The Forbidden Saga PV Closed

“Kayden,” came a voice from behind a twisted tree. The expected Ravenclaw emerged like a ghost, long white hair seeming to glow even in the dim ambient light. “I’m sorry to keep you waiting.” Aida walked up to the boy, head bowing slightly in greeting and mouth curling into a soft smile. The phantom-like young mage seemed to be walking a straight line again, but there was a strange gleam in those violet eyes that suggested that something was still not quite right.

“I am sorry I didn’t answer you more fully before. The castle is full of house elves and others that can’t be trusted with overhearing certain details. I’m especially sorry that I...” Aida blushed, looking off onto the far end of the lake shore. “I didn’t know if I could trust you either, because I hit my head. I’m very sorry, but I seem to have forgotten everything I knew about you before when you told me your name again. I’m not much of a good friend, am I?” Lips pursed, Aida was clearly inwardly crushed by profound guilt. “I don’t know how much I’ve forgotten after hitting my head, either. In fact, I don’t feel complete, like… I’m missing something, some memories. It’s like at least one chunk of time has vanished from my life and I have no way of knowing what happened to it or why. Please, forgive me. I don’t know how much you know and I simply have forgotten that I told you. I know I wasn’t supposed to forget… I promised to remember… I’m so sorry.” Aida looked sadly into Kayden’s eyes, reaching out with a gaze that begged for forgiveness.

@Kayden Lind

Kayden jumped as he heard his name called. It was Aida.
Aida began apologizing, confessing that they had lost their memory, that they didn't know if they could trust him or not yet.

Kayden smiled, then pulled his coat closer, shivering.

"It's- your fine." He sighed. The wind rustled and shook the tree they both stood under.

He was a little spooked from her entrance but pushed on nonetheless.
"Why did you call me here? Is there something you need?"

He was daunted admittedly, by the task that had not yet been set. Anybody that waltzes into a hospital room with a dress coated in blood is suspect to a little bit of suspicion. That was a given.

He looked at the albino mage's face. There was a distinct mysticism about it, like those moments when you see something and you swear you've seen it before.

"Look I'm coming to the conclusion that whatever you want is something that puts both of our lives in danger. I've seen you. You're the kind of person that would piss of a centaur for fun than command it to kneel down and let you ride it. Whatever it is you have planned... just tell me. Please."

"Why did you call me here? Is there something you need?" said Kayden. Aida nodded.

“It wasn’t fair to you, not fully answering your question. I just couldn’t, back there… even though I knew you weren’t satisfied with my answer… I had to get away. The house elves could have stolen my memories again, and I couldn’t allow that. I promised to remember. Someone has to remember even if everyone else is made to forget. They could have gotten to you after I left. One of us had to escape, to be the Keeper of Memories. Perhaps they did get to you, and you might have no way of knowing...” Aida squinted, head turning back to the lake’s dark, shimmering surface. “…. just like I have no way of knowing what I forgot after hitting my head... but if they made you forget, I can remind you now whatever I still know.”

"...You're the kind of person that would piss off a centaur for fun then command it to kneel down and let you ride it. Whatever it is you have planned... just tell me. Please."

Aida laughed, enjoying Kayden’s words. If they had long been friends, it was no wonder. Kayden was enjoyable. Not only was he direct and fast, he had a colorful way of seeing the world. What was more, what he had said about Aida… those words were intriguing. Turning back to face Kayden, a curtain of the young mage’s gleaming white hair flew back in the wind. It was as if he had been describing the White General. Describing Aida in such terms as befitted the White General… that was sure to be charming.

“Very well,” chuckled the Ravenclaw, not accustomed to being asked like that. “Very well.” Aida couldn’t stop grinning for some reason. “Sorry if I forgot, but are you keeping a record? If not, you should start, but secretly. Leave a trail behind that only you would be able to find again– evidence of what happened, especially when it’s something suspicious… and you’re not still eating food from the Great Hall, right? There’s no way to tell if it’s tainted, like that juice, like that tea that wiped Celynne’s memory, like the… no, I don’t remember. What was it before? Why had I lost my memories before? Do you know? Was it only the juice? Ugh, I can’t remember.”

Aida couldn’t believe Kayden intentionally would want his memories to be wiped– he was just too enjoyable to disagree on such an important matter. They were friends, right? Yet… did he? Had Aida just forgotten this? How had they even first met? “You don’t want to forget, right? The dark conspiracy of Hogwarts... did I forget that you don't want to remember?” Would Aida even be willing to conceal the truth from Kayden if he had specifically asked? Maybe he hadn't wanted to be involved anymore, but the white mage would ask anyway. “Please, I want you to help me remember. I messed up, hitting my head. I don't even know why I fell off that swing. I need you to help me remember what else I've forgotten. And... my wand is missing. I've got to find it... I don't know where it went, so would you please help me find it? Maybe you can help me remember where it is... I..." Aida's blue-violet eyes searched for Kayden's. “I can be useful to you, too. I will help you. Whatever it is that bothers you, if it has to do with how you got hurt, or anything else. We can help each other."

Those violet eyes burned even more intensely as Aida felt guilt for making yet another promise to help someone. What if one day all those promises came to conflict? The words of the White General echoed through Aida's memory: “The day will come when you must choose whom to kill… Think well on this, for when the moment comes there will be no more time for thought.” Yet, if Aida could just be strong enough... strong enough... maybe everyone could be saved.

@Kayden Lind

“Sorry if I forgot, but are you keeping a record? If not, you should start, but secretly. Leave a trail behind that only you would be able to find again– evidence of what happened, especially when it’s something suspicious… and you’re not still eating food from the Great Hall, right? There’s no way to tell if it’s tainted, like that juice, like that tea that wiped Celynne’s memory, like the… no, I don’t remember. What was it before? Why had I lost my memories before? Do you know? Was it only the juice? Ugh, I can’t remember.”

Kayden sighed.

He pulled out a pocketknife and began carving into the tree. Kayden and Aida were here.

He smiled. "Happy?" He rolled his shoulders, staying loose in the brittle cold.

"Look, as much as I'm going to love helping, I have my own reasons to get into the forest."

Kayden looked over at them. "Are we even allowed in? How did you get in? Are we going to get expelled?"
He sighed.
He had a lot of questions. And he was scared that the girl wouldn't be able to answer them. They were about to do something risky, and they had little to no information.

@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood

As Kayden scrawled their names into the tree, Aida blushed. This boy was doing all kinds of unexpected things, and now evidence of their interaction would be visible to anyone who came here. It was a bold move, and the young white mage feared that someday it could blow up on Kayden that they knew each other.

While the voice of paranoia said this public admission would come back to haunt them, there was no specific reference to the house elf conspiracy. If one of them found the tree and couldn’t remember having met the other then there was a potential trail to regaining lost memories… so long as one of them remained a Keeper of Memory. Despite the haze of fear, Aida gained a little reassurance in seeing that evidence carved out so clearly.

“Thank you, yes. That does make me a little happy.” Something did feel a bit strange, like some tight little black hole was gathering in Aida’s stomach. Scanning the perimeter of the lake yielded no view of the odd-antlered deer that frequented the area. A strong yearning crushed Aida’s heart.

"Look, as much as I'm going to love helping, I have my own reasons to get into the forest… Are we even allowed in? How did you get in? Are we going to get expelled?"

Aida squinted. The forest? The Forbidden Forest? Perhaps the mage’s intense gazing at the treeline had given away Aida’s intent. If they each intended to go, it was probably best to go as a group.

“What are your reasons for going there… again? We are definitely not allowed in there. I got in when a whole group of Ravenclaws followed Vladimir in… if we went we might very well get expelled… but you know what’s worse, I almost died in there. If I hadn’t been saved by...”

The vision of a giant flaming acromantula flooded the albino’s mind’s eye… a single boy standing against it, knocking it back into the flames… and the emergence of the White General. Aida’s chest ached.



“If we went, you and I alone, we would surely die.”

@Kayden Lind