Over the next few days, I saw Avani quite often. She made a point of coming and talking to me, asking me about my prior life and my interests and bringing me home-cooked meals that offered a pleasant change from dining out. She introduced me to the townsfolk and helped me to get settled into my new home and new life. I was able to find work with Arthur as a translator, since languages long dead in this time had still been in use in mine. It was... a desolate feeling—this discovery that what had been my present was now the ancient past, half-forgotten even by the scholars in this age.

However, Avani helped dispel some of that sense of isolation with her frequent visits. I found that behind her pretty face was a bright intellect and a lively sense of humor, and we quickly began to enjoy a comfortable, teasing sort of friendship. I loved trying to get a rise from her by saying outrageous things to her, and sometimes she was even able to pay me back—with interest. However, though she did enjoy teasing her friends, she was also incredibly compassionate and kind-hearted. I had thought at first that her attentions to me were unique, but I soon learned that she treated me just as she had the other Guardians—indeed, as she treated everyone. She was constantly helping others, showing kindness in a thousand little ways. In most people, the same activities would have labeled them a busybody or a goody two-shoes, but Avani had such a gracious, generous nature that it only endeared her all the more to those around her.

A few days after my rescue, she approached me, all suited up in her newly-repaired armor, and asked how I was feeling that morning. I teased her, naturally, saying, "Why don't you come closer and feel for yourself?"

She blushed as usual, but maintained her serious demeanor as she suggested that perhaps I felt recovered enough for some physical exercise. Things were getting serious with the kingdom's aggressive neighbor to the north, she said, and she wanted to ensure that I'd be fit and ready to help if a crisis came.

I raised an eyebrow, and said, amused, "And you think you're the one to train me? Well, I suppose I am a bit bored today, so if you want me to tag along and protect you, I suppose I could accommodate your request."

She just snorted and tossed some gear to me. "Here, put this on. You'll need more than just your bare chest and clever tongue out there on the plains." I suited up, and we headed out the city gates.

Avani had provided me with chainmail, a small shield, and a simple but sturdy spear. I still recalled some of the spells I'd learned back in my days as Dragon Priest, and I seemed to have acquired some new ones—perhaps another artifact of my time spent as a Guardian. But physically, I knew I was not in peak condition after my long slumber. I determined to do my best to meet my would-be mentor's expectations. And it would feel good to get back in shape again, though I was skeptical that this delicate bloom of womanhood was the one to help me achieve that goal.

Oh, how wrong I was!

She pushed and pushed me that day, standing back and letting me do the fighting. She apparently was quite a warrior after all, and could use some magic spells, too. I discovered the latter several hours later, when, during one battle against a horde of goblins, giant tortas, and weagles, I was sent flying by a blast of strong wind from the large birds' powerful wings, lying helpless with the wind knocked out of me as several goblins leaped to attack me.

Suddenly from behind me came a loud battle cry, and a blur of green and silver shot past me, sending the advancing monsters flying through the air. More than half of them were vanquished before they even hit the ground, their bodies vanishing in a flash of light as they were returned to the Forest of Beginnings. Then she called out an incantation, and I felt a powerful burst of energy surging through my body as my wounds closed and healed before my eyes. I dispatched the remainder of the enemy, and turned to her with a new respect. "Not bad, not bad at all," I said, a little too weakly for my liking. She gave me a half smile, then gripping my arm, she called out another incantation that transported us back to town.

We had been out for close to ten hours by this time, and I was exhausted. Seeing that I was barely able to stand, she repeated the incantation, and we were transported into her rooms in the palace. Pushing me into a chair next to a stone fireplace, she disappeared through a doorway, shedding a trail of gear as she went. Soon I smelled mouth-watering fragrances, and shortly afterwards she re-emerged, carrying a tray of freshly prepared food and drink, including some of the grilled fish I particularly loved. I was surprised when all she took was a mug of some steaming, fragrant drink, pushing the tray towards me.

"Don't you eat?" I asked in surprise, as I reached for a skewer of still-sizzling squid.

"Of course. I eat mountains of food. I have a really high metabolism, and I train a lot. But I ate a big meal before I came for you, and since I didn't particularly exert myself today, I haven't yet depleted my stores of energy. This tea is really all I want right now. But thanks for your concern," she replied, smiling as she blew on her steaming mug to cool it. I shrugged mentally as I dove in. She was a very good cook, though I was hungry enough that it wouldn't have mattered if she wasn't. I ate everything she brought except for the hunk of cheese. I'd never cared for milk products—they were just too bland for me.

"By the way," she started as I finished my first squid and reached for another, "where are your foxes? I was surprised they didn't follow us."

I choked on my bite, then washed it down with a long drink of the juice she'd brought with my meal. "Say what?" I said when I'd recovered.

"Your foxes. I was asking you where they were. I haven't seen them at all today."

"You... you mean you've seen them before?" I said slowly, astonished.

"Of course," she replied, looking surprised by my reaction. "I do have eyes, you know."

"Most people do," I replied drily, "but not the sort that can see my foxes."

She looked puzzled, saying, "What do you mean?"

"My foxes are spirits," I explained, "the spirits that inhabited the pair of statues set up to guard the doors into Leon Karnak where I—where Sarcophagus dwelt. As they are spirits, somehow assigned to be my companions and guards, no one besides me can see them. At least, so I had believed... until now."

"I know they're spirits," she replied, startled, "they told me so themselves. The red one said his name is Sano, and the blue one said his is Uno."

"Hold it," I said, even more surprised. "You mean... they talk to you, too? You not only can see them, but you can talk with them?"

"Well... yeah. Is there something wrong with that? I apologize if I did something I shouldn't have," she said, biting her lip and looking worried.

I shook my head. "No, it's not that. It's just... I'm not sure how it is that you can both see and talk with them. No one besides me should be able to do either, let alone both. What else do they say?"

"Not a lot, not yet anyway. I mean, mostly just idle conversation. I did ask them once if they knew how long you'd been locked in the tower, but they don't really seem to mark the passage of time in a useful manner. Uno said that as they now had seven tails, they must be between six and seven centuries old, and since they were 'born' when you were locked up, that must be how long you slept there. But that was as close as they could get."

I thought for a minute as I took a bite of the chewy grilled squid. "I don't know why it is that you can communicate with them. Perhaps you have some connection with them because you conquered them, or because you defeated Sarcophagus and rescued me. I do know that they speak of you with a good deal more respect and admiration than anyone else in town, except possibly Venti," I said with a grin, remembering some of their naughtier comments. "Anyway, returning to your original question, I told them to stay in town and keep out of trouble. They're probably asleep on my bed right now. I didn't want them coming along and running off out in the wilderness. As with all foxes, they are rather prone to mischief."

Avani grinned, saying "Well, you know what they say about pets resembling their owners...."

************

After finishing the meal, I helped her clear the table. As she began to wash up, I asked with a grin, "So... Selphia has the good fortune to be governed by a princess who is not only a fine warrior, but also cooks, farms, forges, and cleans? Tell me, is there anything you can't do?"

She grinned back at me, saying "Yep: dry the dishes. That's your job tonight," as she tossed a towel to me.

I laughed and began to dry the dishes as she washed and rinsed them. "Seriously, though. Is there anything you can't do?"

She didn't answer at first, just kept washing, slowly as if turning some thought over in her mind. Then she turned to me with sorrowful eyes and replied, "Yes. I can't remember." She turned quickly back to her washing, but I caught a glimpse of a tear glittering in the corner of her eye as she did so.

"Ahh, that's right. Venti mentioned your amnesia. Well, hang in there. Your memories may come back in time," I replied.

She shook her head slowly, saying, "I don't know. It's been a year and a half, and I still haven't remembered anything from before my head injury. I don't even remember how I was hurt, other than having a sore head and being told I'd been struck with a sword. Everything before that moment when I awakened on the airship is just a blank. I don't think I'd even know my name except that as I woke, I thought I heard an echo in my mind as if someone had just been calling it. But maybe I was just dreaming that—maybe this isn't even really my name. I have no way of knowing for sure, except... it just feels like my name. I respond to it when someone calls it, just as one naturally does with one's name."

"Interesting," I mused out loud. "Your name, Avani—it sounds foreign. But clearly you aren't—your mastery of the language, both spoken and written, as well as your accent proves that. Perhaps one or both of your parents were foreigners. Well, if I come across anything that might be helpful, I will certainly let you know. Until then, you seem to have carved out a nice life for yourself here in your short time: a home, plenty of work to keep you busy, good friends, and even a devoted lover. Or at least I assume Dylas is your lover, from the way he behaved when you didn't return from Leon Karnak."

"Yes," she replied, handing me the last of the dishes. "I rescued him a little more than a year ago, and although he was hostile towards me at first, with time we became friends and eventually lovers. Living in this town has done wonders for him. He's really opened up a lot, though he still has a long ways to go."

"I'm not sure the townsfolk can take all the credit there," I said below my breath as I handed her the dried dish and the towel.

"Hmmm? What was that? I couldn't hear you," she said, looking at me uncertainly.

"Oh, nothing. I'd better be on my way. I expect I'll sleep well tonight. Thank you for the training and the meal. I'd like to do this again, if you have the time." With that, I departed for my room at the inn, where, as I'd predicted, I did indeed sleep well.