Chapter Text
“Are you sure you’re prepared?”
“Yes. You can get off my back about it.”
“I’m just worried. After all, you’re the weakest one.”
“Well thank you ever so much for your concern.”
“I’m serious. She shouldn’t have entrusted such an important mission to you.”
“What are you, jealous? If you’re going to miss me or something, you could just say so.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“It’s what I heard. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m leaving.”
“…just don’t screw it up.”
---
Gasping. Cold rushes of air that burnt. Pain firing like each nerve had been electrocuted.
“Hold still.”
Agony. Thrashing. Each breath made it worse. Life killed.
“I know—hold still.”
A hand on the face like an angel’s kiss. Red hair, red eyes. Fire.
Darkness.
---
Waking up for the second time came easier. The pain was a duller ache now; more tolerable. She opened her eyes, groggy. For a while, staring at the blurry ceiling was all she could muster the strength for.
“Oh, Celestia—you scared me! You’re finally awake? Thank Barbatos.”
She must’ve dozed off between first rousing and now. The voice was unfamiliar, but her neck was so stiff it was like she had been paralyzed into place. The woman peered down into her face, but she still could not see clearly, no matter how hard she squinted.
“Are you all right?” the woman fretted. “You’ve been asleep for three days!”
She opened her mouth to speak but managed nothing but a raspy wheeze. The woman vanished with the promise of water and returned swiftly, feeding her a straw. Hungrily, she drank until there were only dredges left in the glass. For the first time she felt properly alive.
“I’m going to call for Master Diluc. Stay here.”
The name was yet again unfamiliar; she was starting to come to terms that something bad had happened. Something major. But what?
“I see you’re finally up. Surely you had a restful nap?”
The voice, low and deep and powerful, stirred her. She squinted at the haze of flame and it was like she was trying to talk to the sun.
“Who are you?” she breathed, finally able to form words.
“I think the real question is who are you?” The man knelt and finally came close enough for the fine details to sharpen. His face, all angular lines, was handsome yet stern. “You’re not from here. So why were you floating down the river?”
She inhaled to answer, but instead of words, she had only silence. Her brow furrowed. There wasn’t even a ghost of a memory. Who was she? Where did she come from? Why was she here? She remembered nothing before waking up. Something wasn’t right.
“Amnesia?” he repeated after her admittance. He raised his eyebrow dubiously. “Are you serious?”
“If I knew anything, I’d have told you already.”
“You’ve got quite the attitude for somebody you’re indebted to.” Despite his sarcasm, he didn’t actually seem all that upset. He sounded more curious than anything else. “Interesting. You don’t remember a thing?”
“No,” she replied, annoyed that he kept asking. She had bigger things to worry about at the moment than satisfying his ego.
“So, you wouldn’t know if you were an enemy intruder or not?”
An unreadable emotion flickered from behind his eyes, so vividly striking now that he was close enough for her to feel his breath ghost across her cheek. She lay beneath him, staring up at him with wide eyes. It was captivating, this man—he held a gravity that seemed larger than life. There was much unknown, but she understood with crystal clear certainty that he was dangerous.
“I’m keeping an eye on you. I’m not throwing you out into the woods, but until I know you’re not a threat, you’re not leaving my sight.” He pulled away, releasing her from the spell. She exhaled shakily.
“So, what, you’re making me your prisoner?”
Blurrier as he walked away, she couldn’t tell if she imagined his smirk or not.
“Consider it an honour, Stranger.”