Vivia was snuggled up in Zerath's overcoat, resting against a tree. Her hands were stretched towards a small fire he had built with dried branches and twigs. The warmth gave her much needed relief from the chill. She watched Arzan at a distance, collecting more branches off the ground.
He returned, albeit cautiously, adding them into the fire before it could die out. Zerath, too, had returned by then, bringing fresh fruits with him.
"My lord shouldn't have gone to fetch the fruits himself!" He kowtowed. "I would've brought them for you!"
Zerath paused. He had a suspicion that Arzan would have most definitely gotten completely lost in the forest - though he kept those thoughts to himself.
"I didn't go too far, Arzan. Also, I'm used to searching forests like these," he smiled.
His former life of living on the streets had its uses.
Zerath handed a pear to Vivia and another to Arzan. "Eat, you two."
Vivia frowned. She took one from the bunch and pressed it back into his hand. "You too."
Zerath laughed softly. "That was a good play on words. Are your clothes dry now?"
Arzan, now finally able to use magic, had been casting small bursts of spells to pull the moisture from Vivia's wet clothes. Zerath had been more concerned about her falling sick from the cold than anything else.
"Yes, I feel better now, so time to dry yourselves too. You aren't any less prone to falling sick," she pinched his cheek, dissatisfied that he was only looking out for her health.
"I will."
Zerath held her hand, savoring her warmth and scent. He then lowered it closer to his chest, gently tracing his thumb around a small scar near her knuckles.
"It must hurt."
Vivia entwined her fingers with his. "It doesn't. The poison hurt more. You saved me."
That didn't stop his gaze from dimming.
'Must I stab her to stabilize the Yin? Isn't there some other way to do it without hurting her?'
Arzan shook his head. 'The poison is in her bloodstream. Her blood must be in contact with your sword so the blade can absorb the Yin and neutralize the poison's effects.'
Zerath exhaled another silent sigh of dissatisfaction.
"The scar is reddening even more now. I must've gone too deep," he muttered. "My mistake."
Meanwhile, Arzan controlled his urge to twitch his eyebrow.
'My lord, y-you have to prick her a little deeper than that…'
Zerath frowned. 'How much deeper must I go? I only need a little blood. Why must I stab her so deeply?'
You've barely cut her skin at all! Where do you even see the blood? He lacked the tears to shed.
Vivia chuckled at the sight of his warm sunshine eyes drowned with guilt. "I've gone through harsher training than this small scar. But you on the other hand…"
A scar formed on Zerath's temple looked brighter and deeper than her own tiny injury.
"How do you explain your wound, Crown Prince Zerath?" Her eyes narrowed.
He smiled. "What's there to explain, my lady? The wound isn't on your temple. That's all that matters."
Evidently, his cheerful answer hadn't amused her in the slightest.
Arzan found himself staring into her eyes - ones filled with love for Zerath. The same love and doting warmth glimmered in Zerath's eyes as well.
Coming face-to-face with Zerath's feelings for a human had been nothing less than a shock for Arzan. He wasn't sure of his own opinion. To him, the resentment between their races floated only at a very surface level. He was aware that the hatred existed, so he carried that too - purely because that was how it was supposed to be. Demons hated humans.
Yet now those beliefs were wavering.
The moment the deadly tide had engulfed them, Zerath had wrapped around Clairette with his body, not allowing even the fiercest wave to tear them apart. But what had truly stunned Arzan more were the princess's actions.
As the cave collapsed and they struggled to stay afloat within the depths of Lake Morveth, Zerath was finding it harder to keep holding onto his breath while also protecting Clairette at the same time. At that moment, she had taken his head between her hands and pressed her lips against his without a second thought, pushing air into his lungs. She had swallowed the toxic water when she parted - yet there wasn't even the slightest trace of panic in her eyes.
"You haven't eaten."
His stupor of reminiscence snapped apart, and he found the princess looking at him. "Y-Yes?"
Vivia looked concerned. "You haven't had a single bite. Is the fruit not to your liking?"
"No, no!" His cheeks flushed, embarrassed. "I'm eating!"
He took one large bite and beamed. "It's delicious!"
"Slow down or you'll choke yourself," she chuckled.
"Y-Yes…"
He gripped his robe quietly.
They truly do love each other so much…
Oh wait, am I being a bother by staying here? My lord and the princess might wish to speak privately…
He cleared his throat. "Oh, the fire is fading away it seems. Let me scour for more branches, my lord!"
Vivia watched him scurry off and turned to Zerath with a blink. "I think the fire is fine."
He smiled. "I believe that was his way of giving us some privacy."
Zerath shifted closer, settling beside her.
"You scared me. You aren't allowed to scare me like this ever again."
"Then what about you? When that piece of rock hit your head, I felt my twenty years of my life slipping away more than the poisonous water could. You aren't allowed to scare me like this either."
"You make a fair point."
He touched the corner of her eye, his lips pressing together in a thin line. "You say your scar doesn't hurt, so then what is this guilty tear that I see?"
Vivia looked at him. "I met Clairette today."
—
On the other side of Lake Morveth.
Judith said, "That is quite a difficult task you're upto."
She watched Silas standing in position, perfectly still, his eyes locked onto his target - a tree bearing delicious, ripe fruits hanging from its branches. His shoulder was pulled back with his spear angled, the tip focused on the target. His eyes squinted, taking one last look. He stuck his tongue out just a little, reading the wind.
With one swing, the spear sliced through the howling wind. The blade buried deep into the wood. It barely missed the fruit by a fraction of an inch.
"Nice aim. But-"
It moved - and a moment later, cleanly fell from the branch.
Silas smiled at Judith. "Nice aim indeed."
"Huh. Didn't expect that."
He shrugged.
Judith asked the more important question. "So how many times are you going to throw your spear like that and keep running back and forth to fetch the fruits?"
"Just this once. Contrary to what you may think of me, I'm quite a lazy demon."
"So why bother with it at all?"
"I wanted to test if it'd feel anything different in your realm. Plus show off."
Judith raised a brow.
Finnian's eyes glimmered with a distinct sparkle. "May I be your next target?"
"It'a more fun when the target doesn't want to be a target."
Silas disappeared into the forest and returned shortly, his arms loaded with fruits. Judith reached for one with her right hand - but the wound from Silas's spear still stung. She switched to her left hand with a shrug.
Silas watched the two, seemingly unaffected by the harrowing experience they had just gone through. He left them with the fruits and walked up to the shore, scanning the area to find any signs of Zerath's group.
He turned to Finnian. "The cave is gone. Sure enough, the Shifting Vein as well. How am I supposed to return to Rudaheim?"
"With the Crown Prince and the Syrevar," Judith added, in case he had forgotten about his company.
Silas shrugged. "Zerath can stay here for all I care. He'd be happy to, I believe."
Finnian hummed. "It's indeed a significant problem. Large-distance teleportation magic all the way to your realm will probably kill your Syrevar."
"You've got to be kidding me. I was kind of betting on that."
"That bet will kill your Syrevar, though it'd be an appetizing bet for me~"
Silas considered his options. "What's the nearest place from this lake that would take me to the Realm of Harmony?"
"We're actually quite farther than even from the nearest town to the Realm of Harmony. You can't travel without exposing yourself," Judith said matter-of-factly.
"This is what happens whenever Zerath is involved. I always get bad luck," his lips pressed disdainfully. "I-"
All of a sudden, Silas and Judith went still unanimously.
Finnian watched them with his usual breezy smile. "Hm? What's the matter?"
"Somebody's watching us," Judith said calmly.
Silas caught a silhouette shifting in the distance, venturing deeper into the forest as if retreating.
"Oh no you don't."
Silas clenched his spear, his feet already launching into large strides for a chase without another word. "You're not going anywhere."