Days passed, and Haden continued to take her to various scenic areas within the Red and Black Mountains.
He didn’t know when, but he had also begun to enjoy spending time with her, and he didn’t like that. Yet, he could do nothing about it.
On the other hand, Laerain, who was never allowed to be herself, had begun to carve not just the images of the scene before her but also the person who had given her the fruit of freedom.
Even though she understood that Haden must have a hidden motive behind his actions, she forced herself to believe that he didn’t have any.
Both of them had begun to see each other with eyes that varied greatly from their first meeting.
A wide smile caressed Laerain as she sat beside Haden and watched the sun set on the horizon.
Haden turned his head towards her and asked, "How long are you going to stay here?"
Her smile faltered for a moment, and she answered, "I don’t know. It’s for the king to decide."
He nodded. "I believe he’ll soon be sending you back."
She felt a familiar sting in her heart and questioned with a frown, "Why do you think so?"
He stood up and answered, "Because it’s been a month since the war started, and he wouldn’t want to waste time anymore, so he will use his best aura knights to force through."
The understanding dawned on her, and she asked, "Are you going to take part in the war?"
"I don’t know... I have reasons for which I shouldn’t, but if the losses outweigh the reasons. I would be left with no other choice."
She turned her head towards him and said, "Father won’t stop till he gets what he wants."
Silence stretched for a few moments, and he replied, "He won’t be the first king to die from my spear."
Her expression darkened, and she lowered her head. She understood that Haden and her father had a reason to stand against each other but that didn’t mean she wanted such a scenario to play out.
’Can I do nothing?’ She questioned herself grimly. As a princess, she could advise the king. However, it would mean nothing because of the item they were looking for.
He looked at her lonely back with worried eyes, but he soon forced it down and questioned darkly, "Why would he even go through something like this?"
Laerain, who was full of grim thoughts, answered, "It’s all because of that stupid prophecy..."
Curiosity bubbled in him, but he hid it behind the curtain of gloom. "Prophecy?"
She let out a tired sigh and explained, "It’s the royal prophecy for which our kingdom has been working for ages: The dark star that split the polar shall unseal the old doors lying beneath the sun’s path."
Just as those words reached his ears, Haden’s expression turned furious, and he asked in a slightly louder voice, "He wants the dark star of the south?"
She looked at him with a confused expression and nodded with the thought, ’What’s wrong with him?’
Haden stepped closer to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
Her eyes trembled, she forced a smile and asked in a wobbling tone, "W-where are we going?"
He leaned forward and whispered, "You already know..."
She gripped onto the hides that covered his body, not wanting to part yet. Tears brimmed at the edge of her eyes as she stared at his face.
Haden felt a familiar ache in his heart, and he mumbled while wiping off her tears, "We are in war, princess... You shouldn’t have trusted an enemy."
"Are... are you my enemy?" She asked while tightening her grip on his hide.
He looked in her eyes and nodded, "Yes... I am."
"I-I see..." she whispered. Her body went weak, and her blue eyes lost all of their glamour in steaming tears. She let go of his hide and glanced at his face for one final time before closing her eyes.
He wrapped his other hand around her waist, and both of them vanished from the spot.
***
Laerain stared at the red flower that Haden had given her with hollow eyes and thought,
’What if we weren’t at war?’
’What if I had met him before?’
’What if I hadn’t let myself enjoy and care as much as I did?’
’Wouldn’t it have been better if we had never met each other?’
Just as the clouds of gloomy thoughts began to muddle her mind, the sound of footsteps echoed within the room.
"What’s wrong, Laerain?" A soft yet prideful voice asked from beside.
She turned her head and looked at her father, the king of the Leonara kingdom — Andreus Leonara.
"You knew, didn’t you?" She asked in a low voice as the tears threatened to fall once again.
Andreus looked into her lustreless eyes with his prideful ones and stated, "Yes, I knew about you meeting that barbarian."
Her eyes sharpened at his words, and she barked, "He is not a barbarian!"
Andreus chuckled. He held her hand and said softly, "Lara, you know well how many generations have bled just so we could obtain that item, which we must — to end them."
She leaned back on the chair and muttered with closed eyes, "I don’t care."
He shook his head and said, "Stop lying to yourself. You care the most as the chosen one."
She opened her eyes and said, while glancing at him with tearful eyes, "I don’t want to fight him..."
King Andreus let out a sigh and patted her back as he spoke, "I’ve told you before, haven’t I? You can defend against the steel, but no shield can stop the blade of love."
She leaned forward from her chair and hugged her father.
Andreus hugged her back, and the king mumbled, "I know how hurt you are, but you mustn’t waste the efforts of our ancestors."
The princess listened to his words and nodded while the woman within her teared up at the thought of standing against the one who had trapped her in the prison of love.