Tough Love

 "She was close to losing her life that's for sure." Margaret revealed to the looming groups of High Roses as she struggled to catch a breath. 

 Her old body it seems, was no longer capable of handling the pressure that came with saving the lives of these high ranked Roseabelles that just had to put themselves into dangerous situations. 

 She tried her best to save Zeya and fortunately for her and the empress, the Kaxarene was stable... for now.

 Beads of sweat dripped from her forehead to her brows as a result of the immense intensity of the entire situation.

 She had expected a decent amount of damage when she was told that the injuries were due to the blood contract, but this was something even Margaret wasn't sure if she could fix even with her exceptional healing abilities. 

 Blood contracts were spells known for its unforgiving punishments if provoked and she never liked dealing with it because of how badly it could hurt the physical body.

 The physician was in the room tending to Zeya's wounds for hours before she deemed Zeya to be safe from the hands of Death and by the end of it, the poor lady was spent.

 "She is in stable conditions now but I'm not sure when exactly she will regain consciousness." She said with a deep sigh, her heart heavy just like her exhausted body. "All I can suggest we do now is to let her rest and recover on her own. That will heal her better than any of my spells."

 "Is it at least safe enough for her to be moved to Stygia instead?" Amrit asked but was immediately shut down by others.

 As the crowd erupted into chaos as they usually do, a tall figure standing at a distance caught her attention.

 He was staring at the porcelain floor in a poised manner, yet Margaret could tell he had countless thoughts running around his head.

 "It has been a while since our last encounter, Emperor." She called out to the stranger, catching him by surprise. 

 For a moment, Margaret could've sworn she saw a hint of warmth in his eyes before it quickly faded less than a second later, going back to the same stone-cold aura he exuded a moment ago.

Margaret felt as though the Kaxarene was happy to see her but wasn't allowed to approach her due to the other Roseabelles' presence. Her old heart ached at the thought.

 "Please, you can call me like you've always did, Margaret." He insisted with a small, polite smile. "Feel free to call this your home until Zeya wakes up and do tell me if there is anything I can do to help."

 "She needs complete rest." She warned the emperor, who could only nod in obedience.

 "I would also ask that you stay as close to her as you can, Varen." She added warmly, abiding to his request on letting go of the formality. "That would help with the blood loss tremendously and prevent any further damages done to her body."

 "I understand." Varen answered with little hesitation, looking over to the hostile group of the High Roses. "I'll make sure this part of the palace is closed off for the sake of everyone's comfort."

 "I'll remain here with Lex until she wakes up." Arius spoke up as he glanced over at the care-free brother. 

 "Do what you see fit." Varen replied coldly before he walked over to go into the room Zeya was held in. "Just don't get in my way."

 "Prick." Amrit insulted as the Kaxarene walked by, earning a stifled laugh from Lex and a warning glare from Arius.

=================

 It was already late into the night in Exousia once everything finally died down and allowed Varen to have a bit of peace by himself.

 Just as instructed, he remained by Zeya's side even when he received death glares from Zeya's companions.

 In a way, he felt bad for being partially responsible for Zeya getting injured this badly.

 For a while, he had forgotten how severely she could get hurt by their agreement until he saw the effects of it himself when Lex brought her back from the shadow realm.

 But a part of him was unmoving in the thought that he did nothing wrong; after all, he had warned her numerous times about the dangers that came with breaching the contract and it was her decision to challenge it.

 She was already unconscious by the time she made it to the palace, and even that usual laidback brother of hers seemed troubled by the state of her condition.

 It had been a while since he felt that sense of dread, and for a moment it overwhelmed him that Zeya might actually die again because of him.

 'Again.' He thought, finding it humorous for all the sick reasons.

 It was fascinating to him that he always seemed to be the only thing capable of causing Zeya pain after they parted ways with each other.

 Fate truly worked in twisted ways he concluded, having learned the fact once again after this incident.

 He stared at Zeya's peaceful expression, her chest rising and falling with every breathe she took. 

 Every so often, Zeya would furrow her eyebrow as if she felt discomfort which prompted Varen to pay extra attention to her in case she'd wake up.

 'I can't help but wonder what seems to be tormenting you more than I am.' He thought, as all he could do was stare attentively, as if he was mesmerized by her pain. 

Her entire body was covered with the bandage that were once white linen.

 Now, it was almost entirely soaked with her blood; it appeared like the wounds were still not closing up despite having been hours since she received treatment. 

 He made a mental note to have them replaced as soon as the sun rose the next day and closed his eyes to rest but, he was quickly disturbed by a noise erupting from the corner of the room.

 "Oh? Would you look who it is?" Lex's taunting voice filled the silent room. "I didn't think you'd care for the old lady's words that much."

 "What are you doing here?" Varen interrogated, getting up from his chair. "Didn't you hear Margaret saying that Zeya needed to rest?"

 "I heard her the first time but, I'm just here to let Nox see her." He pointed to where Zeya's bed was placed and sure enough, Nox was already over there, glancing at the empress with sorrowful eyes. 

 "... Very well." Varen gave in as he sat back down.

 For a moment, the silence came back with both of the men not saying a word to one another, until Varen decided he could not take it any longer.

 "Most of the men you killed today turned out to be part of my council here." He began, referring to the murder spree Lex went on earlier today. "I wonder if you targeted them on purpose?" 

 "So, you did see the gift I left you after all." Lex said with a devilish smirk, his eyes glowing a dark, translucent green. "I must admit that I was confused when you showed no reaction to seeing me in person."

 "In fact, you seem pleased." Lex asked carefully, watching Varen with extreme interest. "Did I perhaps did you a favor by accident?"

 "You could say that, yes." Varen nodded his head with a small smile. "I already had plans to get rid of them in the future, but you saved me the trouble. Those humans are deathly scared of Roseabelles so they won't make too much of a fuss about it."

 "Hm, what a lucky day for both of us then." Lex was starting to get tired of the conversation.

 "Indeed."

 "Did you also perhaps meet a human girl?" Varen continued on, apparently not done with his questions. "She had on a long white dress with long, brown hair."

 "You are a curious creature, Your Majesty." Lex stated, successfully avoiding Varen's authoritative questions without offending the emperor too much.

 He knew that it was pointless to start a fight with an ally, so he tried his best to remain neutral, but it was starting to get difficult with Varen's curiosity.

 Varen, for some reason, made Lex extremely uncomfortable although he couldn't quite place why that was.

 Unbeknownst to him however, Varen was doing this on purpose to make him leave quicker.

 "It is only in my nature to be as a Kaxarene." Varen stated. "Forgive me if I struck a nerve, Lex. I only wanted to get to know you better." 

 "I think that would be a bit difficult after what you did to me back at the forest." Lex retorted with a confused frown. "It's hard to accept a man that threw a rock at you the first time you meet."

 "It was a desperate attempt to stop you from killing your sister." Varen replied with a little shrug. "She said you were almost impossible to stop when you're hungry." 

 "So, you have heard of me."

 "Well, just some rumors here and there." Varen said with a playful demeanor. "But no worries, your secret is safe with me."

 "... We will be taking our leave now, Your Majesty." Lex decided to end the conversation abruptly, giving the emperor a small bow before making his way to the door. "I hope you have a good night."

 With that, Lex left the room with Nox following him close behind, leaving Varen with Zeya in the room.

 'Finally.' He thought, letting out a heavy sigh.

 He made himself comfortable in the chair, confident that there were no more guests that were going to barge in.

He hoped to get some rest before the morning came so that he could deal with the chaos that would soon rise with the sun.