The Dark Prince

cided to follow him. He's the only one here who understands me, and as far as I'm concerned, the only one that can teach me what I want to know. He rest

oel adjusts his coat, his aged fingers struggling with one of my buttons. I drop my head, bumping my forehead against the table. "That hurts my head to think about." Will I have to do all this soul-searching alone? Will Vade accompany me? I doubt it. When we do marry, I doubt he will want anything to do with me. I can't imagine a sadder existence... I look up at him again. "What do you even do here?" "I work for your parents." He casts his gaze out the window, at the tree beyond it. This one is lush and green, unlike the sickly scented flowering ones from the garden. "I was your teacher, your mentor, Avila. I loved you like my own daughter, and I still do." My breath exhales through me slowly, a cold, dark chasm of emotion suddenly threatening to swallow me whole. Oh. "Does it hurt that I don't remember you," I whisper. He looks down at his hands, running his thumb along a golden ring engraved with something I cannot see. He swallows thickly, overcome by emotion for a moment. His eyes are misty when they meet mine again. "It hurt more when we lost you. Having you back is a blessing, regardless of the state of your memory. You will always be the daughter I never had." His words warm my heart, even if it still bleeds for him. I look at his face and I want nothing more than to remember him, to remember that relationship with him. I look down at my hands. "You seem like someone I would have loved. Someone I may love again." With Crimson, I've felt nothing. With Vade, there's a spark of attraction I don't dare answer to, but with Roel, there's a soul connection that goes beyond memory. Will I have that with my real father? Did I love my real father like I loved Roel? Or was Roel more a father to me than him? Roel doesn't speak for a long moment. Raising my head, I find him staring at me, his face pale, his gaze apprehensive. "I shouldn't say this, but I sense something different about you," he states abruptly. "How so?" "The way you speak, the way you carry yourself..." He rubs the back of his neck. "That may be because you have lost so many memories that who you were has shifted entirely. Our childhood, our life experiences all make up who we are, and you no longer have that." I grip either side of my chair. It seems that no one can accept the changes in me, who I've become. At least Roel understands why I've changed, but maybe he won't like the new me... "Is it such a bad thing if I've changed?" I ask softly. He shakes his head, although his expression remains grave. "Of course not. Although I must warn you that those close to you know only of the previous you. They may struggle to reconcile this change, which is something you will have to deal with in the future." In the middle of his sentence, splatters of black spill across my vision. I attempt to blink them away, but pain ricocheting through my head stops me. Suddenly, against my will, I'm transported into the depths of my memory. His skin, his hair feels soft beneath my fingertips. His mouth is pressed against mine, our kiss feverish and hungry. I'm lifted off his lap, his ha