When I came to, the strange lady was gone and so was the pain --- it had all seemed like a dream. Tentatively, I reached up to my head only to feel cool, smooth metal. Pondering over the lady's instructions, I slowly traced the moon design. The directions led straight to Laconia, or better known as Sparta. They were our enemies always raiding our villages , forcing us to send armies to protect the elderly and children. That's why brother went; that's why father went before him. As I bitterly mused this over, a horse galloped towards me with no rider. He had no saddle and was completely black save for a sort of silver crescent on his forehead. Then he bent down and looked straight into my eyes.
"Good morning young huntress, are you ready for our journey?" I heard a voice speak, in a strange tongue, in my head. I don't know how I understood it; it was the horse that had spoken.
"What is your name?" I asked in my head. The horse was silent for what seemed an eternity. Just I as I was going to repeat the question out loud, he spoke again.
"You may call me Aram," he replied, "We must hurry for I sense the soldiers nearing." My ears perked up a bit at that, my brother might be back!
"We have to wait for my brother then! He can help us with whatever it is we need to do!" I said, smiling (for the first time since the Winter had started)at the prospect of him being alive.
"Your brother won't be among the soldiers there. Climb on, we must hasten." he urged. I didn't know if he was right about my brother, but the faint glow of fire became visible in the distance. I closed my eyes, sent a silent prayer to Janus the God of new beginnings, and clambered onto Aram. In no time, we were galloping through the sleepy woods with the frigid air cutting through my skin like a million knives.
