Yueyao!"
"Yueyao!"
"breath, sweetheart"
"you have to breath"
"mom?"
"you have to breath"
Her eyes flew open, she inhaled a deep breath, is like she being strangled for a long time. She observing around, is so crowded, everyone looking at her.
She looking up, she facing with the sky right now, she can feel a warmth beside her. Her eyes moving slowly, when she met that gray eyes again.
"Can you see me clearly?". Wulfric worried etched on his face, he holding her cheek with his roughly hand, he pressed a firm kiss on her forehead.
I thought you'd never wake up… like before. You really scared me," Wulfric said, lightly tapping her cheeks, trying to draw her gaze.
"Snowflake… hmm."
A soft smile tugged at Wulfric's lips as he watched her eyes wander, not quite focusing on him. Relief washed over him that she was finally awake—but there was something strange in her look, something in her eyes that unsettled him.
"Who… who are you?"
A chill ran down his spine, yet his expression remained calm. He had expected this—her memory wiped clean. It was exactly what he wanted. A slow smile curved his lips as he stood, lifting her gently against his chest.
He moved through the crowd with deliberate ease, passing Alice, who remained silent, her eyes following them. As he walked by, she finally turned to him.
"I hope you understand the consequences I warned you about, Your Majesty ," she said, her voice low but steady.
He just kept walking, heading forward without a word, his grip firm but gentle, as if nothing around him mattered except the fragile weight in his arms.
He reached the tent. The heavy flap of the tent fell shut behind them, shutting out the world.
The air inside was dim and warm, lit only by the faint glow of a lantern. He lowered her carefully onto a fur-lined cot, his movements unhurried, almost reverent. For a moment, he simply stood there, looking down at her—at the lost expression in her eyes that no longer knew him.
He crouched down until his eyes meet her gaze. His voice tender, low and steady.
"First of all, what's your name?". His fingers brushed a stray lock of her hair. His heart racing with worry and hope.
She don't remember anything, she just shake her head. "I don't know, I- I don't know that I'm existing in this world, or who am I….?".
She looking down her hands, his fingers slowly lacing with hers. He smiled softly.
"Well". He trails off slowly. "Is okay to don't know yourself, what are you capable of, your meaning to this world…what can it be ?."
Wulfric slowly bring her hand up a give a kiss to her knuckles.
"You are reborn… a rose that has risen from death itself."
He reached for her hand, wrapping it in his calloused grip. "From this day forward, you are no longer bound to the shadows of your past. You will carry a new name." His smile was faint but deliberate, as if he had been waiting for this moment. "Elizabeth—pure, unmarked, untouched by what came before, a perfect name for a queen ."
You will be my wife from now on…" His voice lingered on the last words, soft yet unyielding, as if he had sealed a fate neither of them could escape.
She froze, her chest tightening, her eyes wide and unblinking, trying to make sense of what she had just heard.
.Her lips parted, but no sound came out; all she could do was stare, caught between disbelief and the faint, trembling stirrings of something unfamiliar: obligation, fear… maybe even a strange curiosity.
"Wife…?" she murmured, uncertainty threading her voice. Maybe he's saying something wrong… or maybe… I'm not fully awake yet, she thought, her mind foggy, trying to grasp the reality before her.
She looking at him, he gave her a new name….but why is a new name, what is her old name before. The question lingered in quiet.
"Elizabeth.." . She repeated , her hands shaking slightly. She biting her lips in nervousness, she trying to process her new self. A new name always following with a new journey - journey that she had no choice to take it.
Wulfric just observing her reaction, then he slowly kneeling down in front of her, his hand never off hers.
"Elizabeth.." . He called her tenderly. "In our traditional m a marriage always start with trust, loyalty and emotional to each other".
He patted her hand gently, guiding her eyes back to his. His voice was low, steady, carrying the weight of something ancient.
"And we secured our fate to each other," he continued, "by giving our blood—yours to me, and mine to you. From that moment, our lives were bound."
Elizabeth hesitated, her breath catching in her throat. The word blood echoed inside her, heavy and unsettling.
She lowered her gaze, lips pressed thin, unsure if she should feel fear or a strange sense of belonging. Is this truly who I am now? Elizabeth… wife… bound by blood?
" It feels as if I've just woken from a nap… and suddenly, I'm someone's wife. A wife to a man I barely know, with a name that isn't even mine…."
She confused, this man in front of her just smile…but is more like a satisfied smile more than happy one. "Is it his purpose ..- or he trying to do something to me?"
"Who are you?" she whispered, her voice unsteady, eyes wide as if seeing him for the first time.
He leaned closer, his hand tightening around hers, a shadow of a smile flickering on his lips. "I am the one who brought you back… the one who cannot let you go." His gaze burned, unwavering. "And now, you are mine—my wife. My fate. My obsession."
Her breath caught, fear and an unfamiliar pull twisting inside her. The word wife echoed again, heavier this time, as though the walls themselves had sealed her destiny.
"You hesitate because you don't remember," he whispered, brushing his thumb over her knuckles. "But that's not your fault. Memory fades, but your body still responds to me, I know ….".
Her face went blank, utterly baffled by his ridiculous self-importance.
"It's because—because…..you…stomped too hard on my foot…". Her eyes avoiding his , her face frowning slightly in uncomfortable.
Right under, his foot is pressing hard on hers.
He let out a deep laugh, holding his stomach and laughing. "Such a mood-killer!!". He carefully move his foot away. "Are you okay?"
She nodded, rubbing her foot.
He looking down at her small figure , his smile grow wider "Cute".
"Well…" He speaks. "Will you accept or not ?".
He pressed closer, certain she could not resist him—certain her silence was already his surrender.
The moment she open her mouth to answer, the flap suddenly being flipped up, Bjorn step inside, he stretching his arms over his head and stare at her. Eyes met eyes, his mouth dropped.
"SHE AWAKE!!!!!".
He rush to observing her, he look up, down, he even try to peel her back jacket off to see if she have tails, he holding her ears up to look inside.
He open his note and start to writing, not forget to look at her anatomy through clothes. She being too overwhelmed by the sudden check-up from this curious man.
Wulfric holding Bjorn collar and drag him out of the tent. His eyes darken.
He throw Bjorn out of the tent, he landing down the ground with thud.
"Ouch! Asshole!". He glaring up at him. Wulfric look at him with deadly stare."Are you done with your stupid research?"
Bjorn hurled a book at his face. "You don't know anything about her."
Wulfric's lips curled into a smirk. "I understand her body—her bones, her muscles, the way she—"
"Huh!?" Bjorn gasped as Wulfric's hand clamped over his mouth, silencing him. Their eyes locked, fury and challenge sparking between them.
Bjorn exhaled sharply, throwing up his hand in surrender. He knew well enough—Wulfric possessed great physical strength, but patience and self-control were luxuries he did not. Those, however, were Bjorn's domain.
Rubbing his jaw, Bjorn reached into his coat and produced a leather-bound letter, sealed with a crimson mark. He thrust it forward. "It's from Vermilion. He might have the answer you're looking for."
Wulfric snatched it, the seal pressed cold against his palm. His eyes narrowed, his voice colder still. "I already know what his answer will be."
At night, the fire crackled in the open night, casting warm light over the circle of nomads. The smell of roasted meat and fresh bread mingled with smoke, while children darted between tents and elders traded quiet stories. Laughter rose with the sparks, flasks passed from hand to hand, and horses shifted in the shadows nearby. For a moment, under the vast sky, the wandering people were bound together by food, fire, and belonging.
She wearing a soft beige dress, her stomach rumpling from hunger straight many days without eating. She stepping out of the tent, is so crowded outside, she hesitated but suddenly she heard a voice behind her…"Elizabeth?".
She looked back, is one of the attendant that Alice just introduced her with this evening. She thinks she can trusted her…
"Lady Elizabeth, my name is Kriz, I will be your personal servant from now on until your days at here end". She respectfully bowing down.
She eyeing her from head to toes, she have tan skin, black strong hair with high ponytail , Kriz wearing deep blue dress that showing out her waist, what's a great physical that any woman t, she in awe, her eyes widen in fascinating in Kriz beauty.
Kriz can feel her gaze on her, she clear her throat to pull her out of her mind. "Are you hungry?"
She nodding , following her to the camp fire. The fire caught her eyes first, warm and alive in the dark. Faces flickered in its glow, laughter rising with the sparks. She lingered at the edge, an outsider drawn by its warmth, unsure if she belonged.
Her face flushed in awe as she glanced around, hesitant and wide-eyed. A sudden burst of laughter from children drew her attention, and a little girl came running, colliding with her. She caught the girl just before she fell. The other children paused, looking up at her with curious eyes.
"She has long ears!!!" They all gasped, eyes widening in shock at her unusual features.
Her face flushed with sudden comments from them, she cupping her ears down to hide it. Her heart thumped nervously—part embarrassment, part fear of standing out—and she wished she could disappear into the shadows, invisible to their curious eyes.
A sudden, loud hush echoed behind them, and the children scattered, giggling and laughing as they ran off.
She looked up in the direction of the sound, and a tall, imposing figure approached. His face was hidden behind a mask, save for his piercing right eye that met hers without hesitation.
He talk in a soft gentle voice to her. "Lady Elizabeth - it's my honor to know our home is the first place you saw when you wake up."
He holding her hand up and give a soft kiss to her knuckle. His eyes flaring up with something she cannot truly understand.
"Am I know you, you are…-?". A sudden feeling of a hand holding her waist from behind.
"Well." Wulfric pulled her firmly against his side. "Looks like you've met the honored Khan."
The Khan laughed in surprise, the sound deep and rolling. Reaching out, he ruffled Wulfric's hair as though he were still a boy, then gave his shoulder a hearty pat. "Well, well… so this is the one you've been keeping close."
Wulfric glanced back at her, giving a playful wink before leaving with the Khan to speak of "secret" matters. Left behind, she stood quietly, her gaze drifting over the camp. Families sat huddled close by the fire, sharing food and stories, while children's laughter rang out in the night. The soft music of wooden instruments drifted through the air, wrapping the gathering in warmth. For a moment, the world felt almost… cozy.
A single tear slipped down her cheek before she even realized it. Startled, she wiped it away quickly, her fingers trembling. "Why… am I crying now?" she whispered to herself, bewildered by the sudden swell of emotion.
The question lingered, heavy, as though some hidden part of her knew the answer. She clutching her heart.
"Why?"