There was nothing but darkness in the building. And suddenly, through the large windows came sudden light because of the thunder. It was pouring heavily which made the already dark night much darker.
Janice came with her mother to the Capital City, to the royal palace in a hurry. What made them came to the royal palace at night with such urgency? The mere insider news that the crown prince came back from the war and is severely injured.
Was the news true or false? Neither of them knew for sure.
The maid saw someone loitering around the last room on the second floor. She called out but no one responded.
"Wait miss, that room is forbidden to enter by royal order." She said as she took careful steps towards the person. But clearly, Janice couldn't hear anything. The distance was too much for the Maid's voice to reach Janice anyway.
Janice saw the little boy from her dreams led her to that room. Everything was like a dream and everything was suspicious but she felt the urge to follow him even if it was a mere imagination. And so she did.
She followed him to the room and even saw the boy going inside the room.
"Everything seems so unreal." She mumbled as she slowly approached the room.
She couldn't hear anyone calling her as if she was hypnotised to look just ahead in the direction of the room.
She walked to the door and slowly grabbed the doorknob.
"Why am I walking towards this room? I don't want to open this door but my heart is aching." She mumbled.
"I can feel the pain as if I was injured myself." She winced a little and opened the door.
"What is this?" she said with shock.
The room was nothing like how a room in the royal castle should look like. It was oozing with darkness without a single ray of light. And amidst that was a bed.
"I can't see anything clearly in here." She mumbled.
And walked towards a nearby shelf only to find a lamp.
"Guess I am lucky tonight." She smiled a little.
"I need this lamp to be able to see anything." She said as she lighted it with a match that coincidentally was just lying beside it.
"Why are a lamp and match lying here so perfectly? It's like everything was planned and someone knew I'll be coming here tonight and that too when there is a power cut." She thought.
"Well anyway, let's look for the boy." She thought.
She lighted the lamp and turned back to take a proper look at the room. The door was closed and there were lots of picture frames on the walls.
She analysed the room to see the couch, the study table, and the bookshelf all decorated with webs and specks of dust. "What kind of room is this and where is that boy?" She mumbled as she opened the curtains of the windows.
They were big, ceiling to floor windows.
"It's really pouring crazily tonight." She said as she sighed.
She took a look outside the window to see the vicinity of the castle and glimpses of the night market far near the horizon.
"I guess that boy was my imagination, after all, I need to rest." She thought. " Let's leave."
And suddenly she heard a sound from behind her, she swiftly turned around and raised the lamp to see clearly.
Only to find someone with wounds and blood lying on the bed wincing and trembling in pain. She quickly rushed towards the bed and placed the lamp on the side table.
"You promised to help me." Someone whispered in her ears. And she knew there was someone because she could feel the breath and warmth on her ears.
"This is not the time to focus on the wrong thing I need to help this man first." She mumbled and shook off any distracting thoughts and looked at the man that lied in front of her.
A man that was as tall and sturdy as a wall lying on the bed helplessly. She couldn't see his face clearly but she could see that there were wounds and bleeding scars all over the armour that he was wearing.
She had questions flooding her head but she knew that she can't get answers at that moment and not at least from a dead man, so she focused on helping him first.
The sound of the rain in the background and the limited light of the lamp illuminating the small part of the room. She removed his shoes and loosened his cape.
"It's clear that he came here on his own from the way he is sleeping on the bed. Also, he seems to be partially conscious since he is reacting to my actions." She thought.
She took quite some time to put away his shoes and sword and armour.
"That was hard work." She said as she huffed.
He was still lying there without any movement other than twitching.
"It is just one-time power and use it to heal only the crown prince." Her mother's words came to her mind.
"What should I do? I didn't think about it but is this the crown prince?" she said to herself.
"No that can't be. If he would've been he wouldn't be waiting here without a doctor." She shook off the thought.
And suddenly in the light of the sudden lightning, she saw his face.
"He is the one, I've been waiting for. But …" she suddenly choked on her words and the momentary happiness went away.
"He is from the Gilbert duchy. Is he the heir to the duchy?" she mumbled.
The boy she was searching for since she first saw him years ago and waited for everyday to find that face was now lying in front of her. Her happiness didn't last long when she got to know that he is from the ducal family as she saw the crest on his armour.
She took a couple of seconds to ponder what she should be doing but quickly decided to help him use her powers.
"I'll tell mother that I didn't know who she cured and by mistakenly helped the duke's son." She thought.
However stupid that reason might sound she knew only one thing that she should be doing at that time. And that was to cure all the wounds of the man that was lying in front of her and never let him get away.
"I'll ask him why he broke the promise when he wakes up but I can't let you go away. I have to break my engagement with the Crown Prince now that I've found you." She mumbled.
She stood and placed both hands on his chest, took a long breath and summoned all the power she had. A sudden golden surrounded both of them and a sudden breeze of the windswept in the room. Slowly the warm orange colour light filled the room and she felt the power transferring from her heart to his as she closed her eyes.
She started to chant a spell that affected all the wounds on his body. Slowly all the wounds disappeared as she continued to chant them. Now there was only the light from their bodies that illuminated the whole room.
"Hmm?" he seemed to have regained a little more consciousness.
Janice was still in the process of healing him completely when she felt a sudden pain in her heart.
"What is this? He has one more curse that is bound to his fate. Who cursed him?" she thought without letting the current process getting affected even though she opened her eyes.
And suddenly on the opposite side of the bed, she saw a boy standing.
His face was clearly visible to her this time. The red hair, the commoner clothes.
"It was you the entire time Janice, we met even before you knew it." That boy spoke.
"In the market when we got lost, you told me that I was cursed. We were just ten years old but still, you could tell. I remembered that you are the one because you promised to cure me. Janice help me and break the curse." That boy had fear in his eyes.
"What is your name? And who cursed you?", she asked instantly.
"I am, Noah Gilbert. And someone who you know very well was the one who cursed me." He said and vanished in thin air.
She got exhausted by using her power to heal him.
"Who is she?" he thought to himself as he partially opened his eyes.
"Who is talking to?" he mumbled but couldn't move his head to the other side.
She lifted his head and gave him a deep kiss.
"What is doing?" he thought as he was shocked.
"But this feels sweet. This is my first time to have a kiss." He thought.
A deep warm kiss that she gave him with pure passion in her heart. He could feel it, her warmth.
"So you are Noah Gilbert. I won't let you go this time." She mumbled.
She didn't know that he was also conscious but he didn't reject it.
The rain was still pouring but she found her man and he found someone who he wanted for the rest of his life.
Maybe it was love.