She opened her eyes. She was laying on a table, surrounded by three people wearing black cloaks with white eyes on their left shoulders.

She jumped as they stared at her. "Who are you?"

A young man with shaggy blonde hair and piercing blue eyes smiled at her. It wasn't quite a friendly smile.

He offered her a hand. "I'm Gethen. I assume you don't remember me."

She stumbled back almost falling off of her bed. "I... I don't remember anything." A tear ran down her cheek as she realized that her mind was completely blank. She had no memory before this moment.

A woman with pale skin, pointy ears, and long black hair pulled back into a tight bun stepped forward. "I'm afraid your mind has been wiped." She sat on the bed next to her. "We weren't here in time." She grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "If it helps, your name is Balefire."

"Balefire?" That name sounded familiar. "That doesn't sound much like a name."

Gethen gave a genuine smile this time. "I always just called you Bella."

Bella met his gaze, cocking her head. "How do we know each other?"

The woman stood up. "The two of you were partners. There wasn't a mission that Gethen went on that you didn't join."

"Mission?" Bella asked.

Gethen nodded. "We are members of an organization known as the Neverseen. We fight to fix our broken world." He offered her his hand again. This time she took it. "Unfortunately, there is another group who seeks to thwart us - the Black Swan. They are the ones who took your memories."

Bella wobbled for a moment and collapsed into Gethen's arms. Pain shot up her side.

Gethen glanced at her side and saw the blood staining her shirt.

He scowled. "What did they do to you?"

He sat her down on the bed and rifled through the shelves to find an elixir. There was a noise in the hallway.

The woman with pale skin tensed. "We have to go."

Gethen walked back over to Bella. "You have to come with us." He offered his hand for a third time.

Bella hesitated for a moment before taking it.
Gethen picked her up and stepped into the beam of light that the woman had made.