A quick, loud knock on the door pulled Sai back to reality. As for how much time had passed since he had spoken with Holland, he had no idea. Before he could give much thought to this, the door creaked open once again. This time, however, it wasn't Holland or even Mel. Instead, in the doorway stood a familiar-looking girl. He knew her. How could he ever forget that red hair which had seared itself into his memory? This was the girl from before, the one who had rescued him as he lay helpless in the dirt. In the mid-morning light, Sai managed to get a better look at her than he had previously been allowed. She was a tall, ?t girl who he ?gured had to be close to his age, around seventeen or eighteen perhaps. Her red hair hung down to her shoulders and was held back by a simple silver clip near her left ear. Her emerald green eyes seemed to pierce straight through him like daggers, which caused him to stare for longer than he would have liked. Finally, he looked away out of a slight embarrassment as the girl spoke.

  “It’s good to see you’re awake.” Her voice was gentle and harmonious. “I brought you some new clothes.” She took a few steps into the room. She carried a few dark-colored, folded garments in her arms, which she sat neatly on the nightstand where the old tattered shirt had once lay.

  “Thank you? I was beginning to think I was hallucinating. You’re… ”

  She cut across him. “The person who saved you? Yep, that would be me.” She smiled as she grabbed the water pitcher from the nightstand, which now sat next to a bowl of freshly cut assorted fruit. She tipped the glass slightly and poured its sparkling contents into the nearby glass without any inclination of asking. “To the boy who took on a full-?edged tome wielder with nothing but a stone!” She proclaimed with a slight air of sarcasm as she raised the glass in a sort of toasting motion. She laughed slightly, lowered the cup to her lips, and took a quick sip. “Answer my questions ?rst, then I'll answer yours. deal?”

  Not really knowing how to take this, Sai simply nodded. “Deal.”

  She placed the glass on the side table once again, grabbed a piece of diced melon from the fruit bowl, again without asking, and took a seat on the bed beside him. Quickly popping the melon into her mouth, she spoke as she chewed. “All right, ?rst things ?rst, what's your name?”

  “It’s Sai,” He replied matter-of-factly. He was starting to become slightly annoyed by the brazenness of the girl. Who just comes into someone's hospital room and starts eating their food?

  “Good; tell me, Sai, are you from Dione?” She asked as she took another cube of melon.

  “Dione? You mean the town front last night?” Sai questioned.

  “Yep, that was Dione. Guess town’s kind of a generous term. At this point, it’d be more appropriate to call it an ash heap.”

  The callousness of this line surprised Sai. “Oh! No.” He replied, “At least, I don’t think so. I just woke up on a mountain a few hours from there and ended up there looking for shelter.” Even before the words escaped his lips, Sai realized how stupid this must’ve sounded.

  She looked at him with a sort of puzzled expression, but still, she pushed on.“Hmmm, okay, were you there when the attack began?” She asked inquisitively.

  “No, by the time I had reached the town, it was already mostly destroyed.” Sai looked down with a bit of shame in his eyes.

  “So you rushed headlong into that inferno on purpose? Why would you do something like that?” She looked dumbfounded as she popped another melon piece into her mouth.

  “I’m not sure. I heard that other girl scream, and my body just moved on its own. I had no idea when I charged in that some psychopath with an exploding sword had purposely caused all that destruction.” Sai replied defensively.

  She laughed at the inelegant description. “All right, so fast forwarding here, you come across exploding sword guy, and your ?rst instinct was to hit him in the face with a rock?” Still laughing, she continued, “Well, you, Sai are either very brave or really, really stupid.” She grinned slyly.

  “Hey!” He shot back. “I was doing all I could to protect that girl! Also, how do you even know about that?”

  “I’m joking, I swear!” She replied while waving her hand in front of her face with a smile. “Brave it is. And captain explodey sword might have mentioned it after I goaded him about the shattered lens on his mask. You really pissed him off, actually. So much so, in fact, that he was determined to kill you for that little transgression.”

  “Think he decided on that before I hit him, but okay.” The annoyance was apparent in his tone.

  “Again, I’m kidding!” She waved her hand in front of her face, trying to ease the tension. Suddenly, her demeanor softened. “What you did no doubt saved that girl's life, Sai. You really should be proud of that.” She raised another piece of fruit to her lips.

  Sai nodded as he relaxed slightly. “All right, all right. It's time you answered some of my questions.” With his uninjured hand, he grabbed the melon piece in hers and set it back in the bowl.

  Amy smiled softly as she wiped the melon juice from her hands onto her pants. “Fair enough; what would you like to know?”

  “Well, maybe your name?” Sai questioned.

  “My name’s Amelia, but most people call me Amy.”

  “Okay, can you tell me about what happened the other night? And on top of that, how did you save us?” Sai continued.

  “Hmmm, I suppose I could explain a bit. What exactly do you want to know?” She replied.

  “That guy, Roark, I think he called himself. Did he actually cause all of that destruction alone? And if so, how?”

  “Roark? You got his name? Why wouldn’t you start with that?" She questioned.

  “You didn’t ask,” Sai replied incredulously. “But, yeah, he told me just before we tumbled out of the hole in the attic wall. Which is what you all keep referring to as jumping off the roof.”

  “My mistake,” Amy Added. “Well, from our understanding, he used his tome to incinerate Dione and all the villagers along with it.” She replied solemnly.

  Sai couldn’t wrap his head around how she could make jokes one minute and then be as stoic as a sage the next. Instead of dwelling on this, he decided to move on. “You used that word again? A tome? Is that the name of the sword he was using?” Sai questioned.

  “No?” Amy shook her head. “The tome is the book he drew the sword from. I’m sorry, Sai, but I have a hard time believing you’ve never heard of a tome. I’ll admit you don’t see wielders every day, but you had to have seen one at some point growing up.”

  Sai looked down, ashamed of his own ignorance. “Even if I had, I wouldn't know. I have no memory of anything before waking up on the mountain.”

  “Hmmm, well, tomes aren’t exactly easy to explain. They’re kind of like magic books, for lack of a better explanation.” She trailed off in a bid to ?nd the words she needed. “Yeah, that's the simplest way to describe it. Although I guess having zero memory would explain what you meant when you said you didn’t think you were from Dione, huh? You have no memories at all?” She tilted her head slightly, puzzled.

  He shook his head. “I woke up with nothing but the clothes on my back and this note.” Reaching into the pocket of his pants, Sai's stomach dropped. “Oh no! It’s gone! Where is it!?” This was the only clue he had, and now it was gone. Panic fell on him like so many stones.

  “Is this what you’re after?” Amy held up the folded-in-half slip of paper that Sai had once clung to so tightly.

  Sai looked shocked. “How did you get that?” He grabbed at the note quickly, but Amy pulled it out of his reach. “Ugh!” Sai groaned in pain from the sudden movement.

  “Hey, slow down there! I found this fair and square.” She teased playfully. “What is it exactly?”

  Sai rolled his eyes and replied with an exasperated sigh. “Again, I’m not sure. I just woke up with it. I was hoping that when I headed toward that smoke, someone there could answer that for me. As you may have noticed, that didn’t happen.”

  “Oh, come on, stop sulking!” She pushed on his shoulder with her ?st. “Again, I was only teasing! Here it’s yours. I need to go anyhow. I’ll be back at some point to check on you. Don’t miss me too much!” She winked as she turned away from him and headed for the door.

  Sai could feel his face get hot with embarrassment. His expression softened as she walked out the door. “Oh, hey!” He piped up quickly before the door closed. “I almost forgot! Thanks for saving us.”

  “No problem, Sai, anytime.” She waved without a backward glance as the door clicked closed behind her.

  Days passed, and each one brought with it visits from Holland or Mel. They’d arrive in Sai's room three times a day with food, a milky medicine, which could only be described as acrid, and ointment for his burns. Despite the medicine's horrendous ?avor, Sai felt better for taking it each day. The soreness in his lungs and the pain of his burns faded slowly as the days turned into weeks, and before long, Sai had nearly made a complete recovery. The ?nal piece of which was a hard cast that had been placed over his injured leg and would remain there for the duration of his stay.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  * * *

  The cool air came in through the half-open window of the room like it did every morning. And again, the breeze caused Sai to stir slightly. The subtle knock that followed wholly woke him from his slumber.

  “Come in.” He said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

  The door creaked open, and in walked both Holland and Mel. “Good morning; today’s the day, Sai!” Holland announced as Mel stepped around him and sat a deep bucket full of soapy water near the bed. “It’s time we get that cast off and see where we stand, no pun intended. ” Holland explained with a slight chuckle.

  “Please submerge your foot in this,” Mel asked as she stood back up from the side of the bed and indicated the bucket.

  Sai nodded as he uncovered his legs and rolled up his long, loose-fitting pant leg. He gently sat his wrapped foot into the soapy water and waited. Mel knelt back down and began to work her ?ngers around the hard exterior of the submerged cast. After a while, Sai could feel the hard shell around his foot getting more and more pliable as Mel picked away at it. Layer after layer fell away, and Mel carefully removed it from the bucket. Before long, his foot had come free, and Mel was lifting his leg to pull it from the water. Holland stepped forward and gestured for Sai to lie back so he could examine the area where the cast had sat.

  “This looks good. You’ll need to take it easy for the time being, but I think it’s healed far better than I had originally expected.” Holland explained as he rolled Sai’s foot over, examining it. “Let's get you a crutch and get you up and around.”

  Holland offered Sai his hand and helped him from the bed. Mel handed him a single crutch, which Sai then placed under his left arm, using it to help himself stand. He placed his newly healed foot down gently on the ?oor. Even this tiny amount of pressure caused his ankle to feel stiff and sore.

  “Today will be your last day here. That is, if you're able to walk with a crutch on your own. Why don’t you get dressed, and we’ll wait outside.” Holland instructed.

  With a nod, Holland helped Mel grab the water bucket, and they headed out of the room to give Sai some privacy.

  Looking over to the side table, Sai grabbed the clothes that Amy had brought. He slipped into the dark pants, which he noticed ?t more snuggly than the hospital pair. He grabbed the white undershirt and slipped it over his head and shoulders. As he reached for the blue and grey long-sleeve shirt that remained on the nightstand, he heard a familiar voice come from the hall. His room’s door creaked open, and the familiar voice rang out again.

  “Look who’s up and about!” For the ?rst time in weeks, Amy stood in his doorway, her red hair again pinned behind her ear. She wore a white, loose-?tting blouse, which she paired with a red and yellow thigh-length skirt that swayed as she entered the room. Underneath this was a pair of obsidian leggings that ran down to her lower calf. Something was different this time, however. As she entered, Sai noticed what seemed to be a light leather holster hanging on her waist. An almost opal-colored book could be seen sticking out of the rectangular pouch that fell near her right thigh.

  “What? Not happy to see me?” She said, walking over and plopping down on the bed. Without asking, she reached over yet again, grabbed the small glass bowl of grapes off the side table, and began eating them. Truthfully, this bowl was nothing special. Every morning Mel would bring some sort of fruit in the same wooden bowl for breakfast. And after weeks of recovery Sai had grown tired of fruit for breakfast. Yet still, every day, a new bowl of assorted melon, grapes, or on the rare occasion, orange slices would arrive.

  “No, by all means, help yourself to whatever you like. I didn't want breakfast or anything.” Sai said with a slight smirk as he slipped the over shirt on.

  Setting the bowl down, she swallowed hard and spoke again. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “Eh, last time you were here, you were a bit abrasive….” He trailed off for a moment before continuing. “Also, my meals seem to last longer when it’s just me eating them.” He retorted.

  “Abrasive? Is that so? Well, in that case, I’ll leave you to it. Good to see you too, Sai.” She said sharply as she stood up from the bed. Sai could hear the irritation in her voice as she walked toward the door. “And to think I came all the way here to see you.”

  “No, no, Amy, wait. I was just kidding.” Sai pleaded apologetically. “I am happy to see you.”

  Turning on her heels, she stepped in close to Sai and looked straight into his eyes. “Yeah, you are! And for your information, if there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s being called abrasive!” Getting in his face, she poked him in the chest for emphasis.

  This ?ustered Sai. He could feel his cheeks getting slightly red with her face so close to his. “I’m sorry abrasive was the wrong word; I simply misspoke, that's all.” Sai rubbed the back of his head, closed his eyes, and smiled.

  “Hmmph! Well, ?ne, but it’s gonna take more than a simple apology to earn my forgiveness.” She said, pulling back from him.

  Sai cleared his throat. Turning to the side table, he picked up the bowl. “Grapes?” He held the bowl out to her. “A proverbial olive branch, if you will?”

  “Why aren’t you such a gentleman!” Amy proclaimed as she grabbed the bowl again.

  Sai scratched his head and smiled. “Now, what did you want to talk to me about?”

  With a mouthful of grapes, she spoke again. “Think we could speak somewhere more private?” She looked over to both Mel and Holland, who were reentering the room.

  Holland spoke up. “I was actually wanting Sai to get outside for some fresh air and to get some use out of that foot. Would you mind escorting him around the premises while we clean this room up?”

  Amy ?nished off the bowl, nodded, and grabbed Sai by the hand, pulling him toward the door. “Sounds good, come on then. Let's go for a walk.”

  Sai stumbled for a moment as she pulled on him, and they headed out the door. His crutch dragged clumsily across the ?oor as she pulled.

  “Hey, slow down just a bit! I’m not used to the crutch yet.” He exclaimed as she pulled him into the hall.

  Releasing his hand, Amy nodded, and the two slowly walked down the hall together. As they passed the next room down, Sai couldn’t help but notice the door was open. Peering in as they passed, he saw her. The girl from the night of the attack was sitting up in her bed, eating from the same bowl of fruit that Sai knew all too well.

  As Sai passed, the girl popped a slice of melon into her mouth and glanced up. Their eyes met, and time seemed to slow for only a moment. She had ocean-blue eyes and jet-black hair. A look of shock appeared on her face as her stomach jumped, and she choked on the melon before swallowing hard.

  Sai stopped for a moment and tried to speak, but Amy grabbed his hand again. “Let's go! I need to talk to you about something important.” Dragging him down the hall, the two ?nally reached the front door and stepped out into the cool, foggy morning air.

  Sai took in this new view as he stepped across the hospital's threshold. The hospital, if you could even call it that, sat on the southern outskirts of Iapetus. Sai looked back at the building, which seemed smaller than he had expected. It was a simple one-story building that, by the looks of it, had been recently whitewashed. If he hadn’t just left Holland's care, Sai thought he could’ve easily mistaken it for a private residence.

  Turning back to the north, he could see the village of Iapetus. The entire village was made up of dozens of buildings. Most were made of red brick with roofs that were covered in simple wooden shingles. He noted that these buildings differed from the ones he had seen Dione. They were nicer, made of more sturdy materials, and this place was quite a bit larger than Dione as well. Due to the positioning of the hospital, when Sai looked out his window each morning, he had only seen the woods and the pond that sat behind it. So as he stepped out, it surprised him to see Iapetus, a village teeming with people, sitting just a few hundred yards away. He had never even heard the townspeople through his open window.

  “Hey, come on, you’re falling behind.” Amy’s voice snapped him back to reality. Sai nodded, and with the crutch under his arm, he followed her around the outside of the building. After a few steps, he felt himself becoming more accustomed to the crutch and could keep up much more easily. As the two reached the back of the building, they could see the pond that was Sai’s only view of the outside world over these many weeks.

  “Let's go over there. There's a bench near the water's edge where we can talk.” Amy pointed off in the pond's direction and continued on.

  With another nod, Sai hobbled on. As they reached the bank, a bench came into view just behind a large weeping willow. Sai followed Amy down the hill and took a seat. It felt good to be off of his sore foot for a moment. It had atrophied slightly, and it was apparent to Sai that it was weaker than it had been at the beginning of all this. Minding the deep mud in front of the bench, Amy sat beside him.

  “All right, you got me all the way out here, so what did you want to talk about?” Sai asked, looking out at the water.

  “Well, I was reporting to Cylus, the Grand Librarian at the citadel, and he asked about my ?ndings in Dione. Long story short, he wants to meet with you.”

  “Wait, Grand Librarian? Citadel?”

  “Yeah, that’s the man I work for and where I live, respectively.”

  “Okay, wait, you were reporting on me? And furthermore, why would he want to meet with me?” Sai looked at her skeptically.

  “It’s my job, Sai,” She said ?atly. “And well, you and the girl were the only two who survived the attack in Dione. I think he wants to ?nd out if you know anything about it. He may also know something about that note,” she explained, trying to soften the betrayal Sai was feeling.

  “I thought I already explained this. I don’t know anything more than what I’ve already told you. I just showed up there at a bad time.”

  “A convenient time, in Cylus’s opinion.” She murmured under her breath as she stood up. Slowly, she made her way toward the water’s edge. “I don’t know exactly what he wants with you, but he ordered me to bring you to him at once.”

  “To this ‘citadel’?” Sai made air quotes with his ?ngers, and Amy gave a quick nod in response.

  “Amy, I can’t go with you. I need to stay and check on that girl. She may need my help still. I would help you if I could, but something tells me this is where I need to be for now.” Sai looked down at his shoes. He hated disappointing her, even if he hardly knew her, but something compelled him to stay here. To stay with the other girl.

  With a disappointed sigh, she turned toward him. “Sai, I’m not exactly asking.” She placed her hand on the book at her waist and undid the strap that held it in the holster. “Cylus isn’t happy that I brought you here instead of to him in the ?rst place. You’re coming with me.”

  Sai remembered the power that the book had displayed in Dione. He stood slowly and waved his hands in surrender. “Okay, Okay! There's no need for that. I don’t want to ?ght you. Not to mention you brought me to this muddy bank without a stone in sight. How would I ever defend myself?” He joked, trying to inject a much-needed dose of levity into the tense air surrounding this conversation. “Can I do one thing ?rst?”

  Amy cracked a slight smile before rolling her eyes. She quickly replaced the strap over the book. “Okay, I’ll bite. What is it?”

  “I’d like to ask the other girl from Dione to go with us.” He explained as he grabbed his crutch for support.

  “No.” She answered ?atly. “I was speci?cally sent after you. How would I even explain bringing her?” She placed her hand on her hip and glowered at him.

  “Look, she was there that night as well, right? Who knows, she may know more than I do. What happens if you leave her here and then you have to come back because I can’t help? She could be gone by that time, and then you’ve got nothing.” Sai explained. “How would your grand librarian react to that?”

  “Sai, we ca…”

  Finding his nerve, Sai cut her off, “Amy, you either let me go back and try to convince her to go with us, or you can drag my unconscious body all the way back with you. What’s it going to be?”

  “Hmmm,” Amy seriously mulled over this option for a moment before ?nally breaking down. “Fine, but this better not come back to bite me!”

  “It won’t. If we run into an issue, I'll take the blame. Now let’s head back. After all, I suppose we shouldn’t keep this Cylus waiting.” Sai turned and began his hobbled stride back toward the hospital, crutch in hand.

  Frustrated, Amy let out a small growl and kicked a nearby clod of mud into the pond before following closely behind him.