???'s POV
I jolted awake, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. The sight of it, made of rough, bundled hay, made me roll my eyes at the sheer cliché of the situation. But there was no denying it—this was happening to me. The ceiling wasn't much more than a patchwork of straw and twine.
"Um…"
A faint sound drifted in from the side, and my instincts as a soldier and protector kicked in. I sprang upright, blade in hand, and aimed it sharply at the source of the noise.
"Aaaah! N-No…! I'm not bad!" she cried out, her voice quivering with panic.
"Who are you? Where is this place? What am I doing here?"
The noise came from a plain-looking woman in a simple, worn tunic. Her eyes were wide with terror as she scrambled back from me, clutching her chest.
"Y-You fell from the sky all of a sudden and landed here! You've been out cold for three days!" she stuttered, her voice shaking. "I've been taking care of you!"
