In the dead of night, a dense forest is disrupted as a small bundle tumbles from the treetops. It is slightly cushioned by the branches before landing into the brush below with a small thud. A small whimper can be heard from the bundle as the night goes on with the sounds of wildlife echoing around it. 

When the morning comes, the sun shines brightly, revealing the bundle to be a small adolescent girl. She is barely conscious and alone as she lies on the forest floor, surrounded by mushrooms and various flowers. Weakly, she attempts to move, but her body aches all over rendering her immobile. All she can do is lie in wait, and cry out for help, hoping someone will hear her.

"Father....father... Where...are you...?", she whimpers, her voice hoarse and dry.

Hours blurred together in an endless haze of pain and darkness. The girl's body screamed in agony, her head pounding like a drum.

"Papa....papa...", she says again while desperately trying to move her fingertips, but to no avail. It seems hopeless.... Suddenly, she was vaguely made aware of rustling and footsteps, but they felt distant and unimportant. Suddenly, a figure loomed over her, its face a blur.

"H-help....please...", the girl asks in a whisper.

 The stranger jumpers back slightly, taken aback before it stills once again. The girl tries to look up at the stranger standing above her, but when she does it causes her immense pain. Curious, the stranger kneels in front of her, resting its hand on its knee. Before the girl could ask again, she sees something that troubles her. Resting on his knee, is a clawed hand that couldn't possibly be human. She wants to scream, cry, and fight....but she can't...she has no fight in her. Her panic takes over, and she starts to feel faint. The stranger slowly reaches its clawed hand towards her as she loses consciousness, the girl tries to focus, but her vision swam. She saw a flash of auburn skin and something sharp, and then everything went black.

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Sometime Later...

The girl finds herself on a balcony with an older man adorned with feathers and a crown. He looks down at her with a smile, and gently pats her on the head. The sun shines bright out from the balcony, revealing a beautiful and prosperous kingdom. "Arjana", suddenly the man turns to her with a solemn stare. "I'm sorry..." he says as the kingdom plummets into darkness as blood begins to rain from the sky. She desperately holds onto the man, but falls through the balcony into a dark void... 

"Little one,youngin'....?", a voice asks in the dark.

After days of being unconscious finally, the girl stirred. She was met with the unfamiliar sight of wooden walls and a smell of mahogany. The young girl slowly wakes up, still aching but slightly stronger from the much needed rest. She is able to sit up and takes a look around what appears to be a cabin bedroom that she finds herself in.

"Finally, you're awake. Tell me, how are you feeling, little one?" ,he says slightly relieved.

The girl turns and sees a tall man wearing what appears to be a strange garb. He had a belt with little glass vials around them, and pouches that appear to be stuffed with herbs. His head was covered with a large hood, and the hair that poked out was slightly graying and braided. He appears to be middle-age and tired, making her shudder.

"Don't be afraid, I'm a doctor, just here to help. A friend of mine found you laying there in the woods." He explains in a calm manner. He adjusts his hood before introducing himself, "Name's Birger Bramblewood, but my young patients call me Mister Birger.". He grabs a small jar from the belt on his waste and opens it, dabbing his fingers into a strange blue substance. "Somethin' to help you wake up.", he says as he gently dabs the substance around her nose. The smell was a bit overpowering and strong, even though it wasn't a bad odor, it was hard to ignore.

"Tell me,do you remember your name, youngin'?", he asks, before kneeling beside the bed.

She ponders her name before her memories flood back to her in segments. The girl remembers a bit of her life, but some parts are still foggy. Still she tries her best to explain.

"My name is Arjana Talarus, I..I'm a princess from the Paria Kingdom.", she says before continuing,

"Can you help me get back home? Please!", she begs.

Birger is confused and a bit shocked, taking in all of this information at once. He tries to calm her down, fearing that she may have suffered some form of head injury. "Now, hold on. Calm down, I don't want you getting all riled up and hurting yourself.", he says calmly.

"Let me get you some medicine. Then you can tell me everything.", he adds before getting up to go to the workbench against the wall. He grabs a jar and pulls some green herbs out of it before placing it into a mortar and pestle and grinding it up. Arjana watches in curiosity as he tosses the mixture in a small water basin to heat up,changing the color of the water a deep red. This curiosity leads to her stumbling to her feet to take a closer look. Birger catches this and takes her hand, guiding her back over to the bed.

"Youngin', you can't be standing up.", Birger scolds. 

"But I want to see.", she insists. With a sigh, he carefully picks her up and sits her back down on the bed.

"Another time, please stay put."

After making sure she is settled, he takes the now red mixture off of the heat before pouring it into a bottle. He waits for it to cool before giving her the mixture.

"Drink this, I'll be back to bring you some food.", he leaves the room and closes the door behind him. Arjana looks at the potion for a minute, unsure on whether she should drink this. What if it is a sedative? What if it is poison? Can she trust this stranger she just met? Hoping to get a clue, Arjana stumbles over to the workbench and grabs the jar of herbs. She tries to read the label, but can't seem to understand the language. Curious, she opens it and gives it a sniff. It doesn't smell medicinal, almost spicy and dry, like burnt grass and peppers. She sneezes on it,causing red dust to fly off of them. Embarrassed, she quickly puts the jar back and looks to examine the other herbs. Suddenly, the pain comes back, and Arjana doubles over on the floor with a small thud. The aching comes back, and the pain in her neck is indescribable. Shortly, the door is flung open and Birger races to her side.

"Youngin', I told you to stay put!", he scolds a bit impatiently.

Caring not to hurt her, he gently places her back onto the bed. However, the pain doesn't subside and gradually gets worse."You didn't take the medicine, I take it?", he sighs as he picks up the bottle and lifts it to her face.

"Drink this, it'll make the pain go away."

As the pain worsens, Arjana becomes desperate for relief and quickly drinks the whole bottle,wincing at the bitter taste. Her head aches for a minute, but then the pain starts to subside immediately. Amazed and slightly invigorated, she tries to get up again, but is stopped by Birger.

"Hold on, youngin', wait until you're fully healed. By the gods you're a stubborn one..."

"But...I have to find my family, I have to go home.", she insists. "I need to go back to my kingdom."

Birger is still unconvinced, he sighs before playing along, hoping to maybe get important information regarding her condition. With a deep sigh, he decides a different approach.

"Arjana, do you remember how you wound up in the forest injured?", he asks.

The poor child thinks, but unfortunately, her memories are still muddled. She tries her hardest, but can only recall a few major events leading into her predicament.

"I remember....my kingdom was invaded. Father and big brother stayed to fight, but they sent me away."

"Where did they send you?"

"Um...Oh! To the Empire in the mountains... I think it was called the... Brymshire Empire..?

"Do you know how you got there or anyone who was taking care of you?"

"..... Oh! My father was friends with the Emperor, I was staying with them. He has an older son named Saguious, and a younger daughter named, Cellia. She was older than me and we used to play together", she explains. “I remember their maid….um… Tinomy. She was looking after me.” 

“By any chance the Emperor had a wife?”, he asks while looking off to the side.

“Yes, …but she was away at the time. I never got a chance to see her..”, Arjana says a bit solemnly. 

He seems perplexed before he looks her over. "Arjana, how old were you when the "kingdom" was invaded?"

"I was thirteen when it happened."

" When did it happen?"

"Um....I think...in January on the...first week."

"And how long were you living with the Emperor’s family?"

"I think....I was there until June.", He pauses and pinches the bridge of his nose before he looks outside of the window. The birds are chirping,and the sunlight pours into the room. Arjana is slightly unnerved by his response and his questions. Well, not so much his questions, but his responses. Is something amiss that she isn't realizing?

"Arjana.... you...don't remember anything after your time with the Emperor's family?"

"No....why?"

"....Little one...you stayed with them until June...It's already April, spring of the new year."

She looks at him slightly bewildered with so many thoughts racing through her head. There's no way that she could have been unconscious for several whole months. Arjana, in a bit of panic, stands up and attempts to pace around ,but is quickly stopped by Birger. “Let me go! Please!”, she begs. “Hold on now, wait here.”, he says before he quickly leaves the room and returns with a blue flower. "Here."

Arjana calms down a bit when she sees the glowing beautiful glowing flower. As she observes it, she notices a strange golden pollen coming off of the flower. Curious, she gently takes the delicate flower from him to give it a smell, strangely it smells very sweet almost like a dessert. “What is this?”, Arjana asks, never putting the flower down. “You know my friend, who found you? He lives in an area where they grow. He picked this and wanted you to have it. They're called Blue Dreams, and the pollen it releases can calm the mind. The children in my old village loved them.”, Birger explains.

Arjana is suddenly given a burst of energy, and has an urge to feel the sunlight.

“Mr. Birger, may I go outside please?”, she asks, slightly jumping up and down.

“Okay,okay, just don’t move around too much.”, he says quickly while stopping her from jumping. “Follow me.” ,he sighs while taking her hand and leading her outside. Arjana eagerly steps out into the sunlight, walking into the grass. The sun is bright at first, but then she enjoys the warmth it brings ,and the birds sing up above. She looks around at the colorful blooming flowers and tall trees that surrounded them. However, her glee is replaced with suspense when she doesn't see anyone else… No houses, no streets or any other citizens… It was just them, in a cabin in the woods.

Arjana gets apprehensive about the man who “saved” her. She begins to worry about whether or not she was even rescued. “What if he’s lying? What if he kidnapped me?” she thinks as her bubbly behavior slows to a stop. Birger notices this, and feeling the tension in the air, he steps back to give her some space.

“....Mister… Where’s the town?”, Arjana asks, her voice shaking slightly.

“I’m not allowed in the town, Arjana.”

“”Why…?”

He pauses for an awfully long time, leaving just the sounds of the forest around them. After what seems like an eternity, he finally decides to answer. “....Because of where I’m from. I’m… not a citizen of the town. So they tell me to stay outside the town limits for the safety of the other citizens living there.”, he explains while gesturing to a small sign he set up in front of a path. The sign says “Rockridge town” with an arrow pointing north, while it says “Cursed Mountain” to the east.

“May I go to town and see if I can get home?”, Arjana asks, hoping he wouldn't object.

“You can, but they’ll drive you away. Child or not, they don’t trust outsiders. In the past, that town used to be friendly towards strangers, but …not anymore..”, he replies while sitting in the grass next to her.

“They wouldn't hurt a child….would they?”

He pauses for a moment, before answering, "Arjana… the last time I saw a hungry child at the town limits… they butchered him with machetes.”

Arjana’s heart dropped in her stomach, the sensation making her feel ill. She drops to her knees before Birger reluctantly pats her on the back to comfort her.

“Why….why would they…?”

“..... In the past, outsiders would use their deceit to get within the city. Once inside the prosperous town, they would commit crimes against the local people. Unfortunately, every time the locals attempted to cast them out, the outsiders would hide behind their weak: the children, women, and elderly.”, He explains before pulling out a wooden pipe.He takes a deep long puff from it before continuing,

 “The locals, fed up with the outsiders, resorted to violence. Many of the outsiders were purged: women, children, and the elderly were not spared. The locals had lost so much at the hands of the outsiders, that they became bitter and resentful of them. So now, whenever a woman,child,or elderly person appears at their gates, they are prepared to use deadly force without hesitation. They feel that it would deter the outsiders who wish to do them harm. The town is still prosperous to this day, but they are extremely violent towards outsiders.I guess the scars are still fresh from that time...”

Devastated, Arjana whimpers at the prospect of not being able to get help. Birger stands up and offers her his hand. “It’s getting late, you can stay in my home until we figure out what to do with you.”

Arjana sits there, unsure about whether she can trust him. He may have saved her but…she still doesn't know why she was out here or where she is. So many thoughts were running through her head on whether or not it would be wise to accept his offer. Sensing her apprehension, he offers some comfort. “This is only temporarily until we find someone to take you home.”, he says softly.

Feeling lost and unsure, she takes his hand in agreement. He helps Arjana to her feet and guides her back into the cabin. Once inside, he heads over to his kitchen and gives her an apple from his cabinet, “I can tell you haven't eaten anything. This is all I have until I go to the market.”, he says optimistically as Arjana sits on a wooden stool. "I don't mind.”, she says before taking a bite of the apple.

Looking out the window at the evening sky, Arjana sighs, she misses her family deeply. Secretly, she hopes that someone her family may come for her, but with the way things are, she is uncertain. Still, there remains a question on her mind that has yet to be answered , “What happened between June and this April?”