Cassien and Daisy departed as soon as the sun hit its highest point.

They had bid their farewells to Banner, Myron, and Daisy's entirely too reluctant father who briefly threatened Cassien to ensure his daughter's safety; supplied with several days worth of supplies - as a precaution - and a single horse, they rode south along the coast under the burning sun.

The thick lines of Pentley's acadia forests thinned out, and the grassy terrain slowly was replaced by sparse tufts and red-yellow dirt. Daisy's breathing became more laboured with the heat of the savanna, though Cassien remained completely unbothered.

Daisy craned her head around his shoulder, scowling lightheartedly. "Not a single drop of sweat. I hate you."

"I assume it has something to do with the magic keeping me cool," Cassien replied, eyes fixed ahead. He shifted his body forward, urging the horse to quicken its pace.

Daisy let out a small yelp as the horse bucked slightly to speed up, tightening her grip around Cassien's waist. "Oh! Slow down, will you?"

"You won't fall," Cassien stated, but he pulled the reins down somewhat.

"That's reassuring," Daisy grumbled sarcastically as she leaned to the side, squinting up at him. "So, any idea who this mystery person or thing might be that's leading you to our big 'X'?"

Cassien thought about how much information he should divulge to her, whether it would be relevant or even necessary. He had no intentions of involving her any further once they reached Harsbach, though it wasn't like he would just leave her on the side of the road afterwards either.

"No. But I'll take whatever gives me answers."

"O-kay," Daisy chirped.

Cassien raised a brow, though she couldn't see it. "That's it? You're not curious about anything else?"

"Of course I am," She shrugged. "But it's your business, so you'll share more when you want to. Now, if you could keep the horse steady, I'll be taking a nap."

She slumped into him, clasping her hands tightly at the front of his abdomen. Cassien stiffened at the touch, the unfamiliar warmth to his back nagging at him - the shape of her body didn't fit quite right against his, and her head rested a little too high. He pushed away the feeling, relegating himself to being a bed cushion. After all, she had volunteered to keep him company - the least he could do was help keep her comfortable.

He kept himself distracted by plucking through whatever memories he could as he kept to the road ahead, the air shimmering with heat. Occasionally he stopped for a brief sip of water or to double check the route, but the path remained straightforward.

Daisy's grip around his waist loosened, cheek pressed against him in a heavy snore. Sweat slicked her brow, her bandana darkening with dampness. Cassien tested extending a small measure of cold to her, and almost immediately the tiny bumps on her skin raised in response. She sighed contently in her sleep, evading the scorching heat for now. The sharp feeling behind his eyes increased, but not detrimentally.

By the time Daisy stirred, the sun had begun to set below the horizon, the sky blurring into shades of pink and orange. She blinked slowly, stretching groggily. "Oh. Whew. I feel great."

"That's good," He said without turning around.

"Did you have something to do with it?"

Cassien glanced at her. "Didn't want you sweating on me."

"I don't sweat! But wow, you're like a walking ice bath. My skin is actually cold while in a desert. Look," Daisy laughed, and she pressed the cool flat of her hand against his cheek.

Instinctively, he jerked away at her touch. "Don't-"

She flashed him a lopsided grin, closing her arms around his waist again. "Sorry. Should've figured you're not a touchy guy."

"It's fine. Just not… used to it."

Daisy leaned outwards, golden hair swaying to the side. "Y'know, sometimes touch can help with memory loss. Triggers whatever's stuck in your brain."

He gave her a flat look. "I don't think that's how it works."

"Not with me, dummy," Daisy rolled her eyes playfully. "Maybe there's a special lady in Harsbach waiting for you, and she restores all of your memories with a single kiss."

"You sound like someone who's read too many fairytale stories."

"Was that a brag that you can read?" Daisy tucked loose strands of hair beneath her bandana, a dreamy lilt in her voice. "At least I know how to be optimistic."

Cassien didn't respond - not because he didn't want to engage any further, but because he didn't want to believe in a hope that may not be there.

Soon, dusk fell and the hot winds began to cool down, and two decided between several boulders as shelter for the night. Daisy tended to the tired brown mare with bits of fruit and water, loosening the lead long enough to allow it to graze off the long blades of yellowed grass that poked through the mahogany dirt. Cassien gathered kindling for the fire before lighting it with flint and steel, and the two dug into the rations supplied by Myron and Banner. The meal was nothing special - dense bread and a few hunks of cheese, but it was enough to satisfy the growl of their stomachs. Daisy finished first, stretching her arms overhead with a drowsy yawn.

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"Tired again?" Cassien leaned back against the rock, propping one leg up in a comfortable resting stance. "You slept almost all day."

"What can I say? Beautiful women need their beauty sleep." Daisy smoothed down her bedroll from across the fire, curling onto her side.

Cassien tugged back on the rolls of his sleeves. "Right. Well, we should head out again before sunrise. We'll get to Harsbach before the afternoon barring any complications."

Daisy propped up on one elbow, waving a playful salute. "Sir, yes, sir."

He crossed his arms, tilting his head back. "Good night, Daisy."

"Nighty-night," Daisy responded in a sing-song voice.

His lids squeezed shut, and sleep found him soon after. Though before his consciousness fully drifted off, he thought it was oddly comforting that he was able to relax in a vulnerable state with a relative stranger around. No - that title was a disservice to the woman who had otherwise but nothing but kind, if not a bit eccentric. If anything, she was at the very least a good acquaintance, or a tentative ally.

Daisy opted to stay awake for a while longer, studying Cassien's sharp profile through the flames, and wondered who he really was. He wasn't like any man she'd ever met before, in Pentley or any other town or a passing visitor. He looked as if a sculpture was breathed to life with his toned body and unmarred skin, and the posture that held himself to at all times was assured; the way he spoke indicated a strong education, devoid of commoner lingo - it was glaringly obvious that he was someone important. But Daisy was equally as content if he wasn't, because she enjoyed his presence regardless.

But it begged the question: who was Cassien?

Whoever he was, she hoped that they would find out, for his sake.

**

The air was already warming at sunrise, and Cassien woke early to prep both an ample breakfast and readied the horse for travel. He ignored his sharpening headache and focused on moving quickly and efficiently - Cassien was more than eager to reach Harsbach by noon at the latest.

He crouched down to Daisy's sleeping form that looked more mangled than peaceful, a heavy snore blaring from her mouth. "Time to get up."

Daisy groaned, rolling away. "Go away… Just five more minutes."

Her words sparked a memory that felt recent; his body being tugged into the embrace of someone soft and delicate, the suckling of something warm and wet against his neck. It pulled him in deeper, peeling back more of his lost subconsciousness to recollections of more vividity and sharpness than he'd had since he woke up.

There was a trickle of a woman's laugh that sounded like the bells of heaven, a curvaceous silhouette in the dark where bare skin brushed against his for the very first time. The whisper of a sweet, breathy voice spilled across silken pillows with a love confession that Cassien couldn't remember the words to. But he certainly could recall exactly how he felt in that moment - trusted, loved, safe - and he was all three in return as well.

He lingered in the heartbreaking reminiscent of who he was and the name of who he loved, only to be snapped back to reality as Daisy waved one hand in front of his voice. She was hunched over in front of him, one hand holding a bright red apple.

"Helloooo, anyone in there?" Daisy emphasized. "Ya woke me up, so don't tell me you're dozing off now."

Cassien shook his head, standing. "No. Just lost in thought."

"Clearly," Daisy smiled, biting into the fruit. "C'mon, we should get going."

Within minutes, Cassien scattered the deadened ashes of the campfire and helped hoist Daisy onto the saddle, continuing their way down the dirt paths. She pointed him through several landmarks that signified the way to Harsbach, like an old acacia where a gnarled root protruded through the earth. They listened to the peace of the waves crashing on the rocky shores and the horse's hooves clomping on the ground. Eventually, the terrain began to slope upwards with more grass than dirt, rocky shoals mixed with red sand meeting the blues of the ocean.

"I can't wait to get off this saddle," Daisy complained, rubbing the sore spot of her rear. "At least we're almost there."

"How much further?"

A thin finger pointed past his face. "Up ahead, past that hill. It's a little village beneath those bluffs."

The earth grew rockier with clustered stones and scraggly yellowed grass, the bluff rising before them as the sun peeked from beneath the cliff's high elevation. Smoke curled into the air, and Cassien could catch the scent of dried fish strung on wooden racks and the salty breeze of the ocean.

The closer they got to the top of the bluff, the more anxiety brewed in the pits of Cassien's stomach. He had no idea what was waiting for him below, but he forced the mare forward despite his nerves - it was the only path ahead.

Daisy spoke up from behind him, and she somehow sounded more excited than he was. "Ready?"

Cassien swallowed deeply. "Here we go."

At the crest, Harsbach spilled into view: beige-brown clustered thatch roofs, rows of dark green and yellow herbs sprouting from watery fields as people picked through with woven baskets at their hips, the sun at its widest point looming atop the glittering ocean.

On the sandy shores were a group of people that tugged at his memory; one with swept black hair with a thick streak of white that sent a whisper of forgiven bitterness through him; spiked silver hair and even paler skin that earned his respect; another that resembled a brown grizzly more than a man, that he felt could've been his own blood.

But most importantly amongst the others, stood a slender figure wrapped in a loose white sundress that evoked something unspeakably irresistible.

With the sun as the backdrop, the edges of her shape were entirely framed in gold - though Cassien knew she would've been luminous even in the depths of a void. Silvery-blonde strands of wavy hair danced across the delicacy of a heart-shaped face; a bountiful of soft brown freckles splattered over the smoothness of her face and the tops of her exposed, sharp shoulders.

She turned at that exact moment as if she already knew exactly where he was, and that she was the focal point of his attention. Her eyes - impossibly pale blue - widened at the sight, legs trembling. The woman broke out in a sprint towards him.

Cassien's breath left him in a rush. He didn't think; he just moved.

He slid off the horse in one fluid motion and broke into a run, feet pounding down the bluffs, like a magnetic force yanking him forward. Daisy called out after him - but frankly, he didn't care even if a meteor struck the earth at that very moment.

"....Cassien," The woman breathed as she neared, lashes wet. She knew his name, and though he didn't remember hers - he recognized her soul.

They collided at the edge of where red sand met coarse grass, the force of their bodies crashing into the earth - tumbling, tangled in a mess of limbs. He barely even registered the fact that his headache instantly disappeared like a puff of smoke, too distracted by the wild, unguarded joy of her expression. Cassien cradled the woman tightly against his own body like a protective shell as they hurtled downwards, and her laughter rang through him exactly like the bright bells he had remembered.

It was her.

They rolled to a stop, sand flying in all directions, and she pushed up from his body only to pin his arms down. He barely had a chance to register the whole of her face before she closed the distance between them, kissing him so intensely as if he would disappear at any moment.

The kiss was full of longing, desperation, and ferocity that left him breathless. He should've froze in shock at the touch, but something deep - either muscle memory or a lost fraction of his consciousness - automatically urged his body to respond. His large hands swarmed into her thick hair, pulling her into him as if they could've been any closer. Her hands moved to the front of his shirt, fisting the fabric tightly and insistent to never let go.

He had been drowning underwater, and he had finally come up for fresh air.

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