Chapter 12: My Name is

Gabriel POV:

His sword sliced through the air toward me, I sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the lethal arc. The force of his strike reverberated through the ground beneath me, a chilling reminder of the danger he posed. With a calculated step, I closed the distance, my fists ready to serve as my deadly weapon.

His strikes were deliberate, his footwork calculated, but I evaded his attacks all rather easily. Frustrated the fight had drawn out longer than he had expected, he made a careless lunge at me to finish it off. I deflected his strike with a block and seized the opportunity to counter. A well-placed kick to his knee disrupted his balance, forcing him to stumble. In that brief moment of vulnerability, I lunged forward, delivering a powerful blow to his chest. The impact sent him sprawling backward, his sword falling from his grip.

He gasped for breath and struggled to rise, his gaze locked on me with a mix of disbelief and humiliation. His sword lay just out of his reach, the glimmer of its blade now dulled by the earth beneath it. I anticipated him making a run for his sword, and he did. Before he could clutch it again, I closed the distance and delivered a swift, precise blow to his temple.

His eyes rolled back, and crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

The dust settled and the echoes of the struggle faded, I quickly went to her side and knelt beside her. I placed my head to her chest and could hear the faint thump of her heart beat.

“She's truly alive” I exclaimed with glee,

I took her in my arms and arose with her.

I whistled for Jack, who came running from behind the tree. “Come on boy, let's go”

I had a feeling of déjà vù as I ran towards my sanctuary with her in my arms and Jack matching my stride.

I set her down on the makeshift bed to cater for her. She had no open nor was her skin, which confused the hell out.

I caught a glimpse of her exposed skin under her torn cloth.

“Not a single scratch, this is impossible” I muttered

Her breath was steady again, so was her heartbeat.

There wasn't an injury to treat, and her Vitals were fine, so I played the waiting game.

It allowed me enough free time to think what had transpired earlier. Why would the general's men want her dead? Why did they declare her dangerous and should be killed on sight? Am I risking my life protecting a woman, I should stay far away from?

I stared at her. Even her unconscious held an ethereal grace, her beauty is an exquisite masterpiece that even unconsciousness couldn't diminish. I was totally bewitched by it. I resisted the urge to touch her face.

After several hours of soliloquizing, I couldn't come to a reasonable conclusion. The only way I'd get the answers I wanted is to ask her myself.

I waited patiently, staring blankly into the clouds, watching the last ray of sun shying behind the clouds.

Her eyelids finally fluttered open. Her uncertainty and fear taking the best of her, she swiftly arose to her feet, her legs wobbling slightly under the weight of her awakening body.

"Calm down miss, I'm here” I announced

Her eyes, wide and alert, scanned the surroundings, seeking any clues that might anchor her in this bewildering moment.

“Where are we?”

“We are in my sanctuary. You fell from the cliff, don't you remember?”

“I remember, I do remember. I thought I'd die”

“So did I. I guess the god of death isn't prepared to take your soul soon”

“My head is killing me” She said

She head her tightly between her hands, as if trying to compress the throbbing ache within her grasp, her face contorted in a grimace of pain.

“I have something that could help with that”

I went to the shelf of my cataloged herb and medicine.

I offered her a concocted drink. “This should help with your headache”

She squeezed her nose “It has a horrible smell”

“Yes I know, but it would relieve you of the throbbing headache”

She took it and gulped it down at once. Her face twisted into a horrific expression. “The taste isn't pleasant either” she complained.

I took the cup off her hand.

“What is this place? Are we still in the forest?”

“Yes, we are. It's my sanctuary, I use it to get away from the outside world. I do all my important stuff here.”

“You spend your time here all alone”

“I am not exactly alone, I always have Jack with me”

Jack raised its head from where he laid even he heard his name.

“Yes, Jack, your dog” she muttered,

“You built the shack yourself?”

“No, it belonged to my father. I didn't get to know him, but I got to know everything about him from his writings he left behind here. He was well-versed in herbs and medicine, and I managed to pick up a few things from it”

“He sounds like a great man”

I nodded. “He was”

“It's getting late, we should head back”

I knew I couldn't allow her to pass the night in the forest.

“The throbbing has reduced, but my legs are still weak”

“I could carry you,” I offered, trying to sound casual despite the worry that tightened my voice.

She hesitated, her expression conflicted. “I don't want to be a burden to you,” she replied, her voice soft yet resolute.

I shook my head, taking a step closer. “Miss, It's my fault you got hurt in the first place. If anything, you're my burden to bear.”

“No, I'm not”

“You risked your life to save mine, consider this as paying a fragment of my big debt”

There was a pause as she met my gaze, and at that moment, I hoped she could see the sincerity in my eyes. I wanted to take away any pain she was feeling, physical or otherwise. She sighed, a mixture of acceptance and reluctance on her face. With a tender smile, I crouched slightly, offering my back as support.

She gingerly climbed onto my back, I straightened up slowly, feeling the weight of her presence settle against me. It was a weight I was more than willing to carry, a burden I was willing to carry my whole life. Her arms instinctively wrapped around my shoulders for balance, and as we started our journey back, I could feel her breathing against my neck, the warmth of her presence seeping into every step I took.

The fading light and the gentle rustle of leaves seemed to fade into the background. All that mattered was the rhythm of our footsteps and the unspoken connection between us.

While she was on my back, her presence a reassuring weight against me, I found myself asking a question that had been lingering in my mind. “Miss” I began, my voice soft but curious, “what does it feel like not remembering who you were?”

She shifted slightly on my back, her breath brushing against my ear as she spoke. “It's like there's a fog in my mind,” she said, her tone thoughtful. “I know that there are pieces of my past out there somewhere, but they're just unreachable. It's frustrating, you know? To have these gaps in my memory, these blank spaces that should be filled with who I am, but they're just… empty.”

I could hear the tinge of sadness in her voice, and it struck a chord within me. The idea of not knowing your identity, of having fragments of your life scattered like pieces of a puzzle waiting to be put together, was a heavy burden to bear. I tightened my grip on her legs slightly, as if offering her a physical anchor at that moment.

Her arms around my shoulders tightened briefly, a silent gesture of appreciation. “Thank you, Gabriel,” she replied softly. “It means a lot to me, having someone by my side through all of this.”

We walked in silence. The weight of an unspoken truth felt like a stone lodged in my chest. Her trust in me was something I cherished, and the thought of keeping something from her disturbed me. Finally, with a deep breath, I decided to reveal the secret I had been hiding from her.

“Miss" I began, my voice tinged with vulnerability, “there's something I have been hiding from you.”

“What is it?” She asked curiously,

“When I found you,” I continued, “you were holding something.” I reached to my belt and pulled out the dagger, its ornate hilt gleaming softly in the fading light.

“You found me with a dagger?” She asked.

She seemed more confuseabout being found with a dagger than the fact I had hidden an important information from her.

She finally took it off my hands. Her gaze fixed on the dagger, her fingers brushing against its intricate designs.

"I wasn't sure why I didn't tell you about it earlier," I confessed, my voice wavering slightly. "Part of me wondered if I wanted to keep the beautiful dagger for myself, or because I feared you weren't ready for that piece of information."

She paid no attention to what I was saying, instead She took the dagger in her hands, and in that instant, I saw a spark of recognition in her eyes. Her fingers tightened around the hilt, her gaze unfocused for a moment as if she was peering into a distant past.

"Miss, are you okay?"

And then, as if a dam had burst, her eyes widened, and a gasp escaped her lips. "Luna," she whispered, her voice trembling yet filled with awe. "My name... My name is Luna."