Princess Knight [Dropped]

[22]

Her eyes slowly filtered open as their crimson irises bloomed into the world. Looking through the bright light of the rays of the sun that engulfed her sight, she could see nothing but the hue of white and pink. Evidently, what she laid upon was a mix of such colors. Fluffiness embraced her body and she felt as if she laid upon the clouds, upon the planet's sky she had oh so forgotten and had long since stopped looking upon. Her memory was faint, it wasn't because she had lost them, she knew, it was solely the choice she had made, the choice to seal her own emotions along with the unnecessary memories that could affect them.

The orphanage the two had spent their earlier days; gone. That voice, ever so soft, guiding her through the small joys of life-smiling so bitterly at her small childish antics; gone. Only when she awakens from an unconscious state, only when the two switch places, will her memory be slightly filtered and jogged into her mind.

"Everything, in fate, one step at a time."

A small mumble of dizziness escaped her lips, as she spoke the one phrase that reminded her of herself, that one sentence he had always told to her whenever she wondered when their life would change, whenever the two looked upon the stars. With that moment, she caught herself as the memories buried themselves deep down inside of her, once more.

"Is that so?" Maria questioned as her soft voice entered into the ears of the girl.

Fate

Was that also why she was here? Was that why that ancient and mighty being, that being known as God brought her here? Sealing parts of her memories, the most important aspects, in hopes they wouldn't erode her mind?

As the girl sat up, she wondered just as such. As the girl's eyes looked at her with such blankness as if to disregard her presence, she wondered just the same.

Their eyes-one crimson and the other a more natural shade of pink-stared at the other.

"Where am I?" Ashe was the one to break the silence as her rough voice drifted.

"You're within the guest room of the city lord's mansion," Maria narrated, she looked at the girl's figure for a moment to see any change in her, then continued "However, I wouldn't move around too much."

Ashe was about to tell the girl to mind her own business but suddenly felt a bout of pain as she grimaced.

Her facial expression twisted in strife as her teeth fritted against one another, scraping like broken glass or metallic iron and sending a shrill sound of scraping canals into the air.

"You are experiencing a backlash, even when your body was fully healed by the light mages, your blood hasn't settled."

She scowled, "I don't need your observation."

She didn't need the peach blonde haired girl to tell her that, even she was aware that when too much stress was placed on her body at once, the resulting case would be a backlash. This had been the first time in almost a full year since the beast had taken over her body-even with only a fifth of its power-it was enough to cause a lasting result. She could feel the blood rushing into her mouth, but she forcefully endured and swallowed the bitter and warm taste to the crimson liquid back down. As her heart regained a steady beat, she pushed the pain to the back of her mind.

Looking up, she asked, "Has he told where Crow's Nest is?"

Maria's mouth opened slightly, then staring for a breath of time at the figure, she replied all the same, "you should rest first."

The girl spoke once more, "Has he revealed the location of their base?"

"Your lifespan is slowly withering," Maria replied.