Chapter Text
When she woke, she had no recollection of who she was or where she came from. There was a painful ringing in her ears, and she groaned. Pulling a ratty lock of dark hair behind her ear, she sat up quickly, heart pounding as her vision blurred.
It took a moment for her to calm herself as confusion clouded all and any reason. But when she did, she quickly assessed her situation as her mind continued to remain empty. She did not know her name or how she got here or where she was from. It was blank. Silent. It made her feel uneasy and she hoped that the memories would return to her sooner rather than later.
But what she did know was that she needed to find shelter and food. Survival instincts don’t seem to disappear the same as memory loss does, and for that, she was grateful.
It was early, the air brisk and the smell of morning dew still lingering in the air. She stood from her spot on the mossy floor of the forest, turning around in a wide circle and taking in her surroundings. There were trees. And grass. And moss here and there. To be entirely honest, this was just any normal forest and although the woman tried to remember where it might reside, she could not recall even something as simple as that. Strange, normally memory loss wasn’t this extreme.
But no matter. Regardless of where she was, she needed to find shelter. Perhaps a cave or if she was lucky an abandoned cottage.
Heading north, she stumbled through the thick forest, tripping over roots and the uneven ground. She hissed as thorns and thistles poked at her skin, and she quickly realized that the clothes she was wearing weren’t going to do her any good in the unpredictable wilderness. But finding a town of any sorts in the middle of nowhere, without direction or a map, would prove difficult.
She slowly hiked up a slight incline, and as she reached the top of the hill, she noticed a strange figure lingering in the forest. He was covered from head to toe, his cloak a forest green color with a dark hood and mask that left only his eyes covered.
As she stared at him, she swore she saw him glance her way, a faint look of recognition crossing his face. But before she could so much as wave, he dashed further into the forest.
“H-hey! Wait!”
She chased after him, unsteady feet tripping and sliding against the forest terrain. She continued shouting, hoping that for even a moment he would slow.
Out of breath, she broke through the clearing, bright light blinding her sight. She blinked it away to find the man was gone, but not without noticing two men clad in armor standing at the edge of a road, tall house-like buildings just up the hill behind them.
A village.
Forgetting the mysterious man, she cautiously approached the two guards, catching slight snippets of their conversation.
“I don’t think anyone in the village will listen to any of the guards.” The taller man said, his expression unreadably as it was covered by an iron helm. His voice was deep and almost sounded solemn. Sad. “Especially not after how terrible the old lord was…”
“Now that the lord is gone the village is in chaos!” The other one replied, panicked. He appeared younger, brown eyes peeking beneath his helmet. They were much more youthful, as his smooth skin still yet to show signs of age or wrinkles. “What are we going to do?”
The woman stepped closer before freezing as a loud snap followed the motion. The two guards whipped their heads her way, and their conversation hushed as they both stared at the woman.
She bit her lip before smiling sheepishly. “Uh, hello there.”
The taller man nudged his head and his companion turned towards the village and left up the road. The one who stayed watched her silently for a short moment.
“Apologies, Milady. I did not see you there.” He said, a subtle hand reaching up for his sword at his hip. “May I help you?”
“I uh…” the woman tried to find the right words. How was she supposed to explain that she woke in the woods, had no memories of who she was, and followed a masked man until she found this village? It was not at all a believable story.
“How rude of me. My name is Garroth.” He cleared his throat. “I am the head guard of this village, and I do not mean to frighten you. Perhaps I should ask you for your name as well.”
Suddenly the woman's head began to ache as pain raced up her spine and into the deep crevices of her brain. A name floated to the top of her consciousness and she quickly spouted out the word. “Aphmau! Ahem, my name is Aphmau.”
Perplexed at the thought, she missed the way Garroth tilted his head curiously. “An interesting name, you must not be native to this area. Are you a traveler?”
Nodding her head quickly, Aphmau goes along with Garroths assumption. “Yes, I was camping in the area but I awoke this morning to my camp being ransacked. I was hoping to find civilization nearby for assistance.”
“Well, we don’t have much, but you can stay for as long as you need.” He guided a hand towards the road. “I’m sure some of the villagers can assist you as well. Just follow the trail up the hill and you should be fine.”
Aphmau nodded her head in thanks, and with one more look at Garroth, she went on her way.
The guard was strange to her. He almost appeared sad or down, despite her not being able to see his face. From what she heard him say to his companion, there is disarray in the village. Something about the lord being gone, disappeared or perhaps dead.
Or maybe they fled from one of life's responsibilities.
As Aphmau finally stepped out from the forest cover, she gazed at the village. Or what was left of it.
It looked like a wasteland. The streets were made of wood that was chipped and spent too many days in the rain based on the rot that clung to the boards. Crops were far and few, and the few that did grow were limp or dry. The houses were small and she swore she saw dirt floors in a few as she looked in the windows.
But her first thought wasn’t to insult or to degrade the past lord or whoever allowed this village to get into this poor condition. She wanted to help. To fix the roads and tend to the crops. To help hammer in new roofs and string lights to brighten the streets.
Determined to do just that, she looked around for any of the villagers to ask for supplies or get a quick lay of the land before heading off and doing anything without permission.
She continued down the street until she found a small crowd surrounding an old well. They’re all laughing or shaking their heads except for a woman in a gray striped shirt. She’s shouting down the well, but what she’s saying is hard to hear.
Aphmau tapped the shoulder of a woman with long blonde hair. She wore a purple cardigan and large rectangular frames over her pale face. She gave Aphmau a strange look, glancing up and down quickly.
“Uh, hi!” Aphmau said cheerfully, sticking out her hand. “I’m Aphmau.”
“Emmalyn.” The woman took her hand and slowly shook it. “I’ve never seen you here before…”
“I’m traveling,” she said. “What’s with the commotion?”
Emmalyn sighed and shook her head. “Dale–ahem, one of our guards got drunk and fell down the well. It happens every once in a while, only because of his stupidity and tendency to rest against the well's rim.”
“Does he need help?” Aphmau asked, concerned about lacing her voice.
“Donna will help him after she’s finished giving him an earful.” Emmalyn pushed up her glasses and turned away. “I’m wasting my time standing here, I have books that need reading.”
Aphmau chuckled lightly. “Books? Are you a librarian?”
“An unrecognized librarian,” she huffed. “I wouldn’t let a single person in this village touch my books, let alone get close to them. They’re all wild animals.”
And with that final word, Emmalyn stepped away from the crowd and walked up the road from where Aphmau came from. She opened the door of the house at the top of the hill and disappeared inside.
What a strange woman , Aphmau thought, shrugging.
When she looked back to the commotion by the well, a man in chainmail and a blue surcoat was being pulled out, soaking wet, by whom I assumed was Donna–or the woman in the striped shirt.
Dale babbled and hiccuped as Donna dragged him off, passing Aphmau as they went. She couldn’t help but laugh under her hand, the whole situation amusing to her.
A thought then occurred to her. The well was poorly placed, sitting in the center of the road with no sure way of keeping villagers from falling in. Another task to add to her every growing list of things to do.
But what else was there to do? Did the village have a mine? A port? A town square? It surely did not seem like it. There wasn’t a barn or any guard towers. This town surely wouldn’t last much longer, with the monsters that come out at night or bandits or other intruders.
Spotting another villager with dark curly hair and a green tunic, she quickly approached and introduced herself.
“I’m Brenden!” He smiled cheerfully. “I don’t think I’ve seen ya ‘round before. Are ya new in town?”
“Yes, I am,” Aphmau replied, pleased by his positive attitude. “I wanted to ask a few questions, if you have the time.”
“Sure! How can I help ya ma’am?”
Aphmau quickly explained her situation, how she was traveling and was “stolen from” this morning, wandering aimlessly until she found safety here. She told Brenden how she needed a place to stay, and if possible, could borrow a few tools from a villager or two.
“Tools? What’re ya planning on doing with tools?” He raised a thick brow.
“I thought I’d make myself useful and work on the fields or fix the roads. I don’t have anything else to offer as payment except for my labor.”
“Then you’re talkin’ to the right guy!” He pointed his thumb towards his chest. “I work on a few projects here and there. Got a pickaxe and hoe you can borrow whenever ya need it. Some seeds too if you need to replant some of the crops.” He stared over her shoulder at the wilting wheat and cringed. “Whichhhh might just be most of ‘em.”
“I appreciate it! Are there any available houses I can stay in? Or anyone looking for a roommate?”
“As far as I know all the homes are full. Heard one of the houses down the street got three ladies crowding in there! Whoo! I do not know how they do it.” He chuckled. “But I know that Emmalyn gots more space than anyone else, she must’ve if she got all them books.”
“Emmalyn, huh?” Aphmau nodded. “I’ll go ask her later then, thanks.
“Sure thing! Let me know if you need anything else. We all help each other around here.”
Aphmau nodded and Brenden led her to his home, showing her where to find his tools if she needed it and how to use them properly. But by the scars and bruises on his hands, she’s not entirely sure if he knew how to use them either.
Talking with Emmalyn turned into a whole mess in and of itself. Aphmau knocked on her door before the sun went down, tools in hand, and when the librarian came out to greet her, she accidentally knocked over a stack of books as she came through the doorway, covering them in dirt and grime.
Aphmau doesn’t think she’s ever seen someone so angry before. Emmalyns face was redder than a tomato and it took a whole lot more convincing to let her stay in her home, with the promise that no tools will be left inside and all dirt will be kept out.
But she was okay with that, and that night, as she laid on the floor of Emmalyn's home and thought about all that had happened today, she realized that her life was about to become a lot more interesting.