Thethia: Mt. Plytois, The House in the Mountain

• Elianna•

Elianna let out a small exclaim when she was suddenly lifted up in the air by  a sweep of his strong arms. If it was anyone else, she would've already wrapped her arm around the person's neck and strangled till he was well into his afterlife but it just had to be him — the smug prince from the Northern Kingdom. She was positioned to face him directly and his handsome face was up close to hers.

He let out a playful smile, "We meet again, Elianna."

She flushed bright red at the sound of him calling her name. His voice was so much deeper and smoother than she had remembered and she actually liked the way he called her. It was a nice and warm feeling fleeting through her chest and when he moved an inch closer she quickly snapped out of her paralysed state and pushed her arms out, wanting to reestablish distance.

This devious man is dangerous, very dangerous.

Instead of getting out of his hold, she felt the hand on her waist gripped together, holding her firmly in place. For every reason possible in this realm, she panicked and startled to struggle. When she accidentally hit the wound on his right arm, he gave a grimace of pain and she halted to an immediate stop and froze.

"I'm sorry," she asked remorsefully. "Are you okay?"

※

• Rowan•

That amount of pain did not matter to Rowan. Yet, looking at her face that was overflowing with concern for him, he couldn't help but tease her a little. Lowering his head and facing away from her, he closed his eyes while crouching forward a little.

"Ouch." He faked a groan.

He felt the lady in his arms started to panic and he was trying his best to suppress the desire to laugh. His shoulders trembled a little and she asked again with a worried-filled voice, "Goddess, I'm so sorry. It hurts that much?"

"I-It h-hurts," Rowan was at his limit to hold his laughter in that his words came out in small stutters.

"I-I—" she muttered guiltily, her hands wrapped around his biceps as she tried to turn his arm around to inspect the wound.

Her touch was gentle and he moved him so carefully that it was as though she was afraid that she had exerted too much a moment ago and it split his wound open again. Unable to hold it any longer, he pulled her close into his hold and burst out laughing, "Aren't you a precious one?"

Her expression changed almost immediately and shot him a look. Unhappily throwing his arm away, she was visibly upset when she asked, "It actually didn't hurt, did it?"

Rowan immediately ceased laughing, but the playful grin stayed as he lowered his head to face her.

"It did, but you made the hurt go away."

He watched as she raised her arm, her fingers already closed into a fist and looked as though she was about to attack him. A fool he may be, but even if she was to hit him hard because he had annoyed her with his mischief, he would accept it as he deserved. The anticipated strike didn't occur but a complaining grumble sounded instead. Elianna dropped her arm and mumbled unhappily to herself, "Do no harm, do no harm, a doctor shall never do harm to her patients. After he's all recovered, you can punch him all you want—"

"What if I get injured again?" he asked, cutting her halfway.

"I can always treat you again. Then, I'll—" she replied matter-of-factly, turning her head and realising that she was still in his arms. She snapped, "Will you put me down already?"

"What if I say no?" Rowan teased.

Her brows knitted together into a frowned and she glared at him, "Do you always go around charming ladies like that?"

"Only towards you, Eli." The playful grin turned into a smirk.

Her expression changed again. This time, it wasn't annoyance nor did her face went red wehenevr she turned flustered. She went pale and her eyes were brimmed with a complicated mixed of sadness, longing and grief. The combination of emotions he understood but felt too foreign at the same time. An unknown wave of panic darted through him the moment she wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed against him. It was as though he could feel the rawness of her pain through her sorrowful whimpers and he was left utterly helpless.

"What's wrong, love?" Rowan asked, there was urgency in his voice.

Something moved in the peripheral of his vision and his gaze focus on the black panther who jolted awake by her crying voice. He noticed the narrowed gaze of the predatory feline and when he bared his teeth towards him, it wasn't fear that Rowan felt. He was assuming that the panther was demanding for an answer to: what the hell did you do to her? Rowan didn't feel oblige to answer. Instead, he stared back fiercely and it caught the big cat by surprise that he retreated, jumping off the couch and went out of the house with a silent declaration of: you better have this settled before I return.

The girl in his arms only cried fiercer with each moment and his heart squeezed when she sobbed till she was almost gasping for air. Rowan knew that her sadness wasn't because of him but neither did he understand what made her so sad. Cradling her towards him, he moved and sat down on the couch with her. He smoothed a hand down her back, attempting to soothe her.

"I am here for you," He comforted, his voice deep, smooth and filled with reassurance.

※

• Elianna •

Elianna hadn't expect herself to cry in front of another person. Other than Thunder, no one had witnessed her tears for the past ten years and it was frustrating how this man had the ability to draw that side of her out so easily. The way he called her Eli triggered something within her that she wasn't able to describe. He called her with so much affection that it reminded all the people who had once called her with similar tenderness.

Rubbing away the remain of the tears away from her sticky, tear-streaked face, she realised that she was crying against his bare chest all along and her tears had dried on his chest. Unsure what else she could do, she held onto her sleeve and attempted to wipe on his chest, she mumbled, "This time, I'm honestly sorry."

"It's okay, love," he replied softly, holding onto her hand and smiled gently at her, "Are you feeling better?"

"Y-Yes, um, t-thank you," she stuttered.

"Please never thank me for this," Rowan said.

He still held her close and whenever he spoke, she could feel his voice rumbling against the warmth of his skin and she swore internally. Is it even fair for someone's voice to sound so good? Her heart fluttered and she was sure that if he decided not to let go of her soon, she would be the one who requires medical attention. A cardiac arrest would rip her life off her and that was too soon to meet everyone else up above, she couldn't die like that—

Elianna didn't realise that she trailed off with her incessant thoughts until his voice sounded and anchored her back to reality again. He didn't tease her, instead he asked seriously, "The name Eli reminded you of something unpleasant?"

The way he said Eli made her exceptionally jumpy for some reasons. When he first called her that, she was reminded of Mother and everyone else but now she wasn't able to describe that all she felt. It was a skittish-feeling tickling against her heart, but in a good way though. The nervousness found its way into her voice and she found herself stuttering like an idiot, "I-It's n-not t-that..."

Goddess above, please give me somewhere to hide and I'll never leave there to face the light of this world again.

This man had no limits in the way he triggered her heart and with all seriousness he requested, "Can I still call you Eli?"

Her eyes widened in surprise as she stared into his brilliant blue eyes. His stare on her was intense but filled with affection. She doesn't know how to react, she never had someone looking at her the way he did. It was a different kind of affection that she received from Mother, Jason, Lylia, and Marie. Not that she hated it, she actually liked it. It made her feel tingly and excited.

"S-sure," she blurted out, knowing that she was almost at her limit.

Satisfaction glimmered in Rowan's eyes as he moved closer to her and planted soft kisses on her tear-filled eyes.

"Thank you, Eli," he whispered.

At that point, Elianna officially stopped breathing. Her heart was internally screaming for anyone to pull this irresistible man away from her for he was too much, way too much.

※