The broken queen

22.

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Raymond's mouth opened; he had been searching, and Aaron was even looking at him. He was looking at the flowers, making sure that it was not ruined.

"Emperor!" Raymond called and bowed.

Aaron frowned and looked behind him, wondering what was happening and who he was referring to. Raymond looked back up at confused Aaron.

"Emperor Aaron! I have searched far and wild for you! We thought you were dead!" Raymond said, blinking.

"Who are you referring to me? Me?" He pointed at himself. With a frown, Raymond nodded.

"I do not know who you are, Sir," he could see that the man was wearing expensive clothing so he must be a rich lord.

"Emperor, what are you talking about? What has happened to you? What are you doing here? In Maizetown? In Ominos?" Raymond couldn't believe it. He tried to approach him, but Aaron stepped back.

"I do not know who you speak of, you must be mistaken." Aaron tried to ward him off but Raymond was persistent.

He wasn't going to leave, knowing that the Empress was barely holding the Palace down.

"I am sure you are the Emperor. I do not know what has happened to you and why you do not remember me, but I have to take you back to the Palace."

Aaron shook his head, he did lose his memories, and with the way this man was talking, he knew him.

"I... I did lose my memory in an accident." Aaron informed him.

Raymond blinked, lost his memories?

Suddenly, a woman walked towards him; his eyes and face suddenly brightened, and he put her into a hug. He pulled away from the hug and kissed her. Raymond's mouth was on the ground. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He didn't think this was Aaon, how could it be? Aaron loved Irisa too much to betray her.

He made so many compromises because of Irisa; he searched for the island for the island of the Gods, something that was a myth. He wasn't sure what to do or who to believe. He remembered something, Aaron had a birthmark behind his back. To be sure this was Aaron and not someone he had been mistaken for, he had to check his back. But with the way the man he was staring at, Raymond knew he wasn't trusted, but the palace was in too much chaos to just keep up.

He knew that Irisa could only hold on for long and he prayed that this was Aaron and not just an imposter. He rubbed his head, his eyes shifting to the woman in his arms. She was shorter than both of them, she looked nothing like Irisa.

"Who is this?" Nyx glanced at Raymond, staring down at her.

Nyx had seen Aaron approaching their small house. She saw the bouquet and wanted to check on him when he saw that he was talking to a stranger. Knowing that Aaron didn't have his memories, she didn't believe he should converse too much with strangers.

"Who are you?" Nyx turned to Raymond. He was dressed in expensive knights' clothing, tall, and had a Kaley accent; there was no way he was from Ominos. He was probably a noble.

"I am Raymond, Emperor Aaron's guard." He answered.

Nyx glanced at Aaron, what was this man discussing with him? Maiztown might be a small town, but it was still part of Ominos; even if people realized that they were speaking to someone closely related to Emperor Aaron, they would be dead meat. 

Nyx stood in between Raymond and Aaron in a protective stance, her eyes assessing him with caution; she wasn't going to allow him to say anything.

"Do you know who you are preventing me from seeing or talking to?" Raymond narrowed his eyes. Nyx swallowed and glanced at Aaron. She didn't know what was going on, but it was better to drive him away.