Androlis had moved away from the mirror and to the iron tub, touching the attached crystals that controlled the water coming from the pipes above it. After a short time, the tub was filled with hot steaming water and he took his time getting clean. Androlis scrubbed every inch of his body, visualizing it as scraping away every mistake or flaw he saw in himself, scraping away his past self.

  Feeling much better after the hot bath, he exited the washroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and paused. Cecelia stood at the end of his bed, her hobgoblin features twisted in confusion as she stared at the neatly made sheets and comforter. Fresh clothes were clutched in her arms, seemingly forgotten about in her confused state. Andro cleared his throat and she whirled around, blinking at him a few times, uncaring that he was just in a towel.

  “Did you sleep on the floor sir?” she asked, her voice gruff yet soft as she spoke. He had never asked her age before, but assumed she was in her forties having worked for the Maxon family long before he was born. Her hair was the color of coal and kept coiled up in a tight bun, but he remembered the few instances where she had let it down and was shocked at its length, easily reaching the floor.

  “No I slept in my bed Cecelia” he chuckled, stepping closer and reaching for the clothes she still held on to.

  “But sir, your bed is made?” she asked in disbelief, passing him the clothes “How can your bed be made if you slept in it?”

  “I made it myself after waking up” he responded his laughter only growing at her expression

  “You, you made your own bed?” she asked in complete astonishment, not even acknowledging when he started to dress instead turning back to stare at the bed some more

  “Yes Cecelia, you don't need to act surprised that I am capable of doing that” he rolled his eyes pulling his pants on from under the towel, “It's my choosing day after all, if there is any day for me to become more responsible for myself, it’s today.”

  She looked towards him again, an eyebrow raised so he kept talking. “Yes I come from a somewhat wealthy family and that affords certain privileges, but I desire to be a new and better man Cecilia” he explained while pulling his shirt on “Best way to do that is start with the little steps like making my own bed in the morning”

  He wasn’t fully lying to Cecelia as he was going to work on being a better person, but he felt that explanation was more believable than telling her it was a habit now from years in the military. The look she was giving him suggested she knew there was something more to it, but she didn’t press him farther on the topic. Instead she let out a sigh and took his towel from him once he had his pants on and took it to the washroom.

  “Mother wants me to speak to Grandmother this morning, do you know if she is in the library already?” he asked her while checking to make sure everything fit properly

  “She is sir” Cecelia answered and withdrew a comb from one of the many pockets that lined the blue and grey dress she wore. She moved behind him to start working on the tangled mess that sat on his head but he reached for the comb instead.

  She moved it out from his reach and gave him a look that seemed to say, ‘do you really want to try that’ before saying “While I can appreciate this new goal of betterment and doing things for yourself, I am your maid Young sir and I will do my job”

  Her tone left no room for argument so Andro reluctantly sighed and turned back around, allowing her to comb his hair. Once she was finished she gave a satisfied harumph too which he rolled his eyes while giving her a smile.

  “Thank you as always Cecelia” he said with a genuine warm smile and it was true, even during his previous life he had always been grateful to how hard she worked. He may not have always been the perfect example of a dignified noble. Andro had even become somewhat distant from his family after it was revealed none of his concepts fell within the tradition.

  The Maxon family was nowhere near to being the most powerful or influential family within the city-state of Venilar, but they were well respected and known. Most of that was accredited to the fact that everyone born in the family would awaken to have one of their concepts lean towards divination. His Mother had the concept of fate as one of hers and one of his sisters had foresight.

  That is where he deviated by being the first one born into the Maxon family without anything like those. His concepts were revealed to be Justice, Blood and Pain with only Justice being one that he found to actually be worthy. That led to him making what he believed to be his worst mistake in his previous timeline, letting himself believe his family no longer cared for him because of his concepts. It had taken him an embarrassingly long time to release that they did not care what his concepts were, but by then it was already too late.

  He gave Ceclia another smile before making his way to his door so he could make his way to the library, but stumbled when a searing pain engulfed his chest. He gasped as the fiery pain consumed him making it difficult to breathe. Dropping to his knees, Andro clutched at his chest and groaned as wracking coughs tore from his throat.

  “Sir Androlis!” Cecelia called out, by his side in an instant panic clear in her voice trying to help support him as best as she could. “Are you having an attack?!”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Instinctively he had covered his mouth with his other hand as he coughed, trying to keep them contained as best as he could, and failing. He had barely heard her question, the burning pain getting worse with every struggling breath he took. Cecelia managed to pull his hand away from his mouth, but she gasped at seeing the blood on his palm.

  He tried to speak, to ask her what was going on but the coughing made it near impossible to get anything else out. The pain was only getting worse, and for the first time in a long time, he began to panic. That panic only grew when he felt Cecilia's form move away from him and he wanted to ask her to stay.

  Barely a moment later, but what felt like a lifetime, he felt her hand on his back again and something smooth and hard press into his lips. A sour, but familiar, liquid poured into his mouth and by some miracle he was able to get it all down. A cool sensation spread out in his chest, easing the pain away and dulling the coughing enough he could breathe easier. A few moments later, both the pain and the coughing vanished completely as if they were never there.

  What replaced them was realization and memories about his condition when he was younger. From what he could remember, something about his lungs didn’t form correctly when he was born which would result in nearly daily attacks where they would try to operate separately and out of sync. Most children would have died early on with a condition like that, but his family held enough connections and resources they gained access to a relatively cheap supply of a potion that would help. The main downside was the effects were temporary to the point he had to drink a vial every day when he woke up.

  The hope had always been that when he underwent his choosing day, the effects of what they called the pseudo evolution, would be enough to repair his condition. To be honest that was his hope, his family believed it would take at least two or three rank-ups before he would no longer need his treatment. Thankfully in his previous timeline, that first one from his choosing day had been enough he had never needed to drink the foul, sour tasting potion again.

  “Thank you, again Cecelia” he rasped. His throat sore from the ordeal, “I will be all right now”

  She gave him a look that suggested she didn’t believe him and he could see the worry clear in her bright yellow eyes. Those eyes searched him up and down, examining every inch and to help convince her Andro stood up straight. He displayed no signs of being in further pain or even discomfort, smiling warmly at his loyal maid.

  “Sir Androlis, did you forget to take your treatment when you woke up?” she asked, her tone telling him she likely already knew the answer, “It has been years since you had an attack like that”

  “No because I spent the past three decades without ever having another attack” he wanted to say but kept that reigned in, instead he said “It must have slipped my mind in my excitement for today's event” he scratched the back of his head sheepishly as he said this in an attempt to sell the image of a clueless young man.

  She eyed him with suspicion to which he chuckled nervously and held up both hands in surrender.

  “I promise in the name of the Creator that I feel perfectly fine Ceclia. How about this, I am going to see Grandmother but will take an extra treatment with me just in case” He promised giving her a genuine smile.

  She continued to stare at him, her hands planted firmly on her hips in contemplation but eventually she let out a long sigh and shook her head. “Very well Sir Androlis, but do know that I shall be reporting this to your mother. You have not had an attack like that for quite some time” She told him while walking over to retrieve another vial from his nightstand.

  “You have no idea” he thought but kept the smile on his face, accepting the vial she handed to him.

  “That is completely reasonable” He said out loud and strode back into the washroom to scrub the blood off his hand and mouth.

  Satisfied that he was properly clean, for the second time, Andro made his way out of his bedroom and down the hall towards the family's impressive library. At least a third of the second floor was dedicated to the library, shelves lining each wall as well as placed in neat rows leaving just enough space to navigate between them. Each shelf was stacked with numerous books and tomes in every size one could find, at least sized for humans that is.

  Andro enjoyed coming to the library, there always seemed to be a sense of peace that resided between the rows. Someone could spend multiple glasses just wandering between the shelves or relax near the hearth where comfortable chairs and a sofa sat, just waiting for one to get comfortable with a good book. Those plush chairs were his destination as if there was anywhere for Grandmother to be, it was them.

  Before he got them, he couldn’t help but stop and take a deep breath, breathing in the soothing scents of old leather and paper contained on structures of wood. It had been far too long since Andro could enjoy the comforting scent of the library and he felt a sense of ease caress him as he did so. If he remembered correctly, the last time he enjoyed the library was before…the incident.

  Shaking his head to dismiss those thoughts, Andro stepped farther towards the back not allowing himself the time to dwell on the past. Part of him understood that sooner or later he would need to address those memories, and the feelings that came with them, but for right now he would simply enjoy the moments he could.

  Eventually he made his way towards the sitting area, and just as he expected, Grandmother sat nestled comfortably in a large chair, a book in hand. A small round table had been placed next to her favorite chair and it currently held up a stack of books neatly organized by size. Without even looking over at him, she gestured at the chair across from her and waited for him to take a seat.

  When he did, Andro waited patiently for her to reach a suitable spot to stop in her book but despite what he told himself, he failed to stop feeling nervous. After all, the older woman in front of him was considered to be the most powerful seer within the walls of Venilar. Not only that, she was actually his great grandmother but no one could tell from looks alone. The fact that she had advanced into the high journeyman rank made the effects of aging much less obvious. He would never ask her how old she truly was, he didn’t want to waste this second chance, but he did know she was somewhere around one hundred and fifty.

  He unfortunately never got to meet his mothers mother as she had passed away long before he was born. Something that everyone with the power to divine the future could do, was push past their limits in order to see farther and in more detail. However it possessed the unfortunate side effect of burning away the very lifeforce of the one doing it. His grandmother, not the one sitting before him, had done just that in order to guide their family past a tragedy that would have claimed many of their lives.

  He was pulled out of his musings by the soft clap of Grandmother closing her book and setting it aside on the small table next to her. The pools of shimmering silver that were her eyes landed on him as she gave him a gentle smile, her skin barely showing signs of wrinkles. Truly, the only part of her body that betrayed her age was the tight coiled bun of white wiry hair that was kept neat and proper on top of her head.

  “Good morning Young Andro” she greeted with nothing but warmth, her voice soft and kind, yet carrying that rasp only those of age possessed. “Excited for your choosing day are we?”