It took Noori a while to sit up on the bed. "I must have lost my mind, I almost gave myself away." She muttered and She looked in Dastan's direction as he pulled away from her, as if she were some sort of plague to be avoided. Then, she glanced around the room, noticing her surroundings. "How did I get in here?" she hissed, her voice filled with confusion and disbelief. Her frowned eyes searched around her body, checking herself over, and to her surprise, she found that she was okay.
"How else? I brought you in. If I hadn't been there, you would have frozen to death," Dastan bragged.
"That would be an unlikely case, but thank you." she replied briefly, kneading her chest where the burning feeling had greatly reduced. Dastan watched her attentively for a while, his gaze holding a weird look in them, seemingly reading something in the situation.
"You!" he suddenly called out, making Noori look in his direction. "What?"
"Are you—Are you by any chance hurt?" His words were far from being concerned; they sounded more curious. However, Noori purposefully decided to take them in a concerned way and spoke out, "Why? Did my sudden sickness make you worry? Were you afraid you might lose me?" The evergreen grin on her face was sickening for Dastan, and he shook his head. "I must have lost my mind to decide to talk to you," he grunted, beginning to take off his drenched clothes.
Noori slowly rose from the bed, immediately noticing the broken strap of leather that she wore around her neck. Her creased brows widened with surprise as she instantly grabbed onto it and peeked a glance at Dastan, seeing if he had noticed it or not. However, as she did so, Dastan's head turned towards her.
"Don't you dare look at me," he said with a stiff voice, almost warning her not to look in his direction while he changed. Noori let out a sigh of relief before turning her head away and quickly tucking the broken strap into her sleeve.
She fixed her posture. The feeling in her chest had finally subsided, and she felt much better. She briefly listened to her regular heartbeat and proper breathing pattern, then tilted her head with amusement. "Hah, he is actually very useful," she muttered. "What those ice blocks couldn't achieve in days was done by him in just a few moments." She sounded impressed.
"What are you mumbling about?" Dastan retorted, making Noori turn around just as he was half naked, causing him to angrily roar, "I told you not to look!" He covered up his chest with the piece of clothing he was about to wear and frowned, but Noori chuckled as she stared at him with disinterest. "My dear husband, I have led armies of men into wars and have lived among them for years," she said, stepping closer to him. "Do you think I have any shortage of bodies to look at?" She smirked, growing bolder as she pinched his biceps. "Trust me, I have seen better." The look on Dastan's face was worth watching, and Noori wished she could summon a painter to make a portrait of him, but that didn't seem possible.
Dastan pushed her away before grumbling, "Well, that shows what sort of woman you are, because the women around here don't go around watching men's bodies!" Dastan showed his anger but Noori's smile didn't budge one bit and she casually sat on the bed staring at Dastan stared dead in the eyes of Noori, his expression filled with fury. Unable to deal with her, he walked away, leaving her behind with his hateful words lingering in the air. "You are disgusting," he spat out before disappearing from sight.
As Dastan left, Noori's expressions instantly switched back to her usual stiff face. She placed her hand on her chest, pondering over the situation. "It is normal, this is very peculiar. How am I fine when I should not be? How did he do it?" she muttered to herself, her gaze lifting in the direction where Dastan had walked out. "This is strange, Very strange. How did he do it? I need to find out more about it. I think my dear husband is more then just a cursed prince."
She pondered for a while.
She remained seated as the maids hurried into the room, followed closely by the physician. He was not Burk, a new face to Noori, and she watched them enter with a calm demeanor. The maids, expecting to find the princess in a state of poor health, were momentarily shocked to see Noori looking quite alright.
"Your Highness, you are okay," one of the maids exclaimed, prompting Noori to shift her gaze towards her. "Why? Did you want me dead instead?" she replied with little care.
"Never, Your Highness!" The maid Suli exclaimed, dropping to her knees in a dramatic display.
"People of Solyria surely like to kneel in front of everyone," Noori muttered under her breath before rising to her feet. "I have no need of the physician. I would like to go for a walk," she announced, her voice steady as she walked towards the door. Though the aftereffects of her collapse were still felt in her limbs, she managed to walk steadily out of the room with grace.
When Dastan returned to the room, he didn't see Noori, prompting him to turn to the maids who were tidying up. "Where is she?" he inquired.
"Your Highness, the princess went out for a walk," one of the maids responded.
"Does she want to die?" Dastan mumbled with a frown, but then the frown disappeared. "Well, it would be better that way," he added, then turned towards the open door, briefly hoping to catch a glimpse of her.
"Was it my eyes playing tricks on me? Or was it really what i think it was?"
"PArdon?" The maid thought Dastan was talking to her so she interjected making Dastan's attention to shift towards her. "Nothing." He replied briefly. In the mean time a man stepped into the room. "Your highness may i enter?" HE asked, Dastan gave him a glance and allowed him.
"Your highness i have brought in the invites." HE siad holdingout the papers.
"Invite ot what?" Dastan asked.
"Your Highness, they are invitations from the King and nobility, for balls and banquets," he replied.
Dastan frowned as he took them and tore them one by one to read. "It is–"
"Your Highness, it is customary after the wedding so–" The man spoke in a meek tone, hoping not to anger Dastan because of his unconventional wedding.
"We will not be attending any of these. Send for the king and convey my words," he grunted.
"But, Your Highness, that is not possible," he said with clenched teeth, partly scared. "Because the invitations have been sent out to all the nobility, and everyone is attending to see the newly wedded couple." he ended his words, his fingers twisting painfully.
"Damn it!" He threw the papers into the air in frustration. "It's as if the world is making sure I don't breathe peacefully even for a single day," he grunted.
"Your Highness, please calm down. The Queen sent these over after careful consideration. And she will take care of everything so you don't have to worry about anything," the man pressed on.
"Mother knows about this?" He received another shock. "What is wrong with everyone? Why is everyone suddenly treating this as an actual marriage when everyone knows what the reason behind this is?"
The man gave the maids a brief, purposeful look, making them bow down to Dastan before excusing themselves.
When the room was empty, the man cleared his throat and spoke. "Your Highness, everything that is going on is for the Nuria Empire to see that their princess has been accepted by the people. It is necessary because Nuria is a powerful empire, and treating the princess any other way can cause us to face severe damages."
"I understand." Dastan kneaded his head and nodded. "I will deal with it." Dastan said taking a seat.
"I will let the king know of your decision," the man exhaled happily.
"Wait, get me some paper and ink. I want to write a letter," he said.
"Yes, Your Highness, I will get them right away," the man nodded and quickly retreated.
"The only person who will understand me is Isa. I need to talk to him," Dastan muttered to himself, a sense of resolve in his voice.The man returned with the supplies and set them in front of Dastan.
"Are you writing a letter, Your Highness?" he asked.
"Hmm, yes I am," Dastan nodded, dipping the pen into the ink before placing it on the paper and scribbling away quickly. Before the man could ask any further questions, he froze at what he saw.
"To the Crown Prince Isa–"