Lionna was more than capable of handling wounds, as I found out quickly enough. Her recovery was far quicker than the most robust human being, allowing her to walk and run as fast as I do; and I haven't endured any movement-impairing injuries either. We walked slowly back towards Varrock, observing the stars in the beautiful clear night.

'Stars are beautiful, don't you think?' she mused, tracing invisible shapes in the air.

'Yeah…'

It became quite clear to me how attached she was to nature, to living things and inanimate alike. She caressed the leaves on trees and blades of grass, touching rocks with reverence each time she passed a boulder, almost as lovers would hold each others' hands and cuddle each other. I could almost assume that she drew her strength and power from this attachment, though the reason why I don't know; it was like…a mysterious link. Something others would never be able to understand fully.

The barbarian village appeared on the left of us as we passed some stone ruins. Its residents were reveling in a feast of some sort, dancing around a central fire and draining jugs of wine and glasses of beer in huge quantities. Not an appropriate sight for a guest from another dimension; the sight was quite disturbing, even for a person from a town nearby. Drunken men, muscular and brain-dead, weren't the friendliest of friends to women.

'Lionna, we'll try to sneak past them. They don't look too friendly,' I whisper to her, crouching under a wooden fence, 'Come on, let's go,'

'Alright,' she replied, sharp and alert. Perhaps this would be something she'd have seen before.

As we stole silently towards the road under the cover of shadows, several barbarians began to brawl loudly on the other side of the fence; it was the perfect opportunity to run, to get quickly to Varrock when—

'Hey, take a look here,' a large barbarian lout slurred, 'A pair of girls, trying to sneak away from us! Perfect entertainment. Adelino, grab them!'

'Run, Lionna!' I screamed, dashing towards the far side of the village, hoping to lose them under the cover of night.

It was a futile attempt.

A bear-like barbarian barred my way with a large axe, licking his lips intently. He held out his left hand as though to grab me, his mouth pursed in a kiss.

Sickening…

'Out of my way, bastards,'

Who said that…?! Lionna?

'Ooh, the pretty one likes to swear. This is more interesting…' a brutish one cackled, 'Let's get them,'

'Back away, before I bury these blades into your flesh,' Lionna growled coldly.

I whip around, seeing her twin short swords drawn out of their sheaths. She was twirling them so rapidly they were almost invisible; the men appeared stunned.

'I'll warn you once more. Back away, before you are slain,' she barked again, gripping the swords firmly.

'Hey, the bitch likes to insult us. Kill her!'

'Then, in the name of the Goddess of Light, I shall slay you all tonight! Death to all of you!'

Like a flash she had leaped over the fence, parrying blows and blades from all angles. She was just a blur of moving colour, slashing and stabbing without hesitation; the screams of the wounded and the sickening sounds of metal rending apart flesh filling the air. One by one the barbarians dropped, with deadly wounds in their chest or neck.

Blood was dripping from the tips of her swords. Sheathing them, she declared boldly, 'I shall defeat the rest of you with only my knives,'

Three more barbarians advanced on her with large two-handed swords, seeking to avenge their dead friends. There was no fear in Lionna's eyes as she drew out two daggers; only wrath. A fiery rage that cannot be matched even by the most powerful berserker in all be barbarian outposts and villages put together.

'Come, show me something,' Lionna challenged, crossing her daggers in a salute.

She deftly sidestepped the barbarians' ill-aimed swings, ducking and dodging their slashes with ease. Grunting, she thrust her daggers into the chest of the barbarian directly in front of her, mortally wounding him before launching herself at the neck of another. They were screaming in panic now, not in the thirst of revenge; only one was left, cowering on his knees.

'How shall I dispatch you, knave?' Lionna mocked, grasping his neck in an iron-fisted grip, 'You are not worthy of being slain by my blade. The very thought of sullying my sword on your blood sickens me,'

'M-Mercy!'

'Go. And don't bother us again,' she shouted, throwing the helpless barbarian a good distance, like a stone thrown from a sling.

'Let's go,' I said, tugging Lionna away from the carnage. Fifteen bodies lay on the cobbled ground, disfigured, some with limbs cleaved off; but in any case, all were dead.

It was strange how Lionna quickly reverted into her pensive and inattentive state, so different from the battle horror that I had seen. Nearly innocent, so peaceful. Almost like a carefree maiden. If a butterfly had hopped on her shoulder and she had been without armour, anyone would have said she was a princess of noble birth, graceful and calm.

Different. It was just too different.

I could not comprehend how someone could be…two people at once. One side a living whirlwind of destruction, the other a calm oasis of peace.

The Blue Moon Inn was rowdy as usual when we arrived; drunkards, pirates and thieves populating its seats. I weaved my way through the crowd; Lionna simply edged along the wall towards the bartender.

'Evening, Barty,' I said in my usual manner, 'How's things?'

'Helena! Where have you been?' he laughed, coming towards me with four glasses of beer in his hand, 'You haven't run into any trouble, have you?'

'Not in any case, Barty, you know I've got a knack for avoiding trouble,'

'Who's the fine girl at the side there? She's the most pretty thing I've seen in my whole life, bless Saradomin,'

'Ah, her?' I said, motioning to Lionna to come closer, 'Lionna Blackbird, a royal knight from another dimension. I went to the rune shop keeper to have a rune examined, and…well, I found her instead,'

'I see. Well, would you have a drink? And would your friend have one too, I should ask?'

'Three beers, Barty, that should do for the night. I wouldn't want to get drunk with a royal knight with me,' I grinned, 'Lionna, what drink would you like to have?'

'A glass of water please, I don't drink alcohol. I've never been tolerant of drinks,' she replied, eyeing the piano with interest.

'Here you go,' Barty said, banging three glasses of beer and one jug of water on the table, 'Could you tell us something about who you are? And where you came from? It would be just out of curiosity, of course,'

'Well,' Lionna began, sipping the water, 'As Helena had said before, I am a royal knight. I have been in service for over one thousand years, a knight dedicated to Eva, the goddess of light,'

'One thousand years. You must be joking, you aren't any more than twenty,'

'No, I am not jesting with you. How shall I prove it? Have you a target board somewhere? Then I may be able to show you that my marksmanship is beyond that of your finest archer,'

'Ah, another funny jest. Robin Hood! Come here with your bow, this lady claims she's better than you at your game,'

An archer dressed in all green approached the bar, holding a bow and a circular board painted with circles of different colours. Pinning up the board on the wooden post near the door, he stood by the bartender's table, his bow in hand.

'My greetings to you, lady,' he spoke to Lionna in his smooth accent, 'Tis a fine day to meet a beauty such as yours,'

'Thank you. So we are attempting to strike the centre of this board, I suppose?'

'You read my mind, lady. I was about to explain what you must do. Very well, I shall start,'

He picked up his bow, drawing back the string as far as it would go. I could see that his left eye was shut in concentration, seeing where the arrow would strike. Loosing the arrow, it struck the board with a bang; the bar fell silent.

'A golden shot,' I mutter under my breath, 'He's a brilliant archer,'

Four shots later, and there were four arrows on the golden middle circle. Only one landed in the outermost circle, and that was due to (when he cursed the fly) a fly landing on his nose. Lionna clapped along; her lips were curved in a smile.

'Allow me,' she said, stretching her arm to grasp the bow that was strapped to her back, picking up five arrows with the other hand. Murmurs ran through the crowd; they did not believe she could defeat Robin Hood. I personally doubted it; how could a warrior, dressed in full armour, shoot properly?

I was even more shocked when I saw her load all five arrows onto the string at the same time. Had she gone mad?

A split second later her fingers let the arrows loose. They sailed smoothly through the air, splitting Robin's arrows in two, the final one striking dead centre on the board.

'Well, Sir Robin, it appears you have lost,' Lionna smiled, strapping the bow back onto her back, looking at her stunned opponent, 'I congratulate you on your fine shooting,'

'Ah,' he stuttered, still in shock, 'Tis would be right for me to say that to you, my dear lady,'

'How'd she shoot like that,' the bartender whispered to me, 'Robin Hood's a master of archery, the best in these lands; to defeat him that badly…it is unthinkable!'

'She's told you; she's had over one thousand years of training!' I laughed, draining my last glass of beer. The bar resumed its normal cheerful attitude, its patrons drinking and talking as usual. Lionna resumed her seat at my side, gulping down her water.

'You're definitely well-trained, Lionna. So, could you tell us the story of your life? It would be a very interesting thing for us to hear,'

'Very well,' she said, gulping a mouthful of water, 'I was born in the Elven Fortress, in a time of war and chaos. Humans, dark elves and orcs rampaged all through the lands, driven to do so in desperation that they would never be able to see another summer. It was…the eternal winter. Or so the elders called it when I was born,'

She paused, straightening her hair.

'Elven lands were the main focus of this conquest, for it was still green and fertile at a time where all others were blanketed in snow and darkness. We were on the brink of defeat; most of the outlying families were either slain or driven back into the fortress, where we hoped to hold off the invading forces. Eventually it became clear to us that the greatest foe to be reckoned with on this battlefield was the Emperor of the Humans, Shunaiman. He wielded the power of the seven seals of the gods, to bend the minds of men to his will and to create discord and fear in all who stood in his way. With the angel Anakim at his side, none were able to even approach him without being killed,'

The bartender was listening intently, and so was I. This was beyond anything we had ever heard.

'In the year 1632 of our goddess Eva, the humans mounted the greatest offensive that we had ever seen. My mother, the chief templar dedicated to protecting the elven peoples and its lands, stood in the path of the invaders. Along with a group of the surviving sentinels of the forest, they battled on for hours on end. I was twenty-four years old at that time, trained little of how to fight and kill,'

She drew her two handed sword from its sheath, laying it down on the bar's table.

'This sword belonged to my mother before she sacrificed her body and soul to save the elven peoples. She barred the path of the invading forces at the central gate for half an hour, ignoring arrows and blades as she killed each human that surged through the gate. In the end, it was all in vain; she may have killed about five hundred humans, but she perished doing it. Most of the elves were captured by Emperor Shunaiman, who bound them in shackles and made them the humans' servants. I, however, was of different interest to him; he had me placed in the human army. For years I was to be trained how to handle pain, how to slay and kill efficiently with every weapon imaginable; for all those years my hatred for humans grew. My mother's sword was the reminder that I was the victim, not the blessed, as they assumed I was; her life was torn away from her body millennia before she would die a natural, peaceful death. I trained harder than ever, remembering that one day I may avenge her death by slaying all the descendants of Shunaiman,'

She paused again, gulping some more water. The bartender was still attentive, albeit shocked at her words.

'But that day was not yet to come. On the midsummer day of 1759, I was called into the great temple of Einhasad in the human capital of Aden. Better for me to have escaped and died that day; for what they have done back then still bothers me now,'

Lionna lifted off her breastplate, placing it on the empty seat beside her. She pulled down the leather armour beneath it slightly, revealing a tattoo of a black dragon just above her breasts.

'See this mark? It is their cruel experiment. I was chained down to a table as they experimented with a dye supposedly imbued with the ability to bring immortality to the bearer; however, my race already possessed the gift of immortality. This cruel experiment performed by them caused me to alter my physical abilities beyond that of any living human, orc or elf; I was granted strength more than that of the strongest orc, quickness beyond that of the fastest elf. My mind became more alert and I was more aware of everything that was going on,'

'Why would you call that a curse or even something bad, Lionna?' the bartender asked slowly, 'To be granted with such incredible abilities would be a blessing,'

'Ah,' she smiled, 'You have not yet heard at what price I gain these. At first I believed that this was a blessing, too. However, a few days later I learned that they used the blood of my betrothed, my mate and future husband, as well as the bones of my ancestors to create this dark and evil substance that now stains my skin. I was to be denied my right to have a soulmate for all eternity, to be left alone for the rest of my life. My mother was dead; my father died years before her. In fact, I am now alone; alone in a world I will never learn to trust,'

'You don't have any other living relatives…?' I asked tentatively, thinking that she was about to cry. There were tears in her eyes, I could see that; but her true feelings I'll never be able to tell behind that warmly false smile.

'No, I don't,' she sniffed, 'I'm all alone. My sister perished on the stake several years after that symbol was engraved onto my flesh; supposedly under the order of Shunaiman due to her insubordinance and treason against the empire. I, for one, do not believe that; my sister was a cleric, one who learns the holy arts of healing. Her duty to her people was that to heal them, not to cause further bloodshed in inciting violence. She took her sentence calmly and with dignity; and for further insult to me, Shunaiman ordered that I was to be chained to a tree opposite to her stake as she was burned alive!'

Lionna stopped, sobbing deeply into her hands. I patted her shoulder gingerly, not knowing if it was the right thing to do at that moment. Perhaps it would be better for her to stop and sleep for the night…

I leant over to the counter and whispered to Barty.

'Do you have any spare beds or rooms? My one isn't…ah…big enough for both of us,'

'I don't have any spare rooms, Helena, but I can lend you a spare mattress,' he replies, putting away a clean beer glass.

'That…should be fine,' I said, leading Lionna upstairs to calm her down. My room wasn't exactly one fit for a king, but it will do for now. It's a little cramped, with barely enough space to slot in an extra mattress.

I helped Lionna take off her heavy armour, sliding the pieces underneath my bed. There was barely enough space left underneath it as I forced in the last piece of leather undercoat.

'It's very nice of you to help me,' Lionna whispered, sitting down on the edge of my bed, her hands in her lap, 'Back from where I came from, humans would rarely ever sit with elves, let alone share a room. We were almost treated like animals,'

'No matter—'

I was taken back in surprise as Lionna forced her lips upon mine, kissing me lovingly. It was also the first time I had ever experienced caring or love; though not really the most comfortable.

'Lionna, it's getting late. Have a rest. Sleep on the bed,' I said, dragging in the mattress that Barty pulled out from the storage room opposite.

It was the first time I had ever shared a room with anyone…


And it's not that bad. At least I feel safe.

…

Maybe because I know she can cut any intruder into tiny little pieces…?

A/N

A chapter that I took a little longer to write about. It's difficult to write a story inside a story, using dialogue as a method of carrying it across; the part where Lionna retells the story of her life especially. I'd need a lot of advice on this one especially; I wasn't quite sure how people would take that.

Review please, with constructive criticism in mind. To become a better writer I must know what I'm doing wrong.