All she could remember was darkness. Medea had no memories of how she came to be alone amongst the ancient trees of the forest. No whispers of a past self to call upon for answers. She was alone and for once in her life she was scared. The only memory she had left was that of her name. She had no idea where she was, nor where she was going, but she knew her only option was to keep moving forward. Her feet ached, urging her to stop walking and to rest, but she didn't dare. With a sigh, she pushed her tangled brown hair away from her face and adjusted the bow on her back to a more comfortable position. The bow brought Medea comfort, she didn't know if she could even shoot the thing, but it was the only possession she seemed to have, and it felt familiarly heavy on her back.
"Where am I...?" She muttered to herself, blowing yet more tangled hair from her eyes. "Or better still, who am I?" Medea took a deep breath to calm herself, her priority was getting out of the forest, she needed food and water, she'd have to deal with her lack of memories later. Medea looked up at towards the sky, barely visible behind the thick blanket of leaves. "Well at least I can still see the sun" she mused, deciding to follow the light; this forest had to end somewhere and at least following the setting sun would keep her going in roughly the same direction. Every step was a chore and Medea's mind was racing with questions and made-up scenarios to answer them. Perhaps she had fallen and hit her head in the woods, and the loss her memories was a temporary symptom of that… That was defiantly a best-case scenario though and it seemed unlikely for as far as she could tell, she had no head wound, in fact, the only wounds she sustained were the scratches and bruises that painted her arms and legs from her hasty journey through the forest. Medea was so lost in her own panicked thoughts that she didn't hear the frantic footsteps that were approaching her, nor did she see the distressed woman running straight at her until it was too late, and they were both knocked to the ground in a tangle of limbs and skirts. The other woman quickly pushed herself up, backing away and eying Medea with fear. She was a beautiful girl, with long wavy black hair, and bright green eyes. She was dressed only in what looked to be her undergarments and there were small cuts across her pale cheeks. She looked terrified."Don't worry, I won't harm you" Medea said, giving the woman a small smile. The woman looked as panicked as Medea felt, she would have to be the level-headed one. After all, if she could calm the woman down, she might be able to show her the way out. The sound of heavy footsteps broke the silence and the woman's head whipped round to look behind her in horror as two men in light armor broke into the clearing. Medea didn't even have time to think, she instinctively snatched the bow from around her body, knocked her arrow and in one swift movement, drew the string, aimed and released. The arrow hit the man squarely in the chest and he went down instantly. Luckily, Medea's quick attack was enough to stun the other man and she was able to draw another arrow, this time aiming for the man's leg. Her arrow quickly met its target, her aim was perfect. "I guess I do know how to shoot this thing…" Medea breathed before grabbing the other woman's arm and pulling her away from the man, who was now screaming in pain. "Let's go!" She shouted, and the two women ran further into the forest, not looking back to see if they were being pursued. They ran for what felt like hours until exhaustion forced them to a stop. "Let's rest for a bit" Medea gasped, trying to catch her breath. The other woman nodded and slumped down, leaning her back on a tree.
"Who are you?" She said. It was the first time the woman had spoken, and her voice was laced with suspicion.
"I wish I could answer that" Medea laughed, earning a look of confusion from the other woman. "My name's Medea, that's all I can tell you" Medea said with a small smile.
"I'm Morgana" The woman replied, returning the smile.
"Nice to meet you." Medea nodded. "So, what are you doing out here, and why those men were chasing you?" she questioned. Morgana's smile quickly faded.
"I am the ward of Uther Pendragon; those men were hoping to hold me hostage for ransom" Morgana answered
"The ward of who?" Medea asked, realizing that he must be someone important if they wanted to take his ward.
"Uther Pendragon… The king of Camelot" Morgana replied, suspicion creeping onto her face again. "What about you? Why are you wandering around the forest alone?" She questioned. Medea felt a blush of humiliation burn on her cheeks.
"I don't know" She answered.
"How can you not know?" Morgana said, her eyes narrowing.
"I don't know how I got here, I don't know where I'm going, I don't even know who I am!" Medea gushed, it felt nice to finally say it out loud. "I know it sounds crazy, but I have absolutely no memories, the earliest thing I remember is waking up in this forest, I don't know where I came from or who I was before, the only thing I know is my name" Medea finished, her eyes glistening slightly with tears that she refused to let fall.
"That's terrible…." Morgana replied, her suspicion had faded away and she seemed genuinely sympathetic. "Well, it doesn't matter who you are, you saved my life" she smiled, attempting to cheer Medea up. "I must return to Camelot, those men still have my maid, I need to go back to inform the king, so they may rescue her, you should come with me, our court physician Gaius may be able to help you" Morgana suggested, standing up and offering Medea her hand. "Thank you…" Medea replied gratefully, she had only just met this woman, but she could already tell she was kind hearted. Morgana smiled and pulled Medea to her feet before letting go and walking deeper into the forest.