A loud gasp echoed through the infirmary room. Luckily, no one was around to hear it.

Her own gasp seemed to have surprised her, for she looked stunned for a few moments before realizing the surroundings she had woken up to. The dark thick hair of hers laid swept across her face, disheveled, just as her mind was. After a few full breaths to calm herself, her eyes adjusted to the bright morning light entering the room. She was slowly beginning to compose her thoughts starting with what had happened.

Last night was a blur. The fact she was able to open her eyes and find figures helping her into bed, laying a cold towel on her forehead, and saying sweet hopes to help her sleep came as a shock. She thought she would be dead by now. Her existence erased.

She also remembered hearing arguments. Sharp whispers about something. Her eyes could only open for a moment to see the commotion before they closed shut on their own. She was far too exhausted to pay any attention to what was happening around her.

Later that night, when the nurse had blown out the last candle and the room was only lit by the little moonlight, she awoke. Cold sweat on her back, her hand reaching for the glass of water on her bedside table. But she stopped seeing her company on the bed next to her, comfortably tucked in and asleep.

“Joan,” she called out to her company barely sounding anything out. Her voice was scratchy and silent.

Seeing Joan fast asleep she continued to reach for the glass of water and sip then chug it. It must have been the chilly wind entering in through the open window she looked to see the sea right outside, calm as ever. Then her eyes found a dark figure on the shore, as still as a statue, looking her way. And for a moment she felt like she needed to duck, run away, and hide. She felt like the shadow would soon find its way into the room and right next to her bed. Her heart beat quickened and her vision faded.

That was all she remembered of the night. She could not recall getting back into bed and falling asleep.

Her lips had a bit of color in them this morning. The same glass of water next to her bed was full again. She grabbed it and gulped the water down. With every gulp she felt her body wake, feeling every ache in every inch of her limbs.

She listened to the sea breeze while slurping the last few drops of water when it struck her; Joan was no longer in the bed next to her, nor any of the other beds. She thought hard for she was sure she saw Joan in her flesh sleeping in the same room last night. Her heart started beating faster and her mind still in shock.

“Where’s Joan?” she whispered to herself placing her glass of water back on the little table. Her mind tried remembering anything she could get a hint from. She remembered pieces of conversation from last night. “Roza? Was it Roza?” she remembered a name but that was useless. Joan was nowhere to be seen and she was panicking.

They’ve taken her... I must find her, I must get to her...NOW!

She thought, letting herself automatically push through and slide off the bed. Her ankles hit the floor hard making her wince. They hurt more than she anticipated.

She wobbled her way to the door and fiddled with it. It was locked. She turned to see an open window and limped to it.

The salty air hit her face as she poked her head out to let the morning sunlight flush over her face. It was majestic to feel such warm loving sunlight after spending such a horribly wet and cold time in the wooden chest. She remembered the chest both her and Joan passed out in. She thought it was the saddest death anyone could go through and that it was hers, yet here she was feeling the sun welcome her to her second chance at life.

She snapped out of it fast for she needed to find Joan, whom she owed her second chance at life to. Looking out the window she saw nothing but a large swath of land before it hit the sand and then the sea. In the near distance she managed to make out roofs of houses but her vision was still blurry.

Without giving it much thought she lifted her thin gown, put one foot over and got up on the window sill.

In a fleeting moment she was off the window and out on to the sandy brick path beneath her. Her knees crashed hard and her face kissed the floor making her lips swell with heat.

Her worried and panicking mind was suddenly overcome by embarrassment. She could not believe she jumped off a window without any proper thought.

Crap!

She felt herself unable to move. Her legs nor her arms worked. They were frozen for a moment and then the pain hit.

“Not that bright, are you?” a voice spoke.

She lifted her head instantly. An insult, the best way to surpass the pain indeed.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” She managed to put some words together seeing a man standing ahead.

“That’s precisely my question to you as well. Actually, I was on my way to ask you that,” Rhohaz standing with his arms crossed, in the same shirt as last night, spoke in a husky voice coming off strong from the get-go. He stayed there watching her struggle a bit before she stood up on her two feet and dusted her gown.

“And how long have you been standing there?” she asked sharply, trying hard to mask the embarrassment overwhelming her body.

“Long enough to see you poke your head out and quite literally throw yourself out of the window. Do you have a death wish? Or are you jumping out of high windows for fun?”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Rhohaz paused with a grin plastered across his face waiting for her reply but she only looked at him with narrow eyes. It made him take a step back, unconsciously of course. It was the first time he was seeing her face properly. Her olive skin was shining in the sun with a bit more color to it than when they first found her ice cold in the wooden chest. Her round soft face had sharp features. Her dark brown eyes being the sharpest of them all.

She smirked before replying, “I do, actually, like to throw myself out of windows sometimes. Keeps things exciting. And I occasionally bump into mannerless, obnoxious men. But don’t worry, darling, you are much weaker than the ones I have met. But you’ll eventually get there. Now, tell me, where am I?”

Rhohaz’s eyebrow knit in anger. He felt an entitlement in the manner she spoke. For a person who should be at the mercy of him, her tone did not sit right with him.

"Come on now, answer me," she provoked him.

“I’m sorry,” he scoffed taking a few steps towards her, “I’m wasting both our time. You don’t get to ask questions from now on. I’ll be the one asking. And for that, you need to come inside with me first.”

Her heart started beating faster in fear that if she were to go back inside she would never get to come out again. Her confident front fell immediately. She fiddled with her fingers and tried turning around mumbling, “That’s okay, I’ll find someone else who can answer my questions for me–”

But before she could take off, he caught her arm tight, making her squirm before he dragged her back into the infirmary.

Her soles hit the hard brick making her feel the sting. Her bare feet stumbled trying to keep up with Rhohaz who walked her back in through the infirmary doors and into the hallway.

There at the door, they met Garin. Rhohaz immediately pulled her behind him covering her with his tall figure.

“Morning, Garin. You should leave and check on your mother. She’s waiting for you,” Rhohaz spoke quickly making Garin rush. Garin gave a nod and a quick glance at the woman he could barely see, before heading off without a word.

Rhohaz quickly opened the door, pulled her in and shut it behind them.

“Rhohaz, there’s only one of them. Oh good! You’ve found the other one,” Timmie shouted.

She watched as the blurry figures from last night came to life. She felt a rush of overwhelm take over her immediately. Roza, quickly rushed to her with a blanket and covered her up. Timmie was still going on about how they were stunned to only find one of them when they got back. The nurse got to her with a tonic and started making her drink it.

Rhohaz pulled Timmie away from the girls and pushed him out the door and locked it. Almost immediately silence took over and there was peace.

With the tonic down her throat and the two women off of her, she finally saw Joan at the corner of the room looking terrified.

Oh Joan...

She thought. She felt so relieved to see Joan’s face. Yet she had never seen her stubborn maid servant so frail and weak ever since they met a few years back.

“Where were you? How could you go out in such clothes without a care in the world,” Roza tugged the blanket around her once more making her realize she was about to run around some dull village with nothing but undergarments on looking for Joan.

Her head suddenly ached making her yelp in pain. Roza and the nurse sat her down closer to Joan quickly before she lost her balance.

“Are you okay?” Roza asked concerned. She remained silent. The nurse held a wet cloth to her busted lip.

“Where did you find her? And why is she bleeding?” Roza asked looking to Rhohaz, who was in a corner under a shadow.

“Jumping out of a window...” Rhohaz said making both Roza and the nurse gasp, “...Looks like she hit her head in the process too.”

The nurse checked the girl’s head but could not find any visible injury. The nurse then moved on to her bloodied knees and started dressing the wounds. Joan cuddled closer to her making Roza smile then ask Joan gently, “Are you glad that you are back with your sister?”

The two girls straightened their backs in surprise. The last thing they thought Roza would imply was that they were related.

“Sister?” Rhohaz retorted.

“Not now, Rho,” Roza silenced her brother only to have her dragged away to a corner and be questioned in whispers.

“What do you mean sister?” Rhohaz whispered to Roza, who made a face in return.

“The girl, Joan, the first thing she did after waking last night was ask for her sister–”

Rhohaz immediately let go of Roza and ran to the girls. He pushed the nurse away, and while the nurse hurled curses at him, grabbed Joan, who started limping quite heavily while barely keeping up, along with Roza, who was now trying to get Rhohaz to let go of his firm grip on them.

He unlocked the doors and pushed them out. He gave a quick shout to the nurse to disappear although she was already out the room anyway.

He shut the door with a bang and looked to the last remaining person in the room. She sat on the bed holding the wet cloth to her lip just as the nurse advised her, her feet dangling off the bed, and her face looking to Rhohaz with a deadpanned look making him unable to read her.

Rhohaz grabbed a chair and sat inches away from the girl. He breathed deeply, calming his heart first, analyzing and coming up with the best strategy to interrogate the intruder.

“What is it?” she asked breaking the silence.

He stayed silent for a moment without making himself get angry.

“Answer me these and I will let you go–”

“Answer what?”

“What’s your name?”

She fell silent. His eyebrow raised partly in question and partly rushing her.

“Jade.”

She did not sound hesitant, although her silence definitely seemed like she was at first.

“Last name?”

“Lenvor. My father is a cobbler living in Esmeth–”

“Long way from home then.”

“Is it?” she scoffed, “I wouldn’t know for I don’t know where I am.”

“How did you end up in a chest? Floating away?”

“A chest? I am not sure what you are talking about.”

“Do not pretend–”

“I am not pretending. I only remember my sister, Joan, and I, walking down to Esmeth’s finest most prettiest flower shop to get some flowers for our mother’s memorial...and that’s it.”

Rhohaz stopped for a moment watching her, Jade, look out the open window she fell out of not so long ago.

“You may ask my sister this and verify it if needed. I am not sure of this chest you are asking of but that’s all I remember.”

“You were in the chest. We found you in the chest. And you say you don’t remember getting in it?”

Jade rolled her eyes, “I told you, I do not know. But I am glad I was saved by a floating chest that I was inside of.”

“Fine, then answer me this. What are your intentions? Why are you here at my village?”

Jade looked at him baffled, “If you think I managed to put a sail on a chest and make my way to your little village you think too highly of my capabilities. I am not here because I want to.”

Rhohaz watched her in silence. She at times looked as if she had tears in her eyes and at times looked as if she was just angry. She was holding something back, he felt it but he did not want to prod any further.

“Fine. My questions for you are over.”

He stood up to leave her and get to her sister. He needed to verify everything. Yet, he stopped as she suddenly spoke, “You said, once I had answered your questions you would let me go.”

Rhohaz answered, “My intentions were never to keep you here any longer. You must leave as soon as possible–”

“What if...what if I’d like to stay?”

Rhohaz turned back to see her stubborn face changed, distraught, and asking for help like a helpless fawn.