I don't know where I'm at or who I am
To remember I try, sitting as a lamb
A mystery it all persist to be,
Right now I don't even exist to me.
When regaining consciousness, I laid on a bed in a medieval decorated room. I got up and out of the room, ending up in a hallway with various portraits hanging on the walls, of men in a royal uniform. Some were riding a white horse while holding a flag.
"I think I'm in an old castle, but why?" passed through my mind. Walking down the hallway, I saw many empty rooms, assuming to be where the servants stayed. After a few more steps, I reached the end of the hallway where there were two staircases: one going to an upper level and the other to a lower level. I took the one that went upwards. Torches were placed from side to side every three steps. The smell of smoke was spreading all across the way.
On the higher level there were no portraits like before, just an empty hallway that led me to a place called 'The Royal Room'. Its furniture consisted in one bed, a nightstand next to it, two wardrobes and a closet. One large knotted pile carpet was covering the floor. I saw a big portrait of a man probably in his 40s with a very determined look. His wardrobe inspired royalty, might, and it was somewhat similar to the one others wore. In there was also an old plate armor right next to the balcony which I thought belonged to him. There was nothing that could remind me of myself so I left the upper level with disappointment. Afterwards, I went down the staircase and kept on going until reaching its end.
That floor was much more complex than the other two levels as it consisted of large rooms such as 'The Great Hall' and a kitchen. (The man walked around the lower level, in hope to find something, anything, that could tell him his identity. He went to the chapel, stepped in the kitchen and explored The Great Hall, but nothing of that sort was there. A feeling of angst and slight depression engulfed him for he searched so much the answers to his questions, but got nothing except silence in return.)
When turning around to gaze once more upon the big room, I managed to hit a candelabrum by accident with my elbow and it fell on the floor. Strange noises occupied the room afterwards. They mechanically vibrated then turned in sounds of rocks polished against others of their kind. I looked across the place to see where it originated from. Turned my head to the left, but nothing seemed unusual. Turned my head to the right, that was when I saw a fragment of the wall moving. I went closer to see what was after it. "It's only a staircase going down." When placing one foot on the staircase, bats flew hastily towards my face and I panicked. My arms moved in all directions almost by themselves to protect me and screams gushed from my throat in an attempt to scare them. Accidentally, my left arm hit one of the bats and it flew back down. The others followed him shortly after. I calmed down when the bats screamed and squeaked no more. I took a few steps on the staircase and this time strange sounds were released, something similar to "Get out." In a slow, steady tone.
It's a warning sent by someone down there. I thought.
On one of the walls were written the words Death, Damnation and Dark Dungeon in blood. That place was too scary for me to explore right then. "You know what? I didn't check the servants' rooms…I-I'd better go and take a look." was my idea. And so I did. That place was truly too fearsome for me to explore alone.
I left the lower level and returned to the one I first woke up in. I searched every room thoroughly, inspected the front and back sides of every portrait placed there, but nothing was found about myself. I let out a moan as I felt a headache building up. My decision was to go fall asleep in the initial room I woke up to make it go away. The chamber made a perfect positioning since it was placed in the "middle" of the castle and had easy access to any chamber from there.
(Two days have passed since the staircase incident and the amnesiac grew more determined to check its insides) I finally took the courage to peak in the dungeon, the only place unexplored. As I walked down the staircase, the wind blew softly in my ears as if it was trying to whisper something. The torches placed on the sideways were ardent and the flames' movements were dictated by it. Paying attention to such minor details, I started feeling paranoid and uncomfortable, similar to the feeling of a pair of eyes watching me go towards the place. My hands were clenched in the form of fists and each breath got heavier and heavier. Sometimes I looked behind to be sure of my loneliness. After a minute of walking, I was there, standing in front of a cell. From behind the bars, I saw the slime, rats and fungus that occupied the chamber. In the cellar nearby, the entrance wasn't locked and the door was wide open. I could hear a few bats in there. "That's where they came from then." was my thought. (Yet those weren't the worst things there to be seen. This dungeon was used to imprison those who betrayed their king - that person portrayed in the Royal Room.)
The lock was old and rusty so it was easy to open it and to go inside. I took a torch from the staircase and hoped for the best as I entered the dark dungeon. Inside there were 2 corpses, each chained to a different pillar. Both of the bodies were rotten for some time and the only thing they kept alive was the face of despair made by what once was called human in its last living moments. I stood still for a few seconds, engulfed in the feeling of fear. My body just froze and I dared not to make a sound. "What did these men experience to die with such terrifying expressions?" That thought rang though my head. A squirrel came through the window's bars, curious of the room it just entered. It was holding in it's tail, a silver plate with something engraved on it. I slowly walked towards it to see what was it. As soon as it saw me, the animal acted like we were long lost friends, climbing on my shoulder and rubbing her head against my shirt. "What a friendly squirrel." I thought smiling, almost forgetting the terrified corpses still near me.
I could have easily read what was written on the silver plate from that distance. It consisted of only a name: ARIANA. When reading that, immediately an image of a woman came in my mind. Her hair was black and long, as if the night itself originated from it. Her eyes were unusual because the irises were colored in a brown pigment that faded towards the margins in a greener shade. The forehead was neither small nor big. Her nose and lips were thin...She was beautiful. I felt comfort and joy while visualizing her. "Who is she? What does she represent to me? How can I find her?" And many more questions came in my mind. "Well, at least I found out something. And it's all thanks to you, little one." I said towards the squirrel and patted her head, "Care to join me in an adventure?" I asked. She made some noises that I took as the answer of confirmation. She wasn't a human being, but she was the best companion I found there next to the bats. We left the dungeon shortly after. On our way back, the staircase didn't seem to be as frightening as before. "Let's get you something to eat." I told her.
(As the days passed, the amnesic man went often outside the castle, in the garden. It looked like a little piece of Paradise to him. The flowers' perfume, the majestic apple tree and the occasional singing birds were the elements that most caught his attention during his walks.)
I discovered in the garden, a barn with one horse shoe placed on top of the entrance. "This must be where they kept their horses." was my first thought when I went inside it. Nothing too interesting was seen, just some stalls, a few empty bags and gardening tools. The squirrel was playing in the tree with birds, sometimes taking breaks to bite a leaf. The animal seemed a little sad that she couldn't follow the birds every time they flew away from her.
"I think we've had enough today." I thought while approaching the tree to get her. A thunder followed by raindrops came from the sky as a sign for us to go back in the castle, and so we did. It started to rain heavily quickly after.
Some time has passed and I heard a knocking at the entrance door. I went to see who was there. When I opened it, there was a woman, a man and a child standing in front of the door. The woman said"Excuse me, sir. Could we stay in here until the rain stops?" The man continued her saying, "Our car broke and we need a place to stay. As soon as the raining stops I'll start fixing it and we'll go on to the next town, mister. Please." Said the man. I thought about it for a second and gave them my answer.
"Of course, I could use some company. Come in! You can stay as long as you want to." They thanked me and came inside. The two were relieved to hear this answer.
After I showed them their rooms and gave them a change of clothes I asked if they wanted to get a tour of the castle. "Thank you, sir. You are very kind." said the woman. "My name is Hyacinth. This man is Bruce and this cute little boy here is Johnny."
"Hey! I'm not a little boy! I'll turn 14 next month, sis." replied the boy hasty. "I don't care. You'll always be my cute little brother." She playfully mocked while patting his head and, of course, the boy wasn't happy. "'Tis a pleasure to meet you" I told them. "So if you two are siblings, then what are you, Bruce? A friend?". (He wanted to answer, but Hyacinth was ahead of him) "Actually, we aren't siblings. Johnny's parents died when he was very young and since then I have been like an older sister to him. As for Bruce, he is my boyfriend" (She then placed her hand over Johnny's shoulder and said "Sorry if I said too much, but I feel like I can trust this man") "This reminds me, you didn't tell us your name, mister" said Bruce. "Well, I wish I knew it myself. I don't remember anything about my past...I don't even know why I am in this castle"
(And so, the man spoke about what happened to him from the first day he woke up in the castle to the moment they met at the request of his guests) "Wow, that's sad, sir" said Hyacinth,"And that's all you found out up until now?"
"Yes, it's all thanks to my little fellow". While I said that, I clapped and the squirrel immediately jumped on my shoulder. "It's so cute! This is the first time I see a squirrel!" said Hyacinth,"I wish we could take a break from all the traveling and settle in a nice place" (She went closer to Bruce and embraced him, while placing her head on his chest) "So you travel often? You could rent a place until you find a house" I responded. "It's not that easy, mister" said Bruce, "You see, the three of us work at a circus. I'm a lion tamer, Hyacinth is an acrobat and a contortionist and Johnny juggles. Our circus travels all around the world and we have to go with it. We would have quit a long time ago if our passion for it wasn't so intense"
"Understandable. Then, I'm happy that you're doing what you like" ("Darling, I have an idea" said Hyacinth, then turned to the amnesiac) "Sir, would you like to come with us? As Bruce stated earlier, our circus travels all around the world. There's a chance you might meet the woman you saw. And if that happens, you could talk to her and find out more. Maybe she's your sister or girlfriend. She has to know something". "You're willing to let me come with you? I…I don't know what to say…." was my answer with a surprised face. "Just say yes, sir! It's the least we can do for the generosity you showed us!" She quickly argued. I thought about it and replied to their offer "Thank you for your help. First I got some much needed interaction with human beings and now this…I accept! When the rain will stop, Bruce will fix the car and I'll go get some of my stuff. Until then, let me show you around. This castle is huge. I'm sure you'll like it."
(The protagonist guided them through the first level, where the kitchen was, towards the second level, where their rooms were, including his, and finally to the third level where they saw "The Royal Room". It was almost like they were at a museum. As enthusiast as he was, the man avoided to show them the dungeon for Johnny's sake, he didn't want to give him a scare. The day came to an end and they went to sleep, each optimistic for their departure)
The night passed, morning came. The rain had stopped and the sun started to rise up in the sky. Rays of light and heat escaped through the bars of the chambers, birds sang rhapsodies to the season. Bruce went to the car to fix it. In the meantime, the amnesiac took two empty bags from the barn and filled them with apples, a few leaves from the apple tree and a bouquet of flowers. In one of them he placed a spare of clothes in case he needed to change and the silver plate he took from the squirrel) "Oh! I know why we stopped. This little thing was making the engine...There! All set, Hyacinth. Where is that man?". "He said he'll pick up a few things and come as quickly as he can" She answered.
"Guys, guys!" I shouted while rushing at them with my baggages, stopping in front of them to catch my breath. "How's the car? Did you fix it? Can we go?". "Yes, we can go right now if you are ready. The rest of the crew must be waiting for us at the next town worried" He answered. When hearing that I told him we shouldn't waste time. "Sir, if you'll find that woman and talk to her, tell us what you found out. I'm curious of the outcome. If you'll need help don't hesitate to ask. From now on, we are friends" stated Hyacinth. "Of course I will!" I answered. Afterwards, we left the castle and went on towards the next town.