I asked what you are

I did the same thing: pretending to be a corpse to escape the soldiers and then, I made a run for it before the emperor could arrive to check. I didn't read the letter until I reached the stream that was cutting into a cave.

It was already dark. My feet ached as I walked along the shallow stream on its shore. The blood of the corpses on my body had dried but my feet were wet and sticky. I didn't want to check whether it was water, mud, or my blood.

The scent of wet earth hit me when I entered the cave. My knees ached and my soles were throbbing. I continued to walk. I was afraid of pain more than death itself. I didn't want to see those dark eyes again.

somehow, the moonlight was pouring into the cave, softly touching the surface of the stream. It was probably not a good idea to waltz into a cave where a stream was flowing, but I was hoping that it wasn't a rainy season and there wouldn't be any flood. I sat down on a large grey stone, keeping my feet in the water.

It stung.

There was a hole in my robe at the left side of my stomach where the emblem was sewn. I had torn the emblem from my robe that marked me as someone from the mara tribe before I left the valley.

How was I going to change my appearance? It was a bad idea to appear before him like this.

"Dear God, show me some way," I prayed, looking up at the giant hole that gave me the glimpse of the moon.

The moon was silent. So was God. Well, the god and I didn't go along anyway. I used to be a soft atheist until I found myself in this book.

I sighed. Waves in the stream were disappearing as they collided against my feet. Something red flowed along, diluting itself into the steam as it disappeared into nothing. I stared at my feet. Though there were wounds, there wasn't blood. It wasn't mine for sure.

Was it an animal? I wondered as I strolled back toward the entrance of the cave. The chill was growing stronger and the air was damp. A woman was floating on the stream with her eyes closed. Her blue and silver dress was torn at several places and blood was oozing from her wounds.

However, her round pale face was clean.

I grabbed her arm when she reached me. The woman didn't respond. Her hand was cold as ice. I had gained some courage after waking up in the valley of the dead. So, I checked her pulse.

It was faint.

I dragged the woman to the edge of the stream. She was heavy or I was a little weak. I couldn't decide which. I laid her down on her stomach. Her long dark hair stuck to her back. When I pushed her hair away, I saw wounds on her back.

Was she hit by arrows?

However, her wounds were nearly healed.

Whoever she was, I didn't want her to die. I had seen enough corpses. Hopefully, she wasn't a bad person. Maybe she could save me. Her pulse was also growing stronger. That was strange. Her body stirred. I saw her eyelids fluttering.

"Do you need CPR or not?" I ended up asking her.

She coughed in response.

I guessed that it was a 'No'.

"I don't have warm clothes." I said, "Can you get up?"

"Not yet." She raised her head to look at me. Her eyes were eclectic blue. "What are you?"

"I am Savina." Then, I clicked my tongue. Why did I say my real name again?

She wrinkled her nose. "I asked what you are."

What I was? What kind of question was that? Ever before this moment, nobody ever asked me what I was.