>>Amber

'This Hael?'

That's a little weird way to refer to someone but perhaps she knew him?

"Um," I got an odd feeling from her, "Yea, sure," I shrugged, "Why not?" But I couldn't define what the feeling was.

"Let's go," She led the way, "We just have to take the stairs at the end of this corridor and we'll be there, it's not far," She had a soft voice or maybe it was that she didn't have the energy to talk loudly. She was thin, thinner than all the elves here.

"Oh! Thank you,"

That was the end of our conversation. The rest of the way, neither one of us spoke and she led me to the tree wood stairs that led down to the ground floor, right next to the stairs was a door. The door opened to the side of the throne room.

So there are other entrances to the throne room. I looked back as the door closed behind us and noticed how it blended perfectly with the wall.

No wonders I wasn't able to tell before.

As soon as I entered, I heard Helena's voice, "Saint Amber!" She stood up from the chair when she saw me, "You're finally up!!"

I smiled and sped up my pace to reach her. She came down from her throne and came to greet me. She wasn't very busy to begin with, there were only a few advisors in the throne room.

"Yes," I replied, "I believe it's thanks to you," We met at a midpoint and held each other's hands, "Thank you," I said softly which made her smile.

"No problem, anything for my nephew's future wife."

!!!

"Future wife?!" I was flustered but Helena chuckled at my reaction but then she noticed the other woman, and her expressions changed a little.

"Oh," I looked at her, she was standing very far from us, "She helped me get here," My eyes darted around but I didn't see him, "Your Highness?"

She looked at me again and passed me a professional smile which I did notice and found odd but didn't question it, "Yes?"

"How long did I sleep for this time?"

She let out a soft breath, "Two weeks," She said as her gaze softened

"Oh," That's even longer than last time. I raised my head and looked at her again, "Where's Hael?"

"Oh," Her hands tightened around mine, "He hasn't woken up yet,"

!!!

"What?" That was a statement I wasn't expecting. He hasn't woken up?

"He put his all in trying to keep you safe, that all of his mana and energy were exhausted. He's been in a coma since that day

My heart fell

"Oh No..." There was this ominous feeling that followed that news. This must be why he didn't respond to me. He couldn't respond to me.

"He is fine though, right?"

She nodded, "He is, there's nothing to worry about. He'll wake up soon enough."

I bit my lower lip, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Helena shook her head, "I don't think so-"

"You already did," A familiar voice cut her off. And we both turned to look at the main door.

Hael entered the room through the main door, his movements were slow and deliberate, his expression carrying a sleepy, yet serene look as if he had just emerged from the depths of a peaceful slumber. His steps were measured, as if he were still half lost in the realm of dreams.

With tousled hair cascading in gentle waves around his face, he moved further into the space, his movements seemed almost ethereal, but in that moment, he looked so much like someone else I just saw

"Hael!" I let go of Helena's hands and ran to him, "You woke up!" I was excited, "When did you wake up!??!" A flood of relief went through my body and I relaxed.

Thank God! He's okay!

I reached him and he stopped in his path as well, "You called me," He said as he rubbed his closed lashes with his index finger, "I woke up because of you," He brought his hand down and passed me a smile.

So when I called out to him, he woke up? What? He's being so cheesy. As if just my voice would be enough to wake him up from a coma-like state.

"You didn't come to me though," I folded my arms to tease him. If he's going to say some corny lines, I might as well pull something too.

"I would have," He raised his head to look at me, "If I was in a normal sleep, but I was in a coma, so that's diff-" He paused as his eyes landed on the pretty woman who led me here.

He froze with his eyes wide open, the smile on his face faded away to horror.

"Hael," She called out to him, "You're Hael right?" She ran to him, "You're my Hael," The woman seemed happy as she jumped towards Hael and I finally knew what that uneasy feeling I felt was.

It was this.

This woman is Hestia

Hael's mother. They look so much like each other.

She wrapped her arms around him, or well, she at least tried to but Hael stepped away from her in fear, "Don't come near me." His statement made me look at him with unease.

"Hael," She called his name again and he winced, "It's me, your mother."

"I know who you are," He stepped further back, "That's why I'm telling you to stay away from me."

What is this? There's so much negative tension here. Does he hate his mother so much that he doesn't even want her near him?

"Hael," She looked heart-broken, "Don't do this to me," She tried to smile at him, "You can come live with me," But her lips quivered, breaking that illusion.

Hael ignored the woman and walked away

"Wait!" She grabbed his arm, "Please," She begged him and for an elf to beg a human. That was something you wouldn't see again and again. But then again, maybe Hael was exempt from this because he was part elf.

Hael snatched his arm away, "Stay away from me."

"Hael, Please, come live with us again!" She pleaded, "You already came here, didn't you come here because you missed me?"

Hael glared at her and replied with a single contempt filled word, "No," Yet he didn't yell.

Wow. He only said one word but it looked like there was so much hate in it

"Hael, please!" She grabbed his hand again,"Hael!" But Hael dodged her and she fell to the ground, "Hael, you have to live with us, you can't live with humans! You're an elf!"

He paused on his way to me and looked back at her, "I am human,"

"Hael," Helena blocked his path, "At least try to talk to your mother, huh?" She looked into his eyes, "She's not wrong, you are one of us, you're our flesh and blood."

"No," He replied to the Queen, "I age like one, so I will live like one," It felt like being part elf was the bane of his existence. It felt like that one thing he despised the most and would give away anything just so that he could throw that part of him away.

"Hael, your mother- she wants to make amends-" Helena tried to persuade Hael.

"And?" Hael was uninterested in the conversation

"Can you please stay?" The Queen was soft with her words

"No," But Hael wasn't, he walked around Helena to come to me. His responses were so cold, it was giving me the chills, "Our work here is done," He glanced at me, "We're leaving." He grabbed my hand and began to drag me out.

"H-hael," I panicked, "Aren't we being rude?"

"I was being very polite," He answered and I didn't argue with him. It was a story I wasn't aware of after all

"Hael!" Hestia came after us but Hael picked up his speed, "Please," She begged and I turned to look at her. Tears were streaming down her face, "Hael please, listen to me," She looked too pitiful.

Yet Hael did not stop, neither did he let me stop, "Please!" She kept begging, "I'm sorry," She apologized, "I'm so sorry!!" She yelled, "Please," Her lovely face was stained with tears, but the ironic part was that even with those tears she looked stunning, "Hael, please, stay, please!"

But Hael did not show any signs of stopping. With a grim expression he pulled me out of the palace too. Only after we had landed on the grass in open air did he stop.

"Hael!!" His mother came running out and Hael finally turned to look at her.

"I don't want to see you again," His words made her pause a little distance away from us.

"My baby," Her eyes were full of woe, her voice cracked and her expressions were far too sorrowful for one to be as cold as Hael. Her misery was breaking me, how was it that it didn't affect Hael?

I glanced at him, he did not show any sign of mercy

"Please, please," The tears streaming down her face had a lot of volume, they were big, "Please don't leave," She clasped her hands together, rubbing her palms as she begged.

!!!

I was expecting him to do something but what he did was the complete opposite of my expectation.

The white magic symbol appeared beneath us. I looked at Hael, "How about you talk with her," I said, "She looks too pitiful."

Hael didn't look at me, his eyes were focused on his mother who tried to come to us but her knees gave out and she fell. On my side, it was a spontaneous action. I tried to run to her but Hael pulled me back.

!!!

"Ow," His pull was rough, and it made me realize that this was the only time he had been rough with me, "That hurt!" He always treats me so gently,

I glared at him while he then wrapped his arm around my waist so that I couldn't leave his side,

"Hael!" I glared at him, "At least try to talk to her!"

"No," He replied coldly, "Never,"

I watched him in disbelief

"Hael," Turning my head I looked at Hestia, she had started crawling towards us, "Please, I need you," Fat tears kept rolling down her cheeks, "Please, please, hear me out."

The sight made my heart tremble. It brought tears to my eyes as well, "Hael," I looked at him but this time he didn't even answer me.

The teleportation circle beneath us activated and I was forced to shut my eyes as the light flashed us far away from the forest of elves.