The sky was slowly growing paler and the first glimmers of gold and pink were chasing away the darkness of night.
It was still early but Aylin wasn't able to sleep anymore as the soft familiar masculine scent of Kai was still lingering in the room, making her extremely self-conscious and restless for an unknown reason. After tossing and turning a few times, Aylin headed outside. Her emotions were still a jumbled mess as she walked through the unfamiliar, narrow hallway.
But, while yawning sleepily, Aylin paused abruptly as her eyes caught a glimpse of her bandaged knee and instantly her mind flashed back to all the incidents of the previous night.
Frowning her eyebrows, she instantly hunched down and began to untie her bandage as she murmured in a low and confused tone, "Wasn't my knee badly injured? How can I walk so easily without feeling any pain?"
After examining her recovered knee, Aylin murmured again with a puzzled and surprised expression, "Woah! There is not even a scar. What kind of magical herbs did he use?"
A smile found its way through the mask of uncertainty as she happily stood up again and moved her leg curiously to confirm its recovery.
"Wow! There is indeed no pain. It must be a magical potion."
Aylin expected to have the balcony to herself as she stepped out of the hallway but she spotted a figure on the huge swing, covered with thin silky drapes. Through those thin drapes, it was hard to recognize the person inside but it seemed that he was in deep sleep.
'Is that… him?'
For a moment she was certain it was Kai and her heart skipped a beat. But as she took a step forwards, the figure seemed to move slightly as the first rays of sun glinted off his silver hair.
She was hesitating to go closer to swing but her feet moved forward on their own. She experienced a gamut of perplexing emotions within her yet she silently removed the drapes and peeked inside.
She was greeted by a devilishly handsome sleeping face, kindled with a sort of passionate beauty. She leaned forward to get a closer look at his face to wake him up. But, her heart was hammered in her ears as a weird urge appeared in her mind. Instinctively, she raised her hand and leaned closer to touch his sculpted face as if she wanted to check whether he was real or just a dream.
Her fingers were a hair's breadth from Kai's cheek when she came to her senses and drew back.
But, Aylin noticed that he sensed daylight because Kai scrunched his eyes harder. Exactly at that moment, a blue butterfly appeared from nowhere and approached Kai. After flying around them for a few seconds, it just sat on his aquiline nose and instantly, he wrinkled his nose with an irritated expression.
'Umh!'
He groaned sleepily like a kid and pouted his lips with an annoyed expression. Aylin leaned forward to chase away the butterfly from his nose. But, seeing his reaction, she couldn't control her burst of laughter. Her gentle laugh rippled through the air.
Instantly a strong hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her on the swing, pinning her down. Aylin was too startled to react to Kai's sudden attack and even before opening his eyes, Kai positioned himself above her, grabbing her both wrists firmly with one hand and placing a small silver dagger on her neck.
But, Aylin felt that sharp, cold metal of the dagger just for a moment. The moment Kai opened his sleepy eyes, his eyes twinkled with crimson red and he instantly stopped in the middle of the sentence, hiding back his dagger inside his robe.
"How dare you- Oh!"
Aylin was bewildered at his behaviour and slightly scared to see the sharp blade of Kai's dagger. That mere touch of it sent shivers down her spine. Gulping nervously, she mumbled in a frightened and trembling tone, "I- I am sorry. I thought to-"
Interrupting her, Kai instantly apologised, getting up from Aylin hastily, "No no… No need to apologise. It wasn't your fault. I was just too alert. I am sorry."
His magnetic voice lulled her into a relaxed mood.
Taking a deep breath, Aylin asked curiously while trying to get up, "Alert? Why?"
Gently holding Aylin's wrist (totally different from his previous grip), Kai helped Aylin to sit properly next to him on the swing. Then yawning sleepily, he answered in his carefree tone, "It's just a habit. From childhood, I have trained to stay cautious all the time and now, we are in a foreign kingdom. It is better to stay careful always than regret it later. Anyways, did I hurt you?"
Tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ears, Aylin smiled warmly as she hastily denied, shaking her head, "No no. I am fine."
"And your knee? It has healed, Right?"
"Yeah! Right. What kind of herbs did you use? Is it some kind of magical potion?"
Kai's lips curled up in an irresistibly devastating grin as he whispered into Aylin's ear, leaning forward, "Ummm hmmm… I am the magician here. How did you recognize me so easily, Lin?"
The warmth of his smile echoed in his voice.
Aylin instinctively raised her eyes to find him watching her as if studying her reaction or trying to cast a spell on her. Her heart skipped a beat but she was reluctant to look away, breaking eye contact.
The rising sun illuminated his smile, casting a gentle orange glow around him. He wasn't gorgeous or handsome in the regular sense; his beauty was more ethereal. Like if you glanced away, he might disappear.
Biting her lower lip, she complained, pouting, "Eh! Don't joke. I am seriously curious. Though I have been working with herbs for two long years, I never heard about any herb or plants that can heal like this."
"Of course. You didn't hear about it because there is no herb like this. I used a magical potion to heal you faster. You were so impatient last night that I didn't have any other option but to use that."
"Seriously?"
"Yes. I bought this potion from a Fintan merchant last month. Miraculously, it can heal everything but unfortunately, I have already used all of it. So, I can't show you now." Sighing loudly, Kai stretched his arms, breaking eye contact as he added sleepily, "I have to search for it again. It was just awesome."
"Oh! I heard that Fintan is famous for their magical potions."
A proud expression lit up Kai's charming face as he instantly turned his head in Aylin's direction. While running his slender fingers through his silvery and messy hair, he responded excitedly, "Of course. We- I mean they have some talented alchemists who use the mana of Royal blood and make these magic potions. Incredible right?"
Aylin nodded her head positively to agree with him. But, the next moment, a deep frown wrinkled her forehead as she mumbled with a guilty expression, "Umm… It must be costly and you wasted your expensive potion to heal me. I am so sorry. Tell me the price-"
"Eh! You don't have to pay."
"But it must be costly and you wasted-"
"Wasted?" Kai countered instantly, "Who told you that I wasted it? I used it to heal you and I am glad that you are not in pain anymore. Nothing matters more than this."
Kai captured her eyes with his as his mouth curled into an unconscious smile. Aylin found it impossible not to return his disarming smile. She responded shyly while playing with a strand of her hair and twisting it with her fingers, "T-Thank you. You know a lot about Fintan. Have you-"
"Enough talking. Aren't you here to search for your Aunt? Let's go and find her as soon as possible."
Interrupting Aylin, Kai suggested as he suddenly got up from the swing.
Aylin: "Alright. Are we going out right now?"
Kai stretched his tall silhouette once again as he answered, thinking for a moment, "Wait, give me just half an hour. I will be back soon."
"Ok…"
(Secret-As you all know, Kai is clearly lying. It was not any potion but his mana. He just wanted to heal our Little Lin so he used his mana when she was in deep sleep. )