Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!
The hard soles of Arin's slippers slapped loudly against the wooden floors. He, however, gave no thought to the noise he was making. He was walking as quickly as he could without breaking into an outright run.
He'd left Lana's company – with the young maid returning to her search for Elara – and in keeping with the excuse he'd given her earlier, was hurrying towards the village head's quarters. He had to find Siel.
He'd remembered.
He still didn't understand how he'd forgotten something that had taken place just the previous day, but following his conversation with Lana, things were starting to come back to him. Not everything. Not all at once. Not yet, anyway.
It was like he'd found the tangled ends of the threads he'd been following – threads that he'd lost somewhere in the dark – and was now slowly unraveling them one-by-one. He still didn't quite know where they led, but at the very least, there was now something for him to follow.
There was light at the end of the tunnel.
Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!
The pain in his head was pulsing with each step that he took. The headache that had been plaguing him all day hadn't dissipated in the least. As his mind struggled to organize his memories, the pain even became stronger. It felt as though it was piercing through the strange, fuzzy, dullness that had been irregularly blanketing his thoughts.
Arin was just glad his brain finally seemed to be working.
Kinda.
Well, it would all make sense once he corroborated what he'd remembered with Siel. Clearly, that kid had also been affected by… whatever it was, that had made him forget. Once he jogged his memory, they'd have a better chance at figuring out whatever the hell was going on.
He was nearly there now. Just past this corridor, and –
…
Huh?
Arin came to a stop, taking in the scene that was taking place in the passage leading to Sir Grif's quarters.
Siel stood by a closed door to the left, with his back facing Arin. His head was tilted slightly downwards, and Arin could tell he was looking straight at the girl who stood before him.
Elara.
The girl's bright eyes were locked onto the boy's face, and she was saying something to him in a slow, deliberate manner. Her expression was serious, almost to the point of sternness, and Arin suddenly realized that she was holding the boy's right hand; grasping it in between both of her own, and holding it aloft in the space between the two of them.
Uh… What was going on here?
…Anyway.
Not the time for a date, kids.
With slower, lighter footsteps, Arin resumed his walking. As he approached them, he noticed Elara's eyes flicker past Siel's face, and onto his own. She'd seen him. Still, she didn't let go of the hand she held.
Arin was closer now, and he could her voice.
'Please, sir Siel. Please,' she was saying. There was a faint hint of desperation in her words. She looked past him at Arin again, and finally, dropped the hand she'd been holding.
'You must – you must! – think about what I've told you. Really think,' she said. Then, she seemed to still for a moment. It was almost as though she was… waiting. Waiting for something to happen.
Arin almost held his own breath in anticipation.
He needn't have, of course.
Nothing happened.
After a heartbeat's time, the girl took a step back. She turned her head to acknowledge Arin's arrival, and just like that, her angelic, charming smile was back on her face.
'Sir Rin is here,' she nodded politely. 'I suppose the two of you have something to discuss now. So, I shall leave you to it, sir Siel.'
Elara turned on her heel and walked the other way.
Within seconds, she had rounded the corner, and was out of sight.
Arin looked down to see that the younger boy's eyes were opened wider than ever. He seemed to still be staring at where Elara had stood, deep in thought. It was like he hadn't even realized that Arin was now standing by his side.
Arching an eyebrow, Arin tapped his shoulder.
With a jolt, Siel, turned to look up at him.
…so he really had been lost in thought.
Arin sighed.
'I've got something to tell you,' he said. 'Something important.'
Siel stared at him for a moment. Then, he took a deep breath.
'So have I, brother Rin.'