Yu Sha looking calmed and relaxed as ever, leaped down and walked towards Su Na, "Getting some fresh air. Why do you look so pale like you've just seen a ghost?"
Again, lost for words and not yet recovered from what she saw, she quickly thought up a lie. "Um... Can I sleep in your room tonight? I keep hearing tapping noises in my bathroom and I'm feeling scared."
Yu Sha was surprised. "Eh? There's a ghost in your room?" Yu Sha tried to peek over Su Na's shoulder wondering since when had her friend been afraid of ghosts? Why did she never know about it after all these years? They had been friends for decades.
Su Na slowly darted her eyes to the right to avoid the eye contact and replied, "Well, I'm not sure."
Yu Sha grinned, looking excited to go on a mystery hunt. "I'll come over instead. I want to investigate this. Let me get my room card and I'll be over in a minute." With that, she disappeared into her room.
"Mm... I'll prop the door for you." Su Na yelled loudly.
***
Deep into the night, in a room, the firewoods cracked and sparked as they burned in the fireplace. A tall handsome man was sitting on a chair with a woman sitting on his lap leaning onto his chest. The man gently placed his right hand on her belly of what seemed like a small baby bump.
"How long will you be gone this time?" The woman asked softly.
The man hugged the woman tighter and kissed the top of her head. "I'm not sure. A big war broke out in the south. I'm providing reinforcement troops. Hopefully, it is not too long."
The woman re-positioned herself to face the man. She looked up at the man, wrapped her arms around his neck and gazed right into his eyes. After a moment of intense deep gaze into each other's eyes, the woman pulled herself closer to the man's ear and whispered, "Why do I love you so much?"
The moment the man heard the sweet whisper dancing around in his ears, his pupils dilated, he pulled her closer and tighter, inhaled the scent of her smell and kissed the side of her head by her earlobe. His heart ached, no matter how much he held onto her when the sun rose the next day; he had to leave her behind. If he could control time, he would freeze time so he could hold her forever. Each time he parted from her, they both knew in their heart, they may not see each other again.
He did not care for fame. He did not care for recognition. He did not care if the world collapsed. All that he cared for was her. However, he was unable to get rid of his background and duty-bound obligations. To have her, he would conquer the world; bend the walls of heavens just so he could forever be allowed to stay by her side. Suddenly, the woman he was holding turned to flames, so did everything around him. He jumped up from his chair grasping into the flames that happened to be his woman just a moment ago.
***
Again, in a spacious room with a nightlight on, prince Hue Chi jerked up from his sleep. He gasped for air and tried to calm down his racing heart. He propped his head with his right hand and grasped his chest with his left hand to see if the pounding pain in his heart would calm down.
Hue Chi always slept with a night light on not because he was afraid of the dark but he was afraid of being consumed by his nightmares. The light was like a shiny glimmering hope that brightened his room to let him know that he was back in his reality.
He glanced at the clock on the desk beside his bed. The time was 3:03 AM. He usually was an early riser, most morning waking up between 4 - 5 AM which was in an hour. He knew that he could not sleep so he got up from his bed and called Butler Zeu to bring tea to his office before making his way out to the office next door.
The next day, the sunlight peeked through the screen door, illuminating the room. Yu Sha got up from the bed after glancing at the clock striking 9 AM. She went to the washroom to freshen up.
After a while when she was done, she came out and opened the screen door curtains before shouting merrily, "Suuuuu Naaaa... wake up. Let's go and have breakfast."
Su Na turned over facing her back towards the balcony, pulling the duvet closer. She seemed in no mood to get up. Her low and tired voice confirmed it. "Mmm... just order room service."
"Huh? Is the world coming to an end?! Or are you ill? I'm supposed to be the lazy one and you're supposed to be the early bird, no?" Yu Sha rushed over to the bed and placed her hand on Su Na's forehead to check for signs of fever.
"Ugh..." Irritated, Su Na sat right up on the bed, still groggy and hair all messy. She flung her head to the right and glared at Yu Sha.
Seeing the horrible state Su Na was in, Yu Sha gasped in distress. "Oh my god, your eyes... you have panda eyes."
Su Na glared at Yu Sha. Whose fault was it, Yu Sha? Su Na slightly bent down her head. Su Na wished, she could tell her friend, Yu Sha that she was the reason that she could not sleep the last night, thus ending up staying awake for almost the entire night. She had fallen asleep barely two hours ago.
"Why were you standing on the rail yesterday?" Su Na probed.
"Huh," Yu Sha darted a glance at Yu Na, wondering why she would raise the topic that they had already talked about the last night. "Just to get some fresh air. Somehow the moon and night skies always give me a very comforting feeling," she answered anyway. Her response was honest to a great extent. She had always loved calm places and sceneries but that wasn't the only reason that had taken her on the fence rail, last night. She was there for her heart was a little too restless to be calmed otherwise.