While I continue to think of the dream I had, someone came up behind me and ruffled my hair. While I was still surprised, I remained as calm as I've been since I woke up. I tilted my head upward and behind me to face the person behind me, expecting it to be Dhurke. But, it was someone else. Someone I didn't recognize. The person was wearing green clothing and a purple scarf, along with some green goggles. Of course, it wasn't helping that I was looking at him upside down.

"Oh, ya finally woke up?" He said.

"Yeah, who's asking?" I inquired. Considering he didn't seem like he was in a rush to escape or help me in any way, I assumed he was acquaintances with Dhurke.

"Oh, me?" When I asked him that question, he put on his goggles, jumped up and struck a weird pose. "I'm Datz Are'bal!"

'Um, okay?' I thought, incredibly confused. "So, Datz, how long was asleep for?"

"Come now, haven't ever ya learned ya gotta say your name before asking somebody a question?" He asked, still in his odd pose. Not only that, but my neck was started to hurt from my tilting.

"Fine. My name's Rei'vol Lu'tion. Now, how long was I out for?" I asked. "Oh, and can you come in front of me? My neck's starting to hurt."

"Oh, no problem!" He put away his goggles and came to face me. I finally set my head forward and cracked a couple of kinks in there. Datz then pointed at me and started to laugh. Loudly.

"Har har har har har! You've been muttering in your sleep for the past two hours! Har har har har!" He practically howled, tears flying out of his eyes from laughter. I slightly blushed in embarrassment.

"Well, I can't do much for what I do asleep." I quickly answered. "Anyways, I have another important question." Datz slowed his laugh to a occasional chuckle.

"What other question do ya have?"

"Where is Dhurke?" I asked. When I said that, Datz quit his chuckle altogether and seemed to become serious. Or at least his definition of serious.

"Why are you askin' about Dhurke?" He inquired, clenching his fist. He seemed a bit angry.

"Just wanted to ask him some questions, that's all." I assured, pretty sure Datz thought I would want to fight Dhurke. However, if he answers the way I hope he doesn't, I probably will want to.

"All you've been doing is asking questions. Can't imagine ya have much fun." He quipped. I rolled my eyes.

"I can have fun, just not now. Can you please just get Dhurke?" I asked.

"I'll try, but he might be busy playing the kids." He answered, before going into the room where the children were before I fell asleep.

'I almost forgot about those children.' I thought to myself. 'Actually, didn't Queen Amara only have one child? Why does Dhurke have another one? ...Was he cheating on Amara?' Easy to assume, but that thought didn't help my opinion on Dhurke.

A few moments later, Datz came out, along with aforementioned Dhurke. In his hands were the two children that were crying before. The first had white hair and wore a white vest. The second had brown hair (with a part of it sticking up like antennae) and a red vest. Simple enough. Dhurke sat down with them on one of the couches, as did Datz.

"Well, it's nice to see you've calmed down." Dhurke said.

"Look, Dhurke. I've decided to give you a very large benefit of the doubt. You told me you would tell me the truth of what happened a year ago. I'd like to know what happened." I explained.

"Sure! I'm not one to break a promise I've made!" He exclaimed, almost proudly. "But, I don't think you're that comfortable bound by ropes. Datz, can you cut them?" To be honest, I nearly forgot I was tied to this chair. I guess I adapted to it. Datz stood up and pulled out a kukri, an odd type of knife, and expertly cut off the ropes with one slice. They all fell to the floor, and I was finally able to stretch. It felt great to actually move my limbs. While at this moment I was technically able to escape or attack Dhurke, considering Datz has a knife, it doesn't seem like a great idea.

"Thank you." I told to him, bowing my head in respect.

"No problem. Though I do have a small question before I answer yours." Dhurke said.

"What is it?"

"Why exactly did you give me this 'benefit of the doubt'?" Dhurke inquired. I thought back to the dream I had. And Queen Amara.

"Just... a dream I had." I shortly answered. I mean, I wasn't lying.

"Hah-ha ha ha ha! Well, I've heard weirder stories! Anyways," Dhurke's demeanor became serious. "back to the matter at hand; what happened a year ago." He pulled out a briefcase from the side of the couch and opened. Inside of it was what seemed to be a few dozen notes.

"This is the list of evidence that was used in my trial against your new Queen." Dhurke explained, laying them out so that they weren't piled together in a stack.

"The new Queen?" I asked to myself, before quickly remembering who she was. "Oh, you mean Ga'ran?"

Yes, it was true. After the trial, Ga'ran ended up becoming the brand new Queen of Khura'in. It made sense, she was Queen Amara's sister. Even after Queen Amara died, I remained as servant of the Queen. Ga'ran was no where near as kind as Queen Amara, but I simply assumed it was the stress of becoming the Queen in such short notice. She did seem to be creating a brand new law, probably to make sure an incident like what happened to Amara doesn't happen ever again.

"Alright, I'll start with the thing you are most likely interested in." He said. "Whether or not I am innocent."

It was a long session. So long the children fell asleep. Dhurke thoroughly explained everything about the assassination. From his own alibi, to the time of death, everything. I initially wasn't that impressed considering the fact that what he was saying was what he said at the trial. But, as it went on, he started to explain things he didn't at the trial, saying that he didn't completely understand the meaning of the evidence at the time. And while I wasn't close to a defense attorney or a prosecutor, I couldn't find anything wrong with Dhurke's theory, even when I myself checked the notes. Even when I used my trump card of sorts; the fact that Dhurke could have forged the evidence, he managed to prove that he didn't, with things like his own alibi, the fingerprints, etc.

By the end of the explanation, I was trembling. The truth I had been believing for the past year... was a lie. Dhurke didn't actually kill Queen Amara. He wasn't heartless at all. And up to this point, I was hating this man for absolutely no reason. A part of me, perhaps the rational part of me, felt no wrong. After all, I was only believing the truth that I thought was true. But the other part of me felt horrible. Especially with how I reacted just before this.

I immediately stood up from the chair I was sitting on and bowed.

"I... I must apologize for my previous actions. May the Holy Mother bless you." I recited, remaining in my bow.

"Eh, no need to be so formal. I'm just a normal guy." He assured, scratching the back of his ear. I stopped bowing.

"Thank you for informing me. However, I still have a couple of questions." I said. Even I could tell I was becoming repetitive.

"You're nothing but questions, aren't ya?" Datz said, At the moment, he was chopping up some of the food he had gotten before.

"Well, I'm not exactly informed right now, am I?" I told him, before focusing back on Dhurke.

"Anyways, Dhurke. I'm not a defense attorney or a prosecutor or anything of the sort. I'm not the best at logic or finding contradictions. You are, or at least you were, so I would like to ask you this." I grasped my wrist. "Do you know who killed Queen Amara?" The fact that Dhurke looked away when I asked him that question gave me the answer I didn't want to hear.

"No. And I don't plan on knowing." Dhurke stated. Now I was confused.

"What do you mean you don't plan on knowing?" I asked.

"Well, it's simple really. It's possible that Amara isn't dead." Dhurke stated, before smiling. I froze up. Did he really say what I thought he said?

"POHLKUNKA!" I yelled, leaning in forward in extreme interest. However, my yell woke up the two children, whom I learned were called Apollo and Nahyuta sitting next to Dhurke. Luckily, though, they didn't start crying.

"Well, it's only a theory, but I have a good feeling about it. Remember when I ran into the building to save..." He picked up the child in the red vest, who started to laugh. "… this little fella?"

"Yeah," I said, closing my eyes in thought. "you told me about that when you explained what happened in the assassination."

"Right, anyways," He put down the child, who then started to play with the child in the white vest. "when I ran in there, I saw the body of his father, Jangly Justice. Sadly, at that point, it was burning." He explained.

"Okay, so you found his body..." I managed to connect the dots. "Wait, don't tell me that you..."

"Yep! I didn't find Amara's body anywhere in there!" He finished, grinning and putting his hands to his side.

"Isn't it possible she just wasn't with Jangly Justice?" I suggested. Though it felt kind of bad that I was pushing for the fact Queen Amara was in fact dead and not the opposite.

"That is indeed a possibility. However, in a fire, it would far more sense for them to get together. Even then, though, I knew the possibility existed that I simply hadn't found her and they weren't able to find each other. But at the trial..."

"There wasn't an autopsy report for Queen Amara!" I exclaimed. She, for some reason didn't have an autopsy. The prosecution initially stated it was because the body was burnt beyond recognition, but now that I think about it, the traveling musician did have one! So... that means...

"Heh... heh heh... She might not be dead..." I whispered under my breath. I felt my eyes water up a bit, but I wiped them away.

"It seems you know Amara quite a bit if you're tearing up at this." Dhurke remarked.

"To be honest, you seem a bit too calm about this considering Amara is your wife." I told to him. Dhurke's eyes dimmed.

"Don't be ridiculous. My first few days without her has been some of the worst in my life." He told me. Yeah, that was a low blow. However, he did recover quite quickly.

"Anyways, are you connected to Amara in some way?" Dhurke inquired. I decided to lie to save myself the embarrassment.

"No, I'm just passionate about her and what she did for Khara'in." I lied. All of a sudden, Apollo stared at me. I thought nothing of it, until he spoke.

"Lie." He said, pointing at me. "Lie." Dhurke picked both him and the child and Nahyuta up in his arms and laughed.

"Hah-ha ha ha ha! Thank you, son!" He told them both, before the children started to laugh in happiness.

"Um, what just happened?" I asked. I think I may have an idea, but it seemed to absurd to even be true.

"Ha ha! You see, Apollo here is sorta a human lie detector!" Dhurke stated. Yep, it is true. "Now, can you tell the truth now? No need to be embarrassed!" Too late. I was already blushing.

"Um, I'm Queen Amara's servant." I explained, suppressing my blush. The so-called Apollo didn't point at me this time, either. It was either luck or actually true. I was desperately hoping for the former.

"Ah, I see! I did think I had recognized you from somewhere." Dhurke said.

"I doubt it, I've never seen you in the temple." I told him.

"I've managed to sneak a few peeks." Dhurke said. Okay, that's sort of weird. But, I'd say that conversation was over with.

"Okay, Dhurke, last question." I promised. I was starting to sound like a broken record.

"Yes, go on. Might as well answer them all." Dhurke shrugged.

"Why is everything in this room packed in boxes?" I asked. While I had barely noticed, most of the items were indeed packed away.

"Oh, that? Well, me and the children will be moving to the mountains for a short bit. Datz has decided to join with me." He said.

"Why don't you just tell them what you told me so that they can take you off the wanted list?" I inquired.

"Sadly, I don't think it is that simple. There is a reason I have yet to go after Amara." Dhurke told me, his tone of voice getting more serious.

"And why would that be?"

"Because she may have been kidnapped. It's the only reason I can think of for why she hasn't returned." Dhurke deduced.

"I see..." I said, surprisingly calm. I suppose it was once again just a possibility. "And if that is true, she would serve as easy blackmail." Suddenly, Datz yelled.

"Guys, the grub's ready!" He exclaimed, setting the food down on the table. It was comprised of mainly meat and fruit. The children cheered at the sight of it and tried to move towards it. However, Dhurke held them back.

"Settle down, boys. I'll give you the food." He told them. "And Rei'vol!"

"Um, what?" I replied. He learned of my name during our conversation about the assassination.

"Join in! We don't want to have a starving man, now do we?" He said rhetorically, grabbing a larger part of the meat and cutting into pieces so that the children could eat them. I took an apple from the plate of fruits.

"I must once again thank you for your information and your hospitality." I thanked him, taking a small bite from the red fruit. Datz laughed.

"It's nothing! We're the one who knocked ya out!" He replied while gorging himself. I had no idea how the food wasn't done yet or how he wasn't full.

"However, I would like to request something." I asked, closing my eyes.

"What it is?" Dhurke replied while taking a piece of meat and eating it. I opened my eyes in self certainty.

"I'd like to accompany you on your visit to the mountains."