Etty was very excited to meet again Varre after all this time. She led him to one of the empty tables and sat down beside it, facing him. Noticing that the king was engaged in conversation with some young lady, everyone else gave them a wide berth. Even if someone was brave enough to approach anyway, Benjamin stood at the ready to repel them and allow these two, apparently, former friends to catch up.

  “Gosh Varre,” the girl began as she pulled up a seat, “I haven’t seen you… in over a year!”

  “Really?” the former earthling asked, non-committally, “where was that?”

  I really don’t like where this conversation is going, he thought to himself, it could end rather badly. Whoever the real owner of this body once was, he is long gone. His parents died alongside him, and somehow my soul got inserted here. After that damned truck hit me. I don’t know how. I don’t know why. I don’t even if there’s any way for me to return. For now, I am stuck here.

  Still, the original Varre must have left behind other friends and relationships. Fortunately, aside from Benjamin, they have yet to appear.

  Etty is the first. And that means danger.

  While the chamberlain has been very helpful and accommodating so far, he was there as the Soulkiller plague ravaged this body. He watched as the original prince withered away and agreed on a desperate plan to save his life. Ignoring his master’s wishes, he allowed Zarkon, that wizard doctor into the family manor. He gave him full access to my body in order to attempt some new and dangerous treatment.

  It didn’t work of course. The prince died and his spirit was replaced by me. A student from Earth. But only I know that. Benjamin was overjoyed and easily dismissed any and all discrepancies between me and the original as a side effect of the unusual treatment.

  Etty on the other hand? She hadn’t seen any of this. Even after the chamberlain explained that I had lost all of my memories, will she just accept this as an excuse? If I start acting too differently from the Varre she knew, will she figure out something is wrong? I need to tread carefully here.

  I may be a king, but if people start thinking of me as some demon…

  He was finally broken out of this train of thought when a delicate fist gently hit him in the shoulder. “Oh you,” Etty giggled, “we saw each other at your house of course! In Lindridge! Don’t you remember?”

  “Sorry,” Varre replied, “I’ve lost all of my memories. I can only remember what happened after I recovered.”

  She turned serious. “Yes. I’m really sorry I couldn’t visit you earlier,” she looked on the ground, feeling guilty, “by the time we heard word about your parents… it was deep in the winter. A messenger arrived to Lindridge, telling the local overseer that your father passed away and you were the new duke. It took a few more days until the message arrived in Ashbourne.”

  “It’s alright. I know that news travels slowly,” the king replied.

  “Still, I knew you must have been lonely without your folks. I planned to come see you in the spring, but then my father fell ill too,” Etty explained.

  “Was it also the Soulkiller?” Varre inquired.

  She covered her mouth in shock. “Gods no!” then, embarrassed by her outburst she leaned in, “don’t even scare me like that. No, it was a malady of the body, but not that terrible sickness. We needed to get a healer from the city, but my dad slowly started feeling better after a few months of lying in bed.”

  “So he is fine now? That’s great,” the king replied with a big, cheerful smile. I have absolutely no idea how close I was to her father. Was this the correct reaction?

  “While he was out, I had to take care of the household,” Etty laughed, “and it was the start of the planting season too! I had to pull up my sleeves and get to work!” she gestured.

  Varre looked her up and down again. She’s a noble lady. She doesn’t look like she does any farming… “I’m sure your father was very grateful once he saw what you did,” he simply said.

  “Oh yes!” she smiled proudly, “he said that now I’m ready to manage the household when my husband goes to war!”

  The king awkwardly chuckled in response.

  “Once my dad was finally walking around on his own, I was thinking of visiting you again,” Etty looked wistfully towards the still ongoing banquet, “and then we heard that your uncle was assassinated,” she looked straight at Varre, “and that you would be crowned as the new king. I couldn’t believe it! You, the king of all of Logres! We used to dream of times like this, remember?”

  “I’m sorry,” the monarch shrugged, “I’m afraid I don’t.”

  She grimaced. As if both saddened at the fact and embarrassed at having brought it up again. “Right… I started planning the trip. Then we received word that the civil war broke out. I was terrified Varre,” she looked him in the eyes again, “and you were right in the middle of it. I was so worried, but my father forbade me from leaving home until the whole mess was over. And I didn’t want to run away while he was just getting better.”

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  “Luckily,” the king stretched, “righteousness won in the end. And now all of Logres is safe again.”

  “It is!” Etty grabbed his hand, “it was wonderful! A truly wonderful victory! As soon as we heard the news, I couldn’t take it anymore! I immediately left home and came here as fast as I could. Just in time for today’s ceremony!” she giggled, “it looked amazing too. You were so regal!”

  “It comes with the job, you know,” he smiled, “you have to look regal to inspire confidence in everyone.”

  “Well it worked on me!” she laughed, “I still can’t believe it! I know we used to play and pretend when we were kids, but I never dreamed that you would really be the king someday! It’s incredible!”

  “I was incredibly lucky,” Varre admitted, “and even luckier that I managed to win that war in the end.”

  “You’ve always been smart,” Etty praised, “if there was anyone who could have won, it was you.”

  Over the course of the next hours, the pair continued talking. Or rather Esther continued talking, while the king focused on listening, trying to learn as much information about his former life as he could.

  Apparently, the two noble families had been friends for generations. Rodger, Etty’s father, was a baronet who lived within the duchy of Lindridge. He had been a loyal supporter of Duke Tymon, Varre’s father, ever since he had inherited the fief.

  Ashbourne, Rodger’s manor, was located in the Northwest corner of the duchy. Close to the kingdom’s border. The entire region was heavily forested. It was sparsely populated and difficult to farm, but it was an excellent place for hunting. The former duke used to frequently visit his vassal and the two traversed the woods together, stalking animals for sport. It was a popular pastime for many nobles and those lands provided great bounty. Many other aristocrats came to Ashbourne for the opportunity to meet the duke or experience the local woods.

  When Varre was a young child, he often used to wait in the manor while the adults were out in the wilderness. That’s when he first befriended Etty. Their parents encouraged the friendship, as there weren’t many opportunities for them to interact with children of a similar social status this far away from the capital. They even were the same age.

  Eventually, the young prince became old enough to participate in the hunts himself. It was an important lesson for every young aristocrat. The boys needed to experience horse riding, giving out commands to other people, and the wielding of weapons. They also could slowly start getting used to bloodshed and violence. Killing a deer wasn’t quite the same as killing a human, but if one was familiar with hunting large animals, he’d have a head start compared to other warriors. There was little place for mercy on the battlefield.

  Still, the bond between the two friends was so strong that Esther demanded to participate in the hunts as well. She wasn’t allowed too close to the action, but she still travelled with the other riders and watched from a safe distance.

  “Your majesty,” Benjamin interrupted the pair, as they were engrossed in conversation, “it is getting late. May I suggest retiring for the night and continuing your meeting tomorrow?”

  Varre looked around. He’d been so focused on extracting information and appearing natural, that he completely missed the other people. The banquet hall was largely empty by now, with only the last few stragglers still going strong.

  “Oh, forgive me,” Etty stood up and curtsied, “I’ve been so glad to see you that I’ve kept you busy on your big day!”

  “It’s alright,” the king assured her. He was about to wish her a good night, when he came up with another idea. “Are you staying somewhere in the city? I’m sure we have got some guest rooms you could use for tonight.”

  “That would be wonderful,” she smiled, “I can imagine you’ll be busy tomorrow too, but could we see each other again whenever you have the time?”

  Varre glanced at his chamberlain. He didn’t have his whole schedule committed to memory.

  “How about breakfast, your majesty?” Benjamin suggested, “I could bring Lady Etty to your quarters.”

  With the plan agreed on, the pair separated. One of the castle’s servants lead the noblewoman to a prepared room, while the king left towards his own bedchamber.

  The next day, after breakfast, and after the girl thoroughly examined each nook and cranny of the spacious royal quarters, the king left her to explore the castle alone. Then, he headed off to the daily Council meeting as scheduled.

  Slowly, the situation in Logres was beginning to stabilize. The mountain of unresolved tasks and issues had been growing shorter. There were no more pockets of rebel resistance, and the last few knights who managed to get away were being delivered their judgement.

  As usual, each advisor delivered their latest report concerning the latest events. Varre gave out orders and the meeting started to come to an end.

  Then, Benjamin stood up with a suggestion. “Ladies and gentlemen of the council. As you might have noticed, his majesty received a new guest during yesterday’s feast.”

  “Lady Esther of Ashbourne, was it?” Marna asked, “his majesty’s friend from Lindridge?”

  “Indeed,” the chamberlain continued, “I’m afraid that his majesty is still struggling with his memory issues ever since his wondrous recovery from the Soulkiller plague. It hasn’t caused any major issues yet, but I’m sure we’d all love it if he could recover them.”

  “I tried searching for some magical remedies,” Elvira said, “but I haven’t come up with anything yet. I’ve even written to Zarkon. Several times. He may be a genius healer, but he isn’t exactly talkative. I’m hoping to get something more out of his apprentices though,” she winked.

  “That would be wonderful. But in the meantime, I would like to make another suggestion. Your majesty,” Benjamin turned to Varre, “perhaps, if you visited your childhood home together with Lady Esther, some of your memories might come back!”

  “I’m not sure if that’s such a great idea,” the king protested, “there is quite a lot of work to be done here. I’ve been gone for two months.”

  “Your majesty wouldn’t have to leave right now,” Marna interjected, “we could spend a couple of days preparing first. Perhaps we could bring in those communication mages again, while you’re out on the road. Do you think it’s worth trying, Elvira?”

  “It could work,” the Court Mage squinted her eyes, as if considering the options, “if the cause of the loss isn’t magical in nature, then visiting familiar places could just be the spark that helps you unlock your memories. It wouldn’t hurt.”

  Everyone looked to Varre again. It was his decision, but everyone was willing to go along with it. Great, he thought to himself, I have no excuse now. Looks like I’ll have to risk interacting with Esther’s family even more. So far, it doesn’t seem like she suspects anything, but… Let’s just hope it continues.

  He sighed. “Very well then. If you’re all in favor, then let’s give it a shot.”

  At least it’ll be a nice change of pace from all this work.

  Or rather the life of whoever used to live in this body.

  It might help him recover some of his memories!

  How will our hero handle this situation?