Thethia: Heather Palace, Receiving Room

• Elianna •

After the meal, Lylia arranged for them to settle in the receiving room and Marie placed the tea down for them before both of them left the receiving room. Elianna sat beside her mother and she had asked, "Did you enjoy yourself?" 

"Yes, I did," Elianna gave a respectful nod towards her mother and thanked her politely, "Thank you, Mother." 

"You're welcome my darling," Mother smiled. 

Elianna looked towards her mother, noticing that she had been staring at her and there was something indiscernible within her amber eyes. Their eyes shared the same shade and colour. Yet, she couldn't make out all the hidden thoughts that lay within the million hues. The room was left to them and there was a sudden feeling of tension that troubled her. Elianna couldn't make out the awkward heaviness that hung in the air. 

"Mother—" 

Before Elianna could raise her question, the slow creak from the door behind her caught her attention and she noticed Jason entering the room. In his hand, he held onto a tray that was draped over by a red velvet cloth. The child stared curiously, wondering what was on the tray because, from her height, she couldn't see what was placed on it. 

Mother's hand reached for her and she rested one of her palm on her cheek, she carefully turned the child to face her and she whispered softly with tender sadness, "Elianna, my child." 

"Mother?" Elianna's voice shook for unknown reasons.

"Close your eyes, Eli," Mother whispered.

The child still stared at her mother with wide eyes, her mind filled with many questions at the moment. Then, she turned slightly to take a glance towards Jason only to see him giving her an assuring nod. Returning her gaze to Mother again, Elianna looked at her for one last time before closing her eyes.

A pause of silence hung heavily in the air and she heard her mother starting to read out a string of commands in Thethiac. An unexplainable nervousness filled her chest when she couldn't recognise the spell that her mother was casting. However, when she wanted to open her eyes again to make sense of all that was happening, she felt a sudden pressure plunge right into her chest, immediately forcing her eyes wide open. 

"Mother?" Elianna stared in disbelief at her mother before she looked down at the dagger that was driven right into her chest. Coughing out a mouthful of blood, consciousness left her in an instant. 

※

• Queen of Thethia, Nadia •

Nadia gripped tightly onto the hilt of the dagger as her child slumped lifelessly against her forearm. She waited for a moment of three heartbeats and the next one never arrived and at that moment, she confirmed that her child had stopped breathing. Behind her, Jason said, "Nadia, they're coming." 

"I know," Nadia cried. "I know, Jason..." 

She could hear the hurried footsteps that thundered through the empty hallways of Heather palace and in one violent push of the door, Wynston revealed himself and the knights and soldiers that followed behind. The man sounded grave when he stood frozen at the door at the sight of the dead child in her arms, and he questioned her, "Nadia, what have you done?" 

Tears streamed from her eyes and Nadia quickly pulled out the dagger from the girl's chest and swung it right into hers. A circle of light formed beneath her and she saw Wynston lunging towards her while shouting a name before a flash of blinding white light washed over the room. 

Nadia felt a strong burn against her chest and her heart pounded painfully against the steel of the blade that skewered her heart. The weight in her arms disappeared and she smiled, finally feeling a sense of relief that she hadn't felt in a very long time. The light surrounding her finally faded and her body swayed and fell against the ground. Blood poured from her chest, flooding the carpet beneath with a pool of red. 

Wynston pulled her by the arm and cradled her body close to him. She didn't have any more strength left in her to resist his touch and neither did she bother to look at him. Wynston repeated with anger tinted in his voice, "Nadia, what have you done?" 

Nadia didn't care about all that was happening, her eyes quickly searched for Jason within this chaos and realised that he was already forced to the ground by the King's knights. His grey eyes were locked on her all this while and she recognised the grief but affection that lay within them. Apologetic wasn't the right word to describe how she felt for him because there was so much more that she felt and there wasn't a way to explain. 

A sudden memory flashed before her eyes and she saw herself back in Veilstein manor with him again. That day, Jason passed the examinations and obtained the rights to knighthood. 

※

Many years ago.
Thethia: Veilstein Manor, Library

• Nadia •

"Lady, Sir Wayland had requested for a visit," a maidservant entered the library and informed her. 

"Jason?" Nadia beamed at the name, hastily closing the book in her hand and jumped off the window seat and ran out of the library. Behind her, the maidservant was reminding her to not run in the hallway but she couldn't be bothered. 

Jason was walking down the hallway to go into the receiving room and she quickly lifted her legs into a sprint and jumped on his back, catching him fully unguarded. She folded her arms around his neck and clung onto him tightly. Jason had stumbled forward but his reflexes were fast enough for him to steady himself and carry her weight properly. As usual, he reprimanded, "Lady Veilstein, this is inappropriate! Get down!" 

"Jason, I missed you so much!" she chuckled, holding her arms tighter together as she refused to remove her grip on him no matter what. It had been three months since they met because Jason had to leave for South Thethia to take his examinations. She asked, "Did you pass?" 

"I did," Jason responded, still carrying her as they entered the receiving room. He sighed, "Please get down, my lady. It's really inappropriate for you to behave as such." 

"You used to carry me around when we were children," Nadia said solemnly, knowing that things would keep changing between them. Even when she still remained herself, her heart had been aching since the day her father decided on her marriage with the Crown Prince of the Kingdom, Wynston Evarix. She had no way out of this formal arrangement but she knew that no matter which man would become her husband, her heart only belonged to the one person that she chose. The person she chose had dark hair, grey eyes and a brave heart of gold.

Slowly, she removed herself from him and lowered herself to stand on the ground. Dusting her skirt, she apologised, "I'm sorry, Jason. Don't be mad at me." 

The man in front of her frowned, his eyes filled with adoration when he looked towards her. He said, "I'll never be mad at you, my lady." 

"I'm relieved to hear that," Nadia grinned playfully at him and pulled on his arm to walk him into the room. She prompted, "Tell me about your examinations." 

"I have more important things to tell you," Jason mentioned, reaching for the pocket of his coat. He took out two items and presented in front of her. He picked up a badge first, placing it in her hands and explained, "This crest would be my vow to you to protect you as your knight." 

Nadia looked at the other, within the velvet box was a pair simple silver rings and Jason said, "I wish I could get you something better and more worthy of your status but this my promise ring to you. I promise that I would always stay by your side and you'll never be alone. Please let me follow you wherever you may be, Nadia." 

To her, the pair of unembellished silver rings was so much more beautiful than all the ornate jewellery that she would ever witness in her life because it held an everlasting promise that bonded them together in this lifetime. 

※

She smiled briefly at him, her eyes never leaving him. I hope we meet again in our next life, Jason. Till then, I promise to be your wife. 

━━━━━━━━━━

Thethia: ___

• Elianna •

It was dark all around. "Hold her down." a man spoke, his voice cold as ice. Elianna knew this voice. The Temple Keeper. She must be dreaming again. In those dreams, she always struggled but could not move.

Angered by her powerlessness, she forced to free herself with all her might and the strong grip on her disappeared in a moment. Her hands shot forward as she pushed herself off the ground. When she raised her head, Mother appeared right in front of her. Her expression was washed over by sorrow and guilt as she thrust the dagger into her chest. No! 

Elianna jerked awake screaming, still huffing labouriously while recovering from the nightmare she just had. When she looked ahead, she saw a bunch of trees but the place felt foreign. It wasn't the training ground behind Heather Palace and all that was ahead of her were darkness and trees. The child turned around, trying to survey the area but a pool of black flooded her vision and startled her. Alarmed, her hands reached out to push reflexively but the warmth felt all too familiar.

"Thunder?" she gasped, looking up towards the panther.

Glancing around, she just realised that all this while, her small body was leaning against him. Her small hands brushed over Thunder's fur and it was as though something had stuck in her throat, refusing to let her speak. Her eyes went from Thunder to her blood-drenched dress before breaking into noisy sobs. Thunder lay there silently, his head moved forward and nuzzled in the space between her neck and shoulder. The child continued to cry, unable to understand the pain that was wrenching her heart.

It hurts. Everything hurts.

※