"Althea..." A feminine voice cautiously spoke.

"I don't have any time to waste. Please tell me what had happened before." Althea didn't waste a single sentence and asked for answers from Analyn. She had to know at what time she had come back.

"You're... Do you know who I am?"

"Analyn. My childhood friend. There's nothing more I can say right now." Althea asked. Her hurry was visible.
----------------------------------------
"The war will start soon and, I can't risk things." Althea mumbled. Thankfully, she had returned to the time before the war. Just like the last time.

"Don't worry. I've called everyone. They'll be here soon. Also, I'm leaving to find that girl you mentioned. Chesa, right? I believe whatever you said, you've no reason to lie and I've no reason to not believe. Please take care of things, until then." Analyn stood up to leave the room.

"Thank you..."
--------------------------------------------
"You remember things?" Melchor was the very first person to arrive and put forth this question. His condition wasn't the best but, he looked presentable enough.

"I do. Do you?" Althea asked. It was completely her hunch but, she had a feeling she wasn't wrong. The book that she read and the events clearly indicated something.

The world of 'Love Is...' was a never ending loop of what Lilith wanted and what actually happened. Everytime, Lilith would try to make the cliche things happen, the characters and the world's conscience wouldn't let it happen. What she wrote was absolute but, what happened wasn't... Lilith' power was limited. Therefore, she was unable to have the world go according to her rules. But, the characters. They had a different story. Lilith was quick to understand this and so, she started manipulating one character at one time. Althea, being her favorite in terms of manipulation. It was easy to take away her memories, as they weren't stable to begin with.

Whenever, Althea was gone, and the story would astray, and, she'd come to manipulate Melchor, who was already depressed and not of very strong mind. If things didn't go accordingly still then, Jaslene, Alab and Chesa were her next pawns. It was clear. She deeply loved her main characters and couldn't play with them even when she tried. The other? They were victims.

Lilith was literally playing with everyone's life. This life of theirs wasn't her stage to play. Even if she thought about their lives as a game, it wasn't HER game. They were the owners of it. Althea felt that the ultimate goal here was happiness, which she wasn't letting them get. Games were fun and fun was supposed to make people laugh, smile and feel happy. Seeing life as a game reoriented her back to her purpose. And as a poet had once said, "your happiness is your gift to the world." She was determined to at least, free themselves from this game Lilith was trying to play.
-----------------------------------------------
"So, you've sent Analyn and Alon to fetch Chesa? And they're going to take care of Jaslene, along the way?" Melchor questioned.

"Yes, hopefully, they'll manage. I believe, they would. We need to gather all the pawns for this game of chess."

"Will you be okay?" He turned towards Alab who looked deep in thought.

"I'll try to be." He mumbled. It was hard for him to see her back after all these years of believing her dead. Will she even remember him? His mind was a mess.

It was interesting to know that Melchor, just like hers, remembered everything. She wasn't alone in this memory retrieval arc. Maybe, everyone remembers. That's why, it was easy for everyone to accept her so easily. First, Alab and now, Analyn. It was so easy for them to believe her.
--------------------------------------------
Almost a month passed away in the blink of an eye. All their time passed away in preparation of war, both with monsters and Lilith. Althea tried mastering her Moon Staff as it was the most helpful thing in helping the war casualties. Melchor had his duties as a Noble and military head. His time was almost occupied. Even after all this, he'd always manage to spend some time with Althea and help her with her training. Alab was more preparing for his mental state than, physical. He needed it the most, after all.

And so, finally, the day came when the original male characters returned, along with Chesa...
________________________

Number of words : 733
________________________