>>Amber

"You-What?" The King looked at us both in horror.

"Yes," Hael had explained the whole thing to everyone present in the throne room. The King, The Queen, Prince Lyal, all the advisors and amongst them all was a new face.

The Crown Prince, Nevan

"The Miasma does indeed travel. How? I am not sure but my strongest guess would be that it's got to do something with the monsters I saw in Hollow Woods." The room was silent, and I could see the terror in the eyes of the people. All of them kept glancing at each other with confused looks.

"And you're saying, you those same pair of eyes here?" The King was asking me, "In our forest?" All eyes were on me.

"Yes, Your Highness." I replied, "Which is why I was upset that you left me and Lady Serena there."

The King stood up from his throne, "I assure you, I was not the one who ordered the guards to leave, but still I deeply apologize for the blunder that happened."

"Your Highness," Hael folded his arms, "Only Royals can order the Royal guards, if not you, then who was it?" I glanced at Hael. He had his eyes fixed on the King, "Someone needs to be held accountable because 'that' " He glanced at me, "Could have ended very badly." When our eyes met, his gaze softened for me

!

It made my heart skip a beat and I looked away.

"I fear it might be my daughter's doing." The King said, "But please rest assured, she will get punished for her actions."

"There are alot of things she needs to be punished for, Your Highness," I said, "I hope you will give the right punishment to her."

"You have my word," He said and I nodded. I don't think I could have said this so openly if it wasn't for Hael standing right next to me.

I sneaked a glance at him, then immediately looked away shyly.

Gosh,

What do I do with myself?

"Your Majesty," One of the advisors spoke, "What are we going to do now?"

"If that thing-" Another one said, "A monster really is in the forest right outside our city, we need to do something about it."

"Didn't you hear what the Tower Master said, you don't hear them approach!"

"And there was miasma all around them!"

"But we need to do something! If there is a monster there, it'll destroy everything in the forest."

"That's right, that means we'll be losing food and medical supplies!"

"But we know nothing about these creatures!"

"We can't just leave them be."

The Throne room became heated with arguments and suggestions. I glanced at Hael, he was quietly watching them all. After a while he looked at the King and he raised his hand to silence his people, "Quiet!" He roared and the voices in the room died down. Everyone turned to look at him, "Tower Master," He looked at us, "What do you suggest?"

"It's true we know nothing about them, but it's also true that something needs to be done before miasma takes over the whole world."

"The whole world?" Lyal said, "What do you mean?"

Hael glanced at me, "Our Saint has been having a vision." His words made everyone gasp.

Oh hell,

It's my time.

"Saint Amber," The king frowned, "Is this true?"

"Yes, Your Highness," I nodded, "I've been dreaming of our kingdom falling to the miasma."

"How!?" An Advisor asked.

"I saw it moving," I glanced at Hael, "The same way Hael described it moving in Hollow Woods." Then I looked at the Royals again, "And it ate everything up, and those monsters crumbled everything up."

The room erupted in horror filled gasps.

"We will need to get more info on how to handle these monsters. I believe our best shot is to kill them."

"What do you suggest?" King Matthias asked.

"I suggest we try and capture the one in our forest and see what we can find."

"But we know nothing about them!" Lyal said, "If we send in our soldiers, who knows how many of them will die!"

"Sacrifices are necessary for victory," Hael replied.

"Do you plan on taking the lead for it?" An advisor asked.

"No," Hael replied, "Saint Amber and I will be leaving the country."

All eyes went wide in surprise and horror, "You're leaving?"

"Why are you leaving?"

"Hael!" The king banged his fist on the armrest, "You said you wouldn't pull this if your demand was met."

Hael chuckled, "Oh! Your Highness, the saint and I are leaving to get more info on the monsters we are facing. We'll be back soon enough."

"Oh," He calmed down,

"While we're gone, I hope you'll do something about the one alien we have in our forest. Our Kingdom may be far from Hollow Woods but we're the only country with a Saint and thus the only ones who can do something about this."

Everyone nodded.

"I'll have a team assembled," The King looked at his sons, "Both of you, come up with a plan and come to me."

"Yes, Your Highness," They replied

Hael looked at me and offered me his hand, "Shall we leave, My Lady?"

I took it, "Yes,"

We walked out of the Throne room, "When are we leaving for the Elf Kingdom?"

"Soon," He replied,

"And When is that?" The door closed behind us.

"Tomorrow," He replied, "The sooner we get it done, the better,"

"Tomorrow-"

"Amber!!" A familiar voice cut my words, making me look at the person running towards us.

"Serena!" She came in and crash-hugged me

"Oh! Thank God! I was so worried," She hugged me tighter, making me smile, "I had no idea what to do when they put you in the dungeon!" She pulled away with her hands on my arms, "I tried to ask my father to do something but getting that man to agree is so hard!"

>>Hael

The moment Lady Serena hugged My Lady she smiled. It was like she smiled simply because Lady Serena's presence made her happy.

She doesn't do that with me though. Do I not make her happy anymore? Until she was sixteen, every time she saw me, she used to smile. I'm sure she was infatuated with me then.

"It's alright," Amber said

It bothers me now that she doesn't give me that attention.

"Are you sure? Are you alright?"

She chuckled softly, "It's fine," She then glanced at me and passed me a very bright smile, "He helped me."

!!!

My heart did a weird thing then.

???

What was that?

"Hael," She waved her hand at me, "Serena and I are going to talk for a minute."

"Alright," I nodded, "I need to go to the Royal Library, I'll see you there."

"The Royal Library?" She frowned, "You have access to the Royal Library?"

"Of course, I do. I have access to many places."

She was in awe, "Wow, You've really become a great man!" She passed me another smile and somehow my heart did the exact same thing again.

It jumped.

***

I walked along the outer corridor of the palace, my footsteps soft on the cool stone floor. The early evening air was crisp and carried the faint scent of blooming flowers from the gardens below. As I strolled, my mind kept returning to her smile—the way it had lit up her face and made my heart skip a beat. It was a unique feeling, one I didn't quite understand. Her smile had filled me with an unexpected elation, a warmth that spread through my chest.

The feeling was pleasant but difficult to comprehend.

Lost in my thoughts, I barely noticed the approach of two servants down in the garden until their voices reached me. They seemed lost in their own world and I wouldn't have paid them any attention if it wasn't for what they were talking about

"How are you so sure you're in love with me?" one servant, a young woman, asked with a hint of playful skepticism in her voice.

Her companion, a young man, chuckled softly. "Because every time I see you smile, my heart feels like it's going to burst. It's like the whole world lights up, and nothing else matters."

I felt my breath catch in my throat and I froze

The woman laughed softly. "You're just saying that to make me blush."

"No, really," The man insisted. "I know I'm in love with you because I can't imagine my life without you. When you're happy, I'm happy. When you're sad, it feels like my world is falling apart. It's like... like we're connected in a way I can't explain."

"Oh you!" She smacked his arm, "What else?"

"I don't like it when you get hurt. Whenever you are in trouble I want to help. I want you to rely on me!"

"I already do!" She laughed.

"Yea! But I want to have you all to myself!

My mind raced. The words struck a chord deep within me.

The woman sighed, her voice softer now. "I feel the same way. I want to have you only for myself! I wanna squish you into my pocket!"

They laughed, their voices slowly fading away as they kept walking.

"Oh!" I could barely hear them, "And I hate it when you distance yourself from me," His words made my eyes go wide, "Especially when you push me away. I feel like something breaks inside of me."

...

I brought my hand up to touch my chest and placed it there. The servants' voices faded and then it was gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

...

I blinked quietly

...

I remained there for a moment longer, the realization settling over me.