You awaken somewhere warm and comfortable. For a moment, it's like you're home on a lazy summer morning, when it's early enough you can just go back to sleep and not have a worry in the world.

But as you shift your weight, a sharp pain resonates through your body, reminding you of your current state, of what you've been through these pasts weeks. Of what happened right before you lost consciousness.

You crack your eyes open to a dim bedroom, plainly furnished but clearly high end, with dark hardwood and rich fabrics. Your body still aches, but it's not covered in mud anymore. In fact, your skin feel soft, you wounds, bandaged; your hair's groomed and your clothes, taken away. Instinctively, you pull the covers tighter around you.

You sit up, wrapping yourself up in the blankets, trying to get your bearings in this unknown room. Doing so, you hear a soft clinking - and raising your hands to it, you feel a smooth leather collar, perfectly sized around your neck. Running your fingers along it, you feel it's rounded metal hardware at the front, with a dangling ring, and embedded into the collar are some smooth stones, which, now that you focus on it, yoy can feel agaisnt your skin. But even with thorough tactile investigation, you cant find any sort of fastener you could use to take it off.

You look around worryingly, your fuzzy mind piecing together. A million questions flood your mind; where are you, and why? Is this the Academy? Who was that ominous lady? Why did she seem to know you?

As your eyes get accustomed to the soft darkness, you spot a vanity across the room, with a large circular mirror. You feel called to it. Tightening the soft fabric around your bare body, you slowly move to the bed's edge, set a foot on the ground, then the other. You stand up, and instantly regret your decisions; your legs are weak and wobbly, and you can barely stand. But curiosity fuel you, and you manage to wobble your way to the vanity, having to lean your whole weight on it to stay upright. The blanket around you slips off, but you dont grab it; the weight off your shoulders helps you stand up.

Instead, you stare into the ornate mirror, and are taken aback by what you see. You've never really spent time examining yourself, especially lately; you have a vague idea of what you look like, but you've always tought yourself forgettable. But here, now, you look simply splendid.

Far from your face being stripped of your traits to fit the societal standard, it's your natural beauty that shines bright, with all your best features highlighted like painted by a romantic artist; despite having just crawled out of bed, you hair and ears perfectly contour your face, rendering you effortlessly stunning. Even your body, which you dont remember paying attention to, catches your eye. It's not quite the same as it used to be, your form having shifted, perhaps ever since that fateful day. But now, spending some time paying attention... It feels so uniquely yours. You spend some time admiring yourself, simply amazed on how right this feels; once again forgetting your worries for a moment.