Here's chapter 2 :) Have a good read!

Chapter 2

Camp Jade

He immediately pushed me away. I stumbled backwards and fell back onto the ground. What is this guy's deal?

"You aren't one of them." He said. I thought I saw him shake his hand slightly, as if ridding it of invisible dirt, but I wasn't sure.

"Who…?" I was started to get more frustrated.

"Draehkim's."

"I… what?"

"You can come to the camp now." He turned and began walking away.

I sat on the ground a little longer, trying to figure out the conversation. I think he wants me to follow him? I stood up. He was walking hastily so I had to run to keep up with him. Once I found myself in stride with him, I wanted answers. "What's your name?"

"It doesn't matter." He responded gruffly.

"I would like to know the name of the man who first threatened my life… Then, saved my life," I was surprised at my own strength of my voice, "Now tell me your name."

The man walked silently for a couple minutes, so I gave up and walked silently.

"… Zephys." He murmured suddenly.

"What?" His voice caught me by surprise.

He didn't look at or speak to me again after that, throwing out all the courage I had to ask him another question. We walked silently for what seemed like hours. I was starting to get worried when it became dark. Is he actually bringing me somewhere? I thought fearfully. But soon, I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw the tips of tents appear just above some hedges. Zephys pulled back a branch to climb through to the camp and I followed slowly. However, while I was distracted, staring at my surroundings, he let go of the branch when he had reached the other side, causing it to slam back into my face.

"Oww…?" I pushed the branch forward and stepped through. The camp was under-whelming. Just four tents pitched up around what looked like the remnants of a fire. Without paying attention, I slammed into Zephys's back.

"Watch where you're going!" He turned around and snarled angrily at me.

"S-sorry…" Embarrassed, I felt my cheeks flush.

"Don't be so rude to the young lady!" A voice said.

I looked over and saw a man not much older than Zephys walking towards us. His brown hair reached far past his shoulders and flowed behind him almost majestically. In his eyes, I was relieved to see kindness, which was something I hadn't received from Zephys. He stood next to us, looking at Zephys expectantly.

"Well," he said finally, "I can't remember a time you brought a woman that you met back here to camp. Aren't you going to introduce me to your lady?"

Instantly, my I felt my face grow hot. I barely even know this man! "N-no… it's not—"

"I would never be interested in such a scrawny child." Zephys cut me off, showing no signs of embarrassment. He maintained his gaze with the man in front of us, not looking at me, and said, "Her name is Luna. I found her in the woods west of here."

"Oh!" The man looked at me, puzzled, "What was she doing there?"

"I—" I tried to speak up, but a sharp tone cut me off.

"She claims to have no memory." Zephys said, with a clear hint of doubt in his voice, adding a notable emphasis on the word 'claims'.

With that note, the man's gaze hardened. He looked at Zephys, who then in turn shook his head.

"No," he puffed crossly, "of course she's not a follower of Draehkim. Why would I have brought her back here?" He seemed annoyed that this man would even think that. Then, he continued, "I checked for the mark on the back of her neck."

"I see." The man's eyes looked calm again and he gave me a warm smile.

"And they were searching for her in order to kill her."

"What?" The brown haired man's eyes widened. His gaze alternated between Zephys and me. "Why would they do such a thing?"

"Who cares?" Zephys rolled his eyes, "they try to kill everyone."

"But such a lovely girl…?" His gaze locked with mine and I looked away, embarrassed by the compliment. I heard him chuckle and soon a hand slipped into mine. "Luna…" His green eyes gazed into mine, "Welcome to Camp Jade. My name is Kayif. It's a pleasure to meet you." I blushed as he brought my hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. He must have noticed my embarrassment because he grinned sweetly at me.

What a nice change of personality, I thought happily.

"She needs a place to stay for the night," Zephys grunted, "and then she'll be on her way tomorrow morning." He glared at me, sending shivers down my spine.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Kayif spoke instead, saying, "Luna can stay for as long as she desires. Clearly," he narrowed his eyes and looked at Zephys, "she needs our protection from Draehkim. Also, it is unacceptable to abandon a woman in need."

I let out a big sigh of relief as Zephys snorted in response. Maybe after a good night of sleep I'll be able to remember everything. "Thank you." I bowed to Kayif.

Zephys grunted and said, "Well, she's not sleeping in my tent." Then, he turned and stormed off, tearing open the curtain to his tent and vanishing. Jeez, what a grouch.

"Luna," when I heard his voice, I turned to look at Kayif, "you're welcome to sleep with me tonight."

"Wh-what?" I stammered, "I-I…"

I stopped talking as Kayif began to laugh. He threw an arm around my shoulder and said, "Nothing like that, dear Luna. You need a place to sleep tonight. I'm sure you're very confused."

I smiled at his kindness and nodded my head. "It's been a crazy day," I sighed, "I could barely remember my own name…"

"Looks like you have a serious case of amnesia," Kayif said worriedly, "but don't worry, I'm sure your memory will come back eventually." His arm dropped from my shoulder and he gestured to the largest tent at the camp. "That's where you'll sleep tonight. In the meantime, try to get comfortable. I'm sure the others will be returning sooner or later."

I was a little nervous to be meeting another residents of this camp. What if they were just like Zephys? Or maybe they'll be like Kayif, I thought hopefully. He was still standing beside me, so I turned to him and said, "Who is Draehkim?"

The question must have caught him by surprise and he looked at me, with an almost stunned expression. Then he looked up at the sky and said, "He's an evil man."

"Oh…" Descriptive, I thought to myself, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

"He leads an army of brainwashed swordsmen."

"Brainwashed?"

"Well," Kayif let out a forced laugh, "not technically 'brainwashed'. I hear he is quite the persuasive speaker. He can get almost anyone to do what he wants, even though it may seem ridiculous. People say he plans to conquer a portion of the tribes in the area… but I think he has an even more malicious goal in mind." He crossed his arms across his chest and looked deep in thought.

I stood there silently for a moment, but I still had so many questions, so I blurted out, "Where are we?"

Kayif turned back quickly to look at me. "Oh right," he smiled, "I had already forgotten about your amnesia. You're just so charming."

Embarrassed I turned away quickly, trying to hide my red face. He's so sweet, I thought, I've never had a man flirt with me this way… I think.

"Don't be shy," Kayif said, and then added slyly, "Though it is cute…"

"P-please…" I held my hands to my face, shaking my head, "You're embarrassing me!"

Kayif laughed and changed the subject. "We've set up camp in the forest far northwest of the central nation, Corinth. We're protecting various tribes from Draehkim's forces."

"Just this small group?" I said, aghast, "You'll get pulverized by an army!" I quickly covered my mouth with my hand, ashamed of what I said, but Kayif just laughed.

"One would think that…" he began to say.

"And that one would be wrong!" a voice called out. I looked over and saw two men climb through the hedges and into the camp clearing. One had snow-white hair, but he looked only a little older than myself. As he walked closer, I noticed a long scar reaching from between his eyebrows to his right jaw. Behind him was brown haired man, just a little shorter than his white-haired companion. He also had a scar, but his was three lines along his neck not unlike claw marks. When they stood near me, they all towered above me, including Kayif.

"My lady, you are quite a sight to behold," the brown haired man took my hand and dropped to one knee, "my name is Areck." I received a flirtatious wink from him as our eyes met.

"Oh…" I blinked, my face growing hot.

"I'm Heroth," the white haired one said, grabbing Areck on the shoulder and pulling him to his feet.

Kayif spoke before I had a chance, "This is Luna. She'll be staying under our protection for a while."

"Protection?" Areck tilted his head to the side.

"It seems that Draehkim's army has a special request for her death," Kayif responded blatantly, "So she falls under our jurisdiction. Zephys saved her from Draehkim's men in the forest."

Heroth and Areck exchanged glances and smirked. Then, they both began to laugh.

"Wh-what's so funny?" I asked, trying to get some confidence.

Areck looked at me and raised his eyebrows, "Zephys is not good at first impressions."

"Or second impressions." Heroth added and both of them started laughing again.

When their laughs subsided, Areck turned and looked at me, "So, Luna," he winked, "tell me about yourself."

"Well, I—"

"Luna has lost her memory." Kayif said, grabbing onto my arm.

"Oh, jeez," Areck's cheeks flushed slightly and his eyes moved elsewhere, "I'm sorry, that was rude."

"No, no," I tried my best to smile genuinely, "you didn't know."

"So, I guess that means I can make all new memories for you, hm?" He took a step towards me, bumping me with his elbow slightly. There was a snap of a hand against skin as Kayif's palm whipped against Areck's elbow. Like a small child being chastised, Areck dipped his head and took a step back, muttering an apology under his breath.

"Luna is tired," Kayif patted my head gently, "I think it's time for her to go to bed. You two have been out for a while as well… Get some rest." He placed his hand on my shoulder briefly, and then walked towards his tent.

I looked back at Areck and Heroth and they were whispering to each other. When they saw me staring, they turned and walked separate ways to their tents.

As I walked towards the tent, my eyes began to droop. I didn't realize how tired I really was until now. I was relieved to be able to get some sleep.

I'll put up chapter 3 soon! Any questions, feel free to ask! :) If I'm feeling nice, maybe I'll double update...