Reunion

"Oh, you're awake." The guest in question muttered angrily, waddling over towards the couch to take a seat. "Arius thought you were asleep and made me tip toe my way up here... come on and sit down- Oh, but before you do, could you be a dear and close the door? It's too cold of a season to be letting the wind in like that."

"Lovely to see you too, Margaret." She greeted indifferently, closing the glass door of the balcony as per her request. "I see that you are in a rather good mood today."

Sitting back at her usual spot, Zeya waited patiently for the royal physician to settle down as she continued her mumbled ramblings while she took out her equipment.

"It would have been better if I had managed to get my beauty sleep instead of getting dragged out of bed by Arius." She sighed, shaking her head to show her disapproval. "He was so bothersome, continuous talking about how badly you were hurt by some beast in the night-"

Margaret finally noticed Zeya's pale complexion, clearly shocked by the state she greeted her in. Margaret's hazel eyes immediately began scanning Zeya from head to toe, checking to see what the cause of her weakened state was.

"... You look worse than the last time I saw you, my child. Have you not been sleeping again?"

"I was told you were here to treat my wounds, Doctor." She said, struggling to get her clothes off before Margaret had even asked. "Not to nag at me about my bedtime."

"Sleep is important to all living beings including us, Zeya. The amount of sleep you get heavily determines how well your body can heal itself." She immediately began the check-up, gesturing to Zeya to lie down on her bed. "Have you ever wondered why your wounds has started to heal slower as time passed?"

"I had just assumed that it was my age getting to me." She half-joked, clearly trying to lift up the mood. "You said it yourself, didn't you? Even immortals like us feel the effects of time the longer we live."

After a moment of struggle, she somehow managed to successfully take her shirt off however, she winced in pain at the sudden movement she made, losing her balance as a result.

"But definitely not at this rate!" Margaret's eyes widened at the sight of the bloody bandage, helping Zeya onto her back before she searched her briefcase for a clean one to replace it with. "Oh dear, look at you! It looks like the wound has already been infected."

Zeya grimaced as Margaret mercilessly doused a whole bottle of an unknown liquid all over the bloody gap, a stinging sensation engulfing Zeya's whole body.

"A-A little warning would have been nice." She whispered weakly, gritting her teeth. "You wouldn't want me to die out of shock now, would you?"

The pain slowly subsided as the wound magically started closing itself up, until a numbness in the area was all that she felt.

"Thankfully your body is still able to receive herbal treatments." She stated, breathing a sigh of relief. "Although, I can't seem to say the same for the sleep medication since it clearly has not been doing wonders for you."

"The pills do nothing for me now, no matter how strong you claim them to be." Zeya confessed truthfully with a small, tired smile. "The nightmares still haunt me every night, if not, they've actually gotten worse as of late."

"Being immune to the potency of these medications overtime is a common effect for people with night terrors." She nodded her head empathetically, reapplying the bandage even though the wound had magically disappeared now. "Though the recommended treatment differs for every individual therefore, I think it's best we stop with the medication for now-"

"No, I don't intend on giving up on that route." Zeya refused, sitting up now that she felt good as new. "If it worked once, I'm sure it'll work again. I just need to control my intake that's all."

"Hm, I do have a new medication I've been working on..." She recalled, deep in her thoughts. "But let me have some time to think about it. If your nightmares pursue to worsen, I suppose we don't have many options to choose from."

"... Very well." Zeya reluctantly agreed, getting up from the bed. "Thank you very much for today, Margaret. And sorry about your beauty sleep, I'll be sure to warn Arius not to repeat his actions again."

"If you're truly remorseful, why not consider getting hurt less often?" She complained, placing several bottles of the same mystery liquid she had poured on Zeya's wound on the small nightstand beside her bed. "You are no longer a princess, Your Majesty. You're an Empress now, an essential figure that the Stygian people need in order to prosper."

She grunted dramatically as she got up from her seat, packing her stuff away.

"Do try to take care of yourself even if it's not for your own sake, at least use your title as an excuse to do so. That is my only request as your old, senile physician."

"... I wasn't aware that you could utter such heart-warming words." Zeya joked to hide her surprise. "I can't help but feel touched."

"Oh, stop your blabbering foolish child!" She groaned, fed up with Zeya's silly behavior. "Just come and help me down the damned stairs, I have my dear bed waiting for me to return to its warm embrace and I intend to get back my full eight hours of beauty sleep."

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"Hm, looks like you have yet another visitor besides me." Zeya heard Margaret's word as she made her way down the winding staircase.

"Is it Kaiden?" She asked, not wanting anymore people to find out about Lex's return. Although Margaret was one of the few people that knew about Kaiden's condition, Zeya decided against telling her for the time being.

"Unfortunately not, dear." Margaret sighed, waiting for Zeya to get down so she could grab her briefcase. "It's someone a patient like you shouldn't be dealing with right now."

Zeya frowned at her confusing answer, clearly not getting her riddles. "Well, who the hell is it then?"

She looked towards the direction Margaret gestured at, a familiar figure standing next to Arius right in front of the main entrance.

"... Nevra?" Zeya whispered, recognizing the distinct ruby red irises of the stranger in front of her.

"So it really is true." Nevra said under her breathe, tears of joy falling from her eyes. "You've come back to us."

She ran up to hug the perplexed Zeya, who remained still as a rock as she stared at where Nevra once stood with widened eyes.

"And that shall be my cue to leave." Margaret grumbled, taking her briefcase out of Zeya's hands. "I don't have enough energy to be dealing with two High Roses at once."

She glared at Arius as she neared the doorway, clicking her tongue in disapproval. "I'm sure Lady Nevra is ecstatic to see her back, but Zeya should be resting in that state, not welcoming guests over."

"I had no choice, Margaret." Arius replied with a sigh. "Lady Nevra said she'd rip me to pieces if I didn't bring her back to where Zeya was."

"As if you'd ever let her do that." The physician scoffed, knowing that it was just an excuse. "Be sure she gets enough rest, Minister. I would be very displeased if I have to make my way here once more."

"Of course, Doctor." Arius acknowledged her request with a slight nod. "You can count on me for that."

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"How did you find out?" Zeya asked her friend after she had calmed down enough to talk. "I thought Arius made sure to keep if a secret from the Circle until the funeral."

"And he should be taught a lesson in doing so." Nevra glared at Arius as she said that, who acted oblivious to the death glare he was receiving.

"I'm just glad that Idris was loyal enough to tell me the truth. I rushed my way over here as soon as I heard the news."

"How are you and Rowen?" Zeya asked, slightly excited at the thought of catching up with her friend's life. "I hope it's not too, hostile."

Nevra's ruby gaze seemed to falter at the mention of her fiancé, avoiding Zeya's concerned gaze as a way to hide her sudden change in expression.

"We're... we're doing fine, I suppose. We're not talking but, we're not avoiding each other either."

'They must have had an argument again.' Zeya thought, recalling the times where she would have to intervene the two whenever they tried to kill each other in a fit of rage. The pair had their own, 'unique' ways of loving one another and as lovely as it was sometimes, it was as equally as brutal too.

"I see." Zeya immediately cut the question short, not wanting to burden her sensitive friend. "That's good to hear."

"Then, about the others?" She asked as an attempt to brighten up the mood. "I'm pretty certain you were with them before you came here. I can smell their scents on you."

"Well, I was with them a moment ago, yes." She confirmed, fiddling with her hands. "However, I am the only one that knows of the news. Everyone else is still in Exousia, obliviously participating in one of those monthly alliance practices... well, everyone except Amrit of course."

"I see he's still the rebel of the group." Zeya joked with a small smile, taking a small sip the tea Arius had prepared moments ago. "I can already imagine the harsh things he's going to say once he sees me."

"... He is going to be angry that's for sure." Nerva commented nervously. "Really, really angry."

"And he's going to rip my head of first the moment he realizes it was my idea." Arius added, casually sipping a sip from his cup of tea. "Although I suppose a few days in hiding would put a stop to it."

"He'll come around eventually, you know he always does."

"I hope so, Zeya." She nodded her head though her expression said otherwise. "Because no one but you can deal with that madman."