She and Evan had only first gotten to know each other when they were deployed for this mission five months ago. He was the only person that was her age and she always got hurt and he was a great healer.
In the short span of time he was the only person that she confided in and joked with. He was probably her first proper friend, someone who wasn't with her for her identity instead he just liked her personality. So she cherished him a lot.
She smiled, looking up at the familiar entrance of the medical ward, there was nobody in here because it wasn't until recently that they began to hunt again. Leaving just her and Evan alone inside.
He was munching on an apple,she smiled creeping up to him. When she was close enough, he looked up frozen as he slowly gulped down the bit of fruit still in his mouth.
She gently placed a hand on his shoulder shaking him awake. He flinched, shooting up from his seat, a blush decorating his face.
His eyes darted around, looking everywhere but her.
He was always like that, blushing at the slightest things sometimes and stuttering out of no where whenever he was with her . She didn't know why.
' You know you're an idiot right?'
The voice said. She ignored it, staring at the young boy worriedly. He awkwardly coughed still looking away from her, before saying in a soft voice.
" Oh Alexia, I didn't see you there, I assume you came here to treat your injuries. Sit here I'll help."
He gestured to the seat that he was on before, finally looking at her. Once she sat down, he placed his palms on her shoulder before closing his eyes and concentrating. Soon she felt it, a warm energy moving through her body healing all her wounds and washing away the pain.
This was one of the reasons he was the best friend to have, especially for someone like her who got injured often.
Letting out a contented hum, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of bliss and relief that washed over her. Alexia felt like her whole body had just been reborn, her body was filled with power to fight again. He stopped, removing his hands from her .
" Thanks Evan, I don't think I'll ever get tired of your magic touch."
His face that had calmed down, flushed crimson again, his pointed ears pink. He lowered his head staring at his feet, she watched him worriedly.
Standing up, she stretched her hand towards him, her brows furrowing in concern.
' Maybe he has a fever, as an elf he may not be used to our climate.'
She felt his forehead for a fever and heaved a sigh of relief when she felt that his temperature was normal.
" Don't overwork yourself too much. You also need rest."
" What?" His voice sounded confused.
She quirked her head cutely to the side,
" Isn't the heat why you're so red? Or is there something else?" Her brows furrowed a bit.
He sighed, his shoulders slumped slightly and his eyes looked downcast but he still had on that warm smile.
Alexia felt the something was wrong somewhere but she couldn't put her finger on it.
" I'm fine. You should probably leave. I have something I need to finish."
She hesitated a bit, nodding at him before turning away.
She gave him one last worried look, before finally leaving. Shaking off her worry, she went off to look for her uncle.
" He'll tell me what's wrong when he feels like it." She assured herself smiling.
It didn't take much to find her uncle, she just had to ask the soldiers and they pointed her in his direction while giving her looks of pity. They probably thought that she would be scolded, some even assured her that it would be fine. It wasn't their fault that they were unaware of their relationship, she wanted to keep it a secret anyways.
Following their directions, She saw her uncle giving orders to a soldier, his chestnut hair was a lot longer than she remembered, now resembling a wild mane, and his once ivory skin had gotten a bit of a tan, adding masculinity to his amazonian body toned from training.
He had been on his own personal expedition, trying to track a dangerous feral prime beast that had just evolved. Newly evolved beasts who hadn't understood how to control their powers were more vulnerable.
Putting on a serious face, she approached before respectfully saying " General Casen, sir ! Permission to speak." Immediately he saw it was her, his sharp sapphire blue eyes involuntarily softened.
' I'm his favourite niece after all.' She thought smugly.
Sending the soldier away with a nod, he asked her to follow him to which she immediately agreed to with a salute. As they made their way to his living quarters, the soldiers glanced at them before quickly turning away pretending to be busy with something. His cold profile intimidating them.
But once they crossed the entrance of his tent, that cold unapproachable general hugged her tightly in his arms. Caught off guard, she didn't react until she heard his voice above her head.
" How's my little firecracker doing?", his voice full of concern.
She smiled before trying to wriggle out of his embrace, " Sir, unhand me. What will the soldiers say if they see the great General Casen holding a little girl like me." Uncle Kace just chucked softly before releasing her.
" I can see that you're doing fine since you have the strength to tease your poor uncle."
Her eyes widened in horror, she held on tightly to his arm while frantically shaking her head.
" Uncle Kace, you don't understand the horrors of this place. For the past five months my life has just been reduced to hunting and suffering. I can't take much more of this, when are we leaving?"
She pouted as she said these things, willing a few tears to fall down making her look pitiful. She saw her uncle waver a little but eventually he just sighed and answered her in a stern voice.
" Alexia, you know you're not allowed to go back until you saturate your soul with essence. If you're tired of staying in this lovely forest I suggest you work harder. You're still at rank one and besides royal orders cannot be disobeyed."
" But he's your brother." She whined. Inwardly, she felt a little annoyed when she was reminded of the ludicrous condition her father had set for her.
" And he's your father." He nonchalantly countered signifying the end of this discussion. Her eye twitched as she clenched her fists .Did she really have to stay here for another five months?!!
' It's all father's fault, he even used a royal decree to send me away. How despicable!'
She wasn't really angry about the training, okay she was a little bit annoyed but the major problem was that he didn't even tell her why he sent her out. He just gave out a vague answer that she'll understand in the future.