Iftia: Lyx Palace, Large Foyer

• Rowan •

Rowan returned once he saw Elizabeth off. Tending to these royals really got on his nerves. It felt almost impossible to talk to them without having them giggling and smiling at every single thing that was said. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to get rid of the annoyance. 

He sighed as some maidservants came forward to take the heavy coat which he had removed when he entered the Lyx. His knights also assembled at the large foyer to receive him. Kaylon was the first to break the silence as he said happily, "Your Highness, Elianna has returned to Lyx." 

His head shot up to glance at Kaylon, surprised. He wondered how long it had been since he last saw her, he was sure it had only been a few days but the period he was away from her felt long and dreadful. He missed her so much. He missed her soft brown hair and those beautiful amber-coloured eyes. He missed her melodic voice and her lovely laughter. Rowan glanced down at his hands. What he missed the most was her warmth and her small body against his large frame. 

Eli. 

He knew that the tension between them has yet ceased. And he didn't have the chance to explain himself because of all the official matters that kept him constantly preoccupied. Closing his hands into fists, he shook the thoughts off. He had decided to find her immediately after he was done with everything for the day. 

"Meet me in the study," he requested, gesturing for his knights to move. 

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Iftia: Lyx Palace, Elianna's Bedchamber

• Elianna •

Elianna only remembered feeling really upset when she returned to her own bedchamber. Whenever she wasn't feeling well, Thunder would stay with her but he had returned to Thethia today. She told him that she would be okay but she was quite far from it. After taking a quick bath, she turned in for the night and she wasn't sure why the enigma within her chest swelled uncomfortably. 

When she opened her eyes again, darkness quickly surrounded her and she tried to call for Thunder but there wasn't a reply until a distant voice sounded, "Princess Elianna!" 

Surprised, she recognised that as Lylia's voice. She turned but couldn't see anything except for the endless darkness that surrounded her. Closing her fists, the shadows refused to disappear and her pulse quickened when she couldn't understand why her gift refused to heed to her command. 

"Elianna!" This time, it was Jason's voice.

Elianna tried to locate the voice but the echoes were confusing her and she wasn't sure where to even start searching when she couldn't find anything within this empty void. Frantic, she pleaded in her heart. Thunder, I'm scared. I don't know what's happening. 

"Your Highness," Marie's voice sounded from behind her and she spun around. She followed the voice, but everywhere she turned, there was nothing except for the ripples of their voices that slowly faded into nothingness. 

"Eli, close your eyes." Mother? Elianna pushed her hand forward, trying to see if she could reach out to anything. Nothing. There was nothing around in this space, except for darkness. She couldn't even see her own hands.

"Eli." This time, it was Rowan's deep, rich voice. Her heart slammed painfully against her ribs when she couldn't reach anything within this perpetual darkness and everyone's voices constantly sounding out to her. Yet, each time they called her, the sound only grew farther.  

"No, please don't go," she cried, not wanting to be left alone in this terrifying expanse. The voices did not heed to her plea, they kept growing softer and out of her reach. She tripped and her body hit the ground in a painful thud. "Please don't leave me alone." 

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Iftia: Lyx Palace, Study

• Rowan •

His knights gathered to report about the day and the things they were tasked to do while he was away from Lyx. He listened and his mind filled with all the official matters that were piling up recently. There was so much on his plate that he didn't know when he would ever get a break. 

Rowan raised his hands and his fingers circled his temples. Tristan was mentioning something about Duke Brignac visiting Thethia before the room suddenly turned pitch-black. Everyone was alarmed, and his knights drew their swords while moving slowly to lean their backs against each other. Rowan attempted to conjure light to himself but even the light disappeared within the darkness.

"What is going on?" Alec asked, surprised. 

"Stay alert," Ilias warned. 

Screams could be heard from outside the study and there were many other noises such as glass shattering and the clanking of metals. Rowan observed the darkness carefully and realised that there were small orbs glowing in amber which flickered faintly. A familiar feeling rose in him when he remembered the few times when Elianna blanketed him with her shadows and the faint amber glow surrounding them. 

"Withdraw your weapons," Rowan said. 

"What?" Tristan gasped. 

"It's her," he replied. 

None of his knights understood what Rowan was implying. 

"I'll go and take a look. No one is to talk about whatever they saw in Lyx today. Make sure they know the consequence," he cautioned as he broke off from the defensive formation made by his knights and followed the glints of amber within the shadows. 

"Ro!" Alec shouted but he didn't bother replying. 

"Darn it!" Kaylon cursed. 

Rowan left the study in a hurry and raced through the darkness. When he found her, she was already on the ground and the magic energy stirred chaotically around her. She was squirming painfully as her fingers dug into the ground. Her sobs were heartwrenching to hear and his heart clenched when he saw how much pain she was in right now. 

He ran forward, trying to reach her but a barrier put a distance between them. 

"Eli!" he shouted her name over and over again, pounding hard on the barrier as he desperately tried to get her to look at him.

※

• Elianna •

She was too lost in herself, and her emotions were left running wild, uncontrolled. Her head hurts from listening to all those voices of the people she loved calling her over and over again. Their voices grew farther each time, but she could still hear them. They were so far away for her to reach, they spoke to her as though they wanted to haunt her. 

Her stomach lurched when a wave of nausea hit her. She crouched even lower and heaved, emptying whatever that was forcing its way up. A strong metallic scent permeated the air and she tasted blood in the back of her throat. Did I just vomit blood? 

She stared horrifyingly down at her hands, not able to see anything but she felt warm, sticky liquid on her hands and they smelled like blood. A loud shout pierced through the darkness and she raised her head to look at the figure that was surrounded by the amber of her shadow. She heard him clearly, "Eli, please stop! You'll die if you don't stop!" 

She could hear him clearly this time and her heart squeezed in her chest. He's real. He didn't leave me. Using all the strength that was left in her, she reached her hand out towards him. The barrier disappeared in an instant and her shadows retreated back into her. 

Light returned to Lyx once again. 

Rowan rushed past the space between them and held her tight in his arms. She felt her stomach churned and she pushed him away forcefully, turning to her side and hurling out another mouthful of blood. She overexerted her gift this time and when her shadows returned back to her all at once, her body could not handle the sudden surge of power. She felt weak all over and her eyelids grew heavier with each passing moment. Her consciousness floated and her vision blurred. 

"Oh god, no, no, no. Please don't close your eyes," Rowan's voice was filled with panic and fear, she felt his grip tightened as her body grew limp. "Please don't leave me, love. Please don't." 

Everything felt weirdly real — his voice, his warmth and the way he held her close to him. Maybe she had mistaken Thunder with Rowan because only her panther knew how to pull her back from her shadows. Confusion overwhelmed her but she didn't have the capacity to think everything through. She struggled to keep her eyes open, following everything that the person holding onto her was saying. 

"Elianna, you belonged to us. You belonged to the darkness." 

Her shadows reminded her once again, forcing her to lose herself to them. Darkness seeped from the tip of her fingers and the person holding onto him gripped on her hands and pleaded, "Don't, love. Please don't let them out anymore." 

He gently kissed her hands and realisation struck her that she was held in Rowan's hold. She finally came to the reality that he was real and was supporting her body up. Then, a sudden fear overwhelmed her when she gathered whatever strength in her arms to shove on him hard. She was sure he saw all her shadows and he had witnessed her dark side.  

"Eli?" Rowan stared at her wide-eyed. 

Trepidation overwhelmed her and she felt suffocated and unable to breathe. She felt too afraid to hear what he had to say and she didn't want him to hate her. Pointing towards the door, she forced herself to stay still though her body shook and trembled violently, "Leave, get out of here." 

"Eli, please don't shut me out," he tried to move towards her but she scurried away, avoiding him. The panic within her stirred uneasily and unforgivingly. 

"GET OUT!" she screamed. Black spots dotted her vision, causing her to shake in dizziness. She heaved another mouthful of blood and her body finally caved in. She fell back into the pitch-black darkness once again. 

※

just to explain, all gifts have consequences. for elianna, when her emotions becomes uncontrolled, her gift would also become unstable.