Warrior Hearts

Meeting Halfway

What in the world am I doing out here? This question has been plaguing my mind since my feet drew me away from my bed and even now as I stand in front of my destination, it refuses to stop throbbing inside my head.

"I've lost it," I whisper, staring at Manik's chamber doors. Shaking my head incredulously at my own actions, I turn to my side and begin pacing across the length of the entrance. Considering the fact that I am the one who is stationed outside Manik's chamber, and not the other way around, I'm sure he isn't paying much heed to the conversation we had in the tunnel. I bet it's just an armload of nonsense for him. That is exactly why I shouldn't be stupid enough to take our words seriously - especially his - and make an utter fool of myself. Right, I should go back to my chambers.

I must thank Manik, though. What will he possibly think of me if I don't so much as offer him a proper show of my gratitude for all that he did for me today? If it wasn't for him, I'd be crisp to the bone. My mind takes me back to my father's words about how a man's most precious treasure is what he goes to save in dire times, such as a fire. The magnetic pull of this thought is so powerful that it is what has lured my feet all the way here, from my chambers to Manik's, almost like a siren's call. He rushed in to save me, with a complete disregard for his own life. That must surely prove that I must mean something to him. Perhaps it even means that I'm important enough to Manik that the words he spoke to me in the tunnel held some semblance of truth.

"It was the fumes," I mumble, nodding in agreement with my own words. It was most certainly the fumes from the flames that muddled up the workings of his brain - which aren't top notch as it is - and so he was spewing utter nonsense. Nonsense for him, not for me, I correct myself. On the contrary, his words mean more to me than he could ever imagine.

I wring my hands together as I allow my mind to recall the events that transpired today. A small smile tugs at the corners of my lips at the thought of Manik's stubbornness; the very thing that saved my life.

I would have gladly succumbed to the flames instead of venturing into that enclosed, suffocating tunnel. However, once Manik was ready to give into that same fate, all of my claustrophobia seemed to dissolve into thin air. On the contrary, I was suddenly hell bent on journeying through that dark passage with him, just so that he could get out of harm's way. I couldn't let Manik suffer because of me, or even for me, for that matter. Who would've thought that one day his stubbornness would benefit the both of us?

"Princess?" Eyes wide, I halt in my track like a deer who's been cornered by her hunter. Forcing a smile onto my lips, I turn around to face the man of the hour; the one who has become a persistent tick in my mind.

"Manik," I breathe out, squeezing my hands together. "What're you doing out here?" Cocking his head to the side, Manik narrows his eyes at me. In a show of feigned nonchalance, I throw my shoulders back, and raise my chin ever so slightly. Owing to my bad luck, however, the man in front of me is not the least bit thrown off by my ploy.

"I could ask you the same question, Princess." The corner of Manik's lips tilts upwards into a lopsided smile. "Actually, rightfully, shouldn't I be the one to ask that question?" Casting his gaze around the hallway, Manik cocks a knowing brow at me. "After all, you are outside my chambers, Princess."

"I..." Trailing off, I chew on my lower lip; a plausible lie completely eluding my mind altogether. "I got lost!" I exclaim, jumping ever so slightly in place. "All these hallways," I let out a bark of laughter, my index finger tracing a small circle in thin air, "They're quite the maze." Folding his arms across his chest, Manik leans back against the wall behind him; the perfect picture of a hunter who knows he has cornered his prey. If only I could smack that cocky smile off his face.