Ignazia lay on strange sand, unable to move. She had only recently regained consciousness, and her head was still spinning from the tossing and churning out in the waves. She had no idea how long she had lain on the beach, where on Earth she was, or how she even got there in the first place. All she knew for sure was that she was alone… completely alone. She wanted to search for other people, or at least yell for help, but her lungs burnt too badly and her legs were like putty. She felt almost as sick as she smelled. A tear trickled down her cheek as she closed her eyes and contemplated her miserable death out in the wilderness. She could see the angels, pinching their ethereal noses as they carted her corpse up to Heaven. And there was Saint Peter, fumbling through the Book of Life, trying to suppress giggles as other saints peered at her with slack jaws and whispered nasty things about her ripped skirts and the seaweed in her hair. The Good Lord Himself just shook his head and clucked his tongue as if to say "Who invited this cretin?"

Rage brought Ignazia's head out of the clouds. Is that what this is all about? Her mind demanded. Fury coursed through her veins like fire and propelled her to sit upright. "You've done this to me as a joke, just so you can get the last laugh, haven't you!?" she blasted hoarsely up to Heaven. "I've spent all my life going to that boring ole' Mass and this is how you repay me?!" The mention of Mass flooded her mind with images of her church… of home… of Father.

"It wasn't my fault I ran away," she whimpered guiltily. "They made me! Papá should have known better. He's so selfish! And that ghastly Charles…" The bitterness crept back into her voice as she once again shook her fist at the Diety. "You knew this was going to happen! In fact, you probably placed the idea into both their silly heads! DIDN'T YOU?!

…I hate you!"

The volcano inside her soul erupted, launching her onto her unsteady feet. "IHATEYOUIHATEYOUIHATEYOU!" she spewed, jumping up and down in frustration. Something in her knee popped and she crumpled down onto her face, sobbing. "It's not fair! It's not fair!" she wailed pitifully and pummeled the sandy ground. "I'm the daughter of the most powerful Cavalier in Spain! I'm the most beautiful lady in all of Europe—the world! I am not supposed to die like this… No-one even knows I am here!" At that, she hurled two great handfuls of sandy pebbles into the dark thicket.

Something furry burst out, whining and sneezing the dust out of its nose. Ignazia was so startled that she completely forgot about her tantrum. "Why, it's a doggy!" she exclaimed as the beast paced menacingly under a Mediterranean fern. Flies buzzed around the matted fur splayed about its jutting ribs. Its eyes greedily fixed upon her as it licked a bit of foam from its tooth-filled jaws. "Oh, what a sweet puppy!" Ignazia cooed.

This was wonderful! She had heard all kinds of stories about heroic animals whose selfless actions had saved the lives of sick or endangered humans. How fortunate she was to meet such an angelic creature! The canine emitted a low gutteral growl as it edged away slightly. "Come here, dog!" Ignazia ordered. "You are to take me to where the humans live!" She tried to stand, but found that her knee was stiffly locked into place. No worries! Her new friend would drag her to safety!

"Won't you, dog?" Ignazia puffed as she dragged her body across the sand towards the canine. Suddenly, four other dogs sauntered out of the brush, each one mangier than the one before it. Ignazia was overjoyed as the beasts slowly circled her. "You called your friends to help me too? What a good doggy!" Ignazia smiled widely as she extended her hand towards the first dog. Its black lips parted, returning Ignazia's smile with immense yellow fangs. How precious she thought to herself as she stretched her hand out a bit farther. She'd be on her way back to civilization in no time! If I can just take hold of it…

The dog lunged. Ignazia had just enough time to jerk her hand back before the toothy monster could rip it from her arm. In a heartbeat, the rest of the animals followed their leader, leaping in to devour their helpless victim. But Ignazia wasn't so helpless. Adrenaline straightened her legs and propelled her body upwards. She tried to run, but the dogs gripped her skirts, leashing her in place. The big first one snapped viciously up at her torso as she screamed and slapped at its face. "GET OFF!! GET OFF!!" she shrieked as her fear-fueled legs churned uselessly against the sand. The dress! Rip off the dress! her brain demanded. "NO! Father gave it to me!" she cried out in response.

The big dog lunged again and latched its jaws around Ignazia's bodice. RIP!! Ignazia shot into the air as fabric tore from her body. Before she even knew what happened, momentum flung her into the forest. The sand in her eyes rendered her nearly blind as she pounded through the underbrush. Gnarled roots reached to ensnare her legs and exotic fronds smacked her face as she fled. She whipped her head back to catch a glimpse of her panting attackers. Several of the brutes still gnawed on bits of her skirt as they ran. BASTARDS! That dress was expensi--!

"AIIIIIEEEEE!!" The ground fell out from under her feet. The world spun and bounced and flogged her from all directions as she rolled down a rocky hill. "Pshew!" she sputtered as she slammed on her back and skidded to a halt. Dazed and dizzy, she stared up at the lavender sky through a clearing in the trees. One of the mangy animals plummeted towards her in slow motion. Its huge claws extended to crush her chest; its red mouth gaped to engulf her head. For once in her life, Ignazia felt eerily resigned and she sighed, Oh, for goodness' sake, just do this quickly... and don't destroy my face…

Suddenly, the dog was beside her, yelping in pain! Ignazia caught a golden glimmer out of the corner of her eye, then something warm splattered all over her face, burning her eyes. She heard barking and a lot of heavy thuds all around her, but the animal beside her lay silent. A couple of seconds later, all she could hear were the distant squawks of birds disturbed by the fleeing dogs… and heavy breathing a few yards away.

Ignazia lay on her back, astonished, and stared up at the most beautiful creature she had ever seen... sort of. Sunlight gleamed a brilliant aura around the silhouetted figure that towered over her. Blood dripped from his strange triple-bladed scissor hands. Ignazia's heart raced in fear, feeling his massive presence swallow up the entirety of the forest around them. Never before had she felt so insignificant. An angel!

Her savior stooped beside her and out of the sun, affording her a better view. His fashionably pale skin rippled with lean muscle, all of it perfectly visible through the gaps in his outlandish clothing. What looked like it was once a regal outfit was now nothing more than brightly colored strips of leather and fabric wrapped tightly around his body, fastened with intricately carved buckles of gold and brass. An equally intricate mask concealed his face, neutralizing his expression and making him seem ten times more intimidating.

Ignazia felt as though she was caught up in a dream. Her heart fluttered and her body was paralyzed. The figure's breaths hissed deeply through the mouth opening in his mask. In slow motion he lowered one of his long-fingered hands toward her face... slowly... slowly... Ignazia was powerless to do anything besides gasp when it finally collided heavily with her face. But no sooner had it contacted her did it lift back up again. Ignazia saw that the other hand was busy tapping around on the ground in a similar fashion. Whatever were they searching for? One hand brushed against the blood-soaked fur of the fallen dog and a short breath escaped from under the mask, betraying the creature's pleasure. Gracefully, he hoisted the animal up onto his back, turned and began to stride off.

Ignazia was enraptured by what had just transpired. I... have been touched... by an angel! Suddenly the pain of her scrapes and bruises didn't seem so bad. Her lungs didn't feel quite so heavy. The forest did not seem quite so scary... Ignazia blinked. No, that was a lie. The forest was every bit as forbidding as before. And as her euphoria faded, returning her brain functions to normal, she realized her only hope of guidance was leaving—and quickly! Ignazia scrambled to her feet and immediately took off after the strange man. "Excuse me! Sir?"

As suddenly and elegantly as a flash of lightning, the lanky man swung a still-bloody blade out towards her, stopping millimeters away from her eyes. Ignazia choked and stumbled backwards. The man's voice seemed nothing more than a throaty hiss as he whispered something in a strange dialect.

"P-please, kind sir! I mean thee no harm!"

The man stood there, threateningly poised to take her out. Then, with another whispered garbled word, he pressed onward again. Ignazia sighed in exasperation. Try as she might, she could not place the accent, and her savior was quickly moving away in huge strides. She jogged after him, deciding it was time to change tactics. Dashing in front of him, she threw herself at his feet in a humble bow.

"Begging thy pardon, kind sir! Thousands of humblest and most gracious thanks to thee for thy courageous actions on my behalf. I am but a poor foreigner, alone in this land, and I—."

After a momentary pause, the man continued forward, stepping on one of Ignazia's outstretched hands. "Ouch!" she cried, nearly losing her composure.

"I said, move! You're in my way," came the gruff breathiness of the man's voice, now in a language that was somewhat comprehensible.

Ignazia's temper flared at the incredible rudeness of this stranger. "Thy accent was so thick, I could not understand a word thou hadst said," she snapped, rubbing her bruised hand.

"Your words are so flowery, I guessed you had nothing to say," he snuffed back, voice hushed.

Ignazia could not contain herself. "You pretentious bastard!"

The man's mask still wore an expression of stone, but the tone of his voice betrayed his amusement. "That's more like it," the man chuckled. Then the cheer vanished from his voice. "Now move!"

He shoved her out of his way and trudged off into the scenery. Exasperated, Ignazia rolled her eyes and wrinkled her nose up towards Heaven. Some "angel"! she mouthed, then flitted off to catch him.

"Uh, hello?" she called to him in sing-song, not wanting to waste any more dignified speech on such riff-raff. "I'm sorry for that little outburst. Truth is, I'm in quite a predicament. You see, my ship was destroyed and now I am lost in this—place. I thought you might be able to help me. I mean, it appears you certainly know where you are going. But I can offer something in exchange for your help. Perhaps you need assistance carrying your load?" She reached for the man's pack.

In a move so quick it was nearly invisible, the man dropped his belongings and twisted round, leg extended. Before she registered what had happened, Ignazia was flat on her back and the man was pressing down on her, cold blade tickling her neck. "You're beginning to piss me off!" he growled aggressively, sharp teeth visible through the mouth hole in his mask. The feeling was mutual. Feeling intense fear paralyzing her, Ignazia fought it with ferocity, the only way she knew how.

"You wouldn't!" she spat, glaring up into the strange stoic face. The man exhaled, retracting the weapon as if out of confused hesitation.

"Heh, see!" Ignazia laughed nervously. "Why would you save me, only to take my life here?"

"Save you?" hissed the man.

"From those dogs, back in the forest."

He cocked his head to one side for a little bit, then let out a raspy cackle, smashing her chest to the ground with a massive hand. "Believe me, Lady, I'm no hero!" He shook his head in bemusement and muttered something in his own dialect. "I was hunting, not saving," he said matter-of-factly. "However, if I had known those dogs were going to eat you, I would have waited 'til they were fat 'n finished. More for me."

Ignazia glared at the man, not knowing what to make of him. "Come to think of it," he continued, ducking in closer to her, "those dogs are just scrawny bags of bones compared to you, miss supple!" He gave her chest a quick squeeze, jiggling her breasts. In a fit of embarrassed fury, Ignazia kicked him off her with all her might. The man exploded in laughter as she crossed herself and tried to regain composure.

"I am a human being!!" she screamed at him. "Are you mad?!"

After a loaded silence, the man stood quietly. "Hunger knows no atrocity." Ignazia could see those sharp teeth flash through the mask. "If you value your life, you'll get lost," he muttered.

"But, I already am lost!" Ignazia asserted.

A gleam of light whizzed passed her throat. It took her several moments to recognize the stream of blood that oozed from the wound inflicted by the dagger that drove itself into the ground beside her. That monster cut my throat! I'm doomed! He really is going to eat me! She erupted in coughing, clutching the nick on her throat as if her head was going to fall off her shoulders.

"BEAT IT!!" the man boomed.

Ignazia couldn't help herself. Still coughing, she frantically clambered to her feet and took off sprinting for the forest.

Voldo listened after her for a few seconds, then slowly began to feel for his things.