"So, you still dare to come?"
A tired voice of a woman lazily asked.
"Yurin." A helpless voice of a man signed.
"I have to leave tomorrow."
"And?" The voice of the woman asked the earlier languor now laced with resentment.
"I am in love." The man explained powerlessly.
In A chamber heavy with scented smoke. Decorated with Golds and Reds. The golden curtains shined due to all the candles lit in the area. On an armchair rested the female, eyes filled with resentment.
Silky black hair loosely pooling on the floor, stray strands reflecting shimmering light. Strong eyes, corners turned red from unshed tears. Robes, in disarray. A snowy shoulder peeking out, an intense contrast with the draping hair. A fair hand stained black with writing scripture. Another holding a jar.
At the entrance of the chamber, a tall man looked on weakly. He too had open black hair falling down from his head. Strong brows compressed at the sight. Lips wishing to utter condolences but failing miserably to do so.
"Is she not livid that the general has decided to visit his former betrothed?" The woman asked bitterly.
The man took a step forward only for the woman to lift her tainted hand.
He paused but then again walked towards her.
"Yurin." He uttered her name like he always did; though this time weighed heavily with guilt.
The woman forcefully moved the chair.
As she was gracelessly leaving, a strong hand stopped her. The unnatural warmth of the hands gave away their disquietude. His eyes pleading.
the woman broke down in the man's arms.
"You promised." She whispered in a broken voice.
The man stroked the woman's hair gently.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He kept repeating quietly.
"She hit me today." The woman's voice muffled from the tight grasp. The man now noticed the slight puffiness on the woman's left cheek.
"I'm sorry" The man repeated the words like a spell. The guilt causing his voice to become a tone deeper.
"In five years, she did it again..." the woman's voice broke at the end of the sentence.
The woman forcefully tried to withdraw from the man's arms.
"And it was all because of you." She stubbornly accused, hitting him on the chest.
The man silently suffered, still refusing to let the woman go.
The mute tears dropped from the woman's eyes, her lips turned red from bitting.
The man caressed the left cheek, his thumb stopping on her lips. He tried to release it from her teeth.
"Yurin." He pleaded, thumb still putting pressure on her lips.
The woman reluctantly listened to the man.
She observed the man before her. His eyes remorsed, his usual proud shoulders dawn in because of fatigue. His body temperature a few degrees higher, his voice a few tones lower.
He too was having a hard time. He had kept their promise for so long. He had protected her for so long. He, tomorrow at the start of dawn would travel to the boundary to protect her and her country. He had less than a nights time after with he would be gone for the next few months or maybe a year, yet here he was trying to console her.
"Seiran."
"You finally called me by my name."
Seiran weakly smiled.
"Go, she's waiting."
The woman forced a smile.
"But you..." The man's eyes' showed his reluctance.
The woman laughed lightly.
"Go." She pushed against the man's chest.
"I'm not going to take you back if she decides to dump you."
"You're a Princess." Seiran protested at her use of crude words.
"And you might have to marry this crude I, if you don't hurry."
"That Raisei." Seiran cursed under his breath, as he left from the wilderness behind the chamber.
Yurin looked on, a weak smile on her face.
One last thought echoing in her head.
At least Seiran.....love is not real, my dear friend but I still hope you can find happiness.