The Dead And The Risen

Chapter thirty two- The Kingdom Of Scarlet

I knew that this would result in my departure from my dear Clarissa, but it had to be done.
I made sure nothing else in my small house had to be tended to, and then retrieved my transporter crystal from my pocket.
I envisioned the palace throne room, -where the king would surely be waiting- and was quickly whisked away.

••••••

I landed in the throne room, where I saw the King Of Scarlet perched on his throne.
He was quite a sight to see, I had to admit.
With his long, jet black hair running down to his waist, and his high cheek bones, he gave off a regal glow.
He stood when he saw me, and beckoned me forward, his long black robe trailing on the steps up to his throne.
"Greetings, Robert. I trust your mission with my daughter had gone well?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. She waits at the cabin. All that is left is to bring her here."
"Yes... quite an easy task, I would think. I trust you did not get too attached? After all, she will have no memory of you when she returns."

I felt blood rush to my cheeks as I remembered my few nights with Clarissa.

"Of course not, Your Majesty. I kept it strictly business."

"Good. You may return to your former post with the rest of the scarlet knights. I shall summon Clarissa. Your duties have been fulfilled."

I bowed before turning on my heel, and striding out of the throne room, off to the armory. Maybe I could snag a new dagger without anyone noticing.

••••••

I awoke, startled. I had heard a loud bang from somewhere downstairs. But when had I fallen asleep? Maybe I had thought about Robert too much...
Perhaps the loud bang was him returning home?
Who knows?
Whatever the case, I wouldn't be seen like this.
I picked myself up off the floor, and ambled into my bathroom.
I turned on the shower, letting the room fill with steam.

I washed away my stress with the hot water and strawberry scented soap.
For a while, I just stood, staring at the wall.
I shut my eyes and let the water run down my face.

I got out of the shower, dried off, and got myself dressed.
From my closet, I found nothing that matched how I currently felt.
It was cold out today, so maybe... a nice comfy sweater and some jeans?
Like I had with the mini fridge, I focused all my energy into conjuring up my desired clothing items.
When I opened my eyes, there was a deep purple sweater, and black jeans.

"Yes!!!"
I had accomplished another feat of magic!
I quickly pulled on the comfy clothes and then did my make up before taking a break and admiring myself in the mirror.
The purple and black complemented my pastel hair, and contrasted against my pale skin.
I put on my (new) favorite pair of black moccasins with little brown feathers on them before heading downstairs.
Speaking of feathers... I wonder of Robert knew what kind of shampoo is best on feathers...
I'd just have to figure it out.
I headed downstairs and looked for any sign of Robert.
"Robert!?"
I called out, my voice ringing through the empty halls.
He still wasn't back?
I glanced out one of the large foyer windows. It was dark out. What kind of guy leaves his girlfriend for nearly two days!?
Frustrated, I stomped back upstairs.
In my room, I stood out on the balcony, looking up at the beautiful, full moon in the night sky.
Out here, you could see every star.
I never learned any constellations -or at least I couldn't remember any- but it was beautiful nonetheless.

"Robert?"
I called out softly into the night, my voice carried by the breeze.
I leaned on the balcony.
It was hopeless.
As I stared out into the forest, darkness began eating at the edge of my vision.
I put a hand on my forehead.
What was happening?
The sky began to spin, and I started to fall.
I fell faster and faster.
I thought it would never stop.

•••••••

I opened my eyes and saw a dark, purple-black ceiling above me, with a large chandelier made of bones hanging down, casting a warm (but odd) glow around the room.
I slowly sat up, and saw three red thrones in front of me.
The tallest one in the middle was adorned with jewels and gold, while the thrones on the opposite sides were nearly the same, only a bit shorter.
In the larger throne, there sat a regal looking man with exemplary posture and long black hair. He had an air of natural grace to him.
He had to be the king of- well, wherever I was.
As I laid my eyes upon him, he stood and made his way toward me.

"Clarissa! My darling! You have no idea how pleased I am to see you returned safely home!"
"Oh my! I'm glad that you are about my well-being, but... who are you exactly? And why am I here?"
"Ah! Silly me! Of course you cannot remember! This is what the process does to you, after all... But not to worry! I will have that fixed as soon as we finish your homecoming welcome!
And to answer your questions, I am King Tarin Darkheart, ruler of The Scarlet Kingdom. But I am better known to you as, Father.
And you, are the princess of this realm! Of course we will have you memory jogged soon enough... but for know, let us catch up on the now!!!"
My heart began to race. My father? I had parents? A real home? I was a princess?
"Oh my goodness!!"
I couldn't contain myself. I threw my arms around him, holding on for dear life.
"My darling! I am so happy you are home... Let us walk together."
He took my hand and led me off to the left, down a long, long hallway lined with framed pictures.
They first few were of a man, woman, and a small child. Further down the hallway, the woman was no longer in the pictures. The small child progressively got older, but was always embraced by the man. Further down the hallway, the girl looked to be in her early teens, with long, wavy black hair. I got a sense of familiarity from her.
In the final picture, there was still space in the hall but this appeared to be the most recent.
The girl stood in the same pose, embraced by the man. but this time, the girls' hair was cut short, like mine, and dyed pastel pink and bluish purple, just like mine.
Any doubts that I had about King Tarin being my father were pushed out of my mind.
I really was a princess.

"Welcome home darling."
"Thank you... thank you Daddy..."
Aroused by the pictures, only one memory came up. I had always called him 'Daddy' nothing formal, like Father.
His face glowed with pride.
"Now, before we got get your memories back, tell me about Robert..."
"Oh he was so fantastic! So sweet and loving... He cares about me so much... but out of nowhere... he just... up and left..."
"Thank you darling. That was all I needed to know. Now... let's go find Leon. He'll have just the thing to bring your memories back."
"Who's Leon?"
"Oh he's only the royal alchemist. He was one of your childhood friend actually."
"Oh! How wonderful!"
With that, we went back the direction we came, heading off to find Leon.