As she whistled a tune to herself, Prisana waited patiently for her next assignment to begin. Folding linens was not exactly what she signed up for. Yet, Prisana knew that since this was first day in the infirmary, she might be expecting too much.

Tapping her shoe on the floor to the beat she had in mind, Prisana was startled once she felt Rachini touch her shoulder. Surprised to feel the head nurse's cold hand , it caused Prisana to jump backwards.

Her trainee smirked,  but refrained herself from saying anything offensive. After all, this was her late friend's daughter and Rachini promised Arkhom to keep Prisana safe and sound.

"Prisana, dear, I didn't mean to startle you, but here comes your first assignment. Could you please take care of this gentleman for me?"

The young nurse was overjoyed to hear that she was selected to do the job over the other nurses who had more experience.

Yet, she wondered what was the catch. There must be something fishy about this task. Was it because she was a newbie?

This is my big chance to make a difference! I can't mess this up. I don't care if my conscience is warning me not to accept this challenge. I'm ready!

Rachini ignored Prisana's gleeful facial expressions, and patted down one of the men who escorted the patient to the infirmary instead.

Holding pieces of papers on top of several folders, she planned to record details of who their next subject would be.

"And what is the patient's name, sir?"

Since there was no immediate reply to her question, Rachini tried snapping her fingers.

Standing agape,Champo paid little attention to her as he was appalled by Prisana's beauty. With long ravishing hair, and eyes like diamonds, sparkling with mischief and curiosity, the young woman was bound to keep any man's interest.

On the other hand, Champo's partner in crime , Lwin, nudged him as he was annoyed by his comrade's ignorant behavior.

Whispering in Champo's ear, Lwin scolded him. "Champo! What are you doing? She's got you under her spell. She's from Siam, our enemy. Forget her and answer Rachini. Or I will be the one taking charge!"

Trying to break free from his reverie, Champo thanked Lwin for breaking the ice. Embarrassed for his actions, he responded to Rachini' s questions.

Turning his head to face the nurse, Champo twitched and faked a smile.

"I'm sorry for the brief pause. Our soldier's name is Khin ... Commander Khin Lei. He was injured in the line of fire protecting another soldier of ours. We immediately took him in our tent to see if we could revive him, but without the proper medical tools on base, the Commander is still in bad shape. He is awake, but can hardly speak." 

Pointing to Lwin, Champo continued with the conversation and removed the blanket that covered Khin from view.

"As you can Ma'm, Commander Khin's bruises are lodged on his face. I assume in time, they will dissipate. However, his bandages are bloodied and at our station we don't have enough supplies. I hope that lovely nurse of yours would be able to help him recover."

Prisana blushed as she paid attention to what was being said, while Rachini grunted as the last sentence was mentioned.

"Thank you Champo and Lwin, we will try to nurse the commander back to health. And as soon as he is better, we will bring Khin back to your camp."

Rachini wanted to say the commander would be 100 percent better and walk to his home base by himself, but she didn't think that would happen as soon as possible.

Before checking for the source of the wound, Prisons put on disposable gloves that Rachini gave her. With Commander Khin at her side, she was in awe when she glanced at his charming face. His eyes, a blend of sea and sky while his lips were round like a crescent moon, illuminating the dark corners of her heart

Yet she knew the man must be older as his wrinkles must have marked the map of her life, telling tales of the smiles and sorrows she had experienced. She figured that he couldn't be that old as his hair was still black as the night sky.

"Prisana! Are you just gonna stare at your patient for the whole five minutes? Time is precious, so please start working"

Embarrassed that she was caught admiring him like a piece of artwork, she started removing Khin's bandages. Feeling his callous hands made her tremble inside as this was her first time touching an older man other than her father.

Prisana continued to look for the source of the heavy bleeding and took a piece of cotton from a jar and dabbed it with alcohol. Placing it on his arm, she pressed on it firmly with the palm of her hand before she tied a clean cloth to keep the blood from flowing. 

Lifting his wounded arm above his heart, she helped Khin lay back down on the cot. Plumping up an extra pillow, Prisana placed it under his head. She elevated his feet as well as she felt his rapid pulse.

----

Rachini came back to observe what her intern was up to and was satisfied with what Prisana had done.

Rachini came back to observe what her intern was up to and was satisfied with what Prisana had done.

However, she witnessed how Prisana might have grown fond of the commander. Rachini knew those signs : the physical eye contact, the proximity of how close she was and gestures. She once fell in love with a handsome man in her younger years as well, but that relationship turned sour once he left her empty handed.

"Please don't upset your dying father Prisana. Do not fall in love with him. Commander Khin is the enemy. You do know if word gets out in town on what you have done, many will retaliate, not only on you but your whole family. Don't let me be the one to break the news to your father. I'm warning you."

Rachini believed those wise words would make the young woman realize that this infatuation would not last. However, as Prisana left the commander at bay, and gave him to her supervisor to attend to, their hands touched, And for a minute Prisana knew she didn't want to leave, afraid that Khin might become ambushed once agian he continued to fight.

Though the memories were short, knew she had met her soul mate. Prisana didn't want to think of him as the adversary, but as her knight and shining armor.