Lost Then Found

You Will Find Your Soulmate

" I am not sure I understand what you are asking me exactly. What is it about me that makes you think my presence is unusual?"

While her vocabulary and diplomatic skills had remained relatively unscathed by the recent events. Such thing couldn't be said about her voice, or for that matter, ability to speak. For it took her more time than one would expect to finish the sentence. Yet the man in front of her seemed not to have picked up on her pauses for thought. He seemed not to have picked up on anything besides the words' literal meaning. So with a voice carrying equal confusion and suspicion, he elaborated.

" Don't play dumb Anastasia. Why is a royal candidate all alone in a shady alley?"

She was quite happy to hear this answer, although she did well to hide it from this man. Her happiness was unsurprising, after all, the only way he could know her status is if he had remembered her despite Gluttony. That happiness also brought forth uncertainty, after all, her plan for the future relied on her being forgotten by everybody. Now that such a conclusion is no longer correct, her plans will have to be reconsidered.

Whatever change they have will almost certainly have something to do with this man, and that brought her some discomfort. The man was clearly not in the right state of mind, if his behavior was any indicator. But, when she thinks about it such a thing can probably be also said about her. Perhaps she herself can't notice it but the people around her presumably can, so it would be hypocritical for her to outright judge somebody for being scarred by their suffering just like she did. The thought of him being a witch cultist crossed her mind, but it was quickly put aside because this man shoved a clear emotion...

" Answer me already!"

She seemed to be testing this man's patience so she decided to answer in a way that would allow her to confirm most of her suspicions.

" I suffered as a victim of Gluttony. Because of that, my name has been eaten and everybody has forgotten me." She paused in order to collect her thoughts and construct the next part in the best possible way, " If I am not being mistaken, you yourself had suffered similarly."

The question most definitely had an effect on the young man. His facial expression revealed an emotion somewhere between surprise and shock. He even unconsciously took a step back while in this unexpected state.

It wasn't hard for Anastasia to determine that this man had suffered the same injustice as her. While his clothes and general apparel painted such a picture, the thing that made her sure was an unusual weapon holstered at his hip. Partially hidden by the dark hood, one could be forgiven if they fail to notice a black bullwhip.

The world is dangerous and many had taken to learning how to defend themselves. Most often, people would pick swords, or daggers, or any such common weapon. But a whip was an extremely rare choice for many reasons, primarily due to a lack of skilled masters and the inability to easily kill an opponent with such a weapon. For those reasons, whips are almost exclusively utilized by backline commanders and strategists, people who are not expected to fight directly. While such things can be thrust upon them by their enemies, men that wield whips usually had guards or skilled soldiers directly below them that they can rely on for direct combat.

All of this comes together to paint a clear picture. This young man was probably a strategist for the local guard's garrison, or perhaps even the regional lord's army. He had the bad luck of having his group attacked by Gluttony, where his comrades that were protecting him died in battle and he lost his name. So now he is wondering around the city not knowing what to do just like herself.

But why can he remember her? She wondered. Perhaps the victims of gluttony can remember each other? But such a hypothesis was dropped almost immediately. If it was true then she would have remembered him as well. They may have never interacted previously but that is unlikely. Firstly he addressed her by her name, if he knew her as simply a royal candidate he would have referred to her by her title, and would have been much more cordial than he is now. In addition, it wouldn't make sense when her clouded memory is taken into consideration. It is hard to explain but while she can't remember him she can remember that she used to know him. She could feel that this man has a place in her memory but can't say where.