey… just because you look old enough to be my mother does not mean you get to act like one. I am the adult here."
Elizabeth burst out laughing. "Aw… is sweet Tessie sad? Want me to make you coffee? Don't worry, mommy is back, okay? Don't be sad."
Tessie slapped her hand off her shoulder. "Fuck off." Which only made Elizabeth laugh harder.
"Speaking of flaws, what is up with yours? There are not many known flaws that affect the physical body."
Elizabeth sighed. "Yea… it is not the most ideal flaw." Her eyes suddenly widened. "Speaking of… when is sunrise?"
Tessie blinked before she looked at her watch. "Uhh, in a few moments… why?"
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Hey, I might turn into a toddler, or a baby… or if I won't be able to walk. If that happens, do me a favour and give me a bath, I really need one."
Tessie looked at her in confusion. "What…?"
But at that exact moment, the first beams of sunlight shone outside. Even though Elizabeth was underground, her flaw took effect. Elizabeth instantly felt herself shrinking, and due to the sudden shift in her core, she fell.
"Fuck." The voice that came out sounded childlike. The clothes she had been wearing moments before suddenly felt too baggy. She looked at her hands and noticed they had become smaller and had some fat to them.
She took a few moments to inspect herself while trying to stand. Her legs were short, but they were not babyish, so it only took her a few moments before she was standing again. She took a step forward, then another, before she sighed in relief.
'I can walk....'
She then looked back at Tessie, who was staring at her in shock and disbelief.
"Never mind… I think I can take the shower myself…"
*******
Side note: I fixed the description of her flaw into one I was satisfied with, and this chapter should also help in understanding how her flaw works as well.
Also, I regret to inform you guys that I will only release one chapter today. I was studying for my exams, so I only got the time to write one, and I am going to take a nap. If I wake up from it feeling refreshed, I might release the next one. If not… well, see you tomorrow.
Also, if you can, leave a review on this, it will greatly help me understand how well I am doing with the story, and also areas to improve. Thanks for reading!