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 Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 2:07 pm
"So I wasn't just having a dream?" Shanya asked. "They were memories? But how? You said they had been erased. Doesn't that mean..." He trailed off, losing every word that was supposed to come next. Memories that had been erased can't come back, right? That's what he thought, but there were so many things he didn't know.
His head was beginning to hurt. There were so many mysteries, and so little time to uncover them. The castle seemed to have every key in the form of a familiar object like this cave that can open every door that had been forcibly locked.
His thoughts that had been racing to so many places finally rested on the terrible feeling he had back in the stables. "Your Highness, I was bothered by something a while ago," Shanya said. "I had this... thought that I won't be here anymore."
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 2:25 pm
Reiba's eyes widened slightly, but then he laughed lightly. It was a very small, short laugh, but it was the first laugh that he had since Shanya had left. "Your intuition speaks true. But don't worry, the problem has been fixed." He said quietly, walking out of the cave.
"You have a visitor... her name is Hohime, and she is my sister. She took care of you while you were here and I wasn't around." He explained, not turning around to see if Shanya was following or not.
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 2:47 pm
Shanya smiled, especially at the laugh that the king let out. For some reason, that laugh sounded like it belonged to a heavenly voice. It looked like today was actually going to end nicely. After all, the problem on his mind was fixed, so he wouldn't have to be sent away.
Then doubt seemed to fill Shanya. "Eh? A visitor?" he asked, soon following the king back to the castle. It was strange that someone would visit him, and it was even stranger that someone like a princess would be that visitor. So the king wasn't the only one who seemingly cared. In that case, he would like to meet this visitor, or see her again, who had taken care of him in the time before his first memory.
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 3:08 pm
"Shanya?" Hohime asked as she spotted the two coming back from the cave. "Shanya! It's been so long since I last saw you!" She cried, opening up her arms to embrace the younger boy. "You've grown so much..."
"What do you expect? He's 13 now..." Reiba muttered, walking right past his sister as if she wasn't there. "When you're done, Miyabi will bring you back to the palace." He said, eyeing Miyabi as he passed.
"Yessir." Miyabi saluted him, smiling a sheepish grin.
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 3:44 pm
Shanya was suprised when he saw a strangely familiar young woman, probably Hohime, standing right in front of the cave. At first, he wanted to ask how she knew him, but his feet moved toward her and he let her arms wrap around him in a comforting embrace. His arms then moved to return that embrace.
"It's nice to... um... meet you again, Miss Hohime," Shanya said, hoping that he had chosen the correct words to say so that he wouldn't hurt the kind princess's feelings. "So, what brings you here, if I may ask?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2010 5:28 pm
Hohime looked down at Shanya a little hurt, but then remembered that he didn't even remember Reiba and smiled back at him. "You know, before you used to call me Sister Hime." She smiled kindly, embracing the younger boy back.
She finally pulled away, looking Shanya straight in the eye. "I'm here because it's my brother's birthday, you didn' t know?" She asked, eyeing him carefully. Even Shanya would know that it was Reiba's birthday. He was living in his castle for Heaven's Sake!
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 11:14 am
"Sister Hime?" Shanya repeated, trying to find some form of familiarity in the name. It wasn't long before he found what he was looking for and he smiled. "Oh, of course. Some flashbacks I've had involved someone that my younger self called Sister Hime. I believe that person looked very much like you."
What the princess said next surprised Shanya. "His Majesty's birthday?" he asked. "I've completely lost track of time five years ago, so I can never tell when His Majesty's birthday is coming up." He gave a nervous laugh, though he didn't understand why. He was only telling the truth, so why is he nervous?
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 11:20 am
"Oh, I see. It's good to hear that you remember me. I told father that the wizard was a poser who couldn't work a single spell correctly." She smiled happily. Flashbacks. She had heard the rumors going around that the new slave was hallucinating, but they were just flashbacks. She was glad.
When Shanya laughed nervously, she smiled back. "No need to be nervous. I almost forgot myself." She laughed. "The poor boy. I believe this is his first birthday party ever." She sighed.
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 11:55 am
Shanya grew confused. The wizard that had erased his memories was only a poser? Why is that? "I don't understand," Shanya said. "Did the wizard make some kind of mistake while erasing my memories?"
What the princess said next surprised him. "First birthday party?" Shanya asked. "Why is that? Was His Majesty too busy or something to throw a party in the past?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 12:48 pm
"The wizard made no mistake. She just couldn't perform the spell, that's all." Miyabi interrupted. "I was there. The wizard was obviously an amateur. C'mon, my mother could have done better than that." He muttered, staring off into the distance.
"But no... oniichan always had time. He always went up to father and asked him if he could have a party when he was little. I even went with him sometimes, positive that father would allow him to. But sadly, father said no every time until oniichan finally gave up asking. That was... almost ten years ago." Hohime sighed sadly. "Reiba was always deprived of everything, and all he wanted to do was to make our father proud. But father disliked him, since he was born on June 6th at 6:00, the devil's number. And plus..." She said, closing her eyes as if to blink back tears, "during his birth, our mother died."
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 1:14 pm
"So, the inability must have been a relief to some of you, right?" Shanya asked. "I still don't exactly understand what these dreams and flashbacks mean. For all I know, I could have been thinking of someone else's memories."
Shanya felt his heart clench as Sister Hime looked like she was trying to hold back some tears. "Don't be sad. I'm sure your mother is in a happy place and is watching you right now," he said, hoping to be of comfort. "I think I've been told that my mom also died trying to give birth to me, and my dad committed suicide after, so I basically don't have any parents." At this his heart clenched even more. It was obvious that his dad didn't think about how he would feel thirteen years after the suicide, so he probably hadn't cared about Shanya.
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 1:26 pm
A lump caught in Hohime's throat as Shanya explained what had happened to his parents. She knew it was wrong, that the wizard had actually gotten something in the spell correct. But she wasn't going to allow the younger boy to know that. So instead, she stood up.
"Shanya, I want you to ask Reiba what happened to your parents. As soon as possible." She told him. "And that's a direct order, you hear me?" She asked. She nodded to Miyabi. "It was nice seeing you again!" She smiled, then the older slave took her back towards the palace.
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 1:44 pm
Though he didn't understand exactly what was going on, Shanya nodded. Why was Sister Hime so nervous or something of the sort? Why did she want him to talk to the king about what had happened to his parents? They had died the day he was born, right? He was abandoned by his father when he had committed suicide, right?
'Maybe it's best to ask the king about it,' Shanya thought to himself. It wasn't long before he followed Miyabi and Sister Hime back to the palace. What the princess had said really bothered him. It was as if she knew something else about his parents. She seemed very certain that what he knew wasn't true.
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 7:19 pm
The night passed by quickly. There was quite a large heap of presents in the corner of the room, but Reiba paid no mind to them. It was boring, all of it. The fact that so many people came was only because he was the king, and they felt as if they would be ordered to. This party wasn't his idea, it was Kitsuma's. He gave up his hopes of a birthday when he was five, and now his advisor had ruined any fantasy that he had of one.
After everybody had left, only Reiba and Leila were left inside of the throne room. "Well... that was a bit awkward and strange." Leila muttered, kicking a table on its side.
"Somebody's going to think bandits came in and robbed the place if you keep on wrecking it." Reiba yawned, moving in his chair so that his back was leaning on the arm rest and his feet were dangling off the other edge.
Hohime and Miyabi walked into the throne room, but what surprised Reiba even more was that Shanya was with them. Why is he here? Reiba wondered.
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2010 8:28 pm
Shanya began to wonder why he had followed Sister Hime and Miyabi to the throne room. The place looked abandoned, which probably meant they had missed the event. Well, it didn't really matter.
Hesitantly, Shanya approached the throne, eager to carry out the princess's request and ask about his parents. He still didn't understand why he should ask about them. Whoever told him about the death of his parents must have been telling him the truth, right?
"Your Highness, I have a question, if I may speak," Shanya said. "It's about my parents, though I'm not sure why I should ask. I believe that they had both died the day I was born, but Miss Hohime wanted me to ask you about my parents."
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