"Hey... John... Tell me you're... Joking...?" Serena asked nervously
"Serena...? What are you talking about?" John asked as he stared straight at her.
John wasn't a good liar, nor was he a bad one. Serena knew this from the year which he had passed with him. She looked straight at his pale green eyes and as she did so, a drop of sweat slid down her face.
John's expression didn't suggest that he was lying, in fact, it made it seem as if he truly had no clue about what they were talking about. Seeing this, serena felt her heart drop.
[Did he force himself to forget...? Did he create another spell and it backfired...? Was he hit in the head too hard?] Serena asked herself
Those were the questions which popped up in her mind, but there was one more that she refused to admit, refused to imagine even.
When they had arrived there, John laid there unconscious, by himself, covered in bruises. No body could be seen, either he obliterated the person who he was fighting or... They had done this to him. Such was Serena's theory.
She felt her heart drop at the thought of someone having beaten John and even made him forget his memory.
"John, What was the last thing that you remembered?" Ariel asked as she joined in.
She too seemed worried and also looked like she had a theory in mind of what had happened.
Without replying, John slowly looked down at the carriage floor, before placing his palm on his face.
"Remembered...? What was the last thing again...?"
The two watched nervously as John quickly raised his head with the face of realisation being displayed
He then quickly turned to the two before saying
"That's right... Master told us to start getting ready to leave the city... I still need to get Lydia and the kids and-"
John was interrupted by Serena who placed her hand on his shoulder.
"John, you called?" Lydia asked from the front of the carriage
Hearing this, John quickly turned to the area where the sound came from. There stood Lydia Her attention fully focused on the road ahead of them.
Master Sylvia leaned on the carriage walls as she sat beside Lydia. She didn't look interested or seem to be paying attention to the conversation at all.
John's eyes widened as he saw Lydia and Master Sylvia.
"W...Wh...at...?" John asked, his voice slightly breaking as he did so.
He then quickly turned to Serena and Ariel in confusion. He noticed the nervous and worried looks on their faces before slowly getting up.
As he did so, he noticed the two kids, laying down on the middle of the carriage. It was Lydia's brother and sister-in-law.
There was no way, John couldn't believe it. He hadn't even left to get them and yet there they were. Moreover, they were already on a carriage which was most likely heading towards their next destination.
"No way... Deprehendre." John muttered once he was fully standing up
Despite the bumps on the carriage, John didn't move an inch and just stood there with an annoyed yet angered expression.
Serena and Ariel didn't know what to do, they just stared and watched as the young man tried to recompose himself.
"There's no doubt about it... We're a moderate distance away from the city. Hey... How long was I out for?" John asked
A transparent blue clock which was visible for both of the two was formed in front of him just as he asked that, Showing that time.
"Out for...? We don't know... It's been half an hour since we found you." Said Serena
Hearing this, John turned to Serena before asking
"No, not that, I mean... How long was I out for since you brought me and everyone into the carriage... There's no way we would have gotten everyone on this carriage and have gotten this far away from the city in just 30 minutes... 30 minutes ago I was..."
"John... What are you talking about...? It's been 6 hours since we left, And it's been 2 hours since you brought Lydia with the two kids over... It wasn't us... But you." Said Ariel
John's felt his heart sink as he heard those words. It wasn't possible, it just wasn't possible. Not only did the time add up, he could feel that. He then looked at the clock before clenching his hands into a fist
"4... Around 4 in the evening..." John muttered
"When did you-"
Before Serena could finish, John suddenly ran and jumped straight out of the carriage. The two tried to stop him, but he managed to get through.
"John! Wait!" Ariel called out to him
"Come back you idiot!!" Shouted Serena
Without looking back, John quickly propelled himself straight into the air. Leaving the carriage behind.
"There's no way... How could I forget...?" John muttered as he flew straight up.
---------------------------
"Mrs Sylvia! Why didn't you stop him!?" Serena asked as she turned to Master Sylvia.
Lydia also stopped the carriage due to all the activity before turning looking at the two. Serena looked rather angry while Mrs Sylvia looked completely undisturbed.
"C-Calm down Serena..." Said Lydia in an attempt to lighten the mood
"No, she's right." Ariel joined in
She then looked straight at Master Sylvia who hadn't said a word and continued to look at the road.
"Why didn't you stop him? It was obvious that something had happened, he was confused. Leaving him in a condition like that..."
"He'll be back when he's feeling better."
"You always do that, always saying that everything will be fine, but how can you know for sure?!" Serena asked
"Because, that kid is much stronger than you two think. Both physically and mentally. Throughout the time we've trained together, he never gave up no matter what I threw at him. You two can continue to spoil him just as he spoils you. But you won't get stronger that way." Said Master Sylvia