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Bright orange decorated the fields. She gazed upon the kingdom from atop the castle walls, mesmerized.
Amelia didn't know what to make of her situation. She'd suddenly find herself in the middle of a dungeon, her memories returned to her, of who she was, and what she does.
Kiara, Ina, and Mumei had been by her side, and they rejoiced at her return, albeit the latter had felt a tad bit off.
There were fragments of her time in Libestal that remained with her. She knew of the places, she knew of the people, she knew of the responsibilities she had.
Yet, something felt missing. Something within her felt as if it had been carved out, permanently, and emptiness filled that void lifelessly.
She didn't know what that something was, however.
The voices in her head were restless. They were pestering her about something, they seemed to be expecting something bad to happen. She couldn't quite make sense of it.
As she continued to think more about her role in this world, she herself became restless as well. She couldn't remember, she couldn't remember what was missing.
Everything was there. She knew who she was - Amelia Watson, the world's greatest detective - and she knew of the friends she had investigated, the friends she'd made out of mythical beings.
And that one pretty lady who ran a place for fried chicken and some damn good burgers.
Still, still, something was gone, something was on the tip of her lips, but forever doomed to never be recalled.
She wasn't a fan of that feeling in the slightest. The sunset, the beautiful sunset, it soothed her. But it didn't do much to reassure her that all was fine.
Amelia wanted to figure out what it was. What her mind refused to touch upon, what she just couldn't pick up on.
What was she missing?
In that instant, she heard the faintest of melodies, a beautiful voice filtered like a radio. The girl immediately recognized the tune - this was a song sung by one of her mythical friends! She thought to Ina and wondered if, maybe, perhaps, the girl could help her with remembering what she simply couldn't. It had to be the work of something far beyond human comprehension, didn't it? It had to be the work of some sort of anomaly, something that the wielder of the Ancient Ones could nullify.
Amelia hopped off the castle walls onto safety and ran to the stairs. She treaded her way down, onto the fields she had just seen adorned in bright warmth.
As the words to Ina's song began to play, she spotted the priestess cringing to herself, watched humorously by... someone. Someone she didn't recognize, no, someone she couldn't recognize.
The priestess let out a groan and suddenly got onto her pet horse, running off as she cursed the song. She found herself chuckling internally. So even Ina cringes at her own voice, the detective thought.
Wondering whether to tease Ina about this, Amelia looked to the stranger, the person she didn't recognize. The girl, a bit taller than Gura - another of her mythical friends - looked to her and... recognition.
There was recognition on her face, Amelia noticed right away. This person... recognized her. Had she been a client at some point in the past? Unlikely, she'd never visited Libestal before, much less even knew it existed.
As she was approached by Ina's friend(?), the girl's lips quivered. "My... my dear sweet pearl!" the person called.
...what? Amelia wasn't sure if she heard that right, or what that insinuated.
"Hello!" the person greeted her. She sounded gentle, a bit energetic, maybe even the prankster kind of energetic. But... her voice carried something within.
Instead of greeting her back, Amelia found herself asking instead, "I'm your pearl?"
Her new acquaintance's breath hitched. It was very slight, almost unnoticeable, but she was a detective - she could tell when these things happened.
"I... I heard that..." The girl was hesitant. "You had... frh... you had gotten your memories back." Was that anxiety in her voice? ...fear?
"...yes!" Amelia decided to answer back. She didn't seem like a bad person. Hell, mayhaps they could actually become close friends. "And you are...?"
Another hitch. She felt like she had messed up, somehow. The girl in front of her seemed... she seemed like she was on the verge of tears. She must've been quite the amazing actress, because even with Amelia's expertise in observing people, it was pretty hard to tell that the girl before her was possibly feeling distraught inside.
Her hands fidgeted, she saw. She looked to the side, then back at Amelia, and then down. Her eyes were fighting, they were fighting tears.
Maybe she was really lonely. Maybe she thought Amelia was a great candidate for besties. Maybe the girl admired Amelia from afar and hoped she would know who she was.
None of those explanations soothed her mind, though. Amelia Watson, for her own sake, could not figure out why her own heart was mourning, why her own mind was despairing, all while she couldn't dig deeper into her curiosity.
Who was this girl in front of her, and just why did it kill her inside to even talk to her?
"...just nothing," the girl eventually whispered, and looked her in the eye. Amelia found herself admiring the girl a bit, her respect for the stranger growing.
Those were the eyes of someone with determination, someone willing to give up their own happiness for the sake of the others.
Then why did it tear her from the inside, just to see that face being made at her? To see someone smile so genuinely, so hurtfully?
"I am just a mere... humble knight," the girl said. "I am Gonathan G.! ...it is nice to meet you," she introduced herself. "...dear..."
"Oh!" Amelia opted not to call that quiet muttering out. She still wasn't quite sure what to make of this interaction yet. "Hello, Jonathan G.!"
Still wearing that pained smile, the knight reached her hand out. "What is your name?" she asked, and it reeked of fakeness, but Amelia left that as it was.
"Ah. My name is Amelia Watson!" she greeted and patted her chest proudly. "I'm a detective!" Then she took and shook Gonathan's hand.
That smile was still there. It was driving her crazy for reasons she could not figure out. "Oh, it is a pleasure to meet you, Amelia Watson!"
"Well, it's nice to meet you too, knight!" Amelia put on her own faked smile. "I'm here to offer my services..."
"That's right! I'm not just a detective!"
Her own voice rang from somewhere. Ina's song had long disappeared, and she recognized her own melody echoing from wherever the radio had been hidden.
Gonathan looked to a tower, a construct resembling a moai statue, that had been there for... why was that there again? Amelia felt her head hurt a bit, but she put that aside for now.
"Do you recognize this?" Gonathan asked.
Well, did she? Of course she did, that was her song! Amelia found herself actually amused. "I do!"
Maybe this was a good chance to try and soothe the girl. She seemed really hurt after all, perhaps hearing her song would lift her spirits. Timing herself with the song echoing throughout the garden, she let her voice ring like an alarm clock, arms outstretched and spinning around the knight, who laughed, who laughed genuinely, even with that hidden veil of hurt.
"You sound... it sounds just like you!" Gonathan exclaimed. "In your likeness..."
Amelia wanted to laugh. "I believe that is me!"
The knight could not look any more surprised nor excited. "It's you!"
Sharing a round of laughter, they looked to the statue again as it continued to play her song.
"Wow," Amelia found herself breathless. And that surprised her - was she already tired? Just from a round of running a circle? ...no, something else was making her breathless. Something was...
She turned to Gonathan. The girl looked at the statue in deep sadness, in false happiness. She was enjoying the song, she was embracing the sound of... her? Of Amelia's singing.
Who are you, Jonathan? Amelia really wanted to ask. The detective was dying inside. Who are you? Who were you to me? Who was I to you?
"...I will... I will leave you to it," Gonathan spoke. "I wish you... much luck, on your detective services."
Oh, she supposed it was getting dark. "Well, thank you, knight! Do le me know if there's anything I can help you with," she told her new friend.
"Of course! Farewell, fare thee well!" The knight was bowing to her, and she could tell it wasn't mainly out of respect, but to hide her face, to avoid looking at her. "I will contact you..."
"Fare thee well?" Amelia repeated. Oop, that one was out loud.
Gonathan didn't seem to mind that. Or maybe she did. She really couldn't tell. "Yes, fare thee well!"
"Wait," the blonde called out to her, just as the knight was about to run off. "What was your name again?"
"...I am Gonathan, with a G.!" Gonathan smiled. It was bright, and it made her heart twist inside.
"Gonathan with a G., that's very... pft." Amelia shook her head. No laughing! "Okay. I'll be seeing you around, Gonathan with a G.!"
With a nod, Gonathan gave her a final smile. "I will see you around. Farewell..."
"Farewell." Both turned around and left in their respective directions.
Amelia felt... weird. Her heart was crying. Her heart was yearning for something, and she felt like Gonathan was the key to solving the mystery, this mystery that was haunting her.
But... it felt wrong, and she didn't know what to do. It didn't seem like they actually knew each other. Or, well, clearly, Gonathan was hiding something from her, but... it was hurting her so badly, she could tell.
She did make a new friend in Gonathan though! That was nice. She was a nice person, a very loyal knight, as far as her vibe went.
Then why did it feel so criminal to simply treat her as a new friend?
Amelia simply did not understand herself.