Chapter 1:

"I trusted you…" Those words haunted me worse than any ghost. "I opened up to you, and you stabbed me in the back." His face was distant and blurred, almost unrecognizable. And yet I knew exactly who it was. How could I not? How could I possibly forget my first love?

"It's not what you think!" I retorted, my heart aching as those words came out of my mouth. For so long I had yearned to say them, yet never could. But I wasn't satisfied, nor relieved.

"It's exactly as I think." The bitter male before me argued, his pale blue eyes tainted with hate and disgust. To think they used to once gaze at me with admiration. "You killed him, you killed my brother, you fiend!" Crippled and broken; an understatement to how I was truly feeling right now. The man I loved despised me, wanted me dead and gone.

"And I will do the same to you, Garona."

"GAH!" I woke up, my eyelids fluttering wide open as I was staring at the top of my tent. I could feel all the sweat dripping down from my forehead, almost like a rain-shower. An exasperated sigh escaped my lips. "Just a dream." I reassured, still shaken while panting as if I had been sprinting for hours.

Sitting up only made me feel worse. My head began pounding, throbbing with pain. I raised up my knees, hugging them into my chest.

I couldn't close my eyes. The image of my dagger piercing into the king's skin would reappear each time. The guilt was already far too much for me to handle. No matter how many years passed, the memory was imbued into me. "You left me with such a heavy burden, Llane." I whispered, still groggy from being awakened so late at night. Yet another sleepless night.

I needed fresh air. I pushed myself up from the ground and onto my feet, shoving my way through the curtains of the tent as I was instantly welcomed by the cold midsummer night's breeze. I hated nighttime and loved it at the same time. Summer was harsh during the day.

As I sat down on one of the rocks to gaze into the distant view of endless trees, I could feel the faint light of the moon on my green skin. Nature had calmed me down more than I could myself. How ironic. My frantic heart rate calmed down, and my breathing almost completely stabilized. However, one thing remained unchanging - my pondering mind.

I was lost in thought. Not a day passed by where I didn't think about 'him'. The simplest of things reminded me of him. How I wished I could tear away that memory that attached me to the man. Sometimes I wondered if he had hypnotized me, cast a charming spell. Why else would my mind torture me with him?

"Foolish woman." I scolded myself, not pleased with my weakness. I was a warrior, an orc! How could I allow something so foolish to occupy me this much. Only humans acted upon emotion. Or at least that's what orcs thought. Little did they know, our impulsive feelings could easily be worse than theirs.

Mere minutes had passed, yet they felt like long painful hours. I needed a drink, badly. Standing back up, I stormed towards my tent, searching frantically for my cloak. Once I found it, I wore it, tying the rope that secured it around my neck, not covering my features just yet. I hated being in hiding. These days, it was all I did. After collecting everything I needed, I finally departed, leaving the quiet forest I resided in and taking the road that led towards civilization. There was a small village of humans not far from here. A very risky move for someone who had a hefty bounty on her head. But it was the least of my worries.

I could see someone in the distance, a bit away from me approaching in the same road. I pulled the hood of the cloak over my head, covering my face as I hunched down slightly while walking.

"Halt!" A stern voice ordered. The owner directed his attention towards me. I could only take a quick glimpse of him, not wanting to risk being discovered. Just as I thought; a guard patrolling the path with a torch in his hand. He was holding it over his head, hovering it a bit closer to me. I flinched away from it, fearing the light might expose too many of my face.

He said nothing for a long period of time, just stood there, eerily eying me with hungry eyes. He could tell it was a woman, something that excited the lonely bastard. "Excuse me, but I'm in a hurry." I spoke in his language, much more fluent than before.

"And where to, miss?"

"I'm afraid that's my own private business." I tried to move, but he reached his arm out in front of me, stopping me from continuing any further.

"Miss, I have to make sure everything is in order. It's for your own safety." Bullshit. He was thinking with his gutter, curious to see my face. A deprived man, searching for someone to entertain him tonight. I scrunched my nose in disgust. Now that I was closer, I could smell the alcohol coming from him. This could be used to my advantage.

"Does your superior know you drink while working?" I questioned. He stiffened up almost instantly. Bullseye.

"I-I don't see how that concerns you-"

"Of course it does! As a citizen of this place I worry about the safety of my home. How could a guard do a proper job when the effects of alcohol blur his mind?" Oh how the tables have turned. He was scared, knowing his job was at very high risk. I could read him like an open book. Such a simple minded man. "I'm afraid I have to report this to your officials. What's your name, sir?" I urged.

"T-There won't be a need for that, mada'am! How about we both call it a night and depart on our ways?" At this point, he was really trying to get rid of me. Brilliant. I was in luck. He loosened his arm, no longer obstructing the way.

"Very well. I'm feeling kind today so I'll let this pass." My own words made me almost shiver. I hated this way of speaking, 'mind games' as it was addressed by. But I had no choice. The last thing I needed was attention.

He could only shrivel up in his spot, as I harshly passed through him, my shoulder knocking into his own, harshly pushing him aside. The last thing I could hear were his annoyed grumbles while I smirked to myself in the now growing distance between us. "Good riddance." I whispered.

Not long after, I finally entered the town. Most of the locals were asleep, it was late after all. Yet one place stood out. I could hear very faint music coming from it. I now stood in front of the bar, taking a deep deserved breath to prepare myself. The next time I exhaled, my hands had pushed through the doors, walking inside the ruckus.

I needed to find a quiet spot, somewhere in the distance where no one was there. For a small town, it was surprisingly packed. This wasn't in my favor. I got a few odd looks here and there while I quietly made my way to one of the counters, the parquet beneath me creaking from every footstep. Seems like they weren't used to seeing too many foreign faces in these areas. Thankfully, most of them minded their own business.

"How can I help you?" The bartender asked only seconds after I choose my seat. I glanced up at him very briefly. He was like the stereotypical bartender; a mug in one hand, a clean rag in his other as he cleaned it.

"One serving of ale." I asked. A moment of silence passed. Eventually, I could feel his gaze leaving my body. He had finally gone ahead to take care of the drink.

"I thought he'd never leave." I huffed out quietly. Unfortunately, not quiet enough for the man next to me. I cringed. I just had to pick this spot didn't I? My luck from earlier ran out.

"I'd be careful. He's very nosey." The male warned. Chugging down onto the last bits of liquids left in his large mug. He slammed it down on the counter. "One more!" The odd individual ordered. I could tell he was already drunk.

And yet, an odd phenomena happened. My heart clenched. But why? Why would it react like this, and now of all times. This was beginning to become a headache, a chore. Trying to calm my flooding emotions as I struggled to understand what was causing all of this nonsense.

"What's wrong, cat caught your tongue?" He was rather social, possibly influenced by the heavy dose of alcohol in his body. I couldn't react, nor could I properly answer his little interrogation. Silence was the only thing that came from me. Which seemed to displease him, as he made an unpleasant noise and turned his gaze away from me. I felt relieved. It felt like his eyes were burning into me, even if I couldn't see him.

Thankfully, the conversation came to an end when the bartender came back, presenting us with both of our drinks one at a time. Or so I thought. My now trembling hands latched onto the mug, taking a nice good first sip from it, regretting it almost instantly. My mind grew slightly fuzzy. I had to shake my head to snap myself out of it.

"It's not very smart to do that, you know." He began, now completely distracted by the drink in front of him. This man could hold his liquor really well. I hated bars. They brought back memories that I wanted to bury. Today was an exception. I needed this, as foolish as my behavior was.

Of course, I only responded with silence once again. I had no interest in starting up a conversation with him, nor anyone in here. I couldn't afford it.

"Keh, why is he staring at me all the time?" I muttered under my breath, disliking the fact that the bartender's attention never left me. What's wrong with me? Possibly the effect of alcohol beginning to influence me as well, thanks to the sips I had taken. Not as much as it did this man. He was probably in his 5th round at least.

"He wants to see what's under your cloak." The man next to me replied without failure.

"Well, he better be disappointed." I scowled, taking yet another drink. The mug was almost empty by now.

"You're not from around here, are you?" He seemed to be amused by my response. I could hear it from the tone of his voice. God this guy annoyed me. Couldn't he just shut up? Every time his lips parted from each other to speak, I could feel a pang of pain.

"No. I'm just visiting." And why am I even talking to him?!

"Is that so?" He was unconvinced. Any idiot could tell. But oddly enough, he didn't press on nor pry on the topic.

"You found an old place to visit. But I'll fill you in on a little secret, I'm not from here either."

I fell silent once more. Why was he telling me this? Perhaps he needed a drinking buddy. I wouldn't blame him, most of the people in here weren't exactly welcoming.

"You're not very talkative." No shit, sherlock. Maybe you should get the hint and leave me in peace.

I sighed heavily. I should have kept ignoring him, this conversation would have never gone on. But a part of me wanted to pursue it. The curious zone I was trying to get rid of. Unfortunately, that wasn't working out very well. The more he spoke, the more I wanted to look at him.

"What makes you say that?" I finally spoke, sarcasm filled in my voice.

"Ah, feisty." He responded. I could feel him smirking. It was agitating. Worst part was, I was more pissed at myself rather than him.

"Can you blame me? A stranger who I just met is interrogating me."

"I wouldn't say interrogating. I'm simply trying to chat. It wouldn't hurt to be a little more friendly."

"And who are you to say that to me?! You know nothing!" I finally snapped, highly likely that I drank far too much. My third serving to be exact.

"Me? I'm just a wandering traveller, trying to forget about his worries."

My curiosity reached the top. I wanted to know how he looked. Did his behavior match his appearance? I shifted my head around to take a good look, almost instantly regretting it right after. I stared at him, breathless. His refined features starring at me. He looked like a greek God, not a single hint of imperfection displayed on his face. His hair was long and the perfect shade of brown, reaching down to his shoulders as they curled at the end. That attractive face of his was honed by a well groomed beard. It already had bits of grey hair in them. And yet somehow, that made him look more attractive. And the part that caught my attention the most, the part that drove me absolutely insane with an overwhelm of emotion, were his eyes; baby blue hues.

And then it suddenly hit me harder than any large mace could - his voice was the cause of all this aching from earlier. That painfully familiar tone to it was no mistake. It was one I could never forget. And no matter how many years had passed since the last time we met, I recognized him. My face grew a pallid hue, I almost fell back from my chair in shock. The realization was too much for me to handle.

"Lothar…"