The Damsel and her Knight

21st ☾ A Faint Warning

There's a girl running into the darkness,

Underneath the moon, in a trance that is endless.

21st ☾

A Faint Warning

Anthony left, shortly after Clave had disappeared. He only made sure that I was okay by merely by asking if I could still breathe without difficulty. I told him that he would probably see me again, even if he didn't want to. Anthony smirked in response, perhaps taking it as a good enough sign that there was nothing to be worried about.

I stayed with Alec until he regained consciousness a few hours later. We were still in the woods. I thought of bringing him back to the inn, but that might ignite suspicion from the other guests.

"Are you okay?" I asked Alec, as soon as I saw him slowly opening his eyes. I helped him get up to a sitting position.

"Where am I?" He looked around him.

"Still here in the woods. Do you remember anything?" I assisted him as he stood up.

Alec held his head, appearing to be muddled. "A bit. Your friend, the sorcerer, he did something to my head."

It must be agonizing, for he was wincing in pain. "How do you feel?"

"I'm alright," Alec assured me.

"Did you remember anything in particular?"

"A boy," Alec recalled, seemingly distracted. "A part of my memory cleared a bit. I couldn't see much, but it was dark and something was shining."

"What is it?"

"I don't know," Alec responded, shaking his head. "I have a feeling that your friend would have succeeded in recovering all my memories if only the other one didn't arrive."

"It was hard to tell. Clave said that it wasn't possible, either way."

"Clave was the other one?" Alec asked, and I nodded in response. And then he said, "Who was he?"

"He was also the same person who put the memory locker in your head," I elaborated.

"He was familiar," Clave replied.

"Was he the one who visited the inn a few days ago? The one who saw your puppets?"

His eyes lit up in recognition. "Yes! How did you know that?"

"Just a guess." I shivered. Coincidentally, my room was near the kitchen, where Alec spent his nights creating marionettes.

Did Clave see the seal on my hand? Did he know that I was Miles? The mere thought of him entering my room and confirming these things made me quiver in fear, entirely crept out.

I couldn't stay here anymore. There was a likely chance that Clave already knew my identity. I had to leave the inn, before they would be able to capture me.

"Cassandra?"

I lifted my head. "What?"

"You seem to be troubled," Alec observed.

"I'm only thinking. So what else? What else did you remember?" I kept on asking, in a hurried manner. The sun had already risen, and this was our last day. I was almost certain that Alec Gaunt was the missing prince. There couldn't be anyone else, even if he didn't have the seal on his hand. There had to be an explanation for it. The night of the crescent moon was tonight, and I had to get the sword—by all means.