"Is the doctor in there?" Hannah's gruff voice asked, leaning her back against the wall. She did not look up from the spot she was staring at on the floor, arms crossed over her chest.

She nodded, adding a hesitant yes. It was odd, even in an inn, to see a woman like Hannah. And that unnerved her even more than the usual oafs who came in here.

Turning back towards the door, she said, "He lost a lot of blood. I'm surprised he's still alive."

"…He said that there are raiders around here."

"What?" the woman blinked in surprise.

Hannah looked up at her for a moment, muscles tense, "He said that raiders attacked him on the road, when we found him. Do you know of any particular group around here?"

Thinking, the woman tapped a finger lightly on her cheek. After a few moments, she finally shook her head, "Not really…there are monster attacks, yes, and an occasional bandit or two…but not any organized groups." She paused, remembering something, "That sword that was on his saddlebags though looked sharp…I doubt only one person managed to wound him like that."

"Looks like they've started banding together. That's typical." Sighing, the brown-haired woman stood away from the wall and started heading down the stairs to the inn's first floor.

The innkeeper looked around for a few minutes, "Where are the two children that were with you…?" she asked, she'd only been away for a moment when the doctor came.

"Downstairs, getting something to eat. They're a bit tired after the walk back here." Her reply was simple, although there was a tone to it that implied that the innkeeper should probably mind her own business.

She smiled and nodded, "I understand. Do you want me to prepare a room for you this night? Considering that you brought that man back here…it would be free of charge."

Blinking, Hannah turned around and looked back at the woman. That was a very odd request, considering that this was a business. Most inns rarely ever catered to the injured unless someone had a big enough wallet, and giving out a room for free was almost always out of the question…

"…Thanks." She mumbled under her breath, before heading down the stairs again.

The woman watched her, the smile still on her face. As soon as the younger woman was out of sight, the smile fell, and a look of concern flashed in her dark eyes. Taking in a shaky breath, she clenched her hand into a fist and headed back towards the room the injured man was resting in.

The beast, once it had been washed, was a fine looking animal. Streaks of wet black hair fell across a glistening neck as it gulped down the hay in the stall as though it hadn't eaten for weeks.

Hannah watched the horse for a few moments, and a slight smile appeared on her features. It had been a long while since she'd last been able to take care of one…and she missed the old habits that slowly began to resurface as she did so. How much feed they needed, when they needed their hooves picked…

"Night Rider." She said quietly, leaning against the stall door.

At the sound of her voice, the stallion looked up from its meal, dark eyes questioning. It noticed her and whinnied, sending a hoof into the ground before walking over to her.

"That is your name, isn't it? It's what your master called you…" reaching out a hand, she rubbed his neck gently.

The horse neighed and tried looking around the stall. It was almost as if he was looking for someone…

She shook her head, "Sorry, but he's still too injured to come and see you. I'm sure he will when he's able to, though."

Night Rider turned away from her then, and headed back to the same spot he'd been standing in before from the time that she'd dragged him to the stables and had washed the blood out of his coat. Standing over the hay, he whickered once and then dove in, munching very loudly. As he did so, his tail swished back and forth in an attempt to keep the flies off his wet skin.

Hannah's smile widened at this, and she looked away from the horse. One thing about the creature became very clear to her…

…And, that was, that, if they ever saw him, she certain that her entire tribe would want to claim him, including her father. And that, in her opinion, spoke very clearly in defense of the half-dead man who was his master.

"…Do you think he has news?"

The innkeeper looked up wearily from her chair at the injured man's bedside. She looked at the dark-haired girl who had spoken, a young girl with a blue sash wrapped around her hair. Her hands were clasped together, as if she was praying for an answer.

"I don't know, Gerina…I…don't know." She looked away sadly, not wanting to say anything else.

"Can't you wake him up?" her voice was tinged with desperation, an almost pleading tone coming from her mouth.

The woman shook her head, "He's too weak right now…the doctor said that he'll probably stay unconscious for a few more days. I'm sure we can wait a few more days."

Gerina stamped her foot on the ground impatiently, a soft thud receding through the room as soft leather hit the wooden floor, "No, we can't! Mother, don't you want to know what happened to Jered?"

"…You know what happened to him." The older woman's voice was quiet and patient, and she looked at her hands as they sat limply in her lap, "This young man's appearance, and the fact that he was so badly wounded, confirmed it."

"Mother…"

Another shake of her head, "No, Gerina, we will wait. After all, it is what we have been doing these past few months anyway, isn't it?"

"…"

An uneasy silence filled the room, and the girl turned away from the innkeeper slowly, turning her gaze back to the man that was laying as pale as death on the sheets. A few minutes passed, and darkness soon filled the room.

Footsteps receded down the hallway, and Sudda took a deep breath, poking her head out the doorway. It was dark, and shadows played on the walls around them as the small light from the candle faded away.

"All right," she said turning to her little brother, "They're gone."

"It's about time." The nine-year-old looked down at his feet, "I really have to go to the bathroom…"

Sighing the girl grabbed his hand and opened the door all the way, "You can do that LATER, Richi. But this is important!" she told him, as they started down the hallway.

"…But, won't we get caught or something?"

"Not if we're quick!" she looked back at him, noticing a hesitant look in his eyes, "What's wrong? You're not scared, are you?"

The little boy's eyes narrowed at this, and he straightened his shoulders up, "Of course not!" he said defensively.

The two siblings stopped outside the last closed door in the hallway. Sudda stared at it for a few moments, and then turned her head to see if anyone was coming. When she was sure that no one was, she slowly opened the door.

A groan could be heard from inside the room, and both children squinted their eyes to see who it was. A form on the bed rolled over.

Stepping up to the bed, they could see through the faint light coming from the moon through the window that this was the same man that Miss Hannah had dragged back to Radat earlier in the day. Sweat, instead of blood, was covering his face now, and thick white bandages were wrapped all over an otherwise bare chest. Some patches of fabric had a few pink splotches on them, where blood was beginning to soak through.

"He's bleeding pretty badly…" the thirteen-year-old frowned, then turned and looked down at Richi, "Are you ready?"

"Um…" he looked up at her, uncertainty shining in his wide eyes, "Do we…have to do this?"

"You don't want him to die, do you? Like Papa did?"

He lowered his eyes to the ground, "No…" he whispered softly, "I don't want anyone to die anymore."

The girl patted his shoulder comfortingly, "That's a good choice, Richi, I'm proud of you!"

Slowly, he reached out his hand to her, "Can we get started now?"

"Sure."

The two linked hands and Sudda closed her eyes. A strange blue light formed at their joined hands, and it began expanding, covering the man's body in a pale glow. As the glow began expanding, the muscles that had been contracting painfully in the man's sleep relaxed somewhat, and his breathing became easier.

Unfortunately, it did not have the same effect on Sudda and Richi, and, after the light faded from their hands, and they released each other, they wobbled on rather unsteady legs for a few minutes. Sudda managed to keep her balance, but her brother ended up falling on the floor with a large thud.

Hannah heard the noise as she headed up the inn's stairs, trying not to wake anyone. It was already fairly dark out, and she was pretty sure that mostly everyone had gone to bed…

Curious as to what was so heavy that it could make so much noise, and also mainly because no one else seemed to be awake, the woman headed towards the room it had come from. As it happened, that was the room where the man who had claimed to be hurt by raiders was resting.

The door was left slightly ajar, and she opened it just a bit more, looking through the slit only slightly.

"Ouch!"

"Are you all right?"

"I…I think so…"

"Come on, let's get going…"

Her eyes widened slightly at the familiar voices. What were Sudda and Richi doing in there? They should have been in bed long ago…

The door opened from inside the bedroom, and the woman heard both children gasp at the sight of her silhouette in the doorway.

"Miss Hannah…" Sudda began, then stopped, not being able to think of something to say.

"What are you two doing up still?" she asked them, looking down. Her dark eyes were slightly amused.

Sudda put an arm around her brother's shoulders. The boy looked a little pale, and his feet seemed somewhat unsteady, "We wanted to see how…he was doing, and then Richi fell and…"

She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest, "That's because he's exhausted. You can see how he's doing later, in the morning."

They both nodded, "Yes, Miss Hannah." The two said in unison, then they quickly headed out of the room. The girl glanced back only once, nervously pulling a strand of black hair out of her eyes before pulling her brother along with her into the room.

Hannah gripped the doorknob and looked over at the sleeping man, "That horse of yours…" she mumbled under her breath, "Is pretty impressive."

As she was closing the door, she heard someone mumble under their breath, "You mean Night Rider? He's alright…sometimes a little too stupid, though."

Turning back in surprise, Hannah saw that the man's green eyes were wide open, and he was looking at her intently. Through the sweat drenching his face, a thin smile could be seen.

"Are you the fine maiden that rescued us? I thank you, milady."

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"Hannah" and "Suikoden 2" are (C) Konami. This chapter was posted on October 26, 2000