Chapter 2: The River

"I'm gonna miss you..."

"It's just gonna be a year...

I promise."

Cold water sloshed against my face and clogged my ears. My body jolted upward as I gasped. My eyes opened as water poured into my mouth and ran up my nose. Everything around me was blue, a force pushing against me as I struggled to move. My head went back, looking up to see the tint was lighter. I kicked my feet underneath, reaching my arm out, trying to grab it.

My chest screamed for a breath but every time my mouth opened the taste of calcium and minerals broke through. Sand caught itself in my teeth and I couldn't breathe. I screamed. My throat forced the water out as I struggled to move but the water was overpowering.

The edges of my sight turned black. My legs went numb. Nothing else moved as my hand stretched out.

"Please!" I screamed, waterlogged. Please... I couldn't see. I could hear the waves move but I couldn't resist the pull.

Something grabbed my hand. Something warm. The water's frigid grip clung to my ankles as the warm force pulled my body away. The water broke from my wrist and traveled from my arm to my head. Shoulders. Chest. Stomach. Hopefully my legs but I couldn't remember what else I had left on me.

I tried to cough but I didn't move. I tried to look around but I couldn't see. Everything was... dark. My nose burned but felt cold. My body didn't respond to any signals I sent to it or flinch when I tried to move.

Am I dead?

...No.

Because I'm able to talk to myself.

Did someone pull me out?

I felt something pushing my chest, yelling "Wake up!" without my name.

I could hear it.

The black started to fade, but blurry light replaced it, almost impossible to see. Maybe I really was dead and this was Irene and Esmund tricking me into believing I'm done.

Another push to my chest made me cough. Water shot from my nose and mouth.

I screamed.

My entire body jolted and burned as my nose and throat violently rid itself of cold water. My eyes watered and I could feel something hot dripping down the sides of my face.

"Hey, Hey!" A voice said, my arms being grabbed. The same feeling as my wrist just a moment before.

"No! Get off!" I shouted. I tried to kick my legs. Pain erupted under my skin. I forced my heels into the dirt and felt my body move until I saw and felt a green mass slam into my body. In an instant, a ring blared in my ears as everything went dark again.

"It's a necklace, stupid."

I started to look around. A dress I had never seen before was around my waist and legs, and a man, around my age, was looking at me, his features dismembered but his hand reaching to me, a silver necklace embraced in the creases of his palm.

"A necklace?" I asked, looking at him before at it.

A chuckle gently rang out from beside me, "Yes... for you."

Confused, I laughed, "But, why?"

"Well, I wanted to give you something before you left. To remember me by."

I looked at the person as some features became a little clear. His hair was shaggy and blonde, his eyes looking back at me like two moons setting over the sea. I moved closer to him as other voices started to get louder.

"But who are you...?" I asked, him moving his arms around me to put the necklace on. I felt the cold metal hit my skin as the pendant slid onto my collarbone.

"A friend." He said softly as a smile gently focused in.

"Wait!" I shouted, my arm stretching out. I gasped; a spruce wooded room surrounded me rather than the open treetops. The ringing was gone, replaced by the buzz of insects.

I looked around, seeing nothing I recognized. I shivered, a cold wind suddenly hitting me from an open window behind me. I frowned softly, shifting to my hands and knees, reaching to shut it. A dull pain started to form in one of my knees.

"-she was in the river Sunday morning. There was some debris and she had a rope wrapped to her leg but I didn't find any others." A voice rang out from the other side of a wall.

My eyes widened for a moment, looking around where I was. I bit my lip, realizing someone brought me here. My clothes were dry and of an orange and green hue, the smell of mildew grew from the corners of the table across from me. A couple cups sat upside down with a pitcher of clear water sitting behind them. I tilted my head, moving to get out of the bed I was in. I winced as my foot hit the ground, my knee giving out as I fell with a THUMP.

"ow.." I muttered.

Footsteps rushed outside the door. Four separate pairs came to a single point at the door before they expanded to eight as the door slammed against the wall, open.

I drew my arms back, my right arm reaching to my left side for the last thing I remembered: a sword.

"Get back!" I said. I gasped when I realized there was nothing there to grab.

"You need to calm down, we're not-" Three men began to walk toward me and I screamed, not knowing who any of them were or where they were from.

"Don't." Another voice said, coming from behind them all. The three men and I looked at the fourth voice even though I couldn't see.

"Sir, she's hysterical. She should be treated like we were trying-"

"You're terrifying her... Even if you try to help, she won't let you..." He softly said before he moved passed them.

I stared at him, my hand fumbling for anything I could use as a weapon. The first thing I could grab was the pillow.

He walked up, not as close as everyone else tried, and gently sat on the bed. I could see the green cape that fell on his shoulders and down his back, his brunette hair falling cleanly into place and his turquoise eyes looking towards me.

"I won't hurt you... we're just here to help..." He calmly said. "Put the pillow down and let's talk a little bit..."

I stared at him again. My eyebrows burrowed together. My heart raced before my mouth opened.

"Where am I... Who are you...? And I'm not hysterical..." I glared over at the previous man before back at this one, "Why was I covered in water..."

He looked at me before realization started to change his face.

"Do you remember what happened?" He asked, looking at me.

"N-No... I don't. Nor do I know you... Who are you!?" I said, instantly going back to shutting him out.

He looked away, at the three people. "Leave us alone. We will come out when she is ready." He said.

"But-"

"No but. Do it." The man said. He was stern, but I didn't feel scared of it.

The first person sighed before he nodded, telling the other two to get out before they shut the door.

It went quiet for a moment, the two of us watching the door. I listened to their steps recede before I looked back at the man.

He was already looking at me, this inquisitive look drawn across his face, intrigue and concern in his eyes, and a gentle and kind smile started to form on his lips.

I tilted my head curiously. He waited for my shoulders to relax before he introduced himself.

"I'm Laurance... I'm the one who pulled you from the river a couple days ago. The other few are healers of sorts. They... don't have the social cues of when to be sympathetic or reasoning when interacting with someone new."

I looked at him and slowly nodded, piecing the information together.

"Where are we?" I softly asked. I slowly stood up and put weight on my legs. I winced, my knee buckling underneath me.

"Whoa there." He instantly got up, grabbing my arms before I fell back to the ground.

"You've been through a lot the last couple days... and were drowning in a river. You need to take a moment before jumping to action, alright?" He said, gently moving me to sit on the bed. My legs started to go numb as I looked down, seeing the red marks that resembled a rope wrap around my knee.

"What happened then...?" I asked, "I-I can't remember a thing." I leaned back on the wall. He sat down on the bed again next to my outstretched leg.

"Well, what I know is I was out checking the river since someone had seen a horse running off and I saw remnants of clothes and other articles of objects around the ground. I walked into the water and saw a hand reaching up. It started sinking so I reached in to grab it and... out came you." He said.

"You weren't breathing so I was trying to get you to wake up and when you did you started screaming at me. I am guessing you couldn't function because you fell before I could react and hit your head on the riverbank. Since then, you haven't woken up. We've been calling people from the surrounding villages to see who could help and the three people from earlier were the ones who answered." He said.

I looked away before my eyes widened, my fingers clasping over my collarbone, "Where's my necklace?" I asked, looking at him before around.

"Your neck- what?" He rose a brow, "Out of everything... a necklace is all you have to ask?" He asked.

I glared at him. "Someone gave it to me... I saw them before you all came in..." I looked around before I tried moving out of the bed.

"Hang on-"

"No! I need to find it!" I started to breathe harder, looking around more, "I can't remember anything... maybe I can figure something out with it!" I stuttered, starting to move out of the bed.

"Don't-!"

I yelped, falling back onto the floor, my knee giving out again. I groaned, looking up at the ceiling.

­"Alaina!"

I opened my eyes again, looking at Laurance. He was walking over before he sat down beside my head.

"Alaina?" I said softly, repeating the word.

"Is...that your name?" He softly said.

I bit my lip.

"M-Maybe?" I stuttered as he gently grabbed my arms, pulling me to my feet and quickly supporting me before I fell again. "Ow..."

"Alright then, Alaina... How about we get you back onto your feet?" He said softly.

I looked at him before nodding, "Okay..."

****

The first man from before watched as Laurance and I walked into the next room. His skin looked almost yellow, his ears pointed back and an odd-shaped object dangled around his neck. In this moment, the only person I trusted was Laurance... not that man. Not the two women with him. Just Laurance.

"This is Alaina. She's looking for a necklace that she thinks can help her remember what happened. She's having trouble with her knee and-"

"Well of course she's having trouble because her knee has been pulled out of place by the rope so the kneecap is pushed next to the tibia in her leg so any type of movement is going to cause excruciating pain-"

"Zoey, I get it but take a breath." Laurance sighed, looking at the speaker.

"Sorry... It's just a marvel that she's alive... the amount of water you described and how blue she was when she came here is just... an oddity in-and-of itself." Zoey added.

"Can we get her knee back in place?"

She nodded, "Yes but it'll take a bit... and a lot of pain will persist. We don't have very many resources to dull it."

Laurance looked at me, him waiting for my input, "It's up to you. Either way you want, we're all here to help you out."

I bit my lip, holding onto his arm for a moment. "I'd... kind of want to walk again... so please? Even if it hurts?" I asked, looking at her.

She gently smiled at me before she nodded. Laurance walked forward, supporting me with his arm as he helped me settle onto the bed.

"It might help if you stayed, Sir Zvhal?" She inquired, looking at him before he looked at me. He gently nodded.

"I can stay. She's under my care during her stay here." He said, looking at the elf.

I looked down at my knee before she moved a wall like blanket between my knee and the rest of my body so I wouldn't be able to see.

Laurance looked at me, him gently setting his hand palm up by mine.

"If you need to squeeze something, you can squeeze my hand. I won't leave until she's done or until you want me to leave-"

"Don't leave... I still don't know what's going on and right now you're the most familiar person I know..." I panicked saying before I winced. I felt a sharp object start to cut into my leg.

I squeezed my hand into a fist as he looked at me.

"I won't go then...don't worry..."

****

"Hey, Alaina." The voice gently said, a soft breeze blowing over my left ear.

My eyes opened softly, my cheek touching another's beside me. The area around us was white, almost like a dreamscape.

"Am I dreaming?" I softly asked, watching the figure move to sit beside me as I sat up.

He chuckled, "Probably, I'm not sure either." He said softly. "How is your knee?"

I looked at him lightly with a smile, "I haven't tried it yet..." I said softly.

He smiled softly, "Well... maybe next time I see you we can talk about it too." He said gently, looking up at me. His features were gray, just what you would think a person looked like. Other than his hair and eyes. The blue in his eyes was... comforting.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked, laying down on the fluff white ground thing underneath me.

"You can ask me anything, Alaina."

I bit my lip. "Why am I seeing you?"

He looked at me before he tilted his head. "I don't know why, Alaina. I'm just in your head, remember?"

"Did you give me the necklace?" I asked softly before he chuckled.

"I did. But until you find it you probably won't remember it."

I groaned softly, "You are so insightful and confusing!"

He chuckled before brushing the hair out of my face. "You're smart... You'll either gain your memories back or make new ones."

The feeling of his hand was warm and comforting. I closed my eyes, gently breathing out before a ringing started to hit my ear drums.

My eyes opened slowly, looking around the darkened room. It was smaller than the last time I woke up, an armor stand across from me, a door a few feet from it, the floor covered in a soft wool, an apple tree painting hanging up on the wall, and a lantern that had burned out on the table.

I could hear snoring around me before I realized what it looked like: a guard station quarter. I sighed softly, laying back down. My leg was numb, cloth and sticks holding my leg straight. I gently looked to the wall.

I miss him... whoever him is. I like being in that dream world...

I looked back up at the ceiling, gently breathing out. A soft whistle tune echoed in the courtyard below before I smiled. I looked next to the head of the bed and saw the window to the outside. I pulled myself back up and opened the window, leaning on the windowsill, listening to the leaves of a great oak rustle in the night wind.

The whistle faded out as I sighed, staring up at the moon. The moon had a blue hue to it. It looked big enough that it was close enough to touch. I smiled softly, letting my eyelids start to close. My body relaxed against the windowsill as I drifted to asleep.