"Hey," he opened the kitchen door, his presence filling the room with a quiet intensity. The atmosphere shifted, and the kitchen staff awkwardly bowed, quickly retreating. Lela and Tira hastily left, sensing the change.
"Uh, hey. I'm sorry uh-" I glanced up, offering a small smile and a polite bow before returning to shaping the cookie dough, trying to focus on the task at hand.
"Need a hand?" His voice was calm, but there was an undeniable warmth to it. I felt my heart flutter, but there was no way I was going to ask THE PRINCE to help me buy ingredients.
"Uh, no, it's fine. Is there anything I can help you with?" I said, trying to keep my composure, but my pulse quickened.
"I think it's the other way round. I know you need a hand," he teased, his gaze not leaving me. The weight of his attention made my fingers falter for a second.
"I'm- really fine," I replied, a little breathless.
"Naeva, how's the cookie dough coming along? Have you got all the ingredients, or should we just close the order?" Mrs. Peona's voice came from the small window, her face peeking through with a curious expression.
"Oh—hello, Your Majesty. I'm sorry, I didn't see you earlier. What would you like me to get you, Your Majesty?" Mrs. Peona's tone shifted as she finally noticed Prince Eugene standing there.
"Actually, yes, Mrs. Peona. I'd like to help, but Naeva keeps declining my offers. Do you think there's a way I can assist?" His eyes sparkled with amusement, and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he glanced at me.
"Well, it's a lot to handle, Prince Eugene," Mrs. Peona stammered, clearly flustered by his request. "I don't think the King would want you getting dirty and sweaty helping us. I'll just bring you a cup of coffee instead, alright?"
"Nah, just tell me what to do, okay?" His smile widened, and his gaze lingered on me.
"But—"
"That's an order then," he raised an eyebrow, and Mrs. Peona glanced at me, as if seeking my permission.
"Are you sure, Prince Eugene?" Mrs. Peona asked, her voice softening.
"Of course, Mrs. Peona," he said with a warm, reassuring smile.
"Well, then I'll need you to buy the cookie ingredients. You can ask Naeva for the list. Once again, thank you so much, Your Majesty," she said, retreating from the window.
"No problem, Mrs. Peona," he replied smoothly, his eyes turning back to me.
"So, what should I get you, Ms. Naeva?" he asked, his voice almost a whisper as I continued to shape the dough. His presence felt like a magnet, drawing all my attention.
I let out a sigh, looking up at him. "This… Pri—"
"Eugene…" he gently interrupted, his tone soft but firm.
"Eugene…" I repeated, the name slipping so naturally from my lips that it felt intimate, personal.
Peter raised an eyebrow. "You just called him by his name?" His voice was full of surprise.
"Uh," I chuckled nervously, trying to mask the fluttering sensation in my chest. It was hard to ignore the way my heart raced when Eugene was around.
"Uh, are you guys… together?" Peter asked, teasing.
"What do you mean, together?" I laughed, trying to act casual. "We're just friends, Pete. Just like me and you."
Peter let out a dramatic sigh. "Okay, okay," he muttered, shaking his head.
Lela returned just as I finished putting the cookies in the oven.
"Are you done with the baking?" she asked.
"Yeah, just take them out of the oven," I said with a smile.
"Got it," she replied, but just as she started, Eugene walked back in.
"Here you go," he said, handing me the ingredients he'd bought. His gaze immediately found mine, and the room seemed to quiet around us. The kitchen staff bowed as he entered, but he didn't seem to notice. He was still looking at me.
"Thank you so much," I said softly, my heart skipping a beat as his smile warmed me from the inside.
"Anytime, Naeva…" he began, then paused as his gaze flicked to Peter and Lela. "Oh, and who are these?"
"Oh right, this is Peter, and that's Lela," I said with a small grin, feeling a little giddy inside.
"Your Majesty, it's an honor to meet you," Peter and Lela both bowed again.
"It's nice to meet you both… well, does anyone need any more help?" Eugene asked, his voice casual, but there was something comforting about it, like he genuinely cared.
"You've done so much already, Eugene. Thank you, we're good now," I replied, my smile widening. My heart fluttered at his kindness.
"It's nothing, Naeva," he said with a shrug, his smile still soft. "Well, I'll get going now. Just let me know if you need anything else, alright?"
"No thanks," I said, my heart racing. He gave a small wave and a final smile before he turned to leave.
"See you guys! Good luck!" he called over his shoulder.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Peter and Lela said in unison, bowing. I did the same.
"Did you just call him by his name?" Lela asked incredulously.
"I KNOW, RIGHT?!" Peter added, his eyes wide with surprise.
"Maybe??" I said with a casual shrug, though inside, I was buzzing. I couldn't help it. Eugene's presence had that effect on me.
We went back to our work, and our cookies were selling like hotcakes. The day passed quickly in a blur of activity, and soon enough, the day was coming to an end.
"Well, then off you go. Thank you so much for today. Keep it up, guys!!" Mrs. Peona said, ushering us all out with a big smile.
"Woohoo!!" Lela cheered.
"Yesss!!" Peter added with enthusiasm.
"Go home time!" I laughed, feeling lighthearted.
"Uh, Naeva, can you stay a bit longer? I need to talk," Mrs. Peona said, her tone turning serious.
"Sure, Mrs.," I replied, wondering what was on her mind.
I followed her into her office, where she handed me a small bundle of 500 ux.
"Here, you've brought customers here with your magnificent cookie recipe. Take it," she said, pride in her voice.
"Uh, please don't, Mrs. The wage is enough," I protested, feeling uncomfortable.
"No, Naeva. You even invited the Prince to come here and help us. He made the café more popular," she insisted.
"Oh no, Mrs. He came voluntarily," I said quickly, but she shook her head.
"Just take it, alright?" she urged.
"Thank you, Mrs. I'll use it wisely," I said, accepting the money with a grateful smile, and we shared a warm hug.
"Okay then, see you, Naeva. Be careful," she said with a smile.
"Yes, thank you, Mrs.," I replied, tucking the money into my wallet. As I stepped outside, I spotted him again—the man who had been waiting for me. Oh, spirits.
"Hey, what are you—" I didn't finish my sentence before he pulled me into the corner of a building. My heart raced. Was he about to hurt me?
"Sssh," he whispered urgently, his finger pressing against his lips as he peered around the corner. "There's people that have been spying on you." Was he playing with me?
"What are you—" I started again, but he pulled me into a run.
We were quickly surrounded by four large, muscular men. There was nowhere to run, and no weapons to defend ourselves. My heart pounded in my chest. Had I gotten myself into something worse than I thought? Could he be one of them? Oh, spirits, help me.
"Run when I say so. If you see any guys with white scarves hanging from their pants, run away. Got it?" His voice was tight with urgency.
I nodded, panic rising.
He stepped forward, and the four men closed in. They ignored me, focused on him. As they started to pay less attention to me, he shouted.
"I'll go, you three finish this."
With that, he ran. I ran too, but one of the men chased after me.
I darted toward an open space, away from the crowd. The man followed. What should I do? Waterbend? Bloodbend? But how would I handle this afterward? He came closer. I quickly began bending his blood, forcing him to his knees.
"Witch!" he spat, his voice shaking with pain. He collapsed, crying out in agony.
"Stop… please… stop!!" he begged.
"I will… but tell your gang to stop hunting people and forget all of this. If I hear of it again, you'll face the consequences," I warned.
"Yes… yes, please," he gasped, drenched in sweat.
He stumbled to his feet and ran back to where the others had been. I waited a few minutes before cautiously walking toward the scene. The gang leader was gone, and the others lay motionless on the ground.
The man who had saved me was lying there too, bloodied but still alive. I hurried to his side and helped him to his feet, leading him to the nearest gazebo. It was dark now, and there was no one around, even if there had been, they wouldn't have cared.
I always carried gauze with me, and I needed to heal him discreetly. I grabbed a clean leaf, placed it on his wound, and wrapped it with the gauze. Then I used bloodbending to heal him. He seemed so exhausted, so I let him rest.
"Don't remove the gauze for two days, okay? The leaf will heal you completely if you leave it on," I instructed.
"Ugh, yeah," he mumbled, still in pain. How had he taken out those three guys? Could he be a bender too?
"Hey, I'm sorry for talking when you told me to be quiet," I said, feeling guilty.
"No problem," he replied, sitting up, clearly feeling a bit better after the bloodbend healing.
"How did you take down those guys?" I asked, still curious.
"Pressure points," he explained. "There are specific points in the body if hit just right will disable someone instantly."
Could he be hiding his bending powers too?
"Why were they after you?" I asked, concern in my voice.
"I've been trying to reduce their numbers for years," he sighed. "They patrol every Saturday night, looking for girls to capture, enslave… probably worse. I've been trying to stop them, but it's dangerous work." He winced, showing me his gauzed arm.
"Well, thank you for protecting me," I said, genuinely grateful.
He nodded, but his eyes seemed distant, weighed down by the burden of his mission. "I'm just doing what I can."
"Well, I should head home. Get better soon," I said, standing up to leave.
"Wait, what's your name?" I called out, finally get to ask that before he disappeared into thin air.
"Skyro," he replied.
"Oh I'm-"
"Naeva," HOW DID HE KNOW???
"How did you know my name?"
"I have people," he leaned. "Why?" he looked down at my lips.
"Uh- nothing. See you, Skyro," I said, waving before I walked home, my thoughts swirling.Who is Skyro? How'd he always appear at the right time and place? It's creepy.
I stepped through the door to find Alas standing in front of me, waiting.
"Don't you know what time it is?" he asked, his voice stern.
"Yeah, sorry Ryu… got into a bit of trouble before," I muttered, avoiding his gaze.
"Trouble? What trouble?" He was suddenly furious.
I sighed deeply. "I was about to walk home when this guy from the cafe pulled me into a hiding spot. We ran into four big guys, and I was about to be caught. So, I bloodbended one of them."
"Do you know what you're doing?" He practically yelled.
"Yes, Ryu, I know. He needed to be stopped. I warned him that if I found out he talked about this, he'd see the consequences."
"And what would happen if the world found out about our existence?" he demanded.
"I didn't have any choice," I said softly, "the guy would be dead if I hadn't acted."
"Was he dead when you got back?"
"No, but he was lying there, so were the rest of the guys."
"See? He can handle things on his own," he replied coldly.
"I didn't know, Ryu. I'm sorry," I whispered.
"Sorry doesn't fix anything. Who else saw you bloodbending?"
"Only the buff guy," I said.
"Now, what else are you hiding from me?" he asked, voice sharp.
"I… bloodbent to help the guy that saved me heal," I admitted, my heart sinking. "But he won't know. I covered his wound with a leaf and gauze, and told him not to open it for two days. I was almost captured by two thieves, but Skyro saved me."
He sighed deeply, his voice heavy. "No more waterbending outside the village."
"But—"
"No excuses. No exceptions. Unless I say so," he commanded, his tone final.
"Yes, Ryu," I replied quietly.
"You're so reckless. Always doing stupid things and making others carry your burdens. Please, stop burdening everyone around you," his words hit me like a sharp blade.
I held back my tears as I retreated to the shower. Alone, I let the water wash away my frustration and sorrow, my heart heavy with his words.
A burden. Was that all I really was?