I slowly let the dagger in my hand fizzle away. My mana was low, and using an Aspect would only make it fall lower. Milady was still poised and ready in my right hand. If I sensed any threat from her, it would be buried deep inside of Luciana's chest in less than a second.
"What's a Clan?" I asked, taking a cautious step back.
The girl looked at me in confusion, as if the question was one she never thought she'd hear. It made sense, this was probably common knowledge to the people of this world.
"A Clan…? You don't know what a Clan is?" It was dark, but my eyes had adapted well enough by now to see her. She frowned at me as her body slowly began to stop trembling.
"I've lost my memory." My words were nothing short of biting, almost defensive. I spoke so rudely on purpose, of course. My reincarnation is something that nobody should learn about, and telling people I have amnesia is an easy way to explain my lack of knowledge on subjects which everyone should know.
The rudeness was just there to make people think I was embarrassed about it.
"You did?!" She seemed startled, glancing between me and the Runebear. "How did someone with memory loss, kill the Forest King then?" She probed, her eyes narrowing.
I met her stare with my own, tightening my grip on Milady.
"You're not really in a position to be asking me questions." I reminded her, glancing down at the sword at her hip. She huffed, lowering her arms and crossing them over her chest.
She didn't seem to be as fearful of me as before, though I still caught the way she looked wearily at my blade.
"I'm not here to harm you." She said, looking up at me. "I was only here to hunt the Forest King."
"Why?"
"What do you mean—Right, memory loss," I watched Luciana shake her head at the realization. "Do you know what the Purging Ceremony is?"
"Should I?" I very likely did need to know it.
She looked me up and down, her eyes lingering on the matted crimson hair flowing past my shoulders, before looking at my face. A little red seeped into her cheeks as she shrugged and spoke.
"You probably don't, there's no way you're a Mercury."
"A Mercury…? What does that even mean."
Luciana gauged me for a moment, before pointing to the tree I had been leaning against only a few minutes ago. "Can I sit?"
I nodded wordlessly, also moving to sit against a tree a few steps away. It would give me time to react, if she tried anything.
"So?" I asked, keeping my hand on the handle of Milady. Luciana tucked a silver strand of hair behind her ear, before speaking again.
"You must have hit your head quite hard to forget what a Mercury is," she said with a grin that lacked any humour within it. "How to explain this…think of a Mercury as the dregs of a society-"
Not very hard for me. I was homeless for nearly a decade, after all. I knew how people had viewed me.
"-then take those dregs and put a chain over their necks."
I blinked, feeling startled. "You mean like a slave…?"
She shrugged, a slight smirk lining her face, as if she was hearing a joke only, she could understand. "Be careful with that word around here. Some people will take offence to it."
"Why?" I couldn't help but ask, wondering why the truth was being labelled as all but a taboo.
"Huh, you really don't know do you?" She asked as I scowled. "Let's just say that some people wouldn't take kindly to the truth. Their whole lives have been built on a lie, after all."
"That tells me nothing." I told her, tapping a finger against the handle of Milady.
Luciana loudly sighed in response. "I guess I have to spell it out for you. We're slaves in all but name around here. Given nothing and told that we're essential to the world's survival."
"Is that not the universal truth everywhere?"
She met my eyes, a spark of anger in her red orbs. Similar to my own, yet a shade brighter.
"No, it is not. Whilst we slave away with the bare minimum, the elite," she spat the word out as if it was pure venom on her tongue. "Enjoy their lives with no hardship, full bellies and training that allows them to survive and thrive, whilst we sink."
'I am definitely missing a lot of information.' I thought in the privacy of my mind. Whilst I was certainly learning some things, I was also missing too much.
"You mentioned something about a Clan earlier." I said, trying to steer the conversation away from these so called 'elite'. "What are they?"
Luciana sighed at my question, her shoulders slumping as she turned to look at the dead Runebear.
"They're just a way to keep us categorize by the Society. Clan Delta tends to the crops, Clan Epsilon works in the mines, and we of Clan Omega are the hunters." She turned to face me. "You probably belong to a House."
That, I could at least begin to understand. Houses were prominent symbols of the stories I read, each carrying prestige and a name that could move mountains-ohhh, so that's what she meant by the 'elite'.
"Does the name Artorias Regulus mean anything to you? It's all that I remember about myself." I explained, watching her for any reaction.
Unfortunately, she just shrugged, her face blank. "Sorry, but I've heard of neither."
'Worth a try, at the very least.'
"Nice to meet you, by the way. Like I said, Luciana Elowen of Clan Omega." She gave me a small smile then, extending her hand. I sighed, standing up and moving towards her.
Grasping her smaller hand, I gave it a shake, both of our grips firm as I spoke. "Artorias Regulus of…something?"
She snorted, letting my hand go first and standing up.
"I heard once that amnesiacs sometimes remember stuff as time goes on. Give it time, your strength alone will make people want to find out more about you."
"My strength?" I asked, wondering why she'd said it in such a way.
"We live in a world ruled by the strong, Artorias. Sooner or later, someone's going to take an interest in you." She gave me a small wink, then turned to face the bear, ignorant of the blush I felt growing on my cheeks.
"Now then, what are you planning to do with the Forest King?"