Year 9 - May

Asuna breathed heavily as she walked up the tall hill. She's drenched in rain and mud. Her hands are frozen and she can barely see with the rainy night. Behind her, she can hear yelling and can see lights traveling. "I have to keep moving". She said aloud. Just then, a little voice broke her concentration.

"Mama...I'm cold."

"I know sweetie, but we cannot be at the castle anymore. That's not where we were from. The king is not your father. Your father is somewhere on this island. We must find him."

Mai just whimpered as she kept holding onto her mother's hand. Asuna's grabbing of the tube under her table on the memory altering machine had in fact caused a glitch and she was able to regain her memories, though it came so suddenly in the middle of the night that she almost wanted to act like she remembered nothing until she could think of a plan. She woke her daughter up first and was able to get her to change into warm clothes. They then moved slowly to her son Kenji's room. When Asuna told him that the King had tricked her into thinking they were married and that his father and life were outside the castle, Kenji still refused to go.

"I like it here mother and I'm not leaving. Why would I leave such a perfect life for an unknown one?"

"Because this is not your life. It's fake. It's a complete lie. The King used us to get what he wanted and now we are leaving to return to our old life."

"I'm not going. The King is the only father I know and this is the only life I know. To think you want me to be without servants, or maids, or afternoon tea is just silly. You two can leave, but I'm staying here."

Nothing Asuna said would change his mind. She figured Sugou wouldn't have Kenji killed because he favored him to Mai for the heir. It hurt Asuna so much to leave her son behind, but she needed to escape and she thought she could always come back for him later. She thought of forcing him out, but he would cause such a stir that she would be found out. With promises to be back, Asuna and Mai left into the night.

Asuna finally arrived at the top of the hill. Through the clouds, the moon finally showed through. The moon showed a wide road and various farms scattered about. She looked around and felt peaceful even in such a state. She looked up the road a little further and saw a quaint house with a large tree nearby standing alone. She squinted and saw that it looked like someone was under it.

"What's someone doing under a tree so late at night?" She thought to herself. She then gasped and held Mai's hand tighter.

"What's wrong Mama?"

"Come on."

Asuna walked quickly towards the tree and was able to make out that it was a man dressed in black sleeping on his back. Asuna started to tear up and Mai noticed her newly emotional state. "Mama?" Asuna let go of Mai's hand and looked down. There was no doubt in her mind that this was Kirito. She burst into tears and fell to her knees. The moon came out behind a cloud and illuminated his face. Asuna lifted her hand and put it on the man's face. She cleared away her tears and looked up at Mai.

"This is your father Mai."

"Eh?"

"It's him, I'm sure of it."

Asuna laid down next to the man and kissed his cheek. Asuna then whispered,

"I'm here."

She got up with a smile, but saw he was still in a deep sleep. She pushed his shoulder and tried harder to wake him up.

"Kirito, hey Kirito. Wake up." He groaned and shifted a bit.

"Wake up!"

Within a fraction of a second, the man had sat up, grabbed his sword, and put it right up to Asuna's throat. Asuna gasped and Mai made a small shriek.

"What do you want?"

"A...are you Kazuto Kirigaya?" The man narrowed his eyes and pushed the blade closer to her neck.

"Who's asking?"

"It's me Kirito, it's Asuna."

Kirito blinked and was able to recognize the disheveled woman.

"The Queen right? I did some babysitting for you years ago while that damn husband of yours felt you needed a private birth. As soon as the job was done, he kicked me to the curb like I was trash. After years of loyal service as a Knight. Your husband is the lowest of the low and I'll see to it that he gets a swift and brutal punishment for what he did."

Asuna only smiled. She at least took comfort in that they had a common enemy. She then filled with emotion as the reality of the situation emerged.

"Could you please take that sword away from my neck?"

"Nah, I think I'll leave it there. You two are coming with me. You get to be my hostages."

Asuna wanted so bad to cry, but she knew if she threw her arms around Kirito that he'd probably stab her. She simply nodded. Just then Mai finally spoke up.

"Please stop fighting with Mama...P..Papa." Asuna's eyes got large and she simply breathed out a "no".

"Papa? Psh yeah right kid. I don't have any chance of being your father. I never had that ability."

"But you are! You're Kazuto Kirigaya right?! You're a legend in demon fighting and I recognize your sword from what the Knights tell us...and Mama told me you had your memories repl.."

"Mai stop it!" Mai stopped talking and looked down. "I'm sorry about that. Please forgive her. We've had a long night. We will come with you."

"Alright, now get up."

Asuna and Kirito got up and started walking toward the cliffs. They could hear many footsteps and within a few moments, were surrounded by the guards.

"You need to come with us your majesty."

Kirito took his sword and returned it to Asuna's throat. Every guard got out their weapon and were aiming it at Kirito. Sugou emerged behind the guards and the blade went closer to Asuna again, causing her to gasp. Sugou recognized Kirito and took in what he saw before him. He let out an evil laughter, loving that he would've never imagined this scene to ever happen.

"Sugou!" The same tone as so long ago played again in his voice and Asuna could feel the tightness in her chest and her eyes begin to tear up.

"Would you mind telling me what's going on my queen?"

"I am not your queen! I never was. My original memories returned Sugou. I remember everything."

Sugou let out a sigh.

"Well then, it must really hurt to be in the situation you're currently in, isn't it?"

The lump in Asuna's throat was huge. She knew this must've been a great feeling for Sugou. She swallowed as best she could and looked right at Sugou.

"Just let me be. I don't want to go back with you."

"..and what...you're going to go live happily ever after with the man who currently has a sword to your throat? Wake up Asuna! I created this life because I wanted you and the kids to be happy. Isn't that reason enough to look past my ways of achieving those goals?"

"Excuse me." Kirito finally chimed in. "You two can complain about your marriage later. Right now I have the queen knocking on death's door. You either give in to my demands or her head is gone."

The king glanced over at Kirito with disgust.

"My my, as lively as ever I see Kirigaya-kun. Very well. What are your demands?"

"That you go walk off that cliff." Sugou only smirked and gave another horrible laugh.

"That's lovely. No, I don't think I'm going to be doing that. I think I'm going to have you killed right here. Guards, take him down, but keep the queen and princess alive."

The guards came in swiftly and started attacking Kirito's arm so he could drop the sword. He was hit several times and was able to get a little blood drawn from Asuna before she escaped and fell into Mai's arms. Kirito was able to take a few guards down before he fled up the road towards the cliffs. Asuna watched as his silhouette faded into the shadows, being chased by the guards. Sugou looked down on Asuna.

"So your memories came back huh? That damn scientist must've had bad configuring. Too many people have seen this little incident tonight. I'm sure you won't easily come back to the castle, so why don't we make a deal?"

Asuna looked up in suspicion.

"What kind of deal?"

"Well, you and Mai stay here in this lovely area while Kenji and I stay in the castle. I'll have my heir and you have your freedom to spend the rest of your life trying to convince Kirigaya-kun who you are. I'll make up some story about how the marriage wasn't working, but that everyone should treat you as a villager and not as a queen."

Asuna felt relief for a moment, but quickly came back to reality.

"You're agreeing to this too easily. What's the catch?"

Sugou walked around Asuna, his piercing eyes finally meeting hers.

"To be honest, I've grown tired of you Asuna. I have my heir, so I don't really need you anymore."

Asuna felt saddened. She had spent many more years with this horrible man than she ever had with Kirito. Knowing she would never have the luxurious life she lived brought her to a sudden calm and she ran with it.

"Alright Sugou, you have a deal...but one day Kirito is going to take you down for what you've done and I will get back my son!"

Sugou leaned in closer to Asuna and spoke softly into her ear.

"I'd like to see him try." He turned around and started walking back. "I'll give you some money later to buy a place to live. Call it my final gift to you to show my gratitude for giving me an heir. So long Asuna."

Asuna and Mai held each other and watched as everyone walked out of sight. Asuna laid down on the ground in the same spot as Kirito just was.

"Tomorrow we'll go look for a place to live, let's just get some sleep now."

Mai nodded. They fell asleep holding each other under that large tree. The tree where she finally was able to see her beloved husband once again. As Asuna drifted off to sleep, she smiled, hopeful that the days ahead will bring her closer to him. The next day, she awoke to several villagers around her whispering amongst each other. Finally one of them came closer.

"Excuse me your majesty...I mean Miss Yukki. Are you alright? "

"Yes, we're fine...did you hear about what happened?"

"Yes, we all heard that you are now a simple villager. It must be very hard for you. We were able to clean out the house right over there for you two, so you can sleep somewhere other than under a tree."

"Thank you."

"Oh it's no problem. We can take you on a tour and get you acquainted with this area. We do have some fine schools miss Mai can attend as well. Once you're ready to look around, let one of us know."

"Alright. Thank you. I will." Asuna and Mai waved at the villagers as they walked away. They were now starting the beginning of their new life.