1 I

What just happened? I thought groggily, groaning at the consistent throbbing in my head. I slowly forced my eyes open. A blinding light was shining above me and I blinked rapidly. I raised a hand to shield my eyes. Where am I?

Something cool suddenly and quickly came over me and I coughed as it hit my face, filling my nostrils and mouth before going away. A few seconds later it returned again. It appeared and receded in a pattern... Water. I was lying near water.

"Miss?" A boy's gentle voice said suddenly, appearing above me and blocking out the light. "Miss, are you okay?"

I removed my hand from my face and squinted up at the boy, confusion no doubt written all over my face. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. "Hey, it's alright. Here," he reached down and wrapped one arm around me in support, helping me to stand up. My legs instantly doubled under my weight. My whole body felt weighed down and weak.

"I got you. Just lean all your weight on me. I'm going to get you help."

Not knowing what other option I had, I let the kind boy carry me off. Every step was slow and wearing. It felt like a long time passed, though the place we were heading to wasn't that far. I lifted my head and stared half-stunned and half-amazed at the magnificent gray stone structure towering on a small hill in front of us. A castle.

The boy yelled for help and gave out commands when we crossed the threshold of the castle, a few plainly dressed people immediately rushed to help us. Others, dressed in armor and equipped with weapons also came running, but stopped short and only stood back and watched silently.

The kind boy, after handing me over to two women, headed straight over to the armored group and started to talk with them in hurried and hushed whispers, casting a look back at me. It was like he was part of their group--but he was dressed in regular clothes and not armor like they were. Yet he had to be of some high status in order to give orders like he did, right?

The women helped me forward, and I didn't look up again at the kind boy who had helped me. I was led away to a room where I was given a bath, checked for any signs of serious injuries, put into fresh new clothes, and then tucked into a warm bed. They set a bell on the table beside my bed and promptly told me to rest and to ring the bell if I ever needed anything.

I was surprised to find myself unbelievably tired, though I had been passed out just moments before. I woke up only once, and that was at an exclamation of one of the servants passing by the door. My ears couldn't make sense of what they were hearing.

"Who is she? Do you think she could be... the one?"

"Ssh, don't talk about the prophecy!" hissed another servant, an older sounding woman like the first one. "She might wake up and overhear us."

"I hope you realize that you're the one that just directly mentioned it."

"Oh, whatever! Let's go before we get caught."

There was some shuffling and then it went quiet again. I fell back asleep.

I woke to a new days beams of sunlight streaming through the window, washing the room in bright warmth. I basked in the comfort of it, but it was short lived. The boy who had helped me the day previous slowly walked into the room, clad in intricately designed armor, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his sword.

Did he think I was a threat? I couldn't exactly blame him for being cautious with a stranger. Even I hardly knew myself and what I was capable of. Though I could barely fathom the idea of bringing any type of harm upon my savior's, there was no way to prove to him that I wasn't dangerous.

"You're up," he said with a smile, "And I'm glad to announce, looking much better than you did yesterday when I found you."

"Yeah," my voice was quiet, "I just needed some sleep, I guess."

I sat up, threw back the covers, and turned to set my bare feet to the floor. Would my legs support me if I stood up?

Unsteady at first, I kept my hand rested against the wall and took a few slow steps forward. The kind boy looked at me worriedly, his body arched forward slightly as if he were about to spring into action.

"I'm fine. Please don't look at me like that."

He blinked and looked away, "I apologize," he cleared his throat. "I hate to ask this of you so soon, but my comrades are a bit stirred up by your sudden presence. They have many questions--as do I. But if you do not feel well enough, I will have them wait."

"I will go," I said without hesitation. "I don't know how much help I'll be, but I will go."

He looked up at me and we stared at each other for a long time. And I really took in his appearance for the first time. His eyes were fascinating... They seemed to flicker between green and gold--the gold matching the color of his hair, which was long enough to sweep across his forehead. His skin sun-kissed by time spent outside.

He suddenly looked away again and gave me a bow. I looked away too, warmth filling my face. I had just been staring at him--I probably made it all awkward!

"I should be going. It's a bit improper of me to be in here when you are still in your nightgown..." he stated, still bowing. "I will send some people to help you get ready and then soon I will send for you."

"Thank you," I said, finally, "I appreciate everything you've done for me. I would have probably died if you hadn't found me."

He straightened up. "It is my duty to help and protect those who need it." With that he turned and left. 

A few minutes later a group of women appeared and helped me to wash up and get into a simple blue gown with white trim. It made my eyes--which I now saw from the reflection in the mirror were brown--seem darker than they actually probably were. My hair came down in waves around my shoulders and resembled a similar light brown color.

"Miss?" I turned to see a smaller girl standing in the doorway, clothed almost entirely in armor, her platinum blonde hair in a long, messy braid down her back. "I've been sent to take you to the council room." Her hazel eyes told me to follow her as she turned and started down the hall. I ran to catch up to her.

"You're wearing armor... Are you part of the group of soldiers that I saw earlier?"

"We--I mean--they are more than just soldiers. They are leaders. I'm training to become a member of their group. Slow progress, and it's tough, but I'm not giving up."

"I hope you don't mind me saying this, but you seem a little young compared to the rest of them." I observed, and she smiled as she turned her head to look at me.

"I'm not as young as I look. I'm only a couple of years younger than the others, and probably even you."

Surprised, I followed her through the halls without another word. A minute later, the girl stopped in front of a large oak door. Unlike the circular, open windows that were spaced in the halls, a huge, arched mosaic window was placed opposite the door. Depicted was a soldier holding a scroll in one hand and a sword in the other. Many brilliant colors spilled across the walls and the floor.

"After the battle, they put up this mosaic. The sword represents courage and strength and the scroll represents order." The girl explained when she noticed me staring at it. She turned away from the mosaic and knocked once on the door before pushing it open. I followed her inside. Any conversations that were going on stopped when I entered and total silence fell upon the room. Four new pair of eyes settled on me, staring and unblinking.

"It's the mystery girl," A brown haired boy remarked from his comfortable place on a large couch, breaking the silence. His eyes were blue-violet and penetrating as he looked me over. "She's just as plain as I guessed she'd be."

"Don't be rude, Tristian," Another guy who looked almost exactly like Tristian said, gently hitting him on the arm. Their eyes were the same color, though Tristians hair was a bit lighter than the other guy's. The man who had hit Tristian came around from around the back of the couch where he was standing and held out his hand. "I'm Lucian. I apologize for my twin brothers behavior. He is like this with everyone--please don't take it personally."

"It's okay," I shook his hand, feeling severely awkward for not knowing what else to say. Lucian hesitated a moment as if waiting for something else.

"What... is your name?" he asked softly.

"My... name?" I froze.

"Yes. Your name. You know--the thing given to you when you're born that kind of helps differentiate you from others? I mean, I'm totally fine with using 'Hey, you' if you really—" Tristian was silenced by a firm hand clamped over his mouth. A womans hand.

My eyes finally settled on her and I almost shivered with fear. Her dark green eyes--which were almost black--were squinted at me intently. Her black hair was short and just barely covered her ears. She was tall and the way she held herself... She had to be a warrior goddess. She was somehow very beautiful, even though everything about her screamed intimidation, strength, and fear.

"It's like I thought," Lucian looked apologetically at me. "I'm sorry, I had to be sure."

"Well... do you have any idea where you are from?" The kind boy asked gently. I tried to force something--anything to come up--but all I got was fuzziness and a throbbing head.

"N-No, I can't... I can't remember anything. I'm sorry..."

"Not your family? Friends?" he asked, "Or even how you ended on the beach outside our castle?"

I shook my head.

"Alright, well... I guess that's that." A dark-skinned man said coming out of the darkness of a corner of the room. He had black hair, stubble, and dark, piercing eyes and looked to be a few years older than everyone else. "This isn't an interrogation, so how about instead of questioning the girl, we introduce ourselves? Lucian had the right idea," The dark skinned man bowed his head. "Name is Xander, pleasure to meet you."

The kind boy covered his face with his hand.

"I cannot believe myself..." he lowered his hand and offered it to me. I shook it. His hand was warm and both firm and gentle. "My name is Erik. I should have introduced myself sooner."

The dark haired woman from before removed her hand from Tristians mouth and made her way over to me.

"There is way too much apologizing today for my taste. So let's keep it short and sweet," She stared me down with such intensity that I was too scared to even breathe. "Name is Maleah. I'm going to keep an eye on you so you better watch yourself. One wrong step and my face will be the last thing you see before I cut you down."

"I think that's enough, Maleah. You don't want to scare her." Erik stepped between us.

Tristian laughed, "She probably is. I mean, have you seen Maleah's face--"

Maleah spun around and cut him off with a growl. Tristian cleared his throat, diverting. "Well, you already know who I am. Has the little runt behind you introduced herself yet?"

"Call her a runt again and I will impale you with my sword," Maleah hissed. With that, the two of them started bickering.

I turned around to face the girl who had led me here. She'd been so quiet that I hadn't even known she was still present.

"I'm Geneth, Miss." She said with a smile. Underneath that smile though, I could see she was bothered by what Tristian had said. I remembered what she said about how she was training to be like the rest of them, and realized how hard it must be for her. She was slightly younger than them, and wasn't as big as them either. No one would take her seriously.

"Hey," I said, putting a hand on her shoulder, attempting to cheer her up. "Don't listen to him. I can already tell you will be an even better fighter than he is." A look of confusion crossed her face.

"But you haven't seen either of us fight," she remarked.

"Don't need to," I smiled at her. "I just know. I can already tell you put every ounce of yourself into training." I nudged her once and brought my voice to a whisper. "I can't wait to see you kick his butt."

Geneth smiles brightly, and glancing over, I saw Erik watching us. He slightly bowed his head as if to say, Thank you.

"Guys," Xavier sighed, his voice giving off a tone that grabbed everyone's attention. "Could we possibly get back on track?"

Maleah spun on me so quickly that I took a stumbled back a little.

"Right. Her," She crossed her arms, "I say she needs to leave this place."

"We will put it to a vote," Xavier decided. 

I was taken aback. Did some of them want me gone? Were they willing to just kick me out? If I had to leave... where would I even go?

Erik looked apologetic as he gestured for me to exit the room. Before he closed the huge doors behind me, he whispered something quickly to me that made me feel a little more at ease. His golden-green eyes bore into mine with every ounce of compassion. 

"I won't let them send you away."