Forget-me-not

Owen had revisited all the places that were devoured by the fires and marked red dots on a map, which he had brought with him, making the size of the dots different, their sizes differ according to the size of the fires.

He questioned people here and there but all his clues led into a brick wall, walking through the fields and crops to small woods there was no clue even though he recorded everything he noticed, some crops and fields survived like the fields of the forget-me-not flowers and the cotton fields same goes to the wheat fields and corn. It felt purposeful, it looked strategic, but there was no clue to affirm his belief.

Defeated, he went back to the palace with everything he gathered. he sighed, looking at the map. This is the second time he had visited the fires and was met with the same fate of failure.

“The fires look sophisticated,” he thought, scratching his head aggressively.

After he arrived at the palace, he went to the horse stable, lying on the hay, shifting around a bit till he fell asleep.

His subconscious knitted a film perfect for him.

He was running on an abandoned railroad trying to catch up to a train, but when he reached, one of the carts opened, and a man with hazel hair started chasing him. The railroad swirled into an icy landscape, and he was 10 again, “Get him, he's just a boy!” Owen kept hearing this line over and over again.

That little boy started crying, calling out for his mother. His hands suddenly were soaked with red blood, he was still running and panting, smoke coming out of his mouth, eventually, he collapsed, but could only hear a faint voice, “get him,” and everything fainted to black. He gasped, panting, “It was a dream,” he thought.

Looking around.

A thin Ray of light came out of the narrow windows, telling him that the sun had risen.

He stood up and went to the nearest water faucet. He washed his face, brushed his teeth, and then drank a bit of water. And took a stroll around the palace. Enjoying the green landscape, the jasmine scent filled his head.

He walked until an old tall tree stood tall interrupting his stroll, this tree had a small swing, it seemed that it was a swing used by the kids but has been worn out by time and dust had eat it, it could only seem like it was abandoned from a long time, he smiled looking at it, thinking that it was a good idea to finish the stroll here and to go back to Seren.

He arrived at the time of breakfast. It was a big meal, with different types of cheese, different types of jams, and some new and weird but appetizing-looking food. After everyone had eaten breakfast, the maids offered tea with walnuts, then left and asked Hatter, Lotus, and Bala to wait outside too, leaving only Hamid and his son, and daughter.

Hamid was fidgeting excited, he was waiting for Seren to tell him the good news, he thought that she would have at least fetched a good handful of grooms, he wanted to ask quickly, and right away.

“So…”

“Syria,”

“How many–”

“Zero.” Seren interrupted her father while sipping on her tea.

“Does the title of a concubine count?”

Hamid took a deep sigh, his thumb and index on the bridge of his nose, lowering his head.

He pushed his chair to stand, then patted her hair.

“How about–”

“NO!” The answer rolled off her tongue, naturally.

“Stubborn,”

He slammed his hand on the table. He gripped her arms.

“He is our only hope!”

“He'll help us, He'll provide for us,”

Seren remained silent for a moment, looking away to the corner, a knot forming on her forehead.

“He just won't.” She said unenthusiastically.

“He is lying to us, his monarchy is slowly falling, and it won't take long till democracy tackles his ruling, you are playing a losing game, fa–”

She could hear a ringing tone in her ear, and her cheek was red; she could see that all the reality she had been raised in was only the effect of nostalgia.

“Stop talking nonsense. He is a great man.”

“Oh! So my worth is a slap on the cheek compared to that man,”

“If I agree, the land will perish,”

“The king would be in a dire situation!”

“Your brother would lead this land.”

“What about me?”

“Don't be selfish, your mum sacrificed.”

Seren stood and left the room, slamming the door behind her, only to be stopped by Hatter. He was raging, holding her by the collar.

“Who the Hell are you?”

Hatter was outside the room, but he was able to hear a little of what was going on. It seemed that Seren knew a scheme against the king.

He finally thought that there was a reason to hate her, her true colors shine and that she was the villain. He clenched his teeth and gripped her collar till his fingers got white.

“I have no say,” she could barely say, fighting off tears.

“What is the meaning of this?” he sneered.

Seren rested her feet on his armour and pulled herself away then fell landing on her feet on the floor.

“I am just as trapped,”

“You are a noble and heir of the marquess.”

“Shut it, I am tired of lies, right now I am only a gentry, I am powerless.”

“Even if I say anything, no one would believe me.”

“You have no idea of what it feels like to be raised on something just for it to be a way to keep you shut, nothing serious…”

“To realize that you had never been taken seriously,”

“Seren I …”

“Leave me alone,”

Hatter left the castle with a lot of questions but he couldn't get angry, those red eyes held truth, and the way she held her head high, made him admire her more, contemplating whether he should continue the orders of the king or just follow Seren, but the slap that Seren received is still echoing in his ear, was his last straw determined to help Seren no matter what.

He visited the map again, revisiting the red spots again visually scanning every note, till it thundered to him. On the map, the red spots differ in size as if it was communicating a message.

Hatter pulled out a red pen and a blank paper and drew over the dots; after trials of error, a shape appeared; his eyebrows raised in surprise. There was a shape of forget-me-not flowers, but why?

It left him no chance but to return to the palace but this time he knew Seren never needed Hatter but Owen the Jester the one who kept her sun shining and with that he jumped into his jester Outfit and went to Seren.