I wasn't sure how I was able to follow Atreus as he led me to where Meilin was at. Atreus told Yat-sen that Meilin had ordered him to stay in his room, and that the Peccata were given strict orders to search for the enemy that was in the palace. While Atreus led me, I trembled at the thought of Meilin's condition and how severe his wound was. Atreus had told me that the man that had stabbed him had used a sword.

"He is very angry, Empress," Atreus said quietly when we neared a thick set of doors. He glanced over at me, his green eyes glowing with warning. "It is very difficult to stop his rage and it is impossible to force him to do anything he doesn't want to do."

"I don't care," I said, shaking my head. I swiped at the tears staining my face and sniffled. "I won't sit idly while my husband bleeds out because of his stubbornness."

He nodded and paused at the doors, motioning me towards it. "I will now head out in search for the man. Master is inside."

He left me at the same time that I pressed my hands against the door and shoved it open, the door creaking with the force. I didn't bother knocking and slipped inside the room.

"Meilin, you have to—"

"Enough! I told you I want that bastard dead. Find him for me."

Bohai and Meilin sharply turned towards me. They seemed to be in the middle of a heated argument. If I hadn't heard news that Meilin had been stabbed, I would've thought that everything was normal, but seeing their faces I could tell that something was off.

Bohai's face was wracked with anxiety and anger, while Meilin's was akin to fire, hot and angry and lashing out. Meilin was standing by a desk, his hands pressed firmly on the top of the desk and his eyes the color of danger. His face was paler than usual and his expression was contorted with a frenzy that burned.

I noticed that the front of his dark military tunic was stained with blood.

"Lady Daiyu—" Bohai started, his eyes pleading with mine.

"What is it?" Meilin snapped at me, not at all sounding like the gentle tone he had used last night. I flinched at his tone and he breathed in sharply, his lips pursed together. "Daiyu," he forced out, "I'm busy right now. Is there something you need?"

I stumbled forward, my eyes widening as I saw splatters of blood on the floor. "You're bleeding," I said. "I heard from Atreus—"

"Nothing for you to concern yourself with," he said harshly. He didn't bother looking at me as he stared at Bohai, his breath coming out unevenly. "Find him. I told you—"

"You need a healer!" Bohai burst out. "I can't watch you die from your stubbornness!"

"I told you to find him!" Meilin roared, making Bohai flinch back, his eyes wide.

I took in a shaky breath of air, my stomach churning and my fists bunching together. I exhaled deeply and closed my eyes, willing myself to calm down. When I had stopped trembling so much, I turned to Bohai, my voice as authoritative as possible. "Bohai, please leave."

He blinked back in surprise before his eyes narrowed.

"Call the healer but don't bring him inside," I said calmly.

"Daiyu," Meilin said in a warning tone.

"Go," I said to him.

Bohai left immediately, as if he was afraid Meilin would force him back.

"Don't interfere," Meilin growled at me when the Bohai slammed the door shut, leaving the both of us alone. Meilin's eyes were a molten black, darker than any nightmare I had ever had. "You don't know anything about war."

"Of course I don't know anything about war!" I threw at him, shocking him and myself with the uncharacteristic twinge of anger in my tone. "But I do know that you can't bleed out like you're doing right now!"

"I won't die that easily," he said gruffly.

"It won't hurt to stitch—"

"I have to find that man," Meilin said, pushing himself away from the table. He stepped forward, his entire demeanor that of a stalking animal, his gaze hooded. "I got a good look at his face. I'm not going to stay cooped up here and let someone fix me up. I have to find that bastard—"

"You're not going anywhere. You will sit here and let—"

"Don't do this, Daiyu," he said dangerously.

"No, you're not going anywhere," I said adamantly. I neared him and grabbed the crook of his arm, tugging at him. I was acting bold and in the face of his anger, I would've normally balked out, but the situation wouldn't allow me to.

"Daiyu, don't."

"Meilin—"

I tugged at his arm and he took a step forward. He instantly winced, his face growing paler as he brought a hand to his abdomen. When he pulled his hand back, it was sticky with blood. It was at that moment that I realized he was leaning against his desk for support and that there was a pool of blood on the ground behind his desk, peeking just a little bit from my vantage point.

I paled.

"Meilin, you're bleeding everywhere." I gasped and the horror on my face was evident.

He pushed my hand away, pressing his hand on his abdomen. "This is nothing. I'm leaving—"

"Don't go." I held onto his arm and instead of being authoritative and ordering him to stay, it came out as a plead. I pressed my chest against his arm in an attempt to fasten my hold on him, as if I was strong enough to hold him back. "Please, Meilin, don't do this."

"Let go." His tone was cold.

"No, you can't—"

"Daiyu." There was a warning his tone.

I moved to stand in front of him, one hand hooking onto the front of his shirt. My hands trembled and I looked up at him with pleading eyes, unshed tears welling up in my brown eyes. He watched, unflinchingly, as a tear rolled down my face.

I didn't want him to die.

"Please," I whispered in a soft voice. "Don't do this."

He pursed his lips together, rage dancing within his obsidian eyes, a fire flickering in his eyes that told of the wrath that would unleash itself.

He closed his eyes and I saw a muscle twitch on his jaw. He gave a stiff nod. "Fine," he ground out.

I almost collapsed on the ground in relief.

He brought his hand to his abdomen and slowly started undoing his shirt, inhaling harshly as he winced in pain. I quickly brought my hands on top of his and started undoing the strings, my hands trembling as I accidentally brushed the gash. He stiffened and breathed in sharply. The material of his clothes was dark so I wasn't able to see the wound that clearly, but once I opened his shirt and let his bare chest show, I caught a glimpse of the wound.

It was the length of my hand and cut vertically above his hip. Blood was gushing out of it freely, staining his dark pants and spattering on the ground in small droplets. My fingers shook and I couldn't tear my gaze away from it.

"Don't look," he said, reading my expression. He grabbed my hand with his. His hand was slippery and sticky, staining my hands red.

"Meilin, you're in no condition—" I looked away from him.

He let go of me and moved towards one of the couches. He staggered before falling down on the couch. I ran towards him, my eyes wide in alarm at the state he was in. He had been acting brave and loud and angry, but he was injured so severely that it was difficult for him to breathe and walk. As if to confirm my suspicions, he coughed and weakly sat himself up.

He cursed loudly, bringing a hand towards his wound and pressing it against it. More blood trickled between his fingers. "Bring me cloth," he said as he tilted his head towards one of the cushions that was lying on the couch adjacent to his. "That'll do."

The cushion was plain and I handed it to him, watching as he pressed it against his abdomen.

"Meilin—"

"See if the healer is here," he said curtly. "If not, find me thread and a needle. Alcohol too."

I nodded and hurried towards the door, pushing it open before poking my head through. A soldier and an old man were standing nearby. The old man had short graying hair and dark eyes, a case in his hands and his shoulders hunched together.

"Are you the healer?" I asked frantically.

He nodded and bowed. "Yes, Empress."

"Please, hurry inside. He's bleeding profusely," I rushed as I waved the old man inside. He waddled inside while I wrung my hands together. Meilin was still sitting on the couch when I returned, his cool gaze on the old man before he shifted his eyes towards me. I focused on the old man. "He was stabbed a little while ago and the bleeding—" I broke off, unable to hold back the small choking sob that escaped my lips.

The old man gave me a reassuring smile. "Empress, I will do what I can. For now, I will ask that you leave the room."

"No, I'm staying," I said, wiping at my eyes. Although the old man seemed harmless, I was scared to leave Meilin alone in this weakened state. There were enemies everywhere.

A smile broke out on his weathered face. "Alright, then I suggest you stay back."

I bobbed my head and watched as he neared Meilin. Meilin, in turn, was silent as the old man placed his case on the small table in front of the couches. Meilin tossed the cushion aside as the old man examined it. The cushion was stained with dark red blood, bright against the off-white cloth. I made another choked sound and covered my mouth with my clean hand, my entire body shaking.

"Daiyu, calm down," Meilin said as he watched me. "I'll be fine."

The old man, meanwhile, prodded the wound before pulling out a bottle of alcohol.

"Is he going to be alright?" I asked the old man, taking a step closer and staring at the messy wound. Blood was everywhere, staining Meilin's hands and the couch. He was also really pale, his skin almost translucent and his dark eyes looking darker against the contrast.

The old man nodded. "I'm doing what I can."

"Daiyu, I'm fine," he breathed out raggedly. He coughed and winced, watching as the healer uncorked the bottle

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, but this will sting."

Meilin pressed his hand against the wooden armrest of the couch and tensed up as the old man brought the bottle near him. When he poured the liquid on his abdomen, Meilin hissed in pain and gripped onto the armrest tightly. The wood cracked under his fingers and in seconds, the entire armrest broke off easily. The entire armrest was broken and there were splinters littering the ground. Meilin tilted his head back and winced once more as the healer wiped at the wound.

"Any normal man would have passed out from the blood loss," the old man noted as he continued to clean the wound. He took a glance at the blood on the floor and by the desk. "You're very strong."

"Just stitch me up quickly," Meilin said through his teeth.

"Forgive me," the man apologized as he replaced the cloth with a needle. "This will hurt a bit."

I stayed farther behind and watched as he stitched up Meilin. When he was done, he applied a salve onto the wound. "Any normal person wouldn't be able to move," the old man mused. His gaze darted to the broken armrest of the couch. "Much less break—"

"Don't overstep your boundaries," Meilin said in a dark, dangerous tone, one that made the old man flinch. His eyes were cold and his rage was close to being offset. "The only reason I agreed to this is because of my little Daiyu. Speak more, and I'll cut you."

The old man stiffened and nodded, working quietly.

"All done," he said when he finished.

I moved forward and crouched down next to Meilin. I turned towards the old man, tears glistening in my eyes. "He will be fine?"

"Yes."

"Thank you so much," I whispered.

"Of course, Empress." He bowed down to me.

"You can leave now," Meilin snapped.

"I wouldn't advice moving too—"

"Leave." The order was absolute and the old man complied, packing his things and swiftly leaving.

Meilin was still seated on the couch and I was crouched on the ground, my fingers gripping onto the edge of the couch's seat. Before he could make a move to leave, I laid a hand on his thigh and rested my head against his knee, my body visibly shaking now that the stress of the moment was gone. Tears dribbled down my face but he couldn't see that.

"I was so scared," I mumbled incoherently. "Don't scare me like that."

He was quiet for the longest time. While I silently cried, he placed a gentle hand on the back of my head, running his fingers through my hair. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

We had been married for one day and all of this happened. I had finally started to feel something towards him and he had to scare me away once more. This time, however, I didn't run away from him.