=:= Richard =:=

He had no way of knowing how long it took. It felt like several hours, but it could have been a day or more. He didn't get tired, or hungry or thirsty, and the sky outside never changed from the same constant grey overcast.

Cindy stayed on the sofa while he worked. She was reading from a different notebook, and seemed to be ignoring him.

In the end, he had fifty-six names written down, along with everything he knew about them. Last known address, what their roles were in the Brotherhood, and any other details he knew about them. He also included the addresses of the remaining offices across the UK and Europe.

Then he wrote out all the magic he'd learned over the years. As the girl had surmised, he knew quite a few more spells than William, or any of their field operatives. Only the Brotherhood's 'wizards' knew more, but most of them had perished in London.

And finally he filled out two pages of financial information, all the accounts and access codes he could remember. He was actually surprised to find he could remember so much and so clearly, until it occurred to him that the girl had probably done something to improve his recollection.

At last he set the pen down and announced, "Finished. Now what?"

Cindy got up from the sofa and came over, sitting down across from him at the kitchen table. She picked up the notebook and flipped through it.

As she was glossing through the names, she commented "Oh cool, there's a wizard in Paris."

Richard winced. He knew he'd probably just signed all those mens' death warrants. He could only hope they'd been smart enough to relocate quickly after the London office was lost. And possibly change their names, too.

She got to the end of the notes then frowned. "No women at all, huh. I guess that's why they call it a 'brotherhood'."

"I seem to recall a lack of men when I was reviewing the membership list of your organization." he replied dryly.

Cindy grinned, "Touché."

She set the notebook down and looked at him and sighed. "Ok, so what do we do with you? This would be a lot easier if you weren't completely helpless." After a pause she asked, "Do you want to live, or die?"

Richard gulped. He knew the 'honourable' or 'noble' thing would be to let her end him. So many men under him had already died, and another fifty-six might go next because he'd just turned them over to this girl. But he couldn't bring himself to do it.

He replied quietly, "I don't want to die."

"Ok," the teen nodded. "So what do like better? Clean slate, whole new life, no memories of past misdeeds or failures... Or do you want to remember who and what you were?"

His heart was racing now, and he moved his hands to his lap rather than let her see them shaking. He shook his head, "If you wipe my mind clean, then 'I' still die. My body might stay alive but it won't be me any more. That's just another kind of death..."

"I guess so," Cindy shrugged. "Fun fact, that's already happened to me. It wasn't instant though, I remembered who I was for a while, but it all faded away eventually."

Richard frowned at her, "When? Who were you?"

The girl rolled her eyes at him. "I don't know who I was, I just said it's all faded away. I know I was a man, I'd be twenty-five or twenty-six years old by now. It happened about a year after the Goddess woke up. This version of 'me' is less than four years old."

He gaped at her. He'd suspected her appearance was a fabrication, but he thought she'd been someone far older. Someone who'd spent decades studying magic, like the Brotherhood's wizards. The idea that this girl had accomplished so much with only a few years' experience was inconceivable.

"Anyways," Cindy said, "So it sounds like you want to keep all your memories and stuff. You want to know who you were. That's fair. Useful too, since it means if we need to, we can always come back and question you some more. Can't do that if you're dead or your mind's been wiped."

Richard suppressed another shudder. He asked nervously, "So what happens now?"

She looked him in the eyes and replied calmly, "I'm going to do some God stuff to you, then send you back to Earth."

He started to reply but her eyes flared with bright purple light and everything around him went white.

=:= Rachel =:=

The light faded, and Rachel found herself in the same place. She was still sitting across from Cindy at the kitchen table in the log cabin. Her mind was spinning slightly, and there was some residual dizziness. She likely would have lost her balance if she'd been on her feet when that happened.

She blinked a few times, and frowned "What happened? What did you just do?"

"God stuff," Cindy replied. "Tell me about yourself."

Rachel sighed, "I'm sure you've already read my mind a hundred times, but fine. My name is Rachel Davies, I'm twenty-four years old. I was born in Whitchurch, Shropshire, England. I've been living in London since..." Her voice trailed off and she was silent for a few moments as she frowned. She couldn't remember how long she'd lived in London.

Instead, she still remembered the other past. It was all still there, like a nightmare she couldn't quite forget. In a soft, uneasy voice she added "I still remember being Richard Barnes. I remember I was ninety-three years old, but I looked half that age, thanks to magic. I remember doing terrible, awful things. And I remember telling you I wanted to remember all of it..."

Her frown deepened and she shook her head slowly. "I'm not him though. I know I was him, but... I'm not any more."

Cindy just nodded quietly.

Rachel sighed to herself, "I'm sorry for everything I did to you and your friends."

"Thanks," Cindy said. "Are you ready to go now?"

"I don't know," Rachel sighed. "I don't know where I'm going, or what I'll do."

She stood up and looked down at herself, realizing she didn't even know what she looked like. She was dressed similar to the teen. She had navy-blue leggings and a large loose light-grey top. Where Cindy was barefoot, Rachel had white running shoes on her feet.

Cindy pointed at one of the doors, "Through that door, turn right, there's a bathroom with a full-length mirror."

"Thanks," Rachel said as she turned and headed for the door.

It opened to a small hallway. To the left she could see a bedroom. To the right was the bathroom.

Despite the slightly rustic log cabin aesthetic, the bathroom was large and rather luxurious. There was a huge Jacuzzi tub big enough to fit at least two. A separate shower stall was equally spacious, with multiple shower heads both above and to the sides, as well as a hand-held shower-massager.

The full-length mirror was just inside the door, and Rachel turned and looked at herself for the first time. She did indeed look like a young woman in her early twenties. She estimated her height to be about five-foot-five, and her build was fairly average.

She had wavy light-brown hair that was trimmed just above her shoulders. Her eyes were hazel, highlighted with flecks of green. Her face was pretty in a girl-next-door kind of way. She wasn't wearing any make-up or jewelry at the moment.

Her outfit was clearly designed for comfort rather than style. She didn't look frumpy, but she wasn't going to turn many heads dressed like this. She had a quick peak under the clothes, and saw she was wearing plain white cotton panties, and a plain white bra. She had no idea her size, but in her estimation her chest was aesthetically pleasing in both shape and size.

She frowned for a moment, suddenly wondering if she was straight or gay, but just as quickly realized it didn't matter right now.

Looking herself over in the mirror again, she visualized a few different looks, imagined herself in different outfits and styles. Glamorous, professional, mysterious, sexy, studious, bookish, folksy, outdoorsy... She was trying to figure out what fit best, what felt most like her.

Bookish seemed to resonate. She could see herself dressed like this, but with an oversized cardigan or hoodie maybe. Something cosy she could wrap around herself and disappear into. She could see herself curled up in a comfy chair, with a book in her hand and a cat or two on her lap.

After a few minutes she returned to the main room. Cindy had moved from the table to the sofa again, where she was reading through the notes Rachel had written earlier.

Cindy glanced up and looked at her. Rachel stopped, it almost felt like the small blonde was looking deep inside her.

After a moment Cindy nodded, and got to her feet. "Ok I see you've figured yourself out. I'll take you home."

"I have a home?" Rachel asked, surprised.

Cindy shrugged. "I'm not gonna just toss you out on the street with nothing."

Without waiting for Rachel to respond, Cindy's eyes flared with that light-purple glow again, and once more everything faded to white.

• • • • •

Rachel found herself standing in the living-room of a small one-bedroom flat. It wasn't much, but it was cosy. The living-room opened onto a little balcony, and beyond that she could see water not too far away, a small lake.

Cindy was there with her, still barefoot as she stood in the little hallway that connected the living-room and kitchenette to the front door.

"Two things before I go, Rachel." Cindy stated, "There's an ad on the fridge here, the bookstore in town is hiring. Sounds like the perfect job for you and I'm pretty sure if you go and apply, they'll hire you on the spot. And the lady in the apartment directly below yours, her cat just had kittens not long ago. She'd probably be really happy if someone could give a couple of them a good home."

Rachel blinked, and nodded slowly. "Where are we? How did you set this up so quickly?"

Cindy shrugged, "It maybe wasn't as fast as it seemed, but don't worry about that. The town is called Orillia. It's in Ontario, Canada. They'll love your accent here. Don't forget. Bookstore tomorrow, and kittens downstairs in apartment four-ten."

Rachel nodded again, "Thank you." Her expression shifted to a slight frown. "I was your enemy. Why did you do all this for me?"

The teen shrugged again as she replied, "Because just dumping you on the street with nothing would be a dick move. Because you're not Richard anymore, being cruel to you would be unjust. That kind of thing."

That was the second time Cindy mentioned something about being left on the street with nothing, and Rachel suspected that was a sore point for the teen. In fact, she almost wondered if there was some guilt under the surface in the young blonde, or some past debt the girl was trying to repay, by being so generous and helpful now.

In the end, she just asked "Will I ever see you again?"

"Probably not," Cindy shook her head slightly. "But who knows, nobody can see the future."

Then she was gone, and Rachel was left alone in her new home, her new life.

She looked around, and spotted her purse on the little desk behind the sofa. Next to the purse was some paperwork. As soon as she saw it, the memories appeared in her mind. She now had a past, a history as Rachel, though she still remembered all of her life as Richard too. The only thing she couldn't remember was magic. She couldn't remember any spells, or how to work them.

Rachel remembered moving to Canada and getting her citizenship last year. Last month she came to Orillia, and just over a week ago she moved into this flat. She knew her ID was in her purse, and she knew she had enough money in her bank account to last her another month or so. If she could land that job at the bookshop she'd be all set.

She walked into the kitchen and looked at the fridge.

There was a calendar stuck to the top of the door. It was June fourteenth today, a Thursday. Below the calendar she saw the bookstore job notice she'd printed out and stuck on the fridge. Next to that was a smaller notice printed on light blue paper. She remembered finding that downstairs earlier, in the building's lobby.

Kittens in need of loving home - contact Cheryl, appt. 410

Rachel took the little notice off the fridge, and picked up her keys from the kitchen table. Time to go make a new friend. And perhaps adopt a kitten or two.

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