Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A young man scared and alone, what had he done!? He had made so many mistakes. Perhaps he had been given a chance to redeem himself, was it even possible? Even now he could hear the whispering shadows just telling him to give in, give in to the rage, the power to let it take away the little remaining humanity he had left. He fought it, he had to, maybe he couldn't have the life he once had, but he could do something good or at least try to.

The foliage was thick and winding, he thanked Irene he had been granted safe passage, he would have never been able to leave if the guardian hadn't decided to give him a job. "Take this" she had said handing him a wooden staff bearing HER symbol "Take this staff, and place it somewhere that needs the help of Irene" even if he wanted to he didn't question it, he took the staff and left, already having the inkling of an idea of where to place the staff. 

Hopefully, with any luck, he’d be able to avoid suspicion from the other knights, because if he was found to be trying to pull what he was about to do… Irene have mercy.

About an hour's walk from the chosen village, was probably safest, far enough away so as not to alert anyone in his party, and close enough for the blessing to work. Feeling apprehensive with anticipation he hesitated, his brothers, both would have roles to play, complete opposites in every way, and their paths ahead were on each end, and he was in the middle.

“This is all I can do” and with that, he plunged the staff into the soil.

 A white purplish light began to cover the entire clearing, moving as fast as he could, he hid behind a nearby tree, watching. The light grew brighter, and brighter, so bright the man had to cover his eyes before he was blinded, it was pure magic sweeping throughout the forest.

Lying on the forest floor was… a woman? Was she sent as the blessing?

Slight movement caused him to move quickly in the direction of Phoenix Drop, leaving a slight trail of what could be mistaken as old foot prints for her to follow. If she was, Vlyad would make damn sure she made it.

Chapter Text

When she first woke up she was confused, for she was staring up at open blue sky, and tall swaying trees. She was lying on a grassy forest floor, with little to no memory (which would be why she was confused). 

She sat up, hand going to her hair, clutching her head, as she tried to remember something, anything, but the more she tried the more panicked she became. Because she was in the middle of the freaking woods with no memory of how she got there all alone, for heaven's sake she couldn’t even remember her name, wait that's it, my, my name.

 She quickly scanned her mind for her name, and after a moment of thought she found something that could only be a name “Aphmau” she whispered, yes, that was her name, Aphmau, it sounded a bit strange, but the more she thought it, the more sure she became that it was her name.

 After a moment or two, Aphmau stood up on shaky legs, carefully looking around her to check for signs that someone, maybe the person who put her there, was around. But there was nothing but a few bits of upturned leaves, and dirt, which probably meant that whoever was here had left in a hurry.

How Aphmau knew that was a mystery to her. What's new? She thought sarcastically to herself, snorting before quickly smothering it, for all she knew something not so friendly could hear her, and attack. 

So, seeing no sign of anything, or anyone, she silently headed south, with the hope that if she just kept walking, she'd either find shelter or a coast line before dark. 

After an hour of walking, she came upon a small pool of crystal clear water. Aphmau knelt beside it and looked in, what she saw was her, and for the first time since waking up, she realised she’d had no idea what she looked like, until she was staring down at her own reflection. Her face was young, with tanned brown skin, her eyes were mature, and amber brown, and her hair was so black it almost looked purple. She noticed There were strange inky black marks on either cheek, a slight curve along her cheek bones. Her hand ghosted over the right side one.

A dull ache in her stomach made Aphmau aware of her hunger, she sighed, there wasn’t much she could do about that right now. She had to keep going. 

Shaking her head, Aphmau leant down, cupping the water in her hands before drinking. It wasn't long after leaving the water when she spotted a person, a hooded man in greens, and greys, with a bow, and quiver strapped to his back, and an Axe in hand.

 Aphmau silently moved forwards, being careful to not step on a stray twig, or dried leaf. As she moved closer, she saw that he was trying to cut down one of the shorter trees in the area, when he spotted her, he must of seen movement out of the corner of his eye, for about a second, time seemed to freeze, as they made eye contact, his eyes were a leafy green, and seemed to reflect different emotions curiosity, shock, and was that hope? Aphmau took a step forward, to see if she could at least, maybe ask him for directions to anywhere safe, but that seemed to break him out of his stupor, as he quickly turned, and ran away from her. 

“Hey! Wait!” Aphmau called after him, while jogging to try and not lose sight of him “Please!” but this only seemed to make him run faster, and soon he was out of sight. “Come on! Please. I don't know. Where I am…” her voice became desperate and trailed off as she closed her eyes, and composed herself. Walking forward, she looked at the spot where the hooded guy had been, and noticed that she must have interrupted him mid chopping down wood, because the tree he had been next to had axe dents swung into it, which only seemed to fuel her frustration more. Aphmau headed off in the direction that the guy had ran, maybe it would lead her to a safe place, even if it was just a camp, or more hopefully a city of some sort, where she could at least get supplies, she continued on for awhile, every now and then catching a glimpse of the masked man, he kept glancing back at her, almost as if he was making sure she was actually following. It made her a little more hesitant to follow him, but some instinct told her she had to, it was always wise to listen to your instincts, they would often keep you alive, as she would later discover in the future.

After 20 or so minutes of her following some strange man into the woods, which in hindsight really wasn’t a very smart thing to do. Every now and then Aphmau felt a lightness in her head that almost made her fall, I must have been unconscious for a while. She noticed that the trees were starting to thin a bit, and the sound of low voices, and the slight rustle of chainmail. She quickly paused in her steps looking around for both the source of the voices, and the cloaked stranger, she saw him to the right, looking almost camouflaged with the greenery around him, looking straight at her, their eyes caught each other, he nodded his head, and his eyes crinkled in what Aphmau thought might of been a smile, and then he was gone. 

It took a moment or two to come back to herself, looking forwards. Looking ahead she could see a break in the trees, and just beyond that, the light of the day seemed to get brighter, and warmer, but there were also buildings, nothing huge, and extravagant, in fact most if not all of them looked quite old, sturdy but rough around the edges, grey stone houses with wooden roofs. But as she was about to step out of the trees, she noticed two guards stationed a few metres away, fear captured her, what if they became hostile, and attacked? she would have nothing to defend herself with, against the swords that rested in their sheaths.

 She took a couple steps back, thinking it would be best to just set a camp elsewhere, when SNAP! Shoot! She'd just stepped on a branch, the one thing she'd been careful of the entire time she’d been awake. The guards' heads snapped up, the taller one with lighter armour, and a tunic of chainmail, with a black cross on it, Stepped forwards. He must of been the one in charge, he pulled his sword from his side, pointing it towards the spot where she was hidden.

“I will only ask you this once, step forward and state who you are” his voice was deep, and commanding, but there was also a nobility to it, but Aphmau didn’t care, she knew she had no choice. So, she summoned all the courage she had, and stepped forward, ready for whatever came next. 

Chapter Text

The guard in charge surveyed her a bit, probably searching for anything that might indicate whether she was friendly or not. Aphmau didn’t think she looked threatening, from what she saw in her reflection in the pool, but you could never be too sure of what other people thought, so slowly holding her hands so they could be seen, she walked forwards out of the trees. The sunlight was harsh and bright and glinted off the two guards' perfectly polished armour, the second knight, the one with the darker armour lined with a gold colour, moved suddenly to point his sword at her throat “Who are you?” His voice was young, probably just out of boyhood but it still held enough hostility to make Aphmau almost flinch. 

The noble guard seemed to notice her fear, because he swiftly stepped forward, placing a hand on his fellow guard’s arm making him lower the sword. “S-s-sorry” she squeaked “i don't mean any harm i’m just- just-” her already small voice trailed off as she remembered that she still had no idea how she ended up in the woods. “Just what!?” exclaimed the younger guard ‘he seems like the kind to be paranoid’ she thought as the young guard got more defensive.

 “Zenix!” the noble guard said in a warning voice. He sighed as he turned back to her “I apologise for my apprentice, he just likes to be cautious of newcomers” “i-it’s alright, if it helps my name is Aphmau, I’m-” she hesitated before continuing “just a traveller, my town is a long ways from here, I promise I mean no harm, I'm not even armed” she said in a slight fast paced speech trying her best not to give away the slight lie, it was true that she wasn’t armed (and even if she were she definitely didn’t mean anyone ill will), but she had no way of proving that she indeed couldn't remember where she was from, so best to just say she was travelling.

 The two knights thought through her explanation with slight suspicion, the apprentice Zenix with noticeably more . "My name is Garroth I am the head guard of this village" the noble guard Garroth finally said, Aphmau felt the knot in her stomach loosen, relief "You are welcome here to Phoenix drop as long as you mean only good will"

“Of course” and just as she said that the exhaustion finally swept her down and she fell to the ground.

Garroth lurched forward before the maiden could hit her head on the stone path. She was light in his arms, skin paler than it should be. Her attire while it did cover her was torn and dirty. How long has she been travelling to end up like this. 

“Zenix! Go find Donna, tell her I'm coming in with a patient. There is a maiden who has come into the village, and appears to be suffering from severe exhaustion and hunger” He ordered his apprentice.

Zenix hesitated, obviously his suspicion of this stranger making him hesitate for a brief moment, before he put it aside and did as he was ordered, just as a good guard would do.

Garroth was quick to get a stable hold on the young woman and was moving through the village as fast as he could, with a person in his arms. Luckily no villagers were around to potentially panic, the few that are even still in the village.

He was able to make it to Donna's not long after Zenix, Donna herself was trying to clear up a sickbed she had, in case of any emergencies that might arise. Garroth placed the maiden on the cot and as soon as he did, Donna began shooing him and Zenix out. 

“Out both ya, I can’t work with the two of ya hoverin” while she wasn’t rude by any means, her voice took on a sterner than normal tone.  

 "But what if she's dangerous!? What if she attacks you?" Zenix protested immediately, earning a raised eyebrow for his troubles “then I'm sure you guards can do your jobs and come runnin. Down stairs. I'll let ya know if she starts to wake’n up." her tone gentler towards the end letting him know that his concerns while appreciated were unnecessary for the time being. 

Garroth placed his hand on his apprentice's shoulder steering him down the stairs. 

For the second time that day, Aphmau found herself blinking awake, only this time there was no sky above, but wood. After a moment she remembered the cloaked stranger she’d followed, then stumbling into a village, she must have collapsed or something. Looking around at the room she was in, she saw she was in some sort of makeshift medicinal ward, on her left there was a shelf with lots of different medicine's and a desk filled with what looked like bandages and stitching equipment, it wasn't a professional clinic, small and a little cramped, but it was enough for minor ails. A young woman with light brown hair, pale green eyes and a face full of freckles stood on her right, bustling around a bowl in hand. Upon noticing Aphmau, she turned to her 

"Oh, you're awake, good well don't worry you were only out for a couple hours but my name's Donna, I'm the one who helped nurse you back to health" the cheer in her voice was enough to put a smile on Aphmau's face. Donna handed her a savoury smelling bowl of soup.

"Thank you, miss I-i appreciate it" Aphmau said with sincerity. Beginning to eat the soup slowly at first then digging in when her hunger got the best of her. "Woah! Slow down there we don't want ya throwin it back up" realising Donna was probably right, she tried her best to not inhale the soup. 

"In any case, I can't really take full credit. My friends are the ones who brought you here. Speaking of which I'm sure they'd like to talk to you" Donna smiled at Aphmau, before heading down the stairs, not all the way to the bottom, but enough so she could talk to whoever was there. Donna sent her a warm smile, a comfort before disappearing completely down the stairs. But the creak of wood alerted her to the two others coming up. It was those guards, the younger one had taken off his helmet, showing his curly brown hair, the head guard still had his helmet on though. What did they say their names were again? Garet and zack? No, that's not right. 

“Good afternoon m’lady, we’re glad to see you awake and well” Garroth! That sounded about right “if it's not too much trouble we’d like to ask you a few questions” he spoke in a calm and kind voice. The apprentice, Zenix! , rolled his eyes but said nothing. He seemed a little … off, face young but eyes fiery and dark. I'm a stranger he probably just doesn't trust people he just met. 

“It's alright I can answer your questions” Aphmau motioned for Garroth to begin his questions. He stood to attention while Zenix grumpily sat down in a stool, next to the oak desk. Garroth near his apprentice gave him a side glance, sighing before turning back to her “just to ease into the question may I reask for your name?” 

“Aphmau, I think” she said the last part to herself quietly. “Pardon?” apparently not quiet enough.

“It’s Aphmau, my name is Aphmau” she stated more firmly, looking Garroth in the eyes and then Zenix, she got a simple nod from Garroth and narrowed eyes from Zenix. “Could you please tell me where you are travelling from?” 

She hesitated for a brief second, before answering. “My village is quite far away from here, small, barely anything, a few houses, nothing much really” she felt bad for lying but she just met these people, sure they seemed nice but… no, best to be vague. She’d tell them when she was sure.

“Why travel so far?” Zenix’s question was much more pointed and while he wasn’t rude, he wasn’t making much effort to be polite, his mentor acknowledged this with a warning glare. Which he ignored, though he did sit up a bit straighter.

“If I'm honest, I don't really know.” she said honestly “I guess I just, followed my instincts” 

“And your ‘instincts’” he made air quotes with his fingers “told you to travel far enough that you ran out of food? which means you’ve probably been travelling for a week if not longer?” his suspicion was starting to get on Aphmau’s nerves. 

“Zenix” the emotionless glare the helm was giving him intensified. Zenix shifted a bit more, he obviously respected Garroth and just got a bit rebellious and cautious. “Yes, my instincts” her response came out a bit sharper than intended.

 “Ok enough beating around the bush lets just ask the question we’ve been avoiding” he gave a pointed side glance to his mentor. “Why were you in the woods? You’re responsible for the death of our lord aren’t you?!” The accusation almost felt like whiplash, with how quickly it escalated.

“Zenix! That's enough, Down stairs now!” Garroth pointed towards the stairs, he seemed to have had enough, not yelling, but his tone broached no argument. Zenix held his eye for a moment, hesitated before he obeyed and left silently. “I’m sorry about him,” he sighed, turning back to her. “As I said before he's not good around newcomers, but I promise he’s a good kid and an even better guard” Aphmau could see that Garroth held great care towards his apprentice, no matter how crazy he got . 

“It- It’s alright, but to answer the question, like I said, I was travelling, being in the woods was just a part of the path.” talking shyly at first, but then gaining a little more confidence when the guard didn’t interrupt. “As for what he said about your lord? I honestly have no clue what he was talking about” she tried to make her voice as firm and sincere as she could. Garroth nodded, he believed her, thank goodness was her relieved thought. 

Donna walked back up the stairs with something in her arms. She turned to him saying “Brian’s down stairs, says he wants to give you his report on his patrol” 

Garroth went down the stairs. Aphmau could hear him scolding Zenix as they left.

“Well I hope those boys weren’t too much trouble for ya.” Donna said cheerfully, as she placed a pile of clothes on the bed, Aphmau was sitting up in. “A friend of mine heard about ya, wanted to give a ‘welcome’” she gestured to the pile. “He's good like that, anyway so why don’t I let you get changed and I can show you around town?” 

Aphmau nodded and Donna left to give her some privacy. While getting change, she noticed even more marks on her shoulders and thighs, and a band two fingers wide that circled her waist ending on each side, an inch from her navel. The left curled up, and right curled down. The outfit she changed into, was a simple white mid-arm, off the shoulder tunic, with small frills on the sleeves and neckline, that sat under her collar bone. Over that was a black underbust corset, laced nicely at the front. The bottoms were black, just above the knee. And black leather ankle boots, good for movement. It was pretty to look at, quite comfortable too. 

Joining Donna down stairs, they set off. They started by going down to the docks. It wasn’t much, just plain wood, good craftsmanship, but only made from basic materials. They then walked by the crop-fields, not stopping to look, but Donna's face seemed worried. “Donna, are you alright?” Aphmau asked her new friend. “Nothing for ya to worry about darlin” she said softly, they continued on. They walked past Donna’s again, down to the housing area, which led to the town's water well. Coming upon the largest building which appeared to be a library, judging from the sign hanging from it. 

Two people stood just outside. A young woman with black glasses and blonde hair, tied back, was closest to the door and a young man around the same age, had messy and curly black hair, that was just past his ears, thick eyebrows and a green tunic down past his hips, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. 

Walking up to them the guy held out his hand in greeting, saying “Welcome to Phoenix Drop, I’m Brendan!” while the girl was quiet and seemed more uncomfortable in the presence of more people.

The girl, who was now frowning, was introduced as Emmalyn. She was a scholar and librarian. The tension between her and Donna became clear. Brendan was a happy go lucky farmer who sometimes worked as a builder and/or carpenter. 

Brendan's hand went to his forehead, as if reminding himself “Oh! Almost forgot! Donna, Vichser said he’d retire for the night and wanted to let you know” wish that’d work for me. Aphmau thought irritably “What? Already, it's not that late yet is it?” she asked exasperated. There was a golden glow over the trees. Brendan just shrugged. 

“didn’t even get to show you the plaza. Oh well, might as well set up where you’ll be staying for the night” Donna turned towards Emmalyn, a smug smirk forming “since Emmalyn has so much room, Aphmau you can stay with her”

“WHAT! Why not your place!” Emmalyn didn’t seem to like Donna’s plan “cause you're the one who keeps calling my place a brothel!” was shot right back at her. Donna turned to Aphmau speaking gently “I’m sorry sweetheart, honestly I don’t have enough room, I have so many guests staying with me already, the room you were in was really just a temporary space”

Eyebrows scrunched, Emmalyn marched back into her home, muttering something about concubines.

Donna just rolled her eyes, before hugging Aphmau, which she cautiously accepted, and bidding her a good night, Brendan gave her a friendly wave, before also leaving.

Entering the library felt like walking into a dragon’s den. “Take the blanket” a red blanket was shoved into her hands “sleep wherever. I'm going to bed, I pray to Irene this is only temporary” she huffed “who’s Irene?” Aphmau tilted her head. Emmalyn looked like she'd just been told that she had to live in Donna’s “brothel”. 

“Wh- wh- what! Who, who is Irene!?” she sputtered “have you been living under a rock?!?” Rude! “Irean is our goddess, a goddess among men, divine warrior, the matron!” she got pretty heated while Aphmau was standing there nodding, just going along with what she was saying.

“You know what? I can't right now, goodnight!” She stormed to the top floor of the library where Aphmau assumed it was her living area.

Heading over to a fireplace, nearer to the two big shelving areas towards the back, filled with books on either side of it, far enough away that there wouldn’t be an accident, but close enough to be easily accessible.   

There was a woollen rug in front of it, so she decided to sleep there, lying down and placing the blanket on top. 

She lay there, feeling exhausted, she might not have known who she was, or where her home was, but maybe it didn’t matter. Maybe Phoenix Drop could become her new home?  

Chapter Text

Let it be known that Emmalyn was definitely not a morning person. If she was in a bad mood yesterday, then it only got worse overnight. Aphmau got up at a decently early time, so did Emmalyn and if the eye twitch and forced polite smile, was anything to go by? then it was a very smart idea to get out of the library as soon as she could. 

She thought maybe walking around town and experiencing the place would be good. She’d been planning on going to the top of the hill that overlooked everything, from the town, to the docs, and the ocean beyond. But along the way, she noticed Brendan working in one of the crop fields, tools resting against one of the fences and a garden hoe in hand. As she walked closer, she could see his slumped shoulders, a small tremor as he was leaning forward in his labour. Looking at it, the crops in Brendan's field seemed dead. Not a single crop around him looked alive. In fact, none of the fields had even a decent growth in them; all the crops were either dying, or dead. 

“The crops are barren, why is that?” Aphmau’s voice was soft as she asked the question, but Brendan practically jumped out of his skin, yeaaahhhh, probably should have started with a hello first, whoops? “Woah, ha ha didn’t see you there” he said with a small laugh “uh yeah the crops, well believe it or not these fields used to grow alright, about a year and half ago, not super great or anything, but we had enough to feed the villagers. But then there was a fire in our old lord's home, it killed him and his family. And with no lord there’s no merchants and with no merchants we don’t get the right supplies and without the right supplies” he indicated the fields “it’s kind of like one big cycle. And ever since, then all our crops have seemed to, to wither. A lot of people moved away, not that I blame them, most of those who left had families, kids who needed food we didn’t have.” his voice wavered a bit “we’d hoped that spring would finally bless us but with the winter we just had? There's not much we can do except this” he continued to try and clear away the decayed.

Seeing Brendan all alone, labouring for the few people left, even though from what he was saying was probably pointless anyway, it was humbling. Maybe I can help. 

“Can I help you?” Her voice was small but clear. 

Brendan's eyes grew wide “w-what? Y-you really mean that?” he sounded a bit choked up, surprised but indescribably grateful. Aphmau smiled and nodded, happy to give any help she could offer. Brendan smiled “Yeah, if you want to” she did want to, so following his lead they got to work. “Now let me show you, you see you want to try and remove the dead stuff as well as weeds so the more alive ones have more chances…..”

Spending so many hours helping Brendan with his chores was very tiring. so after helping with the crops, then replacing some of the rotting wood, from the fences around town. They decided a break would be a good idea. “Alright let's take an hour break, no need to work ourselves to death” Brendan chuckled. “We can meet back at the fields, give the crops water and then head over to the plaza to clean out some of the old merchant stalls, Sound good?” she nodded at his suggestions. 

Aphmau had decided to explore the more deserted parts of town, taking a walk before finding some food. The paths throughout town was all mud and weeds. You couldn’t walk far without ending up with dirt on something. Maybe fixing the path could be helpful. She was coming to the end of the dirt path when she heard voices, curious she followed them. Not far off the path into the wooded area she came upon a clearing where a large two story house stood there, the top half facing her had parts of the walls broken down, if it weren’t for the dismantling and scorched wood, it probably would have been one of the most kept parts of the village. 

The two guards she’d become acquainted with yesterday were there, Garroth the polite and Zenix the pri-.

They must have heard the rustling of the leaves when she entered, as Zenix stopped his hammering on the second floor for a second. Glancing at her and rolling his eyes and going back to hammering, with a little more vigour. Garroth saw her as well “m’lady” he bowed his head in greeting, as she moved closer to where he and another young guard stood. He looked younger than Zenix, clearly still a teenager, with deep, water blue eyes and dirty blonde hair closer to brown but still blonde. “This is Brian, he’s also training under me, along with Zenix” Garroth gestured Brian over. “Good morning mam, or well afternoon really” he said looking up at the sun's position, before heading off to help with the house. Aphmau smiled at him, then turned back to Garroth, curious as she asked "why are you taking it down?" Indicating the house. He considered her a moment, glancing at the house, then back at her.

"You see, well I'm sure you’ve already been told about the passing of our lord and his family?” Aphmau nodded, “we’re taking down their home, it’s been sitting here collecting dust” he sounded so tired. “So we- I’ve been hoping that maybe taking it down might be a fresh start, a way to help us move on from the past.” 

“Ahem, anyway” he coughed, changing the subject “I'd like to apologise again for yesterday's interaction, Zenix’s attitude can often be fowl” a slight growl was attached to his voice.

“I thought you were going to say that about his face” she hadn’t meant to say it outloud, she would have thought they’d be a bit upset but Garroth just let out a shocked laugh, as Zenix yelled “HEY!” Everyone, but Zenix was laughing. Garroth calmed himself, before responding in a happier than before voice “I'm glad you're settling in alright so far. Brian and myself are due to continue our patrols now, Zenix continue with the house until you're finished with that bit, then head back to the guard quarters” he ordered “good day to you m’lady” bidding her farewell, he strode off. Brian gave her a small smile, before following. 

The hammering and grunts from Zenix, made a rock form in her stomach. She felt a little guilty for the earlier comment, even if it wasn’t meant to be heard. Seeing him working away, she did the only thing she could think of.

“Do you need any help?” she said so quietly for a second she thought he might not have heard her, but he had once again paused his work, eyebrows scrunched and a confused frown. “W-what, No!” his tone sounded a little forced. Aphmau briefly considered insisting, but she realised that her efforts probably wouldn’t be appreciated. She was just about to leave when… 

“But, thanks” he shifted his eyes slightly in her direction, before avoiding any and all eye contact.

She had been walking around for a little while, when she heard yelling. “Damn you Dale!”

 “My w- hic- wife, my beautiful -hic-dead wife”

“I’m right here you stupid husband!”

“Somebody, help, me!” a crying voice wailed.

The echoing of the voice made it fairly easy to find where they were. They sounded like they were in some sort of cave, which now when you think about it isn’t far off. 

People need my help, was the only thought in her head, as she came upon the water well, where the yelling was coming from. Jogging up to the side of the stone, she could see that there were people down there, obviously somehow they’d fallen in. How do I get them out? 

Looking around for something, she noticed a rope and pale, used for pulling up water, next to the well. No reason the rope can’t be used for people. 

Rushing to grab it, she quickly secured it through the pulley and lowered the rope down. “Grab on and I can pull you up. But one at a time.” she added the last bit, as she wasn’t quite sure she’d be able to pull up four people at once, without causing more chaos.

One by one, she managed to pull up the fallen villagers and to Aphmaus’s surprise both Brendan and Donna were among them. In the end she managed to get all of them out. Brendan fell at her feet and clung to her legs, as he sobbed out a string of “thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!!” while Donna smiled warmly at her and held both her hands ``thank you, sweetie not a lot of people would do that kinda thing nowadays” Aphmau was trying to stem their thanks, to no avail, when she noticed the couple just behind them. An older looking fellow who seemed to have fallen over, not that he seemed to care as he was in hysterics, laughing like a hyena, while a pale blonde woman, who looked to be his wife, stood over him, shaking her head in exasperation. 

“What am I going to do with you?” there was no heat in her words, as she leaned down and draped his left arm over her shoulder, to try and help him stand. 

“I-is he alright?” Aphmau asked, a little concerned as the man's giggling nearly toppled them both. “Oh don’t worry about him, nothing, a little rest and food can't help” the blonde woman said with a warm smile. “Anyway, my name is Molly and this drunken idiot is my husband Dale” she indicated to the man, who was now playing with a strand of her hair “sorry, he’s not usually like this, it’s just… been a tough couple of months, is all." There are so many people who are struggling here. I wish I could help them. Aphmau kept thinking this over and over, but what could she do? “Well, anyway I best be getting this one to the house before he-” she was cut off by Dale’s head falling on to her shoulder with a snore “-passes out” Molly let out another sigh “thank you again though, you are kinder than most in this day in age” the couple left, Molly practically dragging Dale. 

Aphmau turned back to Donna and Brendan, only to realise Brendan must've left already. Donna saw her furrowed eyebrows and explained, that Brendan was going to meet her, back at the fields in a little bit, as he didn’t have time to find something to eat, before he’d noticed Donna, trying to help Dale and Molly out of the well, and accidently startled her and like dominos, all ended up in the well. At Donna mentioning food, her stomach let out a growl that scared the birds nearby, “and by the looks of it, you didn’t find any food either?” she laughed good naturedly “c’mon, I’m sure there’ll be something in the market.” 

When she’d heard people mentioning the market, she’d pictured rows and rows of stalls, people trading and buying things, that caught their eyes, that was definitely not the case. There were only one or two stands that even had anything in them and only one had a person. Dead leaves and twigs all across the ground, Everything was run down, the wood of the uninhabited stalls, were chipped and worn. It looked like the weather and the termites had taken turns in beating up the place. 

“I know it's a bit of a mess but, well it’s all we got.” Just as Donna finished saying that, a tall man, with rusty brown hair and beard called out to Donna in one of the most jolly voices Aphmau had ever heard. “Donna! What took you so long!” His smile was contagious. Both couldn’t help but smile too. “I got held up!” As soon as they were near enough, she threw her arms around his shoulders in a tight hug, as Aphmau moved to stand next to Brian, who she’d just noticed. He must have been talking to Vischer, as he was holding a small basket with fruits and vegetables.

“Vischer, I'd like to introduce my friend,” Donna gestured to her, Vicher turned to her, as she approached. “this is the young lady I told ya about? Vischer Aphmau, Aphmau Vischer.” she said. “He’s the one who sent those clothes over” she gestured to clothes Aphmau was wearing. Just as Aphmau was about to give Vischer her thanks, he swept her up into a warm fatherly hug. “You poor darling, found out in the woods like that!” she awkwardly gave his back a couple of pats. He had an accent that made him sound even more friendly, so it put her at ease a bit. He set her down, seeming to realise that she may not be comfortable with such an affectionate greeting. “Sorry, sorry. Uncle Vischer welcomes you” Aphmau had an idea that he’d used the ‘uncle Vischer’ as a way to make himself seem less threatening, he was quite tall, with broad shoulders.  

“Anyway, we came over to see if ya had anything we could use to make up for a bit of lunch?” Donna asked, bringing his attention back to her.

“Hm, you're just in luck, my last basket of vegetables is just behind the stand” he walked behind the wood stand and leaned down to grab the basket. Now, when Aphmau said basket she meant a very feeble and measly basket, it was small, with a few carrots, cabbage and potatoes, it probably had only enough vegetables to last maybe a couple days. It was only a little smaller than Brian’s.

“I know it’s not much, but with how things are at the moment-”

He was cut off when Donna gently said “yeah, I know”

“Hey there Brian how’s the new guard duties treatin ya?” she’d turned to the young knight who had been shifting from foot to foot awkwardly.

“It’s actually pretty fun” He gave her a huge grin “Garroth and Zenix are great!” Donna smiled back, before replying “that's great to hear” she then furrowed her eyebrows “sorry yer dads drunk again.” That seemed to dampen his bright mood “with Sir Dale that seems like most days” 

Donna seemed to realise she’d made things awkward “well look at you callin yer dad sir” she laughed, it worked and Brian was smiling again. 

While they were having this little interaction, Aphmau was thinking; Dale’s his dad? I actually see the resemblance. He had Dale’s tanned skin tone and blue eyes while also having Mollys small, slightly rounded nose. 

Vischer must have remembered something important as he went over to the chatting pair and said quietly to Donna “could I talk to you for a moment? It’s about the merchants guild” her eyes widened a fraction and she nodded, looking concerned as they stepped aside. 

What was that about? 

“So, how are you settling in so far?” she almost jumped out of her skin and nearly wacked Brian in the face when he asked. He ducked, she brought her hand to her chest. “Woah, sorry didn’t mean to startle you miss” deja vu much? She thought to herself in amusement. ‘Also, miss? I’m not that old.’

“It’s alright. I think I'm settling in okay? I like helping” she smiled. He tilted his head at her, making her think of a curious little wolf pup “what do you mean helping?” he asked 

“Oh, i’ve been helping Brendan” 

He seemed surprised at that. 

“Really? T-that’s admirable miss” she flushed a bit at the compliment, but shook it off when she noticed, he’d again said miss.

“You don’t have to call me Miss, I'm not that old, at least I don’t think?” she said the last bit so quietly he probably didn’t hear her.

He gave her a strange look, eyebrows raised, maybe not. 

He decided to ignore it apparently. “Oh, well what would you like me to call you mi-?” he cut himself off when he realised.

“My name” she answered 

He looked even more confused. “Uh, what’s your name?”

Oh, I guess he was too far to hear? Or was he just not paying attention?

“Oh, uh, my name's Aphmau” probably. He held out his hand, she tilted her head and looked at it, a little confused, before she taped it with her own hand. Brian’s eyebrows disappeared under his helmet.

“Do you not know what a handshake is?” he asked cautiously, she panicked slightly and rushed out a small explanation. “Oh, well where I come from, they don’t have that” 

While he looked a little suspicious, he explained that it was a greeting, or sometimes a sign of respect, basically it depended. “Here, I’ll show you.”

He reached out with his right hand and motioned for her to do the same, with the opposite arm, she did, and he gripped it gently before giving it a couple, small shakes up and down. She felt like maybe she did know what a handshake was, but it had slipped out like water that had found a crack in a dam. Damn amnesia. Maybe I'll just have to be reminded of some things? 

“Nice to meet you lady Aphmau” guess he likes formalities “Where did you say you were from again?” She was saved from answering, when Visher and Donna came back over.

“We best be on our way before too long” Donna said cheerily. “Hold on Donna, before you go” he went behind his stand once more, before he came back out. “Here you go sweetie, some of the best garb I have” he gave her what must have been two or three more outfits. 

“Oh no, i couldn-” she was cut off when he gave a warm laugh “no no, Donna tells me you were travelling rather light, my wife would kill me if I didn’t help” she wasn’t sure if it was the generosity, or the genuinely kind accent, but she felt rather emotional, though she pushed it aside. 

She thanked Visher profusely, she sounded like Brendan after the well, before she said goodbye to both he and Brian. Once she and Donna arrived at the same place where she’d woken up, Donna's “brothel”. 

The lunch Donna had whipped up, was a stew with mainly vegetables, carrot, mushroom and potato. There was a small loaf of bread but not much. 

“You know we’re quite lucky we have a few fairly decent mushroom patches so close by otherwise I don't reckon we’d have lasted as long as we have” Donna said as they ate. “Course if yer not careful enough you could end up picking up one of the poisonous types”

“So how was your stay with Emmalyn?” she asked

“It was good” Aphmau replied “that’s good” Donna smiled

“I slept on the floor. '' The smile went away pretty quick. “Oh” she then sighed “guess I’ll have to have a talk with Emmalyn about being more hospitable” she sounded like that was the last thing she wanted to do, Aphmau got the impression that Donna and Emmalyn, usually avoided each other as much as they possibly could. They continued talking casually the rest of the time, as they ate. Donna took the dishes away, once they were finished “thank you for lunch Donna, but I should go meet up with Brendan.” she was half way towards the door when “Hey, Aphmau!” she turned back to her “Don’t let others push ya around, ok. Especially Emmalyn'' she emphasised the last bit by pointing a stern finger at her. Aphmau giggled a bit, nodding before leaving. 

It didn’t take long to find Brendan; they met at the same field as before and continued on with the rest of the day's work. He taught her all about mending fences, hammering, stability and more. Of course there were a few times when Brendan’s hammer met his hand, which was soon followed by tears and cries of pain. It was a bit embarrassing, when she overreacted and freaked out, deciding that hitting her hand with a hammer, to cheer him up and when we say “hit” it was really just a tap, causing Brendan to burst out laughing with more tears, but amusement tears. 

“Y-you know you just tapped your hand? but in any case d-don’t hurt yourself to make me feel better” he said once he got control of his laughter, bumping his shoulder gently into hers.

He also taught her about treating rotten wood. “We actually have a bit of it so” he continued to explain how the rotting wood can still be salvaged sometimes with a bit of care and time. “Of course there are times where it's just best to scrap it but we don’t have a lot of supplies at the moment so we have to salvage as much as we can.” 

They unfortunately couldn't do much with the plaza at the moment, as the day was starting to come to a close.

Brendan and Aphmau had parted ways, as Aphmau was now lying on a lounge, she suspected Donna had forced Emmalyn to drag out. For the next few hours, she lay there staring at the old, wooden roof, she just couldn’t shut off her mind. There were so many people struggling here, Molly, with Dale in a drunken slump, Donna and everyone else struggling with the bare minimum of rations and Brendan, with his constant chores and fruitless labour with the crops. She couldn’t stand it, she had to do something. 

As quiet as she possibly could, she left the library. Going down the path to crops, past a glowing torch stand, she opened the gate, to the same one she and Brendan had tended.

She honestly had no clue what she was doing, but she just thought, if she could look at soil to see if there was anything, different? Anything that could be helpful. She lent one of her knees on the ground and lay her opposite hand flat, on the black, lifeless, dirt.

 Help.

 Within seconds, a rush left her, in a surge of the purest, brightest, white light possible. It covered everything in the field: the ground, her skin, her eyes. A vision of light seeping through soil, the roots, the seeds and the Earth filled her mind, all she saw was the healing earth. 

After thirty seconds, she was able to pull herself out of her haze. Where was that light coming from? There were only a few torches around, and it was night. Then She looked down at herself. The black markings were no longer the usual ink colour, but the same pure white light as before. W-what? Aphmau stared at her shaking hands. What did I do? 

“What, did you do?!?” a voice behind her echoed.

Chapter Text

Garroth had been on his usual evening patrol, on his final stretch before Dale would take over, when he’d noticed the young maiden. Aphmau, he believed it was. I wonder what she’s doing out so late? he’d thought, when he’d noticed her kneeling down in one of the barren crop fields. The strangest thing happened, she started to glow. And it just grew brighter and brighter, soon enough, it was everywhere, the field she was in, was a glowing ball of white light. (Off in the trees and out of sight, a masked man stood in shock).

After about thirty seconds, she seemed to snap out of it, as she looked down at herself, the light began to fade. Garroth also was able to pull himself out of shock too. “What did you do?!?”

She spun around her eyes wide, the marks on her cheeks were still alight, he thought she looked rather pretty. He didn’t wait for her answer, as he entered the field and moved over to where she was. As he leaned down, he saw live roots, actually alive. “The crops, they- they’ve been restored!” an amazed Ha Ha! Escaped him “but only in this area” it was true only the middle where she’d been standing was healed. All the edges and corners were the same as before “th-this is amazing, oh do you realise what you’ve done?! This is a blessing! How did y-” he cut himself off, when he turned back to face her, there were tears in the corners of her eyes, oh dear he must have frightened her.

“I-i’m s-so sorry, I-i didn’t mean to, I j-just w-” Aphmau choked out as tears left her eyes, her marks were no longer glowing . Calming himself down, he gently grabbed her hand and looked down into her eyes. “What are you apologising for? You truly don't know what you’ve done, do you?” he asked amazed “you, what you’ve done, it- it’s a blessing. This will help so many people, thank you” he said sincerely. 

He noticed he was still holding her hand, he dropped it quickly flustered “s-sorry! I just got excited is all” he cleared his throat.

“I-i helped?” she asked delicately, not seeming to notice his fumbling, for which he was grateful for. Straightening up he nodded “yes, with all that's been going on, what with our Lord gone and everything, this will help a great deal” she smiled, a watery smile, before a curious frown took hold “why is everything so hard if you have no Lord? Surely you don't need a Lord to grow food.” he did think the question a little odd, but guessed she must be from another region, or something.

 “Well it's not just our Lord being missing, the land we stand on, this region is in decay” he explained “villages all over Ru'aun have been experiencing droughts, famines, and as of recent months, deaths of their Lords. And without a Lord there's no order, people panic, a Lord is essential for trade and merchants and if you don’t have one… well, things get difficult, but when a lord is replaced majority of the time, the only ones willing to take the role are tyrants and than guards just leave, I swear it I'll never turn my back on this villag-” he cut off his rant when he realised, he was working himself up. 

He looked up at the sky and saw how late it was. He was about to call it a night when he thought of something. “Could you, can you perform that miracle again?” her eyebrows furrowed as she frowned “I- i’m not sure… i've never, I don't even know how I did that” she answered quietly. 

“I apologise, milady” Garroth said “you must be still recovering from your earlier condition.” 

Garroth heard the footsteps running before he heard the voice. “Garroth! Sir Garroth” it was Brian, he seemed panicked, as he ran down the dirt street and towards the field where they stood. “Sir Garroth, my patrol spotted a werewolf near the front of the village!” he rushed out as he came to a halt at the fence. “A werewolf!?! Are you sure?!” he asked sternly, they needed to be absolutely sure. 

“Yes! There's. A. Massive. Werewolf near the front gates!”

“We don’t have gates!?”

“Oh! the fences! I swear Garroth, please.” Garroth shook off his doubt quickly and started to list out his orders.

“Alright I need someone to make sure there are no people near the front fences! You and I need to go loo-”. He was cut off when he heard a twig go, Snap! He took a stance and made ready to draw his sword. Brian hesitantly reached for his own weapon “maybe it was a deer?-”

“Brian, a deer doesn’t make one solid sound! you should know this from guard training”

“Bu-”

 He was cut off by another, even louder SNAP! “Milady, please go back to where you're staying!” he said urgently, as he and Brian drew their swords. She looked reluctant “we’ll talk later, please go.. And be careful. Brian, come!” They were both quick to chase after what must have been a masked bandit.

Aphmau didn’t stick around long after that, she had no reason to. You can imagine she had trouble sleeping that night. The next morning, she decided to go and visit Donna . As Donna got the tea ready, she couldn't help but think back to the events of the Previous night. She had some sort of ability? She wasn't sure, all she knew was that she didn't know how to control them. Last night, she almost couldn't stop herself, and then that morning, she'd tried to use them on a dying pot plant, on one of the library's window sills and the only thing that happened was a slight flicker and then nothing. And then there was what Garroth had told her, more villages were suffering like this? And I helped? 

When Donna came back with the tea, Brendan was with her. “Thanks again Brendan for fixin the doors.” Apparently the wooden doors had become loose, from age. “I know you have more chores to do today, but I made tea, if you wanna stay and chat with me, Aph?” 

“Aph?” she must have said it out loud, as the other woman just snorted and said “well as much as I love your beautifully unique name I thought it’d be cute to give you a nickname” Brendan rolled his eyes and sat down at the table, with both of them. He leaned over, as if telling Aphmau a secret and said in the loudest whisper “more like she’s too lazy”

“I can hear you!” that made them all giggle. “You were supposed to.” Brendan managed after a second. “Well maybe I am lazy, but that doesn’t mean, I don’t think Aph is a cute name… that is if you want to be called that?” 

“I don’t mind what you call me. You can call me what you’d like” Aphmau smiled. “Then that’s what I’ll call you.” Donna said with a smile that glowed.

Throughout their conversation, she couldn’t help but notice that Donna kept zoning out, with a worried look on her face. Eventually she asked why. “Oh, uh. It’s just..” she furrowed her brows, as she pursed her lips “Visher was meant to stay at mine last night. But he never showed. I’m sure he’s fine, sometimes he likes to wander off, but normally he tells me, if he’s gonna be out longer than a couple hours.” she took a breath. 

“Anyway, Brendan.” she said abruptly “What does Garroth have you doing today?” 

“Oh, just the usual, though he wants me to take down some of the old Lord's house” he said 

Aphmau didn’t even think about it when she said..

“C-can I help?” Brendan again seemed surprised, but recovered quicker than yesterday.

 Making their way, they bid farewell to Donna and went to work. The house, Aphmau noticed, was a little more taken down, not by much but a bit. They brought a few tools with them: hammers, shovels and an axe, the shovel and axe were set aside. For the next hour and a bit, Brendan showed her how to take off the wood planks. 

“You just need to loosen the nails and then..” he pulled his hammer back and smacked the wood. It came free and tumbled from the upper floor.  

“So like this” she copied his movements almost exactly, but much slower and more carefully. While Brendan’s bit took one good hard hit, she took a good handful, before it finally, reluctantly fell off.

“Uh yeah.. But you might want to be a little faster if you don’t want to take a whole day to do that bit” he said “though still be careful about it” he added as an afterthought. 

Not long after that a loud angry “HEY!” came from the direction of the path. 

Aphmau and Brendan both looked up, in time to just see Zenix sprinting down the path towards the well. Beside her, Brendan left, grabbing his shovel on his way past her. Deciding she didn’t want to be left by herself, she wasn’t far behind. Brendan had caught up to a panting Zenix “which way did it go?!!” He shouted, when he saw Brendan, “I don't know, I think I saw it go down that way” he pointed to a path that led towards the outskirts of the forest. Zenix ran off before he could even finish his sentence. “Garroth said I had to help you with the rat problem you know!?” Brendan groaned, before following, with Aphmau not far behind. 

She was just rounding the corner, in time to see Zenix be sent tumbling, by an oddly bright stranger. It’s not odd in a bad way, Just that while there were some colourful personalities in town, most seemed to not physically look it. But this lady, just by looking at her you knew she was a bright person. Brendan came up on the other side of where Zenix was standing, he appeared not to have noticed anything, as he looked like he was preparing to grab something. 

“kekeke! Don't you dare hurt my little friend! Can't you tell he's scared to death!" She said, as she gestured to a fuzzy little creature, perched on one of the fences surrounding one of the houses. 

“Are you the reason these pests have been coming back? It's vermin like this that's been eating what little we have to eat around here!” Zenix seethed. During the little shouting match, Brendan appeared to have become a statue grey and frozen. 

"Brendan, you weren't going to let Zenix hurt my tiny darling, right?”

“Sis! I d-didn't realise you were in town ha ha!” his laugh and smile were now looking rather forced.

“He was going to help me kill your tiny darling” Zenix said patronisingly, while casually jabbing towards the hammer, Brendan was holding. “which really isn’t a darling cause it's a stupid rat!”

Brendan’s sister released a rather tragic sounding gasp, tears developing in the corner of her eyes. “Brendan!”

“I-it's n-not what it looks like!” he said desperately, as he held out his hand as if he was trying to calm down a spooked horse. It did nothing.

“I c-c-c-came here to bring smiles, after what happened to the Lord, but then I find you doing this?!” Her voice, so tragic, was emphasised by the big tears that were now beginning to fall. Just as Brendan stuttered to respond, Zenix made a lunge for the tiny creature, only for it to spook and run. He followed it, sword lashing out only missing by the width of a hair. The bright girl shrieked, covering her mouth with her hands, “please don’t hurt him!!” not stopping to think about her actions, Aphmau took off after them, leaving the siblings behind. 

Zenix was an incredibly fast runner, so much so that she began to wonder if she'd be able to catch up, before he killed the girl’s creature. Pushing herself faster, she could see Zenix up ahead disappearing through the trees, she wasn’t far behind. Zenix swiftly swung his sword, it was a precise blow or it would have been had Aphmau not been there. Sprinting she grabbed a small dagger that had been attached to his weapon belt, with her palm pressed to the flat of the blade, she blocked him. The force of the hit made him stumble back, nearly dropping his weapon, he had a look of shock, which soon turned to anger. “What the heck!! why in the name of Irene would you do that!?!” 

Thinking back to when she had “hit” her hand with a hammer to make Brendan feel better and him telling her that there was more than one way to cheer someone up, how she’d made him laugh, If she could make Zenix laugh, maybe she could get his mind off of killing the creature, she now was body blocking. “Y-you don't want to hurt it, it could be dangerous, if you kill it, it’s friends might find out, and they might want revenge, y-you’ll be their target for a vicious attack, they- they could haunt you.” he stared at her, eyes wide, and then he started to laugh. A loud bellowing laugh, that must have made his sides hurt, erupted from him. “That has got to be the stupidest thing i've ever heard!!” he continued to laugh. 

Before Zenix could get over his hilarity, the siblings came running, he scoffed, saying “fine, whatever, but you are all taking the blame, when this pest starts eating all our crops again!” he turned his back on them all marching away. The bright girl glared at him for the pest comment, but ultimately ignored him.

She walked up to the little creature and smiled, as it squeaked at her. “Wow! Sean here, told me all about how you stopped Zenix, by making him laugh! You’re a very lovely lady!” She can talk to animals? Aphmau then voiced her surprise outloud. “I can talk to some animals, not all of them” she responded a little shyly “I’m Kiki by the way”

 “She can only talk to small animals.” Brendan interjected. “Shut. up. Brendan!” she rolled her eyes as she said it. It made Aphmau giggle a little. Which then led to them all laughing, even though it wasn’t that funny. Smiling, Brendan looked toward the sun, “we should probably start heading back to the village, don't want everyone to worry.” he then led the way back.

Not far away, just outside the village sat a young man, a familiar young man, wearing a green cloak and a mask. He scanned the village ahead of him, almost as if he were looking for something, or someone. He was so distracted that he didn’t hear the first snap of a twig, but he did hear the second. He jumped up and prepared his bow, only for a foot to shoot out and knock it aside. “You know, if we hadn’t been on the same side, I would have been able to kill you so easily” a man stood in front of him, completely dark from his clothes, to his hair, the only thing about him with any colour were his eyes, a bright blue, but even then they weren’t a pleasant colour, with the kind of chill they sent through the masked man's bones. 

“Oh come on Gene, you had the element of surprise.” another person stepped out of the shadows, a woman with snow white hair and obsidian purple eyes.

 “And yet he would still be dead” was the reply she received. 

“What are you even still doing here anyway?” Gene then turned back to him, his tone accusatory. “Our assignment is done”

“He kinda has a point Vylad, this village is dying”said the woman.

Vylad didn’t respond, looking back at the village. Gene's eyes narrowed at the blatant disrespect.

“The lord of this village is dead. there's no reason for you to be here anymore” Gene looked at the village as he said this, spotting three people who were now returning, and one in particular he thought might be the reason. “I don't care what you do with your time but get over whatever, Emotions, you may think you are having. Remember we have a far greater purpose, but if you let this distract you” he let his threat linger.

“Besides, this village is already dead, there’s no point being here, other than to watch it die” The woman said, Vylad guessed she was trying to prevent Gene’s anger from getting worse. 

“Cmon Sasha.” he motioned for them to leave, but before he did, he looked Vylad directly in the eyes, piercing and cold. “And if it’s not dead, well then, things are about to get fun real soon” with cruel amusement he chuckled darkly, as he and Sasha left. Leaving Vylad alone to his thoughts.

Chapter Text

After a couple of weeks a routine had started to form, Aphmau would get up early, go over to Donna’s and at some point during the day she would go to help Brendan with his chores. Garroth had developed a little habit as well, at the end of each day he would come find her to check how she was doing. Aphmau found she didn't mind too much, it always left her with a warmth that covered her entirely.

She felt a little guilty however. For not being completely up front about everything she may or may not remember. She had yet to tell him that really she had no clue where she was from. She knew it was quite silly to feel such guilt over one tiny white lie, but it was still a lie and a relationship built solely on the basis of a lie was doomed to end badly for all involved. Maybe she was being slightly dramatic, but she still felt she should at least inform Garroth that there was no village, that may be wondering where she went. 

Another thing she’d taken a habit to, was whenever there was a quiet moment, during the break from chores. she would go to the top of the hill that overlooked the village, and she would just sit there breathing in the peacefulness. It gave her time to think and just feel the energy that flowed from the earth.

It was turning into a normal day of helping around the village, when Apmau, Brendan and Donna were in the plaza a happy voice rang out. Almost as joyful Donna embraced the voice, a man with short dark hair and beard looking every bit of a merchant.

 “What are you doing here?” Donna asked him, smiling. 

“I wanted to speak with Garroth” the man said, Donna raised an eyebrow at him “why?” 

“It’s about the village” he replied, Donna frowned “Well i’m not quite sure where he is at the moment-”

“I’m right here,” said the guard, walking into the plaza. “Now what do I owe the pleasure, Paul?” he asked politely. 

“It’s about what we discussed on my last visit?” he prompted

“Has there been any update?” 

Paul whistled through his teeth “well, there is a travelling merchant by the name of Logan, he’s looking for a place to set up shop.”

Donna let out a happy laugh. 

“That’s great!” Garroth exclaimed. 

“However there are a few things that he’ll be expecting. Like a lord” he spoke pointedly looking towards the guard. Some of Garroth’s enthusiasm dimed a little as he merely hummed slightly in acknowledgment. 

Paul huffed, before indicating his head towards the guard. Garroth must have understood it, as he walked with Paul a few paces away from Donna, Aphmau and Brendan. 

Not much could be heard from them except…

 “you know… told… not having a Lord” 

“know.. A little difficult to find "

"... have a responsibility, unless you want to become-"

"NO! I DON’T WANT THAT!” The shout had been sudden and definitely unexpected from the normally put together guard. Brendan practically became a skeleton at the sudden noise. After a couple more moments of the whispered argument, they started to move back over to the group.

“Listen, I can't promise you anything. All I know is that the merchant I mentioned is looking for a town to settle. I can direct him toward you guys but after that the rest is up to you. Just tidy up, like most merchants he’ll be expecting a Lord.” his eyes shifted to Garroth in a pointed manner. 

“As well as producing fields. I know the odds aren’t stacked in your favour, but if I were you I'd take it.”  

“What are we supposed to tell this merchant when he shows up and we have no lord?!” Garroth said with frustration.

“Listen I know this isn’t ideal but it’s now or never.”

 with a sigh he directs the rest to those present. “Again, I suggest you clean up a little, the plaza, the roads, just do what you can. If he likes it enough he may decide to stay.” He didn’t sound so sure. 

Garroth sighed and then directed Brendan to start on the plaza, naturally Aphmau helped him. He then called Brian and Zenix over to work on the roads.

Paul left to intercept the merchant and hours later, when the sun was just starting its slow climb down from the sky. the stoney-face of what must have been the merchant arrived. Garroth went to greet him while Brendan and Aphmau watched from the farside of the plaza. The more Aphmau looked at this merchant the more unsure she was. she may not have any memories from her past, but she could tell when someone looked unpleasant. He had a perpetual scowl and narrow judging eyes. She wasn’t close enough to hear everything, but from what she could hear, the merchant didn’t sound very impressed.

As she made her way over, it became clear just what the merchant was unhappy about. 

“I want to speak to your lord! Not some self-important head guard!” it was clear both men were at their breaking point.

 “My lord is currently dealing with other business at the moment, however I am available to discuss whatever questions you may have about our village.” Garroth’s tone was controlled but it was easy to read just how this merchant was making him feel.

He spotted Aphmau and Brendan and gestured them over. 

“Brendan ,Lady Aphmau, this is the merchant Paul mentioned” he nodded to both of them as they approached. “Logan, these are a couple of Phoenix Drop’s citizens” Aphmau felt honoured to be included as a citizen after only three weeks there. Zenix also joined the group.

“Look, if I dont see some form of a lord in the next five minutes, I’m fully prepared to move on to a different village, because as far as I'm concerned this village has nothing to offer!!” Logan ground out through his teeth, completely disregarding Garroth’s attempt at trying to smooth his mood.

That's when Aphmau's mouth began to speak without her brain's permission.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, I am the lord.” 

 There was a beat of silence, and then another, then another, until her words seemed to register with everyone present. “You're the lord?” He said, his narrow eyes looking her up and down, he may as well have told her she was dirt.

Garroth seemed to snap out of his stupor.

“Wha-?! I mean my lord” he then turned Zenix, asking “why don’t you give Logan a tour of the rest of the village, so he can make a decision once he’s seen everything” he said firmly. “Could I have a word with you, m’lady?” The head guard may have posed it as a question, but his stiff shoulders and tense voice suggested otherwise. He guided her a little away, just out of earshot.

“What are you doing?!?” he whispered in a harsh whisper. “I’m sorry, i-it just slipped out.” Aphmau expressed, while she hadn’t meant to say what she had said, she didn’t regret it. If this was what it took to get these people, people who had shown her nothing but kindness and acceptance. help they so desperately needed? Then so be it. I will help them.

Something on her face must have shown her thought process, all too clearly, as Garroth just sighed. “I know you may have the best intentions but, I’m not entirely sure you understand just what kind of position you’ve put yourself in.” 

he was fully facing her, looking at her directly. She may not have been able to see his eyes, but Aphmau could feel the intensity of his eye contact, stern and concerned. 

“You may not be aware, but in recent years lords have been attacked and killed, Phoenix Drop isn’t the first village to lose their lord like we did. Being lord would make you a target.” 

Aphmau’s mind was swimming, her thoughts whizzing around her brain. “And what happens when there is no lord?” she asked purposefully, already having a guess.

Garroth sighed again “it leaves the village open for thieves and bandits, that and it makes trade with other villages quite difficult. Most places would refuse if there was no lord” 

There was a pause, the silence tense and loud. 

“But this is a lie too big for us” he implored her. “What happens when we are discovered in our deceit? Things could get worse than they already are.”

“And what happens to us if we don’t get this merchant?” Donna said, walking up to them. “We both know what that would mean, Phoenix Drop wouldn’t last long. I say we’d be lucky if bandits didn’t come swarmin within a week.” Donna’s face stayed firm, but her eyes were warm and understanding. Donna and Garroth shared a long look, Aphmau could practically see their minds settling on the same page. 

Garroth sighed and his shoulders dropped lower “fine, we’ll do this. But if you have any doubts or you don't want to do this anymore, you must promise me that you will tell me.” he implored Aphmau. 

“Of course” she told him, without even realising, she reached out and touched his arm, reassuring him. The head guard stared at her hand for a long moment, before coughing and Aphmau retracted her hand, her cheeks feeling oddly warm. 

“Anyway, in the meantime” Garroth continued “we need to make your position as lord irrefutable by Logan. Which means that everyone must know of Lady Aphmau’s new positio-” 

“New what now?” the sourfaced merchant said in a growl “I don’t know what the hell is going on here but I don't like any of this, cause from what I've seen of this place it's nothing but a dump! You have incompetent guards chasing after rodents, one who's drunk off his ass and the rest who won't give me a straight answer.”

“I apologise for my fellow guards behaviour" the head guard said in a tone that Aphmau now recognised as his trying-to-make-everything-go-well voice. “but I can assure you, that everyone in this village just wants your visit to go well. And any behavior you may have seen merely reflects that.”

Logan glared, the lines in his face deepening, he looked at the people gathered around when his eyes went wide, mouth slightly agape, and his cheeks a flaming red. 

He shook his head before stuttering out, “I-i'll stay for now, but give me a reason and I'm outta here” 

“That's great!” Garroth said elated, he turned to Donna “could you show Logan where he can stay? Would your place be alright?” 

“Fine by me, come along” she beckoned the merchant to follow her with her finger making a come hither movement, his face went red again. For some reason Donna's face became very smug. 

Once they were gone Garroth turned to Brendan, asking him if he could continue working on the fences around Phoenix Drop. 

“Lady Aphmau, would you care to walk with me?”

 he asked her softly, she didn't even have to think about it before nodding. Together they started to stroll through the village. At first not speaking, just enjoying the silence and each other's company. After a few minutes Garroth broke the silence. 

“how have you been settling so far?” 

“Good, I think I'm starting to get used to everything,” Aphmau smiled at him.

“I'm glad to hear it” he said when he paused suddenly “wait, with you becoming Lord, is there anyone you would wish for us to contact?” His question sent an uncomfortable thrill of panic through her. 

“No, no, it's fine. it's no big deal” she said quickly.

“No big deal? Are you sure? Even if it's far away, we can still get word out by Raven. If you have loved ones, surely they'd want to know you're at least safe?” he spoke, his concern about her growing. 

“oh I wouldn't want to burden you or take away from your resources” 

“Really, it's fine. it wouldn't be a problem to send out a letter” he insisted.

Oh, I have to tell him I can't just keep lying. Why does it feel so hard to say this? After a moment, Aphmau thought she might know why, because it felt vulnerable and something told her that in whatever life she'd had before, secrets had been a means of survival. 

With a heavy sigh she spoke “Garroth, I appreciate the offer, but if i'm being honest I'm not even sure there is anyone out there. My memory… I-I don't remember anything from before I woke up in those woods. its not even foggy, it's like there's a stone wall just blocking everything.” she shifted her eyes up to his face and with that emotionless helmet of his, she hurried on “a-anyway, I just wanted to tell you because you and everyone has been so kind to me and I didn't want there to be this lie hanging and I know it may seem like such a small thing to lie about but you didn’t know me so I thought you might think I was lying or something worse and- and” the guard cut her off by putting his hand on her shoulder.

“It's ok, I can understand why you didn't mention your memory, so thank you for trusting me enough to tell me.” a deep warm feeling spread through her chest so overwhelming and soft, that it was just as much a surprise to her as it was for him when she jumped and rapped her arm around him. Garroth stood there stock still she felt his muscles under his armor tense and then relax as he hugged her back.

After a few moments she let go smiling more than she ever had before. 

“Thank you Garroth.” he nodded acknowledging her. 

“There is another matter I wanted to discuss with” he paused “your miracle” 

A force of air left her lungs and she stepped away from him. “I don't mean to alarm you my lady, I was just hoping, coul- could you do it again, Please?” he spoke softly, placating, Aphmau swallowed past the lump in her throat “I- i don't know” 

“I know you have no obligation to help us but as the head guard of a humble village, please we would very much appreciate it.” he said in an almost desperate way. 

“It's not that I don't want to help, I don't e-even know I c-can.” But if I don't, what will happen to everyone? She looked to the darkening sky, then back at Garroth and Aphmau could have sworn in that moment she could see emotions clear behind the helm. “but ‘i'll try”

“That's all I ask," he said breathlessly. 

Before she even knew it, they were standing before the fields. Aphmau's nerves felt thin, full encompassing, not because she didn't want to do it but because she wasn't even sure she could, last time had been an accident. All she knew was that it felt like someone was crying out for help, like the very earth was in pain and then she'd felt a rush. As she took a deep breath and stepped past the gate she thought that's what she needed to focus on. That same feeling.

It was as she went to kneel down that she heard footsteps.

“What in the name of Irene are you doin?” 

Looking over her shoulder she saw the frame of Donna standing next to Garroth, an eyebrow raised. “She's helping us, Donna,” the head guard responded. “cause that just about explains everything?” Donna said, a hand moving to her hip as she spoke. 

“just watch.” excitement practically rolled off him.

Aphmau placed her hand against the soil, she focused her mind on what happened last time, the rush that she'd felt, coming from her very soul and then she felt it, the same cry for help from before. An overwhelming energy came surging through her veins and the marks on her skin began to glow brightly. the ground beneath her gained new life, saplings that had been dying revived, even the ones that were already dead began to perk up a bit. As this went on Aphmau couldn't help but think that maybe she could do more, I can feel it, I can go further.

 Focusing on expanding the energy to the next field, with every breath, more and more of the fields were covered in a bright, white, light. At first it felt great, she was healing and reviving, but after a little when she tried to stop, tried to pull back, she couldn't. she was stuck, she tried to let go of the strand of energy that was tethering her to the earth beneath her hand, but she couldn’t as much she tried, it was like she'd been petrified, her mind was awake and aware of everything. A distant sound of running vaguely registered in the back of her mind, until she finally felt a sudden jolt. Someone had pushed her down from her kneeling position, this was able to break her from her trance. as her marks and consciousness began to fade, she felt something being tucked over her and then she fell.