Wings of Avalon: "Wholesome and satisfying" isn't the type of chapter I write very often haha, but I was happy to get to include a few in this story. Glad you liked it!

xOneSkyx: Yeah, I really wasn't that satisfied with the one they gave us in the game. I'm glad you liked this one, and glad I could make you laugh!

coolmegan123: I mean, in so many ways he really is haha. If nothing else, he's at least 75% of their impulse control.

Aaaaaack I failed to post again yesterday. Now that this story isn't my main writing focus, I have a harder time remembering when I'm supposed to be posting. If any of you ever notices that I'm late - especially if it's any later than Sunday - seriously feel free to come over to Tumblr and poke me and say heyyyy we're waitinggg. Chances are I'll remember eventually, but I hate being late for you guys!

Chapter 10

Perspective – 'M'

It wasn't until the morning after Robin and Little John found me, when I woke up in their camp to the sounds of breakfast being made over the fire, that it occurred to me I might should have been scared. I didn't feel like being scared, even then, and if I had it would have been a little late for that. If they were going to try anything unsavory, they had had plenty of time to do so already.

But as I lay in the hammock that Robin had chivalrously given up for me, watching him bustle around the fire and Little John continue to snooze in his own hammock, I was finally struck with the realization that I had willingly let myself be taken out into the woods by two strange men without a second thought. It was odd, though I really wasn't sure why. I almost felt as though it was something I wouldn't normally do, but since I couldn't even remember my own name, it was truly impossible to say what 'normal' even was for me.

Do I even have a 'normal'? People don't just appear in the world one day nearly grown...do they? Surely I must have had a life before this. The whole situation was very curious. I wanted answers, of course, the not knowing itching at my mind anytime I stopped to think about it. But at the same time, I didn't feel particularly desperate to connect with any past life I might have had. I was content to live out this new life and see where it might take me.

After breakfast, Robin stretched his arms up over his head and stood to collect our plates. "Little John and I have some, uh...business to attend to in Nottingham today. I think it's best if you stayed behind, but we'll be sure to ask around about you while we're there."

I nodded. "Okay. Thanks."

He waved the dishes that were in his paws. "I'm going to go wash these up before we leave. Why don't you walk with me? You'll want to know where the creek is eventually."

I stayed mostly silent as we walked and cleaned, with Robin chatting away about whatever came to mind. The creek was clear and icy cold, and I lost myself in the sensation of it running over my fingers until they were too numb to feel anything.

"Oh, look! The apples are ripening!"

Tearing my eyes away from hypnotizing current, I shaded them from the sun and followed Robin's gaze up to a nearby tree. Sure enough, a few of the many fruits that hung heavy on its branches were a bright, tantalizing red. In my periphery, I could see Robin grabbing something out of the bag on his back, and turned to watch him. It was a bow and arrow. Taking careful aim up into the tree, he stretched back the string of the bow, then let the arrow fly. An instant later, both the arrow and a red apple were falling, with Robin deftly catching the latter in an outstretched paw.

He bowed dramatically, holding the fruit out to me. "Care for an apple, Lady M?"

"Impressive." I took the apple, glancing back up to the tree. "Think you could teach me to do that?"

A wide grin spread across his face. "Well, I don't know for sure about this." Moving swiftly, he pulled out two more arrows and shot them, bringing down two more apples which he also caught. I raised an eyebrow at his clear showing off. "This kind of thing is strictly for professionals. I am the greatest archer in all of England, you know." He crunched into one of the apples.

I crossed my arms. "Mm, and so humble, too."

He lifted what I supposed could still be called an index finger, despite it being part of a paw. "Ah, but you needn't be humble when it's true!" He seemed to be waiting for some kind of response, so I gave him a smile. He was amusing, I supposed, though I didn't feel compelled to anything like laughter. "In all seriousness, though, it might actually be a good idea to teach you the basics. I'd feel better about leaving you alone if I knew you could defend yourself."

"I'm sure I'll be just fine."

"Yes, I'm sure you will! I don't expect any trouble to come roaming through here, but still, you never can tell."

I spent most of my day napping and reading a book that Little John had recommended from their tiny library, though the language was so flowery that I almost gave up on it several times. A glance at the other available books told me they were no better, though, so I powered through and tried my best to actually understand the story. Something about knights fighting large beasts that were a combination of different types of animals, which for some strange reason struck me as very familiar. Of all the things I might have done in my previous life, I highly doubted it was anything like that.

Around midday, I decided I felt grimy and could use to bathe. Unfortunately, the creek was the only water I knew of, and taking a dip in that nearly frozen water did not sound at all fun. So I did the only thing I could think of to do, which was carry the huge black pot the men used for cooking down to the creek with me, fill it with water, and painstakingly lug it back to heat over the coals of the morning's fire. It took a while, but finally it was at a tolerable temperature, and I dragged the pot back out into the woods a ways in case Robin and John made an early appearance.

Of course I didn't know if they owned any soap or washcloths, and I wasn't about to go digging through their belongings to find out, but warm water and my hands were better than nothing. I slipped my jacket off and tossed it onto a nearby rock, then lifted my dress up over my head and threw it to the side, too. When my gaze dropped back down to my now-bare skin, I froze.

Strange, lightning-shaped marks in various shades of purple and brown branched out over my skin, seeming to originate from my stomach, but reaching all the way up nearly to my collarbones.

What the...?

Before I could even complete the thought, images began to flash through my mind. A man, with long, blue hair and yellow eyes. A white room with metal tables.

And to accompany the images – pain. So much pain.

I gasped and curled in on myself, but the feeling was gone just as quickly as it had come. Blinking, I splayed a hand across the scars – because that's what they were, what they had to be – and tried to process what had just happened.

A memory. Whatever that was, it happened to me sometime in the past. Which meant that there were probably more memories there, somewhere, waiting to be awakened. Based on this one, though, I wasn't sure that it was worth doing so. It didn't seem like my past life could have been a very good one.

Robin and Little John returned late in the afternoon, and their faces were a picture of disappointment. "Sorry, M. Nobody in Nottingham seems to know who you are," Little John sighed.

I shrugged, not all that concerned about it, myself. "That's alright. Thanks for trying."

"Well, we're certainly not giving up now!" Robin exclaimed. "Just because you're not from Nottingham doesn't mean we won't be able to find where you are from. John and I will make trips to the other nearby cities in the coming days. Surely you couldn't have wandered too far from home."

He was still worrying about it by the time we were sitting around the dying flames of the campfire that night. "It must be awfully scary, not being able to remember anything."

The words were spoken so quietly that I barely realized they were directed at me. I cut my eyes over to see him staring into the fire pit, the light dancing across his furred face. "Not really." I resumed watching the flames, myself, wondering for the second time that day if I should be feeling scared when I was very distinctly not. "I mean...should it be? I don't...feel scared, I don't think, but...should I?"

Robin tilted his head toward me with a curious look in his eyes. "No one can tell you how you should feel. I can't say that I've ever experienced memory loss like that before, but it seems like it would be scary to me...or maybe at least sad, or something."

Pursing my lips, I rested my chin in my hand. "I don't feel sad, either. It really...doesn't bother me."

It looked like Robin wanted to say something else, but Little John beat him to it, chuckling. "Hey, there are some things in my past that I'd rather not remember. Maybe you and I would be better off if we forgot who we were, too, Rob."

The fox laughed along with him. "Maybe you're right. Although I think it would be more helpful if a certain sheriff and would-be king forgot everything, instead."

I tuned them out after a moment, retreating back into my own thoughts. There's no doubt at least one bad thing happened to me. You'd think that any life that was worth remembering wouldn't be so easy to forget. Maybe I'm better off not knowing my past at all.

A/N: A short chapter this time, just checking back in on Meli and the boys. And a couple of hints at the whole reason I chose this world for her to end up in, which we'll see more concretely next time we check in!