He couldn’t really grasp that he was out here, under the stars, without her. Before last year, the only time they’d been here was together. But it wasn’t enough that she was gone, but also that he was forgetting her.

It wasn’t the normal flow of time washing away his memories—maybe that’s a part of why he was so frustrated about it. He was already beginning to forget what she looked like, and he feared in a couple more years he’d start forgetting that she ever existed. He knew it wasn’t normal because everyone else started feeling the same after she disappeared. It took even Domenique a few minutes to recall her name. Almost every text that held details about her was either getting lost or those parts were mysteriously fading away. He didn’t want to think about how long it would take for her memory to be erased completely… or his own guilt about not watching her closer.

…

They’d just left the castle. Their plan had been simple: walk to the field, unwind a little bit, maybe do some cloud watching, and stay until Kiah inevitably dragged them back to the castle. It might not have been anything fancy, but it was something they both needed. Imre had always felt like their time together was better than being completely alone, and he had a feeling Fauna felt the same.

“If you could be any figure from Qizarn mythology, which would it be?” Fauna asked casually as they walked. It was something to fill in the silence; one of the conversations they would uphold until they knew only each other were listening. “I think… I’d like to be Zaeseg. They carry the sun through the sky and make things a little brighter for everyone. They’re nice and Mom said they could heal people…”

“I’m going to go with Peiros,” Imre decided after a moment. “Particularly around the time of the Minotaur. I can’t imagine having all of the attention he acquired through that, and I wish it was ever said exactly how he did it. I know most of the caves were later created by Anysia, but they all needed something to go off of… I wish the original entrance wasn’t in Idkor; his craftsmanship must be something to behold.”

“Drawing inspiration from a certain trip, I see,” she mused. “The time we went to the Caverns… I almost wish we could go back to that time again. If it wasn’t for the fact everyone was on edge and it seemed like we were always arguing, anyway. Maybe not anything after, but… what about a bit before?”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

He smiled as he recalled all the memories of their not-so-distant past. “What about when we went to Pypes and ended up rediscovering an entire lost civilization? Now, that is a place I wouldn’t mind going to again.”

“That was pretty fun,” she agreed. “And we didn’t need to be the peacekeepers for once… everyone actually got along with each other. Then everything kind of slowly started falling apart from there… Now the farthest I ever go is to Hyasari and back again…”

“I’ll tell you what. Once Dimas comes back, we can all go to the beach. Mother wouldn’t mind taking on a bit of my work for that—I’m sure Elena would help out, too.” It was something he was already beginning to look forward to. He didn’t suspect it taking too much longer, judging by what Dimas wrote to him yesterday. They’d all be together like they used to; no mask of formality or sense of duty involved. He wouldn’t be the king, or his council and subjects… they’d just be friends.

It honestly looked like she had the same thoughts he did. “I’d like that. You can’t take it back now; it’s a promise.”

But all of her happiness faded when she saw something in front of them. He tried following her gaze, but the only thing he saw was the thinning trees revealing how close they were to their destination.

She was gone before either of them could say anything. Imre tried searching the direction of the rustling, knowing that it wasn’t just an animal. He tried calling her name, but only heard her respond once, near the beginning of his search. He didn’t hear anything since, although that didn’t mean he stopped. He’d only realized how long he spent looking when Kiah had caught up with him.

Suffice to say his explanation when he arrived with the castle was one of frustration, hopelessness, and ultimately led to him shutting himself away in his room.

…

He was brought out of his reverie by the only other voice that could really comfort him.

“There you are. It feels like it took me hours to find you.” Dimas walked up beside him, though his intent for finding him was clear enough when he didn’t sit down. “This place suits you. A pretty view of the river from the middle of nowhere, far enough from the trees that you can look up at the sky… But you know you shouldn’t be this far from the castle at night. There’s Skiá all over the place.”

“You’re right,” Imre sighed as he stood up. “Let’s get back before Natheniel starts causing Mother any trouble.”