"What were you doing there, Lucian?" Magnus asked, his brow furrowed as he slowed his steps, catching his friend lingering near the trinket stall.
Lucian looked away from the locket glimmering under the dim market light. "I was just checking out the locket of the Temple of Truth. It felt as if it was... alive."
Magnus gave him a skeptical look, lips pressed thin. "Alive, you say? Objects like these always carry stories, but sometimes stories are heavier than the thing itself."
Lucian gave a faint smile. "Maybe. But it felt different. Almost as if it was watching me."
Edris, who had been quiet until then, placed a hand on Lucian's shoulder and said "Curiosity is natural, young master, but certain relics are best observed from a distance." His tone was calm, yet it carried a hint of a warning.
Before the air grew too heavy, Edris shifted the subject. "Shall we get something to eat?"
Lucian perked up at once. "Yes, I would like that. But where will we eat?"
Magnus glanced around the bustling street, thoughtful. "It should be somewhere good and at the same time safe for Lucian."
Lucian chuckled, tilting his head toward Magnus. "It's not like someone will try to mess with us while Sir Edris is around."
"That may be true," Magnus admitted, half-amused, "but I still prefer caution."
"I understand your concern," Edris replied with a small smile.
"That is why I've chosen a place that is both safe and respectable. It is also somewhere young master used to visit often when he was younger. There should be no problem at all."
Lucian blinked, frowning slightly. The place I used to visit? Why don't I remember it myself...
"If you say so, Sir Edris," Magnus said, conceding at last.
"Then let's go." The restaurant Edris led them to was not far. It stood at a crossroads where two stone-paved roads split and curved like ribbons, parting around the building before winding deeper into the city. The inn itself was stout yet welcoming at the same time its timber beams darkened with age, its windows were filled with flower boxes where autumn blooms spilled all over the edge. A painted sign swung gently above the entrance: The Silver Ribbon Inn.
Its location was clever. Anyone heading to the market from the noble quarter or the worker districts would pass by it. The chatter of the people in the street softened near the inn, as though even the city's noise respected the warmth inside it.
"Do you remember this place, young master?" Edris asked Lucian gently as they paused before the door.
Lucian studied the familiar yet unfamiliar sight. "Hmm... this place feels familiar, but I can't remember much about it."
"Do not put too much pressure on your brain," Edris said. "You have only just begun to recover. Memories will return on their own." Lucian nodded, though a hollow ache stirred in him.
Fragments. Always fragments.
They stepped inside. At once the warmth and sound of the inn wrapped around them. The air was filled with the mingled scent of baked bread, roasted meat, and ale. Laughter rolled across the room in hearty waves.
"Oh ho, oh!" a man's booming voice rose above the noise. "Isn't it Sir Edris? It's been so long.What brings you here?"
"Yes, it has been a while, hasn't it? Mister Locke," Edris answered with a rare and unusual smile. An elderly woman's voice chimed in, softer but no less warm. "Are you here to have dinner? You hadn't come in so long we thought you'd forgotten us."
Mr. and Mrs. Locke.Sir Edris had spoken of them on the way, a couple in their late thirties who ran this inn with steady hands and open hearts.
"Haha, I hadn't forgotten you," Edris said, shaking his head. "Was quite busy for a while. Enough about me,we have a great guest with us today. You should greet the young master."
"Young... young master?" Mister Locke's eyes widened as his jaw dropped. "Don't tell me! The young master has recovered from his illness?" His voice rose in disbelief. Lucian froze, caught between their stares.
"Forgive me, young master," Mister Locke said quickly, bowing so deeply his words nearly spilled into the floor. "It has been so long since I seen you that I didn't recognize you." His eyes were wet, his tone trembling with emotion. Misses Locke stepped closer, clasping her hands to her chest. "It is such a blessing that you have recovered after being ill for so long. We are overjoyed that you have come to visit us again after such a long time." Her eyes were filled with genuine warmth, and Lucian found himself uncomfortable under such attention.
"When you were little," she went on, "you used to visit us all the time,either with Sir Edris or with Madam Althea. To see you standing here again... words cannot express our happiness right now." Said Misses Locke.Anyone can tell that she was overjoyed seeing Lucian recovered.
"Now, now," Edris cut in with gentle firmness, sensing Lucian's unease. "I know both of you are delighted, but he just started to recover, do not overwhelm him. His memories are still scattered."
"Of course, forgive us,young master," Misses Locke said, bowing her head. "We were simply too happy."
Mister Locke straightened suddenly, his booming voice filling the room again. "Since the young master has recovered, today's lunch is on me! And spread the word,tell everyone that young master Lucian has returned to health!"
The inn erupted with joy. Everyone there raised their mugs, voices were swelling into a joyous clamor.
"What! Young master Lucian has recovered?"
"This is cause for celebration!"
"Blessings upon the Oakheart family!"
The cheers were quite loud and infectious. Some clapped each other on the back, others lifted toasts. The air grew bright, as if the walls themselves had absorbed their joy.
Lucian stood amidst it all, stunned. All this... for me? His chest felt strangely heavy. He had expected indifference, perhaps polite acknowledgment but not this. Not warmth that poured so freely from people he could barely remember.
For the first time in a long while, he felt the weight of belonging somewhere. Yet it was mixed with unease, for it reminded him of how fragile his identity has become how much he had forgotten , and how much others remembered for him.
"Let us not get carried away," Edris raised his voice firmly over the celebration. "The young master has only just begun to recover. Do not do anything that might harm him."
"Don't worry, Sir Edris!" someone shouted back from the crowd. "We won't do anything foolish and someone cause trouble , we'll see to it ourselves!"
A wave of agreement rippled through the inn.
Lucian's lips curved into a small and helpless smile.
They really mean it...
As the room was filled with laughter and cheer, Magnus leaned close, his voice low. "Shall we also have our food, Lucian?"
"Yes," Lucian said, his voice steady though his heart was still trembling. "Let's go."
Together, they moved deeper into the inn, toward the table reserved for them. The crowd continued their celebration in the background, it felt like a festival filled with joy and laughter. And Lucian, though unsure of what the future held, could not help but carry that warmth with him as he sat down.