What We Left Behind

Chapter Thirteen: Let's Talk About Pressing Matters

Eric woke up the next morning, feeling the best he had ever felt.

He didn't know, maybe it was just the soft sunshine filtering through the glass windows and curtains onto his bed, maybe it was the extremely comfortable mattress and pillowcase and the duvet, or of course, maybe it was just the feeling of being carefree and happy.

He pushed away the sheets and grabbed his jacket from the corner of the bed to get it on. He realized that maybe he needed a shower, and new clothes, of course; because he wouldn't get the jeans and T-shirt here, he would have to step into the royal family attire at last.

For some time he just sat there on the bed, his legs dangling over the edge onto the cold floor as he thought about what would happen next.

He had been stuck in this fantasy land, he had made his entry, his introduction to the ministers, and now he had to do something to earn trust. As Ludivine had said.

It wouldn't be easy.

But surviving depression and suicidal thoughts wasn't easy either.

And he had survived.

A knock on the door broke him out of his daze. He looked towards the entrance where a guard stood. He bowed. "There's someone here to meet you, My Lord. Should we let her in?"

Erix blinked, shifting on the bed. "Uh, yeah."

The guards bowed again, turned, and walked out. Eric stared at the entrance in anticipation.

Yeona rushed in.

Behind her the guard.

"Erix!" She sputtered, her face pale and eyes wide, staring at him in shock, scaring him out of his mind. He backed away from her, swallowing in fear. This woman was crazy.

She came running forward and before he could prepare himself, she flung herself to him and pulled him into her arms. "My dear, my son," she smooched his forehead, making him cringe and try to pull away.

She smelled like a hospital. Antiseptics. Medicines. Bandages.

Erix wrinkled his nose and kept a hand on her shoulders, then pushed her away. She stumbled back, a dumbfounded expression on her face that slightly made Eric guilty. Her eyes looked like those of a heartbroken mother, and hurting her felt like hurting his own mum.

It didn't really feel good watching her stare at him like that. He tried to ignore the look on her face and cleared his throat.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, his voice sounding husky and overly thick.

She smiled and didn't look like she heard, as if she was in another dimension entirely. "I'm so glad you're okay, and you're here, and everything's alright."

He glanced at the guard standing behind her, then looked at her with a weird expression. "I…don't know you," he pointed out.

"Yeah, you don't," she chuckled sadly. "But I know you. I looked after you when you were in the infirmary."

He tilted his head to the side. "Uh, thanks?"

"No, I don't need gratitude," she shook her head, sniffling and closing her eyes for a couple of seconds, like she was collecting her thoughts. She opened her eyes again and released a breath with a smile.

I don't want anything. I'm just here to help you through your stay here. It must be overwhelming, right, being new in the kingdom and all?"

She raised an eyebrow, giving the impression of a mother who was walking with her kid to the first day of school, knowing exactly how scary it always is.

"I don't need help," Erix replied. "If you would just…"

"King Drystan asked me to aid you and look after you once you arrived."

Erix frowned. King Drystan asked her to do this?

"Why would he do that?" He asked, glancing at the guards. "I don't need anyone's help or support."

Yeona shrugged. "He just did. He appointed me as your personal servant. So I'll be that, staying by you every moment of every day."

He stared at her. "But—"

"No," she insisted. "Think of me as your mother, alright?"

He couldn't do that. He couldn't do that to Yeona, no matter how much he hated her.
He kinda hated his mum too.

Not that he wanted to, he just did. And it was nothing personal against his mum, Erix was sure she was a great person, but his family just never fit together. Somewhere along the way he had started finding things that bugged him everywhere, it was her work, his brother's perfection, their lives, his depression.

"You are not my mother," he said. "She's not here. She's in the other world, perfectly safe. But since I am here, I would want to make the best out of it, you get that?" He licked his lips, his throat dry and rough. Where the hell was some water when he needed it? "And you know nothing about me. Absolutely nothing."

She shook her head in protest. "I was there all along throughout your childhood, love. I watched you grow up. I watched you say your first word, walk your first step, find your first love."

Every word she said seemed to anger him further.

She had no right to say things like that. There were guards here, they were his personal guards, and she was talking to him like he was a six-year-old kid. And where actually had she watched all of those things?

This confused him, and a frown appeared on his forehead. "How have you—how—?"

She just got that faraway look in her eyes as she came to sit at the edge of the bed. "I still remember. It's like a photographic memory. You know I love you."

"Sto—"

"What's going on here?" Erix heard a voice speak. He froze.

The guards parted to reveal Ludivine at the doorway. The perfect moment for her to make an entry and ruin the situation. She strode in the room, sparkling dress trailing behind her gloriously.

"What's she talking about?" She asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at Erix.

He sighed. "I'm glad you're here. Just get her out of here, she's annoying me."
Ludivines gaze was still trained on Yeona, dark and skeptical. "What is the photographic memory?" She asked.

Yeona's confidence wavered under the intensity with which she asked it, and her demeanor changed.

"Erix's childhood. It's a photographic memory for me."

"What does that mean?"

Eric could see the muscles in her neck contract as she swallowed what was most probably the answer. He wanted to hear her say it, but at the same time not; it was creepy enough that she wasn't leaving him alone, and knew everything about him. More so now after this revelation of her that she had it all stamped inside her brain.

"Actually, don't answer that," he said, holding up a hand in front of her and glancing at Ludivine. She frowned.

Yeona, instead, sighed in relief, as if Erix had saved her from a major hassle. He hadn't done any of that, though. He had just saved himself from some freaking thoughts.

"But why?" Ludivine demanded. "I want to hear an answer."

"You do?" He asked and nodded.

For a few seconds, no one spoke. At last, Ludivine sighed. "Okay, guess what, we need to talk. All of us." She pointed at the three of them. Then she looked at the guards stationed behind her, and she gestured at them to leave. Eric watched them leave and then when the chambers were now only occupied by the three of them, Ludivine seemed to step out of a demeanor she always held up in front of others. She took one step towards Erix and raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Let's talk about pressing matters now."