"in the sea of everyone else, she will always be someone else."

Iftia: Lyx Palace, Study

• Rowan •

"Is Elianna back?" Rowan asked, meanwhile going through and signing the pile of documents stacked on his desk. 

"Yes, she returned to Lyx a while ago." Ilias nodded and suggested, "You may want to pay her a visit." 

"Why?"

"She is reading our medical records."

Rowan paused, placing the pen back on the desk and stood up. He pointed towards the mess of papers on his desk as he said, "Ilias, the important parts are done, please help me finish up the remaining and tidy up. I'll see everyone at dinner." 

"Please be on your way, Ro," Ilias assured. 

Turning a few rounds through the hallways that never felt so endless till now, he rushed towards the medical office. It was a foreign feeling of how that room used to be an empty storage that his soldiers would visit whenever they're injured and now he anticipated visiting the room, all because of a presence within that weighed so significantly against his heart. He didn't rush to open the door. Instead, Rowan pushed on the polished surface gently and heard the sounds of her muffled cries. Despite saddened by the things that she was reading, she continued to flip through the pages while being in a sobbing mess. He quietly moved towards her, careful to not startle her as he took a quick glance and saw his name as the subject. 

A sudden temptation to laugh surged within him but he suppressed it. It wasn't because she looked foolish or anything of that sort. It was because of the warmth radiating through his entire being. He wanted to laugh because of the happiness and comfort when he felt that she cared deeply for him.

"Eli?" he called her softly.

The lady hastily wiped the tears on her face and turned to face him. Tears glistened her amber eyes, making them shine brighter than usual. Heartbroken to see her upset, he rested his palms on each side of her face and his thumber swept across the round of her cheeks to wipe the falling tears away. His voice was much tender whenever towards her and he asked, "What's wrong, love?" 

No coherent words formed and she only gasped through her sobs, keeping her eyes on him. Raising her hands, her fingers curled on his forearm and he felt her trembling through her hold. Smoothing a hand along her back, he tried to soothe her cry as he pulled her into his embrace and gently swayed her against his hold. He coddled, "Tell me why you're crying." 

※

• Elianna •

In his gentle hold and warm embrace, her emotions grew even stronger. She never knew she could feel so much for someone. She felt so much for his suffering, etching the pain into her heart. Perhaps her ability to empathise was because both of them shared something in common — a horribly unpleasant childhood. Yet, the ability to feel so much for someone was so overwhelming that it scared her. Digging her fingers into the thick material of his coat, she murmured his name, "R-Rowan—"

"Please don't cry. It's over, Eli, it's long over."

He leaned close to her and they moved slowly as he patted softly against her back. Their bodies touched, leaving no gaps in between and he comforted her. It should be the other way round, she should be the one to comfort him but she was the one crying devastatingly. Burying her head into his chest, she inhaled the faint scent of mint and sandalwood that belonged uniquely to him, feeling calmer and comforted. Her voice was hoarse from crying but she had to ask, "Why?" 

"My price for being in-line for the throne," Rowan laughed bitterly.

His answer did not make her feel any better, but she was glad to obtain an honest response. She wrapped her arms tighter, wishing so desperately that he never had to go through that. No one should experience something so horrible. 

They stayed as such for a long moment and he brought her to the dining hall to have dinner with everyone else. She ate a little and he didn't push her to have more, only insisting on walking her back to her bedchamber after the meal which she allowed him to. Entering her room, she removed her medical garb and took a bath before turning in for the night. 

In this sleepless night, she laid in bed wide awake, tossing and turning but still unable to fall asleep. Her mind was filled with everything that she saw in Rowan's medical records. Then, a memory of Jason flashed across her mind as she recalled something which he taught her. He always reminded her that everything in this realm came with a price. 

If you want to wear the crown, you must bear the weight of it.

Bothered, she decided to forgo her sleep as she rolled herself off the bed and Thunder appeared right in time. She turned towards him and recognised the glance that he was signalling to her. In a firm voice, she said, "Give me a moment." 

She went straight into the changing room, picking out a set of dark training clothes to put on. They jumped straight into the portal and returned to Thethia. Once at the other side of the portal, she moved swiftly through the woods. It was new moon tonight and the entire place was dark without a single trace of light on the ground but an endless galaxy of twinkling starlight in the skies above them.  Releasing her shadows, Elianna located Thunder and followed right behind him as they rushed downhill. 

━━━━━━━━━━

Iftia: Lyx Palace, Outside Elianna's Bedchamber

• Rowan •

Restlessness and worry overwhelmed him and he decided to drop her a visit again. However, he had been knocking on her door for the fourth time and there was no response. He wondered if she was taking a bath until a guard who was patrolled past stopped in his step and bowed towards him. The guard mentioned with an unsure tone, "Your Highness, if you're looking for the lady, she told a guard that she would be leaving Lyx with her panther but no one saw them through the main gates." 

He felt unsettled before coming over and after hearing what the guard said the feeling intensified. Without hesitation, he pushed on the knob and entered her bedchamber. He sensed the trace of magic that was left when the portal was used, he was unsure if he wanted to go ahead and find her but his decision was made the moment Thunder leapt through it. At the first sight of him, the panther bit on his arm firmly and pulled hard on his arm. The strong stench of blood scared him and he followed in a hurry. 

The whole place was pitched dark and he conjured light into his palms to grant himself some vision. When he saw her, she had her back against a tree as she quivered and her breathing was slowing. Directing the light towards the patch of grass beneath her, it was already soaked in deep red from her blood. The dark fabric on her thigh was torn and it revealed a deep gash that explained all the red he was seeing. He wasn't a person to panic but he did, deeply unsure of the pressure against his chest when he asked, "What happened to you, love?" 

"Rowan—" she replied, voice shaky. "I was careless." 

"Should I move you?" 

"No," she said weakly, shaking her head slightly. "I think I injured my nerve, I c-cannot feel my leg anymore and the bleeding w-wouldn't stop." 

"You're going into a shock soon, Eli. I have no other choice and this is going to hurt a lot but you have to bear with it," Rowan exhaled before turning towards Thunder and instructed, "Hold her down."  

※

• Elianna •

Elianna wasn't sure what Rowan meant but he moved her to lay flat on the ground and Thunder pressed his weight on her shoulder, grounding her back against the grass beneath. She heard the sound of fabric tearing as Rowan exposed the laceration on her thigh. He inhaled sharply, "Even your bone is smashed, did you fall from a high place?" 

She stayed silent, unable to explain to him because her throat felt dry and also because she couldn't tell him all that happened. She did fall from a high place, but was also shot in the leg and the arrow that struck her went right through her thigh. Before Thunder went back to Iftia, she forced herself to endure through the pain as she pulled the arrow out. It was easier to explain when it was simply a careless mistake. 

Her body was shaking so badly and Thunder purred worriedly as he stared down at her with his emerald eyes. Deep down, she couldn't stop blaming herself for being so distracted that she might've crippled herself from this stupid move. Rowan rested his palm on her wound and she winced with a pained cry. He reminded, "It's going to hurt, but please bear with it." 

A white glow shone from his hands. At first, warmth coursed through her body from the wound, but it immediately turned searing hot. She grimaced at the burn from within, her breath hitched and fear overwhelmed her. The image of fire flashed in front of her, suffocating her. The burn raged on fiercer each time, consuming her in a sea of fire. Pain flared from her thigh up, causing her to scream. 

When the glow finally disappeared, the echoes of her own scream still rang in her ears but her eyelids grew heavier and she drifted off into the darkness. Her senses numbed and everything else was forgotten. 

※ 

what do you think rowan's gift is?