"You have to give me a name to seal our pact," The golden snake demanded.
The goddess had said that she would come to a fantasy world, but that still took Anna by surprise. She needed a moment to process, but the snake had no patience to wait.
"Is not as if we have all night, you know?" the snake hurried her.
"A name? I'm not good at giving names." Anna was still astonished, she was talking to a flying golden snake.
"I don't care if you are good or not. It's your job to give me a good name." The snake spoke in a bossy tone. "So, make use of all your creativity and give me a good name."
"Mushu?" Anna asked timidly.
"Sure, if you are interested in plagiarizing the rat company," The snake responded sarcastically.
"Even they abandoned that personage in the live-action, way would you get attached to him?"
That snake has a loose tongue, no? Anna was supposed to be her master, right?
"So, what about Boitata?" Anna gives another option.
"Yes, this would be perfect for English speakers." The snake was starting to affect Anna's nerves. "Cultural appropriation against indigenous people is much better than plagiarism after all."
Anna was too angry to give any response. After an awkward moment of silence, the snake finally spoke.
"Why not, Celeste?" The snake proposes. "If you want something of your own culture".
"Celeste was pink and was a girl." Anna responded. She liked that name, but would not give that ease to the snake.
"I could have the name of an idiot red dragon or a fire-headed snake, but not of a Pink talking snake?" The snake asked, but didn't wait for the answer, "And I haven't gender for your information".
"Your voice is a male one," Anna replied.
"This is only the way your mind understands it," The Snake retorted.
"Celeste, then, satisfied?" Anna just gave up.
"Yes, is a beautiful name, you are 'really' creative," the snake spoke sarcastically and then started to chine.
Anna would not admit it, but the scene was beautiful. Would the snake change form, evolve by receiving a name? When the chining faded and the snake was the same, Anna was disappointed. That did not go unnoticed by Celeste.
"You think you are what, a Slime? That I would evolve only by receiving your name?" Anna would not admit it, but that was exactly her reference.
"I wasn't expecting anything. I was only enjoying the beautiful show that you prepared for me," Anna lied. "Anyway, you know this world? Can you give me any information that would be useful?"
"I'm just a newborn. Unfortunately, everything that I know is what I learned reading your memories." The snake responded, for the first time in a humble way.
"You read through all my memories?" Anna was astonished by that piece of information.
"Yes, everything. You and that ex-boyfriend of yours had some heated moments," the snake spoke, mischievously. "Who takes only by your pretty face, could not think you were that bold."
Anna wanted to hide her face in a hole. But she had no time to process the idea of that loose-tongue snake knowing all her secrets; they could hear steps approaching, and the door suddenly opened.
"You don't need to worry, they can't see or listen to me," The Snake spoke, after the worried expression of Anna. "And to talk to me while they are nearby, you only need to think, I can read your thoughts after all". Anna wasn't comfortable with that at all.
"You really are awake, Lady Anna?" A gorgeous middle-aged woman spoke while entering her bedroom.
Anna could recognize her instantly, she had been important to the other Anna, so all her memories of that woman were vivid.
"Benta, sorry, it wasn't my intention to make you worried," Anna said.
Benta had become a second mother to her Doppler when her mother died. The sentiment that the other Anna had was so overwhelmed that they became Anna's sentiments too. That sensation of loving someone that you just met was strange, but Anna just accepted that as her new reality.
"I brought you a soup. Eat that and go to sleep after." Benta spoke while helping Anna to sit to eat the soup.
The soup was… tasteless, to put it politely. Benta had tried to give it some taste, but lake salt was unsurpassed.
"Tasty," Anna tried to compliment. But her face denounced the lie.
"You don't need to lie to me, girl. This house has already seen better days, but your father will find a way back soon." Benta knew that her soup wasn't the best without salt, but she took the opportunity to make it clear that it wasn't her fault.
Other steps could be heard, and soon the door opened one more time. This time was Luca, son of Benta, and Delphine, cousin of Anna, who entered the bedroom. They were the same age as the other Anna, and were her friends.
The other Anna was younger than her; she was a 26-year-old woman, now in the body of a 16-year-old girl. That was one more thing to adapt to.
"You really are alive, You need to find better ways to spend your luck." Delphine spoke as soon as she entered the bedroom.
"If she were that lucky, she wouldn't have fallen into that well," Luca responded in Anna's place.
"What are you two doing here?" Benta yelled at the two teenagers.
"We only wanted to see if she was good," Luca responded.
Benta looked like she was going to give them both a slap on the wrist, but a fourth character joined in the fun.
"You really aren't dead." Anna was starting to get tired of hearing that.
Who entered the room now was an astonishingly beautiful young man, named James, brother of Delphine, and Anna's cousin. The other Anna had a crush on the guy, but it wasn't as strong as her sentiments for Benta, so Anna didn't feel the same way. But she had to admit he was hot.
"You all go out. She is still recovering." Benta commanded.
"If she is recovering, why are you torturing the poor girl with that soup?" Luca was really going to play with fire like that?
Everyone started laughing, seeing Benta hitting Luca on the head.
*
While that warm scene was happening in Anna's room, another, not very pleasant scene was happening far away and would have serious consequences for her life.
"Are you going to Sousa's farm tomorrow?" Father Frederich asked Alphonse while serving him another cup of wine.
"I need to keep marking my ground. They already know what I'm up to, but I need to keep reminding them so they don't get any funny ideas." Alphonse responded.
Father Frederich was the chaplain of the village of Terroir, which was in the same region as the farm of the Viscount of Sousa (Anna's father). He was also one of Alphonse's main political allies in the region, so he was committed to helping him marry Anna, as was his wish.
"Why haven't you proposed to her father yet?" Frederich asked, he could not understand his ally's tactics.
"The nobles gave me the title of Sir, but the truth is that they still despise me. I am much, much richer than any noble family in this empire. Perhaps only the Empress herself is richer than I. But without mana, I am nothing more than a peasant to them." Alphonse distilled some of his contempt for the noble. "That's why I don't have the freedom to just ask a father for the hand of a noblewoman. He's the one who has to bring the proposal to me".
Normally, he wouldn't speak so openly, but Father Frederich was in need of being put in his place. The church had the same arrogance as the nobles against those who were born without the gift of mastering magic. Alphonse needed to remind Frederich that, compared to his money, a country priest was nothing.
Of course, the Priest knew exactly his place. But that was Alphonse's style, always keeping everyone under pressure, especially his allies.
"How is your plan with the Treasury Minister going?" Alphonse asked, changing the subject to lighten the mood.
Alphonse didn't like to share his plans with anyone, but the Priest would have a hand in it, so he needed to keep him informed.
"He is reluctant, but soon we will reach a common denominator." Alphonse, don't talk too much, the priest doesn't need all the details.
He was bribing the Treasury Minister to notify Viscount Sousa about his debts. With the notification, the Viscount would have to present a payment plan, and since he had no way to pay, his only option would be to get his daughter engaged to someone who could. Alphonse had already prepared everything, so that the Viscount's only option was himself.
No one in the court could understand the obsession of Alphonse with Anna. He was so rich that a lot of other noble families, with financial problems, had already offered their daughters. That was a secret that Alphonse kept for himself only. A secret about a past forgotten by almost everyone.
"The men of the village are still refusing to work for him?" Alphonse finally began to address the issues that led to that meeting.
The workers of the Terroir Village were refusing to work for the Sousa's Farm, afraid that they would end up not getting paid for their work. Even Anna's father knew that was the right thing for them to do.
"Yes, they are still refusing any job offers." The priest replied.
"Good, this has to continue like this. I'll leave the money with you for our informants. Did you manage to entice anyone from inside the farm?"
Alphonse was paying several local people to keep him informed about anything that happened at the Sousa's Farm. That was how he soon found out about Anna's accident. He didn't even bother to hide the fact that he was keeping them under surveillance. That was one of his ways of keeping the pressure on.
"The only employees left on the farm are the people most loyal to the Viscount. No one will accept your money." Father Frederich answered.
"I'll never understand this. How did these people remain loyal to a noble who can't even pay their salaries?" Alphonse asked, but the priest knew him well enough to know that he did not expect an answer.
"If you will excuse me, Father, I will retire to my room. Your blessing," Alphonse was a religious man. Which makes his good relationship with the corrupt clerics even stranger.
"May God bless you," he said, giving his blessing, playing his role as a priest.
By that time, Anna was already asleep. Unaware that the two men were plotting against her, while they enjoyed a bottle of wine.