5 ~Chapter 5: I Remember Everything.~

The teacher paused in her writing on the chalk board, then erased, putting up a new math question. While she did this, Xzander looked back at Asher. Not just Xzander stared, Asher stared back, but Asher quickly adverted his gaze, looking to his hands on his desk almost as if they were more interesting.

With a sigh, Xzander looked back ahead to the chalk board just in time, "Xzander? Why don't you come on up." She smiled. The teacher had wrote a pretty tough question for a kid his age on the board, but Xzander wasn't fazed. He knew exactly what the answer was already.

"Yes, ma'am." He said, going to the board before he picked up a piece of chalk and started writing down his answer to the math problem.

The class stared in astonishment, but not Asher.

The teacher clapped her hands twice, while Xzander put the chalk back, then went to his desk without further words.

"Looks like this student has been studying,... even though we haven't even practiced this yet." The woman said with a smile, her blonde bangs getting in her eyesight partially.

No one else noticed how Asher acted. No one else questioned the young one's unusual behavior. Then again, if Xzander had just got there again that day, then so did Asher.

The teacher clapped her hands, "Any-who, that's for Monday! You are now free for the weekend guys." The teachers uplifted tone spread to the class, everyone got up, and they left. Asher and Nash included. Xzander sat in his desk for a moment, picking at the skin around his nails as he thought about what was to come. About what the future would have to hold all over again.

"I need to find Asher.." Xzander insinuated. Before he could think straight, he got up from his seat, the teacher watching the boy as if in a daze.

Maybe I should act my age a bit more?... Or maybe that wasn't it?..

Xzander spotted Asher's damp brown hair as he walked into the tree line outside of the village.

"Where is he going?.." Xzander muttered to himself, right before he was about to follow the boy, Nash grabbed his arm from behind.

"Where are you going? C'mon, mum and dad are going to be looking for us." Nash grinned, and tugged Xzander away from where he truly wanted to go. Further. And further away.

"What were you looking at, anyways?" Nash asked, the two boys speed walking to get back to the castle before the rain started pouring more than it already still was.

"I thought I saw a bunny..." Xzander breathed, looking down to his feet as they splashed in the chilled ice puddles.

"Well, the bunny will be hibernating soon, so best we leave them alone." Nash giggled, while Xzander nodded. Xzander was lost in his head, thinking over if that necklace really was the one he was looking for. And how would a kid get it?

What if the necklace still made them a kid? If that was the case: Nash could have it still too.

I don't even know that kids name... Was he scared of me? Why, did he look so shocked?

"We are home, mum!" Nash yelled, while Xzander stayed hushed. Nash's words echo'd through the castle. It would be good luck if their mom actually heard it.

Xzander walked further into the castle, up stairs, and to his room. He still knew a way to get out the castle through there, just if Nash would stop following him. "We probably don't want to interrupt them anyways. They may get quite mad." Nash sighed, walking aside Xzander.

"Is something wrong? You've been quiet and...off." Nash said, stopping directly in front of Xzander to make him halt while his older brother stared into his adverting eyes.

"Is there a girl in school you like?" Nash asked with a mischievous grin.

"Uh, no." Xzander said, looking into Nash's eyes with an annoyed glare.

"Hm, was it that boy going into the woods that you tried to say was a bunny?" Nash's words were quite sped up, while Xzander blinked.

"So, you saw him too?" He asked, looking into his brothers eyes while his own narrowed into a sharp glare, "Why'd you even ask?"

"Well, I wasn't fully sure." Nash said, leaning against the nearest wall with his hands in his pockets. Xzander shook his head and continued walking to his room, passing Nash. He just wanted to get the darn rain coat off, and dry his hair.

A drop of water went down his forehead and off his nose, a strand of hair was stuck to his cheek. Once he had gotten to his room he shut the door, locked it, then put his forehead against the cold, white painted, wood. "You okay?" A small voice behind him asked, making him flinch. It wasn't Nash, because he left Nash in the hall while he was scurrying to his room.

Xzander quickly turned around to see the boy with dark brown hair, and the big blue eyes, soaking wet, standing just inside the window.

"How did.....How did you know you could get in through there?" Xzander asked, walking over to the boy, only a couple feet away while he stared at the long fall that could have been fatal.

"Uhm,...Climbed?...." The brown haired boy whispered.

"Who are you?" Xzander asked.

"Who are you?" The boy shot back.

Xzanders eyes went to the outline of the necklace under the boys damp shirt.

"What's that?" Xzander asked. His eyes going back up to the boys big blue ones.

"A gift." He said, "Prince, Xzander, I'm Asher Percy.." Asher finished.

"Who gave you the necklace, Asher?" Xzander asked, taking a couple steps back and slipping off his rain coat, tossing it in the towel bin.

"....You did." Asher said, looking at Xzander confusedly.

"So, it was you who somehow got it.. Mom did say it could've been a commoner."

"You gave it to me, on the brink of death. You told me to leave the village. I did! I did leave, but not even two days later.....It didn't end well." Asher said, showing the scar in the back of his head. A bullet wound. Xzander looked away, "Sheesh, I dunno who had it worse." Xzander showed his own scars, lifting his shirt and showing his left palm.

"You. Definitely you. But, I did avenge your death." Asher said, giggling at the end before he shivered. Xzander could hear the boys teeth chattering together, in which: making him feel bad.

Asher chewed his lip to make his teeth hush.

On the other hand, Xzander was getting him clothes out of his closet.

"Where's your parents? Do they not know you are here?" Xzander asked.

"No, I live with the people who take me in. Well, I used to. I actually live with this man in the woods...he has a treehouse type thing." Asher explained as I nodded along.

"Well, here." I gave the shivering boy some clean, white and gold, clothes, "And lets shut this window. You're staying with us tonight." Xzander grinned, having Asher change and get dressed into dry clothes while he shut the window and took off his grey cardigan.

He went to the small electric fireplace that emitted heat, and turned it on, wanting his room to warm back up.

"I would say I need to start locking that window, but if that's how you are going to start making your appearance, I'm going to need to keep it unlocked. Don't want you falling." Xzander laughed, and Asher nodded.

"Ya'know...you haven't changed much at all..." Asher said in an undertone, sitting on Xzanders bed, "And I bet you want this back." He took the necklace off of his head, and held it out in his small hand.

Xzander looked back at Asher, slight surprise running across his features. But, he didn't hesitate, he went to the bed and took the necklace politely. A split second passed, then it felt as if his life flashed before his eyes, and it did. His breath hitched, the images going before him, some of them actually bearing feelings, especially the ones with pain. Even the excruciatingly painful ones didn't hold back. Xzanders face scrunched, dropping the necklace back in Asher's hand while he backed away, the images appearing until the moment he died in his past life. In his failed life. Stumbling backwards, until he tripped and fell on his bottom. His face had a horrified expression, seeing the year worth of shocking, caring, surprising, painful, memories. He panted and gasped, finally when the images in the way of his eyesight stopped, he looked straight ahead, a tear falling down his face as the pain in his abdomen and hands started to subside. He was unaware of the whimpers coming from him, from the clattering teeth. He was....terrified. But not of Asher. Or any commoner.

Of Nash.

"Are you okay?" Asher stood up quickly. The boy hadn't known what to do in the exact moment, but after he put the necklace back around his neck he was on the ground with his friend, "What happened?" Asher asked quickly.

Xzander stared off into nothing, suddenly, everything made sense. Not only did he get his own memories in that mix, he got a glimpse of a woman, woods, his mother, and the necklace itself. That wasn't to be questioned now. That was how the necklace was made... he knew it.. he didn't question it. It was a feeling. Almost as if the jewelry told him itself. The necklace was always meant to be his from the beginning..

His mother got the necklace from the witch in the far eastern woods.

I always believed in them due to the stories mom used to tell when I was younger than I am now..

This information wasn't needed though, he had one job now. And one job only.

Xzander's breathing calmed, then he looked into Ashers eyes, "Thank you." Suddenly, the small attachment to Asher became more. He felt like he needed to repay the boy. He felt as if he...

"It's okay, I wasn't supposed to follow you.." Asher admitted, looking down at his hands which were fidgeting in his lap.

"Don't worry about it, I think I would have died either way. Thanks, you killed Nash for me at least once." Xzander chuckled and patted Asher's shoulder, "I owe you." He said with a grin.

"So, you remember now?" Asher asked.

"I remember everything." Xzander said, then stood up slowly, pulling Asher up with him.

"Look, by how I'm seeing it...I've gotta fix all of this. I've gotta get the throne." Xzander started pacing his room length: which was quite large.

"But the way I tried to do it wasn't the right way. I need to train harder. Do you have any more of those surian knives? I could use those to one up Nash, he wouldn't even know I have them. He doesn't even know they exist." Xzander thought, his hand on his chin while his arm crossed over his chest.

"I have a lot of those things." Asher smiled, and hummed, "How about I go get them tomorrow? Maybe by now and the time of your next battle, I can get something else whipped up? Maybe even an actual shiriken this time." Asher brain stormed, and clapped his hands afterwards, "Yeah! That should work."

Xzander stopped in his pacing and looked out the window to the village.

"I'm gonna need your word. We have to have the kids our age in on everything I'm about to tell you." Xzander looked at Asher. "And some of the trustworthy grownups."

Asher nodded.

Then the plan started.

"You will need to start having story times, like the ones you like so much. Use my past life as the main story, keep the small ones lured into this. That way, they can go home and tell their parents. If we can get all of the story out to them, then the kids in our class, we could use it to our advantage as we age. When we are older and the battle for the throne starts. I won't need to fight. If everyone in the village doesn't want Nash to be king, he cannot be king. If I can get my word over Nash's and get the village in on this, I will have the throne at my fingertips. Because then, even if that doesn't work, and Nash gets on the throne, we can build our own kingdom. The people who built this one may be the commoner down theres ancestors, but they have that talent in their blood. We can teach them at a young age if we have to. And I'm sure some of the grown ups will believe their kids if we can get this story in their head good enough. I'm sure they won't understand off the bat, but this will be going on for a while, they'll all have plenty of time to understand. If I...change of plans." Xzander changed his mind last minute, Asher listening in before he would speak over the babbling Prince.

"We will convince some of the kids our age first, get them to get some of their parents in on this, then we can have the grown ups start on the castle in another field. This village is huge! There has to be at least fifty people who are willing to help out on a new castle. There has to be some people who will believe my story, especially with how smart I am and not supposed to be.." Xzander had started pacing again before he abruptly stopped, "The teacher. She can be a big change in the scoreboard!" As Xzander rambled off, Asher perfected Xzanders imperfections in his plan. For an eight year old, Asher was a lot smarter than he looked.