Ehn

I woke up and found myself in a warm bed, an oxygen mask on my face. I couldn't remember a thing, most of my memory was a blank. A beautiful woman was sitting next to the bed. She wore a basic nurse uniform: dress, apron, cap and high heeled shoes.
"What... what happened?" I asked.
"Dom ral tiko vreshtanden," the woman said. I didn't understand what she said. "Akri yeni üky?"
"I... do not understand what you are saying," I replied.
The woman glared at me, then stood up and left the room without a word. Then, a few minutes later, she returned, with a girl next to her. The young girl was probably my age... if only I knew what age I was. I couldn't see her face, for it was covered with a gas mask. She wore a black dress with tights and strange gloves that went beyond the elbows.
"You only speak English, correct?" she asked.
"Y-yes," I stammered. I was slightly afraid of the girl.
"I see... I shall act as translator, then," she replied. "Noers Jratia?"
"Da wohl," the woman spoke. "Akri yeni üky?"
"The nurse would like to know if you are okay," the girl said.
"I... I think so," I replied. "I... I don't remember... anything..."
"You have amnesia?!" the girl exclaimed. She whispered to the nurse, who whispered something back. "She says you are to be put to sleep."
"What?"
"Ehsye urago tot estik!" the woman shouted.
"Tir wohl," the girl said. "Dom sor täkë kahro setru neh fro."
"Amun?"
"Da wohl." The nurse frowned and left the room. The girl sighed. "I hope that's a sign that she's not going to kill you," she muttered.
"K-kill me?!" I exclaimed. "What for?"
"For having amnesia," the girl said. "Here in Vewu Town, amnesiacs are executed in the gas chambers. I see the nurse left the medical papers here. Let's see..." The girl opened them up and read through them, then sighed.
"What?"
"It says here you were found unconscious on Revenue Street, from chlorine gas poisoning," the girl said. "Someone tried gassing you, wherever you come from. Apparently the only thing you had on you was a robe that was contaminated by the gas... it was disposed of, I'm afraid. Other than that... nothing else can be deciphered from your past. Now that you are awake, it is probably safe to discharge you right away. I shall talk to the head of staff. You'll be bored for a while, since you still have to stay in bed and such, so... sweet dreams." The girl pressed a button above my head. I didn't even notice it above me... slowly, I started feeling sleepy.
"What... is going on...?" I asked.
"You'll fall asleep soon," the girl answered. "You need the rest..."
With that, I closed my eyes and fell asleep.


An unknown amount of time went by when I heard a voice.
"Wake up, young Daphne," it said.
"Who are you?" I asked. "Who is Daphne?"
"I am your Guardian, Ginger Toriisha," the voice spoke. "And Daphne van der Rieu... is you."
"You know who I am?" I exclaimed. "Awesome!"
"I can not tell you about yourself, however, for the Guardian of the Prince and Princess of the Dragon Riders forbade me to tell you," the voice said. "Wake up. Open your eyes to the reality..."


I opened my eyes. The other girl stood there, her gas mask hanging around her neck by its straps. She had beautiful, sparkling green eyes and long brown hair, and she still wore the same clothes as before. She smiled.
"You're awake," she said. "My name is Kari Amaterasu."
"D-Daphne van der Rieu, apparently," I replied, the strange dream fresh in my memory.
"You remember?"
"Mm-mm," I answered. "I... dreamed it."
"I see," Kari replied. She frowned. "We have to get out of here, now."
"What? Why?"
"You're a human," Kari said. "And humans get eaten in this town."
"Aren't we all human?" I asked.
"No. Everyone in town are Inhumans."
"So... where to now?"
"To my birthplace," Kari said. "To... Seria Village, just north of here. The Forest of Bloa lies between the town and the village. But first, we gotta get to my home."
"And I can go, right?" I asked.
"Of course, you're discharged already," Kari replied. "Come on, get dressed!"
"Okay, okay," I said as Kari walked to the door. I got out of bed and found a nice red dress, with red elbow-length gloves and thigh-high stockings. I put that on, discarding the hospital gown I had worn. "Where's the shoes?"
"No shoes are allowed in this hospital," Kari replied. "You're finished, then?"
"Yes."
"Good. Let's go," Kari said. She opened the door and left, and I hurriedly followed her. We went down the elevator to the first floor.
"Ah, Kari!" a young man shouted as the doors opened. He had wings. I was surprised.
"What do you want, doctor?" she exclaimed as we stepped out.
"I heard from the boss that you are leaving with this girl?"
"Yes," Kari replied. "Daphne, this is doctor Falcon Time. He's an Aviaran, from the floating island of Verie. Falcon, this is Daphne van der Rieu, a... patient who is in my care so that she doesn't get killed."
"Nice to meet you," I said.
"Likewise," Falcon replied. "Listen, can we talk later, Kari?"
"Sorry, Daphne and I are going to Seria Village," Kari said.
"I see," Falcon said, disappointed. "Well, we can talk when you get back, right?"
"Yeah."
"See you later!" he said cheerfully, then he went in the elevator.
"Come on!" Kari said. We walked to the doors, and Kari took out a pair of red shoes from her bag and gave it to me. "Put those on." She took a pair of black high-heeled shoes from her bag and put them on as I put the red shoes on.
"Thank you," I said.
"Now, to Seria!" Kari exclaimed. We walked out of the hospital and walked to Kari's house. It was just across the street. As we entered, I remembered a question I had for her.
"What kind of gloves are those?" I asked.
"Huh? Oh, this?" Kari answered. "It's not a pair of gloves. It's glovetights."
"What?"
"Glovetights," Kari repeated. "It's like tights, only for the hands and upper body." I glared at her. "No, seriously."
"Well, it's still weird," I said.
"Relax," Kari said, grinning. "I'd ask you about your past, but we both know you can't answer it."
"Yeah, I know," I replied softly. Kari gave me a gas mask. "What--"
"Look, the Forest of Bloa has flowers that works like a potent sleeping gas," Kari said sternly. "The minute you inhale the scent, you'll fall asleep."
"Oh," I replied, putting it on as Kari put hers over her face. She then took two backpacks from a table and gave one to me. "What is this for?"
"We need to eat, don't we?" Kari said. "You're carrying the food and portable kitchen, and I'll carry the tent and other things I'm taking with me."
"Okay," I said, putting the bag on my back. It was surprisingly light. "But wait, if we're wearing these masks, then--"
"There's a force field around the tent," Kari said. "As long as we're inside the force field, the scent of those flowers can't affect us. Alright, are you ready to go through a forest full of monsters?"
"MONSTERS?!" I exclaimed.
"Nothing to worry about, just the everyday, garden-variety slime," Kari giggled. "I can easily take care of them."
"Okay," I muttered. I was too scared to ask. We left the house then walked north of the town center. I was now more worried than ever about what the future had in store for me...