Light rushed around me. I couldn't see, hear, feel, or sense what was happening. All I knew was the light. A beam or column but that's all I knew then, blackness.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ground, hard cold earth lay beneath me. I tried to sit up but couldn't. It was as if I was being held down by some unseen force. I turn my head and looked a the ground beside me.

It was covered with blood. I froze, mind in a whirl. Was it my blood or some one. . . no, another beings. To that I had no answer. I shut my eyes again. It hurt to keep them open for more the ten minutes or so. I felt myself drift back into blackness.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Some thing cold and wet was on my forehead. I was on something soft too. I opened my eyes but shut them quickly; It hurt to see.

Now I only had sent and touch as a way to see where I was.

Voices soft and low, but human from what I could tell. Three females. One was older and was talking the least. The other two were in some sort of argument. Over what I couldn't tell.

Oh, how I wished they'd just leave and let me sleep. I was sure that they had wakened me. But since I couldn't get to sleep again, I tried to understand what they were saying.

"Millerna, you can't just let them take her! She's not a horse or--"

"Hitomi, I know that it's not the best, but, it's all we can do. Besides they have medicines we don't." I took this voice to be Millerna's and the first to be Hitomi's.

Who were they talking about? Me? or someone else?

A knock at the door stopped the voices.

"Who's there?" Millerna asked.

"Gatti, of the Dragon Slayers," a male voice responded.

Gatti . . . I let his name rest in my mind for a moment. Then I heard the sound of a door opening, low voices and the door closing.

"What is it?" Now this was a voices who hadn't said much at all.

"Folken wants to know what her injures are," Millerna said.

"Then tell him." Hitomi.

"He wishes to see both of us Hitomi."

"I'll stay here with her." The other voice.

"Eries, you know that you can't--"

"I'm staying. You two had better get moving."

"Right, thanks a lot, Eries."

Hitomi and Millerna left with out much more say. I was glad, for they'd been louder then my older brother and his wanna-be rock band.

I laied listening to her hum a soft sweet melody, and I drifted once more into sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I opened my eyes. Blackness. I tried to sit up and was able to prop myself against the head board. I looked around myself. The only light came from a slit at the bottom of the door. I was alone, and glad of it.

I let my mind go over the happenings of the day, at least that's what I though it had been, but I couldn't really tell.

A sound came from the door, and I quickly sank back down into the covers, watching through slitted eyes. I saw some one enter the room, and she gently touched my forehead. Shaking her head she picked up a wet cloth and placed it on my forehead. From what I could tell she was smiling and she began to hum. Once more I was asleep in a room I didn't know, with three odd women taking care of me, and with a feeling I couldn't shake.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I woke again, and sunlight streamed through the large window.

For the first time I got a good look at the room I was in.

Not too small not too big, with one door about a yard from the foot of the bed. One large window, and a little space to the left of the bed. In this space a table, three chairs, and a cupboard were placed.

My pack was on the table, closed.

I sighed, glad to be alone, at last.

I closed my eyes and tried to figure out how I gotten here. All I remembered after the light was the cold hard soil . . . and the blood.

I grimaced. Blood. I'd never liked blood.

I heard voices out side the door, and quickly I pretended to be asleep, and hoped it looked believable.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I don't think we should let Zaibach take the girl. She's not from here anyway."

"Merle, you shouldn't care. You aren't needed in this argument."

"What do you think, Millerna?" the voice named Merle asked.

The voices moved on. They weren't coming in. Good, I thought.

I slowly sat up, looking at the door out of the corner of my eye.

I look around and grid my teeth in pain. Touching my side I felt it was wrapped. I looked to see it was wrapped in clean, white bandages.

So, it might have been my blood after all.

Propping myself agents the head board I looked at the window, and smiled.

The sea lay beyond what looked like a garden.

I sung my legs off the edge of the bed and stood, leaning heavily on the nearest chair. I took another faltering step. I let go over the chair, and made my way to the next one. Siting down to catch my breath.

I stood, making my way to the table. It was the next closes thing.

My side burned, it hurt to breath, a gasped for breath as I made it to the table.

I almost fell to the floor, then I moved on grabbing the last chair, then I was at the window.

I slowly sat down in the window seat. Looking out I saw the garden and the sea. I looked down.

I saw three people standing there.

"I don't under stand, why does my father not want me to tended to her any more?" I could tell it was Millerna.

"I don't know why, that's all he told me." This voice has new to me. Male, that was easy to tell but it who I didn't know.

"He said Millerna is not to tend to her wombs but what about me and Merle?"



"Non of you are to tend to her any longer."

"What about Eries?"

"He said she's the only one who's aloud to tend to her."

Silence.

I waited, listening, trying to hear even the slightest sound. I did.

I turned my head to look at the door to my room and standing there, her eyes wide was a woman.

I looked into her eyes. My own, I knew, were hard and cold, like sword blades, my brother, White Eagle, always said.

She quickly left the room, I turned and looked out the window.

This time I got a good look at the people below.

Millerna had long light blond hair and was wearing a dress.

Hitomi had short light brown hair. She was wearing a school uniform.

Merle, well Merle was a cat-girl. She had short pink hair, orange and black cote pattern, a tail, and she was wearing a orange jumper thing.

The man had long straw blond hair. He was wearing a uniform of sorts. He also had a sword at his left hip, white gloves and light pink lace at his throat.

I smiled 'lace at his throat'. I'd heard it in the 'Highway Man' oh so long ago.

I let my mind wander back, just before the light hit, trying to remember what I had been doing.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I remembered our parents, had left for the summer. White Eagle and his band 'Sacred Feather', named after my horse, were having a practice that day. I went for a ride on Sacred Feather when, Slow Baer, Cat's Tooth, Wolf Pad, Pack Rat, Gray Fox, and Crimson Stallion had come on their motor bikes.

They'd all taken screen names, mine was Two Moons. Once in awhile I'd sing with them, and my brother White Eagle was the band leader.

I remember once out of site of the house, I'd taken a trail that White Eagle and I had never gone on before. It felt like some thing was pulling me, calling to me so I'd went. After three or four hours I saw The Light.

It hit the earth at a right angle, and seemed to be focused on a circle of some kind. I had Sacred Feather stop a few yards from the edge. We watched the light for about five minutes, then it moved toward us, I turned Sacred Feather, and we ran. Then I was in the light, I didn't know what had happened to Sacred Feather.

This worried me, as I sat in the window seat. Were was Sacred Feather? I needed to find him, and soon.

The door opened again. I turned my head to see a woman in her early twenties.

Her hair was in some sort hat. She had on a long dress, witch took me by surprise, especially in this hot wether.

She looked at me with, what I knew, was the look on my face.

She turned and dismissed the maid, with a nod of the head the maid left, looking at me on tell the door shut. Then the woman, I took her to be Eries, walked toward me, pulled up a chair and sat two feet from the window seat.

Nether of us said ant thing for a minute, then she said: "How did you get to the window?"

"I walked." I lied. But who was she to tell.

Arching one eyebrow she asked, "On your own, or did you use the chairs?"

"What do you think?" I've never given a striate answer to any one.

"I'm not sure what to think." she answered, folding her hands in her lap. "But I do know this, you're badly injured and should be in bed."

"I'll go back in my own time." I answered sharply.

She looked at me, her eyes unyielding. "What were you looking at?"

"The sea." I answered, feeling like a charter state out of the 'Last Unicorn'.

"I know a place where you can see the sea easier."

"Where?" I asked, siting up a little.

"I'll show you if, in five days time you can walk from your bed to the window seat and back again with out using the chairs."

"Alright, I will." I smiled, I couldn't help it. She returned my smile, then stood, saying. "The maid will bring you food, and clothing," she looked at me, for the first time I looked down at myself.

I was warring dirty blue jeans, white socks, and a green T-shirt that had the words 'I got my horse, I got my dog, I don't need a cow boy'. I looked back at her, waiting.

"What type of close do you mostly ware?" I could tell she disapproved of what I was already warring.

"Mostly pants and a shirts." I answered.

She nodded, turned and left. I sighed, it was nice to talk to some one, I hadn't realized how I'd missed human company.

I stood and walked to the table, sat in one of the chairs and opened my pack, just a leather sack that I could tie to Sacred Feather's bareback pad. That's all he'd had on when the light hit us, well that and his halter and lead rope.

That's all I rode with. I learned to ride bareback with only a thong on the horses lower jaw, and in truth I didn't even need that, all I needed was my legs. That was the first thing I learned to use on a horse. Then my father had tote me to use a saddle and bridal.

In my pack was a change of close, my sketch book, walkman, CDS, and my Saber. I smiled as I took the blade from my pack, I fenced and had been in three tournaments. I'd never made it to the finals, but I'd gotten through five matches in each.

I looked around my room again, trying to find my boots. I never rode without them, I wasn't that brave.

The door opened and the maid walked in, she looked at me, uncertain, that was plane.

"Hi." I said nodding my head in greeting.

"Good day." She'd answered, nervously.

"What's your name?" I asked, then I remembering my manners added. "My name is Mikiah."

"My name is Marry, miss Mikiah." She said giving me a little bow.

I smiled, standing. I slung my pack on my left shoulder, and held my Saber in the right hand. She looked at me, her eyes fell on my blade.

"You sword fight?" she asked surprised.

"I fence, if that's what you mean." I answered.

"Fence?" She asked.

"Yeah, you use it in tournaments. It's very stylized."

"I've never heard of it." She said, it was my turn to looked surprised. "Is any thing wrong?" she asked looking worried.

"No, just a little surprised, that's all."

She nodded. "Princess Eries told me to bring you these." She said holding out a pare of black leather pants, a lose white cotton shirt, red sash, and black leather boots.

I reached out and took them. "Tell her I said thanks."

Marry nodded and left.

I stood for another minute or two then walked around the room, my side didn't hurt so much any more and I had a new energy beating in me.

Smiling, I walked to my bed, put down the pack and blade, got under the blanket and went to sleep.