Chapter seven- Questions

 My head hurts again...Where am I?

Everything was white. She was in a white room, white walls, floor, ceiling. No doors or windows. No one else besides her.

"Hello?" Ashlyn called, her voice echoing off the walls.

"Hello dear~"

Ashlyn quickly turned to the voice, "You! Who are you? Where am I?"

"Nevermind all that, I'm just here to check up on you. That was quite a memory, wasn't it?" The man she'd seen at the festival laughed.

Ashlyn couldn't see his face again, only his white teeth and hair. "W-What...? How did I get here? I...I was...talking with Prince Hakuryuu..." Ashlyn gasped, "Hakuryuu!"

"Mmm...Such an interesting character, isn't he~?"

"D-Does he really...?"

The man shrugged, "Who knows? But besides that, darling, you seem fine. You really should stop forcing yourself to remember things though, it's bad for your health. Then again, you won't remember this conversation anyway." He spoke.

"Why won't I remember?"

"I make sure you don't~" The man smiled. "There's no need for you to remember, I do this just to check in on you~"

"Oh. Why are you checking in on me?" Ashlyn was completely lost.

"I believe I've answered enough questions today, dear. Can't spoil everything at once, now can we?" He laughed wickedly. "Now, go back and have fun, and don't get yourself killed too soon, alright darling?"

~

Ashlyn awoke with a start, surprising the others in the room, "Ash! Hey! You're awake! Are you okay?"

"Alibaba...?" Ashlyn tried to make sense of what was happening. Alibaba, Aladdin, Morgiana and Prince Hakuryuu all stood around her. "What happened?"

"When I came to talk to you the other day, you passed out." Hakuryuu explained.

"The other day?" Ashlyn echoed. "How long was I out?"

"A few days now..." Aladdin spoke. "None of us knew what happened."

"What do you remember, Ashlyn-san?" Morgiana asked.

"Uhm..." Ashlyn raked through her mind. Hannah... "I was talking to Hakuryuu...then my head started to hurt again..."

They were interrupted as Yamraiha and Sinbad entered, "Is Ashlyn awake yet?"

"Yeah, she just got up." Alibaba nodded.

"How do you feel, Ashlyn?" Yamraiha asked as she began looking her over.

"Fine, I guess...My head still hurts a little." Ashlyn continued to think over what she had remembered. Was I dreaming about that girl? She spoke of my mother... "I had a weird dream..."

"About what?"

"I...I was with this girl. She had purple hair and brown eyes. She was talking about my mother..." Ashlyn tried piecing together her thoughts.

"Your mother?" Alibaba echoed.

"Could that have been a memory?" Sinbad suggested before asking, "Do you remember anything else?"

Ashlyn nodded, "Yeah...I think my mother is sick or something..." She began to get hopeful, "That means I have family out there, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does." Yamriaha smiled, they all could see how excited Ashlyn was getting. "But you should rest for a bit before doing anything, we're still not sure what happened."

Ashlyn frowned a bit, "Yeah..." She remembered what she'd learned about Hakuryuu. That won't happen for a while...right? Wait...He conquers Zagan, yeah? Has that happened yet? "Have I missed anything important?" Ashlyn asked after Sinbad and Yamraiha left.

"Not really. We've just been training a lot." Alibaba answered her.

"Morgiana got her household vessel though!" Aladdin reminded.

"Oh, right! It's really pretty!" Alibaba exclaimed as he remembered.

Ashlyn smiled at Morgiana, "That's awesome. What about you, Hakuryuu? What have you been up to?"

Hakuryuu seemed surprised at her question, "Oh, nothing really. I've been training as well. With the general Spartos."

"Nice." Ashlyn smiled at him too.

"What are you going to do now, Ash?" Alibaba questioned.

"Me? Well...I really want to look for my family now. I might not remember them, but if I have family out there, they must miss me, right?" Ashlyn told the group.

"Yeah!" Aladdin smiled. "That's a great idea, Ash-san! Where are you going to start?"

"Mhm...I'm not sure. I'd like to go out and explore though." Ashlyn thought for a while.

"Alone? That's kinda dangerous." Alibaba commented. "Especially when you don't remember much."

Ashlyn frowned a bit, "I know. But I feel if I leave Sindria I'll be able to remember more, or even find my family."

"Well, whatever you decide, we'll support you!" Aladdin stood, still smiling happily.

"Yeah." Alibaba agreed.

Ashlyn smiled, "Thanks, you guys."

"Everyone, Sinbad is calling for you." Ja'far interrupted, entering the room.

 This must be about Zagan. Ashlyn thought as they said their goodbyes to her.

~

"Ashlyn-dono. Can I talk with you?" Hakuryuu asked as he approached her.

"Sure, what's up?" The prince, along with Aladdin, Alibaba and Morgiana had been ordered by Sinbad to enter Zagan earlier that day, and it worried Ashlyn.

They were leaving the next day, at the same time Ashlyn was leaving. She had managed to convince Sinbad to let her leave.

"What do you know about me? Ever since you woke up you've looked at me differently." Hakuryuu jumped right into questioning, his expression completely serious.

"W-What do you mean?" Ashlyn suddenly panicked. I can't just tell him his future! "I only know what you've told me, Hakuryuu. That you're the Kou Empire's fourth prince."

"You must know something else. Did you overhear me talking with King Sinbad when I first arrived?" Hakuryuu insisted.

 Oh, I remember that. When he told Sinbad that he wants to 'destroy the Kou Empire'. Ashlyn could feel a headache coming on. "No, I didn't." She knew she was a terrible liar, but she could only hope Hakuryuu would believe her.

Hakuryuu frowned, clearly not buying it, "You're lying."

Ashlyn shifted uncomfortably, "I-I can't tell you..."

"Why not?" The prince spoke slowly and seriously.

"Just- Just don't trust Judar, alright?" Ashlyn avoided his gaze.

"I never planned on it...How do you know who he is?"

"I...I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Hakuryuu continued to press.

Ashlyn took a step back, "Just please, trust me. I have a feeling. Just...Be careful. And...you're not useless. Let everyone help you in Zagan tomorrow, okay?"

Hakuryuu gave her a confused look, but agreed, "Alright..."

~

Author's Note-

Hehe~ exciting things happening soon~