[Title in Progress]

Prologue

I was hardly aware of my surroundings on that cold night, so I nearly missed the old man standing directly in front of my path.

"Where do yer loyalties lie, stranger?!" he demanded. His sharp voice jolted me out of my numbness, and I became aware of the pain in my side once again.

"Do loyalties matter this far out from the kingdom?" I asked while clutching my side. The man tightened his grip on his knife. "I don't take no chances out here." he growled. I eyed him and sighed.

"I place my stake with the Rebellion." I said in resignation.

"You don't look like you're with them." the man said with a hint of wariness.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" I sputtered. I put my hand to my head in frustration and said, "Look, I'm sitting here slowly bleeding out and the night's getting colder by the second! Could you simply give me a straight answer please??"

For a moment, I thought the man would give me a taste of his knife, but he chuckled, "You're impatient. But yes, I'm with the rebels."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Could you help me with my wound please?"

"That depends," the man said, "exactly how were you wounded?"

"I ran into some Protectors a few miles outside the capital, "I replied, "but why do you ask?"

"You ran into some of those devils and lived?!" he exclaimed.

"Barely."

"You're stronger than you look." the man said in grudging admiration.

"Is... that an insult or a compliment?" I hesitated.

"Take it any way you like." The man answered with a smile. "Now follow me and I'll tend to your wound." He turned away from the path and went into the forest. I stepped forward to follow and promptly fell forward onto my face. I felt my world fade into darkness...

As I lay unconscious, I heard a whispering voice in my mind...

Don't forget about me...

With flames crackling in my ear, I opened my eyes and found myself in a small cabin room lying on a cot. There was a fireplace in the corner opposite from me, which warmed the room and gave it a cozy glow, but other than that, the room was barren.

"Is there anyone here?" I called out. In response to my shout, a door that blended with the wall opened and the old man stumbled into the room with an armload of wood. He strode across the room and tossed the wood on the fire, then turned to me.

"There ain't none here but you and me, "he said, "but it's good yer finally awake. How's that wound treating you?"

"I think it's better." I replied. I tried to sit up, but two spikes of pain in my head and side forced me back on to the cot.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, "but it's still incredibly painful."

"So it looks like you'll be staying a while longer."

"Yeah." I muttered.

"You've already been out three days!" he exclaimed. "How much longer do you need? Are you sure that wound's natural??" I ignored his second question and instead cried, "I've been unconscious for three days??"

"Sort of."

"What does that mean?" I asked cautiously.

"Sometimes you'd burst out screaming about someone named Cyra and how you needed to find a set of twins or something... but you weren't exactly awake." he answered.

She must be close, I thought in a panic. "Is there any way you can help me to heal faster?"

"I may have some medicine I could try." the man said thoughtfully.

"Thank you." I sighed.

"You seem eager to get out of here." he mused.

"In a way, yes, I am." I replied.

"And why is that?"

You don't have to tell him everything you know, I thought. "You don't need to know everything I do mister." I said in a hard voice.

The man laughed deeply. "I can't help but take a liking to you. Alright, I'll let you be, your business is your own."

"I thank you once again." I smiled.

"You know, all this treating I've been giving you, it ain't gonna be free."

"I... don't have any coin."

"Who said I wanted money?" he scoffed. "Why don't you spin me a tale instead?"

"A story?" I repeated.

"Yes, a story," he said impatiently, "I haven't heard a good tale since the trade caravans stopped coming through these parts. You look like someone who can tell a good story."

This is not what I expected, I thought. "I suppose I could think of one." I said quietly in reply.