6 — Anneliese's Past

Joezand takes a deep breath, and runs towards the intricate oak door.

He opens it but doesn't step inside. His sight is hit with the same overly fancy furniture that's on the rest of the palace. Some cushioned chairs with gold armrests, a gigantic mirror on the wall with a silver border, even a small marble bust of himself atop a shelf. His eyes dart around, landing on a few drapes that seem to be surrounding a bed. He walks towards it, pulling back the drapes to find...

"A-Ah! P-Prince Joezand, don't look!"

Anneliese.

She's wrapped in a poofy blanket, her limbs trapped by it in a very compromising position. Her braid's undone and her hair is covering up her face. She tries to wiggle her way out of her bind, but she can't manage to free herself. On the floor next to the bed lay shards of white ceramic, with a liquid seeping into the rug below.

"I-I'm so sorry, Prince Joezand! I'll clean it right away!" She says. The blanket is unexplicably around every part of her. Over her waist, legs, and arms. Her sleeves ride up slightly due to her predicament, revealing some surprisingly muscular and toned biceps. "J-Just give me a second!" She struggles, but the cotton trapping her doesn't budge.

"How do you even..." Joezand sighs. "You know what, nevermind. Stay still." He starts slowly unrolling the blanket around her.

She just lays there, red in the face as he frees her. She gets out of the bed quickly once she's able to, sinking to her knees and looking up at him with teary eyes.

"Please, f-forgive me, Prince Joezand!" She says, gripping his shorts as she apologizes. "Not only have I failed in making your bed, but I also broke your favourite teapot!" She sniffles. Oh, so that's what those shards were. "P-Please, do not relieve me of my maid duties! I swear it won't happen again!"

"I-It's fine." Joezand takes a few steps back. Sheesh, talk about getting too close. Now he's the one blushing. "Just get up and clean the mess."

"Oh, o-okay!" She gets up quickly, running out of the room.

After a short while, she was back with a hay-headed broom in one hand and a big burlap sack in the other. She starts sweeping off the shards.

"Again, I'm so sorry. This really was your favourite, and I broke it right on the day we got you back." She says as she works, eyes downcast.

"Would be worse if I had my memories. Right now it's just the remains of a random teapot to me." He shrugs. "You're... a bit messy for a maid, aren't you?"

"I— uhm..." She sighs. "Y-Yes, I'm not great at these kinds of tasks." She looks at him, panicked. "B-But please, I'll learn! Don't get rid of me, I beg of you!"

"Calm down. I never said I would." He puts the blanket over his own bed, sitting on it. "Although... This can't be your calling, right? Why do you insist on being a maid?"

Anneliese gathers the shards and throws them in the sack, and sits next to him.

"Well, I..." She looks at the ground. "I only got to this palace because of my mother. She was also a maid, albeit an excellent one. She served Emperor Thaddius personally. I tried training with the other maids as well, but I never quite got to pick it up."

"Then why are you still one?" Joezand asks. "I mean, if you don't like doing it, and you're not good at it..."

"Isn't it obvious?" Anneliese gestures to their surroundings. "I noticed how awed you've been by it since you got back. Everything in this palace is golden, shiny, and fancy. Based on your clothes and where we found you, you probably didn't spend the last weeks in a place like this, right?"

"Uhm... Y-Yes, that's right. These last few weeks sure were rough!" Joezand chuckles akwardly. "I forgot all about the palace, so those dinky little homes in that village were my new normal. But is this... excessiveness really the only reason?"

"Mostly, yeah." Anneliese says. "I... couldn't even start to think about going back. Before this, we lived in a little shed in the woods. Don't get me wrong, we weren't struggling. We always had lots to eat, and even meat was something we indulged in frequently, as my father was a hunter. It was... comfortable, Prince Joezand. But that's all it was. And that's awful. It's terrifying."

"Really? It doesn't seem like you had much trouble. You were well-fed and carefree." Joezand says. "Sounds pretty pleasant to me."

"It was. And that's the problem." Anneliese sighs. "It was peaceful and nice. Serene and agreeable. And we were rotting."

"Rotting?"

"This wasn't just the way we lived. It was the way most of our ancestors lived. Can you imagine it? No progress for hundreds of years? Staying in the same place for generations?" Anneliese says. "My mother couldn't stand it. She saw her grandmother live this life, her mother live this life, and herself and her siblings live through it as well. She wouldn't let her daughters go through it as well."

"Daughters?" Joezand asks. "Do you have siblings?"

"A few. But they all stayed back in the shed with my father." Anneliese replies. "I was the only one that agreed with my mother. But turns out her career path wasn't for me. The only reason I'm here right now is because of your kindness, Prince Joezand."

"Mine? With the way you were asking for forgiveness, I'd think I was pretty harsh on you."

"Oh, not at all. I do it out of habit, mostly. You were always a gentle soul." She scratches her neck while she looks to the side. "You're the most important person in the world to me, but right now I'm just a stranger to you. It feels... awkward, to say the least."

"The most?" Joezand tilts his head. "What about your mother?"

"She... passed away." Anneliese says, her eyes downcast. "Ever since I started serving under you, I barely saw her face. One day, Empress Agatha just sent Pult to tell me that my mother had passed. And that was it."

"I'm not sure what to say..." Joezand says, putting a hand on her shoulder. "My condolences, Anneliese."

"Don't worry about it. It's been a long time ago." Anneliese smiles. "I'm mostly over it."

"Still... I'm sorry my family was so uncaring." Joezand grumbles. "Such an awful messenger to deliver those news, too."

"Hahahaha, Pult isn't a bad guy. He's just..."

"A prick?"

"Yeah." Anneliese says. "He holds a bit of a grudge. Don't let it get to you, though."

"Don't worry, I won't." He looks up. "And I'll keep you around as my maid, too. I don't care about your small mistakes."

"Thank you so much!" She smiles wide, hugging him. "Despite losing your memory... You're still as kind and brave as ever, Prince Joezand. That's what made me..." She trails off, releasing him suddenly.

"Made you what?"

"O-Oh! Don't worry about it, haha." She quickly gets up, her face tinted pink. "Have a good night, Prince Joezand. I'll be here in the morning to serve you breakfast and draw you a bath, and then we'll go to meet Emperor Thaddius and Empress Agatha."

"Understood. Good night, Anneliese."

"Good night, Prince Joezand!" She says, grabbing the sack full of ceramic shards and the broom and leaving the room.

He lets out a long, drawn-out breath before flopping down onto his bed.

'Nervous about tomorrow?' The familiar voice rings out inside of his head.

'Of course.' He replies. 'If they're anything like I've been described, they aren't the... nicest individuals around.'

'Don't worry, at most they'll have a little test for you. And I know you'll ace that, my little lamb! By the wayyy...' Sunnaria draws out. 'What about that Anneliese girl, huh?'

'What about her?'

'Come onnn... Didn't you notice?'

'Notice what? What are you talking about?'

'Ugh, nevermind.' Sunnaria grumbles. 'Just go to sleep, little lamb. You've had a full day today, and tomorrow's gonna be even fuller. Try not to dream of my godly figure or that tied-up cutiepie, alright?'

'What kind of pervert do you think I am?!' He turns his head into the pillow. 'Sheesh.'

He calms down, and finally realizes how tired he really was from his day. He can't can't take the exhaustion anymore. His body being hugged by the high-quality mattress, he starts to slowly drift off...

— — —

"How was the bath, Prince Joezand?"

"More comfortable than I expected." He says, a towel wrapped around his lower body. He checks himself out in the mirror, shocked that a prince from such an opulent house isn't... on the heavier side. In fact, he has hints of muscles here and there, but he mostly looked like he barely had anything to eat for weeks. Although that's probably because of his disappearing act. If that's the real prince's body, anyway. He hasn't confirmed that yet, but he trusts Sunnaria's plan.

"Well, let's get you dressed, shall we?~" Anneliese says, some clothes under her arms. "Want me to undo your towel, Prince Joezand?"

"Uhm..." He blushes slightly, grabbing his own towel. "I'll be fine, thanks."

"Alright..." She says sadly, leaving the clothes on top of the bed. "I'll be outside if you need me!"

"Why do you look so disappointed..." Joezand murmurs as Anneliese left the room. He undid his own towel and started dressing himself.

He looked in the mirror again— He finally looked the part of an actual prince. The long black cotton shirt that reached his thighs was open in the middle, like a button-up. The 'buttons' were little gold chains on either side that he clasped together. It was way more comfortable than his previous clothes, even the ones back from his time in Tokyo. His pants, also black, were simpler and slightly reminded him of office dress pants. He had black boots and a black belt, both with gold clasps. There was a cape, which he had a little trouble putting on— He's never worn a cape before. After a while, he was able to put on the full royal blue cape. This isn't the look he'd usually associate with princes. Mostly black with blue and gold accents? He'd think they would rather wear lighter colors. But he's not complaining, as he looks damn good. The last item is the gold crown with sapphire gemstones all around it, which he puts over his head.

There's no doubt in his mind now. He truly is Prince Joezand. There's no one else he could be.

He opens the door, and Anneliese looks at him with a smile.

"I forgot how good you looked in that, Prince Joezand." She says without realizing. Her face reddens after a moment of silence. "I-I mean, it's tailor-made for you, after all, hahahaha. Of course it looks good! It's expensive and..."

"Thanks." He smirks at her. "Let's go to that meeting, shall we?"

"Y-Yes." She replies. "Follow me to the throne room, Prince Joezand."