IRA EMERSON ELYSIAN

I woke up at the sound of water boiling.

My head hurt in a way it had never before, making me wince as the first thing upon opening my eyes. I realised I was in an unfamiliar bed, my eyes squinting due to the bright light, as if not being able to tolerate the regular illumination of the morning sun.

I jolted up, my head being struck with another daze of pain, making me shake my head aggressively, which only worsened the stinging headache, the urge to retch getting only stronger.

I looked around the unfamiliar surroundings – I was no longer in the meadow, that much was sure, and was even farther away from it – I was in a cottage, made up of wattle and daub, which consisted of a single room, enough for two people to live in. My confirmation was correct when I noticed another thin bed parallel to mine, a few feet away, the bedsheet neat and tucked.

The room didn't consist of many things – a hearth placed in the middle of the room, fire crackling slowly, a mantel shelf made of wood above the hearth and small containers resting there. A few stools were scattered around, each of them clearly handmade, and large pots lined behind one another, containing water.

There was only one window in the entire cottage, which was right behind the kitchen area, where the Ezèrian was, her back facing me, clearly unaware of me awakening, humming a song that I had once heard in a public sighting with Father. Her attention was solely dedicated to the pots and cauldron over a different hearth, which was made by two, long and parallel lines of bricks on top of another, a wooden plank over the two sides of lined bricks, and logs burning under the plank, warming the contents above it.

I searched for my sword, only to find it right beside me, as I took it, noticing how my fingers were no longer bloody, all the cuts clean, as if they never existed in the first place. I tried to sit up, only getting greeted by more shots of pain all around my body – every part of my body hurt, every part, except for my back.

I groaned, and the Ezèrian turned, facing me, my heart starting its usual job once more – beating quicker whenever it caught a glance of her. I managed to stand up, gripping my sword, and walking towards her, careful to not kick over her potteries as my visions were getting blurry by each step I took.

"Your Highness, you're awake!" she exclaimed, with the release of a relieved breath as she walked towards me, and all I noticed was how her hair – her real hair, was set loose, her eyes tired, but still filled with a beauty I could not yet describe.

"You could have left me there," I finally spoke, my voice dry and weak, as I placed the sword beneath her chin, her eyes not even blinking at my actions – instead, they were unwavering, still, and had all the ability to make me drop on my knees. "You could have just . . ." my voice slurred, not even knowing why, my head dizzy, my vision not supporting what I was seeing.

"I performed intense healing on you, Your Highness. You would be dead if I had not done that," I finally heard the Ezèrian, her voice warm and safe, like her home. "It can cause you to be a little intoxicated, but it's nothing serious. You will not forget anything–"

"A little?" I feel like I'm losing my mind. My hand fell to the side, the sword no longer beneath her chin, as I gripped the wall to balance myself. "This is a little?" I managed to say, watching the Ezèrian's face spiraling into a blur motion, including her home.

"Well, I didn't know the strongest swordsman of Elysia had such low intoxication tolerance. Even a child can tolerate this" she came forward, swinging my hand over her shoulder, helping me stay steady, and that was when I realised that I was also shirtless, feeling her fingers against my bare skin, shivers rising in my body.

I tried to move away from her, but her grip was stronger than me, and all I managed to do was simply go where she was taking me, my sword still in my hand, my eyes cast down, the intense pain in my head only getting worse by each step I took, my sense losing.

The Ezèrian took me to the bed, both of us standing. "I healed your back. It is better, and I would have advised you to use it less, but you will not listen to me so I will skip that part. I know you are not hearing me right now–"

"I can hear you," I said, gripping my head firmly.

"Good, then," she said. "I am preparing broth for you. It will help you with the headache."

"And after that?" I asked stupidly.

She hesitated, and did not answer my question. "Are you in the right state of mind to talk about our contract, Your Highness–"

"I am fine," I said immediately, and then also regretting my words as quickly because I was in anything but in my right state of mind. I was thinking about everything around me – I was thinking about the Ezèrian's touch which I could still feel lingering in my skin, I was thinking about the sweet smell of the broth, I was thinking about how insanely close we were, her hands ready to protect me, thinking how she was looking at me, how tired she looked because of all the healing she had to do on me, the dark circles beneath her eyes deep, how her gaze softened.

"Very well, then," she bobbed her head, licking her lips. "I believe our–"

"Do you remember what we talked about today–" I shook my head, my eyes barely opening but I noticed the way the Ezèrian frowned. "Tomorrow–" I shook my head again. "Yesterday! Do you remember what we talked about yesterday?"

"I do not think you are–"

"I told you about my heart's alien acts, and how it jumps from its rib cage at times, distracting me from everything happening around me," I said, not aware of any of the words I was uttering – it was as if if my tongue had decided to take control, and spew every word that I was suppressing until now, and I had no control over it at all.

"It is doing that again," I took her hand, placing her palm on my chest, where that cursed thing was, beating erratically. Her palm against my skin sent warmth all throughout my body, and I wondered if I would die right now. "You said it happened because I was growing feelings for a particular person," I said, letting go off her wrist, but her palm still stayed there as I felt my heartbeat against her cold skin.

"What if it is you, miss Echethier?" I asked, my words slow, unknown to my own self.

Her gaze softened in a way I could have never expected. "That is not possible, Your Highness,"

I bobbed my head aggressively, not caring how it made my head hurt more. "Exactly," I said. "It is not possible," my gaze remained in hers, my visions getting blurry, and then returning again. "And yet it has happened."

"You are high–"

Right. I am high. "It happens even when I am sober," Why was I still speaking like a brazen dog? "It has been happening ever since I met you, and it has not stopped since."

"Don't say things like that," she mumbled. "It makes me want to dishonour my beliefs. It makes me want to stay with you."

"Miss Echethier, I apologise, I do not know what–"

She stood on her toes, reaching my face and placing her lips on mine for the briefest second, before pulling away immediately, watching me, like she wasn't aware of what that had done to me.

I simply stood still, realising how I had never wanted something more than that, and how I wanted it more. I opened my mouth, and then closed  it, cursed myself, and before I knew it, I had leaned down to her mouth, head tilted, my lips slightly touching her lips.

"Your Highness—"

"Ira. . ." I kissed her jaw, feeling her skin graze against my lips, my body losing all sense and logic. "Call me Ira." My lips moved to her lower lip, kissing it gently before having her mouth in mine.

My grip against my sword loosened and I didn't even realise when I had dropped it, and had that hand cupping the Ezèrian's cheek, my knees weakening when she leaned into my hold.

She wanted this, as much as I did.

And that confirmation was all I needed before I deepened the kiss. I pulled her closer, my body pressed against hers, the heat of her body melting against my chest. She wrapped her hand around my upper back, another hand holding my right cheek, her fingers brushing against my neck, making me lose all control that I had over my body.

I gripped her chin, as gently as I could, and brought it closer to my mouth despite our faces having no distance at all, because it was not enough — none of it was enough, I wanted more of her. I wanted more and more, until I had forgotten my own name.

I kissed her harder, my hand still holding her chin, while another at the back of her head, my head tilted. My lips had explored all parts of her mouth but it still wanted more, as it moved in an impatient and desperate manner, making her produce a sound and grip my shoulder, her fingers digging into the skin.

"Ira," her voice sounded deep, delirious, and so beautiful at the sound of my name I  couldn't help but do it again, my eyebrows frowning, and my body as light as feathers. How did she expect me to stay still after saying my name like that? I moved my lips harder—

Her hands reached my hands, holding them and guiding them to her waist, making me smile, as I placed them exactly where she'd wanted. I pulled her body as close as I could to my body, her chest colliding with mine, and then I felt it — the shuddering of her heartbeat colliding with my own ones  — except mine were even faster. I felt her smile against my lips when she realised that. She knew what she was doing to me.

She tilted her head back, making me reach for her lips desperately, kissing them when my mouth fit against hers. I held her waist, while she leaned in, her lips resting on my upper lip, and suddenly, I felt something sharp grazing my lips, making me immediately realise it was her teeth. My breath hitched in my throat, my grip on her wait firm, pulling her more close despite the impossibility of it, her body pressed against my bare skin.

She just bit my lips. And I did not dislike that at all. In fact, I wanted her to do that again, and again, until I had lost track of time itself, and the world vanished, and it was just me, and our quick heartbeats beating in the same rhythm that we both felt due to our chests embracing one another.

She pulled her lips away, now looking at me, and I noticed her lips that were almost swollen, her face still having no distance with mine because I was still holding her waist. She tilted her head, smiling at me so easily, as if she didn't know what that did to me — how it made me want to fall on my knees, how it made me want to grab her chin again and kiss her, how it made me want to hold her, how it made my body melt as my breathe voluntarily decided to flow away from my system.

Did she not know any of those things?

I leaned into her shoulder, kissing her neck. "I am yours, Ilayna," my lips reached her right collarbone. "Now," I felt her heart pounding against my chest. "Tomorrow," I kissed her left collarbone, my hold against her waist still as I leaned down. "And until the day I draw my last breath."

"I did not know you could say things like that," she said, looking at me with those eyes again.

"I did not know that, too," I said, my words slurred, holding her.

She placed her hands on my shoulders, her touch cold, yet comforting in a way I wished for this moment to stay still.

"We should not be doing this, Your Highness," she said, her gaze locked in mine, the corners of her eyes moisturising.

I tilted my head to the side, confused, pulling her close, as if trying to defy what she just said. "Why?"

She laughed casually. "You have never been intoxicated before, have you?" she held my cheek, caressing my skin using her thumb. "I am now worried if you will even remember anything tomorrow, even though I performed only half of my intense healing, considering your health."

My cheek leaned into her hold. "What are you talking about, Ilayna?"

She swallowed. "I wish I was just Ilayna for you, and you were Ira for me," she said. "I wish I was just a human, with no labels attached, and you were just a human, with no titles attached. It would have been easy to love you, then. It wouldn't have made me guilty to the point of wanting to end myself. I wish I didn't have to choose between you and Ezèria."

Her words barely reached me, my mind getting foggy once again, and then returning to the normal state, making me shake my head more. "Ilayna–"

She unwrapped herself from me, my hands no longer holding her waist, her palm no longer holding my cheek. All the warmth left me instantly as she now stood rigidly, tears stuck in the corners of her eyes.

"I am afraid we have to end our contract, Your Highness," she said, while I only wondered how on earth a bastard like me had the privilege of being held by her, kissed by her, and had the luck of being with her at all.

"Contract?" I managed.

She released an exasperated breath. "Yes, the contract," she said. "The contract of you giving me knighthood and me healing you in return."

"Yes, what about that?" I asked, genuinely confused, my headache not helping me at all. It was less when I was occupied with her, but it was back to its usual state once more.

"You do not get it!" she raised her voice. "You are so high you do not even know what you are saying!"

"I. . ." I was lost for words, feeling utterly useless. "I apologise–"

"Listen to me," she said, grabbing my face, making me look at her. "I do not know if you are going to remember any of this tomorrow, but I still need to get things clear, so you do not think I left like a coward," her voice sounded harsh, but why was she crying, then?

"Prince Ira Emerson Elysian, I hereby annul our contract, as our chosen beliefs render it untenable. I have fulfilled your request by healing your back, as it is now in a healthy state, and I am no longer shackled by the fear of being trafficked. Thus, it is both rightful and fitting for our agreement to reach its conclusion," she said, while I stared at her, mouth agape. "It has been an honour to serve you." She bowed her head.

"I do not understand–"

"I am leaving, Your Highness," she said, her voice trembling, locking her eyes with mine, my heart not being able to bear this sight of her. "We won't see each other anymore. This is the last time I will be seeing you."

"But the broth–"

"Stop it," she said, fresh tears streaming down her face. "Please."

My heart knotted itself upon realising I had hurt her. I reached for her hands, but she backed away.

"Next time we see each other, we will be on a war ground, trying to kill each other," she said, reaching for the door.

"I will apologise–"

She turned around, and hope filled me, thinking she had changed her decision. "The broth will be ready in a minute. Your clothes are folded in the bed. Leave when you feel better, you are safe here."

I rushed towards her, my body in a great imbalance, as I tripped on my own foot, hitting my body against the hearth, nearly knocking down the cauldron. I steadied myself, reaching for the door, opening it, only to realise she was gone, completely vanished with the air, as if she never existed here in the first place.

She was gone.

Ilayna was gone.