Another chapter in a single day! Yes, here's the chapter which will reveal the relation between Lest and Frey!
Rune Factory – Wishes, Dreams, and Memories
Chapter 12 – Reunion
The airship carrying the three Selphian had lowered into its dock in front of the king's castle with a pair of soldiers guarding the castle gate. The soldiers donned identical armor which was made of enhanced steel, colored in bright silver. The identical-colored steel helmets covered most of their faces, leaving an opening for their eyes to see. The two soldiers had their silver spears crossed against each other, blocking any unauthorized people from passing into the castle.
The three got off from the airship with Lest carrying a bigger backpack for his and Dolce's need to stay while Arthur had brought an old scroll in his hand and walked in front of the couple, heading towards the soldiers on guard.
"Lord Arthur! We have been waiting for your arrival," The soldier on the left side of the gate spoke up.
"And the two people who have come with you are Sir Lest and Lady Dolce, correct?" The soldier on the right side asked.
"Yes. They have come to attend the party this evening," Arthur replied firmly.
"You may pass, milord," The soldiers moved their spears away, unblocking the way towards the gate.
Arthur turned to the couple behind him with a smile, "Come, let me show you to your room."
The three of them went through the gate and into the gigantic grey building. The first room to greet them was a huge room with dark red paint coloring the walls, which were decorated with various paintings of people dressed in formal clothes. A big chandelier, which was decorated with small but detailed golden bird sculptures, was hanging on the ceiling. The ceiling was also painted in four different color schemes, each representing one of the Native Dragons. On the left and right sides of the room, statues of various monsters were lined up neatly.
Arthur stopped in his tracks and turned to the couple, "This is one of the castle's art rooms. You can see the royal family's statue collections as well as their portraits."
"Wow… this is amazing…" Dolce looked around the room in amazement before walking towards a statue of a wooly near the entrance, "I can see a lot of details in this one as well."
"Oh, that's actually a gift from one of my clients," Arthur started, "Her husband is the one who provided the big woolies for our De-Fluffing Festival every year."
"I'm not surprised," Lest let out a laugh, "I think she gave the statue because of the order for woolies."
Arthur responded with a nod, "I assumed so as well. Now, shall we get going?"
As they went through the room, a few women dressed in maid uniform were pacing through the room from and to the paths on the left and right sides of the room between the statues. Some of them were cleaning the statues, but quickly stopped their work for a moment to bow to Arthur as he went through the room and towards the big black doors across the room. He pushed the doors open, letting the sunlight shone straight into their faces.
"The guest chambers are here, surrounding this garden in the middle of this castle," Arthur said as he continued ahead, "Your chamber should be up ahead."
As Lest and Dolce were following behind Arthur, Pico had showed up in front of the two while floating to follow their pace, "Are we there yet…?"
"You shouldn't show yourself here anytime you like, you know," Dolce commented, "If people see you here, you might get kicked out as an intruder."
Pico let out a sigh as her pace slowed down enough for her to be floating behind the two, "I just never know it'll be this far to reach our room…"
The sound of footsteps was heard coming from behind the group, but they were too occupied in their conversation to notice.
"You're a ghost. You don't have to walk," Dolce replied flatly.
"Yeah… and you don't need to carry anything with you," Lest let out a sigh before turning to Dolce while ignoring the fact that the sound of footsteps was getting closer, "Dolly, what did you put in here anyway?"
"I put our clothes in it and I added some food in case we get hungry," Dolce replied as Lest let out a laugh, "W-What?"
"I think I already expect it coming…" The footsteps were heard coming from behind Lest before the vision in front of him suddenly went dark as a pair of gloved hands covered his eyes, "Hey!"
"Guess who!" A female voice was heard before she giggled.
"I… don't know…" Lest removed the hands covering his eyes to reveal that the group had stopped walking with their gazes at the figure behind him. Turning around, Lest was greeted by a smiling green-haired young woman in twin tails before she threw her arms around him in excitement.
"It really is you, Lest!" The woman pulled him into a hug, leaving Lest looking at her in confusion.
"Miss Frey, what brings you here today?" Arthur called out to the woman, who had released the confused Earthmate from her hug.
"Lord Arthur!" The woman, Frey, noticed the approaching noble and lowered her head slightly, "I apologize for not recognizing you."
"You can just call me Arthur," Arthur gave her a smile, "We're not speaking in front of other nobles, so you don't have to be too formal with me."
"Sorry," Frey let out an embarrassed laugh before turning to Lest with a sad smile, "I was so excited to have seen Lest again at last…"
"And you are?" Dolce asked bluntly, looking slightly annoyed as she grabbed Lest's hand tightly.
"Sorry for not introducing myself. I'm Frey, and Lest over there is my little twin brother," Frey introduced herself politely, getting shocked looks from the three of them.
"Is Lest your brother whom you had mentioned before?" Arthur asked in surprise, getting a nod from Frey before his lips curved into a frown, "Unfortunately, Lest seems to have lost his memory."
The shocked look turned to Frey as she looked at her long lost brother sadly, "Really…?"
"Sorry… I really can't remember anything other than my name," Lest apologized, "I can't remember anything before the attack on the airship when I first came to Selphia."
"I see…" Frey forced a smile before pulling a piece of folded paper from her pocket and handed it to Lest, "You might not remember this, but this is yours."
Lest took the paper and unfolded it, revealing a drawing with notes written on some parts, "Is this some kind of map?"
Frey nodded in response, "Yup, it's the map of this castle that you drew many years ago when you first came here."
"Wait," Dolce interrupted, "Lest had been here before? Shouldn't anyone here already recognize him when we arrived?"
"That was over fifteen years ago," Frey shortly replied, "Lest only came here once and it was only at that time."
"I see," Arthur started, "Even if there are anyone who had met him, that person would have already either retired or left the castle. Or in another case, they wouldn't recognize his face now."
"I guess so," Lest's response caught the attention of the others, "But it's okay, at least I know that I still have a family," Lest turned to Frey with a smile, "I don't remember you, but I'm glad to know that I have a twin sister."
The smile returned to Frey's face, "You lost your memories, but you're still the same old Lest to me," Frey turned to Arthur, "Please excuse me, I should be going. The king requested for an audience with me regarding the party tonight."
"Very well," Arthur nodded in understanding, "Please let him know that I would be seeing him soon as well."
"I will," Frey turned back to the others, "I'll see you later then. I'll give you two a tour around the castle once I'm done."
"Okay, see you," Lest saw his sister taking off before noticing the stares coming from Arthur and Dolce, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I just need some rest, that's all."
Arthur took a few seconds to study Lest's face before nodding, "Very well. Your room is up ahead."
The group continued their walk through the same scenery, where the lines of red doors on their left were decorated with gold symbols shaped like a dragon. A brown vase of cherry grasses was placed on the left and right sides of the door. The same scenery came to a stop and Arthur turned to the couple while pointing the door on his right.
"This will be your room during your stay," Arthur pointed out, "You may rest here while waiting for Miss Frey and I to be done with our meeting. I will see you two later."
"Okay," Lest turned to Dolce, "Come on, let's go in."
Giving a silent nod, Dolce followed Lest into the room, which was bigger than their room back in the castle in Selphia. The curtains were left wide open, revealing the big windows on the left wall of the room leading to the garden outside the castle walls. A black tall vase was placed in the left corner of the room, but it had autumn grasses instead of cherry grasses. The king-sized bed was placed on a round green carpet and at the center of the wall across the door with a nightstand on the right of the bed.
Lest let out a tired sigh and put the backpack he was carrying on the bed, "Finally!"
Dolce came over to the bed as well, sitting silently next to the backpack with Pico floating in front of Lest, "You wouldn't believe how much Dolly packed in there…"
Lest let out a laugh before sitting down on the bed as well, "I don't really mind, though. I don't go out of town much to fight off monsters lately, so I consider this some kind of training."
"Sweetie," Dolce called out and turned to Lest worriedly, "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Huh?" Lest looked at Dolce in confusion.
"You didn't look like you're feeling comfortable when you saw Frey," Pico explained.
Dolce nodded in agreement, "Do you want to talk about it?"
"Well…" Lest rubbed the back of his neck, "It feels… kind of strange actually. I never knew where I was from or who my family was and suddenly I have a sister…" Lest let out a sigh, "And I feel bad for not being able to remember her…"
"I see…" Dolce let out a smile, "You could try asking her about how both of you used to live. Maybe that will help you remember."
"I'm not sure how much that'll help, though," Lest put a hand on Dolce's as he smiled at her, "But thanks for worrying about me, Dolly."
"She's not just worried about you," The couple turned to Pico, who was grinning slyly, "You should've seen how Dolly looks so jealous when-"
"No," Dolce slapped a talisman on Pico's head, making her wince in pain.
"D-Dolly…"
Lest let out a laugh, "I can tell by the way you're holding my hand."
"S-Shut up…" Dolce turned away in embarrassment, only to make Lest laugh even more.
A knock on the door was heard, "Excuse me."
Lest opened the door, revealing a man in a black suit carrying two boxes in his hands, "Can I help you?"
"Sir Lest, isn't it?" The man asked, getting a nod from Lest before he handed over the boxes to Lest, "The king had ordered me to give you these clothes and shoes to be worn at the party."
"The clothes and shoes? Okay, thank you," Lest took the box from the man, who had bowed slightly before leaving.
Dolce rose from her seat on the bed and saw Lest putting the boxes down by her feet, "Are those the clothes we had to wear tonight?"
"Seems like it," Lest took a peek at one of the boxes, "Yeah, and the shoes too."
"Oh," Dolce replied shortly, letting out a defeated sigh.
"What's wrong?" Lest asked, noticing the sigh coming from his wife.
"It's nothing," Dolce let out a smile, "Let's take a look at them first."
The next one might take a bit longer because I need to fix some parts first. Lest's forgotten past will soon reveal itself along with his unexpected family!