>>Hael
I teleported back into my room just as the pale light of early morning crept through the window. The air was crisp as the autumn chill seeped into every corner of the room. The leaves outside had turned amber and gold.
In my hand was a bundle of old, yellowed papers, crinkling slightly with age. They hadn’t been shielded by magic, left vulnerable to the passing of ti.
King Callon must not have deed these of any importance and honestly speaking, they might not be.
The corners were frayed, and the ink had begun to fade. I glanced at them as I casually walked inside, flipping through the brittle sheets without paying much attention to my surroundings. Just another set of records, more answers—but I doubt it’s going to tell anything useful.
I walked past my bed, barely noticing it, but then sothing caught in the corner of my eye. A flash of movent where there should have been none.
I froze.
My breath caught in my chest, and my grip on the papers tightened.
I stepped back, slowly, and turned my head toward the bed and blinked slowly at the person sitting there.
...
Sitting there, on my bed, was Amber.
Her eyes brightened when she saw , as if everything was normal. She smiled, her hand raising in a small wave. "Hi!" she said, her voice light, almost teasing. "Good morning?"
>>Amber
"Orenya?" He was surprised, I could clearly tell with the way his eyes went wide, but he composed himself imdiately and ca over, "How are you feeling?" He ca to the side of the bed, dropping the bundle of papers he had in his hands on the side of the bed, "Does anything feel wrong with your body?" He ca and sat down right next to , putting his hand on my forehead.
!???
It was very unlike him.
He checked my body temperature
I blinked at him in confusion, "No," It made my heart act up, "I feel completely fine." He was being really sweet.
"That’s good," He withdrew his hand
I stared at him, "What’s Orenya?" I asked
He smiled softly, "You told to call you by sothing else, so I chose, ’Orenya’"
"What does it an?" I asked and his smile turned into a smirk
"Why don’t you find out?"
!!!
"What?" I frowned, "You’re not going to tell ?"
He simply closed his eyes and passed a smile.
I grabbed his cheeks and pinched them, "Tell !" He rely chuckled in response.
I froze seeing that.
"Wait," He stood up, "I should get sothing for you to eat," He walked out of the room and I silently watched him do so.
...
Then he ca back with a tray. It had a bowl of soup on it along with a spoon. He ca and sat down with again. Then placed the tray in front of
"Eat," Then he passed a smile again.
...
I watched him suspiciously.
Sothing’s weird. Hael looks...different. There’s sothing odd here. I quietly stared at him
"Hael," I frowned, "Did sothing happen while I was passed out?"
"Hmm?" He looked at quietly, "Like what?" He asked
"I don’t know," I wasn’t sure how to word it, "You seem a little different." There was a whole other vibe coming from him.
"Different how?" He asked, then pointed at the food, "You should eat."
Different how? I picked up the spoon. My frown deepened. I wasn’t sure how. But I could tell sothing was different. I scooped so soup. I’m not saying it’s bad, or off putting but Hael has never smiled like this-
Wait
A realization hit .
Right. He looks relaxed. It’s like he’s genuinely happy to see up and his smile. It’s not his usual smirk or professional expressions. It’s not that he hasn’t given these before but that he seems more natural with it!
"Did you work on your feelings?" I asked, "Like understanding them better?" That was the only thing I could think of.
He looked comfortable and was expressing himself just right. I brought the food to my mouth and ate.
Mmmm! This is good!
His smile softened, "I guess you can say that."
!!!
"Really?" That was a surprise, "How?"
"Soone actually helped with it, a long ti ago."
???
I didn’t quite get what that ant.
"If soone helped you with it a long ti ago, why did you understand now?" I asked
"Because I just recently recalled everything."
His words were rely confusing more. "What is that supposed to an?" I asked, "Recall what?"
He paused. His gaze traveled away and it looked like he was contemplating whether to tell or not.
There was this weird feeling that started swelling up in my chest as I watched him,
He’s not the type to hesitate
What is making him contemplate this?
Right
It was an ominous feeling. I glanced down and scooped another spoonful but didn’t bring it to my mouth.
This was bothering .
"Hael," I softly pinched his sleeve with my other hand and he turned his head to look at , "What are you thinking about?"
"...." HIs gaze wandered off again but at the sa ti it made my chest squeeze in anxiety
"What is it?" I grabbed his arm, "What are you thinking about? Is it really sothing you can’t tell ?"
"It’s not that," His eyes ca back to , "Hmmm," He watched , "I guess it is better not to keep it to myself and tell you."
"Okay," I nodded, "Tell ," I felt like I shouldn’t know what it is but at the sa ti I couldn’t help myself but ask, "What did you recall?"
His eyelids lowered, making his expressions turned softer, then go blank, "My mories," He said
"mories?" There was an inkling in the back of my mind.
No..
"My past mories," He said, "The ones from the original tiline."
!!!
And there it was.
My eyes went wide and my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. His eyes stayed locked on , but I couldn’t bear to look at him. So I looked away.
Silence took over.
I could feel my heartbeat in my throat, a pounding reminder of all the ways I had hurt him.
The excitent that had bubbled up in my chest when I first saw him began to drain away, leaving with a gnawing sense of dread.
"Oh..." My stomach twisted into a knot. A hollow ache opened up in my chest, and I wanted to shrink into myself, to disappear. My hand that was holding his arm fell limp in my lap, and I couldn’t bring myself to et his gaze anymore. The room felt colder now, the autumn chill seeping into my bones, "You must want to disappear..." The words slipped out before I could stop them, barely louder than a whisper. I wanted to crawl into a hole, to vanish before he had the chance to say it himself. I could feel the weight of my mistakes pressing down on , suffocating.
My hands began to shake. My pupils began to shake and my heart beat began to rise, to the point it began to pound in my ears.
I felt ashad. Part of was happy that he didn’t rember anything from the first tiline but now that he does, I don’t think I can face him
The anxiety began to take over . He must hate now. I was such a cruel person in the past.
I bit my lower lip
He must not even want to see my face
The spoon eventually dropped out of my shaky hand, spilling on the tray.
Sha burned hot in my chest, and I clenched my fists in the blanket beneath , trying to ground myself as the mories of my cruelty resurfaced.
"No" He said, making pause, "I do not-" He paused, "No, I will not allow you to disappear on again." I noticed the subtle anger in his voice
"No?" I wanted to turn and look at him but I hadn’t regained the confidence, "What?" It didn’t make any sense.
"I don’t hold any grudges from the past."
I went completely still. My eyes wide open in shock but the frown between my eyebrows was deep.
I slowly turned my head to look at him, "You don’t?"
"No," He answered, "I took a chance with you, when I turned back ti, I placed a bet on you."
"What?"
"The person who performs the spell retains his mories, but I chose you, to retain yours. I wanted to see what you would do if you were given another chance." His gaze was soft as he looked at , and no matter how much I tried, I didn’t find any contempt in them, "And you proved right."
"Yes, but it doesn’t undo the things I have already done." My brain started working on high power. It was him who turned back ti?
"Well, I did kill you for that." He answered calmly, "So we’re even."
Sothing in my heart flipped. Like it was clutched with warmth
"I understand why you left." He said, "And why you wanted to stay away."
"..."
"You’re not angry at ?" I asked, "Really?"
He shook his head, "No,"
"Even though I abused you?"
"Well, you’re not doing it now. You changed."
"But what I did to you in the na of love was too cruel." I turned my body in his direction and began to flail my arms around in the air, "It was inhumane. I was obsessed with you in the most unhealthiest way possible!"
He grabbed my wrists, "It’s fine," He said, "I know you won’t do anything to hurt anymore, well, not like you can." He smirked, "But you should be obsessed with my again, Orenya,"
I froze, "What?"
He pulled closer, "You should be obsessed with in the most unhealthiest way possible." He whispered as our faces got close.
I blinked at him, then my heart skipped a beat, "W-what are you saying!? Why are you saying that!?"
"Because," I looked into his beautiful moon-like eyes, "There is another feeling I have for you. That’s why."
The second the room was silent, it was filled with the sound of my heart drumming.
I gulped and then asked
"What feeling?"
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