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A soft light flooded the room as Aero sat up in her bed. She sat in a room she had never seen before. Everything was decorated in light colors. Pushing through the sheer curtain of her bed she stepped on the cool stone floor. She wore a long empire waist nightgown as she walked to the armoire and opened the door.

“Nothing is familiar,” she whispered to herself as she shifted through the clothes, “I guess it was too much to expect thinking everything would come back to me when I came here. I can only remember small things. Not a single thing about my family.”

She hurriedly changed into one of the long flowing dresses. They weren’t as elaborate as the Faery Realm dresses. There were only small embroideries on the bodice and layers in different colors.

She wandered the halls looking at the decorations. They felt familiar, but none of them held any attachment that shocked her memory. As she looked out a tall narrow window she gazed over a familiar cobblestone road. It was one of the four that entered the city. This one came from the east. It was lined with shops, many of which were unchanged. Behind the shops lay a complex neighborhood of houses that descended down the hill. On the other side of the small valley more homes climbed the hill to the next road. The view felt normal, only slightly nostalgic. Aero sighed continuing down the hall.

“You’ve grown taller, little princess,” a voice called.

“But I’m still not as tall as . . .” Aero paused unsure where the snippet of memory came from, “you.”

“So you do remember? I was told you were suffering from memory loss.” The boy walked closer with an excited smile on his face.

“I did loose me memory, but sometimes familiar things trigger it to come back,” she explained, “I’m not even sure of the meanings of what I said. Sorry.”

The young man standing before her looked down. “I see. Well, allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Talim. We were childhood friends. What I said before was a joke I used to have with you.”

“Talim.” A young face appeared in her mind. He had soft dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. He had always teased her when they met because she was so much younger than him. Talim was the son of a noble and next to inherit the land and title.

“Is that really you princess?” A girl came up beside Talim. She had darker hair and green eyes. “It’s been so long.”

“Senna? Is that you?” Aero asked excitedly as she remembered the young face.

“Oh, Aero I was so worried,” Senna cried hugging her long lost friend.

“Wait, I thought you had lost your memories. How can you remember Senna and not me?” Talim pointed out confused.

“I remembered her when I saw her,” Aero explained still clinging to her old friend, “It’s probably because you awakened so many of my memories. You and Senna were often together in my memories.”

“Princess . . . what happened to you?” he asked worriedly, “you keep talking about your memories as if . . . well, it’s not the normal way that memories work.”

“I told you before,” she tried to say it simply, “I lost them. Everything from before my arrival in the Faery Realm is locked in the back of my mind.

Talim had a worried look on his face but Senna dismissed it.

“Would you like to take a look around the city?” she asked, “maybe we can wake up some of your other memories.”

Aero considered for a moment before she answered. “Thank you, but I’d like to take a look around the castle first. I want to get readjusted before I go about.”

“Ah, okay. Well, when you want to just ask,” Senna offered.

“Get some rest.” Talim gave her a worried glance before they went on their way.
Aero nodded and waved as she watched them walk down the hall before walking back to her room. A heavy sigh escaped her mouth as she lay back on the bed. Her head throbbed from the memories that overwhelmed her. Everything was coming back too much at a time. Besides that she was angry about how easily her memories pulled her to the realm she hated.

“I guess it’s impossible for me to hate them. They were my precious friends after all.” She sat up with a determined gaze. “It was only that town that hurt Tornado. They were the only ones involved.”

Once her head stopped spinning she left the room to wander the halls once more. Nostalgia filled her as she passed familiar rooms. The main tower was the heart of the palace. The dining hall and ballroom were closest to the ground so they were easily accessible to guests. Higher up were rooms for less formal gatherings and the library. Then there were guest rooms. Further above was the floor where Aero walked, the floor where the royal family slept. Yes, it had come back to her as she wandered.

She stopped before a large set of double doors. They were so familiar in her memories. With a deep breath she shut her eyes and pushed the doors open. The air that met her was stagnant. The room that met her eyes was covered with dust. Everything lay still in the dim room. The only light came from stained glass windows depicting the family crest. A pair of white wings spread out from the red crest. In the crest was a silver moon and star.

“What . . .” she felt herself shaking, “What happened? My parents . . . where?”

She fell to the ground feeling sobs building in her throat. Dread filled her heart, weighing down her heart as she shook assumptions from her mind. She lay on the ground as tears burst from her eyes as a soft wail escaped her mouth.

A small group of maids hurried down the hall towards Aero’s painful cries. They slowed as they saw the opened doors.

“Milady,” one called kneeling beside her, “Milady Aero, the council has gathered. They want to explain what has happened here.”

Aero sat up looking at the maid fearfully. “They’re dead, aren’t they?”

The maid couldn’t meet her eyes as she dropped her hand from Aero’s shoulder.
“I see.” Aero stood feebly wiping her face. “Please, take me to the council. I want to know what happened to this place.”

The council was nobles from different areas of the realm along with the royal advisors. They sat around a round table before an empty throne. Again the pang of loss stabbed through Aero’s chest. The throne seemed so empty and neglected as it loomed over the council. The men at the table stood as they saw her bowing low.

“Please, stand,” Aero forced the words through her strained voice as she felt her eyes stinging. “What has happened here? Where has my family gone?”

“Princess,” one of the nobles began, “do you know why you were sent away from Aile?”

She shook her head.

“Come, have a seat.” He led her to the empty throne. “When you were still very young we began to feel pressure from the Dark Realm. Their new Lord had been on the throne only a few years before they began advancing swiftly. Their main advance was in military. We, of Light, have been living in peace for quite some time. Fighting is only for sport here. When your parents received a threat from the Dark Lord they knew they had to get you to safety. They knew they would be searched from no matter where they went, but you were so young. They firmly believed that the Dark Lord didn’t know about you so they sent you to that small village in hopes you would live safely until the trouble passed. As long as you were alive the realm would have hope.”

“So what happened to them?”

“After they were sure you had arrived safely in the village they fled to the northern fortress. They had hoped to lay low until the trouble passed, but they never made it. On the way to the fortress their carriage was ambushed. Not long after we received news of the ambush we got word that offer branches of the royal family had suffered the same tragedy.”

“Why didn’t they go after me?”

“They did,” the noble explained confused, “that’s why we lost you. The villagers told us a spy found out you were the princess and tried to take you to the darkness.”

“You’re wrong,” Aero muttered.

“Pardon?” the noble asked confused.

“The so-called spy was only a child and he lived there far longer than I had. It’s impossible for the Dark Lord to plan that far ahead. Besides, it was the people who created the portal,” Aero explained intently.

“Why would they do that?” he asked, “you are their beloved princess.”

“Well, they wouldn’t listen when I tried to stop them so I jumped after my friend into the portal. They had originally set the destination as the Dark Realm but once I jumped in they changed it to the Feary Realm.”

“If only they had told us we could have found you sooner.”

Aero looked up at the noble surprised. “You really believe me?”

“I can’t be sure who is to blame for the incident, but if you say that our people made the portal I must believe you. It takes many people to form and maintain an open portal. A single spy couldn’t do such a thing, especially not a child,” he explained.

“He could have had accomplices,” another offered.

“That seems unreasonable.”

The men of the council began to discuss their opinions with those around them. The room seemed to fill with the friction of their ideas causing Aero to sink back on the throne.

“Gentlemen, gentlemen,” the first noble called over the group as he stood, “this is not the time, please. Let’s end here for the day. Our princess still needs time to readjust to life here. There is no need to overwhelm her with this discussion.”

The others agreed bowing before they left. Aero sat on the throne feeling out of place.

“Milady,” the noble who had explained everything remained in the room, “how are you feeling?”

“I’m not sure, she answered feebly, “I’m still taking everything in. I really hated this place. I hated it so much, but when I started to remember my old friends I couldn’t hate it completely.”

“A lot happened to you after you left this place, didn’t it?”

Aero nodded.

“Father?” Talim entered the room. “Ah, I’m sorry. You’re still having a meeting?”

“No, it’s quite alright. I was just seeing how her highness was feeling.”

“Are you feeling ill, princess?”

“No, I’m okay,” she answered.

“Talim, why don’t you take Princess Aero to the courtyard? She probably just needs some fresh air.”

“Is that alright with you, princess?” Talim asked.

Aero nodded as she stepped down from the throne with the help of Talim’s father. When they left the room Senna joined them glancing worriedly at Aero’s peaked face. The three of them walked slowly down to the first floor and out to the fresh air of the courtyard. Talim and Senna led her to the back of the courtyard. The water falling from the aqueducts could be heard past the thick, stonewalls. Aero sat down on the grass with a sigh.

“My head is going to burst,” she told them, “my life used to be so simple. Does everything get so much more complicated as you grow up?”

“Basically,” Senna explained sitting beside her, “it really isn’t fair for you to bear it all alone. You can talk to us if you need.”

“Thank you Senna. Right now I just need to figure it out for myself.”

“Do you want to be alone for a while?” Talim offered.

Aero nodded and waited for them to leave. Senna hesitated before standing and following Talim back to the gate. Once they were out of sight Aero collapsed back on the grass with a groan.

“Ugh! Why do I have to deal with all of this at once? It’s too much to take!”

When she uncovered her eyes she saw an embarrassed maid standing above her. She clutched the apron of her uniform. Her russet colored wings were the same shade as her hair. On her head she wore a cap with the family crest pinned over a bow.

“Sorry,” Aero sat up trying to regain her composure, “did you need something?”

“I humbly apologize,” the maid told her bowing, “I came across your journal while unpacking your trunk. I know I shouldn’t have read it, but-”

Aero covered the maid’s mouth hurriedly dragging her away from the windows of the castle.

“You must never, never, speak of the journal,” Aero warned, “where have you put it?”

“Under your pillow,” she answered still in shock from the princess’s reaction.

“That won’t do… I need a better spot.” Aero considered for a moment. “How well do you know the castle?”

“I’ve been serving here for a few years.”

“Help me find a safe place where it won’t be discovered.”

They hurried through the halls back to Aero’s room. Aero tore through the sheets to get to the pillow. Chills ran down her spine as she turned back to the maid. “It’s gone.”