This was my second life. And my last. Why had I trusted those players, all they had wanted were my supplies, and when that ran out… I tried not to think about it. This was my new life, my second chance.I couldn't let my old life get in the way.

But they say you learn from your mistakes, which I have. I've already wandered for days, trying to reach a part of the map that was new and pristine, or at least still had trees.

I could tell this was an old world. Many had lived and died here. Raided remains of houses and faction bases were still popping up every now and then on my Map, showing me that I was still in a populated area. The sun started to set, another day gone.

Ahead of me was a cluster of half cut trees- I smiled, but that smile suddenly faded as I saw movement in the trees. From under the shadows emerged a Player, his face weary. I froze and immediately took out my fire wand, the last weapon I owned.

As the player noticed me, his eyes grew wider but his face remained passive, and, just like me, he froze. We stared at each other. I took in his beat up diamond armour, lack of sword and slightly singed hair. He must have lived here a while. His eyes were filled with fear, and as I watched, he visibly paled.

I swore under my breath, not thinking straight, and started circling around him slowly. He maintained eye contact with me, he was trying to tell me something.

There was a crashing in the bushes behind us, he turned his head, a new type of fear entering his eyes. Looking down at my Map I saw twenty white dots moving towards us. There was a faction chasing him. I moved towards him, intent on helping him escape. I knew what it felt like and did not want him to go through the same alone. I paused. I have not even talked to this guy, he could be a mass murderer for all I know.

Yet I sensed something familiar about him. 'He wouldn't hurt me,' I subconsciously told myself. I used the last of my Magic power to cast a Shield, no-one could touch me now. I was safe -ish.

I awoke in the near dark. The air was stale and dank. A faint light shone down on the floor, hurting my eyes. 'How had I gotten here?' Moving my stiff limbs, I tried to get comfortable, which was hard on the rough stone floor.

The murk of the room told me I was almost at the bottom of the world, but not quite. I was very tired, I needed more rest. Lying down on the cold floor, I closed my eyes. Images flashed before me, my memory flooding.

I remembered shouting at him to run. He had. I watched him go for longer than I should have, with a lingering feeling of familiarity.

The faction were so close I could hear their heavy breathing, twigs snapping beneath their feet. I turned as the first, the Player I took to be the Leader, exited the trees into the bright moonlight. I stood up straight, trying to stay calm.

The leader stared at me as his men stood in loose formation behind him.

"You must be new here, I'll let you go- this once- if you tell me where that player went," he sneered at me. I stood up taller, but said nothing. My grip tightened around the fire wand.

He noticed that, raising his eyebrows, "Ah, so that's how it's going to be, eh? Boys, get ready, she's gonna beat us up with her mighty stick!" The whole faction started laughing, some more nervously than others. Maybe they had not encountered Magic before. This would be fun. If there wasn't so many of them.

Twenty versus one, I was not going to win but it was worth a shot.

First, I set the trees behind them on fire. No place to run. Panic filled their eyes. Then I trapped what I thought was all of them in a ring of flames.

Sadly I failed to notice the men who had sneaked around to flank me. The Shield had run out of enough power that a solid blow to the head rendered me unconscious.

And that leads up to now, other than those hours spent asleep after being chucked into this cell. 'Hmph,' I thought to myself. I heard the faint clash of weapon on weapon, a clunk as an iron sword gave way to one much more powerful.

I sat up in the darkness and pressed my ear against the door. The sound of running feet made me leap out of the way just in time.

The door was flung open, and crashed loudly against the wall.

Fear filled me as one of the faction members walked in wearing a coat of full iron armour and wielding a sword made of the same material. He looked around, his savage eyes adjusting to the darkness. When he spotted me behind the door the corners of his mouth rose in a terrible sneer. He advanced toward me, raising his sword to strike.

An arrow banged against his armoured back, nowhere near piercing the tough iron. But it got his attention.

He turned around, his eyes filled with a mixture of curiosity and confusion. He was obviously not one of the brightest. He looked back at me, and when he was sure I wouldn't go anywhere, he took a few small steps towards the door, holding his sword in front of him.

The second he stepped outside the door, a diamond coloured sword was protruding from the his chest. A scream of rage, fear and pain escaped his mouth, but was quickly muffled by a black-gloved. Black gloved hand.

I saw a vision; it was the player just before the faction had appeared. Again I looked at him, his beaten up armour, singed hair, scarred face... And black fingerless gloves.

I re-focussed, the vision already faded as the Player walked through the doorway, silhouetted by the torch burning brightly on the other side of the wall.

I look at him blankly, preparing myself to die. I started whispering the spell, quietly at first, gradually increasing the volume as I was taught. I saw his face clearly as my eyes adjusted; his smug smile turning to fear as he heard the incantation.

He lunged at me as I tried to stand, crushing my arm against the rough wall. I gasped in pain which broke the flow of the spell.

He looked into my eyes, his arm pinning my neck and shoulder against the wall so that I could barely breath. He noticed my shallow breaths and immediately loosened his hold. I gasped for air before focusing my vision on his face.

I couldn't help but thinking he was quite handsome with short strands of light brown hair poking out from under his helmet. I squirmed uncomfortably in his grasp, wanting to be free.

He removed his arm from where it was holding me, my legs were weak so I fell almost immediately but instead of letting me fall he caught me and this time threw my arm about his shoulders to take my weight.

"Your things should be in one of the chests out here," he said whilst taking me towards the door. His voice sounded strange, distant as if he were in the next room, but also familiar as though I had heard it many times before.

I felt my hands stop shaking and my legs regain their composure. Rummaging through the chests I located my cloak and fire wand, along with various herbs that I kept in a small leather pouch. Closing the chest quietly, I turned around only to find my rescuer staring intensely at what had been the back of my head.

He spoke suddenly, "You don't remember, do you." It was not a question but more like a statement of confirmation. Sadness mixed with a tinge of regret. What was it that I didn't remember? I knew he was the same person I had risked my life for but before that I had never met him, but... why did I face that faction for a complete stranger.

Unless he wasn't a stranger.