Norah moved around restlessly while we waited, her thoughts and intentions known only to her. It was hard for me to just watch, so I got up and helped Marco, who had regained consciousness, sit against a nearby tree.His voice trembled as he spoke, "The... right leg is broken."

I pleaded with Marco, "Stay still," in an effort to reassure him. "Help will be here any minute."

"Your friends have any first aid?" I asked Norah

"You'll know that in a short while." She gave me a curt reply and stood against the tree.

Now I see she was the same height as me.

A short while later, the sound of rattling wheels and hoofbeats could be heard. A horse-drawn cart appeared out of the woods, but the driver's inexperience was evident as the cart skidded and barely hit a tree.

Norah hurried to the back of the cart and started an intense debate with the driver. She spoke in a stern tone at first, but it gradually softened. I struggled to overhear their conversation, but I occasionally caught glimpses of the driver's similar-looking green eyes.

Their exchange became more heated and was interspersed with comments like "Really?" and "Don't tell me." The cart's driver eventually emerged from behind it and started to walk excitedly towards me. He gave me a passionate hug, lifted me off the ground, and spun me around before I could respond or warn him. I was momentarily taken aback by the suddenness of the gesture, and I couldn't help but wonder who this stranger was, and why he was making such an enthusiastic greeting.

I was able to clearly see the green-eyed stranger's face as he finally let go of his grip. He was thin and angular, with long bangs framing his features, and his green eyes sparkled with infectious happiness. He was taller than I was and had a radiant smile on his face.

"Aries! He exclaimed, "Aries!" "You do recall me, don't you? Eugene here. When Aunt Jade visited her house, I once looked after you. Do you not recall?

I reacted in shock, asking, "Wait... what?"

Norah intervened, putting herself in our path, "Eugene, give him a break. You may remember your memories from when you were three years old, but Aries was still a young child at the time. In addition, it's not certain that he is your cousin. Recall how, based solely on the color of my hair, you assumed I was your cousin back then when we met for the first time."

"But he's the real deal! He has Aunt Jade's red hair and Grandma's blonde hair, not to mention Uncle's green eyes. Just look at us! We're practically identical." He excitedly pressed his face against mine, attempting to point out the similarities.

Norah, however, sensed my discomfort and chided Eugene, "Now, I'm quite sure you're making him uncomfortable."

Eugene's expression shifted from excitement to sadness as he finally created some distance between us. Norah intervened, reminding him, "You have more important questions to ask him, don't you, Eugene?"

Eugene quickly bounced back to his usual enthusiastic self. "Yeah, you're right!" He then turned to me with a quizzical look. "What happened to Xavier? He must be with you, right?"

I replied with genuine confusion, "Who's Xavier?"

Eugene's eyes widened in surprise. "What? Don't you know your own bro—"

but Norah intervened once more, her voice filled with patience. "Eugene, he was just a child back then. How many times am I going to tell you? Take it slowly."

Eugene nodded, acknowledging her words, and took a deep breath. Eugene inquired, his tone now more careful and considerate. "So, Aries, do you at least know who you are now?"

"Yeah," I began, "it's hard to explain how I came to realize who I am, but my friends played a significant role in helping me get here."

Eugene's eyes lit up with gratitude. "Your friends? Where... where are they? I must thank them immediately." He scanned the area and noticed Marco lying there.

"Is he your friend?" Eugene asked, pointing toward Marco.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

I replied, "I could say, yeah. He's also helped me a lot."

Before I could finish my sentence, it seemed as though Eugene had teleported to Marco's side. He reached down and began to shake Marco's half-conscious hand, his voice filled with emotion. "Thank you... 'sob'... Thank you so much."

Norah and I looked at each other, and she responded with a casual shrug, "That's the emotional guy on our team."

Eugene finished expressing his gratitude before I voiced my worries. "My friends are like my siblings, and I have more of them. I need your assistance to locate them."

Eugene's eyes shone, "Similar to your siblings? Then they're also my siblings!" he exclaimed with pride. He suddenly turned his gaze to something off in the distance, though. He pointed to another horse-drawn cart coming up behind, "Ah, Ozan is here too."

After a while, another horse-drawn cart pulled up and came to a halt in front of us. A tall guy with tanned skin and deep brown, tousled hair stepped out, giving off a laid-back appearance. He exchanged a friendly palm slap with Eugene, suggesting they were close friends. However, their expressions quickly shifted to seriousness, hinting at a matter of importance.

Eugene inquired, "Anything on Mathew's family?"

Ozan replied, "Not yet. We can't go back without knowing about them, but..."

Eugene continued, "Yeah, but the guards seemed alerted. I tried to fend them off, but there were too many of them."

Ozan somberly added, "They attacked us too. Zafar jumped out of the cart, and... we lost another guy."

Eugene, his emotions clearly running high, began, "Are you for real? Ozan, how many are we going to lose? They came with us because we were responsible for them. They're orphaned, but that doesn't mean we can treat them li—"

Before Eugene could heat up further, Norah intervened, "Remember, guys, we came here on our own account. Sir Kameli already denied permission to follow the Bramevaria, and we did it even after the warning. So we all bear responsibility for the losses."

"Am I going to calm really Norah, what happens when someone from your-" Euegene stopped on his tracks as he looked at Norah, She, too, felt the pain of their losses.

"Yeah, true," Norah admitted with a cracked voice. "I... I am a hypocrite, aren't I?"

Eugene wanted to reassure her, "That's not what I meant."

But Norah, unwilling to dwell on the topic, quickly shifted the conversation. "Anyways, we must find a way to re-enter the Stronghold and look for Mathew's family. Does anyone have a plan?"

As they all contemplated their next move, two guys emerged from Ozan's cart. One had messy black hair and hazel eyes, while the other sported a man bun and had dark black eyes.

Eugene greeted them, "Ah, Dany and Kareem, you two are here too. Could you mend that gentleman's wound please and help him get in the cart" He pointed toward Marco

While they brainstormed ideas, Ozan suggested trying to sneak in through the main gate. However, Eugene argued that it would be too dangerous. I, however, had a plan and decided to speak up.

"I have a plan!" I declared, capturing everyone's attention.

"I would need Eugene only for that," I explained.

"No! I won't let you stay alone with him. I'm coming too," Norah insisted.

Eugene intervened, "Don't worry, I will see his plan through by myself."

Ozan chimed in, "In that case, I'll tend to the wounds of the survivor we picked up before."

His words piqued my curiosity. "From before, can I see him?" I asked Ozan.

"Of course. Wait, who are you? I didn't notice you," Ozan admitted, genuinely surprised.

Eugene, excitedly tapping my shoulder, exclaimed, "It's Aries! Aries in the flesh, for real!"

Ozan, also surprised, responded, "What? Really? I would love to know the whole story later. Yeah, sure, you can see them," granting me access to the survivor.

Deniz and Cairo were dozing off on a bench inside the cart when I hastily approached it. I yelled, "Deniz, Cairo!" to them.

To my surprise, Deniz got up and pretended to be fine. "I thought you were injured!"

"Not me," Deniz answered. "For some reason, they simply instructed me to lie down, I'm not sure why, but Cairo seems seriously hurt." Cairo lay there, shifting his attention between Deniz and me.

"You okay, buddy?" I asked Cairo, but he lay there motionless and gave me a nod.

Deniz inquired, "Aries, who are these people? Do you know anything?"

I explained, "There's this guy, Eugene, who says I'm his cousin. He does look kinda similar to me, which is another sign. But I have something to do, so you two stay put here, okay?"

Deniz questioned further, "Right, but where's Marco?"

"In the other cart. Don't worry, he's safe too," I reassured him.

I rejoined Norah, Eugene, and Cairo, and told them, "I am ready. If you want to see inside that place, then I can help."