The fire in the room cackled on as a lone figure sat in front of it. In a dazed state, all she could do was just look at the red golden flames, her thoughts blank of any emotions.

It was late in night, and Aaya was still seated where she had first rested since the morning. The door of her room in her home was closed, many had come knocking but none dared to open it. She had rarely ever neglected the patients and retreated back. In her life, seeing this peculiar behavior, even her foster mother cautioned against bothering her to her foster uncle.

Indeed, her emotions were scattered, clarity left behind in the forest.

All because sending her away on the task the warrior requested had just been a ruse.

Jung Hoseok had left, by the time she had come back to make the medicine he had requested her. He did not leave behind any note, any letter.

He had simply walked away. Without even saying goodbye.

Was it that easy to leave?

No. it wasn't. He is not gone. He will never leave before meeting me once again. He must be acting according to whatever he has in his mind. He cannot leave me so simply.

This inner voice was the reason she sat dazed. Not due to pain of abandonment or hurt of doubt. No, her problem was the assured surety in her own inner voice, like something inside her was knew.

More than anything, there was a peculiar sensation of fear. Fear, that he had been too calm. Fear, that there was something which was coming.

Fear, that Hoseok had been triggered.

This knowledge that coursed through her blood, was unnatural. How could she know him so well? Why was that voice so different in its personality than what she was? Why did she feel like she was in a dream, a world where she was not who she was.

As was Hoseok. He was not-

Was not what?

Frustrated, Aaya stood up and agitatedly walked towards the window. The streets were dark with no lanterns lit, people were cozy in their homes, leaving the night to blanket the roads with no signs of life.

And in that deserted dark, the moon shone with its tranquility, the stars enhancing its beauty like sprinkling of precious gems in the night sky. The cool win teasing her with its peace, held a thread of gentle malice in it.

Aaya breathed in deep, but she still could not calm down.

A knock this time was accompanied by Nana's voice, "Child? Today was not good for you, sleep well."

Hearing her, Aaya swiftly moved to the door and opened it for the older woman. Nana's eyes worriedly looked over her once, and then she opened her arms. Without a second of delay, Aaya went in the comfort of her embrace, tightly holding her as she buried her face in her neck.

Her Nana understood her state of mind, she knew something had disturbed her. Soothingly she rubbed her back and rocked her a little, "Won't you tell Nana what is wrong?"

"I-Nana, does love make people react in the same way? Will love make anyone react to a situation with the same emotions?"

The Head Physician blinked at the question, instinctively knowing that this question, was in no manner related to her betrothed.

"No." she answered with a little delay, "Its different for each person Dear. For some, a situation can bring pain while the same circumstance may become a challenge for another." She paused a little, before hesistantly asking, "Aaya, did you meet Jung Hoseok in the forest you went in everyday?" she asked carefully.

Aaya jerked in her arms and backed away rapidly, the surprise in her eyes and panic in her throat keeping her from responding.

Seeing her reaction, her Nana's eyes rounded and then a weariness washed over them, "You treated him! Aaya, please tell me you did not fall in love with that person."

"How--? How?" Aaya was too stunned to understand the rest.

The Head physician glanced in the empty corridors and pushed her a little to make her move in her room, "The General went missing in our village, rumors circulated of an attack on him, you diligently went to the area most suited for a sneak attack every day. The body of the General was not found, the ointments and potions you usually make remained the same in quantity even with such frequent visit to the forests. And now, you are cautiously asking me about behavior of a person in love."

She gently flicked Aaya's forehead, "Is it too difficult to guess?"

Aaya laughed a little, "So my attempts at secrecy was all for naught? Everyone knows?"

At this question, a dull pain bloomed in the older woman's heart. She kissed the sweet child's cheeks, thinking about how to tell her, that only the people who loved her, cared for her, would be the ones to pay attention to all the small things surrounding her. Only they would be able to deduce it. And in this place, except her, no one loved the sweet child.

"No dear, Only your Nana is clever enough." She said lightly.

Aaya's smile dimmed. She was someone with exceptional intelligence, she understood.

Hastily, Nana continued, "But Child, please don't think about falling in love with him."

Before Aaya could ask her, Nana continued, "I know of the tales surrounding him but I also have spent time under his command thrice, for a long period of time, in the war serving as a physician for his squadron. Child, he is a man with a dormant beast inside. Right now, believe it or not, he is the most harmless he can be."

Aaya sharply inhaled. Because the words her Nana spoke resounded within her. She felt them, she knew them to be true.

"He is existing right now child, simply existing. Without any aim, without any ambition. He is breathing because he does not know what else to do. He does not have any sense or attach any meaning to who he is."

"No. . ." Aaya half heartedly interrupted, "He still has a heart for revenge for what happened to his family-"

Nana had already started shaking her head and Aaya too trailed away from her protest. Even to her own ears, it sounded hollow. She had already seen through Hoseok's act. In the course of more than half a month, she too had understood what the older woman was going to say.

"The General pretends to have the cold fire of revenge still burning in his heart because it allows him the space needed from the people he considers are an annoyance. His power or his attitude was not deliberately hidden, it was just displayed at a time when he wanted the world to leave him alone. He has no ties or attachment to the past, its merely a lip service or an illusion created by him to make the Royal family keep a careful distance from him, fearing retaliation or revenge." Nana said.

Aaya sat down and closed her eyes. Having her suspicions shared with the same strength by an elder she respected, by the elder she knew was equally good as her in seeing through people, made a shiver race through her spine.

That was her response because the implication of the guess was a calamity which had already happened. She could no longer go back to undo it.

The Head Physician crouched down and looked at her, "Such a person has depths to him which is best left undisturbed. Child, attracting the attention of such individual, becoming his love, his obsession is worse than death. He wont let go, and he will never understand restraint. What will be his passion will spell a fire of destruction for the rest." She reached for Aaya's hands,

"Aaya, he is a dangerous storm who will not understand right from wrong, and anyone in his path will face extinction. More than that, death will be a velvet blanket which will wrap itself around any who will try to save you. Because his love might be the sole reason he learns to live, but to you, it will be a curse."

Aaya kept her eyes closed, but weakly said, "Why would you jump to him learning love to become an obsession. Obsession and love are different. He can be taught the distinction, as he can be guided to learn right from wrong." A tinge of desperation in her voice Aaya opened her eyes and asked in a pleading manner, "Am I not right?"

Seeing her eyes, her Nana abruptly sat down on the floor, her heart thudding loudly as all her strength seemingly sapped from her limbs.

She faintly said, "What did you do . . .? What . . . Did you, do?"

"I -" I fell in love with him.

Aaya did not have to voice her thoughts which was clear for the older woman to understand. Even though she was not the one who had given birth to the girl, she was the woman who considered Aaya to be just as close to her heart as if she were her biological child.

The fear she felt when she understood the situation left her paralyzed.

"Whoever he becomes, he is not evil Nana. Why are you so afraid?" Aaya whispered.

In a trance, Nana replied without paying mind to it, "Because you are not strong or wise enough to guide him, Aaya. You are not capable of making him understand."

Aaya blinked, "Why am I not?"

Quietly, her Nana replied, "You are too rigid on what you consider is Light. The principles of your world are still black and white. You still don't understand how to respect the decisions natural to a dark side without comprising their values while incorporating your views." The older woman looked squarely at the young girl, "Because you still don't understand Obsession is a black Easel. You can either paint a beautiful painting on it with the sincerity of the White colour of your love or you can lose your own purity and color the paper in a shade which will never show, which will get lost against the blackness. Obsession can either become a form of protection or it can spiral out of control to destroy both lives."

"What am I lacking?" the more Aaya listened to her, the more she felt pained. She considered herself to be wise, was she that much of a fool?

With heavy eyes her Nana replied, "Wisdom comes from experience, and experience comes from pain." With a wry smile she said, "You have never understood pain, love. You are still a beautiful soul, but without any shine. To shine, edges need to be cut Aaya. Being cut, is to feel agony. You, are too young my child. Too innocent." She paused, "Too naïve."

Is that my fault? Being the Light Twin? Without understanding the limit of darkness in me, will I never know balance? And balance is what will give me the power to protect them?

If so, then be it! I, will prove it to the cosmos. My will, will be absolute.

The voice exploded suddenly in her head. Her own voice, heavily stained with a divine crystal melody, spoken clearly and with passionate pain, pierced her mind. Aaya winced against the onslaught, trying to breathe through the sudden pain.

What was that voice? When had she said anything such as that? She did not understand her own words, or the meaning behind it.

Unaware of Aaya's state, her Nana continued, "This should not have happened. You should not have attracted his attention." She shook her head and asked, "Where is he now? Do you know if he has taken an interest in you?"

The pain went as soon as it came, but a hollow feeling of emptiness where an important memory should be, kept Aaya gasping. She murmured, "He loves me."

She kept thinking about what she heard herself say and only came to focus when her arms were harshly grabbed by the head physician, who shook her a little,

"What?? What did you say?? Did he say that to you??"

Aaya looked at the panicked face of the woman, "No." He didn't need to.

Her Nana searched her face for a while, "Do you--?"

"I love him."

"You don't know him! You don't know what he hides-"

"I know I don't. But at the same time, I feel like no one knows him better than me." voice breaking a little, she confessed, "I don't want to love him. But I can't not."

Her Nana's gaze helplessly softened at her struggle and she pulled the girl in her arms, comforting her. She stroked her hair and held her child to her bosom as she softly whispered, "Shhh . . . Its okay. Lets talk about this all tomorrow. For now, just rest, okay?"

Gaining strength from the comfort of a love as strong and pure as a mother's Aaya asked, her small voice muffled by the robes of her Nana, "Do you hate him?"

No matter the individuality of a person, the approval from the person closest to her would always matter.

The head physician smiled, "I will never hate someone who will love you, child. I am incapable of hating a person who wants to make you happy. But I am concerned because you are yet not in a point where you will be able to manage the fire he is. I am afraid, you will burn in its flames."

Aaya remained quiet.

"Perhaps . . . in another lifetime . . ." Nana's voice trailed away.

Those words kept repeating itself in a loop when Aaya finally laid in her bed later that night. As she extinguished all the lanterns and candles, she drew the blanket till her chin and closed her eyes, willing her restless heart to settle.

Perhaps . . .

But then, was this doomed from the very beginning? Why? Was she truly not wise enough to understand a nature disapproved by others?

Questions after questions flitted in her mind.

She fitfully went deeper in her dreams, unaware of the pair of dark eyes that remained hidden in the shadows of her corridor, who had remained there for a considerable amount of time.

When the person was assured of her slumber, he quietly came into her room. He stood just inside the room, looking at her sleeping figure hidden in the black hues of the lightless room at the far end.

He stood still, his eyes glinted with a need to be closer to her but he never moved towards the sleeping figure.

A smile on his lips, a rush of desire, love and madness in his eyes, he withdrew a letter  from his robes. His imposing frame bent down to place it on the table beside the door. The powerful man stood in the room for some time, then turned to leave.

Before crossing the threshold, he looked back once again and whispered in a dark tone, "If burning each other is what the future holds, I'll still hold you close to me. Life or death, you are mine in both. Soon, the world will know too."

Like the wind crossing the plains unnoticed, the shadow of the General slipped away from the room and into the night.

🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹 🌹

Aaya was woken from her sleep by a series of loud knocks and the shouts.

Still disoriented, she peered outside the window to see the bright morning and then rose to stumble towards her door, admitting the little boy inside.

"Quick! You must come with me! for once, these bandits have actually done something good!!" Little Tang shouted as soon as he fell in through the doors, tugging at her hand.

"Tang . . ." Aaya put her hand on the head of the excited boy, "First take a deep breath."

Wanting her to come quickly, Tang immediately obeyed.

"Good. Now tell me what is going on. And say it slowly."

Tang dutifully curbed his enthusiasm and then started, "The maids went to sweep the courtyard in the morning and found Foster Uncle lying on the ground. Apparently, he was attacked by a bandit who was surveying our house and the attached monastery. He was knocked out by the bandit who then escaped."

A solitary bandit attack? A bandit, surveying a house?

Something about it did not sit right.

"Was Foster Uncle injured?" Aaya asked.

On hearing the question, little Tang's eyes lit up with joy, "Yes!! Every single bone of his hand upto his elbow was broken!! Even his fingers! And that too of both his hands!! The head physician thinks he will never be able to use his hands again in his entire life!!"

An acute sense of oppression bloomed inside Aaya as a chill went down her spine. Without giving Tang a chance to talk further, she told the boy that she would come once she was dressed and closed the door.

Then she weakly leaned against it as she slid down to the floor. This, was no bandit attack.

It could only be one man.

Just then, her eyes fell on the rolled up letter in red cloth placed on the table beside her. For a long time, Aaya only looked at the object, then she reached forward.

A man touching you is a sin which I will not forgive, bruising you is an invitation to death that I will answer. Your intentions touched me, but your reputation is a treasure I guard.

I am returning back to the Capital. Wait for me to come back to you.

On the day I do, you will become mine.

You did capture me, and if you can't dare to cage me, then know that I will.

I will not let you go Gazelle, I hope you know that.

Hoseok.

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

A/N : As I think you can understand, the sweet part of this story has come to an end. . . the dark part begins from now.

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