Princess Hannah of the Jade Harem CH 27

Hannah woke when Quinny hugged her, fresh tears wetting her cheeks.

“I’m a princess,” Quinny cried. “And I owe it all to you.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Hannah sighed and wrapped her up. “You were always a princess to my heart.”

“Thank you,” Quinny sobbed. “I have a mother, a husband, and wives. I finally have a family to share my life with.”

“And you will always be loved,” Hannah assured her. “Now cry all this out and take a moment to gather yourself.” Quinny nodded as her tears continued to fall, then snuggled into Hannah for a warm hug. Hannah held her tight as Frank moved underneath them, wrapping them both up.

Hannah always felt safe when Frank held her, shutting out the world and any danger that came with it. It increased the power of the moment as Quinny curled into a tight ball, crying out her tension and joy. The huddle was Joined by Blackbast, Umtha, and Evalynn, the group packing in tightly until Hannah and Quinny were the center of their love.

They held that hug for another hour until Frank suggested they get up. Quinny was done crying and said she needed to help Idris tone down her adventure because it spawned too many zombies.

“Oh, I heard about that,” Breanne laughed. “Evalynn said they tried to run it, but it spawned hundreds of zombies.”

“Hundreds?” Hannah replied and glared at Quinny. “You talked her into turning it up, didn’t you?”

“I just said it should be challenging,” Quinny replied.

“That’s not challenging,” Hannah countered. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Well, whatever you told her, Chandice was so angry she spanked Idris for it,” Breanne added.

“I heard about it,” Quinny said as she looked sad. “I don't think it was Idris's fault. The adventure was set to spawn enough zombies to be challenging based on the players present, but something went wrong. I haven't had a chance to talk to her yet, but Gisley told me it was spawning ghosts and mutant zombies, which means there had to be high-level players present.”

“I wonder,” Frank said as he put his shirt on. “I know how the spawn mechanic works. It takes the average level of players present to determine how high the undead can go. If a mutant zombie was present, the average level had to be high, like above fifty.”

“But a bunch of level fifties would have decimated that adventure,” Breanne countered.

“Not if they weren't participating,” Frank said. “What if they hid somehow so their levels would be counted but then didn't help so the hoard that showed up would wipe out the lower levels?”

“You mean somebody abused the system to ruin the adventure for others?” Hannah asked.

“It’s just a theory,” Frank said with a shrug. “We can’t prove it happened.”

“But it does explain what did happen,” Quinny said as she began to pace. “Somebody ruined her first big night just to be mean.”

“And now I'm mad,” Hannah said as she folded her arms. “Is there some way to find out who did it?”

“Maybe you can,” Frank said with a shrug. “But the lesser kingdom heart doesn’t keep logs of who was where.”

Hannah had forgotten that she had a full kingdom heart now and lifted her palm as a shining white crystal formed in her hand. Her wives crowded around as she opened the interface and began swiping through options. Five minutes later, she was lost in submenus for regions and ownership, rapidly growing more frustrated.

“Argh! Why is this so hard? I am looking at options to change the region's weather settings!” Hannah growled until Frank came over and started swiping options for her.

“Look, it would have to be in the activity section,” Frank said as he changed her menus and took her to the right area.

“See, this is why I need you,” Hannah said as she watched him work.

“And I thought you needed him for the sex,” Umtha said.

“I don’t need your blunt assessment of my nature,” Hannah quipped as Frank pulled open a list of who was in the area. Only Idris showed up as a current player, with two dozen NPCs included in another list.

“Oh, she must be trying to fix it,” Quinny said. “She probably has no idea what went wrong.”

“Well, I don’t see an option to see who has been here in the past,” Frank said. “Maybe we should visit Idris and explain our theory of what happened.”

“We are supposed to be on our honeymoon,” Blackbast interjected as she joined the pack. “But it would be kind to help her.”

“What’s a honeymoon?” Umtha asked.

“Oh, I keep forgetting you don't know these things,” Hannah said as she put her interface away. “A honeymoon is what you do after you get married. You and your new partner go somewhere nice to spend time alone together.”

“So you can have sex?” Umtha asked.

“Why is that all you are thinking about?” Hannah demanded.

“Ha, I love her innocent, honestly,” Blackbast laughed and hugged Umtha from behind. “She has absolutely no filter.”

“Yes, but that honesty tends to shine the spotlight on me,” Hannah remarked.

“That’s important to me on the honeymoon,” Breanne replied as Quinny giggled.

“You’re all horrible,” Hannah sighed. “And let’s go talk to Idris and tell her what we think happened. I won’t be able to enjoy my honeymoon knowing she’s struggling to fix something that isn’t broken.”

They dressed with the girls choosing simple dresses with open backs to ensure their tattoos were on display. They traveled through the forest using the hidden doors, arriving at the village to find Idris sitting on the ground. She had been at this for hours, hopelessly trying to figure out why it wasn't working. Her eyes were red from where she had been crying out of frustration, but she brightened up the moment she saw Frank.

“Oh, I didn’t expect to see any of you today,” Idris said as she stood and wiped her eyes. “I was just fixing my adventure.”

“We figured,” Hannah said and went right up to the woman to wrap her in a hug. “We came to help.”

“Help how?” Idris asked as the hug parted. Frank explained the possibility that her adventure had been sabotaged by a few high-level players using their levels to boost the spawns. Idris was shocked but argued that it couldn't happen until Frank walked her through the spawn system.

“So, it just needs two or three high-level players to hide somewhere nearby,” Idris sighed. “No wonder it spawned so many zombie mutants. It was trying to adjust the challenge for them.”

“But they hid someplace, so the other players got stampeded,” Quinny said as she helped Idris look through her interface. “But how do we fix it?”

“You cap the level it counts,” Frank said, pointing to some options. “Look, you can set a minimum and maximum level it considers. We just need to cap it, so if you are above level thirty, you aren't counted for the spawn.”

“I am so glad you told me. I have been wracking my brain since Chandice, and that woman spanked me,” Idris groaned. “I had no idea what I did wrong.”

“Wait, somebody else spanked you?” Hannah asked with a raised brow.

“It was a healer they rescued from the zombies,” Idris explained. “Her entire party had been wiped out, and she was upset. I told her I was sorry and would fix it, but she wanted to spank me anyway.”

“Hmm, I like this spanking idea,” Blackbast said as she eyed the other girls. “We could use some discipline in our group.”

“Frank already likes to spank,” Hannah said as she smiled at him. “He’s good at discipline.”

“You are all weird,” Frank grumbled. “I swear you like it.”

“Of course she does,” Breanne laughed. “The succubus class gets a buff from being spanked.”

“It does?” Frank said in surprise.

“Breanne,” Hannah sighed. “Don't tell him that. Now, he won't spank us when we're bad.”

“Why are girls so strange?” Frank asked as he glared at Hannah, who smiled back and blew him a kiss.

“Oh, we aren’t strange,” Blackbast purred as she rubbed against him. “What woman doesn’t enjoy a little discipline from her man?”

“Normal ones,” Frank replied as Idris and Breanne laughed.

“Well, thank you for helping me fix this mess,” Idris said. “I wonder who tried to sabotage my adventure?”

“Or how they hid from the zombies,” Quinny said. “They had to be in the town to trigger the spawn, so they must have used something magical.”

“There are invisibility to undead potions,” Frank reminded. “Moon used them on me once.”

“Could they have hidden in a house?” Hannah asked as she walked to a nearby building made of plaster and timber with a thatch roof.

“The zombies can detect players in houses,” Quinny replied. “They ignore the NPCs, but if a player hides inside, the zombies will try to break in to get them.”

“What about a rogue?” Hannah pressed. “They can hide in plain sight.”

“Not all of them can,” Frank said. “And don't forget we undead can see the life aura. Even if you're stealthed, we can still detect it.”

“Well, they found some way to hide,” Hannah pressed as she turned around in the street, looking for some idea of how they managed it. “Wait,” she said in shock. “Could they have been an undead player, using the way undead ignore other undead thing to hide in the open?”

“It’s possible,” Frank said as he considered the idea. “But has anyone heard of another undead player in the area?”

“Certainly not I,” Blackbast said. “All the undead players I know of are present here.”

“Maybe one will register at the new guild,” Umtha offered. “That might give them away.”

“We have to consider that if a high-level undead player came here, they may not have realized they were causing any harm,” Breanne pointed out. “It may simply have been an accident.”

“Well, the new level cap will fix it,” Idris said. “So accident or not, it won't happen again. I am glad this is fixed. I wanted to spend some time with Zillix.”

“He is probably in the palace,” Hannah said. “I didn't get to see him at the wedding, but I know he was there.”

“He was,” Idris replied with a smile. “I was with him, and he said you all looked beautiful. I like the bands of color on your dress. They matched the girl's flowers.”

“That was the idea,” Hannah said while smiling at her flock of wives. “So, now that this is resolved, can we go for a walk?”

“A walk?” Frank asked as Hannah nodded and pointed to Quinny’s forest. “I want to talk to all of you about something.”

Frank agreed, and they bid Idris fair well before walking into the trees. Once inside, Hannah asked Quinny to lead them off the road and deep into the forest so she could speak openly about what was on her mind. She wanted to talk about her past and what to do about it for the future. She wasn't truly Princess Hannah, or Heather, or any of the names she had used since coming here. She had strong evidence that she was a woman named Hathlisora, and she had wreaked havoc on the world. She was responsible for two major wars that left thousands permanently dead and the goblins cursed.

There was strong evidence that she was trying to escape New Eden and, in the process, lost her mind. She was also Umtha's lover and had perhaps had other lovers elsewhere. She had once been married to a man named King Kevin, the dragon slayer, and it was him whom she went to war with. She didn't know why, but she betrayed his love, and he broke something of hers. Whatever this object was, it had driven her insane with rage and made them the bitterest of enemies. The devastation grew to such terrible levels that the visitors offered her a way out, but she had to go alone, but she couldn't. She had fallen in love with Umtha and promised the woman that she would get the goblins home as well. So she refused their offer and began working against them. It all fell apart at some point, and she was killed only to respawn what seemed like years later with no memory of her past. However, they began finding clues about this previous life and the dangers it represented.

Learning she had forgotten who she really was began to erode her sanity and made it hard for her to come to terms with being in New Eden. She became unstable, flitting from idea to idea, as she struggled to keep her mind busy and not think about it. However, they kept finding more proof of her past, and she couldn't bear to know she was trapped in New Eden.

As a final effort to find some peace, she accepted the slave collar and the lifestyle she saw Jaina living. It filled her life with a new sensation of sex and passion, finally giving her respite from the chaos of her mind. Now, she was afraid that she would regain her memories one day, and they would shatter the peace she had finally found. She promised Frank and the rest of her family to put any effort into learning more about her past to rest and accept her new life. However, Rajeen was right; her memories weren't going to destroy this new life because she loved her family. Moreover, she had evidence that she was a loving person in her previous incarnation, and Umtha was the proof of it.

She had loved Umtha so much that she trusted the goblin woman to keep her secrets. Umtha knew more about Hathlisora than any of them because she witnessed it firsthand. However, it appeared that Hathlisora knew her death was coming and swore Umtha to secrecy. The goblin woman was forbidden to tell Hannah anything about her past. Hathlisora had told Umtha that if she told her too much, it would drive her insane again and ruin a carefully laid plan. Hannah had witnessed firsthand the emotional pain Umtha suffered when questioned about Hathlisora. The goblin woman wanted to help so badly but was terrified of what breaking her promise might mean.

It meant that Umtha was a dead end, but there were other paths that could be followed. However, Hannah would not do so without the blessing of her family. So now they walked into the forest to be alone, where she could present her ideas to them and see how they felt. When she was satisfied they were away from prying eyes, she told them what Rajeen said. She expressed that she believed Rajeen was right, and her memories couldn't take away the love she had for them. She felt confident about moving ahead with some of the ideas that might help trigger some of them.

The looks on people's faces were one of disbelief as this old source of pain resurfaced. Hannah knew she was asking a lot of them, especially of Umtha, who hated seeing Hannah tamper with her memories. Thankfully, nobody outright refused to listen, and her wonderful family gave the request serious consideration.

“Explain these ideas,” Blackbast said as they followed a narrow trail through the brush.

“Well, as I see it, there are three ways I could maybe learn more,” Hannah began as she felt nervous about putting it all before her family. “One way is to use seductions like we did with Santos, to override the command to forget and draw out the truth.”

“But you’re immune to seductions,” Quinny pointed out.

Hannah nodded and explained that she would take the crown off, thus removing her Lilim class and the resistance to mind-influencing powers it offered. Then somebody like Jaina could use seductions to try and pry into the locked memories. Or, if needs be, Alexandria could use essence to blow the doors open and tear the memories out.

“I don’t think that’s wise,” Breanne said with a shake of her head. “That would require very controlled circumstances, and we couldn’t guarantee what we would get. It might do more damage than good.”

“I agree,” Blackbast replied. “I do not like the idea of tearing the memories free from their confinement. What if there is a magical countermeasure that fights back?”

“Ok, then the second option is less risky,” Hannah said. “We use the necromancer skull from the tower, and I channel a speak with dead spell while inside a necromancer circle. With the boosted power, I should be able to maintain the link longer than would normally be possible. We ask very direct and meaningful questions, carefully listed in order of importance.”

“That’s safer, I suppose,” Breanne said. “But you will only get one shot at this.”

“The questions would have to be very carefully chosen,” Frank agreed.

Hannah understood their concern, as this spell was a bit of a wild card. Once cast, she would literally create a link to a dead player, allowing him to answer questions. The issue was the skull would be the focus, and it would rapidly begin to deteriorate. If a player was lucky, they could ask three short questions, but Hannah intended to do far more than that. By boosting her power with a necromancer's circle and a little essence, she hoped to get closer to a dozen. Still, there was no way to be sure it would work, so it all had to be approached with the utmost care and secrecy. If anyone discovered what she was doing, the question of her being a necromancer might resurface. Hannah explained that her first question would be to ask if there was a safe way to recover her memories, hoping for a better path. That seemed to placate her family, but Umtha asked why she wanted to do this again. She reminded Hannah that she had promised not to try and force her memories and worried this was what she was doing.

“I am not trying to force them,” Hannah stated. “I just feel that Rajeen is right. I don’t need to be afraid of recovering them because I have my family to keep me strong. Besides, the skull isn't going to give me my memories back. It will only allow us to learn more about the past and maybe offer a path forward.”

“What was the third option?” Frank asked to change the subject away from the speak with dead.

Hannah sighed nervously about answering him. She didn't want to travel this path and had serious reservations about even considering it. Still, it was a viable option as past events had proven there was something to be learned.

“I confront Jaina's dragon,” Hannah replied. “He claimed to have survived the last whatever happened to the world and knows what caused it. He also says he knows me and what I did. Maybe he can answer a few questions to put me on a solid path.”

“We could just ask Umtha for those answers,” Blackbast countered as Utmha shook her head. “She knows quite a bit about you from your days as Hathlisora. I am sure she could answer many of your questions.”

“No, we can't,” Hannah insisted, taking Umtha into her arms. “I made her promise not to tell me, and I refuse to pressure her to do otherwise. She did her part, leading me to the machine and giving me the goblin crown.” Hannah insisted that this was all Umtha was required to do, and any more was too much.

Quinny pointed out that the crown didn't work, reminding Hannah that the original plan had gone awry. It was a plan that seemed to come from madness and random chance. While still calling herself Heather, she met Umtha and was drawn into a conflict between the goblins and a dragon knight. During that confrontation, Hannah opened a magic door and recovered a strange crown from what appeared to be an island floating in the void. When placed on her head, the crown became a part of her, giving her a pair of horns as it magically changed her race from human to devil. It also gifted her with a magical third eye right in the center of her forehead that glowed with intense green light.

This was the image Umtha knew as Hathlisora and what caused the goblin woman to devote herself to Hannah. Hannah didn't understand what was happening at the time, but Umtha was part of a long and tricky plan to trigger her memories. Somehow, Hathlisora knew Hannah would marry Frank, and on that night, Umtha was to present Hannah with a second crown that would make her the goblin queen. It was designed to fit over the first crown, allowing the two to become one piece. It was also some form of magical trigger that was supposed to start the process of her memories returning. Hannah put on the crown and became the goblin queen, but nothing else happened. The crown had failed, and Umtha was devastated. All this time, she had been dreaming of the day that Hannah would remember how much she loved her. Now, she was ready to give up and resign herself that her lover was never coming back. Hannah decided to love her anyway and promised to rebuild the relationship she couldn't remember. Now, they were wives, but Umtha still longed for Hannah to remember the full depth of their love.

“But the crown didn’t work,” Quinny said as she looked at Hannah’s horns that were part of the crown itself.

“No, it didn't,” Frank replied as he, too, looked at Hannah. “But maybe there is a fourth option.”

Hannah laughed and shook her head, waiting to hear how Frank came up with the best idea in about three minutes of conversation. It was his great skill to think of a good solution in minutes for a problem Hannah had been dwelling on for days.

“Well?” she asked while turning Umtha loose. “What is this idea?”

“Chandice,” Frank replied. “When you had her work on the crown, it was out of her league, but even then, she managed to trigger that woman inside it. She was able to answer some questions, but we never asked her why the goblin crown had failed to work.”

“Hmm,” Hannah said as she recalled the failed experiment. Chandice was a warlock and an enchanter with a skill at magical items. She could detect, determine, and identify them with great skill. However, her level was low, and truly powerful items were out of her reach. So she and Legeis teamed up to create an enchanted goblin machine that could use goblin power to boost her spells. They had tested it before and managed to get some answers, but the test hadn't gone well. The machine needed more time and refinement before it would be truly useful. However, one useful thing had happened. The first crown was magically linked to another person, a woman who claimed to be helping Hannah. This woman occasionally spoke to Hannah telepathically, and when the crown was put into the machine, she appeared. She answered a few questions before going into a panic that somebody named Garnet was aware of what was happening. She fled the connection, and the machine failed, leaving them to wonder what had happened.

This woman was an enigma, claiming to be trapped in a prison world known as Abbadon. She was helping Hannah because Hannah was the only one who could open the door to this dark place and get her out. However, Hannah had come face to face with a dragon in the battle to recover the crown. The beast took one look at the horns on her head and spoke, saying that it had begun and not to trust the woman in the crown. He warned Hannah that the woman had betrayed her in the past, then flew off, leaving her with unanswered questions. Why had this dragon known who she was, and why did he know about the woman in the crown? How has she betrayed Hannah, and more importantly, why?

Questions like this were making Hannah insane and drove her to look for ways to hide. Thankfully, they met Blackbast, then Roric and Jaina, and learned how all-consuming the slave lifestyle could be. At first, Hannah toyed with it, using it as a tool to get what she wanted. But slowly, she discovered that embracing it was taking her mind off her worries, and she went after it with all her heart. It had given her time to clear her head and relax, enjoying her life here for a change. Now, she felt ready to face some of these challenges and see if she could put these pains to rest.

“So, you think we have Chandice try again and this time pressure the woman inside to explain why the crown didn’t trigger my memories?” Hannah pressed. Frank nodded and explained that Legeis had been working on his machine to help in the detection. He and Chandice had refined it and tested it on more powerful devices, getting good results, but that wasn’t his true idea.

“The real issue was Chandice just wasn’t strong enough,” Frank said as he stared at Hannah. “But you showed us there is a way around that.”

“You mean essence?” Hannah asked as Frank nodded.

“Right, you marry Chandice, and then she uses Essence to boost her identify magic spell until it's strong enough to tell us what we need to know,” he explained.

“Ha, the weddings never stop coming,” Quinny laughed. “Hannah will be married to the entire harem soon.”

“This is not a laughing matter,” Breanne scolded. “This is a very important turn of events.”

“I concur,” Blackbast said as she turned her gaze on Frank. “And I am surprised you are the one who recommended it.”

“Chandice and Hannah are girlfriends already,” Frank said. “It wouldn’t have to be like the marriage to Alexandria. They could marry for love.”

“You do recall that Chandice is already married to Roric?” Hannah reminded him. “That would make Roric my husband. Are you going to be alright with that?”

“Would anything change?” Frank asked with a funny expression. “Besides, Zillix is also your husband.”

Hannah had to stop and think about her answer for a moment as Frank made it clear he didn't have a problem with it. Roric and Chandice were masters of the harem, and Hannah had already made love to both of them. Frank was right; nothing would change just because they were married, except they would have access to essence. This would allow Chandice to work her magic over the crown at a much higher level and maybe give them some solid answers. It was a viable path that might allow Hannah to regain her memories of Umtha.

“I will need time to think about that,” Hannah said at last.

“I want to talk to Rajeen,” Blackbast growled. “I do not see why she suddenly encouraged this.”

“She didn’t encourage it,” Hannah said in protest. “She was touched by what I did for Quinny and used that as an example of how she knew I wouldn’t change, even if I did remember. She was trying to tell me I didn’t need to be afraid of my past anymore.”

“Still, she has caused you to reconsider this when you have only recently chosen to put it aside,” Blackbast argued. “And what of your life as a harem girl? Does all this end when you remember who you really were?”

“Why should it?” Hannah asked as she folded her arms. “I happen to like this life.”

“Do not forget I was part of a kingdom destroyed during this period,” Blackbast replied. “I never knew your past ego personally, but I knew of you and your legend. You sounded like a woman used to being in charge and unwilling to submit to anyone.”

“I have chosen my master to submit to,” Hannah said as she pointed at Frank. “I don't see why I would want to change that. Besides, I am in charge still. Quinny, Breanne, and Umtha are my slave girls. The goblins obey me again, and I have rebuilt my power base as the Jade Harem.”

“I hadn’t considered that, but think about what you just said. You are rebuilding your power base almost like you are preparing to go to war again,” Blackbast said before turning on Umtha.  “Is she subconsciously following her previous path? You need to tell us if this is part of some plan.”

Umtha looked shocked as she twisted nervously, turning to Hannah for support.

“Don't answer that,” Hannah cut in and glared at Blackbast. “I told you, Umtha's job is done. As far as I am concerned, she has nothing more to say on the matter.”

“But you may be repeating your past in a new way,” Blackbast countered with a pointed finger. “Look at what you have done. You returned to the last place anyone saw you alive, building your tower in the same spot as your previous home. You collected your bracelet, took the egg home then built a kingdom. Now, you have gathered a new goblin army and built a political power base as if preparing for a coming conflict. What if none of this is a coincidence? What if this is you following the plan, to build for yourself a means to wage a wider conflict when your memories return?”

Hannah had to pause and give that thought serious consideration. What if she was subconsciously building a new army to fight her enemies? What if even joining the harem as a slave girl had been a subtle manipulation and a means to gain more power? If this was the case, what was she preparing for, and how would she find out? Now, she worried that even being a slave girl wouldn't be enough to take her mind off the mystery. If being a slave girl was part of it, then she was still playing the game, following the path set out for her by herself.

Hannah could see the worried look on the faces of her family as she reached up and pressed her thumbs to her forehead. The green gem appeared as she pushed, giving her the appearance of having three eyes. She pressed upward, driving the crown off, as her form suddenly vanished, leaving behind the lovely blond Heather. Breanne, Quinny, and Umtha immediately changed back as their slave collars ceased to be.

Hannah turned the crown over in her hands, staring at the red gem seated in the center. She then wove a spell, creating what appeared to be a tear in the fabric of the reality through which she reached. She pulled the goblin crown from the buffer, looking at the rough metallic spikes as she examined the two devices. They were clearly made to fit together, with the gem the centerpiece of the whole, but what would happen if she put them together without the gem? She tugged at the stone to see that it was fixed to the thin band by some magical means. Maybe Legeis or Chandice would know a way to separate it, and then they could test her idea. Was it possible the woman in the stone was somehow Preventing Umtha's crown from working? The dragon had warned her that the woman had betrayed Hannah once before. Was she betraying her now by preventing the memories from coming back? How would Hannah prove it or even begin to unravel the mystery? She thought of the machine Legeis and Chandice had built that could strip back magical defenses, allowing them to detect effects. Maybe they could suppress the gem long enough to remove it, but then was the woman in the gem or the crown itself?

“Are you alright?” Frank asked as he gently swayed her shoulder.

“I am thinking,” Hannah replied. “I know none of you want me to follow this path, but that was because I was afraid the other me was a monster. I was worried that if my memories returned, I would abandon this life and my family to pick up the devastation where it left off. Jaina telling me what the dragon said all but confirmed my worst fears, but now I see the truth.”

“What truth is that?” Blackbast asked.

“That I have nothing to fear from my past,” Hannah replied. “I love you all, and what I did for Umtha by refusing to abandon her or for Quinny by willingly giving up my power is proof that I always will. My past isn't going to upset my present unless I stay blind to it.”

“So, why did you take the crown off?” Quinny asked as she looked on the scene with a nervous expression.

“Because I worry the woman in this crown is somehow blocking the magic of Umtha’s crown,” Hannah replied. “Remember what that dragon said. This woman betrayed me once before, and there is no reason to believe she won’t do it again.”

“Or isn’t doing it right now,” Frank agreed as he looked down at the crown. “So you are worried she is preventing the return of your memories?”

“It makes sense, doesn’t it?” Hannah asked. “The two crowns together should have given me something back, but it didn’t, and none of us know why.”

“How much were you supposed to get back?” Blackbast asked as all eyes looked to Umtha.

“I am not entirely sure,” Umtha said. “I know she promised she would remember that she loved me and we would be together again. I assumed that meant she would get memories about me and maybe the last week before it all ended.”

“But you have no idea?” Frank asked as Umtha nodded.

“I see the logical deduction here,” Blackbast cut in. “But we cannot be sure of any of it. We can’t even be sure that either dragon was telling the truth. The dragon you meet in battle serves the dragon knights, who in turn serve King Kevin. He may have lied to you to sow doubt or delay your recovery. The dragon that considers Jaina his mate may also be lying for his own reasons. All we know for sure is the memories did not come back when Hannah put on Umtha’s crown.”

“Then the only way to know anything for sure is to get her memories back,” Breanne said. “Or at least enough of them to prove who is lying and who isn’t.”

“Which means following one of the paths, or maybe all of them,” Frank said as he looked at Hannah. “I won’t order you not to do it, but if we have to start someplace, let's see what advances Chandice and Legeis have made. I don’t want you to face the dragon, and I don’t like the idea of using charms to break the memories out.”

“Which means the skull is the best option after Chandice,” Breanne said.

“Do you think the person the skull belongs to will know how to access your memories safely?” Quinny asked.

“I have no idea,” Hannah replied. “But I have been making a list of direct questions. Once I start the process, I want to get as many answers as possible before the skull breaks down.” She paused and looked at Umtha before dropping to one knee and taking the goblin woman's hand. “But none of this happens unless you give me your permission. I promised you to let this go, so you have to tell me I can try. I will still love you if you say no.”

Umtha looked broken as she gazed at Hannah and took a deep breath.

“I love you,” Umtha stuttered and wiped her eyes. “You have my permission.”

“Then, we begin,” Frank said.