Disclaimer – I do not own the Slayers characters.
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Disremember
"I've forgotten you, Mr. Zelgadiss." The princess, clad in a slip of a dress, leaned against her balcony's railing. She gazed at the massive garden below that stretched seemingly forever.
"When did you forget," he asked, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She didn't seem to notice.
"Oh, I'd say about three months ago. That's when it happened."
As she continued staring at the garden, he found himself wishing that she would turn her gaze to him. Seeing just the side of her face was not enough. He needed to see in entirety her eyes, her full lips, and her rounded nose. "Amelia, look at me." Saying as much was a feat for him. He loathed to be looked at. Loathed that he desired to be looked at. And yet, whenever she had looked at him in the past…
The woman shook her head. "I can't. Not anymore."
"Why?"
Her answer was simple. "Because it happened."
He nodded, not understanding at all. "What is…it?"
"It is the event that happened to me."
"What event was that?"
She shrugged. "Doesn't really matter." He started to protest, but she spoke again, pointing to the garden below. "Though if you really want to know, look."
Zelgadiss leaned on the railing. His eyes followed the invisible line that led from her finger to whatever it was she pointed at. He saw it.
Wandering the garden's intricate maze was a monster. Zelgadiss recognized the monster, yet did not know it. "I don't understand."
"Neither did I." He looked at her from the corner of his eye. He watched as she watched the monster. "I didn't understand, even as it was happening," she confessed. He looked back at the maze and found the monster had vanished. "He does that," she informed him. "He comes and goes when he pleases."
Zelgadiss shook his head, turning to her. He did not understand. "How is that any different?"
"I know he'll always come back. See?" She pointed to the maze again.
Zelgadiss did not look. Instead he continued to stare at her. Her hair was the same, her height was the same, and her voice was the same; yet she was completely different.
He missed her.
"Amelia?"
"Yes?"
"Do you think you'll ever remember?"
She remained silent, watching the monster disappear and reappear. Finally, "Do you want me to?"
There was no hesitation in his answer. "Yes."
She nodded. "That's understandable."
He did not know how to respond to this, so he asked again, "Will you remember?"
She turned to him then. Her gaze was blank. "Will you?"