Amy was lying on a hill in a field of grass, and everything was happy. The sky was blue, the sun shining, and not a cloud was in the sky threatening rain to dampen the spirit.

But then clouds of a different sort appeared. The very air seemed to darken, and as Amy got up to see what was happening everything turned black. She screamed, but couldn't even hear herself. All she could feel was the darkness, imprisoning her, smothering her very soul...

Then a light appeared, and quickly grew until half of what she could see was white and the other black. The two sides fought against each other for some time, neither gaining ground, until a second light appeared and extinguished the rest of the darkness.

Then she was falling down a mountain made of white rock. She could not see the bottom, but she knew she couldn't fall forever.

At once, Amy awoke with a start, as shouting filled her ears and she jumped at a sudden clash of metal on metal. The nobles have returned to take Raphael from me. Was her first thought, and she was right.

She opened her eyes, and saw a massacre unfolding. Six men had entered; one remained living. Raphael parried the thrust from his final attacker, and stabbed the man in the chest, stopping him in his tracks. "Fool." Raphael said simply, and withdrew the weapon from the man, who slumped to the ground.

Amy gasped at the damage Raphael inflicted on the men. One was missing an arm; another, a leg; a third had been decapitated, and the list went on. Raphael sighed, and said "I'm sorry. I should have known they would come back to Cepheus looking for me." A pause, then: "How much did you have the unfortunate timing to witness?"

"Just the last blow." Amy replied. "How many men have you fended off like this?"

"Dozens, and with each the Nobles grow more and more angered."

"We must leave." Amy said, and it was more a confirming statement than a question.

"Yes."

"Do you think they will be able to track us?"

"Not if my thinking is correct. My enemies are obscenely rich; they wouldn't let anyone, even those that do their dirty work, move about on foot."

Raphael and Amy quickly gathered their belongings and left the inn. "Then they had horses."

"Yes, and we can now use them since they won't be needing them anymore."

The scene she woke up to was conjured in her mind. "I had thought you must have been better at medicine than swordplay, given your seemingly endless knowledge of it; Now, I believe I was mistaken."

The two walked to six horses that were standing outside the building. "Can you ride?"

"No, I'm afraid I can't."

"Then you shall ride with me." Raphael lifted Amy onto a black steed, and then got on himself. "Hold on." He said, and then turned the horse towards the entrance to the town. "Hyah!"

The horse instantly started off at a gallop, and Amy held on to Raphael for dear life as they sped on.

---

The night went on, and the toll of an interrupted sleep was taken on both riders. "I feel as if I had weights on every part of me." Amy said, as she could feel her eyelids droop.

"It is the same for me. Here." With a freed hand, Raphael handed Amy a piece of Navras root. "We shall be at the mansion by morning, but I cannot bear to stop until we get there."

"I understand." Amy ate all of the root, and she started to feel better. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

They rode in silence for a while, and after what seemed like an eternity the sky started to lighten. At sunrise, a large mansion loomed off into the distance. "That is the residence you have spoken of?" Amy asked in a surprised tone. "It seems quite large for such an out-of-the-way place."

"I would have liked to ask the first owner if he ever entertained." Raphael said. "Does he do it often because of his mansion, or not at all because of his location?"

"A very good question." Amy said with a smile.

They arrived and Raphael got off the horse, and helped Amy get down herself. Then, before he could react, the horse whinnied, turned, and sprinted back the way it had come. "Odd." Raphael commented, concern in his expression. "As if it could feel something in this house that we can't."

"I hope not. Navras roots or not, my body longs for rest."

"As does mine." Raphael agreed, and they made their way into the mansion.

The foyer that greeted them did indeed look like four years had passed without an owner, as a thick layer of dust had collected everywhere but a few places. A musty smell permeated the air. "I can see why you do not worry about the owner's return." Amy commented.

"Yes, but now that it has another this simply shall not do." Raphael's noble blood came to the surface, as he ran a finger along a desk. "This is a deplorable state to live in."

"Agreed, but we aren't going to do anything about it without a good night's sleep."

"Of course." Raphael dusted his hands off before speaking again. "There are plenty of bedrooms, and more than a few still have bedclothes and other things in them. I'm sure we can find something to fir you."

Amy was puzzled by this, and as they walked up the stairs to the second level, commented "The more I learn about this house, the more it confuses me."

"I have not done much exploring around these halls, as I needed more than one herbal remedy to counteract various weaknesses I had picked up finding it. I was only here three days before leaving for Cepheus again."

"Weaknesses? You must have had a hard life running from your enemies, especially considering how easily you seemed to have dispatched those men."

"They were untrained soldiers, common swordsmen. No match for a noble. I have clashed with more trained assassins before, and more than once had to flee to save my own life." Raphpael came to a room. "This room should suffice for sleeping quarters." He opened the door, and Amy gasped at the sight.

The room was more a suite, with a high ceiling and many antique furnishings. The bed alone was a sight Amy had never seen, a four-poster that must have been half the size of her old room! "My goodness..." was all she could manage as she walked in, taking in the sight. "Suffice... one could live in this room and never need to come out!"

"I take it you have not seen many mansions in your life."

"No, this is the first I have been near, let alone inside... it's all so overwhelming..."

Raphael smiled at Amy's praise of her surroundings. "I will be in the room adjacent." Raphael turned to leave, but said over his shoulder "May your dreams be pleasant ones."

"Thank you, and may your tired body finally rest."

As the door closed, Amy walked to the closet and opened the door. The sight of many dresses, blouses, nightshirts, some so delicate Amy was almost afraid to touch them, greeted her. She selected a simple blue silk nightgown and put it on. "It feels like I'm wearing a cloud..." She commented, and went into bed. "All this is so beautiful and grand..."

Her body's cries for rest soon overrode everything else, and she fell asleep feeling as if nothing could ever go wrong in her life again.