Hayla was uncertain on how to proceed. Just like she had told Tomar before, all she wanted was to guarantee her and her family’s future via their marriage. She didn’t have any ulterior motives prior to this moment, but the current situation changed things. If he didn’t remember anything, he was a blank piece of paper that she could attempt to fill to her liking. It was morally questionable, and she would have to be careful not to break their contract, but it might improve her position beyond what she had believed possible.

On the other hand, that plan might backfire, and she was also nervous about him being in this state. She had her doubts about Tomar’s story that Lilly was handling other issues out of town, but regardless of whether it was true, he was currently the most important figure in Alarna. He specifically asked Hayla to help them because he needed time preparing for the confrontation with Arax, meaning that they weren’t ready for it yet. He would most likely need at least some of his memories to press on.

Glancing sideways at her betrothed, they walked through the temple’s corridors, a candle lightning their way. She thought carefully about what to say. “Where to begin...”

“Actually, I have a question,” Tomar interjected while looking at the white walls around them. “About our engagement. If you don’t mind me asking... Why a holy marriage? Don’t get me wrong, you seem nice, but that’s a big commitment.”

This was possibly the most difficult question for her to answer, and a lot depended on it. She could lie, pretending they fell for each other head over heels and desired to have their union be blessed by the gods, but given how they met, it seemed unbelievable. Though the truth didn’t paint her in the best light, so she decided to go with a version of it.

“Honestly, that was mostly for my sake, so nothing could break our agreement. I wanted to stay with you forever, and this was the best way to accomplish it.”

“I agreed to it though, and I can’t quite picture myself doing that. Unless... We really loved each other.”

Hayla came to an immediate stop and stared blankly down the hallway. Even without many of his memories, he still resembled the boy she met before—inside and out. However, his current self would supposedly only enter a holy marriage if he loved his partner.

“I’m sorry,” Tomar hurriedly said. “I don’t want to say anything wrong, but...”

Shaking her head, she said, “No, it’s fine,” and resumed walking at his side. If his previous self shared this sentiment, she had to wonder what this meant for them and their relationship. Had he actually fallen for her at first sight? The marriage was meant to be nothing but a business transaction, but this was one potential interpretation. There were others as well, but this was the one her mind decided to focus all of its energy on.

“Hey, uhm...” she started. “Do you think you would have agreed to it if you didn’t love me?”

“No,” came his immediate response.

“How can you be so sure? You can’t even say whether you’re the same as you were before, right?”

“I suppose not, but I strongly feel like I would need to care a lot about someone to want to marry them. Not to mention a holy marriage. Why would I risk entering such a commitment with someone I don’t want to spend the rest of my life with?”

He said these words matter of factly, as if there was absolutely no doubt about it in his mind. Waving the candle around in an attempt to brighten his surroundings and maybe remember something, he casually told her that he must’ve felt very deeply for her.

Feeling her cheeks redden, Hayla slowed her walk more and more. She had enough trust in her ability to read people that she was certain he wasn’t joking around or making this up. And while feelings didn’t necessarily play a role in marriages involving Rulers, Tomar wasn’t wrong in saying that it was a big commitment. It made sense that someone would only do it out of love.

I-I can’t take advantage of this, can I? she thought. That would be messed up. If he actually felt that way, and I trick him now... Wait. They did overthrow Uncle, I don’t need to take his feelings into consideration, do I? But it wasn’t him who did that. Is it okay then? But in that case, he’s also not the one with feelings for me...

The distance between them grew as Tomar kept walking. “Where are we exactly? This isn’t all part of the hospital, right? And why is everything so white?” he asked, but then realized Hayla wasn’t at his side anymore. Turning around, he found her creeping a few meters behind him, deep in thought. “Everything okay?”

Her head shot up. “Huh? Ah. Yes. It’s nothing. What was your question?”

“Where we are,” he said with a friendly smile.

“Oh. This is the temple. The religious institution in town, where the Worshippers live and work.”

“Worshippers...” he mumbled, pursing his lips. “Hm, alright. Can you tell me more about the town while we walk home?”

“Actually, we’re living here at the moment.”

“I’m living at a temple? Why?”

“It’s because of your role in this town. This is going to be a bit of a longer story. What do you remember about divine messengers?”

“Nothing. I think.”

“Alright then...”

Figuring that it was most important to get him up-to-speed on his duties, Hayla began to tell him about Alarna, the issues the town had faced for as long as she could remember, as well as the more recent problems, leading into the topic of divine messengers, the role of the temple, and eventually: Lilly.

“The day she decided to show her face, you were with her, and you guys explained that the gods had given you powers that were supposed to lead this town into a better future. The citizens trusted you, and the royal family was forced to... abdicate,” she said with a frown and lowered her head a little in frustration.

It wasn’t that she blamed the people or Lilly for what happened. Life in Alarna hadn’t been perfect, and she understood their desire to do better. The supposed genuine divine messenger promised them a better tomorrow, and, all things considered, they had done a pretty good job so far. She could even understand why her family was imprisoned for the time being, thinking that she might have done the same thing if their roles were reversed. However, it was nigh impossible to have absolutely no negative feelings towards them.

They walked in silence for a moment, though she quickly grew curious why Tomar wasn’t saying anything despite the pause. When she peered back up at him, her eyes met his, as he studied her face intently.

“Hayla, who are you?” he asked inquisitively.

“I... was to become the next queen of Alarna, after my uncle, the king.”

No matter what she did, sooner or later he would learn this much at least, so there was no point in trying to hide it. All she had to do was keep an iota of composure, so he didn’t think she forced or tricked him into this marriage. That would destroy his blossoming trust in her and make it more difficult to use this opportunity to get closer to him. Her expression gave away what she was feeling though.

Tomar stopped and turned to face her. “You didn’t want this marriage... did you?”

Her mind working on an explanation for how all this led to their elopement, she was taken aback when suddenly questioned about whether she actually wanted this. Though she recovered quickly. Self-control was practically seen as a virtue in her family.

“It’s not like that,” she said. “I’ll admit, I had other reasons for wanting to marry you as well, but I did find you a suitable match nonetheless.”

An eyebrow raised, Tomar scrutinized her behavior. “I might not recognize my own name, but I understand the code for ‘You’re... okay. In a pinch.’”

Things weren’t going her way. Would Tomar believe anything she said if he thought she was only trying to ride his coattails? Or worse, if he assumed she might mean him harm? Granted, the contract made this difficult, but all contracts had a loophole or two.

“No!” She exclaimed and stammered, “I’m... We’re... I do find you very interesting!”

Tomar’s face suddenly relaxed and he chuckled. “You look cute when you’re in a panic.”

“I... Huh?”

“Come on,” he said as he faced forward again and gestured for her to come along. “Tell me more.”

***

A bipedal beast jumped out of the dungeon gate. As it let out an eerie warcry, it glanced left and right, wildly swinging a human sword that was way too large for its short frame, not more than a meter and a half in height. Its head vaguely resembled those of category three beasts, or wolves, but its body was much smaller and they rarely ran on all fours.

A group of four guards that had taken position in front of the gate readied their weapons immediately and tried to push the beast back, when another one jumped out of the gate. Growling, this second, much larger one landed on its four feet just centimeters behind the first one.

It had been eager to fight the humans, but looking up and behind itself, it fell into despair, seeing a wolf bare its fangs. Before it could react in any way, the wolf launched forward and bit down on the beast’s neck and upper torso. Despite that, it was still struggling, trying to get free, but a few hearty crunches and shakes later, the wolf let the lifeless body drop to the ground.

“Scurrily little bastard... Good job, Hati,” Berla said, lying on his back and holding onto his fur.