A pair of hazy eyes blinked slowly. Later, it was opened wide and examined his surroundings. Looking at the strange place, he immediately sat up but was forced to lie down again after a severe pain struck his head.
"Why is my head painful? I was hit on my upper body, did I get this from falling down the cliff?"
He touched his chest and found that it was smooth, not even a scar was left!
"What...happened!"
Vince's eyes widened.
"Am I dreaming?" He thought, but the pain in his head is real, so he isn't.
Vince looked at his surroundings carefully. He was lying inside a small hut made of woven palm leaves from the wall to the roof. Even his mat is made of palm leaves. His lower body was covered with a thin cotton sheet.
"Where's Caballero?" He tried getting up again.
"Ahhh..."
It was too painful to move his head. While rubbing his forehead, the door of the hut opened.
"You're awake!" A soft, familiar voice said.
His head was aching, but a smile appeared on Vince's face.
"Finally, Caballero came." He turned to look at Jester but a few seconds had passed yet he was still staring at the person standing at the door.
"What happened to you?"
"Why? What's wrong with me?" A soft voice answered.
"You look...weird, what's with that dress and hairstyle?"
"What's wrong with my dress and hairstyle, isn't yours the same?"
Vince took the cotton sheet, then his jaw dropped. He was dressed in a plain white sleeveless coat and short pants, with long hair that reached his shoulder which he didn't notice earlier due to his head bandage.
Vince looked up. His eyes narrowed.
"Caballero, what happened to us?" Why would their hair grow this long? And what's with this strange outfit?
"Who is... Caballero?"
"You, of course! What kind of prank is this?!" He looked at Jester closely, but the latter's face was red. His eyes were damp and red too. He knew Jester well, and his expression tells that he isn't playing around. He also knew that his gentle subordinate wouldn't fool him.
"So, what happened?!"
"...Do you hit your head so bad that you forget everything, you forget...me?" The soft voice was broken.
Vince stared at him for a while then examined himself closely, but there weren't any changes to his physical body except for his long hair and strange outfit. He turned to Jester, but he's still the gentle subordinate he knew, except for his strange hair and outfit.
"What happened?!" Vince smacked his forehead.
Jester's innocent eyes and face turned even redder. He turned around and ran outside.
Vince was left baffled.
"Something's... off!" He tried getting up, enduring the pain to follow the strange Jester. He needed to clear many things that confused him.
Outside, he saw the hut was newly built. Hidden in a bushy hilltop, it overlooks a lush valley and a forested river. Vince walked forward and started searching for the odd Jester. He found him a few meters away, sitting under the shade of a small tree, looking at the distance.
"Ehem..."
To notify his presence, Vince coughed, but it wasn't necessary at all. Jester seemed to know he was approaching since he didn't move.
"It seems that my head injury is worse and I forgot everything. Will you help me recover my memories?"
There was a long silence. The odd Jester slowly turned to Vince. His eyes were red and slightly swollen.
"How can I help you?"
Vince was worried. This odd Jester was worse than his subordinate. He's too emotional. Though his subordinate blushed easily, he never saw him cry before.
"Tell me everything, you and me. Who are you and who I am. What is this place?"
After staring at him for a good while, the odd Jester started telling.
"...I am Aiji... the youngest prince of Dahatan tribe, and you are Dari, my... personal soldier. We ran away from our tribe. The soldiers were chasing us, we managed to escape, but you were badly injured."
Vince was stunned. How could he end up being another man and Caballero as a prince?! But he handled his emotions to get more information and figure out a complete picture of the strange situation.
"Why did we run away?"
The prince blushed and turned his face away. "We... committed an unforgivable sin."
"What sin could it be?"
The prince just looked at the distance.
"Did we kill someone?" Vince asked.
The prince stared at him then nodded later.
"But you are a prince, even if you kill someone, it's not enough reason to run away. For sure, we have our reasons, it's better to defend ourselves, they might forgive you in the end."
"They can forgive me, but they can't forgive you."
Vince was silenced by these words. Later, he looked at Prince Aiji and smiled. "You are very considerate of me. I assume that we are very close friends."
The prince blushed, turned his face away, and was silent again.
Vince found it hard to communicate with this odd Jester who turned into a prince. If he was his subordinate, he could at least force him to respond.
"Mmm..." What's the date today, what day, month, and year?" He asked to break the deafening silence.
The prince slowly took a piece of a golden sheet from a large pocket inside his coat. "Today is the 20th day of the third month of my father's 45th year of ruling."
Vince's jaw dropped again. "What kind of date is that!"
Prince Aiji's innocent eyes stared at him. "What's wrong with this date? Do you mean my date list is wrong? We've been using this ever since."
"No, I mean what has been the year today since the beginning..."
"As I said, today is the 45th year of my father's rule. The 100th year of my grandfather's rule and the 160th year of my great grandfather's rule. If you ask from the very beginning, it's the 750th year since our tribe was founded by my ancestors. So I guess it's the year 750. The prince patiently explained.
Vince was stupefied, but he didn't want to offend Caballero who was turned into a prince. "And what is this place called, I mean this entire place?"
"... I have never been to the entire place, but our tribe traders said we are surrounded by seas and there are many other islands out there. My dream is to reach the sea and travel to as many islands as possible, but as a prince, I am not allowed to travel outside the tribe's territory. Our main duty is to protect the tribe. Many dangers await us outside, every tribe wants to conquer each other so no one is at ease."
"Yes. Adventure is good. It will broaden your horizon." Vince massaged his forehead. This pile of shocking information exhausted him.
"Prince Aiji, what will we do now? Do you want to settle here or do you want to go somewhere?"
"We can't go back to the tribe and can't stay here longer. Even though we are now outside the tribe's territory, we aren't safe here yet. Now that we are running away, I want to reach the sea, and travel to many islands with... you..." The soft voice turned timid.
"Okay. When will we start our journey?"
"We need to heal your wound first, we have to cross that valley below which wild horses are dwelling. You have to get stronger first."
"What's wrong with these horses?"
"They are wild, they will eat people that trespass their territory."
"What! Ahhh..." Vince's head hurt again. It was too much for him to handle.
"Did your wound hurt? Let's go back inside." The prince supported him and brought him back to the hut.
"Lie down, I will prepare dinner so that you can take your medicine later."
"Prince Aiji, thank you." Vince said. He didn't thank Caballero before falling from the cliff. He was mad that Jester didn't escape with his comrades, but was also glad that someone was willing to die with him.
The prince smiled and left.
Vince closed his eyes and tried processing all the shocking information. "Did I and Caballero travel back in time while we were falling off the cliff? But why did he doesn't remember anything? Are they two different beings? And what about Dari and me?
Vince was puzzled by this unbelievable phenomenon. This body has physical features like his, so there's no doubt that he looks the same. But Caballero's consciousness is different. "Does it mean that only my soul has traveled to this era? Am I dead in the modern time?"
These thoughts saddened him. If he's dead, and Jester is still alive, but badly injured from the fall. "I hope he's fine, otherwise I will feel guilty forever."
Almost two hours passed, and the sweaty prince came back with a basket of food.
"Dari, let's eat. I cooked your favorite purple yam and roasted wild chicken."
The night was breaking, Prince Aiji lit a pile of firewood.
"Okay..." Vince got up and saw the prince's meek, sweaty face. Some strange feelings urged him to wipe those sweats.
"You worked hard. Did you catch this chicken?"
"Yes, when you were unconscious I caught a few wild chickens and gathered yams."
"It smells tasty!"
The prince smiled. He picked a chicken leg and handed it to Vince.
"You have to eat more to restore your strength." He peeled a piece of yam and handed it again to Vince.
"Prince Aiji, thank you. I will just peel it myself, you should eat it too."
The prince nodded but peeled all the yams first before he started eating.
After dinner, Vince drank the herbal medicine that the prince prepared. A few minutes later, he felt sleepy and lied down. His senses numbed. He heard the insects' buzz slowly fading. His strength weakened too.
Vince felt so weak that he couldn't even move his fingers. Later, he felt something soft and moist touching his lips for a few seconds!
"Did someone... kiss me... just now!"
Vince was shocked, he wanted to open his eyes, but he couldn't. His eyelids were too heavy, and he had no strength to get up either. Later, he felt someone's tight embrace. Without any strength, he can do nothing but barely feel it with his numb senses.
But the strange thing is, he seems to like this feeling!
"It's too comforting..."
Vince thought as he lost his consciousness.