Remember

"Hmmm … so this is the map of the city, I see." Eclipse said, a smoke hanging from his lips as he stared at the large paper in front of him.

I don't remember anything. He thought, frowning as he stared at every layout. They thought that he would remember something by looking at the maps they have but, so far, it has proved useless.

The moment they walked out of the cell, Eclipse noticed that it was a set made to look like a bedroom for as far as the cell could see. Beyond that, it was just wooden railings and brick walls all around, not to mention the torture devices all over.

The moment they stepped out of the room, Eclipse had already taken four little knives, three poisonous darts and two bullets from the walls, tucking them in his clothes, out of sight.

Though they had promised to help him, he cannot entirely trust them yet, especially as someone that does not have almost all their memory, he can't let his guard down.

They walked out of the room and up a flight of stairs before finally reaching the top and walking down an empty hallway, entering the first door they came across as the Vampire guy held the door open for the two, allowing them to go in before leaving.

The room they entered was filled with nothing but the colour red all over. From the walls to the table in the middle, everything was a different shade of red.

Resting at every corner beside the large bay windows is a suit of armour standing guard with real swords in their hands. Beside each armour, past the windows are several shelves of books and little knick-knacks.

Paintings hung on the walls of a woman, brown hair and gentle brown eyes. She looked like a very warm person just from her paintings and Eclipse could not help but be drawn to her portrait, staring at it with strange familiarity.

"Please don't mind the interior decoration," Aseko said, pulling out a chair from the table in the middle of the room, littered with papers and books all over it. "Hler was the one that made it."

"Hler? Oh, you mean that Vampire guy." Eclipse clapped his hands together, smiling brightly. "So he decorated this room, did he?"

Eclipse turned to the woman's painting once again before turning to Aseko, "May I ask … who is this woman exactly? And why are there so many paintings of her?"

"Hmm?" Aseko light up a cigarette and took a puff as he looked at the woman on the wall. "Ah. Her. Agatha. She was his … muse."

"Muse?" Eclipse asked, looking at the painting once again. "She is very pretty."

There is something familiar about this woman but I cannot quite place where I saw her before. I wonder … who is she to me?

"Pretty?" A voice suddenly came from behind him as Eclipse smiled up at Aseko, who was busy looking at the portrait and then at the man. "I don't know. I would say you are prettier."

"Could you be … flirting with me?" Eclipse asked, walking away from the man to the table. "Now, why don't you tell me why we are here? You did not just bring me out of that cell that was keeping me in to put me in an important room, did you? Let me guess, this place is another cell?"

Taking a puff of his smoke, Aseko shook his head and walked back to his seat, putting his legs on top of the table. "You are too smart for your own kid. How did you know this room was a cell?"

"That's simple." Eclipse said, tapping on the table in front of him as he pulled up a seat for himself as well, lazily draping himself on the chair.

The way here was far too secluded and empty for such a big house, we should have bumped into at least someone. Not to mention, the smell of the place. We Werewolves have a keen nose. This place should have smelt like someone was here but it only smelt like the Vampire.

For Aseko to be this familiar with the room, that must mean that they are trying to sell that he has been here before but his smell is foreign to this place.

Not to mention. He looked at the paintings on the walls, smiling at the intensity of the Vampire's scent coming from it. For something so important and valued to be placed out in the open like this … they wanted to sell it as much as they possibly could.

Turning back to Aseko, who seemed to be waiting for his explanation, Eclipse simply smiled at him. "You're not getting anything out of me."

"Can't you divulge just one?" Aseko asked, giving him a crooked grin that is sure to make all the women give him whatever he wants.

But tricks like that do not work on me. Eclipse thought, smile faltering slightly. I wonder why. What was I put through that my body and mind is this alert subconsciously?

It is almost like my body is going in autopilot mode, without my knowledge. Ha~. You went through some things, me. There, there.

"I take it my charm is not working on you?" The sharply dressed man asked, crossing his arms over his chest with a grin, a more genuine one this time.

"You will need to try a lot harder if you want to charm me, Aseko." Eclipse said, picking up a book from the side of the table as he began leafing through the pages, legs resting on the table as he leaned back against the cushioned seat. "And if you want to improve your tricks, you all should find out on your own what you did wrong and what you did right."

Sighing, Aseko shook his head, breathing out a cloud of smoke, "You are a tough nut to crack, cookie. And don't call me by that name."

"I wonder why." Eclipse said, still lively but a little more serious as he closed the book he was holding. "Why is that?"

"You'll know when your memories come back," Aseko said nonchalantly before his eyes fell on the book in Eclipse's hands, a slight frown coming on his face. "Do you even know what is written in that book?"

"Hmm? This?" Eclipse asked, holding the book up and flipping through it once again. "Of course I do. It is written in a different language but I can read it."

"You can read it?" Aseko sat up just as the doors opened and that Vampire guy entered once again. "Hler. That book of yours. What language is it in again?"

"I don't remember." The man said, placing a tray of tea and biscuits on the table. "It is so very old and I have been trying to decipher it for years. It truly is hard."

"Eclipse can read it."

"Eclipse? Wait." He turned to the man placing the book back down before grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him. "You can read that book??"

Pushing the man of him, Eclipse nodded, "Why? You can't read it?"

"No! Tell me! What does it say??" The man asked, looking at Eclipse with sparkling eyes. "Tell me!"

Wow. Is he invested in knowledge or something?

"Well, I only read the first paragraph I turned to. But, if I recall correctly, it said, 'When the wall was constructed, cheers of joy resounded throughout the entire kingdom as blessings began to pour from the skies and the ground began to bear the best of fruits. Such harvest has not been seen before and the people were convinced, more than ever, that this person was sent to them from the heavens. They will never see suffering ever again.'

"And the first line in the next paragraph was, 'After that, destruction rained down on the people until nothing was left.' That is all I read. What is the book about? I am very interested, Hler."

"You are not the only one." The Vampire said, burying his face in his hands, laughing to himself as Eclipse gave Aseko a look that he returned, the two staring at him blankly.

"Never mind him," Aseko said, walking to Eclipse, smoke still in his hands. "But for you to even memorize that much … you must have been someone amazing, Eclipse."

"I don't know, Aseko." Eclipse said, looking at his hands. There are so many things I am unsure of but the one that I am sure of is that I was not a person that lived an easy life.

Until now, I can feel and hear every movement made. I can even make out what Hler is mumbling to himself under his breath. Just what did I have to go through to get this far?

"By the way, Eclipse," Aseko said, throwing his arms around the boy's shoulder. "We need to do something about that name you keep calling me."

"What's wrong with this name? I like it." Eclipse said, slightly teasing the man as he noticed just how uncomfortable he was feeling. "Ok. Ok. How about I call you boss from now on?"

"No." He said so quickly Eclipse immediately wanted to call him 'boss' that moment itself, but he held back.

"Then … how about … Ash?" Eclipse asked, not understanding why that name came about but he just decided to let it be, for now.

"Why?"

"Why not? Ok. Now you are Ash." Eclipse said, walking away with an air of finality as he made his way to Hler, who already recovered and gave the man maps to memorize in case it 'jogged his memory' but Eclipse could tell he was just trying to keep him occupied for the time being as he goes to discuss things with Ash.

So, he took a cigarette from Ash and began smoking as he looked through the papers with interest and that is how we ended up here.