"I slept?"Jade was startled.He sat up and looked around. The girl was gone.
"Shit"He rashly wore his trousers and stepped outside. "Where has she gone to?"He looked around.
As a kid,Jade didn't really understand what love really was until he turned 15 and he had to be told bits of what it was like being king and ruling and all those stuffs that he liked so much. Then he found out about the prophesy and what it meant for the entire kingdom. He realised he was being treated differently. How different? He was being treated better than before. Everyone paid more attention to him now and all his needs were sorted out before he said a word about them.That didn't use to happen before and worse of all,he overheard the conversation about him.That definitely broke him and that was when he decided to destroy everything rather than save them.The only thing he had to figure out was how he was going to plan and execute everything to their chargin.Now,he had to look for the girl.
With his shirtless chest and unhooked trousers, he roamed the forest around them to look for her.
"I hope she didn't run away because of what I did"He was worried.
"What if she thought I slept with her?"He stopped in his tracks and analysed himself. He realised he was shirtless and barefooted.He closed the zip on his trousers and made his way back to the tree hut. He smiled at the name he called the 'house'.Within some few minutes, he was back.
That was when he heard the whimpers.He could clearly tell where it was coming from and his mind told him it was the girl."Why didn't I look there first?"He scolded himself and went behind the hut. His heart squeezed slightly and he clenched his hands at the sight of her.
He was rooted to the spot not knowing whether to approach her or leave and never appear in front of her again. He stood there lost in thought that he didn't realise his body betray him and walk towards the girl .
She had hugged her knees tight and buried her face in them as she sat on the bare floor. There was water dripping down her thighs and Jade knew those were her tears. His heart squeezed again and he was surprised at himself." All these little pains, where did they come from? "He asked no one in particular and got much closer to her. He was skeptical to touch her and he wondered why his body was behaving that way.
Eventually, he touched her and she raised her tear stained face to look at him.It was a matter of seconds and she buried her face in her knees again."Why is she hiding her face?"He thought and knelt in front of her.
"Jade..Jade..Jade"He called himself several times in his head.As if alerting himself that nothing must go wrong this time around.
"Heyy"His voice was hoarse.
"Heyy"He cleared his throat and went again.This time,clearer and better.
"I...I..I saw..."Jade was lost of words.
This was the first time ever something of this sort had happened to him and he smirked,amused.He almost always knew what to say.Be it the truth or a lie.He was never speechless until this very day.
"What did you do to me?"Jade was startled.
"The girl spoke?"He didn't know if it was his imagination or the girl actually spoke. He stared at her,waiting for her to talk.
When it seemed she wasn't going to talk, he tried again.
"I..."Jade started again .
"What did you do to me?"She asked again ignoring him.
This time around he heard her clearly and he smiled at the clarity of her voice and how that simple question sent shivers down his spine.He cleared his throat noiselessly and braced himself for the explanation.
"In the forest, when you asked why...what I was doing around your house, you coughed and that was all I heard last from you"He spoke like his usual self trying as much to explain what happened.
"I realised you'd fainted and your breathing was shallow and you were damn cold.I figured you needed help else you'd probably die."He paused,waiting for a reaction from her as his words sank in but there was nothing so he continued.
"So I lifted you up and found this house and brought you inside. There was nothing in there to keep you warm and I was afraid..."He stopped and sighed as he passed his fingers through his dark short hair.
Afraid?When had Jade ever told someone he was afraid. No matter the situation, he always kept to himself all his insecurities and only showed his happy or angry side.Nothing more, nothing less.Even when he found out he was going to be used for his family's selfishness and not that they actually wanted him or cared about him,he wasn't scared and never breathed a word to anyone. Now he's scared of a stranger dying?A lot of things are definitely happening within this short space of time. He sighed again and resumed,rephrasing his last statement.
"There was nothing around to keep you warm and I didn't want to see anyone die in my presence so I resorted to the only option I had..my body "He breathed loudly as if he was holding his breath this whole time and only released it. He could hear her sob.
"Hey hey I didn't do any of the things you're thinking about. I didn't sleep with you.I just removed my clothes so that the heat from my body could warm up your stale body quicker.I didn't do anything else"He was quick to answer this time round, knowing what she could he thinking. But that didn't stop her from sobbing and he was confused.
"Why was she still crying?"
Just then, without warning, there was a heavy pour.Acting on instinct and without thinking about it,he tuck his hands behind her neck and in the crook of her knees and carried her princess style inside the house. She struggled a little but that was fruitless since Jade was stronger than her.That was when he realised the sky was pitch dark and it was night.
He gently put her in bed and covered her with the spread.
"Stop crying, you'll catch a cold"He gently caressed her head and used the towel over the headboard to wipe the water in her hair and then wrap it around her head .He gathered her in his arms as she continued sobbing for a while and then he felt her go numb and quiet in his embrace.
"What now?"He looked down at her and didn't expect what he saw.