"Jamison, what is going on?" Pepper asked. "Why are there women competing for the man Reimeiko Thunderis is already married to and ruling a kingdom with."
"I wish I knew Pepper." Reimeiko replied, "All I know is that somewhere between our last battle and the present, Karyson was separated from Tristan and Knight Wolf and does not have his memories of his life with Reimeiko and we have got to get them back somehow."
"Well, my crew and I will help you solve this mystery anyway we can." Pepper said. "Anything you need, do not hesitate to call. We will be right within earshot and I will get you all the information you need on the rest of the players."
"Thanks Pepper, I will keep you posted on that." Reimeiko said. She hung up with Pepper and went back to her Journal: Maybe performing a telepathic link is what I need to do to start the ball rolling. But no matter what happens, I am not going to let anyone or anything come between Karyson and Reimeiko. I am wide awake and restless. How can I sleep when Reimeiko's whole life is seriously changing? I need to take a walk. I will write more later: I got up and found myself walking the palace halls in the moonlight thinking about Reimeiko and what would happen if things did not work out between her and Karyson. Oddly enough, just the thought of them not being together felt like a serious stab to my heart. I felt the same way when Tristan separated himself from me, but it was not because he did not love me or did not want to be with me. Tristan broke up with and separated himself from me to apparently save my life, but come to find out, it was his future self, Karyson's future self that sent those nightmares to test us and the strength of our love for eachother. It was only by combining the power of our love that we were able to destroy the evil that threatened to destroy us. But after the last battle, Tristan and I promised eachother to face each new challenge together no matter what. Now we had to face that same promise again with Reimeiko and Karyson. I was so consumed in my thoughts, I was not watching where I was going and bumped into Derrick.
"Whoa Thunderis becareful." Derrick said. "What are you doing out here so late? You should be getting your sleep like the rest of them for the Masquerade and the events of tomorrow."
"I am feeling too anxious to sleep." Reimeiko replied. "I just have a lot on my mind and my body will not let me sleep at all. What about you? What are you doing out here so late at night instead of sleeping?"
"I was just trying to get away from everyone as well as the flash and flare for a little while." he said. "You know what, why do you not come with me for a little while?"
She followed Derrick as he led her through the palace, eventually to the courtyard where he pointed to a tree. "Do you want me to admire the tree or climb it with you?" Reimeiko asked.
"We are going to climb it." Derrick replied. "The special thing about this particular tree is that it is very close to the palace. So close that from the top we can make it to the roof. Trust me this will be worth it."
Reimeiko followed him up the tree and after a few minutes of climbing, they made it upto the roof of the palace and the view of Wolfera. "Oh wow, this is absolutely gorgeous." Reimeiko gushed.
"I am glad that you like it." Derrick replied. "Anyway, I am going to hang out here for a while. You are welcome to stick around if you want to and keep me company. That balcony across the roof is Karyson's room and actually, you can get there from here if you want to surprise him."
"Yes, I think I will surprise him." Reimeiko said. She shimmied her way across the roof where Karyson's room was. "Okay, there is nothing to it. I have just got to get down to his window safely." Elegantly, she swung through Karyson's open window and landed very gracefully. "Yes, made it safely. Surprise, I had to see you."
"Reimeiko, I do not understand." he said. "What are you doing here?" He ran over and wrapped her up in a big hug. "I thought that I would never see you again."
"Malachi and Byron Blanchard are sponsoring me." Reimeiko replied. "He brought me here to join the other suitors in the competition for Garyson. Malachi seems to like me. I am not so sure about Byron though."
"House Blanchard is sponsoring you?" Karyson asked. "I knew they would likely sponsor someone but I have never heard of a noble house sponsoring a commoner."
Reimeiko bristled at the mention of the word commoner, furious that the nobles and royals threw it around like a vulgar word.
"Honestly, Malachi saw our obvious chemistry and how happy he saw you because we were together." Reimeiko said. "And before you say anything, no one asked you to be subtle."
"Wait, all of that explains what you are doing here in Dovera." Karyson replied. "But it does not explain how you landed in my chambers. You might have noticed the other noble ladies are not exactly here for a receiving and greeting line."
"I am not the rest of the noble ladies." Reimeiko replied. "I will take every advantage to be reunited with my Karyson and shove out every snob who tries to come between us. I suppose not many of the so-called women show up in your chambers unannounced."
"Definitely not and certainly not by coming through my window." he chuckled. "Now tell me, how is it that you are here with me right now in this room Reia Mia?"
"I could not say away." Reimeiko replied. "I want you so badly, it hurts Kary. I could not sleep knowing that we were under the same roof, knowing how much I wanted to be here right next to you." She leaned in and pressed her lips to his in a slow and lingering kiss, flashes of the memories of the past beginning to resurface of his true connection to his lady love.
"You tempt me, my Princess." he announced. Karyson took her into his arms leaning her against the wall pressing his lips to hers, softly at first, then deeper. Then he dragged himself away from her, his eyes regarding her thoughtfully. "Most people here, I know what they are going to do, say, and what they want and how they intend to get it. But you Reia Mia, whenever you are around, unexpected things seem to happen. You have a way of surprising me everytime."
"Karyson, you are about to learn, but you have always known that I am full of surprises. But so are you my Knight Wolf." Without thinking twice, she kissed him again sending more flashes of memories of them together into his cerebral cortex. Reluctantly he broke off the kiss and met her eyes.
"I cannot wait to learn more about you, my Reimeiko." he replied. "But I am afraid that it will have to wait for another time. It is too dangerous for you to be here. I mean courtly gossip and rumors. If you are truly representing the Blanchard family, you will soon find the eyes of the court and nobles watching you waiting for you to make a mistake, waiting for a reason to cause a scandal and I would hate to make your time here more difficult. So as much as it pains me and believe me it does pain me Reimeiko, you should go for now."
"But will I see you again?" Reimeiko asked, fighting the tears. He could tell it was hunting her to leave him, but his soft touch strengthened her letting her know they would be together again soon. She kissed him one more time, strengthening their connection even more. She left Karyson's room and slipped back on to the roof where Derrick was sitting and contemplating. She sat down next to him. "Do you mind having some company?"
"Of course not." he said. "I would not have brought you up here if I did. This is my favorite spot in the entire palace. Just me and the stars." He leaned back on his elbows and Reimeiko copied him enjoying the view. "So did you wish Karyson a beautiful good night?"
"Yeah, something like that." Reimeiko sighed. But even with Karyson's soothing reassurance, the tightness in Reimeiko's chest would ease up a great deal but would not go away too completely. "This is quite a breathtaking view. And very beautiful as well."
"No one else knows about it so no one else comes up here." Derrick announced. "Well no one besides you knows about it because it is so isolated up here. A place to get away from the craziness."
"So that is why you brought me up here?" Reimeiko asked. "Are you not afraid or worried I will ruin your hiding spot? What if I am going to be up here all of the time now?"
"You know I think I could find a way to tolerate it." he said. "I guess it just seemed like something you would like. Whenever all of these courtly royal walls start closing in being up here makes me feel normal again. You know what I mean?"
"Yeah, I know what you mean." she replied. "You know, sometimes I cannot believe that I am really here after all these years. It is like, I do not know, like coming home. But it is not the same as I remember. Something is seriously off kilter."
"I will say," he said. "It takes a certain kind of person to pack up, go to a foreign kingdom and try and win over a man that she had just met. Commoners as royalty have never been Taboria's cup of tea if you really think about it."
"Is this your way of saying you think I am only here for Garyson?" Reimeiko asked.
"Well are you not?" Derrick counterasked. "All of the other noble ladies are just here for him. No, I take that back. They are all just after the crown. They are not in this for him. I would say that you are the same as the rest of the crown chasers."
"Then you would seriously be wrong about me." Reimeiko snapped. "Maybe I am here for the adventure, or something more substantial than this waste of time contest which is rigged from the beginning and I have no chance of winning because I am not the present king's idea of the woman for his crown prince." Furious about how this conversation was going, Reimeiko stood up and began to make her way back to the tree where she could get back to the ground with Derrick close behind.