"Yeah, no, you said you were going to leave me alone. You said as long as I look at the view, I can go back. I want to stay back."
Ael said as he tried to convince me, "Well, if I go down, we both know that isn't going to go well. If Amiel goes down, well, he is probably going to say something he shouldn't." He put my hands out in the air. "But hey, if we end up not figuring a way out of here, it's not your fault."
"....."
I stared him down as silence began to fill the air. "I hate you."
"No, you don't."
Moments later, as I tried to climb down, I felt my legs become weak. Almost jelly-like. "Guys, I don't think this was the best plan."
"Of course it is. And plus, you have a rope tied around you just in case."
'Rope my ass. I'm sure if it were them in my position, they would feel differently about the ordeal.'
As I climbed down, I was careful where I placed my foot, trying to place them on the grooves of the clock tower. I tried to make my way towards the girl.
'Why me? Why fucking me!'
As I get up to her, I can finally get a good view of her. She was almost doll-like. She had dirty, but almost beautiful blonde hair. Her legs were slender and her face small. Her skin is almost snow-like. She couldn't be taller than five foot five.
"What are you waiting for!? Wake her up!" Ael screamed, but the distance, along with the roaring of the wind, made it quieter than it was.
"E-excuse me." No reaction. "Excuse me!" Still nothing. I was going to have to get closer to her.
Moving along the grove of the building, I made my way over enough so I could poke her.
*Poke poke*
"Five more minutes." She waved her hand, keeping her eyes closed.
'What is she, five?'
I poked her again.
*Poke poke.*
As she began to wake up, I could see green emerald eyes that were hidden behind her eyelids. "Huh, who are you?"
"Who are *you*?" I replied.
"I asked you first."
"Fair. I am Eirian." Still holding on for dear life, I ask her, "Now who are you?"
She placed her pointer finger on her cheek and looked up as if she were thinking. After a few seconds, she said, "That's a good question, let me get back to you on that."
"What do you mean, that's a good question!?" I let out, surprised. My being on a ledge was not helping.
"Well, I don't remember it."
Left speechless, I stared at her.
'We cannot be serious.'
Recomposing myself, I questioned her one more time. "You don't know your own name?"
"Nope."
"The thing that people call you?"
"Right."
"The word that your parents gave to you."
"Mhm."
'My goal was simple: come down here, get some information, then go back up. It was supposed to be quick and easy. What did I rope myself into!? No pun intended.'
"Tell me, do you at least know what happened here?"
"I do not."
"What do you know?"
"Hmm, not much, I can only remember about three days ago."
'Perfect, she can only remember as much as we have been up here. Just my luck.'
Just then, a strong wind blew, which caused me to panic. I put my body against the wall as much as I could and hoped I wouldn't need to rely on this rope.
Just as the wind died down, I turned to speak toward the girl once more. "Hey, now that you're awake, is it okay if we talk up there instead?" I pointed above me where Ael and Amiel were. "Kind of windy out here, wouldn't want you to get sick."
She yawned before giving me a reply. "Sure, if that's what you want."
I look up toward the rope and tug on it, signaling that I will be coming up soon.
"Now, how do you get up?" I said as I turned toward her, just to see that she was halfway up already. "Huh!"
***
After a few moments of struggling to get up the building, we meet up with Ael and Amiel.
"So she doesn't remember anything?"
"Nothing, absolutely nothing." I lay on the ground once again, and my legs still felt like jelly.
"What should we do?" I looked up toward Ael.
"Probably best if we invite her to tag along with us, no? If she does remember something, it's best to have her with us. What do you think, Amiel?"
"I don't mind."
Ael, not wasting a beat, said, "Well, there you have it." He turned toward the girl who was waiting for us as we discussed, "So, news, how would you like to join us. We are trying to figure out how to get off campus. Want to join us?"
She stops and thinks about it for a second before giving a reply. She didn't know us, so it made sense for her to be wary about the whole situation. If three random people came up to me asking the same question, I would say no instantly. Then, with no memories, that just made it ten times scarier. I was sure the world was terrifying for her. Heck, it was scary for me, and I still had all my memories.
"We have food, clothes, fire, all the luxuries you would need," Ael added on. "Plus, you leaving here means we can get your medical help." Tapped his head, "Maybe get your memories back."
She still hesitated a bit, but after a few more seconds, she finally replied. "Hmm, okay, that's fine. I'll join."
'Well, that did it.'
"Perfect, but first, how about we give you a name? I heard you didn't have one. Would be awkward otherwise. Do you have anything in mind?"
"Anything will do." She said.
Ael turned his upper body towards me and pointed at me in a theatrical manner, and said, "Eirian, you're up?"
"What do you mean I'm up!? Didn't you torture me enough today?"
"Nope," He smirked a bit proud of himself.
Just like Ael to put me on the spot. I looked out into the distance, only to see the sky and the mountain since I was sitting down. It was snowing—it started to snow.
"How about Eira. It means snow."
She really did remind me of a doll, and in this snow, it fitted her.
"Sounds fine to me." She said in response.
"Amiel, are you still finishing up your map?" Ael asked.
"Just finishing up the final details, but there is one problem. I am not able to get the forest, the fog, it still hasn't lifted."
"How about we go exploring it tomorrow?" Ael replied.
"That would be perfect."
***
Heading up the tower with my injuries took about fifteen minutes going up and down. Typically, it would have just been a few minutes for any normal person, and about a minute of the elevator was working.
'Stupid elevator.'
It was around two o'clock, and we were heading back into the cafeteria to settle Eira in. We promised food and housing, and she insisted on food. It seemed like she hadn't eaten in the past few days.
"Well, this is our 'home.'" Ael puts up air quotation marks, knowing how stupid it sounds. "I'll make you some food in a second, just relax."