Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A mysterious man in green holding a periwinkle staff walks slowly through the forest, like he’s watching his every step. The winds are calm, yet threatening. He makes it to a clearing where he stops and remembers what an old woman he had met told him.

“Take this, and place it somewhere that needs the help of Irene.”

He remembers every word of her command down to the sound of her voice.

He responded, “You mean… the blessing of Irene?”

He looks down at the staff, its power feeling heavy in his hands.

He lifts the staff above his head. “This is all I can do,” he whispers as he stabs the staff into the ground; cracks in the dirt forming around it. He runs behind a nearby tree as it glows a bright violet. From the staff appears a young woman with tan skin and long raven hair wearing gold bracelets on each wrist. She falls slowly to the ground. He peeks his head out to get a glimpse of the woman who has a strange marking on her back, only visible due to her slightly parted hair. The marking was a detailed white outline in two parts, them being mirror images of each other. It was like large feathery wings closed upon her back. The woman slowly opens her eyes, rolling onto her back to get a better view of her surroundings. She spots the one in green. They stare at each other, not saying a word.

The man in green then hears an annoying voice off in the distance. “I heard something coming from this direction!” He hides yet again, pulling his green mask over his face to keep his breathing from being heard. The woman rolls onto her stomach in an attempt to stand.

A young guard in dark gray armor trimmed with gold along with a bright red cape runs into the clearing, drawing his sword on the woman. “It’s not everyday we find a maiden in these woods. Who are you?!” the guard asks, his voice being a little obscured by his helmet, where only his dark brown eyes are visible through the slit. His voice is young and high pitched. The woman remains silent, only blinking once or twice. “Don’t play coy with me!” the guard yells, losing his patience. “I see what you’re doing. You’re playing the poor defenseless woman, but I know that once I turn my back you’ll take me for all I’m worth!”

The woman looks up at him one last time then passes out; her face and body lying in the grass. The guard gets a shocked look on his face, prodding her with his sword before sheathing it. He chuckles to himself, “Enemy defeated.”

“Zenix!” a voice calls from beyond the trees. Another guard runs into the clearing. He sighs disappointedly at the sight of Zenix next to the unconscious woman. “What did you do?” he asks.

The guard is wearing iron chainmail with a white banner over his chest with a cross. He has a gray helmet that’s lightly scratched covering his whole head. His shoulder pads are trimmed with gold and he has iron gauntlets on his hands. He bears a matching white cape with a dark red interior. To his side rests his iron sword. His voice is deeper and more mature than the other guard and he speaks with a posh accent.

The guard walks over to Zenix and the woman and kneels down to check on her. “I didn’t do anything! She merely fainted from the mere threat of my presence,” Zenix answers, a little cocky. “This maiden seems like no threat. She appears to be suffering from extreme exhaustion and hunger,” the guard explains. Zenix looks closer at the woman, still skeptical. “Now that you mention it, she’s completely naked!” Zenix says, making the other guard fluster. He sighs. “Zenix… as a noble guard you should learn to be more respectful with your words,” the guard says, looking away from the woman and up at Zenix. “What?! She is!” Zenix defends himself.

Zenix can almost feel the disapproving frown from behind the other’s helm. “Give me your cape,” the guard commands, standing up. “What?!” Zenix responds as the other goes behind him to get his cape, tearing it off his back. “Hey! I just got that from Meteli!” Zenix yells at him. “That wasn’t a request,” the guard says, kneeling down and placing the bright red cape around the woman to cover her. “Wait, don’t put it on her… We don’t know where she’s been!” Zenix whines and the other guard stands up. “You should’ve kept your mouth shut about her attire then,” he says.

Zenix and the other guard look down at the now covered woman. “Well… what are we going to do with her?” Zenix finally asks. “Carry her. We’re going back home,” the guard quickly decides. Zenix’s eyes widened in shock. “We’re taking her to the village?” he questions. “We’re not leaving a defenseless woman for the fiends to feast on,” the other guard answers. “But I defeated her…” Zenix mumbles. The other guard looks at him unfavorably again. “I’ll believe that when you defeat the infestation of rats at our guard quarters… like I asked you to do over a week ago,” he begrudgingly reminds him. “I’m your apprentice, not an exterminator! …But that is a cool nickname,” Zenix ponders. “Zenix…” the other guard warns him. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Zenix yells at him, still refusing to do the task, yet he can hear the other’s anger.

Zenix takes a few deep breaths. “Listen… with all due respect, Garroth…” Zenix begins. “I’m listening…” Garroth responds, though he sounds as though he’s losing his patience with Zenix. “We’re taking an outsider to the village. And with everything going on?!” Zenix questions him. “The people will understand,” Garroth sighs. “Do you really think the people will continue to listen to you?! They’re already blaming you for the death of our lord!”

“There was nothing I could about-!” Garroth interrupts Zenix, stopping himself after he realized he was yelling. “I did everything I could. The least I can do now is insure that nobody else dies… and that includes this woman,” Garroth continues, speaking in a calmer tone. Zenix narrows his eyes, clearly not satisfied with his answer. “Look, we’ll talk more about the village situation later. Right now, let’s get this maiden to safety. Let’s move,” Garroth says before he walks toward the village. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Sir Garroth,” Zenix mutters under his breath as he picks up the young woman and follows Garroth.

The man in green looks out from behind the tree as he watches Garroth and Zenix return to their village with the girl.

The woman wakes up, slowly opening her eyes. She finds herself on a wooden bed with two more to either side of her. Garroth and Zenix are in the room, speaking to each other, seemingly unaware of the girl’s sudden consciousness.

“It’s only a matter of time until the village falls apart even further. That fire killed the lord and his family,” she hears Zenix saying to Garroth. “We haven’t recovered any bodies to prove that,” Garroth responds. “Which is even worse! Imagine what this looks like to the villagers. There’s no one else to blame except us! The guards! We’re supposed to prevent these kinds of things!” Zenix exclaims furiously. Garroth places a hand on Zenix’s shoulder. “Zenix, I know you’re worried about this, but we’ll find a solution,” Garroth tries to reassure him; Zenix can feel that he’s at least trying and that’s enough to make him smile.

Zenix then looks over at the woman who’s still laying in the bed. She closed her eyes before he could notice that she’s awake. “Wait… why don’t we use her to fix this?!” he suggests excitedly. “Zenix, don’t conjure another one of your idiotic ideas,” Garroth chastened. “Hear me out this time. What if we blame it on her? We just say that all leads pointed to her causing the fire,” Zenix explains his plan as he walks over to the sleeping woman. “That will make us look even worse,” Garroth retorts. “Not if no one finds out! Besides, she’s practically dead right now,” Zenix remarks, looking over the woman.

“Zenix…”

“Look, she’s not even waking up,” Zenix says, with his usual cocky attitude. The woman then reaches over and grabs Zenix’s sword from its scabbard connected to his belt. “Oh my Irene! She’s attacking us!” Zenix screams, fleeing as the woman holds up the sword. Garroth cautiously walks closer to the woman. “M’lady! Please… we’re not going to harm you. Just put the sword down,” Garroth attempts to calm her. He lays his sword on the wooden floor. “See?”

The woman didn’t move and didn’t drop her sword. Her breathing was heavy and Garroth saw that as an obvious sign of fear and panic. “Can you… speak? Can you understand us?” Garroth asks as her silence continues. She doesn’t answer vocally, but nods. “You’re in the village of Phoenix Drop. I am Garroth, the head guard of this village. This is my apprentice, Zenix,” Garroth introduces them. “Don’t tell her our names!” Zenix shrieks, which causes her to jump from her bed to one Zenix was hiding behind, swinging her sword at him. Zenix ducks just in time. Garroth picks up his sword and blocks the woman’s attack. She kicks him in the chest, causing him to stubble back a bit as she makes her escape downstairs. “Wow… she can fight,” Garroth mutters, impressed. “After her!” Zenix yells, following the woman downstairs.

A woman with medium length pale blonde hair walks through the doors of the guard quarters holding a book to her face. “Garroth! You won’t believe it! I found this book about the matron from the merchant by the docks and-” she’s cut off by the raven haired woman holding a sword to her throat. Garroth and Zenix run down the stairs. “Emmalyn! Don’t move!” Garroth yells out to her. “I told you she’s dangerous, Garroth! She totally could’ve been the one that killed our lord! She’s crazy!” Zenix screams. “I don’t wanna die!” Emmalyn cries.

“Everyone shut up!” Garroth shouts, silencing the yelling Zenix and crying Emmalyn. “Please… let her go. I know how scared you must be, but I promise that I will not let any harm befall you. Please…”

Garroth begs the woman. She looks up at him, her face no longer being that of fear, but of recognition. “You… are familiar,” she utters before dropping the sword. It clatters to the wood floor. Garroth was shocked to hear her speak.

“Thank the matron…!” Emmalyn mutters.

Another guard-looking man with a beard bursts through the door of the guard quarters. He bears a blue tunic and hood, carrying a mug. “Hey! I got some ale!” he hiccups. The woman panics and steals Emmalyn’s book, pushing her to the side, and throwing it towards Garroth. He ducks quickly before it can hit him and the book lands on the wall behind him into a lit torch. “No! My book!” Emmalyn cries as she watches her book burn in front of her. The mysterious woman shoves past the bearded guard as she runs out of the building.

A farmer in lime green was standing in a patch of dead crops, tending to the field with his shovel. He hears rampant footsteps approaching along the cobblestone paths in the village. He then hears Garroth’s voice yelling, “Brendan! Stop her!” He looks up to see a woman with tan skin and raven hair wearing a bright red fabric and gold bracelets running towards him. “H-huh?! M-me!” he responds. “Just do something!” Garroth yells back from the entrance of the guard quarters. The farmer holds out his shovel into the path of the running woman. There’s a loud bang, and she falls to the ground.
Another near-by farmer heard the sound and came running to the scene. “Brendan!” she yells angrily as she sees the injured woman on the ground with Brendan standing next to her. His face suddenly becomes filled with fear and regret. “How dare you hit a lady like that!” she yells at him. Her accent has a twang to it. “B-b-but D-Donna, G-G-Garroth told me to,” he stutters. Donna turns her attention to Garroth, who just reached up the scene. “You told him to do what?!” she yells at the guard.

Garroth ignores her and kneels on the ground to help out the young woman. She was knocked out cold. Donna quickly forgets her anger as she too turns her attention to the one with raven hair. “The poor thing,” she says softly, checking to see if she’s okay. “Garroth, carry her to my house. I’ll treat her,” she tells him. “Yes, of course,” he agrees, picking up the woman and following Donna to her house, right behind the guard quarters.

Garroth gently places the girl down on a bed. Donna sighs, looking disappointedly at Garroth after placing a cold rag on the girl’s head. “How could you let that happen to her?” she asks, her voice no longer scolding. “She panicked when I attempted to calm her. It didn’t help to have other people who were paranoid… or drunk… around to assist. I didn’t expect her to be hit with a shovel,” he explains himself to her. “That’s no excuse! As head guard, you’re supposed to control the situation!” she yells at him. “That’s what I was trying to do!” he fights back. “Well maybe your trying isn’t good enough for the people of this village!”

Garroth stays quiet; Donna sighs and calms her anger. “Garroth… we- they are losing faith in you. This village can’t exist without a proper lord… so unless you want to step up-”

“I don’t want that!” Garroth speaks out harshly, interrupting Donna. “I-I’m sorry,” he quickly apologizes.

He looks over at the woman who is still resting in the bed with regret. ”I don’t want to ask too much of you, but can you care for her for now?” he reluctantly asks her. “And clothe her as well. Zenix has requested for his cape back.” She nods, “My pleasure.”

“Thank you,” he says as he exits the house, leaving the girl in her care. Donna watches patiently as Garroth slowly leaves.

When she hears the door shut, she smiles. “You can wake up now,” she says. The girl slowly opens her eyes once more, her surroundings having changed again since the last three times she’s done that.
She sees a young woman with brown curly hair and mint green eyes. Her hair is thin and tied back into two braids. She’s wearing a gray striped shirt and light blue overalls together with a pair of dark brown boots. Her skin is quite pale. She almost looks like a ghost, but her cheeks are rosy.

Donna turns around to look at the girl who’s crawling away from her. She chuckles, “You ain’t gotta be afraid of me. I’m probably less scary than a man in armor carrying a sword.” The girl’s breathing is still fast but is slowing down as she sees that this woman is not a threat.

“What’s your name?” Donna asks her, to which she only gets silence in response. “Where’re you from?” she asks again to still no reply. “Cat got your tongue?” she asks a final time, sounding defeated.

“I… I don’t remember… anything…” the girl finally says as she sits up on the bed. “Well, at least you remember how to talk,” Donna sighs. “Stay here, I’ll get you some clothes and food,” she says as she heads downstairs.

The young woman looked around the room. There were multiple beds along a wall with two windows looking at the base of a hill. There were a couple larger dressers around the room and staircase going down to the first floor a little ways from where she sat. Open flame lanterns lit up the darker parts of the room.

The sound of steps on the wooden stairs and the smell of a hot stew fill the air as Donna returns to the woman holding a bowl with care. “Eat up now!” she insists, holding out the dish to the girl. The woman takes the bowl and sips the steaming stew gingerly.

Donna sits down on the bed across from her, leaning back on her hands. “You know, it doesn’t really matter much… remembering who you are that is,” she ponders. “And if it means anything from me, I think you’re lucky. You now get to make your own name.”

“Lucky…?” the girl questions. Donna chuckles as she reminisces. “I ran away from my mom’s house long ago. I had to carve my own path, you know? So I became a merchant and made friends with people who didn’t care about who I was, but who I am. Now I live here and I have for a couple-a months. Heck, if I look back on the past,” she tellsher.

The girl stops sipping her soup. “Aph… mau,” she says softly,looking down at her reflection in the broth. “Huh? Is that your name?” Donna questions, leaning in after her sudden remembrance. “It’s the… only name I can recall,” she answers. Donna smiles anyway. “Well, Aphmau! The name’s Donna. It’s a mighty strange name, but I’ll take what I can get,” she greets.

“Oh! That’s right! Garroth asked me to get you some clothes,” Donna quickly remembers. “Stay right here,” she says, walking over to one of the dressers and digging through the folded stacks of clothing garments. She pulls out clothes that are too tall or too skinny for the poor girl, placing them back in the drawers each time. After a bit of looking through all the different drawers and cubbies, she walks back over to Aphmau, who is still patiently waiting on the edge of the bed. “I-I’m sorry, Aphmau. I don’t think any of my clothes will fit yah. I’m not that kinda person,” she tells her sorrowfully before quickly perking back up again. “Actually, I’ve got a friend in town right now! I’m sure he might have something for you to wear! Come on; let’s go!” she says, helping Aphmau stand up.

They walk together down the stairs and to the market square.

Aphmau walks out of the building with Donna. As Donna turns to head to the market, Aphmau goes the other direction where she sees empty crop patches surrounded by fencing on each side. She reaches down to touch the soil and a sense of remorse covers her. It’s dry and coarse at the touch.

Donna, noticing Aphmau had walked off, perseus her.

Aphmau looks up at Donna. “This soil is… I can’t sense any life here. Why is that?” she asks her. Donna sighs, resting her body against the fence, fidgeting with a rope that is hung around it. “It’s a… long story,” she replies solemnly, but almost chuckling a little through her despair.

“To keep it short, this village is dying… a lot of villages are. Merchants have been saying that things haven’t been… right… with the world lately. Whatever the hell that means is far beyond any of my understandin’ and I ain’t a lord or a guard to give two bull corns about it,” Donna explains to her. “A… lord?” Aphmau questions.

Donna chuckles lightly at all Aphmau’s questions. “Lords are like the glue of any village; keeping everything together with their guards and people,” Donna says, patting the girl politely on the back.
“Enough about that, let’s get you some clothes now.” Donna takes Aphmau’s hand, leading her back towards the market. She reluctantly followed, looking back at the barren field one final time.

The market square was small. A single dead tree stood in the middle of a patch of scattered cobblestone with a couple run down stalls. A young guard in gray and dark blue was removing rotten fruits and vegetables from one of the stalls and another man with bright orange hair and blue collar shirt with suspenders was setting up his wares in the other.

Donna dropped Aphmau’s hand, running up to the latter of the two. “Visher!” she yelled as he wrapped her in a large hug. “Donna! Good to see you!” he greeted her with a thick foreign accent. “So this is the shithole of a village you settle in?” he asks her. “Not a chance!” Donna laughs. “Don’t you lie to me, Donna. I’ve heard everything from this lad here,” Visher gestures to the guard in gray and dark blue. Donna turns to the boy. “Sorry your dad’s drunk again,” she apologizes. “At least Sir Dale is only an idiot when he drinks,” the boy brushes off. Donna and Visher laugh together. “Well look at you calling your dad ‘sir’! You’re gonna make a fine full-fledged guard someday, Brian,” Donna says, smiling at him. The boy blushes. “Th-thank you m’lady,” he says, a little more shy.

Visher then notices the short raven haired woman standing behind Donna. She holds her hands in front of her, clasped together. “Hey, Donna. Why is your friend there wearing a bedsheet?” he asks her. Donna looks over and chuckles, looking bewildered. “Oh right, I almost forgot. This is my friend Aphmau,” Donna introduces her. “She lost her memory and doesn’t have anything to wear,” she explains to him. “Oh no! Come here poor girl!” Visher says, wrapping Aphmau in a big hug. “Wait here, sweetie. Uncle Visher will grab you the best garb I have,” Visher says, walking back to his stall. He goes through his wares and pulls out a change of clothes for her. He walks back to Aphmau, presenting them to her all nice and folded.

Donna turns to Visher. “Wow, Visher. You don’t even give me clothes for free,” she playfully complains. He chuckles, “My wife wouldn’t let me hear the end of it if I didn’t help someone in need.” Donna chuckles, “Good woman.”

Aphmau finishes changing. She wears a black corset with a white undershirt with sleeves hanging off her shoulders, matching black shorts, brown boots, and a small bag around her waist. “Wow… You look as pretty as a lord’s daughter, Aphmau,” Donna stares at her in awe, taking back the cape. “Th-thank you,” Aphmau responds, still feeling shy.

“She’s not taking my room at your place, right Donna?” Visher asks, laughing while patting Aphmau on the back. Donna laughs herself. “Don’t you worry. I’ve got some idea of who she can stay tonight,” she says, eying a large building overlooking the square. Visher looks over in that direction himself, turning back to the farmer with a confused expression. “The librarian?” he questions. “Who’s that?” Aphmau asks.

Donna rolls her eyes, seemingly annoyed at just the thought of the librarian. “She’s crazy and obsessed with the matron. She’s also a total bi-”

“Do-Do-Donna, there are children about!” Visher cuts her off, gesturing to Brian. “I’m sixteen!” he argues. “Oh… then eat your vegetables, kid. Trust me,” the merchant advises.

The merchant then sighs satisfactorily before a thought crosses his mind turning his playful demeanor more serious. “Donna? May I speak with you in private?” Visher asks her. “Will it take long?” Donna asks, her voice showing her concern. “Perhaps but… it’s about the merchant’s guild,” he whispers. Donna gasps before quickly composing herself again. She turns to the guard. “Brian… do you think you could show Aphmau here around? I, uh… this is an important conversation for me,” she asks the young boy.

The boy blushes again. “M-me?! But I have to- I-I mean… of course, Miss Donna,” he agrees. “Thank you,” she smiles at him before turning to the short one in the group. “Aphmau, go with him. I’ll meet up with you later to take you to your home for the night. See you later!” she says, walking off with Visher.

“Miss Aphmau?” Brian says. “I must attend a matter of the guards at this time. Would you be so kind as to follow me?” Brian asks her. She nods in response, following him out of the market square. She notices that Brian isn’t very confident, his face often that of worry or nervousness. The way he stands with his arms close to his side and standing straight and tall like he’s trying to appear assured. She doesn’t say anything as he leads her down a hill towards a run down and damaged building.

Garroth and Zenix watch as a farmer in lime green clothes works on demolishing the husk of a burnt building, the evening sun carefully lighting up the area. “This is a step in the right direction …I hope,” Garroth talks to Zenix. “What else are we going to do with it? Lord Malik would’ve agreed,” Zenix retorts, crossing his arms. Garroth hangs his head with a sigh. “We aren’t the only village suffering, you know. I’ve heard merchants say that villages all over have people or lords dead or missing,” Zenix tries to make Garroth feel better in his own way. “That makes me wonder if that maiden we found was a victim of that, then,” Garroth ponders.

“Sir Garroth!”A yell comes from over the hill. He looks up to see a young guard with the recognizable gray and blue armor. “Brian!” he greets before he spots the maiden he was just discussing about following shortly behind him. “Y… you! You’re awake,” he regards with a snicker from Zenix. “...and clothed.”

“Zenix!” Garroth scolds, turning back to the maiden. “Please, forgive his mouth. It’s often foul,” he excuses his apprentice.

“Zenix, please inform Brian of what’s happening,” he orders, walking up to the raven haired woman.

“Would you be so kind as to tell us who you are?” he asks her politely. She looks down and that ground responding, “I don’t remember.” Garroth steps back in astonishment. “Not even your name?” he asks once more. She’s quiet before replying, “Aphmau… I think.” He ponders her response. “Hm… foreign. No matter, my name is Garroth. It’s nice to meet you… formally,” he reaches his hand out to shake her hand, yet she stares confusedly at his outreached arm. Garroth puts his arm down, embarrassed once he realized that she didn’t know what he was doing.

Aphmau looks back at the working demolition of the ruined building. “What are you doing to it, Gar-roth?” she asks, mispronouncing his name. He cackles, a bit narked at the irksome pronunciation of his name. “It’s Garr-oth,” he enunciates.

“Personally, I like Gar-roth better,” Donna says, walking down the hill to the group. Garroth shudders again at the vulgar pronunciation. Donna chuckles, “Glad to see you two getting along and not trying to kill each other.”

Garroth hangs his head at the reminder. “I truly don’t deserve your forgiveness, m’lady,” he tells Aphmau. “I’m fine,” she says as Donna laughs behind her. “Be thankful, Garroth. She does seem like the nice type,” she voices. “Y-yeah,” he says, turning to face away from Aphmau, abashed.

“Your talk wasn’t long,” Aphmau states, directed at Donna. “Yeah, it wasn’t, which means we can get you to Emmalyn’s sooner,” she cackles. “Emmalyn?” Garroth questions. “She needs a place to stay for the night,” Donna explains. “She can’t stay at your brothel?” Donna instantly becomes enraged. “It is not a brothel!” she yells. “But Emmalyn said-”

“I don’t care what Emmalyn said!” Donna interrupts him. “Never mind,” she grunts. “Even more reason to visit that sweet woman,” she hissed through her teeth. “Aphmau, let’s go,” she says, taking Aphmau’s wrist and dragging her back toward the market square.

Garroth quickly yelled to get Aphmau’s attention as she was being dragged away. “Hey!” Aphmau looked back to Garroth, still standing at the site of the burnt building. “For what it’s worth from a stranger, I’m glad you’re doing better,” he said to her. She smiles back in return before she’s led back over the hill toward the early night light.

Emmalyn sits at desk in her library, the burnt husk of a book sitting on the table, calmly sipping her tea. Well, as calmly as she could. “It’s okay, Emmalyn. You may have just witnessed your life flash before your eyes and a vital part of history in the form of a book be burned in front of you, but at least you can enjoy a nice hot cup of tea undisturbed,” she says to herself as she sips her tea. Bookshelves line each wall in rows. It’s quiet in her library. Too quiet. Just the way she likes it.

“Emmalyn!” a yell says as someone barges through the doors. Donna’s face is red with anger. “What the hell?!” Emmalyn screams, falling out of her chair.

“Stop telling people our home is a brothel!” Donna yells at her. Emmalyn stands up, recomposing herself. “What gives you the right to just barge in here unannounced?!” she yells back.

“Besides… your home by definition can be considered a brothel,” she rebuts, adjusting her glasses. “Ain’t no whores living with me!” Donna continues to fight. “Well you live there so… You know what? Never mind! What does Donna the concubine want today?” Emmalyn taunts the other woman.

“I don’t know what that means but screw you because it’s probably bad. Anyway, this is my friend Aphmau,” Donna introduces the raven haired woman. Emmalyn practically jumps out of her skin.

“Heathen!” she screams, pointing at Aphmau. “Huh?” Donna stands there as she watches Emmalyn cower behind her desk. “This savage tried to kill me! And…” she continues to shriek and point from over her desk. “...She burned my book!”

Donna stares at the pathetic cowardly librarian with a deadpan expression. “Oh no. How dare she,” she says sarcastically. Emmalyn stands back up and stands in front of Donna in an almost mocking manner. “Just because you have no comprehension of written words aligned in a way to convey knowledge that has been learned, doesn’t mean that I do, Donna,” she says with venom on her tongue.
“People like you are afraid of knowledge and burn all of the books! So just leave before you burn any more!”

“Fine!” Donna yells at Emmalyn. “Aphmau, you’re going to be staying here,” she says before she begins to exit the library. “What?! But she tried to kill me!” the librarian shrieks. Donna stops herself from walking out the door, turning back to the blonde librarian. “Look Emmalyn, she lost her memory and needs help, and I have no room with all the ladies who stay with me. So she’s going to stay here for the time being,” Donna explains, her voice conveying a calmer tone.

“Have fun you two,” Donna smirks, leaving the library. Emmalyn stands there in shock at Donna's decision to leave the barbarian who attacks innocent librarians and ruins books with her. “Whatever! I’m going to bed!” she says as she stomps over to the other side of the library towards her stairs going to the second floor. Aphmau patiently follows, waiting to be told where to go and what to do. Emmalyn hears the footsteps behind her and sighs. She goes over to a cabinet and pulls out a blanket, handing it to Aphmau. “Just take the blanket and sleep wherever. My blood is far past boiling to care about anything right now.”

Aphmau takes the blanket. “Thank you,” she says with a genuine and cheery smile. “Don’t look at me like that,” she mumbles before stomping her way upstairs.

Aphmau lays the blanket out by the nearby furnace, curling up for warmth against the cold stone below her. She lays there with a smile on her face as she thinks about her day or what she can remember of her day. Meeting Donna and Garroth. Visher… Brian… Zenix… even Emmalyn. “They seem like nice people…” she whispers to herself as she drifts off to sleep.

As the sun rises over Phoenix Drop, Aphmau quietly exits the library, walking over to the empty, barren fields. With not a soul in sight, she reaches down to arid soil, placing her open hand over the dirt. In a sudden glow of bright light, the soil becomes revitalized with small sprouts already poking out their little heads. Majestic wings of light briefly appear on her back before fading away after a few seconds.
Aphmau stands up, her eyes wide, staring at her hands that just performed that enchantment. Another person stares at the field in astonishment. “Th-the crops! What did you…?”

Aphmau turns around at the sound of the voice. There stood a tall and broad man in armor with a gray helmet covering his head and a posh accent who had witnessed everything.

Chapter Text

The sun beamed down onto the small village of Phoenix Drop. Garroth paces down the streets for his morning patrol when a bright white light catches his eye. He walks towards it to find the maiden from yesterday with her hand on the dirt and wings made of light upon her back before it fades away, revealing a revitalized soil. “Th-the crops! What did you…?”

She stands up and turns around, her eyes wide in shock. “I’m… I-” she struggles to put her words together as Garroth walks towards her. He kneels to ground to inspect the soil, which is now green and lush with life.

“I don’t even know what I did. I just felt it… hurting and…” Aphmau tries to explain herself, staring at her hands that had just performed that act of magic.

“Do you realize what you’ve done?” Garroth utters from behind his helmet as he rises back to his feet. Aphmau steps back, looking up at the tall armored man with glossy eyes.

“Oh this is a blessing!” he proclaims, looking at all of the prolific soil around them in the small farm patch. He takes the maiden’s hands, his heart fluttering as he stares into her carmel eyes from behind his helmet. “Truly you do not know how much of a godsend this is!” he says, his voice trembling with passion. “From the depths of my heart, thank you,” he praises her.

The man in dark green watches from out of sight still processing the magic he just witnessed.

After a second of silence, Garroth drops Aphmau’s hands, turning away shyly. “For-forgive me. I was just excited. But this… really is a gift. How did you do that?” he asks the frightened woman.

“Sir Garroth!” they hear off in the distance. A shaken Brian runs to the crop patch. “Sir Garroth! My patrol spotted a werewolf at the gates!” he warns, hands on his knees to catch his breath. “A werewolf!? I-... wait, we don’t have any gates!”

“Fine, the fences! It doesn’t matter! What matters is that I saw a vicious werewolf by the village!” Brian explains quickly.

Suddenly, they hear a branch snap from behind the bushes. Brian cowers behind Garroth as they unsheath their swords. “Brian, this is a good opportunity to test your courage. Go. Look,” he commands the novice guard. “M-maybe it was just a deer then,” Brian responds in a meek voice. “Brian, a deer doesn’t make one solid sound. It would rustle the bushes as well. I thought you learned better in guard tra-”

Another snap.

“That’s no deer! Brian, come!” Garroth yells, as he runs towards the sounds. Brian follows, holding his sword tightly.

The one hiding in the bushes quickly makes his escape from the approaching guards. Aphmau watches as the two run towards the bushes, being able to catch a glimpse of the fleeing man in green. He stops to make quick eye contact with her shortly before he continued to make his escape. She noticed his dark brown hair and green eyes as he made his escape back into the wilderness.

“Help!” Aphmau hears someone cry from the village. She rushes out of the crop patch towards the cry, entering the middle of the village. She looks around for someone needing help when she hears someone singing a song along with another cry for help coming from a small well.

“From O’Khasis to Scaleswind, I’ll make your heart bend to the king of O’Khasis…” a drunken voice sings out from the bottom of the well. Aphmau looks down into the well upon a drunk guard in blue and a farm boy in lime green that she had seen from yesterday. The farmer sees her and beams a smile. “I’m saved! Please! Get me out of here!” he cries. She looks around for something to help them and spots a rope hanging around a fence. She takes the rope and throws one end down the well. “Grab on!” she yells below. The farmer takes hold of the rope as Aphmau tries to pull it up.

Aphmau uses both hands to drag the rope with the farmer and guard ahold of the end, but all it does is burn her hands as it refuses to even budge.

A blonde woman hurries over to Aphmau as she’s struggling to lift the two men out of the well. “What are you doing, sweetheart?” she asks the girl. “Help!” the farmer cries again as he isn’t being lifted up from the rope. She rushes over to the well to see the farm boy and the guard, who smiles widely at her. “Oh Molly! You’re alive!” the guard exclaims. “Dale! You’re drunk! It’s seven in the morning!” she yells at him. “And I was never dead!”

Molly ushers Aphmau who’s still trying to lift them out with the rope. She takes the end of the rope and ties it to the winch. “Looky here. You tie it like this,” Molly demonstrates.

“Now you spin that wheel there,” Molly points, instructing Aphmau. She spins the wheel and the two men exit the well one at a time. The farmer falls to the ground, kissing the dirt. “Oh sweet dry land!” he proclaims with tears of joy.

Molly rushes to the aid of the guard. “I’m gonna tell Sir Garroth you’ve been drinking again. You know better than to act this way over your lord,” she scolds him before turning back to Aphmau.

The farmer gets up from the ground. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you for getting me out of there! I thought I was going to die down there!” he thanks Aphmau. “Wait- y-you’re the one I hit with a shovel yesterday! I’m so sorry, please forgive me!” he cries to her, giving her a tight hug. “Oh get out of the way, you big lug!” Molly pushes the farmer out of the way. “Don’t mind, Brendan,” she says.

“Thank you for saving my husband, dear. I’m sorry about him. I promise he’s a great guard when he’s sober,” Molly says. “I’m Molly! You must be the girl Sir Garroth brought here. I heard from Stephanie who heard from Allysa who heard from Donna.”

“I’m Aphmau,” she introduces herself to the minisculely taller blonde woman. “Aphmau? That’s a bit of a strange name, but I can get used to it. See you around, Aphmau,” Molly chuckles, turning to her drunk husband. “Come on stupid. Let’s get you something to eat,” she says, dragging him away.

Brendan sighs in disappointment. “It was nice to talk to - and apologize - to you, Aphmau, but now I have to get on with my chores for the day. Thank you for forgiving me,” he says, starting to walk off in a bit of a slouch. “Wait! Can I help?” Aphmau quickly offers. “R-really? N-no one ever helps me…” he says, surprised at her offer. “I mean, y-yeah! In that case, let’s go,” the farmer says, leading her to some broken and scratched up fences on the border of the village.

Aphmau carefully observes the scratch marks, even noticing a small piece of dark blue fabric hanging from a sticking out nail. “Geez. These are worse than I thought,” he says, taking out a hammer from his tool belt. “Aphmau, could you just take some of these planks and hold them against the frame here for me?” Aphmau takes the broken wood, matching the pieces that fit together, and presses it against the frame that Brendan is holding up. He takes some of the rusty and bent nails from the ground. “These will have to do,” Brendan mutters as he hammers them into place.

Aphmau looks at the rest of the fence around it. They weren’t pretty, but they were certainly well-kept. She looks back down at the fence Brendan is hammering away at. The wood was clearly damaged with pieces hanging off of it, the scratch marks on the frame were still present, and the nails were all at different angles due to their bent nature with a nail towards the top of it still slightly sticking out.
Brendan finishes his final few nails in the fence. “Wow. This was the fastest I finished a fence,” he says as they step back to look at their restoration of the fence. “Well… looks aren’t everything. I-I’m sure it’s still sturdy,” Brendan lightly chuckles through his sweat, shaking the fence a little to check on its stability. “So I… did a good job?” Aphmau asks, looking up at the tall farmer. “Y-yeah. You did a fine job. The fence is just… really ugly. I’ll come back later and fix it with better stuff,” he answers, quick to not offend her. “That’s not your fault just- oh, th-there’s a nail sticking out,” he notices by the top of the fence. “Let me just get this real quick-”

“Auugh!” he screams as the hammer hits his thumb. “Ow ow ow ow owowowie…!” he cries, holding the bright red thumb in his right hand after dropping the hammer. Aphmau stares at him with fearful eyes as she witnesses him cry in agony. “B-Brendan! I-it’s okay, j-just stop crying!” she panics, unsure of what to do. She looks down at the hammer that he dropped at her feet and picks it up, whacking her thumb with the hammer.

Brendan stops crying. “W-what?” he looks at her in confusion. “You don’t have to cry anymore. I’m hurt too,” she says, holding out her thumb. Brendan laughs, “Y-you barely even hit yourself. You just kinda tapped it.”

“I needed to help. I couldn’t bare to see you cry,” she says. “Well, thanks for looking out for me and making me laugh,” he chuckles. “You know, next time, don’t actually hurt yourself. You can just make a silly face or say something funny instead.”

“I can?” she asks.

“Yeah! Everyone enjoys a good laugh every now and again, and you’re quite good at it,” he notes. “Even if you are a little odd.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Depends on who you talk to. Say… you haven’t told me anything about yourself.”

Aphmau looks to the ground apologetically. “I don’t know anything about myself…”

“What?”

“I don’t remember anything before yesterday,” Aphmau shakes her head. “I’m sorry. My lack of memory seems to be a burden for some.”

“That’s okay! If it makes you feel better, one thing you do know about yourself is that you’re good at helping to fix fences,” Brendan says in an attempt to cheer her up.

“What about you?” she asks.

“I’m really not that interesting. I’ve been a farmer here for a few years. I left my old village ‘cause it’s home to the guard academy and I’m a bit of a baby when it comes to pain and stuff so that was not something I wanted to do,” he explains. “Can’t stand the thought of combat. I prefer laughter over confrontation anyday.”

Brendan sighs as he recollects his thoughts. “Anyway, I gotta go help Zenix with his rat problem. Thanks for the help on the fence,” he says, collecting his things and walking back towards the center of the village. “I can help you with that too!” Aphmau exclaims, running up to him. “Are you sure? Don’t you wanna do things for yourself?” he asks. “I don’t have anything to do for myself. And, I want to help,” she says. Brendan wipes away some quickly forming tears. “You’re so kind, m’Lord,” he sniffles. “Huh?” she questions. “O-oh! S-sorry. I didn’t mean to call you that, just… force of habit. Lord Malik was never kind to me often, so when he was, it was… nice. It doesn’t matter though,” he quickly shakes his head, forgetting the thought. “All right then, follow me!” he chuckles as they walk into the heart of the village. “Now let’s get rid of some rats!”

Zenix runs down the stairs of the guard quarters holding up his sword as he chases a black rodent into a small mouse hole. “Oh, you dirty rat!” he yells, stabbing his sword into the wooden floor. “The next time I see you, I’ll crush you into pieces!”

Brendan and Aphmau enter the building, watching Zenix yell at the hole in the wall. “...and then I’ll crush your whole family of rats! No one will be spared! Not even the babies!” Brendan coughs and Zenix whips his head around to look at the two who just entered. “Would it kill you to knock?” he says, picking up his planted sword. “Didn’t realize the rats were such a threat,” Brendan chuckles to the guard’s unamusement. “And what are you doing here?” Zenix eyes the short woman. “I’m here to help!” she answers excitedly with a smile. “Help? I don’t need your help. I can get rid of these vermin all by myself,” he responds bitterly. Brendan speaks up in an attempt to explain. “Garroth just asked me to come by and help-”

“Oh, I see how it is. I put off rat hunting for one day and he calls in some supposed ‘experts’,” Zenix says. “We’re just trying to help,” Aphmau says calmly as the rodent scurries out of the hole and towards the door. “Just shut up and get that rat!” Zenix yells, running out the door after it, Brendan and Aphmau shortly behind.

Zenix chases the rodent in a blind rage down the streets on Phoenix Drop before his foot catches on something and he falls face first into the gravel. “Kekeke!” he hears someone laugh, as he wipes the rocks away from his helmet’s eye sockets. He looks up to see a young woman with bright red hair holding her foot out into Zenix’s path. “How dare you try to hurt my little friend! Can’t you see he’s scared to death?!” she yells with her high-pitched voice at the guard as he stands up.

She has green eyes and tanned skin, similar to Brendan, and wears a pink top and a white apron over her ample body along with some black pants and light pink shoes. She has a dark blue bow holding her hair together in a low ponytail and another bow higher up on her head just for style. She’s holding the small creature in her hands, wiping away some of the black soot from the animal’s fur. “Are you the reason these stupid pests have been coming back?! It’s vermin who’ve been eating what little food we have!” Zenix yells at the woman.

Brendan and Aphmau catch up to the guard, before the farmer suddenly stops seeing the red-headed woman. “Oh no… H-hi… Kiki…! I didn’t know you were in town…” he awkwardly laughs, beads of sweat rolling down his face. “Brendan! You were gonna let Zenix hurt my tiny darling!?” Kiki scolds him in terror and shock. “He was going to help me kill your ‘tiny darling’,” Zenix says, still eying the rodent in hatred. “Brendan!” Kiki gasps, her eyes watering as she looks at him. “N-no! I-it’s not what you think!” Brendan stumbles over his words to explain himself. “I-I came here to bring smiles and joy after what happened to the lord, and I find you doing… this!? I thought you were my brother!” Kiki sobs into her hands, allowing the small rodents to jump away. Zenix immediately starts chasing after it again, leaving Aphmau to follow as Brendan consoles his sister.

Zenix corners the small mammal by a tall tree, leaving it nowhere to escape. As he raises his sword to strike the creature, Aphmau jumps between him and the animal, pausing Zenix’s blow. “Please, stop!” she commands him. “Give me one good reason,” he dares the maiden. “B-because this rat will destroy us all!” she says. “Uh… what?” Zenix raises an eyebrow, lowering his sword. “Yes. If you kill it, its friends will know and at night… th-they will whisper mean things in your ear,” she makes up something on the spot, trying to make it sound threatening. Zenix just laughs in response. “W-what are you even talking about?!” he laughs. Aphmau’s eyes light up when she hears the laughter.

Kiki and Brendan run to the scene. “Zenix! Don’t you dare hurt my hamster!” she yells before catching her breath. Zenix rolls his eyes. “You’re lucky this woman here- Wait, hamster?” he questions. Kiki picks up the hamster, wiping away the rest of the soot revealing his bright orange fur. “Yes! This is Mr. Sean Connery! My prized hamster of my new business…” Brendan gets a worried expression on his face. “No… Kiki don’t tell me you-”

“Kiki’s Happy Hamster Party” she beams.

“Yup! I started a new business! I’m gonna give people hamsters to bring joy!” Kiki replies. “Ever since you told me about the lord here, I sent a group of hamsters here to cheer people up while I made my way here myself.”

“So it’s your hamsters who’ve been eating the crops! Are you crazy?!” Zenix starts to yell at her again. “We don’t have enough food as it-” Zenix cuts himself off, taking a deep breath. “You know what? I can’t today. I’m going back to the guard quarters,” he huffs before walking back towards the village.

Brendan places his hand on Kiki’s shoulder. “Kiki…? You do remember what happened the last time you gave away animals?” he asks her.

Kiki looks away for a second with a remorseful expression. “Well… yes… But this it’ll be different! These are just hamsters.”

“Last time it was squirrels! They’re practically the same thing!”

“Wow,” she says, placing her hands upon her hips. “That’s mean to compare them just because they’re rodents.”

The small orange hamster walks up to Aphmau, brushing his face upon her boot. “Aw! Sean Connery likes you,” Kiki smiles, seeing the small creature’s affection towards the girl. The hamster squeaks a few times and Kiki starts to laugh with her signature giggles. “He’s telling me that you saved him from Zenix. He can’t seem to thank you enough. Kekeke!” she laughs. “You talk to animals?” Aphmau asks her. “I can talk to some animals. For the rest it’s just a basic understanding. I communicate best with hamsters though,” she explains. “Say, do you wanna free-”

“No! I will not let another village burn from a squirrel party!” Brendan says, covering Kiki’s mouth before she can finish. “They’re actually hamsters,” Aphmau corrects him. “Same thing!” he says as Kiki struggles to break free. “Brendan! Hamsters and squirrels are not the same thing-” “Same. Thing! Either way, they’ve already eaten-” Aphmau watches over the two bicker, laughing at their childish argument.

Garroth and Brian wander the outskirts of the village, the teenager getting more tired as day passes. “I think it might have left when it heard me scream,” Brian suggests. “We can’t take any chances,” Garroth says.

“Should we tell the villagers?” Brian asks. “No. We don’t want to cause a panic. Just let them know that it will be unwise to leave the village at this time,” Garroth responds. Brian raises an eyebrow. “Without explanation? Will they accept that?” Garroth sheaths his sword. “I… don’t know.”

“We can’t just warn them of a nameless threat and expect them to listen to us… Much less you,” Brian says. “I’ll think of something,” Garroth says as he then spots a familiar face a little ways away from them. He walks over to her as she’s strolling around, seemingly searching for something.

“Miss Donna. What are you doing outside the village?” the head guard asks her. “H-huh? Oh, just, uh… nothing of importance,” she replies with a fake smile. “In any case, we advise you return to the village,” he tells her. “What? Why?” she responds with a pouty face.

Garroth looks over to Brian to think of a response. “We… can’t tell you,” he replies, Donna clearly not accepting that explanation. “Well I’m not going back. I need to find Visher.”

“Visher?” Garroth questions. “He’s missing?”

Donna looks down with a face full of worry. “I haven’t seen him since sunset.”

“I’ll search all I can for him, Miss Donna,” Brian says full of confidence. She gives him a weak smile. “Thank you, boy.” Brian tries to hide his discontent of being called ‘boy’.

“We’ll look for him, Miss Donna, trust us, but we must tell you to go back to the village at this time,” Garroth tells her. “It’s becoming mighty hard to do that, Garroth,” she says with a shake of her head. “Please,” he insists. She sighs, “For now.” She turns and walks back towards the red roofs of Phoenix Drop.

Aphmau strolls through the village after a long day of helping everyone she can. She passes by the ugly fence that she helped Brendan build. It just looked so off with all the better built fences around it. She made a mental list of the things she would need. More wood, better nails, and a hammer. Luckily the one Brendan had used earlier is still resting on the ground next to it. She saw how Brendan fixed it, so surely with nicer equipment, she’d be able to do it herself. She thinks about how to get those materials. The guards are too busy with the werewolf situation, Emmalyn certainly wouldn’t help, so all that come to mind are Donna and Visher. She goes to Donna’s home to see if she had anything for her.

She knocks upon the door only to be answered not by Donna, but someone else knocking back through the door. “Oh, is someone out there? I’m locked inside. Could you let me out?” she hears a voice cry. “I can help!” Aphmau responds, placing her hand on the door. She tries to turn the knob, but it doesn't budge. She thinks back to the hammer she remembers is by the fence. “Give me a minute. I'll get you out,” she tells the person inside. She returns shortly with the tool in hand. She hits the knob with a hammer, it only makes a sound but is still stuck in place. She keeps striking the knob, applying more force each time until the knob breaks off the door entirely. Inside the door, she sees the lock in the place and carefully releases it as the girl inside tries opening the door. She falls to the ground upon the sudden opening of the door. Aphmau runs to her side, lifting her back up. “Are you okay?” the raven haired woman asks the girl. “Oh, whoopsie me. I’m good now,” the other laughs, brushing off her clothes.

The girl has brown hair that falls flat on her head. She has bright green eyes and is wearing a pink and black striped shirt and overalls, similar to Donna. “Thanks for helpin’ me out there,” she says, lifting herself back up. She has a similar accent to Donna. “Donna must’ve locked both of the doors when she left the house,” she continues. “She’s not here?” Aphmau asks the girl. “I’m afraid not,” the girl says.
“In any case, I’m Allysa. Thanks again for helpin’ me out… of my own house,” she chuckles, awkwardly scratching the back of her head. “I’m Aphmau,” the raven-haired maiden introduces herself. “Nice to finally meet you, Aphmau. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of any help. What did you need Donna for?” Allysa asks. “I needed wood and nails to fix the fences by the market,” she answers. “I would talk to Serinity or David for the nails, and then I'd ask Lydia about the wood. I think she has an axe.” Allysa ponders. “You can find the first two down in the village mines and Lydia is somewhere around here. She has ginger hair, hard to miss,” Allysa finishes explaining. “Now I’ve gotta run, but maybe we could have lunch!” Allysa suggests. “That would be great. Thanks for your help,” Aphmau thanked as Allysa waved goodbye to continue on her merry way.

“Wait! Where’s the mines?!” Aphmau yells after she realized she didn’t know where they were. “The entrance is south of the village! You can’t miss it!” Allysa yells back. Aphmau watches Allysa walk out of sight. With only a small amount of directions, she goes on her way to find the Phoenix Drop mines.

South of the village and a little past the market, she finds a small overgrown path that leads downhill. The stones are covered in moss and trees hang over the entrance to the cave. Torches line the wall, providing the area an orange glow. Cobwebs sit on the corners of the cave as Aphmau walks down the steps, following the torches. She can almost hear every tiny creepy crawly on every surface of the mine. She arrives in a small chamber with some furnaces on the walls, chests holding precious minerals and materials, and a short miner sitting at a small table sipping on water. “What’s a young maiden like you doing down here?” the miner speaks.

He has dark brown skin and is wearing a gray sleeveless top. A gray helmet rests on the table with his pickaxe sitting against the walls of the mine. His feet are propped up on the table as he gulps his water down.

“I’m Aphmau! Are you David?” the raven haired girl asks as she carefully observes her surroundings. “I am? You need anything?” he asks, sitting up and placing his helmet on. “I do. This girl… Allysa, told me that I could get nails to fix a fence here?” she answers him as he grabs his pickaxe. “I was just about to get back to work anyway. I’ll get you some iron in no time. Just sit tight,” he says, standing up and walking further into the mine. Aphmau follows him down, only illuminated by the orange glow.

“You’ve ever done some mining before?” David asks the girl. “I don’t remember,” she answers. “Don’t remember? Like you just forgot?” he chuckles. “I don’t remember anything before yesterday. That’s when Garroth found me in the forest! He’s a nice person,” she smiles. “Heh… he’s a real piece of work is what he is,” David says, striking the wall with his pickaxe. “Tells us everything’s fine but won’t even step up as lord. Now we’re just sitting ducks for any thieves or bandits. That’s why me and my wife are gonna be leaving here soon,” the miner continues speaking while hitting away at the wall of rock.
Aphmau thinks for a minute. Garroth isn’t that bad. He’s helped her. Does that make him a bad person?

David stops mining and picks up the loose ores. “I’ve got what you needed,” he says, walking back to the small chamber with the furnaces, Aphmau following close behind. David throws the ores into the furnace, shutting it closed. “Allysa told me there was someone else down here. Where's she?” Aphmau asks him. He chuckles. “My wife, Serinity. She's at home taking care of herself. She's going to be a mother soon,” he explains. “Is that good?” she asks him. “Depends who you are. For us, yes. Serinity and I almost thought we'd never be parents,” he tells her. “And I almost screwed that up,” he mutters to himself. He opens the furnace and pulls out a block of smelted iron, placing it on the ground to cool off. “When it's not too hot, take it up to Sylvia. She's a smith,” he informs her. Aphmau reaches down to the iron, flinching at it being too hot until finally being able to pick it up. “Thank you,” Aphmau says as she heads towards the exit of the mine. “No problem,” he responds.

“Hey,” David stops Aphmau for a second. “When you see Sylvia, tell her… never mind,” he shakes his head with a look of guilt. The raven haired woman looks confusedly at him before turning and leaving.
The sunlight almost blinds her as she exits the cave. She uses her free hand to block the glow, blinking rapidly to adjust to the sudden change in light. The sun had almost set. When her eyes readjust, she sees the water just a few more paces away from the mine entrance. The air is saltier closer to the water. She found it pretty how the water reflected the last remaining bit of sunlight. She turns to head back to the village, looking back one last time to glance at the view before heading over to see Sylvia.

Garroth and Brian enter the guard quarters after the end of a long day. Zenix was already sitting in a wooden chair, his legs propped up against the table, and his helmet off revealing his messy reddish brown hair.

“No sign of the werewolf. It’s like it just… vanished!” Brian sighs, taking off his own helmet and placing it down next to Zenix’s. “You know, some werewolves can take human form. What if it’s that girl?” Zenix ponders, scratching his chin. “It’s not her. I was with her when you two spotted it,” Garroth says, closing the door behind him. “Doing what?” Zenix narrows his eyes. Garroth feels his face heat up from Zenix’s implication. Brian laughs. “Calm down, Zenix. He was probably just giving her orders to help out around the village,” Brian says. “Huh?” Zenix and Garroth question. “Yes. My mother mentioned in passing during my break that the new girl has been incredibly helpful today. I figured Sir Garroth asked her to help,” Brian explains to the two.

“Ugh! Soon you’re going to talk more formally than Garroth,” Zenix makes an exasperated sigh.

“No, I-I didn’t ask her that. Strange…” Garroth puzzles. “I had stumbled upon her in the fields this morning healing the crops with her magicks,” he explains. “Magicks?!” Brian and Zenix question. “Pardon me, Sir Garroth, but there haven’t been any magicks users in this area for a long time. At least that’s what my Uncle Jeremy tells me,” Brian says. “Maybe you were just seeing things? Can’t see much with that helm on all the time,” Zenix teases him. “I know what I saw,” he says, annoyed. “Sure,” Zenix rolls his eyes.

“Why do you refuse to believe my word?”

“Because you’ve been desperate!” his apprentice yells, standing up out of his chair. “You’ve been so desperate for anything to work that the minute a random woman wanders into town, you believe her to be some kind of savior!”

The room fills with silence. Even Garroth is contemplating if what he saw that morning was even real.

Garroth sighs. “It’s been a long day. Let’s get some rest,” he says before heading to the upstairs of the guard quarters. “Whatever,” Zenix rolls his eyes, grabbing his helmet on the table and placing it back on. “Give him a break, Zenix. No one else trusts him right now,” Brian says quietly, grabbing his own helmet. “Maybe if he ever took off that helm, we’d trust him,” Zenix spits back. “Well, maybe he’s just shy,” Brian tries to defend him. “Or ugly,” Zenix snickers. “I heard that!” Garroth yells from upstairs. Zenix and Brian laugh together.

Garroth’s steps are loud on the wooden floor as soon enough the building empties out with Brian returning home and Zenix beginning his nightshift. Extinguishing the torches, he takes off his helmet and leaves it on his bed. He goes over the windows to close the curtains, but as he’s doing so, he spots Aphmau returning to Emmalyn’s library for the night. He smiles seeing as she’s safe, his cheeks a light pink on his pale skin.

“I wonder…” he mutters to himself as he goes back to his bed and grabs his helmet, placing it on before going outside again.

“G-Garroth…?” Aphmau says when she turns around to see the guard running up to her. “Good evening, Miss Aphmau,” Garroth greets her. She smiles before giving a light yawn. “I haven’t seen you since this morning! How was your day?” she asks him. “M-my day? It was fine. We didn’t catch that werewolf though,” he chuckles nervously. “That’s a shame. Did you need anything, Garroth?” Aphmau asks. “Y-yes. I need- I need to know if…” he notices the dark sky behind her as she softly yawns once more. “I need to ask if you could meet me by the old lord’s home tomorrow at sunset,” he says. “I have something to discuss with you.”

“Noon? I can do that,” she says. “Is that all?” she asks again, still smiling.

“Y-yes. That will be all. Thank you, Miss Aphmau,” Garroth says as he begins to depart. “Good night, Garroth,” Aphmau says as he starts to leave. He pauses for a moment, turning his head to face her. “G-good night, Lady Aphmau,” he bids her farewell, Aphmau able to hear a smile in his voice.