What the hell? I blinked a few times but my vision remained blurred.  A heavy weight on my leg pressed down hard and I winced in pain. Whatever it was, it was hot and very heavy. I started to panic, my vision was still blurred – I could barely see – I felt bruised all over and the weather was not the same as it had been 2 minutes ago. I pushed myself into a sitting position, rubbed at my eyes and then reached to touch the heavy weight. My heart pounded against my ribs and I was terrified until my fingers touched Oz’s pelt. He didn’t move, he barely acknowledged me. I frowned and ran my fingers towards his head, I tickled his ear and he didn’t move that either. My heart started racing again, “Oz!” I whispered to my wolf-dog and shook him gently.
Without my eyes working properly I couldn’t tell if there was anything wrong with him. Oh no, please! I thought desperately, I pulled my leg as hard as I could and used my hands to lift his huge body. Finally I broke free and rubbed my eyes again, blinked a few times and my vision finally started to clear.

 I saw Oz lifeless on the floor and instinct kicked in. I leant down and rested my ear against his chest, put my fingers against his femoral artery and waited for a few seconds. Nothing. I reached into my pocket for my phone… it wasn’t there. The day was slowly getting darker so I quickly lifted up his muzzle lip and noticed the pale colour of his gums and I listened out for breathing. I heard short, quick, pained breaths, and almost calmed, but his heart still wasn’t beating.

 As he was already on his right side I didn’t need to move him, I placed both of my hands on the left side of his chest over where the heart is. I started quick chest compressions, counting to 100; I stopped and placed my ear on his chest again – nothing. I started the compressions, how long had we been laid like this? How long has his heart been in arrest? I felt my energy draining from whatever it was that had happened just before, everywhere was aching and tears started to blur my vision again, I blinked them away. “Come on!” I whispered, I was at 74 compressions when his body twitched and he sucked in a huge breath. I put my ear against his chest and heard a quiet steady beat, I laughed in elation and kissed him on the muzzle, he looked up at me with big faithful green eyes. He let out a low whimper and tried to stand, “No, baby, stay down.” I pushed him gently and he stayed still, his dark green eyes flicking around looking for danger.

I finally had a chance to look at my surroundings and I was more than shocked to find myself in the middle of the forest. “What the…?” I was currently knelt on a damp, mossy floor, and surrounded by a canopy of trees, some of them covered in ivy, some covered in moss, some of them bare. I stood slowly and winced – I definitely had a sprained ankle. I noticed a few feet to my left, a dirt road, well-worn in to the forest floor. That had me on edge. I was somewhere unknown on the edge of a well-used road, with an injured dog, and no way to protect either of us other than with my injured body. I shifted my jacket off my shoulders and fanned myself with my hand, even though it was the evening it still felt around 20 degrees and really, really humid.

Was I dreaming? A weird dream to have, even for myself. Never have I dreamt this vividly to feel the heat… or the pain. I frowned and walked back to sit next to Ozzy, I stroked his fur gently and told him it would be okay, though sure he could hear the rapid beating of my heart and see the panicked expression on my face. I gave him a quick health check, counted for what I thought was a minute… without a clock or a phone to time myself, it felt useless, still everything seemed to be about right. This time when he tried, I let him stand on his shaky legs. He scanned the area with his eyes and nose, he seemed happy and reclined down next to me again. I laid out next to him staring at the stars, tears in my eyes. I couldn’t for a moment comprehend what was happening, how could I have been in one place one moment and then wake up in another? Definitely a dream, I thought and closed my eyes, maybe I would wake up at home… maybe I was in a coma from a horrific accident and I would wake up surrounded by tubes and beeping machines. Maybe something hadn’t gone wrong and I’d be safe. I could only hope.

“Bronwyn! Come on, attack me.” Jonathon shouts, and positions himself in a defensive position. I smile and take a step forward – two hits to the face, one to the chest and a leg swipe, he jumps and jabs my stomach then blocks my next two attacks. “Come on!” He grills me, “you fight like a little girl.” It works. It always works. I vowed to myself never to be over-powered ever again. And I never will. I would fight until my very last breath if I had to. Taking three classes a week has taught me how to strengthen my body and mind, taught me control and most of all, how to fight. Kickboxing is my newest craze and I love it, nearly at the end of my training in jujitsu I had to find something new. And I’m glad I did. I throw another few punches towards my personal trainer with determination and I hit my mark with satisfaction, my jujitsu classes give me a head start but are still much different to kickboxing. Without warning his right leg flies out towards my chest and knocks me to my back. “Hit the showers. You’re done today.”

Growling woke me, “Shh, Oz, calm.” And he did but that only allowed me to hear a sound – hooves thundering our way. I jumped up and scanned the area, no sight so far.  “Come.” I whisper to Oz and he follows me to nearby shrubbery for cover. It didn’t take long for them to come into sight. There were eight horses with eight riders, all seemed to be in old style leather clothes with sigils on the front right breast, and sigils on the two banners that were being carried. I watched them closely, three of the men were of an older generation, white beards and heavily lined faces under their hats two of these older men were carrying the banners. The other five men seemed middle or just below middle-aged, three of them had thick black beards, one clean shaven and the final two had a brown shadow around their jaws. Either dirt or the beginnings of a beard. All of them wearing the same thing, all with shields and swords on their backs. I frowned as I waited for them to pass but they stopped.

My heart jumped into my throat and I gasped as a cracking twig sounded behind me. I turned and stood at the same time, Oz was snarling and his hackles were raised. The man that was now staring at me held his hand up, palm facing towards the riders and I glanced back to see two bows were drawn and pointing at me and a third pointing at Oz. I looked back at this stranger before me and noticed no armour or shield, simply a leather jacket, but without the sleeves and his long thick arms were proudly on show. He wore loose leather trousers and boots. I was too busy staring at his strange clothing that I forgot to look at his face.
“It is rude to not meet someone’s eye when you first meet them.” His voice was hypnotic, deep and velvety. Now, I met his eyes and noticed that they were amber with flecks of emerald, his face had hard lines, strong jaw, and smooth skin. He was at least six-foot three and had lovely sun-browned skin and long brown hair.  He looked very dangerous and brooding, but very beautiful “it is also rude to not shut that mutt up. Trust me my Lady, I might kill it.” 
“Don’t threaten him.” I heard myself say harshly. Obviously he wasn’t expecting it either and he took a step towards me which in turn made Oz take a step towards him, growling even louder.
His amber eyes flicked between him and me, “There are eight warriors behind you, three of them ready with bows. They will not hesitate if that wolf takes one more step.” His eyes bore into mine and I gave in.
“Oz.” I said sternly and clicked my fingers, instantly he came to my side and sat down obediently, I found myself uselessly saying, “and, he isn’t fully a wolf. He is a wolf-dog.” Although he could sure pass for a wolf, he was huge, at eight months old, when he stood on all fours, he was at my hip, and he finally stopped growing at waist high. I rested my hand on his head to give him praise.  “Who are you?” I asked.
The strangers head tilted ever so slightly and his eyes ran up and down my body. “I think the question should be who are you? You are in our lands, with a dangerous animal, dressed like…” he frowned, “like nothing I’ve ever seen before. And you think you have the power here?” He took another step forward, “so little Lady, who are you?”
I considered not answering. I considered running. But my efforts would be wasted by the bows behind me and by the impatience of this man in front of me. I cleared my throat, “my name’s Bronwyn Fraiser.”
He smiled and bowed, “How very nice to meet you Lady Bronwyn.”
“Oh...” I stared at him like an idiot with a goldfish-like expression. “Umm.” I pursed my lips and an unexpected giggle burst out. He looked a little insulted, “I’m sorry I’m not used to,” I gestured at him, “this, bowing. I’m not exactly sure where I am, and I haven’t eaten for a while, I’m a bit giddy.”
“Giddy?” He repeated with a frown.
“Yes. Giddy.” Did he want me to explain it? He gave me a perplexed look and shook his head.
“Alright then Lady Bronwyn, now I shall answer your question. I am Kyrillos Adamantos Kanaris, and you are in the forest of Kalamirys , and overall, the land of Ziyuria.”
“Right, well… if you don’t mind, I must be on my way.” Where to? I had no idea. I went to walk away but he was suddenly in towering over me,
“I am afraid you will have to come with us Lady Bronwyn.”
“I’m not a Lady, and I can look after myself.”
He sneered, “Of course you can, now, come.” He grabbed hold of my arm and instinct took over, my hand grabbed hold of his and twisted, pushing the pressure point. He grimaced in pain momentarily before reaching out with his other hand and crushing mine. Oz began snarling again and I yelped in pain,
“I give!” I relaxed and he let go, “I’m sorry Sir, it was a reflex action.” I patted Oz on the head and he calmed again, “Sorry” I repeated.
“You are a feisty one aren’t you?” I couldn’t tell if the look he gave me was approval or patronising. “Now get on my horse and let us go from here.”  He nodded towards a huge tan stallion that had black around his nose and ankles. A simple saddle was thrown other his back and strapped underneath. Was he joking? One, the horse looked about 17 hands high, and two, that was most definitely not a two person saddle. It barely looked stable enough for one person.  It seemed my new… captor? Acquaintance? Whatever, didn’t have any patience and he reached out to grab me. I jumped backwards and tried to warn him with my eyes.
“Please,” I whispered, “don’t surprise me like that, don’t touch me so suddenly.” I looked away from his eyes.
“Sorry My Lady.” He came forward slowly, “May I lay my hands on you only to lift you onto Silvanos’ back?” I nodded and it was over quick enough, “may I get onto the saddle behind you?” I smiled and nodded.
“Is Oz allowed to come?”
“Yes. Keep him under control.” Was the stern reply I got.
I looked at my faithful friend, “heel,” I said as the horse began in a trot.
Kyrillos tried his best not to touch me, bless him. I didn’t mean to be like that but, all my defences were up. All the time.
“So, tell me,” his rich voice interrupted my thoughts, “What kind of name is Oz?” he sniggered. His moods seemed to shift constantly.
I frowned, “It’s short for Ozymandias. I saw it in a book I read once and loved it straight away.” I shrugged my shoulders, “it isn’t such a strange name where I’m from.”
“Where are you from?” he asked, his arm brushed mine gently as he steered Silvanos to the right.
“I’m confident you wouldn’t know even if I told you.” Absolutely confident that he wouldn’t know. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with me, if I was ill, in shock or just plain astounded, but I wasn’t thinking about anything but where we were going. Not once did I feel afraid- nervous maybe – but not afraid.
He grunted in my ear, “If you say so.”
“What kind of name is Kyrillos?” I narrowed my eyes and looked back at him,
“One of my lands, the land you know nothing about.” He had me there. “And what about Bronwyn? That is stranger than Oz.”
“Is this all we’re going to talk about? How weird names sound? It’s just my name.”
He chuckled knowing he was starting to irritate me.

We rode in silence for what seemed like forever, the day began to get darker and I started to feel hungrier. As we rode I noticed that the guards had a strong bond, they were not formal even though they had a formal appearance, but they joked with each other like best friends – even Kyrillos joined in.
As I listened I learned their names, one of the older men, he had a white beard with flecks of ginger and freckles on his face, his name is Marcello; the one with the grey beard and black sideburns is called Galvan; the third older man with the white beard that was braided is called Maciej. The clean shaven man was the youngest of the group and often called ‘the baby’ but his name is Milos; the two men with the black beards are twins called Tanek (the skinniest of the two) and Tasos; and finally the two men who did actually have the remnants of beards, one called Orion he has a broken looking nose, and Brogan, his face was really flat, like a pug. They all had the same lilt in the accent, it reminded me of the Italian accent.
“We should be within the city walls in a day, we should find camp for tonight.” Kyrillos nodded at his warriors and they sped ahead, only Milos stayed behind.
“So, are these men here to protect you?” Both men looked at me, and then burst out laughing,
“Yes, Kyrillos, do not stray! I need to protect you from wild things!” Milos sniggered and smacked Kyrillos’ back.
He laughed in return and said to me, “do not boost their ego Bronwyn, it is hard enough putting up with them now.”
“Oh... what are they here for then?”
“We were sent on a mission, this mission required all nine of us.”
“Can I ask about the mission?” I looked at Milos but he was shaking his head.
“Of course you cannot!” Kyrillos exclaimed, “It is warrior business only.”
I raised my eyebrows, touchy. I saw Milos in the corner of my eye silently laughing again. Finally Marcello came galloping toward us,
“we found a clearing, Kyrillos, Galvan is starting a fire and Tanek and Tasos are hunting for food.” My stomach growled loudly at the prospect of food, all men looked at me with a slight frown and then Marcello carried on, “If you will follow me,” he finished.

We followed him for no more than 15 minutes at a steady trot before we veered to the left through the bushes and came to a circular area that was mostly mud with patches of grass. Galvan had the fire started and was collecting wood for the fire; Orion and Brogan were carrying large logs for us to sit on. Kyrillos stopped Silvanos, jumped off and walked away, I eyed his retreating figure and then stared at the floor that was 17-plus hands away from me. I swung my leg over and got ready to jump when Silvanos bent forward and laid down, I smiled and slid off. He stood and I stroked his muzzle gently, “Thank you handsome.” He blew hot air in my face and nudged me gently.
“He does not usually react that well to other people, let alone recline for them to dismount,” Kyrillos said from behind me. I looked back at him and he was watching me intently with his arms folded.
I kept stroking Silvanos’ nose and looked into his eyes, he nickered gently and nudged me again I giggled and gave him a quick kiss before turning toward the fire.
I looked at Kyrillos, “I have always been an animal person, I sometimes prefer them to humans. They are truer than humans.” I sat down on a log and Oz rested his head on my knees, I rubbed his ears and stared into the fire.
Milos sat next to me, “Here my Lady, drink this.” He handed me a leather-pouchy thing.
I frowned, “what are these called again?” I uncorked it.
“Wineskin my Lady.”
“Oh, I don’t like wine.” I put the cork back in.
He smiled and handed me another one, “There you go, that is water. Yet it is still is called a wineskin” he chuckled.
“Thanks,” I took a long drink and handed it back, it wasn’t very cool, but I was gagging for a drink.
He put it down next to my feet, “You have a very strange way of talking, if you do not mind me saying, you seem to shorten words, and use some words I have not heard before.” He smiled a small smile, “And your clothes are very odd.”
I looked down at myself, I was in light blue skinny jeans and a long knitted jumper and ankle boots, I had left my jacket in the clearing last night. “It’s quite normal where I’m from, and it was coming up to winter, so you can imagine, I am quite hot.” I smiled.
He nodded and looked deep in thought for a moment, “where is it you are from?”
I sighed, “I don’t think you’d know it if I told you.”
He nodded, “I see. How long have you owned your dog for?” He held out his hand and looked at me questioningly, “May I?” I studied his face quickly before I answered, his expression was warm and he had slightly tanned skin with dark brown hair. His eyes were a pretty shade of blue his face was nicely sculptured but with traces of puppy fat in his cheeks hiding his high cheekbones, he couldn’t be much older than I was.
I smiled, “of course, Ozzy, come this side,” I said gently, he lifted his huge body and came around to my left side, Milos looked a little intimidated by his size. “Don’t worry; he’s lovely unless you threaten me.”
Milos rubbed his head and Oz looked up at him, “Hello,” Milos said with a grin, Oz got a little too excited and jumped up at Milos, his paws were against Milos’ shoulders and he licked at his face. Milos laughed aloud, “not too scary are you boy?” His tail was wagging and he woofed gently.
“Get down now Oz,” I laughed. I pulled him away and he went running around the campfire. “You’ve made a friend for life now, he doesn’t like certain people, but he likes you, he might even protect you.” I shrugged my shoulders. “He’s a good protector.”  I watched as the twins came back with two rabbits and a deer. I was so hungry my mouth started to water as I watched them skinning them.
“How long have you owned him?” Milos asked again.
“Since he was 7 weeks old, he’s just over three years old now.” I smiled at the memory, “He was a gift.” For the first time since last night I felt like shit and tears welled up in my eyes knowing that if I couldn’t find a way home, I’d never see my family or friends ever again. My mother, dark brown hair, glasses, short – only five foot – funny, and my dad, tall and lanky, almost black hair, caring. They both offset each other’s personalities and fit each other well. I didn’t want to leave them. I know 19 is an age most children leave their parents before that but I was really close to them, tears sprang into my eyes and rolled down my face, Oz came to comfort me.
“Are you well my Lady?” Milos looked like any other man when a woman was crying – lost.
I nodded and wiped my eyes, “Yes, I’ll be fine. And please, call me Bronwyn.” The smell of meat cooking invaded my senses and I looked expectantly at the fire, the meat was browning off nicely. I stood and went towards the twins, “Hi,” I smiled, “Do you have any leftover meat and bones that I could have?” They looked at each other with a frown and I carried on, “It’s for my dog, it’s better for him to have raw meat.”
“Yes my Lady, we have some bones and the skin if that is good enough?” he gestured to a pile of leftovers, it wasn’t really enough but it would do.
“Thank you, and please, call me Bronwyn,” I said again. This ‘my Lady’ nonsense was driving me mad. They just nodded and went back to the meat. I picked up the small pile of scraps and called Oz over, he had no trouble tucking into them.

After we ate, Milos and Kyrillos put up some shelter for me to sleep in. I thanked them and sank down to the floor. I was about to lie down when I heard a throat clear behind me, I turned to see Kyrillos towering in the doorway, I had begun to decide he was more like 6 foot 7. Huge. And I noticed two scars on his right arm.
“I hope you sleep well Lady Bronwyn.”
I sighed heavily, “Just Bronwyn. Please. I’m tired of repeating myself, could you inform your men to scratch the Lady bit?”
“Scratch it?”
I smiled, “Stop using it when referring to me. I’m not a Lady.”
He nodded, “Alright then. I shall wake you at first light.” He started to bow, stopped and then left, closing the flap behind him. 

“Happy Birthday!!” My mum and dad burst into my room smiling, my 16^th birthday has finally arrived. I sit up smiling and hug them both, they sit on the end of my bed and hand me presents, a ring, a pair of earrings, some new clothes and a few films.
“Thank you so much.” I smile, happy with my new things.
“That’s not it!” My dad laughs and goes into the hall, coming back with a huge box, I hear a rustle inside and I notice holes in the top, my heart beats faster in excitement. He places the box in front of me and both of them hold up a camera. I open the box and my new puppy jumps out at me, licking my face and whining, he makes me giggle and I pull him out. “He’s a wolf dog,” my dad explains, “he is completely yours to train and take care of, we won’t interfere.” I throw my arms around his neck, then mums’.
“Oh my God! Thank you so much!!” my gorgeous little puppy whines for attention and I tickle his chin and throw some names his way but he doesn’t respond until, “Oz?” He looks up and his ears perk up, that’s his name then. Oz, short for Ozymandias.

I woke suddenly and blinked away tears, I blew out a breath and sat up. It was still dark outside but I didn’t want to sleep anymore, I stood up and opened the flap to my makeshift tent and Oz went running ahead of me. I looked around our campsite, the fire was only smoking embers now and the men were all around, sleeping soundly. I crept past them all and followed Oz through the trees.
He led me away from the road and deeper into the forest. “Stay close Oz!” I called out; he glanced back but didn’t come any closer, although he did stay where I could see him.  I smiled confidently, I knew he was just exploring and probably hunting for a better meal, I just didn’t want any arrows to fly his way. We walked for a while and the sun still wasn’t up. I breathed in the fresh air – now I really knew what fresh air smelt like, it was so much different to car fumes and all the stuff from the my world. I sighed, I felt sad but happy that I was here. How long had I wanted something different from the boring old, and scary life like I had on earth? How long had I wanted an adventure? Since I can remember.  I stopped and looked around in a panic, I couldn’t see Oz, “Oz?” I called and waited for a few seconds, nothing. I called again and walked forward a little quicker scanning the forest but I couldn’t see him anywhere.

A hand grabbed me from behind and I yelped, “what’s a pretty little thing like you doing out here all on yer own makin’ a racket like that?”  I looked at the man holding my arm, his skin was all scaly and dirty, he had no hair but his scraggly beard was down past his shoulders, he wasn’t crippled but he bent over at his waist as if to make himself a smaller target or something.
“Let go,” I said harshly, “I don’t want to hurt an old man.”
He raised his eyebrows and stood up straight thinking that would deter me, “Yer a little too confident in yerself ain’t yer?” He got closer to me. I lashed out with my free arm and punched him square in the face, his hand fell from my arm and I did a quick leg swipe and he fell to the ground. I stood staring down at him, then I turned and took a few steps away, he jumped up quickly and wrapped his arms around my neck and applied pressure cutting off my air supply and his other hand snaked around to the button of my jeans. I remembered my easy self-defence training.  I elbowed him in the solar plexus, stamped hard on his instep, back handed him in the nose and then spun and knee-d him in the groin. He fell to the floor howling in pain and I gave him a good kick in the stomach, that’s when Oz decided to show, snarling.

I frowned, “you’re a bit late!” he looked up at me and grunted in response. The man on the floor tried to move and Oz snarled and snapped in his face, the man whimpered and moved backwards. I looked at him with a patronising look, “Now, didn’t I tell you to let me go?”
He nodded and whimpered again, “Sorry M’Lady, I’ll never touch you again. Please make the wolf move!” He glanced at Oz who was still snapping at his face.
“No, I really don’t think I will.”
“Bronwyn.” I heard from behind me, I turned to see Kyrillos with his arms folded, watching me.
“He attacked me. He deserved it.”
“Are you going to kill him?”
This question surprised me, I wasn’t expecting it, “No… I wasn’t planning on it.” I nibbled my lip.
“You want to risk him coming back for you?”
“I won’t, I won’t!” the man cried.
“Shut up!” I said with exasperation and looked back at Kyrillos, “I’m not a killer.”
He walked towards me slowly, “I might not know where you are from but I know this land. And you may not like it but sometimes it is good to be a killer. It saves lives, what if he went after another young girl that didn’t know how to fight?” He stopped about a foot away from me and glanced down at the bleeding face of the man on the floor. “He needs to die.”
“Can’t we chuck him in prison and let him rot?” I asked.
Kyrillos shook his head, “Kill him.” He handed me his sword and I thought my arm might drop off, it was so damned heavy.
I turned at stared at the whimpering man on the floor, I could barely lift the sword, let alone strike a man. He stared back up at me, a pleading look in his eyes.
“Oz,” Kyrillos said but the dog didn’t listen, “Oz!”
“He won’t listen to you.” The sun was starting to come up now, “what are you calling him for?”
“I was going to see if he knew the kill command. It might be useful.
“I’m not getting him to do that!” I exclaimed, “And you can do this yourself.” I shoved the handle of the sword into his chest and stared him at angrily.
“Fine.” He lunged forward and stuck the sword through the man’s neck, “watch.” He said sternly. I had kept my eyes on Kyrillos but now I turned and watched the man’s lifeblood gushing from his body, his body was convulsing and his face contorted in pain.  I clicked my fingers to get Oz to move away from the blood. I could see Kyrillos watching me watching death, monitoring my reaction. I watched until his eyes stopped fluttering and when there seemed to be no more blood left to spill out. I turned my eyes back on Kyrillos,
“happy?”
“No.”
“And why not?” I asked angrily.
“I did not see any pain on your face, any guilt. Nothing.”
I shrugged my shoulders, “I’m not scared of death, my own or other peoples. I just never wanted to be the one to deliver it. I’m not a murderer.”
“That will have to change.” We stood there for a few moments glaring at each other until I gave in and started to walk away, “you are walking the wrong way Bronwyn.” How. Embarrassing.
I turned and looked at him again, he was pointing in the opposite direction, “Thanks,” I said stubbornly and stormed off in that direction, Oz on my heels.  I heard Kyrillos chuckling. Douche.

When I got back to the camp all of the men had packed things away and were waiting for us, Milos came over and gave me the water pouch, “thank you.” I smiled, drank and handed it back. I walked over Silvanos and he lowered himself again for me to climb on all, of the men stared at me, their eyes wide. I sighed, “What?”
Kyrillos jumped on behind me, “Like I said last night Bronwyn, Silvanos does not do anything like that for anyone.” He whistled and we started moving toward the road, we didn’t trot today, we stayed at a steady walk. “The men have been mistreated by Silvanos before, bitten and barged out of the way.” he chuckled, “before he grew to like me, he gave me a good scar on my leg.” He smacked the horses rump and Silvanos nodded his big head up and down in reply.
I stroked his neck, “maybe he just prefers women?” I suggested.
He chuckled, “Well he is a male.” I rolled my eyes. “Here, take the reins, I wish to walk a while.” He pulled the beauty to a stop placed the reins in my hand and jumped down.
I relaxed and slid back into the saddle, I was in the centre of the group today, I had Tanek and Tasos either side of me each of them whistling a happy tune, Marcello, Maciej and Galvan were in front of me and Orion, Brogan and Milos behind me. Orion and Brogan looked extremely grumpy so I avoided their eye contact.
I smiled at Tanek, “do you speak another language here?” I asked.
Both he and his brother stopped whistling, “We used to,” Tanek began, “but that is the old language – our heritage language, now, we speak the common tongue.”
Tasos continued, “the common tongue was introduced to these lands over six hundred years ago by travellers that decided to settle here, we then adopted this language, yet still use the names of the old language.”
Tanek chimed in again, “the common tongue eventually became our native language because the old language was much, much harder to understand, and read. We keep the names for tradition, there are very few people who still speak it.”
I nodded, “so the forest of…” I thought hard to remember the name.
“Kalamirys.” Tasos smiled, “It means forest of the unknown. There have been many myths to have come from this forest, many tales. None that have been proven, but the murders speak for themselves.” He grinned and I couldn’t help but grin back at him. It made me wonder if I should have been walking alone this morning, or if all the murders had been committed by older wild men like that from earlier.
“And the land of Ziyuria,” Tanek smiled, “the land of the free. Even though we have a ruler, he is very partial to our way of life, he sets rules and acts when it is necessary. He is very old and wise; he needs protection from enemies that want to over throw him to rule the lands as their own.”
“So you guys protect him?”
“Yes, perhaps when we get to the city we can show you a map of the lands.” Tasos smiled.
“That would be great, thank you!” I smiled.

We sat in silence for quite a while, thoughts were mulling around in my head, trying to remember those two names and remember what I had been told. Eventually, like always, I got bored. I sighed heavily and looked at them all – today they were silent too. I frowned and thought of a way to spice up the day. I grinned, “Who wants a race?”
“A race my… Bronwyn?” Milos asked from behind.
I sighed, they didn’t know what a race was? “It is a competition, where there is a start line and a finish line, the first person to reach the finish line is the winner.”
“And what will he win?” Kyrillos for once seemed interested.
“Erm, whatever is bet or announced as a prize. So for instance I could say, Hey Milos, I will race you to…” I noticed a break in the trees further down the road, “the break in those trees,” I pointed, “And if you win I will give you …this” I pulled out my silver lapis lazuli necklace, “What would you give me if I win?”
They all seemed interested and all eyes turned to Milos, “Well, Bronwyn I could offer you two coins of our land.”
“Alright then, is someone going to start us off?” I pulled Silvanos to a stop, and looked at Kyrillos, “you can do it.” I nodded once and looked at all the men and said, “You guys all need to move behind us and me and Milos should stand either side of the road.” We all moved into position. Brogan looked bored as always.
Kyrillos stood between us, “like this?”
“Yes,” I nodded, “Count down from three,” I looked at Milos, “On one, we start in a gallop, do you need a practise first?”
Milos scoffed, “Of course I do not!”
“Okay then…” I grinned and leant forward, Milos stayed sat up straight, I whispered into Silvanos’ ear, “When I kick, go straight into a gallop.” He whinnied and kicked his back foot, Kyrillos eyed me with a wry smile.
“Three…Two…” Milos was still sitting straight, not readying his horse. “One!” Kyrillos shouted and I kicked my heels into Silvanos and he lurched forward. I saw in my peripheral vision that I definitely had a good head start on Milos and I heard the men already laughing. I grinned and thundered down the road and entered the clearing, Silvanos had slowed to a quick trot by the time Milos broke into the clearing. He looked embarrassed. I laughed and kept Silvanos moving.

A shout from far away sounded suddenly and I looked at Milos, he began waving his arms in, what looked like, a ‘no’ signal. Panic was all over his face and he began coming towards me. I turned Silvanos and it happened so fast I barely had time to move. An arrow pierced my right shoulder and ripped me from Silvanos, I cried out in pain. The other men came rushing out of the forest, Oz in front of them all. Kyrillos scooped me up into his arms and shouted at Milos,
“What happened?” I heard real anger in his voice.
“The watchmen thought I was chasing her, they called out, but I did not hear what was said, they ignored my signals.” He hung his head in shame.
I was shaking, my whole body felt damp and sweaty, tears sprang into my eyes but I didn’t cry, I held it back. Oz was snarling into the distance and I watched him pace in front of me, I whimpered hoping he didn’t get shot either. In all honesty I’d never had any major injury happen to me, maybe one or two broken bones – but not an arrow in the shoulder! My reaction wasn’t good. The pain was excruciating and every small movement hurt, my shoulder felt heavy and soaking wet. Surely that wasn’t all sweat? I looked down at my belly and noticed that my jumper was soaking up lots of red stuff. I frowned. Oh yeah, blood, I thought to myself and looked back at Oz. Then I vomited. Now my head was starting to feel heavy, and blood was dribbling down my arm.
A strong hand turned my head and amber eyes bore into mine, “Bronwyn,” he said gently, “I am going to lift you onto Silvanos and get you to our medicine man, I do not have time to argue with you.” I felt myself being lifted and that was it. 

“She will recover fully.” A gravelly voice stated.                                                   
A relieved sigh, “thank the Gods. Find Milos and inform him? He’s taken to her like a sister.”
Shuffled footsteps faded away and I felt a warm hand grasp my own.
I sighed and opened my eyes, I met Kyrillos’ amber irises, they were strangely darker today, “how do you feel?”
I went to shrug my shoulders, shit that hurt! I winced and bit my lip, “I’ve been better.” I said quietly, “who shot me?”
He clenched his jaw, “Nibuku, one of our watchmen. Apparently he assumed you were a villain and Milos was chasing you.” His jaw popped, “The man even had a looking glass, he could most likely see smiles on your faces.” He squeezed my hand slightly and my eyes dropped to it, he noticed and let go completely.
“What have you done with him?”
“Thrown him in the dungeons, I thought I might let you deliver the punishment.”
“I would like to hear his excuse myself, please.”  
Kyrillos frowned, “But he shot an arrow at you without hesitation.”
“Kyrillos, if you saw two people, one in front of the other, going fast, surely you would suspect something?”
“But I would not have acted rashly. I would have waited for a few more moments before making my decision.” He said stubbornly and I knew it was a lie because he didn’t meet my eyes once.
“Mistakes happen.” I said gently. “Maybe I should not have encouraged a race. It’s new here obviously.”
“You won.” He chuckled, “Milos will never live it down.”
“Oh don’t be mean, it was his first race. And it was completely Silvanos, not me. To be honest I’ve never galloped a horse before. I thought I’d wing it and it paid off.” I smiled and then noticed the strange expression on his face, I sighed, “What was it this time? ‘Wing it’? Or, ‘Paid off’?”
“Well, both.” He grinned.
At that point Milos burst into the room, “Lady Bronwyn!” he knelt down next to me, “I am so sorry.” He dropped his head in shame.
I frowned and started to sit up. “You must not -” Kyrillos started but I held up my hand.
“I’m fine.” I held my breath as I pulled myself up and tried my best to ignore the pain and find a comfortable way to hold my arm – no such luck. “Milos, look at me.” He did, “there was absolutely nothing you could do, don’t beat yourself up about it” I did it again, and both men looked confused, “Erm, don’t agonise yourself over something that wasn’t your fault?” I said questioningly, both nodded in understanding. Thank God, or was it ‘the Gods’ here? I’m sure I’d learn eventually. Milos finally got off his knees and handed me a wineskin, with water in it. I smiled and glugged some down before handing it back, “thanks.”
He bowed a little, “Of course.” He frowned slightly as he watched me shift on the bed, or plank of wood. “Maybe you should lie down again.”
“I’m fine! I feel better sitting up, honestly. My head feels clearer.” Both men shared a look and I frowned, “Please. I beg you, put me on something more comfortable than this.” The both started to laugh.
“Bronwyn this is your bed, for your whole stay.” Kyrillos said.
My eyes bulged, “You had better be joking! I’d rather sleep in the stables! How could you expect someone to be comfortable on a plank of wood with cloth on it?” I exclaimed. Both men started laughing again, louder and harder than before. Oh, they were joking. I felt myself blushing and I looked down. My blush faded and my blood drained away. “Who changed my clothes?”
Their laughing stopped. “The medicine man and his woman apprentice.” Kyrillos said.
“Were you here?” I asked quickly and both shook their head with a frown. I was now wrapped in a cotton robe with just my bandage underneath. I felt better knowing that it was a medicine man and a woman who had taken them off, but I was naked in front of strangers. “Where are my clothes? If anything, I would like to keep my underwear.”
“We can make more, Bronwyn.”
I raised my eyebrows doubtfully. I bet their bras were crap. If they even had anything like it, “I would still like to keep my own if you wouldn’t mind.”
“They have been burnt my lady, they were covered with blood.” Milos said.
Damn it! I didn’t want saggy boobs by the age of thirty! I bit my lip and sighed, “Okay then.” Doomed. My boobs were doomed to gravity.
The door opened and an old man slowly walked in, “there is a whining mutt outside my entrance, can I have him removed?” it was the gravelly voice from earlier.
“He’s mine.” I spoke up, “Sorry, he’s very protective.”
The medicine man studied me, “You should be lying down.”
“She is complaining about comfort Dronkis. She says she is… ‘fine’.” Kyrillos said lazily.
“Well, if you say so. As you heard my Lady,” I glared at Kyrillos but he didn’t meet my gaze, “my name is Dronkis, I am the medicine man, your wound is not severe but you lost quite a bit of blood. You will need a few days to recuperate from this.” I nodded, “I must apologise about the burning of your clothes, they were stained with blood and, I had to cut them off. Such odd things they were!” He shook his head and I laughed a little. “Do you wish to turn into another room?”
“Yes please, if it is no trouble.” I smiled at him. He had long, braided, grey hair that hung past his shoulders, his face was heavily lined, crow’s feet and jowls, his skin was very dark with age spots dotted around.
“Of course not, you are our guest.” His voice was very raspy, “Kyrillos, find one of the hand maidens to escort Lady Bronwyn to her room”
“Just Bronwyn,” He looked at me, “Please just call me Bronwyn. I’m not a Lady.”
He raised his eyebrows but nodded anyway, “As you wish.”
“I can escort Bronwyn to her room.” Kyrillos stood and extended his arm, I reached out with my left hand and pulled myself up.
“Thank you for your care,” I nodded at Dronkis then turned to touch Milos on the shoulder, “Don’t worry so much. I’ll be fine.” He smiled back at me and then I left.
Kyrillos held out his arm for me, and I held onto his thick bicep – I could barely wrap my hand around half of it – and he pulled me along the stone corridors. We exited through a door where Oz was whining, he stopped and came right up to me, I let go of Kyrillos and patted him gently on the head, “Good boy, I’m okay.” He wriggled in happiness as I scratched behind his ears. I looked around and noticed we were in a courtyard, there was a stone pathway around all of the outside, and a large grass area in the middle with a water fountain. A lot of people stared at me as Kyrillos walked me to the other side other the courtyard and through a large oak door. Everyone was tanned and the majority had really long hair.
“Why are they staring?” I whispered to Kyrillos as we stepped through the doorway, Oz following behind us.
He looked down at me, “They all saw you arrive, and… you are very pale. We do not see many pale people here.”
I looked at the contrast between my hand and his arm. It was quite substantial. I bit my lip “That makes sense.” We came to the bottom of a large staircase and I sighed, stairs. What would happen if I wanted to come running down, without a bra?
“Are you alright?”
“No, I’m half left.” I said the silly, annoying joke without much effort, knowing he probably wouldn’t get it.
“I…” he frowned and looked around.
I smiled up at him, “never mind, let’s go.”
“I think I should carry you Bronwyn.” I froze and looked up at him, “Just in case you fall.” He said quickly.
“I’ll be fine, I need the exercise, I should be at my weekly class around now anyway.”
“Class?”
“Yes, well, training really. I had two sessions a week – three before I completed my jujitsu.”
“I have not heard of this… jujittu.”
I laughed a little and started climbing the stairs, “Jujitsu.” I smiled, “It’s just a form of fighting where I’m from.”
He nodded, “well if it would please you, I could start up some, classes, for you. Three a week if you wish.”
I grinned, “really?”
“Yes, I could have Tasos and Tanek teaching you how to fire a bow, and hunt. They are our finest. Milos can teach you hand to hand combat with swords and knives, he is very good, one of the youngest men we have ever had on our group, and I could teach you how to be the best assassin.”
The last word struck me and I looked up at him, “Assassin?” we had reached the top of the stairs and were now following a long corridor that had three doors from each side.
“Get in and out undetected; move silently in the night; climb and run great distances; all without being seen or heard.”
“So, you’re an assassin?”
“The very best.”
I wasn’t sure whether to be unnerved or impressed, for his size he is a very surprising assassin. “So when could I start this training?” we reached a T-junction at the end and he turned right – this one had a door at the very end, one of three doors in this area.
“Well, first of all, you need to meet with the elder, and after that, when you are healed.” He opened the door, “these are your chambers.”
I looked around wide-eyed, the room was huge, a large four-poster bed was centred against the back wall under a circular shaped stain-glass window. There were three other windows, two each side of the stained glass and one on my left wall. The walls were an odd mixture of grey and sand coloured stone, the floor was dark wood – the same as the bed and the draws/chests and cupboards.  The chest at the end of my bed had a howling wolf carved into the top of it, “this is beautiful.” I smiled and ran my fingers over it. There was a door on the back end of the right wall, I let go of Kyrillos and went to have a look. It was a large bathroom with – unfortunately – a hole in the floor for toilet business and a large dome shaped hole in the floor for bathing. There was a dressing table and that was it. I walked back to the bedroom and smiled at Kyrillos, “This is great, thank you.”
He nodded his head in a bow gesture and said, “You may rest for tonight, but we will be meeting with the elder in the morning.” I glanced out of my window, the sun was almost about to start setting.
“It isn’t very dark yet though, can’t I walk Oz around the city?”
“It is best you didn’t until we meet with the elder. Your new handmaiden will be with you shortly with new clothes and she will bath you. Do not get your sterile cloths wet. It is best to keep those dry for now.”
I nodded, “Thank you, again, Kyrillos.” He stood there for a few moments before leaving.  Oz finally came in and jumped onto the bed, “Good boy.” I praised.  I didn’t have to wait long until a young blonde girl came into my room and curtsied.
“Hello my Lady, my name is Castellano, your new handmaiden.”
“Hi.” I smiled, “Please don’t call me ‘my Lady’, it’s too formal for me, my name is Bronwyn.”
She smiled nervously, “Of course, my…” She cleared her throat, “Bronwyn.” She frowned slightly and closed the door behind her, “would you like to bathe or look at your new clothes?” I looked at hers and hoped to god they were nothing like that. The bright pink dress was flowy and had absolutely no boob support. Plus all the flowy bits would totally get in the way.
I bit my lip, “I would like to look at my clothes first.” Maybe I can right some wrongs!
The young girl nodded and proceeded to gather lots of colourful fabrics – which I’m sure were shaped somehow – and walked towards the bed. She froze at the sight of Oz and look wide-eyed at me.
“He’s harmless.” I smile, “Get down, boy” He moves onto a rug near the door and I literally saw Castellano’s entire body relax.  I watched her as she expertly laid out my clothes. Her honey-blonde hair hung in waves down to her waist, she had a small oval shaped face and very bronze skin. Her nose was small but slightly pointy, thin lips and prominent cheek bones, she was very pretty.
Her dark brown eyes looked up at me, “Is it okay if I dress you now?”
I looked down at myself, “actually, I am quite dirty.. maybe I should bathe first?”
She smiled, “Of course.”
She scurried through into my bathroom and left me staring at pink, orange and yellow fabrics. None of which are my colour. I noticed a sky blue dress and note in my head I would probably like it. Everything else was flowy with a silk underdress. I pulled a face and picked up the closest yellow one. I held it in front of me, face-level. Oh dear. The sleeves were flared, with what looked like glass beads sewn around the hem, they were also around the rounded neckline. I placed it down gently on the bed and inspected the other bright garments, they were the same. All beaded, some V-necked and some rounded, some with flared sleeves and some with no sleeves . Finally I picked up the blue one, the wrap around created a V-neck shape, and there was a brooch to hold it in place with silver embroidery along the bottom. It was very simple, and very elegant, one I actually liked. Maybe I’d keep it for special occasions and ask for a couple more in nicer colours.
“Your bath is ready Bronwyn.” Castellano said from behind me.
“Thank you.” I followed her into the steamy room and the scent of rosemary and sage enveloped me and I smiled, “did you know I would like this scent?”
She shook her head, “It was recommended, my Lady.” I give her a look, “forgive me. Brownyn.” she wanders over to me, “Arms up if you can.”
I stretched my left arm out but only able to straighten my right arm, wincing and holding my breath. She moves quickly, undoing my long robe and gently slipping it off my shoulders. She took the hair tie out and my hair cascaded down my back. At least I fit in with my hair. I tried not to be self-conscious, but her eyes didn’t linger anywhere, and surely she had done it before.
I noticed an odd look on Castellanos’ face, “Is something wrong?”
“Sorry Bronwyn I did not mean to stare. I’ve just never seen a woman with ink on her body.”
I suddenly remembered my tattoos, “Oh yeah…”
she looked up into my face, “did they hurt?”
I laughed, “Yes, very much. However I chose the worst places for my first three.” I almost shrugged and winced at the thought. I walked over to the steaming water and noticed there were steps, grateful I didn’t have to slide in, I settled on to the second step. The water came just up to my boobs, my bandage stayed safely out of the water. I didn’t linger in the bath, I wasn’t in the mood. Castellano washed my hair, and it was like having a mini head massage. As I climbed out she wrapped me in a fluffy material, I would have called it a towel, but it had a downy-feel to it.
“Why did you have ink put onto your skin?” Castellano asked as she dried my body, now that was uncomfortable, but with one arm I wouldn’t be doing as good a job.
“It was just something I wanted to do, something personal for me.” I have a double infinity symbol on my left wrist, the words ‘All we do is run’ on my left instep, ‘They condemn what they do not understand’ in between my shoulder blades, a swallow holding a daffodil on my right hip, an elephant on the left side of my ribs and an intricate arrow on the back of my neck. I wanted more but here I am.
We were back in the bedroom now and she was picking up the first yellow dress.
“Can I stop you?”
She looked over at me with a frown, “is there something wrong?”
“Yes, I looked at the dresses while you were filling my bath. I’m afraid I only like the blue one, if I could have some more made like that in greens and blues would that be okay?”
She nodded, “of course, I will notify our seamstresses, they would be happy to help. Do you need anything else?”
I took a breath, “yeah… I don’t want to wear dresses every day.”
She looked surprised, “What would you wear?”
“well, I was thinking trousers and a suitable top for support. Maybe some colour to look more feminine, but I would like trousers and shorts if possible. I will visit the seamstress tomorrow after my meeting with the elder, would you take me to her?”
Castellano nodded, “If you wish, I will take these away if you would like to sleep now.”
I didn’t realise how tired I actually was until she mentioned sleep. “Yes please, I will keep the blue dress for my meeting tomorrow.”
She nodded and cleared the bed, “I will be along in the morning to get you ready. Good night Bronwyn.” She curtsied and left.
The girl was nice, but I was grateful for the silence, I lifted the blankets up and settled onto the bed. Oh my. It was the most comfortable bed ever. Oz joined me and the jostle made me wince but he settled quickly. It wasn’t long until I was sleeping as well. 

“You must get up, Bronwyn.”
I sighed into my pillow, “five more minutes.”
A bright light battered against my eyelids, “No, you must get up now.”
I pushed my face into the pillow stubbornly, where was the snooze button? The quilt whipped off me, “argh!” I pulled my legs against my chest. I cracked open one eye and saw Castellano standing over me, her arms folded. She looked very authoritative.
“You will be late for your meeting.”
“Shit! I forgot.” I jumped up and Castellano grabbed my good arm and pulled me into the bath room, she plonked me onto the dressing table seat. She handed me a thin strand of something, I looked up at her with a huge question mark on my face.
She sighed, “It is a fibre stand from the nettle. You use this to part clean your teeth, like this,” she pulled out another strand and showed me what she meant – it was like flossing. Well, it was exactly like flossing.
I flossed as she brushed my hair gently but briskly. When I had finished flossing she passed me a leaf and I grimaced, it was a mint leaf. She pulled out a short stick that had its fibres pulled back slightly, giving it a bristly appearance, I placed the mint on the end of it and proceeded to scrub my teeth. She nodded absently letting me know that I was doing it correctly. It tasted horrible but as much as I hated to admit it, my teeth felt a lot cleaner. Castellano pulled me from my chair and back into the bedroom where she stripped me and produced the blue dress, the halter neck, and skilfully wrapped it around me. She finished it off with a sheer silk shawl and little sandals.
“Show me your curtsy, it is out of respect you must curtsy for the Elder.”
I awkwardly crossed one leg behind the other and bobbed down, she placed one hand on my back and the other on my shoulder to push my back straight. “Keep your back straight; do not bend your knees too much. It is best to meet his eyes, introduce yourself and then curtsy. Do not be rude, he is a fair man, but he does not tolerate rudeness.”
I nodded, suddenly nervous, “What if he sends me away?”
She smiled gently, “He won’t.”
She looked old beyond her years and suddenly I wondered how old she actually was, “How old are you, Castellano?”
She looked a little surprised, “I have seen 20 summers. Now, we must go.”
I was definitely surprised; she barley looked my age, 19. I followed her through the hallways, down the stairs and back out into the courtyard. Oz was following behind us and people gave us a wide berth as we walked past. A few people smiled and nodded at me in greeting, the others ignored me or glared at me as I passed. I held my head high and smiled anyway, said ‘hi’ to a few people just to spite them.
As we walked Castellano filled me with instructions, “address him as Sir, and try to pronounce your words clearly – he is very old. You enter, say your pleasantries, introduce yourself and curtsy. Understand?” I nodded nervously, butterflies furiously flapping in my stomach.
We entered through the first door to our right, and followed the wide corridor where we entered a large hall, there were a few people gathered along the sides, just behind the marble pillars. Oz was made to stay outside and Castellano ushered me in front of the large wooden table towards the head of the room. She moved to the side of the room with everyone else but stayed in my line of view. As I glanced around quickly and noticed the men who found me and then Dronkis and a redheaded woman stood next to him, I assumed that was his assistant. I didn’t recognise anyone else. The man behind the desk was scrawling on a piece of parchment, his beard was braided and his hair was loose, cascading down his shoulders, despite how old he looked his hair was black with only few strips of grey. His dark skin showed no blemish on his face apart from wrinkles. The whole room was silent and staring at me, I wanted to shrivel in the corner and forget all about it. I glanced nervously at Castellano, she nodded and made a go-on-then gesture with her hands.
I sucked in a breath and cleared my throat, “Good morning, Sir.” My voice shook, “My name is Bronwyn Fraiser, thank you for meeting with me today.” I looked at Castellano and she nodded and made a small curtsy motion. I looked back at the Elder and he finally looked up, I held his eyes for a moment and moved into my curtsy. I held that position until I heard a deep, bored voice commanding me to rise. The silence in the room was deafening and the weight of everyone’s stare was crushing me.  I felt myself buckling under pressure and chewed the inside of my lip.
“Good morning Lady Bronwyn. Did you sleep well?” The elder asked and it was not what I expected.
I nodded, “Yes thank you, Sir.”
“It seems you are quite a mystery, my Lady. First you show up, in the middle of the woods out of nowhere. You were found wearing clothes never seen before, and you talk differently, so I am told.” I smiled slightly, “so where is it you are from?” that question, the one I never knew how to answer.
Try the truth, I thought to myself. I straightened myself, “England.”
A singled black eyebrow raised, “And how did you end up here?”
“In all honesty, I don’t know, Sir. I can’t really remember, all I remember is being in my home town, taking Oz for a walk and then I woke up in the forest.”
He nodded and wrote another few words onto his parchment. “Do you wish to go back?”
I panicked for a moment, my heart squeezing, “No sir, even if I knew how. I would like to stay here.  I miss my family with all my heart but I can’t deny that I have always wanted my life to be an adventure, this is my adventure.”
“Then you can stay here.” Angry whispers echoed throughout the room and I winced gently. “There will be no more discussions about it.” He directed towards the murmurs, his voice hard and powerful. The murmurs stopped instantly. He looked towards the men who found me and Kyrillos stepped forward, “Kyrillos, you have spent days in the company with this young woman do you believe she is a danger to our way of life?”
Kyrillos shook his head, “she seems very genuine, I do not believe she is a danger.” He stepped back.
“Galvan step forward please.” The old man did, a small smile on his face, the Elder continued, “You have been within the city’s services for more than 30 summers, you are a well trusted within our community. What is your take on the girl?”
“She seems very nice. She does not know our way of life but I am sure she could learn with ease. She may be very different to everyone else in our city, but different is good.”
“Thank you Galvan.” He stepped back and the Elder looked at me again, “I think you will fit in very well. And everyone within the city walls will not harm you without consequence.” He looked back down at his parchment and waved his hand in a dismissal, “Dismissed.”
“Thank you, Sir.” I curtsied and waited for Castellano to come and take me from the room. “That didn’t take very long.” I whispered to her.
She smiled, “He does not like to prolong things, he makes his decision  and that is it. Meeting over. I did notice Kyrillos staring at you.” She grinned and I looked at her shocked.
“The man doesn’t even like me and to be honest I don’t like him, not like that anyway. We clash too much.”
She giggled and nudged my good arm, “If you say so.”
I glared at her, “where are we going?”
“To the head seamstress, she is very intrigued to hear what you want as clothing. She also has finished your new dresses like this one.”
I was suddenly excited, “I can’t wait.” I grinned.

“So these are your new dresses, I finished them this morn.” The plump seamstress smiled brightly at me and I liked her instantly. She was very voluptuous, she looked around 30 years old and her hair was a chocolate brown. Her skin colour was more olive than sun-browned but I guessed this was because she was inside most of the day sewing up some clothes. She passed me over some dresses, an array of light and dark greens and some dark blues.
“Thank you!” I smiled and accepted them, Castellano took them out of my hands but passed me back a green one,
“Try this on, just in case.” The seamstress nodded in agreement.
The seamstress showed me over to a room divider type thing and I quickly changed into my new dress. It fit perfectly. The seamstress giggled and clapped, “Perfect!” She grinned and jiggled.
I couldn’t help but laugh, “What’s your name?”
“Aspasia my Lady.”
I sighed, “There is no reason to address me as ‘my Lady’. Please, just call me Bronwyn. Friends use first names.” I smiled.
Aspasia blushed slightly, “Okay then, Bronwyn. You can go change back now.”
I did as she said, and in record time considering my shoulder, then we all sat down at a table and discussed what kind of clothing I wanted to wear.
“So, Castellano tells me that you desire to wear… trousers?” Aspasia frowned slightly.
I nod excitedly, “Yes, I really would feel much more comfortable in a pair.”
She spoke as she did a quick sketch on some parchment, “So, once I did see a lady wearing some trousers, it was in a place very far away. They were rather strange, but they looked very comfortable.” She finished her sketch and passed it over to me, they were basically gypsy/harem trousers. They had a slit down the outside leg, obviously for the heat.
“They’re perfect!”
“I will make quite a few pairs then, some with closed legs.”
“Could you make some shorts? They are similar to trousers but shorter…” I smiled awkwardly. “Also… for a top I was thinking about something that would give me more chest support. So something like a corset.” The both looked at me confused, “Oh, erm, let me try to draw it out.” I took the pencil and parchment and tried to sketch what a corset looked like, front and back, “it ties up at the back and this allows it to be as tight as you want.”
Aspasia nodded slowly, “I can do my best to make this for you. I will also make some other garments I am sure you will like.”
“Thank you so much.” I smiled and reached over to hug her, she returned my hug gracefully.
“I think we could become very good friends.” She said gently as she pulled away.
I looked between her and Castellano and nodded, “I think we all will.”
We stayed like that for hours, talking and laughing between us, we even ate together, a healthy lunch of crusty bread and jams. Aspasia finally stood up and clapped her hands together twice,
“Now, ladies I must get on, clothes do not make or repair themselves.” She looked pointedly at me.
I giggled, “Sorry Aspasia, it didn’t even cross my mind how busy you must be. I should probably get back to Oz anyway, he’s probably dying for a wee.”
“I have heard of this great beast, many people have told me about him.”
I raised my eyebrows, beast? “People have been talking about him?”
“Yes, they say that he is almost as large as a horse, wild like a tiger and loyal like a dog.”
I laughed, “He only comes up to my waist.” I had no idea what to say about the others.
“I must see him soon.”
I smiled and nodded, “I’ll bring him when I pick up my clothes.” We hugged again once more and Castellano led me from the room.