Iftia: Lyx Palace, Dining Hall

• Elianna •

Since that night which he pushed her out of the study, she never saw Rowan again. Not only had he stopped dining with everyone, but he also spent most of his time away from Lyx. There were many times when she decided to visit him to apologise, his knights would tell her that he wasn't available or out of Lyx. This morning was no different, she dined with the knights in the absence of him. 

"Ilias, is Rowan out of Lyx today too?" she asked, but her gaze stayed on her plate. She held onto the fork and lightly tossed her food around, with no intention to eat.

"Elianna, Rowan had ordered for his schedule to be kept hidden," Ilias sighed. "I'm sorry I won't be able to tell you anything."

"I'm sorry," she murmured, disappointment heavy in her tone. "I wasn't trying to put you in a difficult position."

"We all understand." It was Kaylon who comforted her.

She left the dining hall without taking a single bite of her breakfast. It was always cold in Iftia, but Lyx had always been filled with his warmth within the dark stone walls. Now that there wasn't a single trace of him in the entire palace, it felt even colder than the raging snowstorm outside. Rowan simply disappeared as though he had never existed. 

Elianna stayed in the medical office for the rest of the morning, tending to a few soldiers for the injuries they sustained during their training. Some stayed a little longer to have a casual chat with her when they sensed that she wasn't quite herself today. She was happy to have their company, at least it took her mind off everything that was bothering her and when she had no one to attend to in the noon, she felt unusually restless and she paced back and forth her office. All of a sudden, the four walls surrounding her office made her felt ever so claustrophobic. 

Frustrated by how suffocating her office felt, she left her office for the Royal Medical Department. Perhaps talking to Professor Hamley would help her take some things off her mind. 

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Iftia: Royal Medical Department

• Elianna •

Nothing really went well on bad days. 

The moment she entered through the main entrance, Collin, the medical administrator told her that Professor Hamley was out of his office today. Sighing, she walked down the hallway and went to the library to grab some books and kill some time over there. 

Elianna combed through the bookshelves, selecting some interesting reads for herself.  When she approached the bookshelves near the corner of the library, she overheard two librarians whispering.

"Have you heard about the Thethian Princess's visit?"

"Yes, isn't she currently residing in Krystal Palace?"

"The Royal Secretariat of Thethia was here to deliver their King's message."

"You heard of the message?"

"Yes. It is about the marriage alliance for Princess Elizabeth and the First Prince."

At that news, Elianna felt a sudden loss of strength and dropped all the books in her arms. The fallen books made a loud sound when impacted the ground, the pages rustled noisily which echoed through the silent library. Startled, the two librarians spun around and stared at her. One of them exclaimed in a harsh whisper, "Doctor Everson! You scared us!" 

"I-Is it true?" Elianna fumbled with her words.

"What do you mean?" the other librarian asked.

"What y-you said," she stammered.

"I just happened to overhear," the librarian panicked. "Don't you work in Lyx? The First Prince's knights should know very well."

After telling her about it, the librarians scrambled back to their work stations leaving her still standing at the corner of the library wondering why the words she heard caused a terrible ache in her chest. At this moment, she felt as though her chest was cracked opened and her heart spooned out of her.

Why does it hurt so much? 

The distance that was pulled between them didn't simply cause him to stray away from her, it caused her to lose him. However, even without everything that happened within Nvre Palace and Matthias, this marriage would still be discussed. Suddenly, the loss felt inevitable and she finally figured out the Thethia's motive for the visit. 

Tears burned painfully at the back of her eyes and she whispered quietly to herself, "Don't you dare cry." 

Her hands were trembling when she picked up all the books from the ground and placed them back on the shelves. She left the library in a hurry, dragging herself out of the Royal Medical Department but hesitated going back to Lyx when she stood by the carriage that was here to fetch her back. The soldier that followed her here asked, "Doctor Everson, are you heading back already?" 

"Thomas, can you please bring me to Nvre Palace?" 

"I don't think that's a good idea," Thomas stated, anxiously. 

Elianna didn't say anything else and entered the carriage. Even when it wasn't wise for her to visit Nvre Palace, Thomas listened to her and brought her there accordingly. When she left the carriage, Thomas attempted to stop her again, "Doctor Everson—" 

"Let Ilias know that I am staying at the Royal Medical Department for a few days," she instructed. "If anything happens, I'll take responsibility."

With that, she sent Thoams back to Lyx and entered Nvre.

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Iftia: Nvre Palace, Study

• Matthias •

"Your Highness, Lady Elianna has arrived at Nvre," Ray entered the study and bowed towards him.

"What?" Matthias dropped his pen at the mention of Elianna. The doctor hadn't contacted him since her last visit and he assumed that she wanted to maintain her distance with him, like all the other knights and soldiers from Lyx. However, hearing that she had initiated to come to Nvre Palace was a pleasant surprise. Without delay, he rushed towards the receiving room which Ray had settled her in. Matthias entered with a big smile on his face, "Elianna!"

The lady turned around and look at him and the expression etched in her face showed that she did not share the same joy as him. Tears were already welled up in the corners of those amber-coloured eyes. Her hands bunched tightly on the skirt of her dress and she seemed to be holding back on the urge to cry. Behind him, Ray followed behind and Matthias quickly turned around and cautioned to him, "You, stay outside." 

"Your Highness, it's not appropriate for you to be alone with an unmarried lady," Ray reminded. 

"Elianna is my friend," Matthias frowned. "I'm not overstepping my boundaries." 

He closed the door slowly and walked towards her. "What happened?" he inquired in a tone filled with concern and worry.

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A few days later.
Iftia: Lyx Palace, Study

• Rowan •

"How's Elianna?" he asked, dipping the pen into the ink bottle and scribbled on the documents on his desk.

He knew about the rumours of the Royal Marriage and that it was intentionally spread by Thethia to create pressure on Ifita to agree. He wondered if she also happened to hear about it. He hadn't seen her since that night and all the work and official duties piling on his shoulders had been holding him back from visiting her.

"Your Highness, it has been five days since Elianna moved to the Royal Medical Department. I will send someone over to check on her again." Ilias replied.

"Why did she leave Lyx Palace for so long?" Rowan frowned.

"She informed Thomas that she will be helping out with Professor Hamley's research."

"Is she well?" he began to worry as the quarters in the Royal Medical Department would definitely be a lot different from Lyx. "Do send something warmer for her if she requires. It's a lot colder there." 

"No news might be good news," Ilias smiled slightly. "I'm sure she's well." 

"Right," Rowan sighed. "Remember to have someone to check on her." 

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