My take on what really happens to Alyss Mainwaring. Please read. If you enjoy it, review! If you don't, then review with your constructive criticism. I do not welcome flamers, but I will gladly read what you think of this story and what you think I can improve.

I woke with a throbbing head and aching back. I was in a forest. Where? I didn't know. When? I didn't know. Who was I? That one I could answer: Alyss.

I remembered seeing an inn in flames and watching as a five year-old waved her arms out the window in desperation. The guards had decided that they couldn't do anything, so I took it upon myself to rescue the girl. I knew I had succeeded, but the girl I was with now was not the one from the inn.

I looked around the clearing. It was a normal clearing, with pine needle and leaves coating the dirt and slender maple trees dotting the evergreen woods. The girl laid on the ground next to me, her wavy, black hair sprawled out over the leaves, a glossy curtain on the natural forest floor.

Her face was quite beautiful. Olive color, with slightly uptilted eyes and high cheekbones. A wave of confusion hit me, sending my empty brain spinning. How did she get here? I had been saving a five year-old, so how did this girl end up here, with me?

I inspected myself for injuries or burns, but only my head seemed damaged. After tossing the child out the window to the guards I had hurried back to the first floor, and I must have have been hit with a falling beam, because I went unconscious and woke up here.

I turned my attention once again to the girl beside me. She too was bruised, but it seemed minor. I shook her shoulders gently, and her eyes fluttered open. She met my eyes and I found myself lost in her dark brown irises. I might not have remembered where I came from, but I knew that none of my close friends had brown eyes or dark hair.

"I'm Liese," the girl said.

"I'm Alyss. Do you know where we are?" I asked. She shook her head.

"I dragged you out of the fire and traveled as far as I could, avoiding people," she replied, not looking me in the eye anymore. She began raking pine needles out of her hair. I reached back to see if my ash blonde hair was in the same condition, but to my shock found that it had been singed to shoulder length. I drew my dagger out of my belt and chopped of the crispy, burnt mess.

"Where do we go now?" Liese's young face was surprisingly calm, much calmer than I knew I looked.

"Well, do you have family? Friends? Someone we can go to for help?" I was parched and hungry, and despite my long sleep, I was exhausted. She shook her head again.

"My parents live in Skandia. I was just visiting with my mother's friend while my parents and uncles went on a 'dangerous' voyage." I could tell from her tone that she was not pleased with the arrangement.

"I was running an errand for my mom's friend when I saw the building collapse and heard a scream from inside," she continued. "I decided to have an adventure and save whoever was in there." She shrugged like it was no big deal. "It was you. Like I said, I dragged you out and went as far as I could." She looked at me accusingly. "You're heavier than you look."

I glanced up at the sky and groaned at the gathering clouds. Rain. "We need to find shelter," I said. "Do you have a horse?"

"No!" Liese's placid face contorted in slight anger. I realized she was not be as unworried as she appeared. "If I had a horse do you think I would have lugged you here myself?"

She had a point. I fixed my eyes on my charred fingernails, considering our options. We could try to get out of the woods, but that could take a while. We also could try to backtrack, since there was sure to be people back at the site of the fire, but whoever had caused the fire could still be there. The last possibility would be to create a makeshift shelter and wait until the rain stopped. After some conversing, some arguing, and quite a bit of mud throwing, we tentatively agreed on the first one.

Thankfully, we only had to walk for a little over an hour before a small, run-down village came into sight. It was made up of several small farms, a few shops, and, best of all, a seaport where three shabby ships swayed in the breeze.

Liese talked to some of the men at the port about the price of a trip to Skandia. She must have been richer than her clothing suggested, because her haggling was not the best and we still were given good lodging and a guaranteed spot on the next day's crossing to Liese's home.

The minute we settled ourselves into the town's single inn, the clouds burst, drenching everything. I collapsed on the bed, while Liese ate dinner in the dining room downstairs. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep, and my dreams were a mix of wonderful, crazy, and terrifying.

When I finally woke, the sun was blinding me through the window, and Liese was glowering at me.

"You slept past noon," she grumbled. "I had to pack everything and convince the sailors to wait for us."

"You know you could've just woken me up," I pointed out. I immediately regretted saying anything in my defense because Liese began an epic lecture on all the reasons why she couldn't have just woken me up. Her speech didn't end until past breakfast.

"Why don't you go make sure we brought everything from the room," I told her. It was a ridiculous errand, because the only thing we had brought were some clothes we purchased from a local farm woman. Liese knew this, but she tromped back to the inn, grumbling the whole way, while I made the last arrangements with the sailors.

Finally, we stood on the deck of the largest of the few ships. As I watched the undulating waves and swirling sea foam, I became queasy and retreated below deck.

I sat on the bench in my cabin, considering what I would do when we reached Skandia. I was considerably sure that Alyss didn't live in Skandia, but finding my home could come later. Anyway, Alyss Mainwaring, the person I'm supposed to be, was buried under the beam in the fire. First I would get Liese to her family, then I would tackle the challenge of finding someone who could help me uncover my past identity.