As the moon gently watches them from above, the King of Chisthalmagne listened to the woman's stories.
It was clear to him that she had never talked to anyone for a long amount of time, ever since she was stranded on the small island.
She told him about the fields and her childhood. About her family and her friends she used to have. She would glance at him to see whether he was sleepy but his cold eyes remained awake. He wanted more. He wanted to indulge himself in the softness of her voice.
"I used to live in a meadow. We watched crickets and grasshoppers all the time and argue about who had the prettiest wings. Of course, I won all the time." she chuckled.
"I missed those days."
"There was even this boy I played with."
The King listened attentively while closing his eyes.
"He was super cool. He had a very accented voice and he was more beautiful than every girl in the town. He came to play with us once and then he hit me with the stick."
The King took a peek. She was smiling.
"He told me I was an idiot. It was the best insult I have ever received in my whole life."
She glanced at him and found him staring at her. "Because it came from him. Gosh! Even children have crushes!"
She laughed. He listened.
"Hey. Do you believe in 'love'?"
The question made him open his eyes. He started at the dark skies which were blanketed by a heap of stars.
"Nevermind. You guys aren't really interested in it, right?"
"I do not."
Alrossia's eyes widened when she heard his faint response. His voice was lifeless but very masculine. It reminded her of the ocean.
Deep, dark, alluring.
Her mouth was slightly opened, and she couldn't speak a thing. It was the first time she had ever heard him speak.
"W-What you can actually talk!"
The man coldly shot daggers using his expressions.
"W-Well uhh... well, why don't you?"
He raised a brow. "Isn't it obvious?"
"What?"
"Love does not exist."
She gave a hearty chuckle. "No, you mean to say that, love does not exist in you."
He did not understand her, but listened anyway.
"Maybe you have not met that person yet. Time will come, soldier!" she cheerfully told him.
The King of Chisthalmagne was lost in thoughts. Thoughts raced his mind like bugs. He shouldn't have spoken to her, but his body betrayed him.
"Did you not have a crush before?"
He did not answer. He was not sure what that word meant.
"Don't worry about it. You'll find that person soon. And you'll be all over her once that time comes."
"How do you know?"
"Hmm?"
"How do you know that you have loved someone."
She coughed a bit. "Ohoho, I see you've come to ask advice to the great Love Expert. Very well, I shall answer you."
He listened, eyes still closed.
"You'll know it when your heart does not stop beating when you are near her. Or maybe when you think of her most of the time."
"Ridiculous."
"It's true, soldier!" she chuckled at him. "Look, you can't stop thinking about her. Every day, you'll want to come and see her."
He discarded her ridiculous theories. "Pathetic."
"There are easier ways to tell, as well." she clears her throat and pretended to mimic an experts' voice. "Like when you try to see a future with her or do everything that would make her happy."
"Or maybe when you feel an urge to embrace her or maybe kiss her. That's when you'll know—"
The young woman's words were interrupted as she felt his chapped lips press by hers. She closed her eyes and let him be. The warmth of his hands burning her wrists. She wanted no more in the world but to be in his arms. In that place and time, he was the first male who cared to listen. She wanted him to listen more to her stories and she could never let him go.
As the male's heat spread across her frozen body. She could no longer bear the palpitation of her heart, as he carried her in his broad and strong arms. Both sharing the same longing and pain, they have found solace in each other's arms in that starry night.
The next day, the galloping of horses could be heard nearing the hut. The door creaked slowly as the Captain of the Palace Guards emerged from the door.
There, the King of Chisthalmagne sat in the wooden bed, behind her was a woman covered in white sheets.
The Captain observed him.
After weeks of searching, they finally found him on an isolated island with a broken bridge. They needed boats to get there. The island was a perfect place for dispatching bodies.
His head was lowered and he was half-naked, wearing only the baggy pants he was last seen with.
The Captain called out to him.
The King did not raise his head to meet his gaze. His hands clasped together.
"Lord Chisthalmagne."
"Kreed," he called out.
The Captain listened to his depressed master. His broad shoulders were slouched and he knew that he didn't want to see him as the mess he is.
"I will take care of this matter, My Lord. Let us return to the Palace."
The King of Chisthalmagne stood up and walked outside the hut, leaving Alrossia's unconscious body behind on the bed.
"We have brought you your robe, My Lord."
He immediately grabbed the robe from the palace tailor's hand and slipped himself in it. And with a cold expression, he ordered Kreed Kavor.
"Fix the bridge and send villagers into this barren land. Tell them a woman is exiled here and is in dire need of help."
He took once final glance at her body.
"Make her life a living hell that she would no longer be able to remember me."
The King of Chisthalmagne then abandoned the first woman who thawed his frozen heart.