"Where am I?" Amy repeated. This time the demand was directed to the figure that materialized with her new surroundings.
"You almost froze to death," the person began in Chinese. Amy had almost translated the phrase in her mind when she realized that the boy was pressed next to her near-naked body.
"Get away from me!" she shrieked. Her voice bounced off the walls of the small, fire-lit cave and rang in her ears. She threw off the blanket that covered both her and the stranger and rose to her feet.
"Who are you?" she continued in Chinese. "And I'll ask you again—where am I?" Amy still wore her undergarments, along with the wrappings that bound her chest flat. But she could not help wondering what might have happened to her if she had not awakened just then.
"My name is Tenzing. I found you after a particularly fierce blizzard and brought you back to the shelter I had used to weather out the storm," the boy explained matter-of-factly.
"You saved my life?" It was part question, part statement. "What about Souris?"
"I found no companions with you. I'm sorry."
"My mule," Amy explained.
"It… died. I had to kill it, you see, so that we both wouldn't starve. The blizzard not only forced me to abandon my hunting, but it also blocked off the passage back to the village. You'll have to take a long detour in order to reach permanent shelter, and there are few rabbits to hunt in that part." As Amy listened to Tenzing, she rubbed her bare thighs with her hands in an attempt to warm them. She understood now that he had removed her clothing in order to bring up her body temperature with his own body heat. And if he had not killed Souris….
"Oh, Souris," she mourned. The faithful mule had taken her this far, all the way from Italy. It seemed unfair that it should die now.
"Your clothes could be dry by now," Tenzing said, once more sounding apologetic as he hastened to dress himself. Amy glanced away from him, turning her attention to the fire near the entrance of the cave. Her clothes were spread flat in a semicircle around it, drawing upon the warmth of the flames to evaporate the moisture they contained. A spit roasting a great hunk of meat hung above the fire, filling the cave with a smoky aroma. She thought she would be sick.
"Je ne pense pas que je prendrai le petit déjeuner," Amy grumbled as she turned her back to Tenzing and began to dress herself.
"Suit yourself. If you don't have anything to eat, however, I doubt you will have the strength to make it to the village," Tenzing replied. Amy whirled around, her fingers clutching her shirt closed.
Parlez-vous français?" she demanded.
"Eh… un peu," Tenzing answered. He suddenly blushed and averted his eyes from her half-dressed figure, although he had lain next to her near-naked body only a few minutes ago. "I like to pick up what bits of other languages I can. Not many travelers come this way, however, so I don't have many opportunities," he continued in Chinese.
"Ah." Amy considered herself well accustomed with quite a few languages as well. It was part of the training that her father had imparted to her. "So, um, this village," she began as she pulled on her breeches. "Is it anywhere near a large gully? A ravine of some kind?"
"I have something to ask you first," Tenzing requested. So it is! Amy thought excitedly. Or, at least, he knows which place I mean—and that means he knows about the Soul Edge. How can I convince him to tell me the way to it? Will he be content to dissuade me by telling me that the sword is evil, or will he try to stop me with force when he realizes that I mean to retrieve it?
"Your name?" he asked, snapping Amy out of her excited reverie.
"Amy Micheline Raphaela Sorel," she replied. She had been born to the name Amy Gasquet, but her adoptive father had gifted her with her new name on her seventh birthday. She waited for Tenzing to say more, but he merely moved over to the fire and turned the spit of roasting mule meat.
"No," he finally answered. "The village of Kymiri lies in a valley." He seemed to grow uncomfortable. His shoulders tensed and he poked idly at the charred bed of the fire. Amy folded her arms across her chest and watched him in silence. As she watched, she could not help thinking that there were worse people to wake up next to. Tenzing was slight of stature, but he was still taller than her by a few centimeters. She had first thought of him as a boy because of his slim build, but she realized now that he was at least her age and probably a year or two older. His dark hair was pulled back into a tight, sleek braid that quivered with his nervous movements. His agitated posture also defined the muscles in his wiry arms. A hunter, yes, she thought. His village no doubt depends on him to help provide food during the winter. He mentioned that there is little game in the region, however, so he must be accustomed to traveling long distances in these mountains. Perhaps the Soul Edge is not so near as I would like it to be.
"Well, I am going to eat," Tenzing announced, breaking the silence. "I'll leave some for you in case you change your mind about breakfast, as well as any of the raw meat that you desire to carry with you."
"I don't want any of the raw flesh. You can take it to your village," Amy replied with distaste. Tenzing turned from the fire to look up at her.
"I'm not going to Kymiri," he said. He carved off a hunk of the cooked meat with a long blade and popped it into his mouth. Amy waited patiently for him to finish chewing.
"Where are you going, then?"
