The King's Obsession ✔️

TWO

Word Count: 1514

~Akara

Staring blankly at the unfamiliar face in front of me, I try not to panic that I've spent two weeks unconscious under their roof.

"So you're telling me you don't remember anything about the Azure Province?" I'm asked. I shake my head, squeezing my eyes shut as I rake back through the fog that's concealing my memories. Each time I do so, I come back with nothing more than an ache between my temples.

"No, I'm from the Jade Province," I tell the man. He's Meredith, the woman who woke me earlier's husband. He's a healer, named Alex, having walked in moments ago with a wicker basket full of a variety of produce and herbs.

"What happened before you went unconscious," Meredith asks, twisting a loose strand of hair around her finger as she examines me apprehensively.

"I can hardly remember," I admit. "I just know I need to get back to my family."

Family. Mother and father. They are here, I know that much. I can picture their home in my mind, as fuzzy as it may appear. I'm not sure why they are in the Emerald Province, but it means a lot has transpired since my last memory. And for some unknown reason, something took my memories away.

"Maybe you should wait a day or two, until your strength comes back," Alex says kindly. Meredith and Alex are salt of the earth people, who clearly live a simple, humble life. I feel guilty stumbling into it, albeit unintentionally.

"I don't have much time," I say. I have no evidence of that, but everything feels as though it's inclosing in on me.

"Do you have a name? Do you remember it, I mean?" Meredith asks.

At least there is one thing I'm certain of. "Yes. I'm Akara."

"We are glad we found you, Akara," Alex exclaims. Both him and Meredith seem to wince at the memory of discovering me, causing me to shiver. "You were badly battered when we found you."

Did someone do that to me, or did I do it to myself? So much is dark in my mind...Perhaps someone hit me hard enough in the head to give me memory loss, leaving me with no way of finding out who did it, or who exactly I am forgetting. I can tell there is something I've missed, perhaps even years worth of memories, due to the dark, chasm-like feeling that has opened up in my chest.

"I don't remember being beaten," I admit, looking down at my open palms. They are stained dark green, like I've been crawling across grass, or maybe a forest floor. Deep bruises litter my arms, along with a myriad of small cuts. A large cut must be underneath the bandage wrapped around my bicep, a bite of pain accompanying any movement of that arm.

"Where are you family? In the Jade Province?" Meredith asks. I look toward the window, through the gap in the curtain. All I can see is a verdant green meadow that rolls for miles.

I shake my head. "No, actually I think I remember being told they are here, in the Emerald Province."

"Wonderful. We will track them down for you," Alex assures me.

For the next hour, I recall as much information about their whereabouts that I can. I have brief glimpses of walking toward their home, accompanied by someone. Eventually Alex is able to tell me the town, and that it isn't too far from here, before both him and Alex leave me to rest.

Not that I can find much...Nightmares haunt me.

Nightmares of being kidnapped, meeting an enigmatic hunter with unspoken abilities. A King, a rebellion. These nightmares assault me so viciously, so vividly, I wake in the night in a sweat, gasping in panic.