"Son, are you ready to find your bride tomorrow?"
King Desmond casually, with cups of wine, both men were relaxed.
"Honestly, no. Women are just liabilities."
He said and then gulp the entire content of the cup. Hashim's father laughed at the statement of his fake son.
"Well, you don't have a choice, as much as I want to agree, but it's for your own career. You knew Novalia respects real men."
What the king meant is they're simply Chauvinist, he didn't want to label it, but that's what it's called in the future.
"I'm not complaining, I know the drill, I'll just enjoy the process."
He answered back but stood ready to leave, they've already spent the entire night intoxicating themselves with his personally brewed wine.
"Hmm, that's my boy, well as long as you keep brewing this old man with your wine formula, I'll be happy to die drunk."
Then he made another hyperventilating sound, and that's supposedly his laugh.
"Good night, father."
Hash left his father's mansion and proceeded to his which was few meters away, there's a carriage waiting but he wanted to sweat some of the toxins he consumed for the night.
Hash wasn't expecting anything to happen tonight until,
"No!!!!!!!!" unconsciously closed her eyes because her brain already predicted the clash.
She's going to crash landing on one of the granite towers of the stone garden.
"I'm stupid, stupid, stupid! I'm already dying and I'm still killing myself. Please heeeeelp!!"
But she kept her eyes shut.
She wondered why it was taking too long for her to crash on the tower. She opened her eyes, she's about to hit someone else.
"Out of the way! Out of the way!" It's too late however, she landed on top of someone else's body and the parachute enclosed them to the ground.
"What the f...!" Hash was ready to kill the person that suffocated him.
"ahh, I think I broke my rib."
She said weakly, followed by a little cry. Hash thought the voice sounded familiar.
"Isabel? Hi! Welcome back."
Even if he denied missing her, his voice sounded like he just found gold on the street.
"Hash?"
Isabel couldn't believe she's back. Did she finally die? Her heart was having a break-dance, she's way too happy to see him.
"Are you out of your mind? you're already sick and you're still doing these activities?"
But he hugged her tightly, thanking heavens she's fine. He's not cognizant that what he's doing was extremely exclusive for people with relationships.
She shook her head.
"I didn't expect, this was my activity schedule. I thought I'll be in Berlin."
She's not sure Hash listened to what she had said because he caught her lips and sucked her tongue, let alone knowing her being seriously sick.
Her whole body relaxed, and she felt safe and warm against the wind in the pitch-black desert land.
Hash was so turned on by her soft moan. And he chuckled. Isabel's breathing when he kissed her was intermittent, as if he was already doing her in bed.
"Aw!" She heard a crack somewhere in her ribs.
"Oops, sorry, are you okay?"
He didn't know that he squeezed her a little too much.
"No." And then she cried like a baby. She didn't normally cry, but it's for the purpose of getting his attention.
"Awww poor baby, come now." He patted her shoulders and helped her take the parachute out of her body.
Hash would like to ask her how could she cross to Novalia and back? But now was not the time. She needed immediate attention.
He carried her, bridal style. She was as light as a pillow. Why his heart suddenly felt gripped.
On impulse, he kissed her forehead.
"It's going to be alright." He whispered huskily in her ears.
She chuckled. "I'm like that hero's sweetheart in a war movie from the twenties."
But wrapped her hands in his neck and buried her head in his chest.
"You're absolutely insane." He chuckled in response to what she had said.
Hash's room might all have wood and metal, but it's undeniably had a twenty-first-century design.
Isabel's head kept on turning. Her coming into this place was already bizarre. His room was an additional confusion.
He placed her in his bed that undoubtedly found in one of the New York architectural magazines.
"Uhm..." She would like to ask, but she doesn't know how to express the question itself.
Her brain was trying to rationalize the situation, weighing things slowly. This was the afterlife, after all. Yes, that's it.
"I'm sorry we can't check if you have broken bones. We don't have x-rays in Novalia, but I can bring you an excellent physician."
Made sense, she said in her head, she might really have died.
"Oh, I had your tablet and iPhone, please don't get mad I copied information from your digital library." Hash handed her phone and tablet to her.
Here she was, still trying to put things in place. Why does he need to add things up.
"Rest, ask questions later, you need to heal." He put a blanket on her and kissed her head and then turn to leave.
She wanted to follow him and explore but fall had almost throttled her insides, and it hurts every time she moves.
"Can you bring me iced water?" Her throat went dry from screaming in the air.
"Electricity is not even invented yet, Sweetheart but I'll get something that can refresh you, alright? take a rest first."
Then Hash finally left her alone. But Isabel thought even if he can find an excellent physician he'll be able to mend her whole condition? cancer aside.
She wanted to like to pinch herself to wake herself up, if not for her body already dismantled and aching.
"Please tell me I'm not crazy." She murmured almost like a prayer. On her iPad, it says 2:35 pm. That meant it's not time for her to sleep yet.
But since her body was out of place, she would try to rest it out a bit.