Nicholas, Prince of Merlen

Nicolas stared at himself in the mirror. He was clearly no longer Joseph.

Gone was his blonde hair and black eyes, he was also no longer as skinny or as pale as he had been in that other world as Joseph. He could feel under his clothes how well built he was, clearly muscles he had earned from years of training. Years that he could vaguely remember.

His skin was also quite tanned and his eyes were now a mix of white and light gray, he looked as if he was blind, but he wasn't. He could clearly see the room and the people surrounding him.

"Do you remember anything?" The woman from earlier asked as she got out of the bed and walked towards Nicholas.

She reached out and placed her hand on his cheek and gave him a sweet smile.

Ryenne, her name was Ryenne and she was from the Vale Clan.

Nicholas was surprised when he suddenly recalled her name and where she was from. It was an odd feeling, it was as if the memories were there but out of grasp as he tried to figure out more.

"Your name is Ryenne, Ryenne of the Vale Clan." Nicholas said as he lifted his head and met her eyes.

"I'm glad you remember this lady's name." His sister said with a grin as she got up and made her way to the door.

Nicholas closed his eyes as he tried to recall what his sister meant.

"He can't remember everything yet, Brie." Ryenne sounded sad, or was it disappointment in her tone? Disappointment that he couldn't remember who she was to him.

Brie, that was his sister's name. His only sister, his youngest sibling from all of the king's wives.

He heard Brie sigh as she walked over to them. She placed her hands on her hips and glared at Nicholas.

"Do you at least remember who I am?" She demanded.

Nicholas smiled and nodded.

"You are Brie, my youngest sibling and only sister." He said proudly.

"Is that all you remember of me?" Brie asked as she tested his memory.

Nicholas closed his eyes once more as he willed himself to remember.

"Try to remember, Prince Nicholas, you need to remember." He heard Ryenne encourage him. "We can't keep waiting for you to remember, your brothers or father could come in at any moment."

Brie and Ryenne were as different as night and day, and not just in appearance.

Ryenne had a kind and patient tone, while Brie seemed to be more commanding and sure of herself. He couldn't help but wonder how the two ended up as friends, he would probably recall it later on, but for now it was a mystery.

"I am my father's fourth son, with his fourth wife. My mother belonged to the Corporalis Mage Clan." Prince Nicholas recited as he tapped into his memories. "Our siblings think I'm the weakest since all I can do is heal people and I can't even gather enough mana to do that right."

"Yes!" Ryenne sounded happy as Nicholas recited what he could recall. "I'm happy about your memories coming back, not by the fact that people think you don't have enough mana to do magic."

The young woman blushed as she did her best to clarify her reaction.

"And what else can you remember about yourself?" Brie's tone didn't seem as celebratory as Ryenne's. His sister always had this grim mood around her, always serious despite her young age.

Nicholas smiled on the realization that he recalled much more about Brie.

"No one knows that I've actually grown the amount of mana that I can store and I've even figured out a way to harness mana-" As Nicholas was about to finish his statement, he felt someone's hand cover his mouth, it was Brie.

"Someone is outside." Brie hissed as she looked around, searching for something.

"You both need to leave." Nicholas suddenly said as he remembered that he and Brie were supposed to hate each other and Ryenne shouldn't be in his room. She shouldn't even exist.

Brie simply nodded and gave him a slight smile.

"Come." Brie gestured for Ryenne to follow her to the far side of the room.

The other woman happily obliged as quickly shuffled to Brie's side.

His sister pulled a tapestry out of the way revealing a small door that looked like it hadn't been touched in centuries.

"The servant's tunnels?" Nicholas asked Brie as he raised an eyebrow at her.

Brie carried a look of surprise for a moment before returning to a more relaxed expression, not letting it show that Nicholas' recollection bothered her in the slightest.

"Yes, at least you remember that much." She said as she opened the door and took a peek at the hall before closing it again.

Nicholas nodded as he crossed the room to join them.

"Won't they be confused that you are in the tunnels?" He asked as another knock came from his door.

"They are used to seeing me there." Brie quickly explained as she pulled Ryenne by the wrist and opened the door. "Till next time, brother."

With that, both women vanished behind the tapestry as Nicholas glanced back at his now empty room.

As time progressed he was slowly remembering more and more.

It seemed that his memories were triggered by actions and events and couldn't be forced to the surface.

Nicholas couldn't help but wonder for a moment how much he had forgotten and if he would be able to recover all of his memories in time for the inevitable.

Nicholas lifted his right arm and looked at a faintly glowing rod in his arm, he noticed that both Brie and Ryenne had them as well with Ryenne's being significantly shorter.

As he reached to touch the glowing rod, it seemed to be organic. He tried his best to recall what it was, but it was all in vain as his mind refused to cooperate.

Lost in thought, he heard a knock again making Nicholas groan in annoyance.

"Who is it?" He called out in an impatient tone.

"Your highness?!" The person at the other side of the door asked, seemingly shocked to hear Nicholas' voice.

The voice sounded familiar to Nichola as he tried to search his memories for a name, but he came up empty handed.

Before Nicholas could even tell the person to enter, the doors flew open as a man stood in front of him, shocked with what he found inside.