The next morning Night walker wakes up to the sound of two men bickering.
"Can't a woman sleep in peace?" she groans and tosses around.
"It's noon," Charles looks at the worn-out clock hanging on the wall.
Night walker sits up and sees the prince staring at her.
"You sleep with your eyepatch on?" he asks pointing at her face.
She touches the leather piece on her eye on instinct and mutters inaudibly. For a moment, a shadow passes over her face before she tries to shake it off. She remembered the accident that took place two years ago, the pain she felt, the trauma she suffered, the nightmares she still has. All of this, this carriage, makes her feel beyond help. She starts hyperventilating, sweating and shaking.
"Are you alright?" his highness asks politely, approaching the bed with caution. When she's within reach, he sits beside her and takes her trembling hands in his. Charles pours her a glass of water and places it on the counter near the bed.
"Hey," he says softly, "Look at me". She, to everyone's surprise, complies.
"Okay," the prince smiles at her, "now copy my actions". He initiates the 4 7 8 breathing technique, closes his mouth and inhales quietly to a mental count of 4. He holds his breath for the count of 7 and exhales with a whoosh sound to a count of 8. To make sure night walker gets it right, he places her hand on his chest, holds it there with his, and repeats the technique. After a couple of times, she catches on. Soon enough, she calms down and drinks the water Charles offered her.
"Do you feel like sharing?" Charles questions as she places the empty glass on the counter.
"Charles!" the prince glares at him for being insensitive. The investigator places his hands up in a retreating manner and claims that he is just doing his job.
"Must I?" she asks looking between the neutral face of Charles and the angry face of his highness which now softens at the sound of her voice.
"No" "yes" she gets two contradictory answers.
"Your highness, with all due respect, will you let me do my job without any interference?"
The prince sighs, knowing fully well it's not possible to protect night walker from the inevitable- Charles harsh interrogations. "Fine" is all he says before standing up, walking to an armchair and taking the bag he brought with him.
"Here," he throws the bag at Night walker who catches it effortlessly, "some clothes I got on my way here. Get change and meet us downstairs, we will be waiting for you in the small café across the street".
Night walker inspects what's inside the bag, "how do you know my size?"
"Lucky guess," he answers quickly before exiting the room.
"Don't think about running away," Charles warns her and follows after the prince closing the door behind him.
She grunts at his words. "Don't think about running away," she repeats mockingly, "what a jerk. He still owes me an explanation of mother". She exclaims as she removes her smelly clothes off. "Ew, I need a shower"
She jumps in the bathroom and lets the water fill the bathtub, "I know this place isn't that clean. But at least, there's hot water. Beats showering in rivers and lakes". She places the new clothes tidily on the floor. She extends her left foot to test the water temperature, her entire body follows.
"I better make this quick before these two knuckleheads storm in thinking I ran away" she tells herself as she grabs the soap. However, her expression turns grim, why she has to lie to herself when she is aware of the truth. She doesn't want them, especially the prince, to see her scared body… Or what's behind the eyepatch…
The prince's foot tapping is getting on Charles' nerves. "Would you stop it?" he finally requests in annoyance.
"My apologies," the prince adjusts his vest for the thousandth time since they left the inn. "What's taking her so long?" he asks frustrated and looks around paranoid.
Charles rolls the newspaper he bought earlier in his hand and smacks the prince on his head, "quit your worrying already. We have her now, there's security spread everywhere covering the entire town in case you-know-who finds her. She won't escape since she is still in the dark of what fully happened to her mother".
"Speaking of, how is she handling it?"
"Surprisingly, she isn't throwing a temper tantrum as I expected. Nor is she crying and weeping as you expected"
"She has become a fearless strong woman" the prince says proudly.
At his statement, Charles looks at him unsure if he should share what he's learned about her.
"What are you hiding Charles?" the prince's expression turns serious.
"There are stories about her circling around everywhere. Night walker. She has done some questionable things,"
"She had to do whatever she did to survive," the prince defends her.
"Your feelings towards her are clouding your judgment," Charles states bluntly. "Anyways," he continues, "you needn't worry. She has done nothing major to break the laws of this kingdom, so putting her in prison won't be fair".
"That's good news,"
"But, she may or may not have mastered crystal manipulation without a proper teacher to guide her"
"What is wrong with that?"
"You're the prince, next in line to inherit the throne. You should know better. Royalty, nobles, and commoners are not allowed to use crystal manipulation. Unless it's for the purpose of communication over distance. Even then, they need to get permission from the supreme mage"
"You are right Charles. Only few people are allowed. These are the queen, healers, supreme mage and the elite forces of the kingdom. However, Night walker renounced her noble title when she fled Xeris"
"Regardless, she isn't a member of the elite forces. And she certainly isn't the queen nor the supreme mage"
"That leaves…"
"Healer" Night walker finishes his highness' sentence and takes a seat at the table. "You realize it's impolite to talk about someone behind their backs"
"And it's also impolite to overhear and interrupt a conversation," Charles backfires.
"Touché," Night walker admits defeat, "Now tell me what happened to my mother"
"In exchange, you tell us what happened to your right eye," Charles bargains.