1. Amberstone | ✓

37. Distance

"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.

━━━━━━━━━━

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.

━━━━━━━━━━

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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