𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐄

𝐗𝐗𝐗𝐈

But for now let's get away
On a Roman holiday

𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒚, halsey

She felt water cascading over her face.

Her eyes snapped open.

Blinking away the remnants of dreams, she struggled to make sense of her surroundings. The air carried a faint scent of salty water and an odd metallic tang that left her disoriented. Memories, like fragmented whispers, teased at the edges of her consciousness, but she couldn't grasp hold of them and neither place herself in that room.

"Slept well, legionary?" came a voice, as cold as the winter breeze in Alaska. It was a voice she didn't recognize, though there was a strange familiarity to it.

She blinked again, trying to clear the haze from her mind as she turned towards the source of the voice. There, standing before her, was a woman with a watering can in hand, her features softened by the muted light filtering through the room.

The girl wore a regal purple cloak over her armor. Her chest was decorated with medals. Her hair was black and glossy as volcanic rock, woven in a single braid down her back. She had the poise of a sword fighter—relaxed yet vigilant, as if ready to spring into action at any moment. The worry lines around her eyes made her look older than she probably was.

With a cautious nod, she attempted to gather her thoughts, trying to recall who she was, how she got there, and more specifically—why there was a familiar-unfamiliar girl splashing water to wake her up.

"You hit your head pretty hard and were saying a load of nonsense when we found you—just give it a minute and you'll regain your memory, nothing to be worried," the girl said, probably noticing how lost she must've seemed. She placed the watering can on the floor and walked over to her, crossing her arms. "Do you remember anything from your quest?"

She ran her hand through her hair, but she halted midway. Her hair wasn't even past her neck.

Was she supposed to have this short hair?

"Quest?"

Her voice came out deeper than she expected it to be.

She wiped the droplets of water from her face, and it made her briefly look at her fingers. They were longer, strangely longer, and way bonier than it should. She couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing something, that there was a puzzle waiting to be solved just beyond her reach.

She eased herself onto the edge of the bed, the worn mattress creaking beneath her. Casting a glance around the empty barrack, she took a look over the surroundings with a furrowed brow.

Bunk beds with metal frames lined the walls, each with their own metal bedside table, and that was basically it. No decoration. It was like she'd just woken in a military base.