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Thank god it was just a dreah as I come out of a deep, restful sluher than usual, my pillow hard and flat I' inbacon

Distant alarof a tree house

What the hell?

I sit up and stare at the jittery boy around fourteen seated on a wooden box opposite the low bed I's, staring at me with ato grow looks e of dirt above his upper lip and his li in the way of nearly every boy in his early teens

This isn't home

"No, no, no!" I press theat the pal theernails is coht hand Not chipped or faded

Gone

But rew back," the boy volunteers He stands and draws so from the knapsack across his chest Whatever it is, it's wrapped in cloth He sets it on the bed near

"What is it?" I ask suspiciously

"Your hand" He opens the loosely draped cloth to display a hand Blue-white skin, wrinkly, sross," Ilike that?"

The boy blushes "The Shadow Knight said you need to learn a lesson Only a witch can regrow her body"

Definitely the Villain No Hero would ever cut off the hand of a damsel in distress

"Put that away, squire" The soft voice of a female draws both of our attentions to the entrance of the tree trunk

A woman fit to be a Disney Princess stands in the doorway in a flowing, elegant gown of rich blue beneath a plush cloak of darker blue Her eyes are large and clear, a perfect springgreen, her auburn hair in perfect, loose curls around a face that reseeous

"M'lady" The squire bows and scoops up the hand, returning to the box to sit

"I am pleased to see you awake" The wo She lifts her skirts to step over the threshold and enters, clasping her hands before her