December 1579
Darkness encloses me like a mother's womb, protective and warm. I don't want to leave it. Outside it is too cold.
A voice calls me though, insistently and something shakes me. Why won't they leave me in peace?
Then an icy touch and a pungent smell invade my senses. Reality claims me, grasping me forcefully. The echo of distant words reaches me, liquid and distorted, while an insistent pain in my shoulder makes me aware once again that I have a body.
Vague shapes and colours blend together as if from behind thick glass and I am able to make out the outlines of a face.
“You've come round at last... I was starting to get worried.”
A man moves a small bottle before my face. The vapour takes my breath away. Instinctively I push it away with my hand and raise my eyes to the l
