--Alexandria POV--

"Wake up... wake up... my lady..."

Someone was patting my cheeks. Whoever it was, they had rough hands and unless I opened my eyes, it didn't seem like they were going to stop patting my cheeks. It hurts to open my eyes. My whole body is in pain and there's an uncomfortable itching sensation in my throat that's not going away.

My lungs feel heavy, my blood feels hot but I'm still shivering.

With a loud gasp, I felt my eyes snap open and my body racked as I coughed. I felt hands patting my back as I coughed and only when my vision became clearer did I notice all the water that came gushing out of my mouth.

I groaned in pain, putting a hand to my head as I turned my head to look at the sky.

Bright blue. What a beautiful colour... but the light hurts my eyes.

I heard someone sigh in relief and when I turned my gaze away from the sky I was met with the sight of a familiar yet unfamiliar man.

His hair was an ash brown, reminding me of the wet sand which we were both sitting on and the bright blue hues which were his eyes left both the sky and sea in shame. He was smiling at me, almost as bright as the sun. But why?

"Thank goodness you're alright. You had me worried-"

"Who are you?" I asked, cutting him off.

He gasped. Putting a hand to his mouth as he stared at me with large, trembling eyes as if I had just murdered someone in cold blood.

"You-You don't remember?" He questioned, shocked.

I only shook my head in reply.

"Do I know you?" I asked curiously, tilting my head to the side.

"My lady..." There it was again. Those blue eyes of his holding emotions for a stranger like me but this time it wasn't relief that I saw in there depths. They were foggy with tears which held worry? But the question is, why is he worried?

"Your lady? Am I yours?" I asked yet another curious question.

"Oh, my dear lord..." In the short amount of time that I've known him, I learnt that he wasn't very good at answering questions. We sat in silence for a while as he debated something in his head and when his eyes eventually lit up with his answer, I decided to try asking him again.

"So... do you know who I am?"

This time, he smiled at me.

"Your name is Alexandria but everyone calls you Alexia... everyone other than me,"

"Alexia? Is that me?" He nodded.

"Then, who is everyone that you speak of? You said everyone calls me Alexia but I only see you, mister," I politely asked. He didn't answer.

"My name is Johnathon Marlowe. I work for you and I was on the ship with you when it sunk. Unfortunately, it seems that you and I are the only ones that survived..." He drifted off sadly.

"I don't remember any of that,"

"It also seems that you've lost your memories after you hit that bolder, I am sorry for not being able to do much, my lady. For the time being though, we should learn to survive on this small island while we wait for help to come,"

I nodded in agreement and gifted him with a thankful smile.

"Thank you, Johnathon Marlowe," I said.

He chuckled as I sent him a confused look.

"Call me John. That was the nickname given to me by you and I have learnt to cherish it very much," John? I called him John? I don't remember.

I watched as John pushed himself off the sand and walked towards the shore and I didn't say anything, I kept silent and simply stared at the surface of the ocean reflecting the brightness of the shining sun.

From my appearance to my age, from my favourite food to my favourite colour, I don't remember anything. I don't remember John or my parents. Did I even have parents? Or siblings? Or anyone? If I did, I wonder if they were worried for me right now. I wonder if they cared.

I'm an empty soul trapped inside an unfamiliar body with no recollection of anything or anyone, stranded on a deserted island with a man called John.

"Will I... ever get my memories back? Or will I always remain a stranger to myself?" I mumbled out, looking down at my hands which were clenching onto the wet fabric of my dress.

As if hearing my quiet thoughts, John paused in what he was doing and walked towards me, crouching down in front of me. Hesitantly, I looked up to meet his awaiting gaze and when I did, his lips tilted up in a warm smile and that simple smile was able to calm me down, even if it was just a little bit.

"You may feel like a stranger to yourself right now but that doesn't mean it's the end of everything. You can rediscover yourself, your favourite food, your favourite colour, you can find out everything about yourself again. I know,"

"How do you know?"

"Because you're Alexandria, my precious friend,"

Raising his hand, he placed it on my cheek and I felt the warmth of his hand seep through my skin, only now realising that I was shivering from the cold water.

"I don't know who Alexandria is," I replied.

"We'll find out. You have the rest of your life," He chuckled and stood up, outstretching his hand out for me. I stared at his hand for a while before slowly grabbing it with my own hand and as he heaved me up onto a standing position, he

pointed at something behind him.

"This box washed ashore from the shipwreck. It contains some of your clothes. We'll hang them up to dry for now so you can wear them later but for now... let's stay in the sun to keep you warm. You're shivering like a leaf,"

I didn't say anything as he took my other hand in his and rubbed our hands together, bringing my hands up to his mouth and breathing warm air onto them as if it would help in warming me up, it did.

"Do you know what you're doing?" I curiously asked.

He stared at me, surprised but then coughed out a small laugh and nodded.

"Yes, I've undergone training for these sorts of situations. I'm an expert, don't worry," I wasn't really worrying but I didn't say anything to prove him wrong. He seemed like he knew what he was doing while I, on the other hand, am completely clueless.

"I'll trust you, John,"

And for the first time, as the new Alexandria, I smiled a smile worth remembering for John.

My literal lifesaver, someone I would have died without.

***---***---***

We thought it would be days until help came but it never did.

Help never came.

And neither did my memories.

I was just a young girl, no older than 10 years but thankfully I had John with me because, without him, I surely would have perished. John himself was only 20 years of age but he was still quite experienced with the wildlife on this island.

Days turned to months and months turned to years and eventually, we had both lost hope.

John didn't know exactly where we were located so he didn't know in which direction to go when he built a raft and he didn't want to endanger either of us so we decided to stay on the island but to be honest, I didn't mind.

I got on well on the island. John was the only human I knew but I got along well with the animals. It was quite difficult to start a friendship with them but once we did, it was all good, even the crocodiles. John was good with knitting as well so as I grew up, he picked the cotton plants before making us some clothes. The clothes that had washed ashore were altered and cut up to make some shirts and pants for him, and one-piece dresses for me.

There were plenty of different fruits and vegetables that grew on this island so we didn't go hungry. Mangoes were by far my favourite though.

John taught me many things about the world outside. All the Kingdoms filled with so many different things and all the different foods and so on. He taught me some self-defence, how to knit, read and write.

I liked studying with him. He made our lessons fun and understandable. Maths, science and English weren't all. We moved onto Sociology, Psychology and Law too.

It was difficult since we didn't have any books as a reference but I used the sand to write stuff on or the bark of a tree where I used a rock to carve stuff out.

Now, years later... we're content with staying here.

We're happy.

"John. Do you have any family? Other than me?" I curiously asked him one night as we rested on the roof of the treehouse that we lived in and I had helped him build.

He hummed, arms tucked behind his head as he gazed at the stars. "Not really. I used to have a lover but she left me when I didn't give her enough attention, my parents passed away when I was young so I was an orphan and I didn't have any friends either. Studying was my escape, I was always studying, craving to learn more..."

"What's a lover?" I asked.

He turned to stare at me and smiled, moving his hand to rest on my cheek. I smiled back.

"That's a complicated question... A lover can be someone you cherish and care for with all your heart. You go to them with your problems and in return, they come to you with theirs,"

"So I'm your lover?" I smiled joyfully.

He choked.

Coughing, he hit his chest as I patted his head in worry.

"No. I wouldn't say you're my lover?"

"Then, what am I to you?" I asked.

He was silent for a moment and moved his hands to rest behind his head again as he turned to look at the sky.

"Are you my father?"

He laughed.

"No. I'm only 25 Alexa,"

"Then a friend?"

He was silent for a minute.

"Yes. Me and you... we're best friends," I felt my heart leap in joy when he said that.

Not only am I his friend but I'm his best friend!

"I'm your best friend John," I laughed, leaning back down as I gazed at the twinkling stars with him and he chuckled in reply.

"Yes, I'm your best friend, Alexa,"

"John..." I called tiredly as he picked me up in his arms and began to take us both off the roof.

"What is it, Alexa?"

"Do you believe in magic?" I questioned.

"That came out of nowhere," He mumbled. "I don't know, do you?"

"I don't know," I replied as he lay me down on the pile of leaves.

"There are myths in the world that magic does exist. The countries people live in were created by mages. They had magic that made land fertile and magic that made it rain. There are stories on how humans partnered with mages to live peacefully," He explained, stroking my hair.

"Is it true?" I asked.

"I don't know but it might be. Who knows? If mages were ever real, where are they now? Did they die out? Were they killed? It's up to you to imagine what you want," He smiled, leaning down to kiss my forehead.

"Now, that's enough storytelling, go to sleep Alexa,"

And so, we both fell asleep in the warmth of each other's embrace.

The next morning, we were doing our morning training.

"Come at me more seriously, Alexa! You have to fight me with the intention to injure me," He shouted as I swung another punch at him which he easily dodged.

Spinning around, I got low, swinging my leg out to trip him off his feet but he backflipped away effortlessly before running at me, fist raised for a punch.

I ducked, moving my hand forward where I finally landed a good punch on his abdomen and he stumbled back. Taking that opportunity, I jumped forward, using my knee to dig it into his stomach and he finally fell down.

Smirking, he got back up leaving me no time to cheer and as I got ready to dodge, I gasped when he leaned down, gripped onto either side of my waist and pulled me up.

I was surprised as my hands quickly moved to clutch onto the fabric of his loose shirt as he twirled me around in the air.

I breathlessly gazed down at his eyes which were shining with pride.

Not being able to hold back, I laughed loudly which seemed to cause him to laugh too and as he put me back down on my feet, I pushed forward to hug him.

He stood rigid for a second but I felt him relax as he hugged my small body back, stroking my brown locks as he did so.

"You did well, Alexa. I'm proud of you," I felt my heart leap in joy at his words and only hugged him tighter.

"So what do you say we go have some breakfast. I'm starved," He said, pulling away from the hug as I energetically nodded along to the idea.

Only, before we could go get some food, the sound of a faint voice could be heard shouting not far from the island.

It was quiet, and for a moment I thought it may have just been the wind but when I felt John's hand go slack in mine, I knew that what I heard was right.

"Land Ahoy!"

--Alexandria POV--

"It seems that we've got company," John spoke from the tree branch that we were standing on, hidden in the shadows.

"Company?" I repeated, confused.

We've been here for around 5 years and in all those years, never have we had a visitor. John is the only human I know since I've lost all my memories so the people in that ship have got me curious.

Once the ship hit the sand, men started climbing off and I was left admiring the large structure. It was a white ship with golden designs decorating it and the size was enormous as it cast a shadow over the beach.

"Who are they?" I mumbled out, outstretching my hand to clutch onto John's loose shirt.

"I don't know," He replied. "I'm going to find out. Stay here Alexa, okay?" He bent down on the large branch until he was kneeling at my height, giving me the look that told me there was no room for discussion.

So I obediently nodded in reply.

He smiled, leaning closer to place a kiss on my forehead before picking one of the vines, tugging at it to make sure it was strong enough then swung out into the open.

I held my breath as I noticed the visitors start to notice him and gripped onto the hard bark of the tree, afraid to even blink. If any of these people tried anything then I was going to jump out.

The squawk of an eagle momentarily distracted me and looking up towards the sky, I smiled at the familiar winged animal as it dived towards me.

Pulling my hand out, he landed his talons on my arm where he rested.

I started stroking his brown hair and pulled my arm up as he moved to stand on my shoulder.

"Perfect timing, Ryder," I mumbled out to the bird who squawked in reply.

"We've got visitors today. John's gone to speak to them. I wonder if they're good people..." I told the animal who didn't reply this time and only glared towards the people like I had been doing a moment ago.

I stared at the ship as the front of it opened up, protruding outward until it landed on the sand, revealing some white stairs but at the top of the stairs stood a man who made everyone around him seem small.

I don't know if it was his height itself or the fact that he was covered in shining jewels unlike the rest of the people who were all wearing matching outfits. A red blazer with white buttons lined perfectly, tight white pants and long black boots with white gloves hiding their hands. Some of them wore black hats, others had swords or guns strapped to their waist.

The man at the top of the stairs was wearing a royal blue suit, shiny badges lined his chest and the sunlight danced off the rings that were on his fingers. He had dark hair with grey streaks which reminded me of the night sky that John and I always looked up at but I couldn't see the colour of his eyes.

Unlike John who had stubble on his face, the man was clean-shaven with no hair on his face other than his eyebrows. I've only seen him from a distance but I can practically see the intimidation seeping off of him in large waves.

Whoever this man was, he was powerful.

Unable to look away, I stared with a narrowed gaze as he calmly strolled down the many stairs until his shiny shoes met the golden sand. One of the men ran up to him before whispering something in his ear and the fancy man's eyes darted over to John.

I sucked in another breath of air as he started making his way over to John and at this point, I could feel myself shaking. Ryder squawked at me, probably annoyed that I was shaking so much and making him uncomfortable.

John and the man were talking, the fancy man had two guards standing on either side of him protectively and hands ready on their swords, ready to pull it out if John would try to attempt anything.

"Ryder. I think we should go to John," Said eagle squawked in disagreement as he flapped his wings on my face and I turned to glare at him quickly. I didn't miss the look of shock that appeared on the fancy man's face as John said something. The curiosity was driving me nuts.

"Ugh! Ryder lets go!" As John did before, I pulled one of the vines to check it's strength then pushed myself off the large branch. Ryder flapped his wings off my shoulder when I flew out into the open.

Letting go of the vine, I felt the wind hitting against my cheeks as I did a flip before landing on the softness of the sand, feeling every small particle on my bare feet.

Without so much as a second thought, I made a dash towards John and the three other men in front of him. The three strangers with surprised yet confused faces and John with a disapproving gaze.

"Alexa. I told you not to move," My best friend said.

"I couldn't just leave you alone," I replied stubbornly as he sighed in reply, massaging his temples.

Grabbing my wrist he pulled me behind him where I clutched onto his shirt again, peeking out behind his back to stare at the men.

"Are they bad people?" I asked.

"I don't know," He replied.

"What were you talking about all this time then?" I moved my eyes away from the men and to John who wasn't looking at me but straight ahead.

"I was answering a few of their questions first," He answered anyway.

"What's your name, little girl?" The fancy man asked and I took this chance to look up at him. He had grey eyes, they reminded me of the stars. I've never seen grey eyes before- they were beautiful.

"Call me Alexia. What's your name?" I answered but replied with my own question.

"Alpheus," What a long name.

"How long do you plan on staying here?" John asked, trying to divert the attention away from me, he succeeded.

"On this island? Not sure. We came to explore," Alpheus grinned sheepishly.

"Explore? Looking like that?" I cut in, gesturing to all his sparkling jewels. I didn't know much but I'm sure that explorers didn't dress as fancy as he did.

"Well, explore wouldn't really be the correct word. You see, this is a deserted and unknown island. It's very small and isn't even on any of the maps. I was on my way home after visiting a neighbouring Kingdom and we decided to take a short cut..."

"And that's how you stumbled upon our island?" John said and Alpheus nodded.

"This island is within my Kingdom's premises so, therefore, it's my territory and I didn't know that until now. It hasn't even got a name... yet," I concentrated on every single word he was saying, interested by it all.

"If this is your territory, what do you plan on doing on this island?" I finally asked a question of my own. Alpheus only shrugged his reply before he thought about it for a bit longer.

"Maybe build a villa?"

"You can't do that. The animals and us live here, you'll break our houses," I glared up at the man with a pout and he blinked, seeming surprised at my outburst.

He didn't seem the least bit angry at my words though, in fact, he found it funny since he covered his mouth and his body shook with a few laughs.

"Okay, I won't do that then... but I'm not sure on what else to do,"

Well, that didn't help.

***---***---***

It was sunset and it seems like these visitors were planning on staying the night, judging from all the tents that were being put up and the small fires they started and huddled around.

I was peeking at everyone from my hiding space behind one of the trees. They made this quiet island so lively but none of the animals seemed to mind since they weren't trying to harm anyone.

I take that back.

Ryder came swooping in with his majestically large wings and golden beak as he started squawking angrily at a small group of men. I didn't even try to hold back my giggles at the panicked state the men were in.

But once I realised that Ryder didn't plan on stopping until he pecked someone's eye out, I decided to intervene.

Running out from behind the tree, I ran towards the men.

"Ryder! That's enough!" I came to a halt, holding back my smile and gave the eagle a look just as he sat on one of the men's heads. If I had come a second later, he would have begun clawing the man's hair out until he was bald.

I tried not to pay attention to all the looks I was receiving and only focused on my friends mischievous self.

"Come here, boy," I called out, outstretching my hand.

Then the whispers started.

Only for a moment though because Ryder's loud squeal shut them all right back up and he came flying towards me where he landed on my hand and as always, he then proceeded to walk up to my shoulder where he rested.

Rubbing his beak against my cheek, I rubbed his wing in assurance.

"Alexia? What are you doing here?"

I turned around to come face-to-face with Alpheus's large figure.

He was no longer dressed in a suit and was instead wearing a white shirt with black leather pants. He wasn't as sparkly as before either but he was certainly still intimidating.

"I came to get a friend," I replied nonchalantly, gesturing my head to Ryder who flapped his wings in my face in reply. He loved showing off and I was always getting beat up for it.

Alpheus chuckled as he came to stand directly in front of me, bending down until we were eye-to-eye. Then the whispers started again.

"How old are you, Alexia?" He asked. He may have looked intimidating but he certainly didn't act it. If anything, he was the complete opposite and he was, dare I say it, friendly.

"Last time I checked, 15," I mumbled out my answer.

"What about you?" I curiously tilted my head to the side in question.

"Last time I checked, 40," He laughed.

"So you're an old man then. John's only 25 you know," He narrowed his eyes at me but there was nothing angry about it, he seemed quite playful.

"Are you not cold?" He asked.

I shook my head. "You get used to it quite quickly but on the few days that I am cold, John's always there to warm me up," I smiled at the thought of my friend. He was busy making dinner for us and I took that opportunity to come here and explore these new people. If he finds out that I managed to sneak away then he'd have an angry fit.

"Ah, yes. John had told me that you were both stranded here for about 5 years, I was quite surprised. How did you end up here? I didn't get the chance to ask before,"

"John said it was a shipwreck," I answered.

"John said? Where were you coming from? and where were you headed?" He interrogated and I didn't like it.

This man was suspicious and weird.

He seemed friendly, his lips were always tilted up in a smile but his eyes said otherwise.

The colour of his eyes were beautiful but they had no depth. John's eyes always sparkled with life, he didn't need to say anything for me to know how he was feeling.

But this man, Alpheus, he's like a puppet.

His eyes give nothing away.

He's either really good at hiding his emotions or he doesn't have emotions at all, either way, I was still suspicious.

"I can't answer your questions, I don't remember anything," I vaguely answered.

"Didn't John tell you anything about where you came from? Or anything about you?"

"I didn't ask, I didn't want to know and I still don't want to know because it doesn't matter,"

"How can you say that if you don't know?"

"Because I'm happy now, with John, on this island. I can't be happier than I am right now," Ryder squawked, signalling his boredom and the end of this conversation.

Nodding my farewell to Alpheus, I turned to leave with Ryder still comfortably sat on my shoulder and urging me to walk faster but before I could, Alpheus called out to me.

"Alexia!" Damn it, I wasn't quick enough.

"I want to give you something," Alpheus changed the subject as he pulled out something from behind him and I oddly stared at the shiny thing in his hands.

"What is it?" I curiously asked, taking it from him.

"It's a hair ornament, Alexia," He answered with an amusing smile.

"A hair ornament? What does it do?"

"It's to decorate or keep your hair in place. I had originally bought it for my new daughter but then I met you and I think it'll suit your hair much more,"

"You have a daughter?" I asked, slightly surprised, simultaneously taking the ornament from his hand. It was a gold comb with an emerald butterfly at the top and shiny white pearls decorating its wings.

"Yes, she was just born and her name is Yvaine. I have twins too who are 8. Darius and Killian- they're quite troublesome if I do say so myself. Darius hates studying and every tutor that I've hired doesn't last longer than a week," He rolled his eyes at a certain memory.

I gave in to the laugh as I continued to admire the comb.

"You know, I have another child too. Not just Yvaine and the twins. I have my oldest son. His name is Valentino and he's a bit older than you," I hummed in response, eyes unmoving from the comb in my hand.

"How old is he?" I asked but not really feeling very interested.

"20," He answered and I hummed in answer.

"That means he's younger than John, John's 25," I replied nonchalantly as I began to try and place the ornament in my hair, failing a few times but finally managing.

"You like John a lot, don't you? You talk about him a lot," Alpheus chuckled. My eyes lit up at the mention of my best friend and I rapidly nodded my head.

"I love John," I gleamed.

"But don't you want to go to civilisation, Alexia?"

"Civilisation?" I tilted my head to the side curiously and Alpheus nodded.

"Yeah, where you can make friends, go to school, maybe even get married someday,"

"John is the only human friend I need, other than him, I have Ryder and my other animal friends too. I don't think they'll like civilisation much so I'll stay with them here," Alpheus didn't seem to like my answer.

"But don't you want to get married?"

Gosh, I'm only 15.

"I can marry John," I joked. He didn't seem to realise that it was a joke though and his eyeballs seemed to pop out of their sockets for a bit before popping back in.

The conversation didn't have the chance to progress any further.

"Alexandria! What do you think you're doing!?"

I jumped at the sudden familiar voice and turned my head to see John storming our way. Oh, my.

Ryder took this opportunity to fly away and leave me here alone. That coward.

"John, I just..." I drifted off, not being able to come up with a good excuse.

"And what is that?" He asked, eyes piercing into the ornament in my hair.

"It's a hair ornament. Isn't it pretty?" I smiled, jumping in excitement. It was nearly my sixteenth birthday so I'll consider this a present from Alpheus.

John breathed in a heavy sigh as he massaged his temples.

"Your Majesty! Your dinner is ready!" One of the guards shouted from behind me.

I was going to say something but stopped as I took in the man's words.

"Your... majesty...?" I drifted off awkwardly, turning around to stare at Alpheus who looked as though he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't have.

"Who are you, Alpheus?" I asked intently.

"My name is Alpheus St. Andres Octavius. I'm the current King of Lysandra,"

Well, that would explain a lot.

--Alexandria POV--

John was angry because not only had I left him, but I came to talk to the very man that had turned our calm life into something crazy.

It's been two days since Alpheus came here and I made it an effort to ask him at least 10 questions a day and similarly, he's been doing the same with me, my answers have just been more vague and less satisfying than his.

We were currently sat on the shore, not caring that our clothes were getting wet. Not that I even cared but he looked like he should. I was wearing scraps and flimsy pieces of material, but his stuff looked like a lot of effort had been put into making it.

I loved all my clothes though, every single piece. John's fingers went through a lot of pain in making them and he wouldn’t let me help in fear that the same fate would await my fingers.

"Do you live in a big palace?" I started as we stared at the sunrise.

"Yes. It's a white palace with golden designs, there are statues carved along the top of the pillars and right at the front, there's a famous statue of Eleanora," He expanded.

"Who's Eleanora?" I cocked my head to the side.

"Eleanora's the mage that created Lysandra, the Kingdom I rule," I yelped in surprise to his answer and almost jumped but kept myself seated on the sand.

"Really!? Magic is really real!? Are you sure?" He chuckled at my outburst and shrugged.

"It's just a myth. The first King of Lysandra freed Eleanora the mage in a sword and the both of them made Lysandra together. I don't believe it to be true, but we are all free to imagine what we want, right?" He smiled, turning his head to look at the horizon and I followed.

"Yes, I guess," I mumbled, thinking for a second that it was true.

I find the topic of magic interesting, but I can't say I believe it to be true. Nothing has ever happened for me to believe magic is real.

It wasn't the same in the past though. Within the first year of when we were shipwrecked on the island, John was good at reading me, it was almost as if he could tell what I was going to do before I even did it.

At the time, I genuinely believed that it was magic but later on realized that it was only psychology. That's how I became interested in studying, leaving behind my belief in magic. I thought there was a reason for everything.

My lessons first started with basic math’s and literature. Thankfully, my memories weren't lost to the point where I forgot how to read and write so all my lessons with John were enjoyable. It grew to the point where I loved studying.

Filling my brain with what used to be unknown to me thrilled me beyond words and it still does, every time I learn something new.

The bustling and shouting of Alpheus's men brought me back to reality and I took a moment to stare at all the men that were loading appliances back onto the ship. Today would be the day that they would leave so Alpheus and I took this chance to question each other.

John was doing something at our tree house, but I got his permission to come here before I actually came so all was good. He didn't really get along with Alpheus but didn't deny me in making a new friendship.

"My first son, Valentino, is the crown prince of Lysandra. He will be King in a few years from now. He's a good son," Alpheus changed the topic and I hummed.

"What kind of person is he?" I asked after a short moment of silence and Alpheus chuckled at the question, but I don't know why since I wasn't trying to be funny.

"If I were, to be honest, Valentino would be my most complicated child. You can never read him, and he never speaks unless he sees fit but at the same time, he speaks his mind and never leaves room for arguments. If he wants something then he does everything until he has it and not to mention, he's ridiculously handsome,"

"He seems intense," I mumbled, and Alpheus nodded in confirmation.

"Alexia..." Alpheus started and I turned my head to him to find that he was already looking at me with that same gaze that I caught him giving me every now and then. He thought I wouldn't notice but I have, I don't know what emotion it is but it wasn't anything good.

"Yes..." I said when he didn't carry on with what he wanted to say.

"Do you want to come with me? To the Kingdom of Lysandra. I can take good care of you. You'll get to go to school, wear proper clothes, sleep on a proper bed instead of a pile of leaves-"

"No," I cut him off.

"But-"

"I said no. This is my home. As far as I can remember, this is the place that I grew up in. John is the only person I know, and I intend to stay with him," I smiled apologetically at him.

"Civilization does sound fun though..." I quietly mumbled out, turning my gaze to look at the ocean, which was beginning to brighten, mimicking that of the cloudless sky.

"John could come too," He said but I only shook my head.

If I go to Lysandra then I won't be able to wake up to the sound of waves, to the sound of Ryder fighting with other animals over something silly or to the warmth of John's body.

This simple, calm, happiness was all I needed.

And yet, the curiosity of the world beyond the ocean is piquing my curiosity. I can't help but wonder what it's like but at the same time, I don't want to risk anything. The world that Alpheus is from is just a story that John told me about, the place I was born and a place that should remain foggy at the back of my mind.

I almost laughed out loud at the funny memory of John trying to show me what that world looked like by drawing pictures. It didn't really help but his effort was appreciated. As amazing of a teacher that he was, the same couldn't be said about his art. Of course, he didn't agree, and I didn't have the heart to disagree since it was too funny.

That was only once of the many cherished memories I have with him and I want there to be more, I want to make more happy memories with John, Ryder and all my other friends on this very island.

"I'm sorry, Alpheus... but this is my home. This is the place that I belong to. If I go to your world as I am now, then you may accept me, but others wouldn't. They grew up in lavish lifestyles, not knowing what it's like to have an empty stomach. If I suddenly go there, I'll stick out like a sore thumb,"

"I'll make them accept you,"

"You can't. You may be the King but you can't control what people think. If it's not genuine then I'm not interested, sorry," I apologised yet again.

He was a King who grew up getting what he wanted. He must be in a weird state of mind right now since I'm probably one of the first people to talk back to him like this and disagree with him.

He reluctantly gave in with a heavy sigh just as a guard came running up to us.

"Your Majesty, the ship is ready for departure," He said.

"I'll be right there," Alpheus replied and with a salute, the man ran off.

"I'm a King, Alexia. As much as I want to- I won't have time to visit you. What if I send people to regularly come to check up on you and John?"

"You don't have to do that, Alpheus. We've managed to come this far without help," I stated as a matter of fact but he wasn't giving in.

"You told me that you love to study. I'll send some men, maybe once every few months, to bring some books for you that'll help and along with that maybe some more clothes or food..." He drifted off, staring at me and waiting for me to nod.

So I did, giving into him. It's not like I had anything to lose. In fact, I'll be gaining more knowledge of the outside world as well as food and clothes.

He released a relieved sigh.

Standing up, I outstretched my hand for a handshake but instead of taking it, he stepped forward to pull me into a tight hug which I cautiously returned.

"So long then, Alexia," He smiled, strolling off as I waved after him.

"Goodbye, Alpheus," I called as he got on the ship and the stairs pulled up to close the hatch.

Ryder came, landing on my shoulder as he squawked after the ship which had begun its departure. We both stood there, staring after the ship until it was merely a white speck, barely seen unless focused on in the far distance.

They were really gone.

"It's barely been a few seconds but it's already so quiet," I mumbled out and breathed in a large lungful of ocean air with closed eyes, cherishing the silence until Ryder decided to break it with his loud squawk.

"Alright, alright. Let's go find John," Chuckling at him, I turned my back to the breath taking scenery and headed back into the safety of the trees where John was probably waiting for us in the treehouse.

After we all ate, John and I did some training which we hadn't done since Alpheus and his men came, I was a bit rusty with my reaction times and by the end of the training session I had a good few bruises littering my body.

Currently, I was standing under the waterfall as I washed clean of all the dirt that I had been rolling around in while training.

"Alexa, I'll leave your clothes here," John said as he walked out from behind some trees and put the neatly folded dress on a stone along with some undergarments as he plopped down on the riverbank, putting his feet into the water.

"Thanks," I said, sending him a smile.

We've both been through life and death together so seeing each other naked is normal for us. After I lost my memories, I never got them back so John is the first memory that I can remember. He'll probably be the last too.

Surprisingly, I wasn't curious about the lifestyle I used to have but when I asked John he'd answer some and dodge the others, my parents being one of them. Up to this day, I don't know anything about my parents and that includes whether they're alive or not.

As for my name, it's Alexandria. My surname is a mystery and one of the other topics that John has been trying to avoid and so, I didn't question it much.

As heartless as it sounds, I don't really care.

John is the person that was always there for me and he still is. As far as I'm concerned, he's my mother, my father and my brother as well as my best and only human friend.

From the moment we shipwrecked, John washed me, fed me, put me to sleep, told me stories and so much more. He's taught me everything I know and made me enjoy studying so that if one day we do leave this island, I won't be completely clueless.

"Don't stay there too long, you'll get wrinkles," John snapped me out of my thoughts and I wrinkled my nose at the idea. I hated it when that happened.

As I quickly finished washing, I swam back to the shore where he handed me a piece of cloth to dry myself and I gratefully took it, drying my hair as best I could while he stood up to dry my back for me and I didn't say anything.

This was natural, he seemed to enjoy helping me dry myself.

I felt his eyes on me as I pulled my clothes on and when I caught him staring, he only grinned, not trying to hide the fact that he was caught staring. I didn't mind though since I had done the same to him on some occasions.

"I don't get how you don't have any hair," He suddenly said.

"As you've said before. It's in my genetics. I've just gotten lucky haven't I?" I smirked at him as he rolled his eyes with his lips protruded out into a small pout.

I continued to dry my hair after I finished dressing and sat down on one of the rocks, dipping my feet into the water while he stood up from his sitting position to strip.

He walked into the river until the water was up to his waist and turning his body around to face me, he blew me a kiss to which I laughed. I don't get what he's complaining about since he didn't have much hair either.

He walked further into the river until he reached the small waterfall and dipped his head under it and I leaned back on the rock, looking up at the sky which was mostly covered thanks to all the sagging leaves that were possibly bigger than myself.

"Do you ever plan on going back to the world outside, John?" I asked hesitantly, not looking away from the sky.

I felt his gaze divert towards me as he stopped scrubbing himself.

"No. If I were to leave then I would've done so by now. After waiting for years, I lost hope and now this place is my home and I don't plan on leaving it," I hummed in reply but he continued.

"I don't have to worry about useless things like everyone else does. They're always thinking about money, war and reputation. Here, I don't have to worry about that. I'm at peace and I'm happy... and that's the best thing I could ever hope to ask for,"

I finally turned my head back down to meet his gaze and smiled before nodding along.

"You being here with me, Alexa... I can't imagine life without you any more. You are my sole purpose for living and your happiness is my happiness,"

I felt my heart heat up as I heard his heartfelt words and, if possible, my smile grew even more as he began to make his way back towards me, finished with washing up.

"Likewise," I laughed out gleefully as he chuckled and leaned down once close enough to place his lips on the top of my head before going to dry himself off.

John was the only family that I will ever need.