Chapter 1. Found Herself
An Unknown Girl's POV
I don't know if I had been unconscious or anything before I found myself lying on the ground in a dark forest. I woke up without any memory of my life or any ideas of what happened to me.
I didn't know what to think or to do. For several minutes, I was running around and crying in despair.
Nobody came to help or comfort me.
"Whatever it is, don't panic anymore," I finally said to myself, went to a nearby river and drank some water from it to calm down, also glancing at my reflection. I had long auburn hair, a pale complexion and green eyes, I was dressed in a yellow dress, and I looked like I was in my early teens.
"Well, go and find some people!" I ordered myself. "If you panic, it won't help you. But people who live nearby might know who I am."
I examined my head for any serious wounds that can cause memory loss, but I found nothing like this. Instead, I looked at the ground and saw a leather purse lying under a bush. I smiled:
"Things change for the better. It must be my own!"
I took the purse and found a calendar and my own photo in it. The photo had a handwriting on it:
"03/29/2010."
The calendar was loose-leaf, and it showed me the following date:
09/21/2010
Tuesday
"I know what day is it today!" I exclaimed happily. "Or – if I had been unconscious for more than one day – it's something close to that date."
I dug through my purse again and picked out a small note:
Louise, take care of yourself! You're in danger! Your true friend.
"My name's Louise!" I said. "Well, fine! More than nothing! Now I have to go and find anyone who can help me remember everything."
I walked for an hour down a narrow forest road, until I suddenly heard a high-pitched whistle that scared me half to death.
"Stop! You're now entering the territory of the Scarlet Fort!"
Before I could figure anything out or run away, two armored men with scarlet handprints on their armor stepped from the bushes.
"Name. Rank. Race. Which army you belong to. Goal of your visit," one of them snapped.
"L-L-Louise," I stammered. "I don't remember my rank, I'm afraid I have a memory loss. Race? I can't remember it either. I don't know any armies, and I didn't mean to visit a guarded place."
"Either she's an idiot or she's a spy," another man said. "Let's take her to the wizards who can read thoughts."
"But, sirs!.." I cried. I was ignored. They handcuffed my hands and walked me down the road to that mysterious Scarlet Fort.
