I awoke in a room I didn’t recognize. It smelled of sage and something I couldn’t quite place. I rolled over and buried my face in the pillow. Another day of mundane tasks and trying to fit in where I felt I didn’t belong. Funny I couldn’t remember what that was exactly. What did I normally do? I inhaled deep and realized the scent I couldn’t place came from the bedding. It smelled masculine and intoxicating. I rolled back over and looked at the celling. It had very lovely, exposed wood beams and plaster.
I guess it’s time to get up I thought as I rolled my feet over the edge of the bed. That’s when I noticed the bandages. Or was this cloth? How did I get hurt? I tried to think back to yesterday, but I got a sharp pain in my head and yelped in surprise. Just then the door flew open and someone entered. I held my head in my hands and could only see the feet of a man between my fingers. I was beginning to become scared. Where was I and who was I with? Tears sprung from my eyes as I felt so vulnerable. Somehow my instincts told me I couldn’t afford to be vulnerable.
“It would be best if you laid down. You were very hurt when I found you.” I jumped to my feet upon hearing this, ready to fight which only caused my injuries to hurt more. I didn’t know how I knew how to fight but I was grateful to have the muscle memory from wherever I came from. “Whoa, you’re okay. You’re safe here.” The man said in a deep but soothing tone. As if I were some injured mouse. “If you don’t lie down you are going to hurt yourself more. Really, I have no intentions of wounding you more than you already are. If I did, I would have left you to the bears in the woods.”
Bears? Woods? What is going on. I need to remember something. Anything. “AH!” I collapsed with my head in my hands and trembled. “W… where am I? Who are you?” I finally gathered courage from my growing anger and Glared into the eyes the man before me. “How did you find me?” I gracefully rose back to my feet, showing I didn’t need help. Though I should have probably just accepted that. I cannot be weak is all I could think.
“I am Fenrir. I live here in my woods with my,” he paused “my family. We found you lying on the edge of our territory, I mean, my land. You were bleeding and quite bruised up. Like you had gotten in a sword fight with no weapon. Do you not,” he paused again, “do you not remember? We were hoping you would be able to answer some of our questions.”
Sighing I saw a chair close to where I stand and softly but still not showing pain made my way to sit and get off my bandaged ankle. “No, no I don’t remember,” I said crossing my legs over one another and resting my hands on my knee. I need to show that I am in control. “If we are being honest with one another, I don’t even remember my name. All I have are feelings of how I need to be and that where I came from was,” this time I pushed and thought about how I needed to put this, “a matter of survival. You live from one day to another just trying to blend in. When confronted there is no running. You fight or you Die.” How I remembered that I don’t know, but the truth resonated in the depths of my soul.
The look in his eyes had changed as he listened to my words. He looked me up and down for a minute before finally saying through his teeth, “I will find you new clothes and some food.” Then, he was gone, and I was alone again.
I collapsed back in the chair and began to sob as quietly as possible. When I was done, I returned to bed hoping to find solace in my sleep.