Hyreona slowly opened her eyes to a bright ceiling and a soft bed under her. She weakly pushed herself into an upright position.
The large room was decorated extravagantly with gold linings on the walls and furniture.
There were floor-to-ceiling windows letting in lots of natural light and the cream colored walls gave off a warm feel to the room.
She was on top of a big, soft, white bed that could hold three grown adults comfortably.
'Where am I...?'
'Did someone take care of me?'
Looking down at her arms and legs, she saw that they were skillfully bandaged.
Her stomach wound was also stitched up and wrapped, no pain could be felt, only slight discomfort.
Hyreona also noticed that her clothes had been changed.
She was no longer wearing her dress or socks, instead she was barefoot and in a loose, long, white pajama.
She plopped back down into the bed, exhausted from the events that she had recently experienced. Just as she began to wonder where Damien was, someone knocked on the large wooden door.
A male voice came through.
"Miss Hyreona? Are you awake? May I come in?"
"A-Ah.. yes, you can come in. I woke up not too long ago."
Hyreona sat up again.
The door opened.
In came a tall skinny man with brown hair, wearing glasses, who seemed to be the physician and a young maid who was carrying an elegant violet dress. The physician came over to Hyreona's side and sat down on a chair.
He gave a little nod and introduced himself.
"Good morning Miss Hyreona. I am Zeyer Racintos, the imperial physician."
Zeyer pointed at the maid standing near the door.
"She is the maid who is in charge of taking care of you while you're staying at the palace."
"Greetings Miss Hyreona. My name is Carolene." She bowed.
Hyreona's ears perked up at the word "imperial".
Her eyes grew bigger. "Wait, imperial?! Am I in the palace?"
"Yes, you are Miss Hyreona."
"H-how did I get here? And where's Damien?"
Zeyer replied, "His highness, the Crown Prince Edmond found you two severely injured in the mage tower. He ordered the knights to bring both of you over to the palace to heal."
Zeyer then cleared his throat.
"Miss Hyreona, you were in terrible condition when we found you. A few broken ribs and other bones, a large stab wound on your stomach, and countless bruises. Not to mention you lost a lot of 'blood'."
At the mention of the word "blood", Hyreona flinched.
She had already realized that she wasn't the same as Damien or the others after being kidnapped and the fight with Laceris.
Having noticed Hyreona's reaction, Zeyer quickly added, "Don't worry about the color of it. You are indeed different and I can explain to you after I finish checking your wounds."
"Ah... alright..." Hyreona said awkwardly.
Zeyer unwrapped her bandages with the help of Carolene.
He then poured and smeared on some clear gel-like substance on her skin which stung slightly. After, he skillfully wrapped her up again, careful to not accidentally touch her.
"Now then..."
Zeyer sat back down on his chair.
"Would you like to know, Miss Hyreona?"
Hyreona immediately nodded. Seeing her very eager to find out, Zeyer chuckled.
He leaned back into his chair before starting.
"Well, you are what we would call an elemental. Not a lot of people know about this myth since it has really only circulated around the palace. Elementals are neither human nor monster. I would maybe say that they're closer to fairies and whatnot. Anyway, they're beings who have either been born from an extreme environment or those who have fully absorbed the respective essence of what their ability is."
"Elementals are extremely rare hence why they're believed to be a myth. There have been about three documented elementals from now to 20,000 years ago, not including Miss Hyreona. If I recall, it has been said that the ones who have been documented were extremely powerful and could destroy an entire kingdom on their own. Ah, elementals also represent their element physically too. Judging by the way you look, I assume that you're ice?"
"Yes, I came from the Snowy Forest up north." Hyreona confirmed.
Zeyer scratched his chin.
"I see..."
"Well moving on, their characteristics include silver colored blood, very distinct physical appearances, and the fact that they're typically able to wield two or more minor elements. This is all I can remember off the top of my head, but if Miss Hyreona would like to research more about it, I'd say to visit the library." Zeyer got up and straightened his clothes.
He walked towards the door.
"You have also been asleep for five days so I suggest that you get changed and try to eat something light. Have Carolene assist you with moving. I wish you a good day Miss Hyreona."
Once Zeyer left, Carolene came towards Hyreona.
"Miss, shall I help you wash up?"
Hyreona, not used to being served by someone else, sat still. She didn't know what to say in response.
Carolene realized this after several minutes of awkward silence.
She warmly smiled at Hyreona and chuckled.
"Miss, you do not have to be nervous. I'm just here to assist you for your basic needs. No need to worry about speaking to me formally."
Hyreona blushed at being read by the maid.
"U-um... alright."
Carolene helped Hyreona get up from the bed and into the bathroom. She made sure to wash carefully to not open up Hyreona's wounds.
Afterwards, she dried Hyreona's hair and helped her into the violet dress.
The dress looked very complicated, but it was actually quite easy to wear. It was very flowy and made of light material so it did not bother the wounds.
Once Hyreona was all taken care of, Carolene excused herself from the room to prepare a meal for Hyreona.
A few minutes later, Carolene came back into the room carrying a tray containing a light mushroom rice porridge, fruits, and rose tea.
She placed it on a table not too far away from Hyreona's bed and led Hyreona to it.
Once Hyreona sat down, Carolene excused herself again.
"Please call me when you're done with your meal, Miss."
Hyreona nodded in response.
"Thank you, Carolene."
Taking a bite of the porridge, a burst of flavour entered Hyreona's mouth.
She did not realize how hungry she was until she ate some porridge.
Hyreona quickly finished her meal and was sipping on the tea. It was very fragrant and had a mild flavour to it.
Not long after, Zeyer came back into the room and gave Hyreona a crutch to help her walk before leaving again.
Hyreona called in Carolene to pick up the emptied tray.
She then got up by herself with the help of the crutch.
'Let's go find Damien. I hope he is okay...'
Leaving her room, Hyreona wandered around the palace looking for the room that belonged to Damien.
Because she was injured and was walking with a crutch, her speed was very slow.
Instead of looking around for forever in the huge palace to fine Damien's room, she decided to ask a passing butler for directions.
"Ah... excuse me..."
The butler stopped in his tracks and bowed.
"Yes, Miss? How can I assist you?"
"Do you know where Damien's room is? He's a boy about this height with dirty blonde hair."
She lifted her hand to roughly show Damien's height.
The butler nodded. "Why, yes, let me guide you to his room."
Slowly, while matching Hyreona's pace, the butler lead her to the room that Damien was currently staying in.
Reaching Damien's room, the butler bowed again and left to go back to do his work.
Hyreona knocked on the door.
"Damien? Can I come in?"
A loud crash and a groan came from behind the wooden door.
"Ughhh..."
Hyreona became worried and surprised. She immediately opened the door to check if Damien was okay.
CLACK—
"Damien!"
"H-Hyreona..."
Damien was covered in white bandages. His upper body which was shirtless, were riddled with bruises and bandaids.
He was on the floor after falling out of his bed. When Hyreona's voice came through the door, he was shocked and tried to rush to get to the door.
Seeing Damien in such a state, Hyreona struggled between laughing and being concerned.
He was a mess.
"Are you okay, Damien? You look pretty roughed up." Hyreona held out her hand to him.
Damien took her hand and hoisted himself up. He brushed some imaginary dust off of his pants.
"Ahem... as you can see, my face looks pretty bad but I'm mostly alright."
He smiled at Hyreona.
"I'm just glad that you're somewhat okay too."
Hyreona sighed. "Well, we both made it through the ordeal..."
"Have you heard of Elementals..?" She asked.
"Ah... yes I did. Dr. Zeyer told me a little about them."
Hyreona immediately put her head down.
"I'm sorry for dragging you into that mess. If it hadn't—"
"Don't apologize. I would've gone through it with you regardless if I knew you were an elemental or not." Damien warmly smiled at Hyreona.
With Damien's words tugging at her heart, Hyreona couldn't help but tear up.
"T-thank you... sniff..."
Damien walked up to Hyreona and gave her a hug.
"Don't worry about it you crybaby."
Hyreona grumbled through her tears. "I'm not a crybaby..."