The sun ascended from the depths of the sea, welcomed by the sad cries of seagulls. Its rays bathed the old stone roofs of Sefis and gilded the towers of the lord’s mansion perched far up on the hill. Soon, the morning sky was dyed the freshest shade of pink, equal only to the cheeks of the young lady sitting on the tiles of the tallest castle tower and enjoying this mesmerizing dance of light and color.

Lorelei could not remember when she started this morning ritual of hers. Was it shortly after her mother had died? Or maybe after the first beating her dear half-siblings had given her? She could not remember. And it didn’t really matter. The important thing was that ever since she was old enough to walk, she would come up here to greet the new day. The beauty and purity of the sunrise gave her hope. Hope, that beyond the tall gray walls of the harbor lay a wondrous and mysterious world; a fairer one worth living in. She loved these short moments of serenity. They were one of the few things that made the past twenty years in this hell livable.

Taking a deep breath of salty fresh air, Lorelei sighed and stood up. The morning wind played with a few strands of hair that had slipped out of her braid. It was time to go down to the real world. Normally it wouldn’t have been a problem even if she was absent for the whole day. That would have been the ideal solution to everything – staying away from the lord’s disdaining gaze, her sister’s temper fits, the ogling looks of the resident knights. Yes, every other day it would have been better to stay hidden in the attic or in the library, not risking meeting any of them. But today was special – the second prince was returning from his victorious campaign in the south. Since yesterday evening, the black dots of ships were visible on the horizon, and right now a forest of sails was filling the harbor, waiting for the right moment to let the important guests on land.

It was going to be a busy day.

Lorelei ran down the squeaking stairs and flew through the silent halls of the sleeping castle. The masters were yet to wake up and only one or two maids were hurrying with the morning chores. Whenever someone spotted the skinny running figure, they would avert their eyes, muttering in low breaths “the mutt”. Lorelei didn’t care. Anyway, it was an everyday occurrence.

The path to the town took her more than an hour, but it was worth it. With sparkling eyes, Lorelei savored everything around her – the festive flags hanging over the streets, the camellia flower wreaths on the doors of the shops, and the bustling laughing people around her. Far down from the harbor, a horn sounded, signaling the landing of his imperial highness. Mixed with the bubbling crowd, Lorelei fought her way through the front rows, cheeks red and heart pounding, filled with the innocent feelings of every young maiden currently present.

“Oh, Lord! It’s the Golden Lion!” a freckly chubby girl squeaked. “He is so strong! Not even twenty-five but such a splendid knight!”

“He is so handsome!” another girl chimed in. “Just like the demigods of old!”

“Silly lass,” an old man laughed nearby. “All that you care about is looks. You see, the prince is a true hero. He crushed the invaders from the south, even though he was outnumbered one to three. That’s what I call a true man!”

Listening to the bustling of the crowd, Lorelei felt her heart tremble. Never in her life had she thought that she was going to witness such a grand event. This was going to be a momentous day. Unfortunately, she didn’t know how right she was.

Suddenly, cheers erupted down the street. Then a thunderous sound engulfed everything. The ground shook under the stomping feet of the marching soldiers. At the helm, a brilliant knight led the parade. His polished armor reflected the sunlight like a mirror, and his red cape fluttered in the wind. Free from the constraints of the helmet, golden shoulder-length hair fell in lush waves around his fair face. Around his forehead was a thin white bandage tinged with a bit of red, covering his heroic wounds from the battle. Despite that, there was joyous laughter in his blue-green eyes and a gentle smile on his lips. His horse neighed and danced around, excited by the loud cheers. Behind him row after row of knights and squires followed, all in shining armor, carrying bright flags, waving and greeting the crowd.

Lorelei didn’t dare to even blink, out of fear of missing something. Everything was so colorful and gorgeous! The people were screaming at the top of their lungs:

“Long live his imperial highness! Long live Prince Lionel, the Golden Lion!”

But right then a murmur rose from afar. Slowly the cheers died out, extinguished by hisses and whispering.

“Dear Gods, who is that?!”

“Mommy, he looks scary like a demon!”

"Hush, sweety. He is a knight too. We can get in trouble."

“How unsightly! He didn’t even try to wash off the blood!?”

At the end of the shiny procession came another rider. If one was to say that prince Lionel was a sun, blessing the eyes of the crowd with his gentle light, then this man was a nightmare from the depths of the darkest night. His armor was the color of soot, big rust-like splatters all over it, and his red cape was dirty and torn. Similar to prince Lionel, he wasn’t wearing a helmet, his features free for everyone to see. Or at least they would have been, had he not donned a mask, hiding his eyes and the left portion of his face. What one could see was his strong chin and the tightly clenched lips, devoid of any laughter. His short, black hair reached only to his ears and looked like the feathers of a raven after a storm. His left hand was resting on the saddle of his battle horse – an animal devoid of emotion just like its master. Behind him came his soldiers, a sad imitation of their shining brethren; torn capes, chunks of armor missing, rust-like splatters covering them. Despite that they walked, heads held high, with firm steps and determination in their eyes. At the very rear, there was a covered wagon following them, driven by a young boy of fourteen, maybe fifteen, and even his chain mail was torn, showing the dirty cloth beneath.

The crowd averted their eyes but the whispers didn’t cease, similar to the wind in the forest leaves.

“These are the Black knights of Norden.”

"Poor souls!"

"May the Two Gods give them Their protection."

“Spare your sympathy. They don't follow the code of honor. They don't even deserve to be called knights."

"I heard that their leader is the devil incarnate. He doesn’t show mercy even to women and children.”

"That can't be true! He was knighted by the emperor himself."

“But it is true. I've heard that that man bathes in blood and even kills babies in their cribs.”

"Bah, this ain't even the worst! My cousin heard from a friend of a friend, a sailor and honest lad, he heard that up north there are still... you know... them black magical beings!"

"Bollocks! He's heard that from a sailor's drunk grandma."

"Yea, no way!"

"Yes, way. And the Beast of Norden is living among them ice-planes and devil spawns! His heart surely has turned into a black icicle by now too."

"Didn't I tell you, that's why he likes bathing in warm blood."

“Oh, my Lords! How horrible! And to think that such a dreaded person is related to his highness Lionel.”

“Shh, quiet! Despite being a bastard, in his veins still flows royal blood. We've said too much already.”

The murmur of the town’s folk brushed past Lorelei’s ears. Unknowingly she clenched her fists and her throat felt dry. Poor people. They were as much heroes as the soldiers before them. Didn’t they fight for the glory and prosperity of the Empire? Didn’t they spill their blood to subdue the unruly tribes of the South? They deserved better!

In the first place, Lorelei didn’t understand how everyone could trust tall tales and gossip. There was no way that could be true... right? Especially that part. Magic? Demons? How could anyone believe in such things? No, no, her teacher was right. ‘Rumors are like the Black plague,’ he always said. ‘They start with a harmless cough and then eat your body from the inside until you find yourself in the grave. Never give ear to rumors! Unless you’ve spread them yourself.’

She sighed deeply at her master’s sly remark and fought her way out of the crowd, pushing the sad procession and her dark thoughts to the back of her mind. She had work to do.

The streets were empty and only the faraway cries indicated that this was not a ghost town. Lorelei walked the narrow alleys until she reached a neat white house. The sign in front read in shining letters “Ser Levi, physician”. The “p”, however, was long gone, probably stolen by someone who didn’t know the difference between brass and real gold. The young woman chuckled and banged on the door.

“Teacher, it’s me! Open up!”

No one answered. The possibility of her master being out with the crowd popped in her mind, but she hurriedly brushed it away. She knew him far too well.

“Master, your life will shorten, if you keep waking up so late!” she yelled and this time her foot landed on the poor door.

Inside the house, something crashed. Then a window on the upper floor flung out with a bang and a mane of pure white hair peeked outside.

“Who is this ungrateful disciple cursing her master to death?” The shrill voice of an old man rang in the narrow street.

“Don’t be angry, teacher, or you’ll get even more wrinkles.” Lorelei chuckled and waved her hand happily. “It was you who said that I must wake you up before noon today at all costs.”

“All Saints! Girl, what time is it? What about the procession?”

“They already went towards the castle.”

“Thousand devils! What took you so long? We are going to be late! What are you waiting for!? Hurry to the back and prepare the cart. We don’t have a second to lose!”

This reaction startled Lorelei a bit, but she was already used to her teacher’s oddities. In a short while, the little gray donkey was reined to the cart just in time to greet its disheveled owner. Ser Levi appeared at the back door bent under a large sack. Another two bags full to the brim with flasks and ointments were at his feet. Lorelei helped him to load everything in the cart and then quickly hopped behind. The old man gave a loud whistle and the little donkey trotted uphill towards the lords’ mansion.

What welcomed them, when they got close to the gates, was utter chaos. Around the castle and even in the large courtyard a forest of white tents that were absent in the morning had appeared. Sorrowful moans and screams came from inside them. Servants darted between the mansion and the tents, carrying buckets and sheets of linen.

Witnessing all this, Lorelei could not help but get pale.

“H-how is this possible?!” Her voice trembled. “But right now, during the parade…”

“Those were the ‘presentable’ ones,” gruntled her master and rolled up his sleeves. “The rest were transported here in secret through the western gate. Stop daydreaming, girl, we have work to do.”

His words sobered her up. She helped him unload the cart. Bag of ointments over her shoulder, she was going through the flasks when a loud cry made her heart stop.

“Hey you, mutt, what are you doing here?!”

A few steps from her stood a young man of twenty, twenty-two. Clad in pristine red garments, he had a noble demeanor and the first signs of a double chin to back it up. His eyes sized Lorelei from top to bottom and he snarled with disdain.

“Lord Ronan,” her voice trembled slightly, “I was just about to help master Levi with…”

“Stop mingling with the low-life, you are dirty enough as you are. There is too much on our heads right now. They need help in the north wing. Hurry up and go.”

“Yes, my lord.” Lorelei curtsied and threw her teacher an apologetic look. The old man waved his hand for her to go and secretly made an impolite gesture in his long sleeves towards the young nobleman.

Without any delay, Lorelei rushed to the north wing. Contrary to the young lord’s words, she did not meet a living soul on her way there. Where was she even supposed to go? As if to answer her question, an ugly roar came from the farthest room to the left.

“Stupid women, if you have time to idle and faint go tend to my men!”

The door crashed open and two maids came running out, the one half-carrying, half-dragging the other. Both looked on the verge of tears, their faces pale as if they had seen the devil himself. Lorelei’s heart was sprinting like a running horse. She didn’t want to go in. This man was rude and scary. But it was Ronan’s order. If she didn’t go in she would get in trouble later.

Lorelei gritted her teeth and forced herself to step forward.

The big room was almost empty. There was only a large bed and an old wooden chair, and next to them was a big basin with steaming water. On the bed sat a man, still in his armor, with his back towards the door. The moment Lorelei went in he lifted his head like a weary animal expecting a hunter.

“Jessup, you lazy boy, you finally decided to show up. Come, help me take off this wretched thing.”

His deep voice startled her but his tone, albeit rude, had a tint of playfulness in it. Maybe she could use the moment while he was still calm and not screaming around. She came a bit closer and curtsied.

“Forgive me, my lord. The young master of the house sent me. How can I assist you?”

Her words startled him. He spun around and she finally was able to see his face and the black mask covering more than half of it. The man before her was none other than the rumored Beast of the North!

Lorelei felt her knees getting soft but she forced herself to remain still. Was... was he really a demon; his heart really an ice-shard? No, no, no, that was stupid. Still, she wanted to run away. 'I am sorry, teacher,' she thought as her own heart raced, 'it seems that this time the rumors have won!'

“H-o-o, no fainting or squirming around, little girl?” There was obvious sarcasm in his voice. “Since Jess is lazing somewhere, you’ll do for now. Come here and help me take off this pile of iron.”

Ordering her feet to move, Lorelei came before the scary man. She carefully left her bag on the floor and knelt in front of him. The man had already removed his thick metal gauntlets and shin protectors on his own. The breast and back plates and the arm and shoulder guards were still left though. Without thinking much, Lorelei reached for his shoulder pad and tried pulling the straps. Instantly a heavy hand yanked her away towards the wall.

“Foolish girl!” the man roared. “Be careful where you are touching! Have you never done this before?!”

“N-no, my lord” Petrified with fear Lorelei could only stutter and swallow her tears.

“Dear Saints, give me strength!” the man sighed and shook his head. “Listen, girl, as much as I don’t like it, I need your help. From now on you will do exactly as I say. Understood?”

Lorelei nodded in a hurry and crawled carefully back to him, fearing his anger. Under his guidance, the heavy armor was released piece by piece, followed by the padded undergarments until he was left only in his undershirt. At that moment she finally understood why he had acted so beastly before. His whole left shoulder was dyed red-brown by the dried-up blood. He was wounded!

“Hey, don’t faint on me now, girl.”

His voice shook her up and she lifted her head. Their eyes met for the first time. His were as gray as the winter sky and just as cold. She gulped and shook her head.

“I won’t, my lord.”

‘As physicians, we put the lives of our patients first. Everything else comes second.’ She heard the voice of her teacher in her head. ‘The patient comes first’ she repeated over and over, trying to quench her fear. Lorelei grabbed her bag and started to retrieve scissors, bandages, and salves from within. While she did this, the man followed her moves with slight bewilderment.

“And what are you planning to do now, girl?”

“What my master taught me, my lord. I beg you for permission to cut your shirt and clean your wound.”

As she said that, she took the scissors and reached out, but the man grabbed her hand in an iron grip.

“You mean to tell me that you know some healing arts?” There was an obvious mistrust in his voice and Lorelei could pretty much guess why.

In Limeria the physicians and surgeons were usually men. Women were allowed to be only midwives or at most prepare some traditional home-made remedies for everyday ailments. Lorelei began to panic. If the Beast of the North felt offended by her bold actions, she could lose her head! Despite that, she could not leave an injured man and go away. The wound was probably hurting very much. If she ran away now, her teacher would be disappointed with her cowardness. What’s more, she would be disappointed in herself. So, she mustered up all the will and strength she could find and answered:

“Yes, my lord. I have been helping a physician in town for some time now. I have some basic knowledge of medicine.”

The sharp gaze from behind the mask studied her for a while. Then the man nodded and released her hand.

“Go on, then.”

‘I know that he is scary, but I need to help him. Right now, I am the only one who can! Oh, dear teacher, dear Gods, please protect me!’ Her thoughts ran wild but her gestures calmed down to the well-learned routine. With firm movements she cut up his shirt, revealing the mess that was hidden beneath. Lorelei instinctively bit her lips, swallowing a gasp. The body that she saw before her was a book on wound history. There were scars crisscrossing the olive skin on his chest and abdomen. An especially nasty one crawled alongside his ribs. There were several smaller ones on his left forearm. Still, the scariest of them all at the moment was the newest – right in his left shoulder there was a piece of wood as thick as a man's thumb sticking out.

Lorelei froze for a second. This was her first time seeing such a large arrow. She then returned to her senses, grabbed a piece of cloth, and opened one of the bottles. The room was immediately filled with the strong scent of alcohol. She put some of it on the cloth and reached out to clean the wound, but the knight grabbed her hand yet again, this time a little gentler though.

“Do it carefully and don’t yank the arrow.”

“I know, my lord.” Lorelei took a deep breath. “I am sorry, my lord. This will sting.”

After saying that she started cleaning the wound. To her surprise, the man didn’t even flinch. With all the blood washed away, the wound itself became visible. The skin around the arrow shaft looked red and inflamed. Lorelei’s expression sank.

“I am afraid it got infected.” Her calm tone made the brows of the man fly up. However, the mask kept his bewilderment hidden.

“I see.”

“How long has it been in there, my lord?”

“Around two, no, three days.”

“What!” She couldn’t believe her ears. “My lord, you could get blood poisoning! Why didn’t you remove the arrow earlier?”

“Didn’t have much of a choice. We were in a hurry and there were others in more need of a medic than me." His words were stern but not angry. "Plus, I have been told that it is easier to pull out an arrow if it festers.”

“But that’s stupid! The infection could also spread throughout your body and kill you!” Unable to stop herself, Lorelei exclaimed and immediately regretted her actions. Her remark could be considered a sign of disrespect. Gods, she had screamed at the Beast of the North and called him ‘stupid’! Her head could be rolling on the floor any minute now.

“So, what are you going to do about it, girl?” The man decided to ignore her mistake. “The arrow still needs to be taken out. You better go fetch your master.”

Holy Saints, she was saved! Lorelei licked her lips nervously.

“I can pull the arrow out myself if you allow me, my lord.” Her reply shocked him.

“Have you ever even done this before?” The man’s voice was full of doubt.

“I am not an expert, my lord. But I have taken out three arrows. Hunting accidents happen and…”

Suddenly the man started laughing. This made Lorelei jump, but there was no malice in his laughter.

“Then I am in your hands, girl.”

Lorelei fell silent and licked her lips. It wasn’t too late to run away and call her teacher. Instead, she rummaged through her bag pulling out a candle and a small knife. She lit the candle, then dipped her knife in the alcohol and lit it. A bluish flame erupted for a second and then died out.

“What are you doing now, girl?” Lorelei could discern a sliver of surprise beneath his icy façade as he eyed the blade. And also, a very obvious threat. “Won’t you just push the arrow to the other side?”

“I can’t, my lord. The bone is right at the arrow’s path. Do not worry, I’ll make sure to pull it out properly and not ruin your shoulder or worsen your infection.”

From her bag, she procured a small flask, containing some dark liquid, and presented it to the man.

“Please, drink two sips from this, my lord. It will numb the pain.”

For a second there was distrust and killing intent in his grey eyes but they died out almost instantly.

“No opiates,” the knight shook his head resolutely. “I can bear the pain.”

Lorelei gave him a surprised look but the man’s face was impenetrable. She chewed on her lips, and hesitated for a moment, but then gave him a small piece of leather.

“In that case, bite into this and stay still as much as you can, my lord. This will hurt a lot, but please bear with it. I promise, you will feel better afterward.”

Without a word, he obediently placed the leather between his teeth. Her cold fingers touched his skin and then the blade dug in. The minutes trickled slowly, each one equal to eternity. Finally, a metal clang signaled the arrow piece hitting the floor. The nimble fingers cleared away the fresh blood and applied some strange pungent tincture on the wound. The knight shivered, feeling his skin unnaturally numb and cold everywhere the liquid touched. Surprisingly enough, the blood flow lessened. Lorelei took out a thin needle and a thread.

“I will now stitch the wound, my lord,” she explained even before the man could ask. “This method is used in the East. It will hurt less than a hot iron and it will leave a smaller scar.

The knight didn’t react, so she took it as him giving his approval. She nimbly sutured the wound and applied some balm on top. Then came the soft bandages.

The man sighed and spat out the leather, lifting his right hand to wipe out his sweat. Seeing his trembling fingers, Lorelei felt a small pull in her chest. During this whole time, he had remained silent and almost perfectly still. One could only be awed by such iron will.

She wiped her hands on a piece of cloth, packed her bag, and then handed out another small flask to the man.

“Try not to strain your shoulder and keep it dry for the next two weeks at the very least, my lord. To prevent the spread of the infection drink two drops from this every morning and evening and apply some honey on the wound. I wish you a speedy recovery, my lord.”

After saying that, she tried to leave but his large palm clasped around her hand for the fourth time, stopping her in her tracks.

“Girl, wait. What is...?”

“My liege, what is going on?”

A young surprised voice sounded from the door. There stood the cart driver boy Lorelei had seen during the parade. His appearance startled them and the man unintentionally loosened his grip. Lorelei tore away and rushed out as fast as she could, passing like lightning between the boy and the door. She was already at the other end of the floor when the man’s vengeful roar filled the air.

“Jess, you lazy bum, go catch her!”

Unfortunately for poor Jessup, by the time he ran out, it was already too late.