What lay there was a man cloaked in black. Locks of long ash-colored hair concealed part of his bloody face.

“He’s wounded,” Tavus said, breaking the silence and pointing to some arrows stuck at the man’s side, possibly wedged between his ribs. The man’s wounds bled profusely.

“He’s unconscious, but he’s still alive,” Tavus said as he felt the man’s chest. He fumbled about for something to tie around the man’s torso. Finally, he ripped the arm of his shirt and, cautiously, yanked the arrows out. Leona took the piece of cloth and wrapped it tightly around the man’s wound so as to stop it from bleeding any further.

“That rag won’t be of help for too long,” Leona declared, as she hefted the man to a sitting position, his head lolling from side to side. “Let’s take him to our home. We can’t go back to Glavonica. It’s too far away now, he may not make it.”

Tavus hauled the man unto his horse and sat behind him. Nodding at his companion, he and Leona spurred their horses and sped off as rain started to fall and harsh torrents of it pounded on their backs.

The horses came to a halt when they had reached the stables. Tavus carried the man on his back and hurried of to the house, careful not to make any unnecessary movements. Leona pounded on the wooden door.

“By the gods,” she gasped, staring at their drenched and blood-soaked clothes, and the man on Tavus’ back. “What happened to you? And who is that?”

Tavus entered the house and made for Leona’s room.

“We’ll explain later, Zerr Selia.” He said, “This man is wounded and possibly dying.”

Yolance entered the room as Tavus laid the man on Leona’s bed. He questioned Selia with a glance. The latter shrugged as Leona helped Tavus take the man’s cloak and shirt off.

“We’ll have to clean and dress his wounds properly,” Leona turned to her grandmother, “Do we have any bandages or something like that?”

Selia scurried off as Leona removed the blood-soaked rags from the man’s chest. She grimaced as she saw the blood-mangled mess underneath. Tavus retched and turned away.

Yolance led Tavus into the kitchen and offered him some water to drink.

The latter gratefully took it and gulped the drink down.

“Where exactly did you find this fellow? I’ve heard of a fugitive on the run and this man could be it. Do you understand that you’re putting all our lives in danger here?”

“It’s a long story, Bonn Yolance,” Tavus replied shakily.

Selia returned with some bandages, a towel, and a basin of water as Leona sat by her bed. “I’ll take care of this, Leona,” she whispered to her granddaughter gently. Leona took the man’s cloak, shirt and other belongings away and headed for the kitchen.

Entering the room, she found Tavus and her grandfather seated around the table. Yolance nodded at her and she knew what he meant, Tavus had told him everything..

She placed a hand on Tavus’ shoulder as the latter still looked nauseous from seeing all the blood. Tavus nodded in appreciation.

Everyone fell silent as Selia tended to the wounded stranger. Leona busied herself with washing and mending the man’s clothing.

The cloth used for his shirt was remarkable. It was of the finest silk Leona has seen and touched before. She gaped as the silver tunic looked almost liquid in the warm water, as if it would dissolve. The silver belt was made from the skin of some lizard she knew nothing of. His boots were of excellent craftsmanship and were the color of thunderclouds like his trousers. What mystified her was the two long slits down the back of the black velvet cloak. If it was supposed to be there, Leona had no idea why.

Whoever this man was, Leona thought. He must be a nobleman of some sort. Maybe even a prince…

Selia entered the room and halted Leona’s stream of thoughts. “How’s our guest, grandma?” she asked.

Selia laid the basin on the counter. “He wasn’t really severely wounded,” she replied. “The arrows didn’t go deep enough to do any real damage. He did lose much blood, though…”

“Do you think he’ll be alright?” Leona asked. “Oh, yes, he surely will. Whoever shot him must have tired the poor boy first before attacking him. It’s probably why he collapsed. He’s exhausted. But a few days rest and he’ll be back to normal,” Selia replied with a smile. She examined the silver tunic.

“He had such a beautiful face! Selia declared, “He must’ve come from a rich family.”

“I was thinking of that, too,” Leona said. “Do you think his family or his men would come and look for him?”

That night, Tavus ate supper with them and prepared to leaves as the storm passed. Tavus got his horse from the stables, waved at Leona, and rode off. Leona closed the door as Tavus vanished from sight.

Her grandparents bid her goodnight as they snuffed out the remaining candles in the house.

They moon peeked out from behind the remnants of the rain clouds and threw rays of milky light in Leona’s room and illuminated the stranger’s sleeping face.

It was the first time Leona looked into the man’s face properly. He had well-defined features, high cheekbones, and a prominent nose. Leona looked at him for a long time.

“What a pity I couldn’t see your eyes,” she whispered. She still had a lot of questions running across her mind. Who was he? Where did he come from? Who was, or were, his attackers? Any of which she did not know the answers.

Finally, her drowsiness and exhaustion got the better of her. She was surprised at how tired she actually was. Leona spread out a blanket on a comfortable side of her room, her tabby cat curled up next to her as she sat down. She threw her head back and yawned. She then cradled her head in her arms and closed her eyes. Sleep immediately came over her.

She didn’t even hear the faint whisper that emanated from the man’s lips.