"Indu!"
"Big sister!"
A multitude of shouts assaulted her delicate eardrums. She instinctively covered her ears, dizzy from the sudden outburst of noise.
"All of you, stop!" The voice of a man shouted. It hurt, but the other voices quieted down. "She only just woke up; her body is still recovering."
A man with a cleanly trimmed beard and shoulder-length brown hair wearing white robes rose from his seat. He tossed the cloth lying across his face, walking towards her with narrowed eyes. Grabbing the foot peeking out of the blanket, he scrutinized it as he muttered incomprehensible words. A moment later, a cool sensation ran from where the man was, grabbing her foot to the tip of her head. It was pleasant.
"You fainted due to sudden shock, and fortunately, there are no side effects. All you need to do is take off your legs, and in a few days, you'll be as good as new."
It was then that Indu noticed the faint sting coming from her legs. The shards must have sliced me when the glass broke.
"Ah…thank you, then, sir…" Indu paused, trying to remember his name.
"Whittlee. Camdyn Whittlee, archmage of the Lunar Knights." He stretched his hand out.
"Archmage!" Indu's eyes widened. Such a high-ranking figure diagnosed me? Shouldn't he have been put in a place where he's more needed? She gingerly accepted his outstretched hand, in awe of being able to meet someone of such legendary status.
"Camdyn…" A low growl came from behind the archmage. Deep and gruff, containing thinly veiled anger devoid of the friendliness he had spoken to Indu with, Axer spoke.
"If you're done, release her hand."
"….right." Camdyn awkwardly released Indu's hand and shuffled back, his expression tense.
"Big sister!" Aniya, who had been sitting in their father's lap, dove into her stomach.
"I'm sorry; did I scare you?" Indu tenderly stroked the back of Aniya's head. A wet patch grew on the blanket – Aniya was crying. "I'm okay now; you don't have to worry."
"Are you truly okay." Her father approached her and gently squeezed her other hand. Warmth filled his exhausted eyes. Despite the eye bags and messy hair, he had a bright smile as if trying to cheer her up.
Indu hugged her sister and father in response. Her father stroked her head like she had done Aniya. He said nothing, but his faintly trembling arms and rather rough stroking told her of his fear. She bit her lip as she hugged him harder.
"I'm okay now. I'm really okay."
The comforting embrace seemingly lasted for an eternity, but her father eventually and quite reluctantly pulled away. He winced.
"How are your wounds?" Indu tenderly poked his bandaged arms.
"I've had better days." He smiled gently.
"…the count promised you wouldn't get hurt, but you returned like this." Indu bit her lip, to which her father awkwardly chuckled. His lips were twisted in a wry smile, and she frowned. "Why are you looking at me like that."
"Big sister, how could you not see them!" Aniya had finally managed to dig her head out from Indu's and her father's stomach fat.
"Hmm?" Indu tilted her head in confusion, but only then did she see two men seated next to each, each dressed in dirty but sparkling armor. One had particularly striking, long black hair, light brown skin bu, and dark brown eyes.
"A-Axer…" Indu stuttered as she realized who the man was. Despite the dirt and grime covering his armor and the unpleasant smell radiating from him, the man was still beautiful, like a perfect sculpture.
"Hello, Indu."
"Hello." She blushed and looked away. He heard everything I said! Wait, no, why am I embarrassed? He's the one who betrayed my trust in the first place; why should I be considerate of his feelings?
Her expression hardened as she gazed at Axer with cold eyes. He visibly flinched and looked away. Indu felt a little bad from his reaction, but he deserved it for playing with her emotions. The more she stared at him, the more her anger and disgusted feeling grew. She turned to look at the man sitting next to him but was shocked by what she saw.
With healthy tan skin and ocean-like dark blue eyes, the man possessed an intellectual charm as compared to Axer's rugged, more barbaric allure.
"Gremio?" Indu's eyes widened. "You came to see me? Where's Maxi?"
"Ah…well, as soon as I heard you collapsed, I rushed over here. I haven't had a chance to tell Maxi yet."
"How long was I out for?" The pale moon's radiance shone through the infirmary's window, but she couldn't tell the time just from that.
"You've been out for an hour. It's around three in the morning." Her father answered. He remained by her side, gently squeezing her hand. Aniya sat in her lap while Indu's other hand caressed her hair.
"Three?! You guys should have gone home and rested. Why did you wait for me?"
Her father frowned.
"What type of father am I that would go home and leave his ill daughter alone in an infirmary? I went without sleep for three days straight when my mercenary group was surrounded by a horde of werewolves. A night of sleep won't kill me."
"Even still, you're injured!"
"Please, that same night those werewolves surrounded me, I was covered in deep cuts and black bruises. I'm not so weak that little wounds like this would kill me." Her father said with a proud expression. "I'm still decades away before you need to begin worrying for my health, Indu. What I'm more concerned about is your well-being."
Indu couldn't say anything to that. His overwhelming love for her radiated in the air like a palpable sensation. She smiled and hugged her father once more.
"But still, now that I'm okay, you should go rest. Even the esteemed archmage said I'm okay, so you needn't worry about me, Father."
"No, let's go home together." Her father turned towards the respected archmage, who nodded his head in approval but said nothing else.
"Before you do, may I have a private word with you, Indu?" Axer asked with a sincere expression. Her father frowned at his request.
"My lord, my daughter is tired and-"
"Fine." Indu cut her father off and agreed. Her father looked back at her in surprise, his eyes confused.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I will only take a couple of minutes." Indu squeezed his hand once more. She understood his concern, as she had returned with tears after speaking with Axer in private the last time. He wanted to protect her from those negative feelings, especially after all she had been through, but Indu wanted to know what Axer had to say. Would he apologize? Would he make excuses for his actions? She wanted to know and put closure to the turbulent emotions that surged in her heart the past week.
"Alright, but if something happens, call for me immediately." He picked Aniya and leaned her against his shoulder, walking out of the room, followed by Camdyn and Gremio, who both nodded at her before exiting through the oak-wood door. Now, the only two left in the room were Indu and Axer.
Indu couldn't meet his eyes despite agreeing to have a word with him. Her eyes wandered the light-brown walls, studying the curly patterns covering them. The room itself was a small, private section of the infirmary dedicated to nobles and VIP individuals, among which Indu fell under the latter. As such, there was only a single bed, a small dressing table with a blue, elongated flower vase, and a few disorganized chairs – as if rapidly added to the room – pressed against the wall. A single window allowed the ethereal moonlight to shine upon Indu, bathing her in a comforting glow.
Everything was so visible. Usually, only her right eye could see properly due to the covering of her left eye…Wait. Indu paled in fear. My scar's exposed!
Indu hurriedly tried to fix her hair, but Axer leapt from his chair and stood before her in a single stride. Indu flinched at his sudden move. A grim expression plastered his face, his eyes desolate and cold, his mouth curled in a frown as he grabbed her hand.
"Why are you covering it?"
"Let go of my hand." Indu tried wrestling out of his iron grip but to no avail.
"Answer my question."
"Let go!" She nearly raised her voice but stopped at the last moment, not wanting to worry her father. With a reluctant expression, Axer let go. Indu hurriedly covered her eye, and her vision went back to being obscured on her left side.
"Now, will you answer my question?" He crossed his arms, but his voice softened. "Do you think I'm disgusted by your scar?"
Indu shivered as his analysis hit the target. But why was he bringing it up so brazenly? Could it be…
Axer let out a small sigh as Indu's body responded to his words. He gently held Indu's hands, and sensing a tenderness in his hold, Indu let him. He knelt on both knees as his head bowed.
"With every fiber of my being, with every deity as a witness, with my soul bound to the great depths, I deeply apologize for my actions the other day, Indu." His voice was heavy, laden with guilt. "I never intended to show disgust. I would never, ever be disgusted by you, much less something on your body."
He raised his head, looking into her eyes.
"A scar is a symbol of strength and bravery." He squeezed her hands. "I admire it a lot. It's the truest way of proving your strength, a memory of what you had to overcome to become who you are today. How could I ever be disgusted with something like that?"
Indu's heart jumped. No, he's just saying that…he doesn't mean anything by it…
"Then why?" Indu's voice fell to a strained whisper. A foreign emotion welled in her chest as she anxiously awaited his answer.
"I-I was angry. No, anger doesn't begin to describe how much I boiled with rage. How dare someone harm you; how dare their filthy appendages make you miserable!" Axer growled as his face twisted with agony as if feeling the pain she had felt all those years ago.
No... stop...don't give me hope...don't do that to me...
"Why...why is that of your concern..." Indu's voice fell to a croak. Fragments of a certain glided through her mind.
An infirmary. A young man. Rough lips kissing the back of her hands. Apologies. Her grief. A terrible fire. Hands holding hers like a delicate flower. Long black hair. Light brown skin. Dark brown eyes. The terrible fire once more. Apologies. A sudden blackout. A voice promising to find her.
"Because I-" Axer's eyes trembled; his voice shook. "Five years. Every day. Every hour. I searched and searched and searched. I swear I turned the city upside down, turned my domain inside out, for the girl that day. The poor girl who lost her mother, the poor girl who made my heart freeze at her sight. The poor girl that I had to leave, that poor girl who delivered herself to me on that mountain five years later."
Indu's eyes widened. Her heart shook. Tears welled in her eyes. All those years that I waited…all those years that I wanted to find you, to thank you…finally….
"It was you…"
"Yes…it was…"
"I-I…do you know…do you know how long I waited…to thank you…" A lump formed in her throat. Thick, hot tears streamed down her flushed cheeks.
"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…I couldn't save your mother….if only I had made it earlier…." Axer said in a choked voice.
"It's not your fault. You don't...you don't have to blame yourself…" Indu hugged Axer's head into her stomach. How could she blame her savior? How could she show her fangs at the man who was responsible for keeping her alive to this day?
"Not only that…I let your father get hurt as well…I promised you he wouldn't get hurt…but I broke that promise as well."
"Why do you keep apologizing…you're not in the wrong…it wasn't your fault." Indu hesitated for a moment before caressing his hair like she did Aniya's. She didn't know what possessed her to do so – it was simply an urge that came from her soul, a feeling that compelled her to soothe his turbulent emotions. Axer flinched but did nothing, so she continued.
"At first…I was angry…but it was my father's recklessness that made him…get those injuries. I don't blame you…any longer." Indu's tears stopped flowing, but her voice remained choked with emotion. "It's not something…you could have controlled. So don't blame yourself."
Axer's head trembled in her lap. He carefully retracted his head from her embrace and delicately grabbed her hand.
"Thank you, Indu." He pressed his rough, moist lips against her soft, honey flesh. Her skin went bright red, flushed with embarrassment at the skinship. But it's not like I hate it. Suddenly, Indu remembered Sir Royce's words from earlier.
"I heard you were injured? Are…are you doing okay now?"
Axer chuckled in response.
"I showed you firsthand my monstrous healing ability, Indu. But…" Axer scratched the back of his head, his face slightly flushed. "Thanks for worrying about me."
His face then darkened.
"But it was a failure. Bloodstar escaped, despite my personal interference." He clenched his fist. "Until I catch that bastard, I don't intend to leave this town. And I suspect he won't be leaving the vicinity of this town anytime soon. So you can rest assured, Indu. I'll never let danger approach this town ever, and I'll never let you go through the same pain again."
"Thank you, Axer. Your words mean a lot to me." Indu smiled as the lump in her throat disappeared fully. Axer smiled.
"Are you good to walk?" He reached out his hand.
"Yes." Indu grabbed his outstretched arm and, together, left the infirmary.