My eyes flutter open, and I find myself in a dimly lit room. I don't move, staying as still as possible, but still observing my surroundings. Out of the corner of my eye, I see movement. A hooded figure comes into view, and I slam my eyes shut, hoping they didn't see me. I slightly open them, squinting, so I can vaguely see the person but they can't see my eyes. Then, I realize I'm shirtless and don't have my mask on my face. My identity is revealed. However, I'm covered in bandages, and I can feel some on my legs and arms. The person seems to be swapping out the bloody bandages for new ones. They work diligently, their hands moving with grace and precision. I take a risk and slowly get up, the pain from the wounds coming back. I clutch my face as I look at the hooded figure. They also wear a mask, a rather bland one, just a white face with two holes for eyes.
"Who are you," I ask, "and-"
I stop mid sentence as they take off their mask and hood, revealing a beautiful face. The eyes a hazel brown, and the hair stopping just at the shoulder, curling into a bang. Their smile catches me off guard, like a beaming ray of sunshine. They gently push me back down onto the floor, their soft hand on my chest.
"I'm sure you have a lot of questions, but wait till after you're a little better," a feminine voice says. "We'll have plenty of time to get acquainted with each other."
After hesitating, I slowly close my eyes and drift back off to sleep. A memory flashes before me as a girl stands on the sand of a beach, staring off into the sunset with her white dress and hat flowing in the wind. She turns her head around slightly , a bright smile visible, but not the entire face. Next thing I know, I'm sitting up in a cold sweat, panting for breath.
"Are you okay? You were twisting and turning for the past hour," the girl says, approaching me slowly. I put my hand out between us, stopping her from getting closer.
"I'm fine, I just had a bad dream." I clutch my chest and tremble slightly. Why? Why now? I look around and see Windy in his small form laying in front of a small fire, his body wrapped in bandages. I crawl over to him and place him on my head, feeling him growl slightly before settling in. I slowly get up, pain searing through my legs, but managing to stand. Upon closer inspection, she does not have that much of a tall stature. If I'm being generous, she's probably only around 170 centimeters tall. A whole 15 centimeters shorter than me. I tilt my head slightly downward to meet her eyes, the brown of hers peering into my black.
"Who are you? Where am I?" I ask bluntly.
"Clara Fausto, and I saved you after your brawl with the trainees that claimed they were from the Knights. They certainly had the talent for it." She reaches for my stack of clothes and hands them to me. "I cleaned up all the bloodstains and patched it up the best I could."
The holes from previous wounds are covered up with mismatched cloth. I look down at my legs and see something similar. I slip my shirt and cloak on and feel the fabric, the stitches from the cloth rubbing against my skin.
"Thank you, I appreciate the- Wait, Fausto? Could you be-"
"Yup, that's me," the girl says with a smile. "the same one who owes you a debt from all those months ago."
"Consider it repaid, I guess now we're even, but since when have you been an Enchanted," I ask, not seeming to see her use any powers in the past. "I don't think you had any, unless maybe you got them later on? That would explain why you're here."
"Bingo! As smart as ever I see," she responds with a smile on her face. "You've changed your stature quite a bit. You aren't hunching as much and your muscles-" she trails off her face turning red as she covers her face. I catch the hint, I look away in embarrassment, my face slightly turning the same shade.
"You've changed a lot yourself. You've lost the glasses, and you cut your hair. In my opinion, you look much pr-" I catch myself as another flash of the girl in a white dress appears. Don't get caught up in the moment, I think to myself.
"A-anyways I should get going, I've overstayed my welcome." I grab my staff and head towards the door, before a hand tugs on my cloak.
"Wait!" She grips my cloak tightly, her hands slightly trembling. "I can't fight alone, I'm a very easy target. My Enchant isn't meant for close range fighting. The only reason I was able to rescue you earlier is because they were already injured.
"Your point?" I turn around and look at her, my hand in front of my flask preparing to put my mask on.
"Let's team up for this. I won't hold you back," she says with a gleam in her eyes.
"How can I be sure of that?"
She points her hand at a nearby water bottle and concentrates. The water slowly levitates out and approaches Clara.
"My Enchant allows me to control water, and its properties." She freezes the water into an ice block, levitating it mid air. "That includes things like this."
I reach my hand out in front of me, and she grabs it with a hopeful gleam in her eyes..
"I'm in your care then, I'll try not to get in your way as well," I say with a sigh.
"Let's stay here for a day, then we can move out. You're still injured," she says while undoing her robe. It drops to reveal a tank top and a pair of bright pink pajamas. I chuckle slightly at the sight.
"H-Hey what the hell are you laughing at!" She crosses her arms and pouts.
"Why are you in pajamas," I ask, still chuckling. "It's a life or death scenario."
"I was in my house when I got teleported," she quietly says, "and I picked up this robe from a random guy I found dead on the floor."
We sit down and begin talking about ourselves, wasting the time away before it's eventually night time.
"Well, I guess it's time to go to bed. I can keep watch tonight." I hand her my cloak. "Use this as a mattress, and your robe as a blanket."
"But-"
"It's fine," I insisted while placing the cloth in her hand. "I'm used to staying up late anyway."
Though I normally have Clyde to accompany me, I think to myself. I sit in front of the door, staff placed horizontally in my lap. Wait, I'm injured, so why am I on night watch? Well, it's too late to take it back now.
"Good night, Xyle," she calls out from behind me.
"Go to bed already, Clara," I reply. "We leave at sunrise, and head for a town."