Alex felt a strange sensation, the gentle stroke of fingertips across the side of his face. He heard a beautiful voice softly singing in a beautiful tone. The voice was alien and new to him, but familiar all the same. He cracked his eyes open slowly, taking stock of his surroundings. Above him was a wood ceiling with intricate carvings etched into the beams supporting the weight of the roof. It was warm in the room and smelled of soft loam and moss, it was a pleasant earthy smell, a far cry from the smell of the sea and streets that he was so familiar with. He looked around slowly so as to not alert anyone to his movement. Stone walls reminiscent of a castle on the high cliffs of some ancient cityscape. The bed he found himself on was soft and covered in warm furs.

He turned his head as footsteps left the room with the gentle singing. When the footsteps and pleasant voice had been silenced from distance he took more effort to look around, he found his clothes were still not returned to him but the cuts were carefully bandaged. He expected his hand to be bound and wrapped but found nothing on it. Alex tentatively flexed his fingers that were broken, finding them stiff but otherwise fine. He was confused at this, sunlight beamed in from the nearby window and the sound of laughter and life carried in on the pleasant wind. Alex smelled lilies and honey suckle on the breeze and felt at ease.

Alex turned on the bed and put feet on the wooden floor his movement sounding off a light creak from the bed he was on. He rubbed his head lightly and realized for the first time in many years he didn't have a bad dream or anything other than a long restful sleep. Soon he heard the footsteps and gentle singing of the pleasant voice once more as it came up the hallway to the entry into the room. He looked up to see the soft smile of the woman that saved him, words he was not familiar with coming from her. Her singing stopped as she saw him sitting up at her and without missing a beat.

"It’s good to see you among the living little bird. You've been stealing my bed for some time now." She said to him, there was a tone of playfulness in her voice.

"I see you've been taking care of me... thank you." Alex paused for a moment. "You never told me your name, Miss. Can I have it now so I know what to call my savior?"

She laughed a pleasant laugh; Alex wasn't sure what to make of this woman. Up until this point he always felt as if he was a deer and she was the tiger eyeing him as if he were her dinner. Now she was in a light hearted mood and almost an entirely different person, as if she had let down her guard.

She dropped into a mock curtsey for Alex "I'm called Gilly, you won’t get my full name but that is what you may call me." She walked over to him, her bare feet barely making a sound as she crossed the floor to him. She extended her slender hand out to him. "Come now, let me see that hand little bird. I want to make sure my mending fixed it properly"

Alex looked at her and tentatively extended his hand out to hers. He was surprised at the difference in size between the two; Gilly took his hand with both of hers. Her touch was soft and inviting to him, and she curled his fingers into his palm as if looking to make sure he had full range of motion. Finally she settled a hand in his and he reflexively held it lightly, as if he was worried he might break her accidentally. She smiled a sweet smile at him and gripped his hand with a bit more force leaning forward to stroke his cheek again. Her bright blue eyes locked onto his. "Don't worry little bird, it's all over, I wont let you hurt like that again."

Alex sat dumbfounded, how this small woman was so disarming and settling to him was so strange to him, and even with that short statement she made, he believed her, completely. Gilly lightly smacked his cheek with a soft laugh. "Come on, I imagine you're eager to learn where you are and you're probably hungry, you’ve been asleep for five days now." She tugged on him pulling him up to his feet then let go of his hand as she turned and walked to the door. "Your clothes are in that bag near the door. I'll wait for you to get changed, and don't forget your gift I gave you." She walked out the door closing it behind her. Alex could once again hear the pleasant singing pick up as if she never stopped as it went down the hall.

He walked over to the door seeing the leather bag that sat near it. He pulled it open to see a pair of black pants and a white shirt inside along with the necklace she gave him sitting on top of the neatly folded clothes. His pistol wasn’t in the bag nor was any of his other personal belongings. Alex started to get dressed stopping as he glanced into a mirror before putting the shirt on, he couldn’t help but stop, the old emblem of his former military unit was tattooed on his shoulders and he looked at it for a moment as if in contemplation. The crow perched on crossed swords, thoughts of what that meant to him rushing into his mind. He turned and looked into the mirror lost in thought as he just stared into his reflection.

Alex never heard the door open again, nor did he hear Gilly's footsteps as she walked up behind him. He jumped slightly as the feel of her fingertips traced over the Celtic knot pattern that was on his back. Another tattoo he'd had for years and it stretched from the bottom of his ribs up across his shoulders then back down the other side in a horseshoe pattern. "Alex,” came Gilly's voice, once again sweet and inviting. "What made you get this one?"

His entire body tensed at the unfamiliar feeling of her fingertips tracing the twists and bends of the ink etched into his back. ”It came to me in a dream, near the end of my service. I felt it was important and I needed a reminder of what it all meant to me. So I had that one done. Why do you ask?"

Gilly almost giggled at him. "Have you looked closely at the necklace I gave you?" He hadn't and now that she had brought it to his attention he picked it up from where it was on the shirt examining it.

"This is the same pattern..." He stated dumbly. "What does it mean?"

He could feel the smile in her tone. "Why, little bird, what did I tell you in the letter?"

Alex thought for a moment. "It’s a symbol of protection?"

"Something like that, it’s the symbol for MY protection, I use it to mark what is mine."

Alex felt the small woman’s arms reach around him as if in a hug; she took the necklace from his hands and withdrew her arms. He could hear her shifting around as she put the necklace on him and clasped it behind his neck. "Apparently someone felt you were mine since before I knew you even existed little bird." This statement didn't make Alex feel better about the situation, but he would let his questions sit for the time being until he could work them out in his mind. "Come now, get dressed, I can’t have you wasting away to nothing in the short time I’ve had you awake."

He sighed as he listened to her, pulling the shirt over his head. He turned to her as she looked as if she were inspecting him. "You clean up well." Gilly smiled again. "Come on, off to town we go. Ill explain what I can along the way. I'm sure your mind is buzzing like a hive of bees right now” Alex followed along behind her as she quickly made her way down the hall and through a large living room. He wasn’t able to take stock of his surroundings as he followed along behind the small woman out the front door of the house.

Upon leaving the house stopped just past the threshold, Alex felt the warm sun and couldn't help himself but bask in it for a moment, relishing the feeling of the warmth on his skin. He looked out from the house to see a short wall around the yard of the house made of grey stone and covered in ivy and flowers. A little stone pathway in the neatly trimmed yard led to a gate that looked like silver with its luster. Gilly started along the path with Alex in tow, the day was pleasant, clouds hanging in a blue sky and a soft but steady breeze that flowed along the simple stone road. Houses all far more beautiful than he'd seen before all clung to the sides of the road like leaves on a branch.

Alex could hear the sounds of children laughing and playing in the yards around them as they walked, Gilly slowed her pace to allow him this moment of solitude as if she knew he was talking it in. Alex felt his stress melt away significantly in this idyllic place. He turned his attention to the soft, stifled laugh coming from the small woman, an eyebrow rising up as if in question.

"In the time that I've been watching you, I’ve never seen you so relaxed little bird." She paused "My home suits you well; maybe I'll keep you here."

Alex paused for a moment as if in thought, then hurried up to catch back up to her. "Where are we exactly? This place seems so inviting, and tranquil, I don't understand. How long did you have to tend to me, and for that matter, how did you even get me here?"

Gilly smiled gently at him as they continued to walk. "You are in my home, which is all you need to worry about for now. This place, just like every other, has its dark underbelly. The people here don’t thrive in it like in your home Alex. As for how long it took for me to get you here and how? A woman is entitled her secrets, I’m sure you'll learn in time but for now, let it lie."

Alex was not content with those answers but could not compel himself to question further. As it was, he was healthy and not hurt, and she didn’t seem to want to offer him any ill will with her actions or words. She was just cryptic, almost painfully so. It was more in not knowing that bothered him and he realized that she knew that judging by the smirk on her lips. Alex sighed deciding to let it go for now. He would indeed find out more as time went on. Soon they were at a plaza with a large ivory colored fountain in the middle of it. Water flowing down the statue of a woman dressed in impressive metal armor with a sword held high in the sky and water arching down from small creatures that sat on a ring at her feet. Alex didn’t recognize the person, but couldn’t help but admit the figure of authority she seemed to exude even in the manner of a statue. Gilly nudged him in the side as she saw his attention drawn to the fountain.