CHAPTER 7
Diandra's eyelids fluttered open, and the moment her vision cleared, confusion struck her like a blade.
She wasn't outside anymore. The cold night air, the garden, and the pool—they were all gone. Even some figures that she had seen in her half-state of consciousness before she fully blacked out.
Instead, she was in a strange and unfamiliar room. The bed beneath her was soft. The ceiling above her was smooth and white and had glowing boxes that seemed to provide her light. They were engraved in the ceiling.
Is it some kind of magic?
Nothing made sense.
She pushed herself up. Her muscles were protesting with pain but it wasn't harsh like before. Having rest surely made her feel better. Maybe she needed more of it.
Then as if on instinct. She felt that she wasn't alone. She scanned her eyes around and sure enough, there was a young woman who stood near the doorway. She blinked. She was the same maid who stumbled on her before she lost consciousness.
She was wearing the same black and white maid uniform. And was watching her intently but keeping her distance.
Diandra held her gaze, trying to recall if she knew her personally before. But nothing. Her memory was just total blackness. It was wiped out, except for those three things only.
Whoever threw her in that well, couldn't be the people who let her rest on a soft bed. Because that person or those culprits could have intended to kill her.
But it doesn't matter now, she was alive and she would make use of what memory she had left. She was a knight, at least she knew her purpose. And she had a name. But most importantly, an oath for her to keep going despite the constant confusion in her mind.
For now, she had to know where she was. And why did everything around her feel so foreign, like she had stepped into an entirely different world? Or was it just because of her missing memory that even these basic things had been cleared off her mind?
She swallowed hard. Her throat dry and hurting. When she finally spoke, her voice was hoarse but firm.
"Where am I?"
The maid stiffened, clearly unsure how to answer.
Diandra narrowed her eyes. "Where is this place?"
Silence.
She was a knight. She could have survived a battle from all the bruises and wounds in her body. Although she was entirely sure but from how she felt, she could had been to one before she woke up in that well. She needed to know where she was, and most importantly, she had to find her emperor.
Instead of any answer from the maid, the young girl quickly left the room and she heard a lock clicking into place.
She was being kept inside.
She clenched her jaw. As if she had the strength to escape—not yet. Her body still ached, her mind a blank. She sat still, taking in her surroundings.
Another minute later, the door opened.
An older mind entered. His posture was straight. His suit neat and pressed. He carried an air of authority, though not of a nobility or knighthood. She could somehow tell that he wasn't a warrior.
"You're awake." His voice calm but firm. "How are you feeling?"
It was a polite question. And she should answer it. She was right that they couldn't be the bad guys who led her to that well that resulted her memory loss.
"I'm better. Thank you for letting me have some rest."
He acknowledged it by a nod. "Good. I have some questions for you."
Diandra wondered what it could be about. She doesn't know much. She doesn't know anything rather. "Then ask."
The man studied her, then began. "What's your name?"
"Diandra."
"Where are you from?"
Her lips parted to answer—but nothing came. The answer should have been simple. And yet, when she tried to reach for that simple knowledge, there was only a void.
"I…"
"How did you get inside the estate?" Another question was thrown at her.
She hadn't recovered from the last yet. Her fingers curled against the blanket. "I do not know." She blurted. She hated that she doesn't know. But it was the truth.
Butler Jones exchanged a look with the maid.
Diandra disliked the doubt in his gaze. She was being honest. Her mind was empty but she knew with certainty that she had sworn an oath to someone. Her own voice kept repeating that. It wasn't clear who she had said made the promise, but knowing herself as a knight, it was in the nature of her duty to do it even without making that promise to someone.
She straightened and eyed the old man. "Tell me…" She said, her voice unwavering. "Where is the emperor?"
The maid at the side flinched, and glanced at the man. Butler Jones remained composed from the sudden question. "The emperor?"
"Yes." Diandra ask despite noticing the stunned expressions on their faces. "The emperor." Surely, they know about him. They were in their right state of minds, unlike her. "Where is he? He will have the answers I seek."
Silence stretched in the room.
Butler Jones carefully observed her if she was being serious, but her expression gave nothing away.
"Who is this emperor you are talking about?" He asked at last. He didn't know what this woman was thinking but maybe the emperor she was saying about was just another nickname to someone or a mock moniker.
Diandra opened her mouth—and then shut them again. She didn't know. Right.
What kind of a knight she was to forget the face and name of the emperor she vowed to protect? How absurd.
She could only see herself as a fool. She was already feeling it, by the way. Sighing with her eyes closed, she shook her head to try to gather her wits. She didn't even know her own emperor.
Butler Jones and Alice—the maid—glanced at one another. They couldn't even tap with the strangeness of their intruder. They couldn't keep up with her.