Chapter 33. Old lost memories
A WEEK LATER
EMPEROR LIANWEI POINT OF VIEW:
The quiet of the study was heavy, too heavy. Mei Shen sat by the window, her eyes distant, fingers nervously twisting the edge of a worn book. It was like watching a flickering flame struggling in the wind fragile, almost ready to go out. I wanted to reach out, but I wasn’t sure how. The palace was a world away from the earth she once knew, and yet, this loneliness clung to her like a shadow from that other life.
"Do you want to talk?" I finally asked, my voice softer than I expected.
She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she glanced up, a flicker of pain crossing her face.
"It’s... hard to explain." She whispered. "Back on Earth, I never really had a mother. Or a family that made me feel like I belonged. It’s like I was just... left behind."
The words hit me harder than I thought. She wanted something I couldn’t give by title or palace walls, a family, real love, a place where she belonged. Before I could say anything, a familiar voice echoed lightly in my mind, Zeyrith, the god, always ready to tease.
"Missing your mother, little star? That ache runs deeper than any crown."Zeyrith grinned.
I sighed and pushed the god’s teasing away for now. Later, when she slipped away to be alone, I caught my mother and grandmother in the corner, their conversation soft but urgent.
"Mother." I began carefully." "Do you know anything about a woman named Rosalie?"
My mother’s fingers paused over her teacup. My grandmother’s eyes sharpened, recognizing the name immediately.
"Rosalie..." My grandmother breathed. "She was a traveler, much like Mei Shen. A rare soul who wandered between worlds. They say she was here, in this realm, long ago. It was like you once told us the dream of you from another world. It was way more realistic."