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"I'll be back in an hour, I promise!"
And so on, Emir went back to the wilderness to gather some ideas for his painting and ground himself. He has taken up some ideas about landscapes and such, but he has never tried to paint in the wilderness. Which, is why he came up with a plan to think of an idea.
"Maybe this will be ideal for my next painting then!" exclaimed Emir as he went inside the cave and sits on the ground while looking at his point of view before starting.
However, as he's finally done painting for a whole day, things did not get well for Emir as he was about to get home.
"Guten Morgen, moja ljubezen. Have you seen Emir everywhere?"
Morana asked, as she is preparing to grill some fishes she caught in the pond.
"No... He said he'll come back in an hour, but... It's been long." Ludwig replied as he draws Raz with his pencil on a canvas.
"Sigh, where did he gone off to...?"
"Perhaps, at the wilderness? I mean, he spends a lot of time there so why not check for him there?"
"Well, if you're sure about him being in the wilderness, we can look for him together then."
Morana gives the tang to Adam, "And I didn't want to waste my time cooking just for it to be ashes, so, I'll leave this to Adam."
"Oh, HEY!"
"Sorry, but can you take care of the fish while I'm gone?"
Ludwig then stops drawing, and sets his painting tools aside as he puts it in his bag.
"Sorry, bratr, I gotta go now."
And as they left, Adam had no choice but to do the remaining work.
"Sigh, though be glad I will be saving for you three later on."
As the two went further into the wilderness, they finally found Emir, unconscious, face on the ground while having his painting tarnished into the mud.
"There he is!"
Morana and Ludwig then reached for Emir, waking him up gently whilst checking for his pulse.
"Emir, can you hear us?"
"It's us! We're here to help you out!"
"What are you doing to me? Who are you people!?" asked Evžen, frantically.
He was captured by the infamous organization, the Order, with hopes on giving supernaturals a better place. He was among of the captives that was forcibly be turned in for sacrifice of the Order.
"Who are you? Why do you have to capture me?!"
"I have no interest for your questions."
"...Huh?"
Evžen wasn't expecting a presence before her. From what he remembers, he was just doing his usual routine as a bandit like usual, only for him to be halted down and knocked out.
"You will not be a part of that wretched kingdom anymore..."
"You will be a part of the Order for the rest of your life."
"W-What d'you mean...?"
And however, he does not need to know the truth. He guessed it.
If they ever tried to use him, he will stab them in the back.
But the same is not to say to the Order, as the Order itself is more superior than him.
"No, forget what I asked."
"What do you want from me?"
"...And don't tell me you want ME to tell you the whereabouts of the abyss mermaid and the enchanted harpy, WAS IT NOT!?"
"...You are proven to be useful, indeed."
"I will NOT LETTING YOU GET THEM! THEY'RE MY FRIENDS!"
"...Oh, now we're talking, small girl, hm?"
"You'd rather save your friends, but that'll be unfortunate because you will let your human friends kill them."
"I... No, I don't! I never wanted that!"
"Oh, proving me wrong then, small girl?"
"Even if you chose to not work with the Order, that mermaid and harpy could die in the hands of men, would you still find it hard to believe, hm?"
"W-What...?"
"If you chose to work with the Order, your mermaid friend and the harpy will be spared for good. But under one condition."
"You must let them go for once. They don't need a human like you to help."
"I... But why? They're still my friends...!"
"Friends or not, they will kill you, even if you try to convince yourself that it's not true."
"Please stop!"
"For the Order, we do not need you humans to drive us out. We, supernaturals, crave for domination. You shouldn't trust them, and they shouldn't trust you, a human."
"They trusted me! I trusted them too!"
"Humans are the same, imperfect beings. Foolish beings."
"You're wrong!"
"Just like you. What a regular human can do? Fight back?"
"Get back on your feet, Malmfrida Gaspıralı. Fighting back only wastes us some time. You will be an useful asset for us to pursue our domination and freedom. For that, if you do not comply to any of my offers."
"You will be offered as an empty vessel for my creation."
"What!?"
As soon as Mystique leaves, Evžen tries to run after her, only for him to be halted down.
"No! NO NO NO! ANYTHING BUT TURNING ME INTO A VESSEL! ANYTHING BUT MY FRIENDS, PLEASE!"
"Evžen...!"
"No..."
Morana mourns for Evžen as she is holding his orb. One of her friends who can understand her, died without a question...
"What's going o— WOAH!?"
As Ludwig landed on the ground just to see what happened, he was shocked to see Evžen, lifeless on Morana's arms.
"Evžen...? What happened to him...?"
"GAH!"
After that long nightmare, Emir had finally woke up after he was brought back into the cabin...
But something felt off.
Emir wasn't like himself as he once used to.
"H-Huh?! Where am I?"
As soon as he wakes up, he noticed something in the window.
And there it was, Morana is back on grilling the fish to share for the whole family.
"Are you alright, darling?"
"...!"
Before he can turn back, Ludwig was already behind him, trying to give him a hug before Emir got startled.
"WAH! Ludwig!? Why are you here!?"
"Wha— You're in my home, silly. It's not like I kidnapped you or something."
Upon turning back, he scanned the room as if he feels unfamiliar being in it.
"No... Where am I? Why am I sharing a room, and why do I...?"
"And by darling, what do you mean by it?"
"What do you mean? We're already married, má lasko."
Yet, this does not reel out the inner confusion of Emir.
"Okay, fine, I'll ask you this. What just happened to you so that you almost snapped like you forgot about the present?"
"...Am I Emir?"
"Yes."
Just to be sure, despite him doubting who he is, he asked one more time to verify.
"...You're Ludwig, right?"
"Da, and?"
"Morana is outside..."
"Da."
"But who are those people...?"
And then, that's when Ludwig realized that it was Emir's past memories, flooding back in.
"Those... They are my family. My mothers, my father, my siblings... And that includes my daughter and our adoptive kids."
"What year am I in now?"
"2026."
"..."
"It's been so long, huh...?"
"Just as I thought I'd forgot..."
"But, I did forget the past, but AGH!"
But that alone did not help out to reel out his confusion. Emir begs for more answers, but it will only stress him even more.
"Emir, if there's something you wanna talk about, you can talk to me, okay?"
"..."
"My memories, I feel like they are reversed."
"Huh?"
"It is... I thought you both will leave me behind..."
"What? Of course we won't leave you behind, Emir! We're always here for you."
"...Are you for real?"
"Da, I mean it, Emir."
Ludwig then spread his wings, signaling Emir for a hug, to which he did.
"Have you experienced this the same way, Ludwig?"
"Hmm... Not quite, but yes."
"So... Was this your past memory speaking to me, or...?"
Emir then suddenly pulls away. "Oh, sorry."
"It was indeed my past memories. It just happened to be triggered after I somehow fell on a landslide."
"And of course, I still remembered that I should've gone home after an hour yesterday, and I was screwed."
"But that flashback... I did not want to live in the past anymore."
But despite him pulling away, Ludwig still pulls him back into a hug once more to calm him down.
"I'm here now, Emir. I'm here."
And reluctantly, Emir embraces the hug back, feeling grateful that someone was able to talk to him for a long while, even after what happened.
"...This might be an odd question I wanted to ask you, sevgilim."
"I... Of course."
"Do you... still remember what I looked like before?"
"...Da."
"But the current you looks better, and I do know you'll love it."
"...I appreciate it, sev— AH! MY PAINTING!"
Emir pulls out as soon as he's panicking, searching the whole room for his painting, only to find out that the painting was in the trash bin since it was tarnished.
"Oh, uhm, your painting was covered in mud. But, I will make one with you and Morana if you'd like as an compensation."
"Really...?"
"...Yep. Only if you don't leave the cabin for a whole day, even if it's just for an hour."
"Aw, come on. You're no fun, sevgilim!"
"Of course we're worried sick! You don't want Morana to be a sad fish, do you?"
"...Ah. Alright, I'm sorry then."
"Sorry that we're late."
Emir and Ludwig has finally went out to the frontyard for dinner, with all the people on their respective seats.
"Oh hello, everyone, and uhm... Mori, I'm so—"
Morana gets up and approaches Emir to give him a hug.
Not until she grabs his hair into her fist.
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!? You said you'll come back in an hour!"
"Well, I'm sorry, I was stuck in a landslide. But here I am now, though I almost forgot the present time."
"Sigh, anywho, do you want to make a painting with us after dinner?"
As she lets go, she accepts the offer. "Oh, of course I do! Why wouldn't I?"
"In case if you want, there's plenty of food there. You can eat some if you want!"
"Oh, sevgilim..."
After Ludwig and Emir joined it, they will have an interesting and enjoyable feast for tonight.