Sebastian returned as quickly as the messenger had departed, his expression somber.
"Your Highness, I have gathered what little information we could find about Princess Lyra," he said, bowing low.
"A sum in the carriage," Ash said, already on his way to the stables, where his horse waited patiently.
Sebastian led him to the carriage, where the Princess of Domefed Kingdom sat shrouded in shadows. Ash stepped down, approaching her slowly.
"Your Highness," Ash said, bowing low. "I've heard a great deal about you. I'd like to learn more."
The Princess's head slowly lifted, revealing the full force of her piercing green eyes. Ash's skin tingled under their intensity.
"Ah, the prince who's supposed to marry me," she said in a voice as bright as the morning sun. "I've been told I'm mad."
Ash took a seat beside her, offering a gentle smile. "I've seen you. I know it must seem impossible, but—"
"Impossible, yes," she interrupted, her gaze dancing with amusement. "You have no idea what's happened to me. I was in a coma, in my bed. Days passed, and I woke. But I couldn't understand. Everything was… foreign. And the words they spoke…in a language I couldn't hear."
She glanced at him with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. "I don't understand how I know this language, how I'm speaking it now. And I've been told I was locked away, for my own good. That I'm mad."
Ash's mind was racing as he listened to her words. There was something in her voice that felt familiar, something that sparked his curiosity.
"I think I might be the only person who can understand you," Ash said, his eyes meeting hers. "I've been trying to learn your language, and—"
"Your language?" she repeated, a hint of surprise edging into her voice. "What language?"
"You speak like…like a native of this world," Ash said slowly, thinking back to his studies. "Like someone who's been here all their life. But I've only learned from books. How did you…?"
Her eyes sparkled with an air of shared mystery. "That's the thing. I don't know. It's as if my mind…reset itself. Everything changed. I found myself here, in this place, with no memory of the past. I don't know how to hold onto what's left of my past, how to cling to it. All I know is I've been here, this way, since before I woke."
A glimmer of emotion crossed her face, swiftly replaced by a mask of calm.
"I've been told I'm mad," she repeated, her voice measured once more. "I don't know if I can trust you, but…can you trust me? Can I learn to trust someone who doesn't know me?"
Ash found himself entwined in the dance of their conversation, the pace of their words like a carefully choreographed dance. He couldn't help but wonder, had she, too, been reincarnated, like him?
"We can try," Ash said finally, choosing his words carefully. "We can learn together. Learn each other's languages, discover the secrets of your past."
Lyra's smile was a radiant thing, like the birth of stars in the night sky.
"Let's start with words," she said, and together, they entered a new game of discovery, each one step closer to understanding the other, and themselves.