"That flea called him a Lord! Does that mean this person is from my childhood? The one who promised to give me everything under the sun? Fate is such a tricky thing," she mused to herself, the memories swirling like autumn leaves caught in a gust of wind.
"Why in the hell are we back here again?" he barked, his voice a mixture of frustration and authority, as if the shadows themselves were pressing in on him. His brow was furrowed, hands tightly clenched at his sides, muscles tense with suppressed emotion.
The darkness enveloped them, thick and suffocating. She knelt to the ground, fingers brushing against the damp leaves, searching desperately for her scattered medication. Each pill felt like a lifeline in the murky gloom, a reminder of her fight against the unseen beasts that haunted her past. Her vision blurred with fatigue, but she pressed on, collecting about eighty-five percent of the precious capsules.
"I am almost done! Just a few more to find!" she called out, her voice tinged.
In an instant, he was there, grabbing her wrist with a fierce grip, his patience evaporating under the weight of the encroaching night. Yet, beneath his frustration, there was an undeniable pull, as if invisible strings of fate were tugging at his heart. When her green and gold eyes met his, a spark ignited between them, surprising him with its intensity. He felt the heat rise to his cheeks, caught off guard by her beauty.
"I can't leave you here alone," he said, his voice softening, the urgency of their situation grounding him. "Let's find a safe place for you until we can reach another village in the morning." His words were comforting, filled with undeniable resolve, as he realized that he couldn't turn his back on someone who needed him.
"ACHOOOO!"With a sudden, explosive sneeze, her nose flared vibrantly to a fiery red, a striking contrast against her pale skin.
"This area seems fine and I'm confident we'll stay safe while I'm in this form." He quickly gathered wood and sparked a fire, the flames flickering fiercely. Both of them, soaked and shivering after plunging into the cold lake, huddled beneath the warmth of the fire's glow, seeking refuge from the cold.
She fixated intensely on the flickering flames, her mind racing with thoughts of her mother and father. She wondered with bated breath how they would react upon reading the letter. As a deep sigh escaped her, she hurriedly adjusted her straw bag, its fragile fibers trembling like her own nerves in the face of an impending storm.
" Hey, you!" He shattered the silence of the night with a sudden disturbance, the only sound piercing the darkness being the relentless chirping of crickets in the forest." What was that stuff you was picking from the dirt?"
She stopped fixing her straw bag and paused for a moment, her eyes shimmering with a fierce resolve. "The truth is, I'm sick—and there's no cure for my illness. These small capsules only delay the inevitable, buying me time until I inevitably succumb to my disease. I left my home village to chase my dreams, determined to complete a list I wrote for myself before I breathe my last. If possible, I want to explore more about my illness during my adventures,"she said softly, yet with an inspiring strength that made the air around her electric with hope.
" Why, are you worried about me? Don't tell me after one night I already capture your heart."She playfully teased him, capturing his attention with a mischievous grin, as she dramatically pointed her heart towards him with both hands and winked cutely, stealing a smile.
" As if!"
His concern for her safety and that stupid list gnawed at him. He couldn't understand why his thoughts were so fixated on her. Maybe it was because she was so fragile, so vulnerable. Frustration simmered within him. "How about you come with—" he started to ask, but before he could finish, her head rested gently on his shoulder. They sat there in silence, bathed in the glow of the full moon.