Seven Infinities Away From Home

THIRTEEN

Beams of warm sunlight greeted Hazel the next morning. She was oddly sore, as if she had spent the entirety of the night lifting hundreds of pounds. Hazel stretched her tired arms into the air, and as she did so, she noticed that something was very different. The metal tubing that had been fed through her body was gone, with no evidence to remind her of their existence but bandages wrapped tightly around her forearms. She smiled, staring at her healing arms with glee.

"Sleep well?" Nedoza's voice asked.

Hazel turned to her left, where Nedoza was leaning casually against the wall. She was in the same room she'd fallen asleep in, but she was purposefully tucked into bed.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Just a couple days, but most of that was the anesthetic. Father wanted those things out of you in case Dymo was using them to track you. It's being taken to Mount Giyalas on a dump mission tomorrow," Nedoza explained.

"Is that a volcano or something?"

Nedoza nodded.

"He won't be able to track you if it's all melted."

Hazel's mouth curved into a beaming smile. That part of her nightmare was over, and until she could get permission to reenter her universe, she was perfectly content living her new life of luxury.

"Can I explore the city?" Hazel asked, feeling almost childlike.

"You don't need to ask, just let someone know that you're leaving so we know where you are, alright?"

Her smile became a yelp of excitement. The freedom to stretch her legs and go wherever she wanted was hers once again. She could go for a run, dangle her legs over the castle wall, hike the surrounding mountains... this new planet was hers to explore.

"One rule, though," Nedoza said before Hazel could get out of bed, "no leaving the city. The desert is dangerous, and I don't want you getting lost out there. Got it?"

"Yep!"

"Alright then, I'll leave you to it."

Nedoza waved a quick goodbye before heading out the bedroom door. Hazel sat up. She was wearing the softest clothes she'd ever felt before. In a way, the material almost reminded her of silk back on earth, but much more gentle to the touch.

She drowsily walked over to the dresser across the room, opening each drawer in search for something at least relatively Earth-like. The closest she could find was a fitted black turtleneck tank with a slight flare at the bottom to accentuate the hips, as well as a regular pair of leggings. Hazel slipped it on, though it was just a bit too big.

I can live with that, Hazel thought, checking her reflection in the mirror and fluffing her hair. That was another thing that had changed, in her sleep she had apparently gotten her hair fixed into a neat undercut styled in a wave towards her right.

Hazel's spirit lowered a little as she saw her reflection. Her eyes were surrounded by dark circles and her body looked starved. She didn't realize how much weight she'd lost over the past month. Still, she straightened her shoulders and reminded herself that today was going to be her day.

Finally, Hazel pulled on the only shoes she found that would fit, a pair of wine red platform boots which went up to just below her knees. They were oddly comfortable, the soles perfectly molding around her foot to provide the best support they could.

"This is going to be a good day," Hazel told herself.

Part of her needed to hear that, the part which still held onto sorrow and yearning to return to her home so far away. Its cry rang louder than the hope of joy and her eventual return ever could.