The Fallen Prince

Teaser + Announcement

Arisa admired the environment around her, wondering if she would see Leo again or a different star since this time she was in a forest. Although she was sure she wouldn't see his face properly, just seeing him and hearing his gentle voice would be enough. Her heart skipped at the thought of him.

She took a deep breath, wondering what other memories they had created together before they reincarnated.

"Are you lost, too?" asked a quiet and distant voice.

Arisa's forehead wrinkled and she looked around in search of the owner of that childish voice. Short seconds later, she spotted a little boy peeking by a tree not far from her.

For a moment, Arisa gazed at him and rubbed her eyes in an attempt to clear her vision. As she had thought, she couldn't see the boy's face clearly. Only his blond, almost white, wavy hair that covered part of his pinkish neck was visible.

Could he be a star?

"Yeah...?" replied Arisa, unsure with her answer.

As Arisa stood there, thinking of what else she could say, the boy tilted his head, slowly moving away from the thick, purple-blue trunk hiding his small body. As the boy approached her, Arisa noticed that his bright, long-sleeved shirt looked too big for him; it almost looked like a tunic as it covered a great part of the boy's figure.

"Do, do you know how you got here?" he asked, his quiet voice sounding a little shaky.

"No." Arisa shook her head. "I woke up and found myself here."

Despite not being able to see the boy's face, Arisa could feel as if his eyes were staring at her thoughtfully. Realizing that she was interacting with the boy instead of reliving a memory, she wondered if this was actually a memory or just a dream.

Usually, when she interacted with a being in her dream, that dream was controlled by Eklipta itself. But looking at the being in front of her, it couldn't be Eklipta as it usually takes the form of a young girl in her early teens.

But then, it could be that it decided to show up as a boy this time.

Arisa bent over a little. "Can you tell me how you got here?"

"I, I was playing with my parents and..." The boy hesitated a little. "...they both disappeared."

Arisa tilted her head. "Disappeared? How?"

"I-I don't know," said the boy, his voice cracking a little. "I only remember them fading and telling me to be strong. I thought they were pulling a trick on me, so I have been looking for them and ended up here."

Arisa stared at the boy with wrinkles forming on her forehead. As confusion clouded her mind, she wondered if this was indeed a memory or a regular dream since this boy couldn't be Eklipta.

"I hope they didn't leave me forever," said the boy, rubbing his eye, sniffing.

Noticing that the boy sounded hurt and lonely, Arisa tried to say something to cheer him up, but nothing left her lips. When it came to moments to cheer someone up, Arisa always had trouble finding the right words or the right action to comfort the other.

She exhaled, resting her hand on the boy's blond, almost white, head to caress him. Somehow doing that switched a sense of nostalgia mixed with the pain of losing something really precious to her.

She blinked repeatedly, not understanding why she was feeling like this. She then took a deep breath, trying to flush those feelings away. Small, warm thin fingers rubbed her eye.

"Are you crying because you're lost, too?" asked the boy, his tone curious.

Arisa blinked and wiped away a stray tear. "I'm crying?"