She had the strangest dream that night, she dreamt of strange tall men, of being dragged through mysterious doors and of a monster who had taken the form of her brother. She groaned as she shuffled under the covers, pulling them tighter over her form. “Cold…” She mumbled. She felt the heat of another person close to her and she instinctively inched closer toward it. “Brother…” She mumbled, her hands finding his arm. “What time is it?”

“No,” a soft voice said, “you’re safe now. You’re with Jake. It’s about an hour after dawn.”

“Jake….?” Amari asked, groggy. She slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes as she yawned. “Oh, that’s right. Brother isn’t home from his trip. I’m sorry you woke before me.” She unfurled herself from Jake and from the covers. She arched her back, and it wasn’t till she finally fully opened her eyes that she realized she was not in her bed.

Amari’s eyes sprung open at the unfamiliar surrounding, the rows of bunk beds, the overall mess, and the distinct woody smell that filled the air. Her heart ached as it beat heavily against her chest. where am I!? She scrambled back, away from Jake, her back pressed against the frame of the bed. Green and gold eyes wide with fear. “W-where am I!? What did you do!?” Amari asked, clearly afraid of the half-elf.

Jake’s face crumpled in concern. “You don’t remember…” he breathed. “Amari, last night your brother tried to kill you. He injected you with something-” he fumbled in his pocket and showed her the syringe. “It made you completely open to suggestion. I had to bring you here, to the Bandit Brotherhood hideout, to keep you safe.”

Jake had been so kind...energetic and thoughtful. Why would he lie like this? Amari didn’t understand. She pressed herself further into the wall, clambering to gather what blankets she could to hide herself in them. “Y-you lie!” She stuttered. “Brother is away on business!” Amari could feel her eyes begin to burn as she blinked away tears, “Last I remember...you wanted to talk about him and a book! Now I’m here….why don’t I remember? Did you drug me!? A-Are you going to hold me for ransom?” Amari shook her head, and buried it into the blanket, her voice muffled. I would...I would have given you any riches you wanted… just take me home.. Please….”

“What?” Jake exclaimed. “No! I told you, your brother drugged you when he came home early. He came in before I could tell you about his journal. I read about the things he’s done to you… and the things he planned to do. But you’re safe here Amari. I’m not after your gold and I won’t let anyone hurt you. Maybe if we find out what’s in this syringe, we can see about getting your memories back…” he trailed off, looking at the needle in his hands. “You don’t trust me, do you?”

How could she? How could she trust him? Amari had no memories of what he claimed, and her brother had always been kind, he was the only kind person Amari had ever met. Amari thought Jake was kind, but he had taken her to this strange place. His voice ached with a sadness Amari wanted to fix, but she was afraid. If only I could get out of here… Her eyes glanced from the syringe to the door on the far side of the wall. She just had to make a run for it.

“Jake…” Amari unfurled herself from the blanket and crawled over toward him. I have to be careful… she stared at the needle in his hand, afraid he’d use it on her. “I-I want to believe you…” That part was true, Amari didn’t want to think Jake was lying, even if his words meant her brother wasn’t the man she thought he was. “Maybe… we could talk about it?” She asked as she sat next to him, swinging her feet off the bed, she kept her distance, away from him and the needle. “Why….would brother want me dead?”

“He said something about… if you couldn’t be the perfect doll he wanted, he didn’t want you at all. He ordered you to throw yourself on my sword, Amari. I only just got you away.” Jake noticed the syringe was making her uneasy and pocketed it.


Amari stilled herself, her body becoming tense at his words. They sounded familiar. “His doll…” She lowered her gaze to the floor. “That was brothers nickname for me, how would you know that?” She furrowed her brow. Things didn’t make sense, they didn’t add up.

“I read it in his journal, and I heard him say it,” Jake said, “he wanted to… own you. He wanted to use you in ways that don’t bear thinking about.”

Amari squirmed, she forced her eyes shut and could feel hot tears streaming down her face. She made no effort to wipe them away. “I can’t…” Her words came out as a whisper. “I c-can’t…..” Her words became louder, shaken by her own fear fuelled adrenaline. Amari shook her head, “I can’t believe you!” She finally said as she kicked herself off the bed and made a run for the door.

She had to be close right? If she could just make it outside….

Amari’s shaky hands struggled to turn the smooth doorknob, she finally managed to open it and yanked it hard, stumbling forward through the door. There, she came into a long hallway with windows that let in red rays of morning light. She could see an external door ahead, and ran toward it, her footsteps slapping against the hardwood floor. She burst through the door, breathing heavily.

I must be almost out…. I must be…. I must… Amari didn’t look back to see if Jake was following, she was afraid, and she was driven to find her way out.

The sunlight blinded her for a moment, and as her vision returned her hope collapsed. She was in some sort of courtyard surrounded by tall wooden walls with ramparts. There were guards with bows by the guates and on the walls. She was trapped. Amari collapsed to her knees, then to her hands.

It was hopeless...She wasn’t sure she was even in Salvar anymore.