“Yes,” I finally replied, still dazed by the strange, yet apparently welcoming, mayor. His behavior had more than sparked my desire to live in this place. I’d possibly take him up on his offer of further assistance after this was all behind me.

Selleron turned around and slowly led his horse forward. I was about to follow him when I realized that Cellestra was still on the ground. Not only that, but our supplies were spread around, too. My impatience had gotten the better of me. I quickly gathered our belongings, strapped them to my back and lowered myself to let the elf, who giggled, step on before following the guard captain.

“So, where do they live?” I asked as I walked up next to him.

“In a servant’s home on a farm.”

“What kind of farm?” I asked curiously.

“Tomatoes, I believe.”

I smiled. It seemed that they still retained their memories. I remember them always having a fondness for beautifully-grown tomatoes. As much as I’d forced myself to forget, I was glad that remnant remained.

Cellestra smiled as well, for the same reason I did, I presumed. I had told her about their old profession, after all.

Things went quiet for a while as I followed the soldier through several fields towards the northwest of the city. Things slowly started to get more familiar to me in an almost ironic way as we walked through a field of potatoes, and then, tomatoes. During this little trip, Selleron had said he was curious about many things, but that he wouldn’t pry. Something for which I was more than thankful.

I wouldn’t mind talking about it with him, especially as I’d probably stick around for at least a while, but I’d do that some other time.

We walked along the edge of the field as the rows were too close to one another for me to navigate my body through without leaving destruction in my wake. Fortunately for me, we soon came to a field that hadn’t been planted yet. In the distance, there was someone guiding two horses with a plow through the field.

But I had my eyes on the two figures that were loosening the dirt with hoes. Both of them had their backs to me, not allowing me to see their faces. Their clothes didn’t set them apart from any farmer either. Brown shirts and trousers weren’t anything special. I had seen many of those already.

But their hair… Short hair, as black as raven, was barely visible because of the straw hat he wore. The other figure had long hair, as white as snow, reaching to her stomach, and I knew I was looking at two people that I never thought I’d see again in the mortal realm.

I dropped my halberd as Selleron quietly walked away, his horse snorting. The sound made the elven woman not too far from us turn around and look at me with shock and fear in her eyes. It was only for a split second and then something strange happened in my thermal vision.

Around her neck, I saw a weird black kind of band appear. It somewhat resembled the slave collars I’d seen, but this was not that. Within a fraction of a second it changed color from black to red to white before it shattered into thousands of little pieces. The woman never seemed to notice.

“Kealyna...?” She asked.

“Who is there?” The black-haired man next to her said as he looked at her, and then turned around to see me. There was a certain fury in his eyes. “What the?” Was all he managed to produce before he was silenced. The same thing that just happened to the other person, now happened to him as well. Once his band had disappeared, he stared at me with disbelief in his eyes instead.

“Kealyna…?” He too asked.

I nodded, my eyes closed. “It’s me,” I said softly.

My parents’ eyes were full of disbelief and my mother dropped the hoe she was holding. Both of them eyed what felt like every inch of my body.

“How… what the… Kealyna, is that you? What ha—” My mother fell to her knees, took her head in her palm and groaned in what I understood as mental pain or utter confusion. My father didn’t utter a word, but also fell to the ground. Unsure what was happening, I quickly closed the gap and cast my healing light on both of them.

“Are you okay?” I asked as I lowered myself to the ground, inches away from my mother’s face.

“I...” She let out, not removing her hand from her head. “My memories. What’s going on?”

“Easy,” I said softly. “Take it easy.”

“Kealyna,” She said, obviously still in pain. “My mind tells me it’s you, but how? You were a little girl just weeks ago.”

“It’s a long story,” I continued in a soft voice, attempting to soothe her troubled mind. It became clear to me that the memory lock that Elysa had placed on my parents would have some… side-effects.

My father stood up, gritted his teeth as he seemed to force it, tossed away his farming tool as well, then moved over to me and hugged me.

“It feels like there is a hole in my mind.” He said. “What happened...?”

I nodded slowly as I felt tears forming. I’d kept my emotions in check so far, but I was starting to lose the battle. I was already impressed I’d come this far without losing it.

“I’ll explain everything,” I whispered as the first tears started flowing. “I missed you...”

My mother stood up and took my head from my father to put it on her shoulder, her hands in my hair as she tried to soothe me. “Don’t cry. You know I hate it when you do that.”

Her words were kind, the same kindness that I remembered, but they didn’t do any good to me now. My sobbing intensified, as did her hug. I nodded slowly, acknowledging her words. Cellestra, in the meantime, patted my back softly out of compassion.

I had half-expected my parents to shed a tear or two as well, but obviously, they didn’t know what had happened. Their predominant emotion at the moment was confusion. I didn’t quite know what they did and did not remember, but it wouldn’t matter. I had already resolved to tell them everything.

I still had my eyes closed while my mother soothed my racing mind by slowly running her hands through my hair. It didn’t prevent me from seeing my father’s eyes dart from my head, to my spider parts, and finally, Cellestra. The brunette briefly acknowledged him by giving him a slight nod, but seemed to leave the introduction to me.

Unfortunately for her, I had no intention of breaking this hug anytime soon. It had been too long since I’d experienced this. Slowly but surely, my tears came to an end and I managed to open my eyes again.

“You have no idea how much I missed you...” I whispered just loud enough so that both my parents could hear it.

“Kealyna… what happened...?” My mother asked quietly. “Why don’t I remember you growing up?”

My father turned back to face the two of us hugging as I tried to find the words to explain what happened. I didn’t know if I could put it lightly but I tried.

“You didn’t,” I said softly before I had to catch my breath. “You didn’t watch me grow up...” I felt tears form again, but I put every inch of my will to suppress it.

“What do you mean?”

I shook my head slightly as my mother asked that question.

“You were taken from me when I was a child. I grew up alone...I...I...” I couldn’t hold back. I started sobbing again on my mom’s shoulder. “I never forgot you.”

“What do you mean?” My father asked with a whisper, “I don’t get it.”

“You died,” I spoke between sobs. “You were killed before my eyes. I should have died too that day, but I was barely saved.” I breathed unsteadily as my memories threatened to overwhelm me. “When I died, I spoke to Elysa. She sent you back to the mortal realm. I was to follow but things went wrong. That’s how I ended up like this.”

I continued sobbing for a while as nobody spoke any further words. After a while, my mother took hold of my head and wiped away the tears with her thumbs.

“I don’t understand,” She said softly. “But you can tell us when you’ve calmed down. For now, please stop crying?”

I nodded as she took me in for another hug. My father moved to my side and joined in. My stream of thoughts was diminishing slowly as warmth overtook me. I’d yearned for this ever since that day, and now, at long last, I’d found it.