Dastan rode back from the palace, utterly confused. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, and he couldn't shake the feeling of unease. Despite his reluctance to leave, Silvia had insisted on resting, prompting Dastan to agree to depart with his guards. As he rode on the back of his horse, lost in his own thoughts, he was oblivious to the cold snow falling around him.
Suddenly, a thought pierced through the chaos in his mind. "Where is Isa? I haven't seen him since I woke up," Dastan voiced his query to the guards trailing behind him. They halted their horses, exchanging bewildered glances as if the question caught them off guard.
Dastan's expression darkened. "Why are you looking at each other like that? I asked a simple question," he demanded, irritation creeping into his tone, causing the guards to shrink back in fear. One of them, regaining his composure, spoke up.
"The Prince is on an expedition. The king has kept his whereabouts a secret from us," he answered, sharing a questioning glance with his companion.
"Secret whereabouts? What kind of mission is so secretive that even his location is concealed? Is that why Silvia is feeling worried?" Dastan mused aloud, confusion evident in his voice.
With that question, Dastan turned his gaze forward, his frown deepening as he remained lost in thought. Meanwhile, one of the guards trailing behind him noticed something peculiar up ahead, prompting him to speak out urgently. "Your Highness, look over there!" he exclaimed, his voice almost too loud, causing Dastan to shift his attention towards the guard's line of sight, deepening his frown even further as he beheld what was being discussed.
Despite the strong wind and heavy snowfall, a solitary figure stood amidst the storm, her red hair billowing in the wind. She seemed unaffected by the harsh weather, calmly observing the sky's wrath. Dastan's expression softened momentarily at the sight, but he quickly shook off the distraction, refocusing on the path ahead. However, it wasn't long before he caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of his eye.
Noori's body swayed in the wind and snow, a sight unexpected for someone who appeared so composed. Like a majestic pine tree, she toppled onto the snow-covered ground, her vibrant red hair contrasting starkly against the white landscape.
Dastan swiftly pulled the reins of his horse, bringing it to an abrupt halt, his head snapping towards Noori with urgency.
"Your Highness, the princess has collapsed," the guard who had also observed the scene exclaimed. Dastan's facial muscles tightened at the news. "What do you want me to do?" he grumbled, his hands gripping the reins tightly. The guards glanced at him, momentarily confused, but remained silent, their feelings towards Noori evident in their hesitation.
"Go! Bring her back to the palace," Dastan commanded with authority, his neck held high and proud. The guards exchanged puzzled looks but nodded in compliance, turning their horses towards Noori. As they approached her, they noticed something peculiar happening in her presence—the snow around her was melting rapidly, forming a puddle of water beneath her.
The guards dismounted their horses, cautiously stepping closer to Noori. They were startled as they felt the water beneath their feet boiling hot, causing them to quickly retreat. "Dear Heavens!" one of them exclaimed, feeling the heat searing through his boots. He hastily removed his shoes, inhaling deeply as he pressed his foot into the cold snow to cool it.
The other guard, witnessing his companion's reaction, hesitated to cross the puddle. "What is taking so long?" Dastan inquired, approaching to see what was happening. He noticed the melted snow and the steaming water surrounding Noori.
"What is this sorcery? Get her out of there!" Dastan commanded, but the guards struggled to comply. "Your Highness, the water is burning hot. We cannot cross it," one of them explained, his voice filled with concern.
"What a piece of work," Dastan hissed as he dismounted his horse, stepping into the boiling hot water without hesitation. He felt a surge of warmth course through his body as the water touched him, momentarily making him question the guards' reaction. Nevertheless, he pressed on, reaching out to Noori and gently patting her arm in an attempt to rouse her. "Hey! Are you dead?" he called out, receiving no response. "Hey! Wake up!" he persisted, growing more concerned as he noticed her elevated body temperature.
Confused, Dastan placed his hand in the water and positioned it behind her back to help her sit up. As soon as his hand touched her skin, Noori jolted awake, her hands flying to Dastan as she pulled him into a tight hug. Drenched and struggling to catch her breath, she wasn't fully conscious, but her sudden reaction caught Dastan off guard, causing him to stumble backward into the water, barely able to maintain his balance.
"Get off me!" Dastan exclaimed as he pulled Noori away, only to find her swaying unsteadily like a rootless tree. Initially, he considered letting her go, but then he hesitated, ultimately deciding to hold onto her hand. After a moment of contemplation and a glance at the vast expanse of snow surrounding them, he felt a sense of loss wash over him.
Taking a deep breath, Dastan pulled her back towards himself, wrapping his arms around her and lifting her slowly. "Get my horse!" he commanded in a stiff tone, and the guards hurried to comply.
"This is just a return of favor I'm doing you. Just returning the favor, nothing else," he murmured to the unconscious Noori, though it seemed as if he were reminding himself of that fact.
Once on the horse, Dastan held her close and draped his cape over her before riding through the snow. "(Mumble)," Noori muttered something under her breath, her hands tightening around his body. Dastan briefly glanced down at her and noticed her frowning deeply.
It took him a moment to break free from looking in her direction and focus on the path ahead. They arrived at the palace soon, and Dastan carefully dismounted the horse. The guards at the doors quickly approached upon learning of the situation.
"Is everything okay, Your Highness?" They asked, and at that moment, the cape dropped off, revealing Noori's fainted figure in Dastan's arms. They almost gasped in shock.
"Take her to the room, and summon the physician," he said as he loosened his grip around Noori. The guards nodded and reached towards her to assist him, but the second their hands touched her, a sizzling sound emerged from their skin, as if they had touched red-hot metal. The guards groaned in pain and instantly retreated.
"She is burning," one of them said, looking at Dastan as if he were some sort of deity or powerful mage who could hold her that close when she was nothing less than a burning coal.
It was at htis moment Dastan realised that something was very wrong with her, Or himself that he could not feel the burns everyone else did.
"I will do it myself," he said in a heavy, dissatisfied voice, and walked in while the guards followed him closely.
Inside the palace, the wind had picked up, making Dastan's expression grow more and more perplexed. It seemed as if he saw something no one else could, almost causing him to bump into a decorative vase in the way. His vision was clouded as the wind rushed towards him from the opposite end.
"What is happening here?" he wondered aloud, looking down at Noori, who was still not awake. Suddenly, her lips parted and she spoke. "The wind is loud again. It is deafening," she hissed, as if in deep pain that prevented her from speaking clearly.
Dastan, who had just kicked the door to the room open, paused after hearing her words. His face betrayed something very deep, and it seemed that her words were enough to prompt him to ask her, even though she was unconscious. "Do you hear them too?"
But Noori gave no response. "No, there is no way she could have," he muttered to himself, shaking his head as he walked in. He roughly placed her on the bed before pulling away almost instantly, but it seemed that his luck didn't want them to part that easily. Dastan's shirt's button got stuck on an oddly shaped stone necklace Noori wore around her neck. It was a rough blue stone-like object tied at either end by leather lines. He paused and looked at it closely. He knew what it was and reached out to it out of curiosity, but before he could touch it, Noori's eyes shot open, and her warm breath fell across Dastan's face, who was just a few inches away.
"Hah! Are you finally ready for our wedding night, Your Highness?" Noori's voice was weak, yet she spoke those words with utter clarity, causing Dastan's teeth to grit together and for him to forcefully pull away, breaking the knot of the leather around her neck and making the stone fall to Noori's side.