A Dreamless Sleep

He woke up with the sound of crickets, when he heard the first drops of rain falling incessantly around him, the boy opened his eyes to a blurry and gloomy world, his blurred vision distorting the shapes he could see. Slowly all of his senses were returning sharper.

He was lying face up with the rainwater soaking his face, slowly he sat up, and soon he realized the various muscle pains he felt throughout his body, feeling weak, his skinny arms resting on the ground almost gave way. Rubbing his face he tried to see better around him, it was a dark night with the moon appearing and disappearing behind the stormy clouds so he saw nothing but tall and thin trees all around.

His mind was clouded from all knowledge and memory, the dark environment of the clearing awakened in his heart a fear that mixed with the anguish of not remembering anything. So, weak and desolate with a growing migraine, the boy dragged himself miserably to the root of a large pine tree, where he found himself hyperventilating.

It was a incomprehensible feeling, not remembering anything. He shuddered to think that he was in the middle of an unknown forest and that anything could have happened before, it was something really disturbing. For languid, strenuous minutes he tried to recover even a shred of past events, but it was all in vain. The void in his mind was too deep. However, the abyss in his memory was not absolute, although he himself did not realize it. He had the knowledge of simple and fundamental elements, because if he didn't, he would be as incapable as an infant, the landscapes of trees, the darkness of the night and the memory of sunlight, everything was familiar and not strange to him.

He stayed there for a long time, pondering unanswered questions, frightened by the total darkness of the clearing. Until the cold and pains, mainly in the head, overcame the fear, he needed shelter and some information of where he was, anything but staying there longer.

Then, with what was left of willpower, the weak boy began to move, at first in a grotesque way, reminiscent of an old man in pain trying to walk. However, with one step after another and without haste he advanced slowly, to where he did not know.

He staggered drunkenly to the edge of the clearing, and with a start he wondered where the clothes he wore had come from. He groped and pulled, feeling the fabric of the tunic he wore. From the texture it had once been an expensive garment, it was torn and wrinkled, which wasn't surprising as it had been lying on the muddy ground for an indeterminate amount of time.

After a few minutes of walking around despondent and lost, he heard something that froze him where he was, his breath caught. High-pitched, animal-like squeals sounded eerie in the distance, were strangely familiar. It took a few moments for him to realize what they were, they were horses, horses neighing and there seemed to be dozens of them, he didn't recognize it because in the darkness with the migraine hammering, with his thoughts in disarray and in a state of complete confusion it was difficult to organize even things that I already knew.

He crept up to a large trunk of dead oak lying on the ground, squinting in the direction he thought the neighing was coming from, he somehow knew that horses nearby meant people nearby, and what should cheer him up as it was a possibility of help, unconsciously made him more restless and afraid. He finally saw it far away through the trees, orange lights in contrast to the dark night. "they are torches" he realized, not knowing where he got that knowledge.

Other noises mingled with the horses, like the bass cries of many men, exclaiming the same thing over and over again. From so far away it was difficult to tell what was being said, and though he was terrified, the prospect of the lights and heat of the torches and the curiosity that was grew in him, propelled the boy forward despite trying to go stealthily. The closer he got, the more the voices became clearer amid stumbles and pauses to rest as the pain inside his skull only increased.

- YOUNG AETHEL! - They howled - ANSWER!

The ragged boy, when at last saw the column of mounted men in mail and helmets gleaming in the torchlight, felt he should have been gaping, but somehow the sight was not absurd. Ironically, the light they used to see blinded them to the nearest surroundings, so they didn't see when the small and dirty child approached, just a few meters away.

That line of riders sluggishly followed, the shouts continuing. The stealthy boy watched them from a high vantage point, and he saw that a few were on foot as well.

The sound of branches breaking on the ground behind him made him froze and try to run, but it was too late, a tall man wearing a half helmet quickly grabbed him, shouting a warning to his companions:

- I FOUND HIM, HE'S HERE!

It certainly wasn't his intention, but screaming so close to the boy's face, with the continuous headache and weak as he was, made him reach his limit, he lost consciousness and fainted. The last thing he heard was the close, deep voice of the guard who had found him.

- Don't worry kid, the Maester will give you a sweet dreamless sleep when we reach the Fort.

Let me know your thoughts and critiques, if there are any grammar mistakes pardon me, i'll try to improve but English is not my main language.

Hope you enjoyed it ; )