…Someone was gripping her shoulders and pulling her away from the warm comforting darkness around her, to flickering light and pain. She saw her sister's face, wide-eyed and frightened, calling out to her for help. She tried to reach out to her, yell to her, but she just faded away. "Cinna!" She shouted as firm hands shook her awake.
Her eyes burned from tears and the sudden bright light. She squeezed them tight waiting for the burning to stop. She was scared to open them again, afraid to learn what was dream and what was reality. She wanted it to be real to be free and safe, but what was freedom without family? And how could she live with what she'd done? Taking a deep breath, she shaded her eyes with her forearm, blinking them open, and looked around. The dark-haired man from the woods was stepping back away from her. He crossed his corded arms and stared at her, his dark eyes intimidating and intrusive. He had a strong clean-shaven jaw that was clearly, clenched as he studied her. Discomforted by his attention she looked around some more.
To his left was a tall, sandy blond-haired young man, almost as toned as his dark-haired what? Friend, partner? They both wore green shirts, Gray pants and were armed with blades, but the blond one had a friendly smile and kind eyes. To their right was a skinny brown-haired boy who stared at her in a mixture of worry and interest. He wore green and brown and had no weapons at all. No one said anything so she looked back at the friendly-looking one and asked. "Where am I?" her voice cracked and her throat and lips felt dry. The small mousy boy scurried off as if startled by her words.
"You're in the"- the blond was cut off by a clipped command.
"Don't answer that." It was the dark-haired one. "At least not until I'm satisfied with the information, she gives us." His voice was harsh and deep and it tugged away the fog of sleep still pulling on her brain making her more alert.
"Fine, you're in an infirmary, being treated for your injuries." The blond one said "Now let's start with something light. What's your name?"
The brown-haired boy came scurrying back with a large mug of water. Grateful, she excepted it and took a long greedy drink.
"Thank you," she said to the boy who she guessed to be in his early teens despite his small size. Then turning to the one who had asked her a question she replied "Fenneca Stratum, but I go by Nieka."
"Where are you from? I've never heard such an accent before." The blond asked conversationally.
"Well, I came from a land called Sentaria across the sea to the northeast. My father found this land by accident sailing through a storm on our way to a county called Esterlin. Instead, we landed here in Timberda." Fully awake now the details of her escape until she had passed out from fatigue came back into focus.
Remembering the men on horseback who had fought her assailants she looked at the two again. They had been too far away for her to make out then but how many people could have been way out there? She didn't recognize the blond but his voice was vaguely familiar. They must have been the ones that had saved her, she was sure of it yet one had attacked her so she wanted confirmation and an explanation.
"You." She said looking at the dark-haired man again. He raised an eyebrow just a fraction in response. "You knocked me down and held a knife to my throat;" The mousey boy jumped back with a bit of a squeak and she looked between the two "but you were one of the men who fought off those demons, right?" she concluded. It came out all jumbled as she tried to ask multiple things at once. Mainly did he save her? And if so why and why then did he tackle her to the ground?
The mean one rolled his eyes at her as if her slow realization was wasting his time.
"Well, fighting demons is what we do." The blond said simply, giving her a dimpled smile; oblivious to the glare his comment earned him from his companion.
"How did you kill so many of them? How are you not even hurt? You were outnumbered and they're so much bigger…" she asked in disbelief doing her best to ignore the glares from the mean one.
"We will be doing the questioning, Miss Stratum. Why were you so far into the woods? And where did the demons find you?" the mean one broke in, still staring intently with his arms crossed.
"I… my sister…we were at a pond… half a day's trek from the coastal village, New Port. We -" but the ghostly man cut her off.
"Coastal village? But it was destroyed years ago."
"My father set up a small town there, as a trading post two years ago and it's starting to grow despite the locals' fear of the place…" Now she understood their fear. She hadn't believed the tales of demons coming to wipe out the whole town buried beneath their new one. She did now, and just the thought made her stomach turn.
"Fine, continue." He said waving her on impatiently.
Taking a moment to gather her thoughts despite his rush she began. "We were just exploring… then… they captured us, locked us up in cells in a winding cave. It's at the base of a volcano near where you killed them. I escaped, but… my sister… I need to go back for her!" she looked around franticly, realizing for the first time she was in a bed. Her hands were bandaged and a blanket hid her legs but they were likely in the same state as her hands. "But I… I can't go back like this… I don't even know how I got out alive. It was just… luck mostly. They need help…" She knew she sounded lost and broken but she couldn't help it, what was she going to do?
"Of course, we'll help, that's what we do!" The friendly one said.
"Do I have to kick you out until the interrogation is over?" the mean one said and gave a warning glance to the blond who stared back as if in challenge before stepping back and looking at the floor. The mean one was defiantly in charge. He turned his attention back to her without waiting for an answer. "How did you escape from a demon lair?"