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inside the tent, “you're still not well enough to
walk around yet.”
    Realizing I wasn't alone and hearing a
strange man’s voice, I froze. Slowly, I lifted my head to look past
the foot of the bed I was laying in. With the folded blankets no
longer blocking my view, I could see the back of a man as he rose
from a chair at a small table near the entrance of the large
tent.
    His chair was draped with a dark,
forest-colored cloak and his dirty-blonde hair was gently
reflecting the soft candlelight that was lighting up the room. He
gently closed and placed a old-looking, brown book on the table
before turning to me.
    Using my elbows, I propped myself up
apprehensively and stared at him as he slowly walked over and took
a seat on the bed beside mine. I could tell from the strong,
knight-like build that was giving shape to his large, white shirt,
that in my current condition, he could easily overpower me. Friend
or foe, I was at this man's mercy.
    He sat there for a moment, looking
down and gently brushing some dirt from his wood-colored leather
pants. To my surprise, he only seemed to be a few years older than
myself. And judging by the shirt he was wearing, I must be wearing
his clothes.
    “ You're lucky to be alive,
you know?” he said softly, finally looking up at me and brushing
his dirty-blonde bangs aside to reveal a set of stormy-blue eyes.
He leaned forward a bit, placing his elbows atop his knees,
preparing for the barrage of questions he knew was
coming.
    I laid there for a moment, propped up
and motionless, staring at my new captor. “Who are you? Where's
Gentry?”
    “ I'm not sure who Gentry
is, but if you're referring to the men that were with you, we only
found one that was still alive. An older man.”
    “ Yes! Him! Where is he?!
What happened to him!? Tell me!” I demanded.
    The blonde stranger held up his hand,
signaling me to calm down and that he would answer my questions.
“We could only carry one of you. We patched your friend's head and
hid him in the brush before bringing you here. When we went back
for him, he was already gone.”
    He's alive. Thank
God. I collapsed back to the bed in a wave
of relief. After the hell we had been through, Gentry had survived.
I laid there for a moment, smiling at the news, but my brief moment
of happiness was cut short as I noticed my captor lean over and
begin to reach for me. I quickly propped up on my hands, pushing
myself back in fear as the memory of what those Kaliborians almost
did to me was reignited by this man's advance.
    He froze at my reaction. I could tell
by the expression on his face that he felt sorry for me, and for
what I had been through.
    “ I'm not going to hurt
you.” He voice was soft as he spoke and stood frozen just before me
with his arm still extended in mid-air.
    He looked me straight in the eyes as
he stood frozen in time, as if he was dealing with a wounded animal
and waiting for permission to proceed. I gazed into his stormy-blue
eyes. I didn't see the lust or maliciousness that I had grown used
to seeing in the men of my battle-ridden world. In fact, I saw the
opposite. His eyes seemed to swirl with kindness and concern.
Despite my situation, there was a calm about this mysterious blonde
that seemed to put me at ease.
    I slowly laid myself back down while
watching him closely. My body language was still apprehensive, but
it gave him permission to proceed. He gently took my chin in his
hand and tilted my head to the side, inspecting my bruised
cheek.
    “ That's good. It's healing
nicely.” Despite the situation, the genuine smile he flashed seemed
nothing short of inviting.
    He stood up and began gathering the
blankets I had knocked to the floor, calmly folding and stacking
them on the foot of my bed. The tense uneasiness in my body began
to fade as I watched him. He wasn't going to hurt me. His body
language, his eyes, his voice, everything about him seemed to tell
me I was safe with him.
    “ Who are you?” I