Anciently Forbidden

Chapter 4: A Different World

A pair of hazy eyes blinked slowly. Later, it was opened wide and examined his surroundings. Looking at the strange place, he immediately sat up but was forced to lie down again after a severe pain struck his head.

"Why is my head painful? I was hit on my upper body, did I get this from falling down the cliff?"

He touched his chest and found that it was smooth, not even a scar was left!

"What...happened!"

Vince's eyes widened.

"Am I dreaming?" He thought, but the pain in his head is real, so he isn't.

Vince looked at his surroundings carefully. He was lying inside a small hut made of woven palm leaves from the wall to the roof. Even his mat is made of palm leaves. His lower body was covered with a thin cotton sheet.

"Where's Caballero?" He tried getting up again.

"Ahhh..."

It was too painful to move his head. While rubbing his forehead, the door of the hut opened.

"You're awake!" A soft, familiar voice said.

His head was aching, but a smile appeared on Vince's face.

"Finally, Caballero came." He turned to look at Jester but a few seconds had passed yet he was still staring at the person standing at the door.

"What happened to you?"

"Why? What's wrong with me?" A soft voice answered.

"You look...weird, what's with that dress and hairstyle?"

"What's wrong with my dress and hairstyle, isn't yours the same?"

Vince took the cotton sheet, then his jaw dropped. He was dressed in a plain white sleeveless coat and short pants, with long hair that reached his shoulder which he didn't notice earlier due to his head bandage.

Vince looked up. His eyes narrowed.

"Caballero, what happened to us?" Why would their hair grow this long? And what's with this strange outfit?

"Who is... Caballero?"

"You, of course! What kind of prank is this?!" He looked at Jester closely, but the latter's face was red. His eyes were damp and red too. He knew Jester well, and his expression tells that he isn't playing around. He also knew that his gentle subordinate won't fool him.

"So, what happened?!"

"...Do you hit your head so bad that you forget everything, you forget...me?" The soft voice was broken.

Vince stared at him for a while then examined himself closely, but there weren't any changes to his physical body except for his long hair and strange outfit. He turned to Jester, but he's still the gentle subordinate he knew, except for his strange hair and outfit.

"What happened?!" Vince smacked his forehead.

Jester's innocent eyes and face turned even redder. He turned around and ran outside.

Vince was left baffled.

"Something's... off!" He tried getting up, enduring the pain to follow the strange Jester. He needed to clear many things that confused him.

Outside, he saw the hut was newly built. Hidden in a bushy hilltop, it overlooks a lush valley and a forested river. Vince walked forward and started searching for the odd Jester. He found him a few meters away, sitting under the shade of a small tree, looking at the distance.