The cell is dark and grungy. Anyone would develop claustrophobia if they were kept here for only a few hours alone. In this one dark and grungy cell is Harold Gloss, laying on the dirty bed staring blankly into the ceiling. He looked dead being so completely still like a statue. His matted dark brown hair and grimy skin made him seem all the more helpless. It was hard to look at him when there’s the chance that he didn’t deserve any of this.

“Eli,” Father’s voice shook me out of my head. “I know this is upsetting. I’ve wanted to fix this by putting him in a big and cleaner cell but he’s here on the attempt of assassinating a prince.”

I look up to see Father’s shadowed face, lighted by the large candles held by the two guards on either side of us. It's only the two of us with the guards. Louise was left to wait outside the dungeon. No one but the guards, the shadows, and the Royal family members are allowed in this dungeon unless the King gives a special permit. It was a rule made by the previous King in pity of the prisoners, leaving them free of the mocking and hate of the mass. Truly, they were being punished enough already.

“Is Felix kept in a cell like this?” I asked, fearful of the answer.

Father heaved a deep sigh. “Unfortunately,” My heart twisted at that word. “There’s not much we can do. I could put him in a larger cell but then it’s not a punishment to try and accommodate someone who attempted to assassinate a royalty.”

I clenched my teeth, “What if they were actually manipulated, no… They are being manipulated.”

“And that is why I delayed their execution date. The attempt to assassinate a royalty is immediate execution, but nothing was right from the beginning. In a way, I accommodated them enough by giving them the chance to be relieved.”

That’s understandable. It’s understandable but it still angers me so greatly to think that the sweet, quiet boy, who cared so much for me---

Not me, Daniel. He cared so much for Daniel.

“Would me gaining their memory do anything?” I ask.

“How could it not?” Father retorted, “You will gain their memories. I don’t think there’d be any evidence as solid as that.”

I contemplated for another minute. Already with three life memories in me; My life as Elliot, then me today as Eli, then Daniel’s. My conscience gets confused as to who I am at times. How much more confused will I become with one more life’s memory.

It took one more look at Harold Gloss to resolve my doubts. They didn’t deserve this. I have people around to remind me as to who I am. Self-identity is a small price to pay. “Can we start now then?”

Father motioned for the guards to open the cell. The guard to Father’s left came forward and pulled out a bundle of keys and opens the cell with a click and creak. The entrance is now open for me to enter. I take a deep breath, regretting it a little as the dungeons had a less than pleasant smell, before taking the small steps into the cell. Father stays behind the entrance as space was too small for two people at once, even with a small child like me.

I bite my inner cheek in nervousness but forced my hand to reach up and touch Harold Gloss’s forehead. It took a moment, but I found myself watching a fast-forwarded play of memories as if they were playing out right before my very eyes, yet I remember everything about each scene played in the finest details.

The feeling of the first time I felt pain, to the ecstasy of a first love, to having that love to myself, and then losing it, only to find someone else. The emotions, the feeling of it all was a part of me now.

Just like what happened with Daniel, my head erupted into a migraine and my vision blackened for a moment. I collapsed to the floor clutching my head. Father entered quickly and took a hold of me, dragging me out of the cell and telling a guard to call Tania into the dungeons.

Other than my own ragged breathing, I could hear another pained voice.

“He reacted!” The guard exclaimed shocked.

“Eli, are you okay?”

Eli? Me? No, I was Harold---- What?

“Eli, look at me.” My eyes darted in reflex to the order, to the man hovering over me. Black hair and deep blue eyes. King Audry? His eyes narrowed to me, “It’s me, your father.”

“Father?”

“Yes, Eli.”

Right… Right. Father. I was prince Eli. I must have lost myself to the shock of new memories and made myself think I was Harold Gloss for a moment. “Right, sorry.” I coughed and scrunched my nose at the pain still pulsing through my head.

“That must be a con to your powers.” Father held me in a seated position as he spoke, “Of course you’d be confused about your identity with so many different memories.”

“It’s alright, I have everyone to remind me.”

“No, it’s not good to always be confused as to who you are. It could be mentally challenging. I doubt anyone would be able to overcome the stress.”

“My king,” Tania addressed Father as she came down the steep stairs and immediately knelt down beside me and got to work.

“How is Harold Gloss?” I could hear Father ask the guard.

“He seems to be having a migraine as well, but he’s responsive to his surroundings now.” The guard replied.

My headache resided as Tania finished her healing on me. “I’ll help him then,” She said as she stood and entered the cell.

“Father,” I try to speak but father raised his hand to stop me.

“I’ll question you about it tomorrow. For now go back to your bedroom and rest. I’ll have to think about your identity problem as well.”

“But Father I can tell-”

“Not today.” He said resolutely. “For now we’ll have to take care of dealing with Harold so we can question him first.” Father gestured to the Guard who helped me to my feet in response, “Take him to Louise. He should still be outside the entrance.”

I left without another complaint knowing Father wouldn’t let me get another word out. The sudden brightness of the evening sun blinded me for a moment before I took in the greenery of the plain field making up the land behind the palace.

Mr. Reinhardt had described the land of our kingdom to me. Almost 80 percent of the land was man-made, from the streams that are connected to the large river in the south, crisscross around the village to supply water. The soil brought in through trade replacing the original to farm better, and the hills that once made up the west side were flattened to make everything an even ground in the kingdom.

The palace, instead of being built at the very center of the capital, it was built on the cliff which overlooks almost the entirety of the main capital, where the main streets are busy every day. Honestly, it was so unusual that I asked for a full tour of the kingdom, but was denied for reasons of me being a danger.

“My prince,” The familiar gentle voice of Louise immediately calmed the nerves that were still left over from the sudden memories I gained just minutes before.

“Father told me to rest.” I tell him, “He’ll question me later.”

“Of course.”

All the stress from the day caught up to me as I entered my room. I was asleep on my feet as Louise got me ready for bed, and I nor he bothered to wash me up for the night. This casual preparation for bed reminded me of the times I just passed out from staying up late, writing to meet my deadline. Daniel teased me about my horrible breath the next morning.

As odd as it was, I missed the teasing when I woke up the next day as Eli.