Andres awoke with a jolt to a dark room. The sun was still beneath the horizon and the rest of the world should have been asleep, yet he felt as if he was being watched. He sat up and looked around the room seeing nothing but men sprawled on the floor, snoring. A rather loud snort had him chuckle softly, easing his stress before he opened his mouth wide for a yawn before turning on his side, willing himself to sleep. He nearly managed it when suddenly he felt a warm hand touch his arm. His eyes shot open again and this time he found himself face to face with a shadowy figure. He jolted up and opened his mouth to yell but before he could make a sound, he felt a hand cover his mouth.

“Hush, Andres. It’s me, Cassandra. I have something I want to speak to you about,” she whispered. She took her hand off him hesitantly, seeing he made no move to alert the others in the room, she got up slowly, stepping over bodies on the floor.

Andres waited until she was out the room before he also got up, periodically looking around again to see if anyone had woken up. Once he reached the door, Cassandra grabbed his hand and dragged him down the hallway. She pulled him along for quite some time until the pavement of the town turned into trodden dirt pathways near the edge of the woods. Andres thought they were far enough but Cassandra continued to lead him forwards.

It wasn’t until they had walked through the woods and happened upon a clearing that Cassandra finally slowed down and turned back towards him. Andres stumbled to a halt, covered in sweat and breathing hard, but Cassandra seemed just as composed as she had been before.

“I know you must have a lot of questions for me– ” Cassandra started, but Andres interrupted her.

“You think? You don’t even know my name and you’ve dragged me to some unknown location.” Andres was visibly annoyed now. Being the unofficial caretaker of the other mercenaries, he always had to get up early to prepare them for the day ahead; a journey into the woods with a strange woman before dawn was ridiculous, even for him.

Cassandra waved her hand in the air in a dismissive manner. “I’m an oracle, Andres, I know more about you than you could imagine. We can discuss my knowledge of you later, I want to talk to you about something important.” Here Cassandra paused, waiting for Andres to give a rebuttal of some sort but he remained silent so she carried on. “We’re not friends, we’re barely allies, and I’ve given you no reason to trust me, but I know you. I’ve known of you since before you were born. Our meeting was written in the stars. I should know, I come from them,” she murmured the last part while looking up, her eyes reflecting the unending sky.

Andres could see every constellation in her gaze and felt something in his chest. He wasn’t one for legends and myths but for some inexplicable reason, he was inclined to believe her. “So what does that mean for me?” he asked.

Cassandra lit up at his invitation. “You must be the one to save the woman the Imperial family is looking for and make this empire stronger than ever. I am here to help you and guide you. I am at your service,” Cassandra began walking further into the woods slowly. “Heed my teachings,” she whispered, as she disappeared, already gone from his sight.