Waking to a pounding headache that felt as if it would burst through her skull, the young woman sat upright. The little warmth radiating from the fire barely chased the chilly night air away. Nearly hitting her head off the top of the primitive tent, she then noticed the rough leather binding her wrists together when she tried to roll over to crawl out of the low roofed tent. The thin bed roll beneath her was spongy like water had been poured over it but what surfaced was clear or grungy.

Red?

The leaves rustled nearby, and she froze. Her heartbeat raced as she tried to now in earnest escape the tent – only to come face to face with the dead body and the dried trail of blood that pooled in the bed roll.

" Don't mind the body. We haven't gotten around to getting rid of it," A kind, masculine voice announced itself from the other side of the tent before a man wearing hooded robes walked around. He lifted his hand up and pushed his hood back. Beneath it was an attractive man, possibly of dark elf origin-

Looking around frantically now, she disregarded the fact her hair and clothes were stained with blood. She disregarded the domestic dog lying next to the fire and watching her with weary eyes. But she didn't disregard the man closest to her.

He knelt down next to her, revealing a cutting tool – dagger? – and grabbed her wrists. She started to inch away from him, back hitting the rounded edge of a boulder. " I won't hurt you, I promise," He placed the dagger on the ground between them. " I'll be by the fire when you're ready to eat. We're having bear tonight," He rubbed his hands together before rising to his feet and moving back to the campfire to stir the contents of the pot over the fire.

Lunging at the dagger and grabbing it, she angled the blade toward the small gap between her wrists and almost cut the side of her hand in the process. Taking a deep breath, she put her feet together and wedged the dagger between them. When it was upright, she started to saw off the bindings. Before finally severing the binding completely, she tugged at what remaining material held it in place and breathed easier when it snapped and she could pull her hands further apart.

" What's your name?" The man called out to her.

She didn't answer him, instead looking around for a way to civilization. If she hadn't crossed whoever it was that ambushed her, she might have found it by now.

" I…uh…I don't know it," She finally answered him. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, she reminded herself before grabbing the dagger. Surprised by its weight and length, she wondered how people concealed them. " All I know is about a day ago I woke in a clearing with nothing more than what I was wearing, and after a couple hours of walking, it felt like I was going to fall over. So I-" She pushed herself off the ground and made her way over to the fire, keeping the dagger close just in case.

He reached into his satchel and pulled out something rolled up. " I would have moved you from the tent earlier but they had a ring of Chameleon on you," She cocked her head. Ring of Chameleon? Where the hell was she? Who was she? " You'll feel better once you're out of those clothes and you get the blood out of your hair. We're about a day away from the river, but if we find a stream, we might be able to clean you up,"

Not knowing what to say, she took the offered clothing with her free hand.

" Don't mind the horse or the dog. They're friendly. Just no loud explosions or such sounds near Blossom. She rears up,"

His conversation helped her relax but her frustration with the lack of memory was building to the point she felt like bouncing her head off one of the nearby boulders until it returned. " By the nines, are you okay?" He placed one hand on her shoulder, drawing her stare from off into the distance to his scarred and handsome face.

She shook her head.

" If we find a wayshrine for you to pray at, maybe your afflictions will be removed," He sounded optimistic, almost as if that were normal. It definitely was not normal for her.

Removing his hand, she stood. " I'm going…to change behind a boulder. Nothing personal. I just don't know you, and if I'm ambushed once, what's to say I can trust you?" She shrugged and walked away from him.

Only one boulder was high enough for her to get sufficient shielding, and even then she felt exposed. Stripping down, she looked around once more. In the growing darkness, she couldn't see much. Once freed of the bloody clothing that had started to dry and turn stiff, she slipped the robes over her form and reached for the cloth belt she had used as a decorative additive to her pants. At the very least it would help keep the robes closer to her form and make traveling easier.

Stepping out from behind the boulder, she placed the soiled clothing next to the fire and watched it burn piece by piece.

" What do you call yourself?" He finally asked her, handing it her a small clay bowl full of bear stew. It didn't look appetizing but her stomach didn't care.

She accepted it and took the offered silver spoon. " I didn't really think about it. I was hoping my memory would be back by now," Taking little sips for taste, she thought about it for a bit. " I've always like the name Kyler, so I guess Kyler? You're an elf , right? Dark?"

He blinked at her emotionless query, appearing to be uncertain how he wished to handle it. " They call my race Dark Elves, but I am one of the Dunmer. You are not like the other humans I have seen. You are too frail to be a nord and too pretty to be an imperial." He leaned in, and she leaned back. " You remind me of someone I've seen though," He tapped his finger against his leg in thought but could not remember.

" And your name, Elf?" Relaxing once more, she hoped that she wasn't placing her trust in the wrong individual.

He bowed his head toward, and she reached forward and tucked a strand of stray hair behind his ears. Just like habit. Maybe she was a caretaker. Or a mother. He caught her hand before she could pull it back. He held it gently, like a friend would. " You may call me, Fadril. Others know me as Fadril Helas, the traveling merchant that occasionally closes shop and ventures into the world for his goods personally.

" So…Fadril," She lightly pulled her hand away. " What is that you buy and sell?" And how much would he ask for repayment after helping her out?

He took a large spoonful of the stew before letting the dog finish off the remaining amount. Now that she was closer to the beast, she could tell it was a pet and companion. It's eyes weren't weary so much as attentive. Reaching out, she started to scratch it behind the ears and watched it roll over onto it's back. She laughed and started to scratch its belly.

Fadril collected the two bowls and spoons and started moving the bodies into a pile in the distance. He returned to her a short time later offering a warm traveling blanket that appeared to have its fair share of wear and tear. " I'm a mage. I specialize in destructive magic but I know enough restoration magic to keep myself alive." He smiled at her. " You don't really belong here, do you?"

She shook her head. " It feels like that, but maybe I really do belong here. Maybe I'm just sick or I had a bad experience or something. I don't know. I wish I did," She hung her head, but he lifted it back up by a finger. He leaned in close and looked her in the eye. " Thank you for helping me,"

He moved in for the kiss, a small tingle going through her body before she molded against him. He broke the kiss off only after she showed she was willing to share the intimate 'embrace' he had in mind. " Don't thank me. I'm only using you to get what I want before leaving you," He lifted her up and shifted her so they were further away from the fire.

" All I ask is that you don't deceive me," She said before looking to the moon as he undressed her and then himself. Maybe it was wrong, maybe it was right, but right now she didn't care. She wasn't alone, and that's all she wanted.