"I love talking to you, even if I have nothing to say."
Another few days later.
Thethia: Mt. Plytois, House in the Mountain
• Elianna •
Pouring the concoction into a bowl, Elianna walked towards the room to find Rowan. His injuries had been making good progress and its only a matter of time before he would recover fully. Holding the bowl in front of him, she instructed, "Drink up."
She noticed how his expression changed for a very brief moment before he pushed lightly on the bowl to keep it away from him. He laughed a little, "I'm feeling much better now, I think I can do without these already?"
"The arrow that shot you in the arm was dipped in poison beforehand. Although your body seemed to have some immunity to it, I thought it would be good to make you some antidotes." Elianna pushed the concoction closer to his mouth, insisting that he drinks it.
"Eli, give me a kiss and I'll drink it without any complaints," he teased.
Heat quickly crept up her cheeks and she frowned, "Then, don't drink it!"
Elianna turned around and stormed out of the room. Behind her, Rowan already broke out into a burst of laughter. His deep laugh reverberated in her ear, making her flush more than she already did. She buried her face in her palm and behind her the room door was pulled open and Rowan handed an empty bowl back to her. He was grinning cheekily when he said, "You don't have to give me a kiss but at least a praise?"
Elianna didn't know what to say but simply blurted out a phrase, "Good boy."
Seeing that his brilliant blue eyes went wide with surprise, she really wanted to hide somewhere and never step into the face of this realm again. Elianna scolded herself internally. I did not just say that to a royal prince.
Rowan only smiled at her, brighter than before, "For you, of course."
※
• Rowan •
In the evening, he took a bath after dinner and took extra care when washing over his recovered wounds, which had been healing well under her care. He wondered how she learned about medicine and also why a princess like her would be residing in this remote area deep in the mountains.
Although he had stayed with her for quite some time now, he realised that he knew nothing about her. Elianna was full of mysteries, her entire being was a web of tangled threads that he couldn't unknot. Rowan thought about asking her but it was apparent that she spent a lot of time sleeping. Each morning when he woke up, she would be sleeping. The only time she would wake up would be in the late noon to tend to his wounds and prepare dinner before she leaves the house with her panther again. The days were as such, and he didn't have much of a chance to speak to her.
When Rowan was done with his bath, he wiped himself dry and dressed in simple clothes that she had gotten for him. By the time he entered the bedroom again, Elianna was already there waiting to redress his bandages. She patted on the bed, signalling him to sit down. He teased, "Will you praise that I'm a good boy?"
"Please just forget about that," she grumbled.
Rowan smiled and walked closer to her, settling just beside her and allowing her to tend to his wounds. He never liked being touched by another person but everything felt natural with her because he knew that she had no ill-intentions towards him. When she was done she said, "Get some rest."
Rowan quickly pulled on her arm to stop her from leaving. He had been feeling exceptionally remorseful for occupying her bed for all the time he stayed her and she had to sleep on the couch with her panther. When he was heavily injured, she insisted that he rests on the bed to recuperate. Many times, he wanted to move her back to her bed in the middle of the night, but the concoction he handed her had sleeping herbs that knocked him unconscious until the effect wears off. Tonight, he was determined to convince her, "Eli, I'm already feeling better. You can have your bed back."
"It's okay, you can have the bed," Elianna said.
"Let me be a gentleman for once, can't you?" he scolded gently.
"You really don't have to." She glanced at him and laughed, "I don't sleep at night."
Rowan stared curiously at her, not understanding her. "You don't sleep at night?"
"Yes, I would be out hunting with Thunder in the woods most of the time. Where do you think our food come from?" Elianna laughed again, smiling at him while her amber eyes sparkled brighter.
Rowan finally understood why she was always asleep in the day. Suddenly, he felt a little ache in his chest when he realised that she had sacrificed her sleep in the noon to tend to him all the while.
His hand reached out to tuck a strand of fallen hair behind her ear, he felt her shudder a little as she fixed her gaze towards him. The gold in her eyes never failed to trap him in and make him fall into the depthlessness that rested beneath. Mesmerised by the clarity in those eyes, Rowan unconsciously moved his hand to caress her cheek and noticed the tinge of pink that rose on them.
They stared at one another for a good moment, none of them attempted to break the contact. He wanted to stay with her as such for a little longer, just letting everything else fall away from the moment of them.
※
• Elianna •
Elianna sensed how dangerous this man was. Whenever he stared at her in that manner, she would get distracted by the mesmerizing blue of his eyes and he would steal away all her breaths till she was left suffocated. She didn't even realise how long she had been holding the air in her lungs until he chuckled, "Breathe, Eli."
Goddess above, even the sound of his laughter had to be so unrealistically good.
It was easy to explain affection when it concerned everyone she loved, it was warm and filled with familial familiarity. Yet, it was so difficult to understand the way she felt for him and she rather not explain it at all, knowing that all that they shared between them would never be permanent. The realisation hit her harder to snap her out of her daze and she turned her head aside while giving a light cough to hide all the flustering and bothersome emotions. Elianna picked up everything and packed them back into the medical kit. She quickly added, "I've got to go, Thunder is waiting for me."
"Please be safe, love." Rowan held onto her hand and pulled it towards his lips. He kissed lightly on her fingers.
Her heart was threatening to jump right out of her chest if she decided to stay any moment longer in this room with this man. Elianna hugged onto the box in her arms and nodded profusely, running out of the room at the first chance possible. This man is dangerous, very dangerous. She reminded herself as she balled the material of the shirt in front of her chest, feeling every strength of pulse against her fist and the rising temperature of her skin to an almost dangerous level. Elianna didn't understand everything that she felt and she was beginning to fear the unknown emotions.
Outside the main door, Thunder hissed at her and he seemed annoyed at her for taking too long in her room. Elianna glared back tutting at the big cat, "Alright alright, stop showing attitude."
Thunder simply ignored her rude retort as he gracefully turned towards the woods.
※