She whirled on her heel from left to right, inspecting herself in the mirror, judging what she saw in the reflection. Who she saw.
As she looked in the mirror, her eyes were soft and round, no readable emotion swirling inside of them.
She didn't truly know who people saw when they looked at her. What did they think? Her mind often wandered and strayed towards where it shouldn't. What did it matter who they thought she was anyway? Only she had the right to judge herself, for she knew her flaws, appearance as well as personality wise. Nobody knew her, nobody knew who exactly she was, except for herself.
What she saw in the mirror never ceased to remind her.
Everyone judged, even by a passing glance. She didn't feel inferior to any of them, simply seeing herself as an equal to most of the ones she encountered in her life. There were instances of insecurity, times she felt like a mere shadow, or something that was simply never seen.
Unnoticed.
And when she did shine and take the time to bask in the feeling, it passed so quickly. Being used to the feeling of being average and overlooked had its advantages as well as drawbacks.
She couldn't grow arrogant by praises and compliments thrown her way in everything she did right or when she looked presentable. She could slip by without anyone noticing her for longer than a second and then forgetting her face, becoming one of the many faces people saw for only a second and then never again. People wouldn't judge her for doing a mistake, slipping and causing herself or someone else misfortune.
But they couldn't recognize her for the things she did right. The ones that stood out from the rest of what she ever did right. Because those achievements weren't important. Just like her.
She glimpsed a sliver of hope.
She had no past to speak of, and no real future ahead of her. Nothing that'd make a difference. Her presence ultimately did not make a difference in the bigger picture. It would not make a difference if she were to disappear of the surface of Earth.
Her presence was welcomed and important to those around her. Green eyes blazed with emotion at the thought truly settled in, anchoring itself in the depth of her heart.
Yvonne Krüger ceased to exist. By accident surprisingly, but it did not matter more than the death of a fly.
And born was Alexis Drakon, who took the opportunity which presented itself. Hope bubbled inside of her and she wondered if it will be worth it. Her presence was an unknown addition, something neither she nor anyone else knew. But some things took time.
She didn't know what was happening, which was irritating. Yvonne was always aware of her surroundings, the people flitting in and out of her life. So for her not to be aware of something that was clearly affecting her on multiple planes, was agonizingly frustrating.
A grown ass woman with no ability to speak, see or move. Only darkness and warmth. Her mind reeled over what could've brought her in such an aggravating situation.
But the ice cold that washed over her in another instant caused her to let out a gasp of shock. Her chest tightened and involuntary, sobs started rocking her body and the plain unease and confusion caused her outburst to last longer than she ever thought she had cried in her lifetime. And then she became overly aware of something that should've been easily noticed, hadn't she been overwhelmed by emotions long left behind.
Her body was wrapped in something soft and warm, except for her face, and as she failed to open her eyes, her other senses went into overdrive. Her sight would have to wait, for her other senses were now much more reliable. Especially her sense of touch.
Someone was holding her, but she got passed to somebody else and she felt a breath fan her face.
Her ears could hear panting and an exchange of words, but nothing close to resembling the familiar German her ears had been so accustomed to hear. The used language sounded much more nasal, fluent and the pitch changes were baffling.
It sounded like Spanish, but not as rough. People always commented on German sounding harsh to sensitive ears, but to them, or at least her, it always sounded smooth.
When she registered something pressing against her lips, her instinct made her latch onto it. And as she unwillingly started sucking, her mind came to a screeching halt and cleared away any musings on how languages sounded and which one was easiest to grasp onto. Because why was something filling her mouth and it tasted strangely sweet? Her mind, the traitor, didn't supply her with much valuable information.
Why was she so unresponsive? Why weren't her eyes opening and already scanning her surroundings? How could she fit into someone's arms with such snugness without being held by a giant?
And when she started going through what had happened the last few minutes, her mind finally supplied an answer. One she didn't want to believe, but couldn't deny.
She. Was. A. Baby.
Traitorous mind and body, she cursed internally, as her senses were dulling and the lure of sleep overtook her.
Mother or not, father or not, parents or not, she didn't enjoy being a baby.
To be babied. Unable to respond with the middle finger and turning to walk away from it all. To be so exposed. It was possible that one couldn't recall their earliest memories mostly because they were so very horrifying.
A grown woman, previously quite independent, had to suffer through the humiliation called diaper changing and breastfeeding. She had been twenty for crying out loud.
Had been.
Now she was eight months, give or take a few weeks. Physically, mentally she could keep up with her new parents. Could. But the problem was the language barrier, which proved quite an obstacle in understanding them. One could easily learn a language as a child, since most of the kids didn't know two languages beforehand- kids were impressionable and like sponges, with no filter to boot. Yet she was the very opposite of just that.
Children started speaking at around twelve months, simply repeating something that had stuck with them and was easy to copy.
She was far from being a year old.
But she could roll over and pull off smiles she hoped were cute. Judging from the coos and awes after gurgling 'happily', she had to be a cute little tyke.
It wasn't too surprising, because one look at her mother, and it would explain any kind of prettiness she already possessed.
Her mother - new mother - was petite and slim, but with just enough curves to show off her feminine side with dignity. Her head was small and her face was oval-shaped, her olive skin complementing the dark brown eyes she possessed. Her nose wasn't perfectly shaped, and neither was it small or the perfect button nose. But it fit right onto her face. Her eyes were close-set but perfectly shaped, framed by thick black eyelashes Alexis more than just wished she inherited from her beautiful mother. Her name was possibly Cleo. Or Galene. There had been many women surrounding her, and her mother was never alone when she entered her room.
Speaking of her room, Alexis wasn't confined to it. Her eyes have already seen the rest of the house she'd claim her home for the rest of her second life. And don't get her started on what awaited her over the fence of their backyard. A cliff, with wide stairs leading down to a small, possibly private, beach.
The climate and salty air outside the house should've been enough of an indicator, but Alexis' mind sometimes couldn't comprehend all the different things running through her mind that Yvonne's mind had been able to.
She was already distancing herself from her previous life. From a person who she came to know as Yvonne Krüger. Someone that did indeed die, not that she could remember dying, nor any kind of sensation of death taking claim of her soul.
Her new life was proving to be much more fulfilling.
Yvonne had been an only child, living with her father until he fell ill and died sometime after her thirteenth birthday. she got sent to an orphanage. Didn't get adopted because she wasn't anything special nor was she still young and impressionable, and had to learn the ropes of life earlier than most. Yvonne had few interests, but one of them had been mythical creatures and history, and her hobbies included reading anything that caught her attention. She had been a silent person, mostly communicating by body language. A nod, a shrug, a click of her tongue, furrowed brows, a scowl, hunched shoulders, rod-straight back...
Alexis used her voice more often than not. It was really shrilly and high-pitched, but she liked to giggle at her parents' faces, to pat their cheeks or squish their faces comically and gurgle.
She got kicked into the body of somebody else, or maybe the whole reincarnation thing was actually true for once, but she'd be damned if she wouldn't get to enjoy it as much as possible.
And enjoy it she would when she'll find out that there was more to the world than it seemed.