❝𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒕, 𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒕.❞
(the stars incline us, they do not bind us.)
━━━━━━━━━━
𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔
Born as twins, yet one of them had everything, and the other ha...
"in the sea of everyone else, she will always be someone else."
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Iftia: Lyx Palace, Study
• Rowan •
"Is Elianna back?" Rowan asked, meanwhile going through and signing the pile of documents stacked on his desk.
"Yes, she returned to Lyx a while ago." Ilias nodded and suggested, "You may want to pay her a visit."
"Why?"
"She is reading our medical records."
Rowan paused, placing the pen back on the desk and stood up. He pointed towards the mess of papers on his desk as he said, "Ilias, the important parts are done, please help me finish up the remaining and tidy up. I'll see everyone at dinner."
"Please be on your way, Ro," Ilias assured.
Turning a few rounds through the hallways that never felt so endless till now, he rushed towards the medical office. It was a foreign feeling of how that room used to be an empty storage that his soldiers would visit whenever they're injured and now he anticipated visiting the room, all because of a presence within that weighed so significantly against his heart. He didn't rush to open the door. Instead, Rowan pushed on the polished surface gently and heard the sounds of her muffled cries. Despite saddened by the things that she was reading, she continued to flip through the pages while being in a sobbing mess. He quietly moved towards her, careful to not startle her as he took a quick glance and saw his name as the subject.
A sudden temptation to laugh surged within him but he suppressed it. It wasn't because she looked foolish or anything of that sort. It was because of the warmth radiating through his entire being. He wanted to laugh because of the happiness and comfort when he felt that she cared deeply for him.
"Eli?" he called her softly.
The lady hastily wiped the tears on her face and turned to face him. Tears glistened her amber eyes, making them shine brighter than usual. Heartbroken to see her upset, he rested his palms on each side of her face and his thumber swept across the round of her cheeks to wipe the falling tears away. His voice was much tender whenever towards her and he asked, "What's wrong, love?"
No coherent words formed and she only gasped through her sobs, keeping her eyes on him. Raising her hands, her fingers curled on his forearm and he felt her trembling through her hold. Smoothing a hand along her back, he tried to soothe her cry as he pulled her into his embrace and gently swayed her against his hold. He coddled, "Tell me why you're crying."
※
• Elianna •
In his gentle hold and warm embrace, her emotions grew even stronger. She never knew she could feel so much for someone. She felt so much for his suffering, etching the pain into her heart. Perhaps her ability to empathise was because both of them shared something in common — a horribly unpleasant childhood. Yet, the ability to feel so much for someone was so overwhelming that it scared her. Digging her fingers into the thick material of his coat, she murmured his name, "R-Rowan—"
