Strange Feeling

Elaine Vernimiere debated on her mind enough yet she still had no idea of what was on the mind of the Eslore Crown Prince.

Will he stop staring at her as if she was his prey? What's wrong with him?

Like always, she didn't voice her thoughts. If she did, it will be so foolish of her.

"What do you want me to do, Your Highness?" she finally asked, breaking the silence that lasted for a few seconds.

The moment she finished talking, a hearty chuckle filled the chamber. "I'm only fooling around, Captain," Helias Casteveron mused. "I'm not foolish enough to blame you for the bandits incident. But... " His lips curved into a playful when he added, "If you wish to compensate me, there is always a way."

How sly.

Elaine barely refrained from blinking while Crown Prince Helias was grinning from ear to ear.

Was he a kid? How could he enjoy this?!

He asked how she would compensate him yet he now made it sound like she was the one who offered to compensate!

Helias Casteveron observed every little reaction of the Captain standing before him. Will she finally lose her cool and transformed into the woman he met that day in the forest? He would love to see that side of her again.

"You don't have to do this, Your Highness," Elaine Vernimiere frankly said, taking the Crown Prince by surprise. "You're an important guest of Araven. So, if there is anything you need or want, you can just say it and we will try our best to satisfy you."

Helias Casteveron just realized that seeing that side of her again will be more challenging than he thought. But it's fine. He still has time for that.

Just when he opened his mouth to speak up, he was interrupted by the sudden sound of thunder and the flash of lightning that entered his chamber through the windows.

Was it raining outside? He briefly glanced at the window and noticed that it was raining quite heavily.

Since when did it start raining?

Without thinking further about it, Helias Casteveron shifted his attention back to Elaine but... she wasn't standing before him anymore. Instead, he saw her walking towards the other window on the right.

"What are -"

He wasn't even given a chance to finish his words as Elaine suddenly turned around and stormed out of his chamber.

What was that?

Despite feeling a bit surprised, Crown Prince Helias didn't think much and lifted his injured hand which was now thoroughly bandaged. "She came because of this but why do I feel like she couldn't care less?" he murmured to himself.

All the while, his gaze was fixated on his thickly bandaged hand as if it was his first time seeing it. Then he let out a sigh and put down his hand. Once again, he was almost startled by the roaring thunder.

When he was reminded of how Elaine stormed out after glancing out of the window, Helias Casteveron approached the same window to see if there was anything special.

The window in question provided a great view of the vast royal training ground and... Helias Casteveron spotted the young King of Araven who was standing under the rain.

Why was he doing archery under this heavy of a rain? Was he crazy?

However, it wasn't long before the Captain crossed Helias's mind again.

Was this why she stormed out of his chamber like crazy? Because her King was standing under the rain?

Soon enough, Helias Casteveron was proved right as he saw Elaine running towards King Arias Astaze. When Elaine reached there, she removed her black jacket and put it above the King's head though the latter was taller than her.

*

At the training ground

"Your Majesty, I will escort you back to your chamber. If you continue this, you might get sick." Concern was written all over Elaine's face as she talked. Though it wasn't that visible, King Arias noticed a hint of anxiety on her face.

He rarely saw this. It didn't suit her at all.

Arias Astaze didn't say anything but... he lifted his hand and gently pushed the jacket towards Elaine so that it would shield her from the rain and not him. At this, Elaine Vernimiere raised a brow.

"Your Majesty... "

"You are more sensitive to rain than I am." The King's voice was still calm but... Elaine sensed the depression behind it.

"But you are all soaked. What if you catch a cold?" Her gaze briefly swept the Vice-Captain who was standing at a distance, anxious just like her.

The King always lost his brain whenever he heard a report about how there was no clue on that traumatizing incident and... Elaine had long known that the incident didn't only render the Princess mentally unstable. Arias was the same.

It's just that he had a higher fighting spirit than the Princess and he managed to put himself under control most of the time.

For almost another minute, King Arias stood still without uttering a single word. Then Elaine grabbed his hand after thinking about it several times. "I beg for your understanding, Your Majesty," was all she said before she pulled her childhood friend out of the vast training ground, not caring about how he might think.

All the while, the King had his gaze on her but he didn't protest. He let her pull him to wherever place just like he always did when they were young.

It's not that it was in his nature. He knew how headstrong Elaine was and he knew that she was happy when she took the lead. That's why he always let her do it and he eventually got used to following her lead in no time.

It was one of the things that never happened again since he took over the throne but now... was it really happening?

Meanwhile, Helias Casteveron watched the two friends until they were out of his sight. When the empty training ground became the only sight that was visible to his eyes, Helias Casteveron narrowed his eyes at his wounded hand. Then slowly, he lifted his hand and placed it on his heart.

What kind of strange feeling was he experiencing right now?

The more he thought about it, the more Helias became nervous, anxious too.

When he felt like it was too much, the Crown Prince reached for his inner pocket and took out the small wooden sword toy that was always with him. As he gently touched it while placing it on his palm, Helias's expression turned uncertain.

"This is wrong of me, right? I shouldn't do this to you after what happened. I have no right at all."