Mila cleaned up and prepared to close the bar for the night as she thought about her day. It was a quiet evening, and she was happy for the break from the drama that usually surrounded The Rusty Tankard. Somehow though, she knew in her gut it was just a calm before the storm. Weeks passed since she helped Trysten escape into Pakaur, and she wondered how he was doing. Was she right to take him there? For all she knew, he could have simply gotten lost and died in the swamp. What help would he be to Aeradil then?
Her grandparents told her the stories of the marshes, and she knew they even lived in the Temple of Mire at one point. She was forbidden to ever speak the stories, the common people were not meant to know the truth of where the Maeleq hid themselves away. She took a chance, telling Trysten the truth... But this was different. He was her cousin, and he deserved to know. She had very little family, most of them spread across the continent by now, and she never saw them anymore. She wasn't even sure if her grandparents were still alive. At one point they decided to go their separate ways, and told her that it was safer for her if she moved on, and made a new life for herself.
She wondered why being associated with them was a so dangerous. Maybe their jobs were a risk, and they acquired enemies along the way. They were Maeleq, after all. Their heritage alone was enough of a threat to put targets on their backs. It was lucky for her that she was only adopted. She looked nothing like them and was able to conceal her past with little effort. If not, she wasn't sure how she would have been able to survive this long as a simple bar maid. If the Dominion ever discovered who her connections were, she would be in grave danger.
A knock at the barred door shook her from her thoughts.
"We're closed!"
Another knock. She sighed and set her cleaning rag down, wiping her hands on her apron as she turned toward the door. Maybe someone forgot their belongings. It was the least she could do to let them check and see before she was gone for the night. The knock sounded again, louder and more urgent.
"Just a minute!" she called as she reached the door and unlocked it. She opened her mouth to speak as the door swung open... but was shocked into silence at the sight before her. There was a handful of Naugu standing on her doorstep! She made to shut the door but they were much faster than she was, busting it back on its hinges and forcing their way inside. The door was shut and locked once more and she backed up as quickly as she could toward the kitchen. Hands on her shoulders ended her pursuit and she looked around to find that the men had spread about the room, blocking any escape route and effectively cornering her. "What do you want?"
"Just some answers, little one."
That voice, she heard it somewhere before. It caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand and she turned to look at the speaker. He exuded authority, in a way that only a royal would. Even in exile, Trysten stood just as proudly, and his eyes held that same sharp expression of someone who was used to being heeded. She swallowed nervously and considered the situation. What kind of answers was this man looking for? Surely he couldn't know that she helped Trysten?
"Of course I know, silly girl," he spoke again, and Mila paled in response. How could he know her thoughts? "Just relax, sweetling. You don't even need to say a word. I will find the answers myself."
He placed his hand on her forehead and she shivered. This was bad, very bad! The Naugu couldn't know any of this information! He let out a small chuckle, as if to imply her thoughts were entertaining and trivial. After a moment of sifting through her mind, however, his expression grew grim. He seemed angry, livid even, as he stepped back and regarded her in a new light.
"This is the girl." he snapped as he looked at the man restraining her struggling form. "This is the girl that Ohna told me was
dead
!"
"How do you know my grandmother?" Mila blurted out. It was pointless to pretend he didn't already know her connections, and she was more concerned for her family. "What have you done to her?"
"Oh you naive, pure hearted soul. Your grandmother is my personal adviser. She willingly came to me, to assist me with my plans," he explained as he stepped closer to her. "She isn't being very honest with me about her own plans, it seems. She wanted you to help Trysten. She practically
sent
him to you!"
"He's my cousin. If it was her plan to send him to me, it was because she knew I was the only person she could trust to help him."
"You're a fool for sending him to Pakaur. They will never let him leave that place," he was frustrated, but not with her. "I needed him to be free! I only wanted the Dominion for a temporary goal, and I intended to redeem his name and give him back his throne! Now, for all I know, he could be a rain dead puppet for those blasted mind walkers!"
"What are you saying?" she whispered as she pieced together the true meaning of his words. The realization was more horrifying than she could have ever thought. "Are you... Are you Serenad? The Consort Overlord?"
"Ah, you're catching on," his expression grew soft as he reached out to touch her face. "You have no need to fear me, sweetling. You mean more to me than you will ever know."
"Don't feed me your bullshit lines! You don't even know who I am! I'm just a pawn to you, like everyone else!"
"That is where you are wrong. You don't remember me, but we've met before," his voice was raw with emotion, and the tender expression he held confused her, "I intend to remedy that, but it will take time. I have other matters I must attend to before I can commit to returning your memories to you."
"I don't understand."
"I don't expect you to," he pressed his lips to her forehead, and then framed her face with his lips before perching his mouth against the crook of her neck. "This is going to sound strange coming from someone like myself, but you're going to need to trust me. Now sleep. "
Teeth broke skin, and a drug like feeling came over Mila. Her body slumped and Serenad's strong arms dipped to lift her against his chest. Her head lulled against his shoulder as he hefted her legs up and carried her toward the door. She could hardly hold her eyes open as she was brought out into the night air, and she barely registered the sound of a carriage as she faded into unconsciousness.
Fragments of pictures flooded her mind, vague in nature as they flickered through her dreams. The broken memories only seemed to confuse her more as they wove their way through her thoughts. She didn't understand where she was, all she could see was the ocean in every direction. The ship she was on was so... Massive. She recognized none of the people, yet she interacted with them as if she knew them. The ship seemed to over turn on its own and then... there was water everywhere and she couldn't find the surface, her chest hurt from holding her breath and then she collided with a piece of wood, losing consciousness as she inhaled the salty substance surrounding her.
"Its time to wake up, sweetling."
Mila shot into a sitting position and looked around, noticing the bed beneath her, and a dim light illuminating a figure in the far corner. It was too dark to make much of the room out, but she could see the dark silhouette of Serenad's body as he lounged on a couch against the wall. He faced the bed, the light of a candle to his left casting dancing shadows over his body. He looked relaxed, but he studied her intently, the glow of his yellow irises capturing her full attention. She felt like a rabbit caught in the clutches of a clever fox, and the thought made her shiver. He grinned as he appraised her, and she had a feeling he knew what she was thinking.
"It's wearing off," he reassured her as he leaned forward in his seat. "Soon I'll be reaching for pieces of your thoughts, and then you will be safe from my probing. Maybe, when we are once again on even ground, we can talk."
"Talk?" his idea of even ground was a bit skewed. "You already know everything I could possibly tell you."
"I don't mean to interrogate you, love." he leaned back against the couch again as he sent her a disarming grin. If he thought Mila was going to believe his harmless pretense, he was crazy. A soft chuckle hinted that he found her thoughts amusing. She closed her eyes and sighed, trying to calm down before she got herself into more trouble. "Do you remember how Ohna and Okuo found you?"
"I was so young..."
"You we're 13, actually." he murmured, "You were in a shipwreck, and I was the one to find you."
The dream came back to her, and she she shot a glare in his direction. Was the dream just another part of his game?
"How do I know you aren't feeding me lies?" she frowned. "How can I trust that this isn't some scheme you've devised to brainwash me?"
"Have you ever seen anything like it before?" he asked, "How could I fabricate something so outlandish? So... otherworldly? Its difficult enough to implant false memories. Imagine crafting such a thing out of mid air."
"I guess you're right," she agreed, subdued. "I woke up on the shore, and it was as if I knew nothing of Aeradil. Do you think I lost my memory then?"
"In time, I will show you everything."
"Why not just show me now?"
"Recall the way drowning made you feel." he explained as he stood from the couch. "Imagine how it would feel to relive it all at once. I would risk hurting you, so it would be safer to give you pieces at a time."
"I see." she didn't want to believe him, but his points were difficult to argue against. Untrustworthy or not, his explanations made sense. Besides, she had a feeling he was being genuine. "I don't understand your motives."
"I was so young when I found you. All I could think about was that I couldn't just let you drown out there," he took a step closer to the bed and stopped, as if he were trying not to scare her away, "there were no motives in my actions."
"And what of now? You can't honestly tell me you aren't trying to use this to your advantage," she scooted farther back on the bed as he took another step, and he stopped again, "That boy who saved me is gone. You want to twist that moment around, to look like my savior."
"I thought you were dead," Serenad shook his head, as if reliving a painful memory. "when you died, that boy died with you."
"My grandmother hid my existence from you to
protect
me. I don't even have to ask her to know it as truth. That is why my memories are gone, and why she wanted you to think I was dead." Mila closed her eyes as she considered all of the deceit that went into the whole situation. Her grandparents had a good reason for this, and she refused to believe otherwise. "She may want to help you, but she doesn't trust you. Surely you can understand why?"
"I sometimes forget that my reputation precedes me outside the walls of Hollowood." his expression was grim as he eyed her. "You have every reason not to trust me. But now, knowing you still live, it only fuels me to finish this as quickly as possible. I want to find that boy again, the one that saved you all those years ago."
"Finish what, exactly?" she frowned when he looked away, and then gestured to the room she was trapped in. "If you want to earn my trust, honesty would go a long way. Its not as if I'm in the position to be spreading information around."
He took another step, and his legs were flush against the side of her bed. Still he kept the small distance between them, his eyes focused on her as she leaned against the wall at her back. Slowly, carefully, he rested his hands on top of the mattress and leaned ever closer. She steeled herself not to move, eyes fixed on his as he stopped just out of reach.
"Everything I'm doing, I'm doing for you." he breathed, his voice almost a whisper, "if I tried to explain now, you wouldn't understand. Just know that I'm trying to take you home."
"That doesn't make any sense."
