Hello again (hopefully moderately sized fan-base). This is the second chapter of Fallen Kingdom. Like I said, every chapter with at least 10 good reviews will merit the posting of another chapter so here it is. Like the first chapter, this chapter has undergone a lot of changes in the time between writing it, typing it, and posting it, so enjoy :).

I don't know how long it was before I came to. I opened my eyes and noticed I was inside of a stone room. More precisely I was in a double bed with a red blanket under me. I tried to move a little, but soon realized that I had bruises all over my body. Besides, the bed was too comfortable to leave yet. I looked around the room to try to figure out where I was. The entire room was made of stone, but was well furnished. The room was rectangular, my bed being in one of the corners, a wooden door in the nearest corner. On the other side of the room were a workbench, a double chest, an oven, and some bookshelves. On the wall were some pictures, from small to medium sizes. Torches had been placed along the wall and gave off a cozy, warm glow of safety, as well as providing plenty of light. In fact, it was a little bit too much light, as I felt a headache begin to grow in the front of my head.

Eventually, I willed my body to move. First I moved my right leg off the bed. Then my left. I turned my whole body to face the side of the bed. I propped myself up with my elbows and worked my body up into a sitting position. As soon as I had mastered this, I bent over and put my hands on my head. I still couldn't remember who I was. I did have some vague memory of a woman. It was non-descript though, and I could in no way, pin it down.

I got up, my body feeling sore but strong. I stretched for a moment before hearing a soft humming coming from the other side of the door. I peeked out of the door to see a young woman carrying some stuff past my door to a workbench. There were small buckets of milk, pinches of sugar; small bunches of wheat, and an egg. She carried this in her arms, and while some of the stuff seemed to occupy the exact same space, none of it mixed. She placed these ingredients on the workbench and began to arrange the ingredients in a square. As soon as the last ingredient was placed, it all morphed together, and formed a cake leaving three small empty buckets. This processed looked odd, but felt natural.

I already had the door partially open, so I opened it the rest of the way and cleared my throat, as a way of informing my apparent caretaker that I was present. She didn't seem to hear me. Is she deaf I began to wonder. She turned from the workbench with the cake in her hands and began to walk to a table on the other side of the room. I cleared my throat again, louder this time. This time, the woman stopped in her tracks. I could see her muscles tense up. She slowly turned, but when she saw me, she relaxed.

"Oh, it's just you", she said, with a sigh of relief, "You had me scared for a moment". I wasn't able to say anything. I was too dumbfounded. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Then again, what did I know? I had no prior memory of anyone to compare her to so I'll describe her: She had strawberry blonde hair, pulled up into a pony tail that fell to her shoulders. Her eyes were green, and her face was fairly plain.

"I almost thought you wouldn't make it", she continued, "But I was hoping for the best so I went ahead and baked a cake in celebration".

"Celebration for what", I managed to say.

"Well for finding another living person", she answered as if I had asked the stupidest question possible. She even looked at me funny.

"Uh", I stalled for a moment, "what's your name"?

"Oh, I'm so sorry, where are my manners", she said, putting the cake down on the table, "I'm Mia". She extended her hand. I hesitated for a moment before putting my own hand out, and shook her hand.

"What's your name", she asked after an awkward pause.

"Um, I'm not exactly sure", I said. I searched my pocket again, but then I remembered that I had placed the map in my knapsack.

"You're…not sure", she asked, as if she hadn't heard me correctly.

"I'm not sure who I am", I confirmed, "or where I am, or anything else really".

"You've got amnesia", she asked.

"I guess that's about right", I agreed.

"Oh, well I suppose that's alright", she continued, "I'll just name you Steve. That was the name of my cat".

"Was", I asked.

"Yeah", she said in a melancholy voice, "I lost track of him about a year ago. At first I was hopeful but now…I'm not so sure".

"Oh", I said Now I'm named after a cat that may or may not be dead.

"So you don't remember anything", she asked.

"No, not really", I replied.

I paused for a minute to recollect something she had said earlier. Well for finding another person of course.

"You mentioned celebrating finding me because I was a person", I mentioned,"What's so important about that"?

"You're kidding right", she said, "Beside Earl, you're the only person I've seen in seven years".

"Seven years", I said in shock, "why"? She looked at me as if I were stupid, but only for a moment.

"I forgot that you don't remember anything", she said, "I'll explain it to you later, maybe tomorrow", she said, glancing at a clock on the wall. I noticed that the clock only displayed night and day. "Let's eat", she said. At the mention of food, my stomach rumbled so loud, she heard it. She looked at my mid-section and back at my face. I wiped at strand of drool off my face hoping she didn't see it. I'm pretty sure she did.

"We'll probably need a bit more than just cake to fill you up though", she continued. She walked over to a chest near the workbench and rummaged around. She pulled out a loaf of bread, an apple, a watermelon slice, and a pumpkin pie.

"Sorry for the lack of meat", she said, "I didn't cook any beforehand and I figure you want to eat now". She laid the food on the table. I grabbed the watermelon slice but she slapped my hand.

"I realize you're hungry, but first we pray", she said as firmly, but politely as possible. She said a short prayer in her soft voice, but I barely paid attention. I couldn't. The moment she amen, I dug in. I was a bit messy and noisy, but she didn't say anything. She ate quietly grinning occasionally. I suppose being the first human she's met in 5 years or so bought me some amnesty for my manners. As soon as I was finished, she brought me back to my room, informing me that she was just across the kitchen, in her room, if she was needed, and I was expected to be up early in the morning. I didn't question her. She had extended her house and food to me; I was more than willing to comply. I went to sleep quickly, and slept like a log, but my dreams…if you can call them that…were plagued by visions of a woman…but not my host. This woman had brown hair, green eyes, and prim look about her. Mia, despite her obvious attempts, had a dusty and worn look about her. Who was this mystery woman…and why was I the first human in five years…I could only wonder.

Same deal as usual. Leave a review. I will read it, don't worry. Every review means something to me.