Word Count: 1688

~Akara

I'm so stunned, there is a moment where the man's lips are pressed against mine, before I push at his chest, sending him hurtling back cross the room.

"Get off me!" I yelp, stumbling backward.

The man stares at me, like I'm the crazy one. I've never seen him in my life. He has striking dark eyes, and slightly too long black hair, looking like a Scarlet Province native. He's nice to look at, but there is no way I'm okay with a stranger coming in here to kiss me. And now he's acting like I'm acting out of order.

"Akara? What's going on?" he questions, looking as bewildered as I feel.

"Who are you, and why did you kiss me?" I demand. Were he not acting like he's genuinely convinced he was doing the right thing, I may have attacked him, but I'm curious to know what he is thinking. And I know I haven't accidently taken up the appearance of his past lover, considering he has said my name.

He frowns, digging his hands back through his hair. "Akara, it's me, Grey."

"I've never heard that name in my life," I exclaim.

"How can you say that after what we had? I know it was brief, but I can't forget it." He approaches me, but when I take a wary step away from him, he pauses, knowing I'm not faking my reaction to him.

"You must be insane. I wouldn't just forget someone..." I tell him. As much as I try to look back into my past, maybe to before I ever left my home village, there is no memory of the man before me. Perhaps I knew him when I was younger, and his appearance has changed. But why would he kiss me?

He looks hurt, like I've physically struck him in the chest. "Then why don't you remember me?"

I blink. And then it hits me.

My lost memories.

"Oh no..." I mutter hopelessly, beginning to pace. Those few weeks of lost memories...that must be from where Grey knows me, but now, I have no recollection of who he is, and why we came into contact.

"What?" he asks worriedly.

"When did you meet me?"

He shrugs. "Like, a couple months ago."

"And you're from..."

"The Jade Province."

Strange. I expected him to say the Scarlet Province, but it's not uncommon for people to move Province's. Maybe that's what drew me to him when we first met. But that means if I met this man, I could have met others, or could have done anything, because I was clearly not unconscious during that time.

"How did we meet?" I ask softly, concerned about the answer. He may be the only person who knows where I have been during that time, what I did and who I saw. He could be exactly what I need to unlock the answers.

"We met in a bar in a town near the edge of Tai's, or Vaia's at the times, territory. You asked me to take you to the border of the Azure Province," he tells me, still sounding confused about me not being able to recall this.

"And you did?" At least this explains how I made it to the Azure Province border.

"Yes...That's how we got to know each other over that week and a half," he explains, shaking his head hopelessly. He probably thinks I've lost my mind, or that I'm pretending not to remember him.

I turn around, squeezing my eyes shut. "What have I done?"

"Don't you remember?"

I whirl back around to face him, knowing there is nothing I can do to make him feel better about this. "No. I have no memory of any of that time. I woke up near the border of the Azure Province and had no idea how I got there."

"Really? So you don't remember me at all?" he asks, the pain in his voice even making me feel bad, and I don't know him at all, or owe him anything.

I wince. "I'm sorry, but no."

"You seemed quite sick during that time. But you wouldn't tell me why," he muses.

Sick? I remember waking up in a pit of dead bodies, and after that, my memory was lost. I must have come to consciousness some point after that, and somehow ended up in a bar where Grey was. It makes sense that I was sick, before I killed a Summoner. I want to ask Grey about that, but I need to know that I can trust him first. I don't need him to turn on me if I accidently reveal that I'm a murderer.

"What did I tell you?" I ask. I must have been somewhat in control of myself if I was able to establish a new relationship, so I must have shared my motivations with a man who is willing to kiss me.

Grey sighs, running his hand down his face. "Not much. You shared such little information with me, but you were very passionate."

Passionate?

"We slept together?" I question, disgust rolling around in my stomach.

"No...No, I mean we kissed, a lot, but you didn't want sex. You kept talking about some guy called Marek, which I brushed off because I thought he was your brother," he admits sheepishly. I roll my eyes.

"I'm sorry, but you're an idiot," I deadpan.

"I know, okay? But you were....are so beautiful, and I was just grateful you even looked at me," he exclaims, starting to pace like I was. He's shaking, looking like he's moment away from wildly panicking, everything that he knew unravelling.

Him and I are sharing that feeing, because I'm struggling to accept that I've lost such an important portion of my memory. A few weeks might not be much, but clearly a lot happened in that span of time. Not to mention, I murdered someone, and I wish I knew how I came to do that.

"Did I say anything during that time that would didn't make sense to you?" I ask, hoping I can allude to the murder. Grey looks thoughtful.

"You kept talking about your mother, or a mother, I'm not sure."

"Really?"

Strange. I mean, I imagine I was worried about my family, hoping Vaia didn't go and kill them once she knew I was dead. But why only my mother? Our strained relationship may have been on my mind, so maybe I wanted to get back to her after I had found Marek.

"Yeah. I asked you what you meant and you wouldn't tell me. You kept saying you needed to find her," he says with a shrug. He clearly didn't care that much for my motivations, and more for how I felt about him.

I'm not sure why that version of me wanted to be with him...I don't think I'll ever make sense of that.

"Weird. I have no memory of any of this."

"That's okay...I'll tell you all about it," he says gently, a smile finding it's way to his lips. I nod. I'm not just going to cast him away now, when he could know far more than what he is telling me right now. It's clear though, from the starry looking on his eyes, that he cares more about the relationship we had.

"We aren't going to fall in love or anything. Got it?" I demand. My heart belongs to Marek, which he should have realised from what I told him.

His smile drops. "Why not?"

"Because...Because it's not happening. I'm engaged to the King," I snap. May as well keep up the ruse of my engagement to Tai. He's going to find out soon, and I'm hoping I can find people who can get me out of here.

"Again? You told me he was a monster." So that reveals that I was telling him about my past...And that I knew, even then, before I found out about Tai's brother, that he was not someone I could trust.

"Doesn't matter. Are you from around here?"

"I got this job to see you. I live not far from here," he murmurs. Perfect, although it does make me a little sad for him that he moved here just for me, when there is no chance of us being together.

"Can you ask around in the town, see if anyone knows about me? And if they do, can you see what they know about me," I ask. I need to know if I'm truly in danger. Leaving here and finding a new life will be much harder if I have people from the Jade Province, or maybe even further, hunting me down to know about the cure for the river.

"Of course. Can I ask why?"

I tap my finger against my chin. "I think they want me dead."

"I'll see what I can do," he murmurs. He wants to ask more, but he's smart enough not to inquire more. Royal business is always dirty.

I tuck my hands behind my back. "Thanks, ah..."

"Grey," I mutter flatly.

"Right. Thanks Grey," I murmur, rubbing the back of my neck uncomfortably. He nods tightly, leaving the room swiftly.

How am I going to explain this to Marek and Tai?

🧡••🧡

Remember that you can always find this story 10 chapters ahead on Radish (:

You will find it under King's Possession Season Three!!

~Midika 🐼💜