One Year

Heart To Heart

At first everything was dark.  Dark and cold.  She wasn't afraid of the darkness or of the cold, so she floated in the sea of darkness and coldness.  Then one day Siri could hear the words everyone spoke, but somehow she couldn't open her eyes to let them know she's alive and well.  So instead she listened.  Listened as everyone told her to get better soon.  The Prince was in a foul mood ever since she fell ill.  Ever since she saved him from the assassination. 

At first they would take turns reading to her, soon they would get tired and start talking about the foul mood Prince.  Her Husband. 

"It's been three days since you saved the Prince.  Don't you think it's about time you wake up?"  Nurse Nancy lectured her.

...

"Princess, it's been four days since you came back from the royal palace, don't you think it's time to wake up?"  Rose asked her.  "What if you wake up and forget your Rose again?" 

...

"Princess, your husband of a Prince is at it again."  Gilldy said.  "He's threatened our lives if you don't wake up! Please wake up soon!" 

...

"Wife if you don't wake up, you'll miss out on the huge thank you present I've prepared for you.  Didn't you want to become my smoke and shield so you can get a huge thank you present?  I've prepared a lot just for you.  Do not make this Prince regret preparing this gift for you." Ryu said. "You have to wake up soon, or else it'll go away.  It's a time sensitive gift.  Wake up too late and it'll be gone.  Then it'll be your fault and not mine."

...

It was dark when Siri woke up to candlelight.  Beside her, her husband had fallen asleep next to her. She could feel his hot body next to her cold body.  He was holding her hand under the blanket while he laid on top of it.  The room was blazing hot as a medicinal scent wafer through the air.  Siri stared at Ryu for the longest time.  Where was she and why was she in the same bed as Ryu?  Why is it that his eye brows are wrinkled tightly?  Shouldn't his sleep be peaceful, why is it that even in his sleep, he has worries? 

Slowly taking her other hand out, Siri wanted to wipe the crinkled eyebrows straight.  When her finger touched the middle of his eyebrows, his hand caught hers.  His onyx eyes stared straight back at her liquid silver eyes, searching for something, she did not know.  Instead of flinging her head away, he pushes her fingers to smooth out his eyebrow then lay her cold hand over his warm forehead. 

"Feels good?"  Siri asked as his forehead quickly cools down. 

"Em."  Ryu said as he closes his eyes in relief.  Laying in bed in a room full of medicinal heat caused by burning medicinal herbs all through the night to help Siri get better was a strain to his body. 

"How long was I asleep?"  Siri asked. 

"Five days."  He answered.  Five long days. 

"You have the Moonlight Silence petal?" 

"Em." 

"I'll get to it right away.  Once my body heals a bit more, I'll make the antidote for you as soon as I can." 

"Em." 

"And my thank you gift?"  Siri teased him.  "Don't forget about my thank you gift." 

"Em."

"Since I'm your life's savior, it has to be a big thank you gift!" Siri said as she smiled at him thinking about what he would give to her.  "And when I make the antidote for your poison, I'll be your life's savior twice over!  I'll need a bigger and better thank you gift!"

"Haha!"  Ryu laughed.  "Will your greed know no end?"

"Greed?  It's not greed.  It's a gift to say thank you for a job well done!"  Siri spouted back to him.  "And since I'm doing you a great favor, I should get a great gift in return!" 

"Very well."  Ryu relented.  "What do you want?"

"If I want something I could go get it myself.  You would just have to surprise me."  Siri told him.  "I love surprises!"

"Okay. I'll surprise you." Ryu told her .  "Don't be too disappointed if you don't like it."

"As long as you put effort into it, what is there not to like?"

Ryu became solemn and quiet afterwards as if his worries caught up to him again. 

"What's wrong?"  Siri asked.  "Is it the King?  Did he find out?" 

"No."  Ryu said as he moved her hand from his forehead to the side of his cheek.  "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"  She asked in wonder. 

"The Spirit of Coldness."

"Oh that."  Siri said as she tried to pull her hand back away from him, but he held on to her hand next to his cheek, not letting her retreat.  "It's nothing." 

"Nothing!  You can die from it!" 

"It is nothing!  You could die tomorrow, I could die tomorrow from falling down the stairs, from assassins, from choking on food!  It is nothing to worry ourselves everyday about it." Siri sighed as her fingers caressed his cheeks without thinking.  "I'm trying to find the cure for it, but so far I've found nothing.  All I can do is live a good and healthy life to prolong my livelihood until I do find a cure for it." 

"You should have told me."  Ryu said.  "If you told me, I wouldn't have gone with your foolish ideas of being my smoke and shield." 

"It's too late for regrets."  Siri told him.  "For it already happened and here we are now.  You have the petal and I'm still alive.  All we can do now is live and keep on living."

"Foolish wife.  With zero skills in the martial arts, how do you have such great courage?" Ryu asked her.  

"Ryu....are those my paintings?"