The bright light squeezed through the gap between the drawn curtains, settling on Maya's freckled face, making her scrunch at the bright light disturbing her.
Her eyes fluttered open, and her fogged vision slowly adjusted to the bright light while she stared at the high ceiling, ornated with intricated design and bright, calming colours.
She tried to lift herself off the bed, but she quickly realised that every fibre of her beeing acked, and she could feel the intensity of the pain slowly increasing the more aware she became of it.
Maya softly moaned at the pain spreading through her body, and now she stared at the ceiling, wondering where she was. She had gathered she was no longer in the hut. Now she wanted to know where she was and who had brought her there.
" Where am I??" her faint voice could bearly be heard in the chamber as she stared at the ceiling, afraid to move because of the pain.
" Vellai Castle!" a low and raspy voice echoed next to her, making her look to the side, but she could only see his face as he towered over the bed.
" Dakran?" she questioned in disbelief; now she was worried that he had brought her to his home.
Dak nodded" Hmm! It's the Queen's Castle!" he tried to ease her worries, seeing her lightly panting; her eyes shined with concern as they darted around the chamber.
She let out a silent sigh of relief " How is Sylus doing?" she asked with a pleading look, intently watching Dak's expression, which quickly darkened at her question.
The fear of that question was deeply ingrained in his bones, and no matter how much he had thought about how to answer it, he still hadn't found a way to tell her without breaking her heart.
" You should rest and get better !" he avoided answering the question, knowing well it would only make things worse for her.
A lone tear slowly escaped from the corner of her eye; she knew something was wrong since Dak hadn't answered it. Her lips started to quiver as more tears pooled in her eyes, she took a shaky breath, and more tears came along with silent sobs. She was holding back from screaming because Dskran was there.
Dak sat on the bed next to her, taking her hand in his, looking at her with compassionate eyes as he gently caressed her hand, trying to soothe her, but he knew that little gesture wouldn't make a difference to how she felt at that moment.
" It will get better with time!" he tried to soothe her while he gently continued caressing the back of her with his thumb, carefully not touching her wounds.
Maya closed her eyes and tried her best to regain her composure but failed miserably as her sorrow for the loss of the man she had finally fallen in love with was stronger than the will to overcome the pain. The memories of their time together quickly came into her mind. His gentle touch and the love and care that he had showered her with made her heart and her stomach churn at the memory that was no longer alive.
She unconsciously brought her hand to her lips when she remembered the gentle and loving kisses they shared in the short time they had spent together, dreaming of a blissful life in each other's arms.
A pained scream made Dak flinch at the sudden burst, and he finally lifted his head to look at Maya, which was slowly unravelling in front of his eyes, and there was nothing he could do about it except wait for her to work through the grief of losing a loved one.
He knew it would take time and patience, but he also knew that she was worth all of it and more.
Maya cried for some time, and slowly through sobs and hiccups, " R-Ro-Ro?" she asked in a broken voice, unable to finish the word while Dak frowned; he had been cooked up in the chamber with her for days; he had no idea what he was up to, he was sure that it was nothing good.
" He is well!" he finally mumbled, a little unsure of what Rom was doing, but he didn't care for him at that moment.
Maya let out a shaky sigh of relief, and when she opened her eyes, she was greeted by a bottle with the greenish concoction in front of her eyes, making Maya give Dak a questioning look.
" It will help with the pain! Ian made it for you!" he explained, seeing her look at him suspiciously.
Maya nodded and drank the concoction, grimacing in disgust at the taste of it. Dak chuckled, and before she even got a chance to properly swallow the drink, a spoonful full of food was shoved in front of her face, making Maya give him another questioning look.
" You need to eat and regain your strength!" he said while pushing the spoon closer to her lips.
" Help me sit up!" she asked while slowly pushing herself off the bed, hissing and wincing in pain.
Dak put the spoon down and placed his hands on either side of her body, but she was so small compared to him that his thumbs easily encircled her petite figure, resting under her breasts.
Dak noticed her discomfort and gave her an apologetic look " I'm sorry!" he mumbled under his breath while sitting back on the bed and returning to feeding her.
Maya awkwardly smiled " No need to worry!" she shyly replied while looking at his tamed figure.
He looked like an overgrown lost puppy, his balky and sour demeanour was gone, and his gaze on her was soft and warm, making Maya internally giggle at his tamed behaviour.
Maya took a little bit of food from the spoon. She wasn't feeling hungry, nor wanted to eat, but as Dak said, she needed to regain her strength and get better; she also wondered why Dak was with her and not her brother.
She clamped her lips when another spoonful was shoved to her lips, making Dak frown and look at the plate as if she had bearly eaten anything.
" Is it not to your liking?" he curiously asked, seeing that she hadn't eaten much, and he also wanted to know what kind of food she liked.
Maya gave him a small smile " I'm not that hungry!" she softly replied while looking around the room, mainly to avoid looking at Dak, who glared at the food.
" The pain is almost gone! Do you think I can go for a short walk?" she politely asked while looking at the door. She didn't know how many days had been since the men had barged into the hut, swinging their swords at her and Sylus.
"I will help you!" he quickly offered, standing up from the bed and, helping her up, slowly walking out of the chamber into the corridor.
Maya gasped at the sheer size of the castle, and she couldn't believe that the place existed and not just in stories.
Maya quickly caught sight of Tyla, coming from the opposite direction with a basked full of clothing. Her eyes widened
" Tyla!" she called the blond woman to get her attention since she seemed lost in her thoughts.
Tyla lifted her head to look at the person calling, and a bright smile quickly appeared on her lips " Maya, I'm so happy that you're finally awake!" Tyla beamed, stopping in front of her and giving Dak a blank look, making Maya wonder what that was for.
" I'm glad to see you again!" Maya beamed; her eyes shined with happiness and heartache. Both occupied her heart at that moment. Seeing Tyla brought back memories of when she and Sylus came across Tyla. It didn't take long for the happiness to quickly fade away and be replaced by grief; tears pooled in her eyes, he lips trembled, and she was on the verge of crying again, even though she didn't have any more tears left to cry.
Tyla gave Dak a worried look, to which he nodded in understanding " Let's have a look at the garden! It's beautiful!" his raspy voice cut through her muddled thoughts, a little uncertain if that would be enough to distract her for the time being.
Tyla gave Maya a sweet smile " If you need someone to talk to, I can come by your chamber later!" she offered in a compassionate tone while looking at her sullen expression.
Maya sniffled and took a deep breath " I would like that! Have you seen Rom?" she asked while wiping her tears away with the sleeve of her dress, while Tyla fished out of her dress pocket a cloth tissue and offered it to Maya.
" No, I haven't seen him in a while! He was in the castle's library this morning!" she replied with a sad smile.
" Thank you!" she showed her gratitude, bearly mustering a smile while Dak pulled her towards the garden that lay at the back of the castle