The room spun around me. It wasn't entirely the drink – though that was working in me too – but something deeper, something that trembled in my bones. My head buzzed, my skin tingled, as if some foreign force was pulling me back into a memory that was never truly mine. No images came, no words, just feelings. Impossible feelings. Touches. The emerald green eyes... the cold, piercing gaze that cut through my thoughts. My body seemed to move on its own. I didn't remember what happened to me, but my instincts screamed. I tried to hold onto the counter, but the marble was too cold, too distant. One touch, then another. And then I understood. My whole body was numb, but my throat tightened with the realization.
"Hey, girl... are you okay?"
Elis's voice rang softly beside me, but it seemed so distant, as if it came from the other end of the world. My head buzzed more intensely. I tried to concentrate on her voice, but another force pulled me back. My vision blurred, but when I looked up again, he was there. Standing on the platform, motionless, his emerald green eyes fixed directly on me. Cold, inscrutable – a hunter who knows exactly when to strike. I looked back at him, my head a chaos. The anger I still felt towards him... the strange feelings, the touches that pierced me as if they were happening right now. The world started spinning with me. Elis was already dragging me to the restroom, and I let her. In the elegant room, everything was too bright: the black-and-white marble tiles gleamed in the light of the lamps, the gold-framed mirrors were huge, as if they wanted to both swallow and reveal a person's soul. Clear, cold water flowed from the tap, and I splashed it on my face with trembling hands. Elis watched me in the mirror.
"Maybe... maybe you were right," I finally spoke. My voice was soft, but even I was surprised at how uncertain it sounded.
Elis furrowed her brow.
"About what?"
I looked in the mirror, but my own face seemed foreign.
"Maybe I really was with someone... while I was asleep."
Elis's eyes widened.
"What?!"
I shook my head as if that could clear it.
"I don't know, I don't remember. Just feelings... touches. No images, no places, no sounds... just touches."
Elis sighed softly, but a warning glint appeared in her eyes.
"How deep were these touches?" she asked, flashing that mischievous, playful smile she usually did at times like this.
I blushed. My heart pounded in my throat. Never... never had I experienced anything like this. Elis's eyes widened, and she laughed softly. Then I quickly went out to keep the box in sight.
"Emerald green eyes," I muttered...
"Emerald green eyes?" Elis snorted and looked up.
"No! No, no, no! Avarka... Are you sure?"
The room seemed to quiet around us. As if all noise, all movement had frozen. Elis stared at me.
"It's not the ruler, is it?"
I didn't answer.
"No!" she clutched her heart. "No, Avarka, please don't do this! Who knows who's playing with you, but if you involve His Majesty, if you anger him, you might really be done for."
I knew she was worried, I knew she wanted to help, but I didn't care. I shook off her hand and moved forward.
"Are you coming, or staying?" I tossed at her.
Elis probably prayed silently, for she closed her eyes for a moment, then followed me. I reached the box. I didn't have to search. I knew where it was. I felt it. He stood before me. His gaze bore deeply into mine as I spoke:
"Tell me, how many-part storybook are you writing?"
For a long moment, he looked at me silently, then replied quietly, coolly:
"Wasn't what you got enough?"
My heart beat faster.
"Too much!" I retorted, but my voice wasn't as confident as I wanted it to be. "How dare you... how dare you..."
I was confused. The memories were fragmented shards. But he looked at me coldly, mercilessly.
"Not enough that you've just come to your senses, but you're already flaunting yourself here?"
I clenched my fingers into a fist.
"Do you think I'd reach out to you, even with a finger?!"
He slowly lowered his head, then raised his gaze to mine again.
"I don't have time for nonsense, little girl!"
My head started to numb. I didn't even hear what he said. It was as if I had gotten into a game whose rules I didn't understand. I saw his lips. For a moment, my breath caught. Was it the effect of the drink? The anger? The trauma? I didn't know. I only knew that something attracted me... and as I understood this, I was horrified.
"Don't tell me you don't feel it," I whispered.
I clung to Elis's arm, and she winced.
"Avarka, it hurts... are you okay?!"
Elis looked apologetically at the ruler.
"Your Majesty, we apologize, really... she's not well right now..."
I couldn't distinguish between my actions and my feelings. I no longer knew why I said what I said, why I did what I did. I was just dazed as my gaze searched his. I trembled with the raging feeling of how much I wanted him... I didn't even recognize my own behavior. And then I heard the general's voice. Sharp, decisive, it cut into my ear:
"Give her to me!"
I felt as the other arm was also grabbed, firmly, strongly. And then it happened. I didn't know what drove me. A sense of justice? The desire to prove that this was all real? But in that moment, when the general's fingers closed around my wrist, I moved forward. And before I could comprehend what I was doing... my lips pressed against his. The world stopped for a moment. The air froze in those around us. The general froze in place. The world spun with me, but I couldn't decide if it was the drink, the feelings, or the shock itself that stirred reality within me. The kiss... was just a moment. A single, foolish, inexplicable moment, after which the silence of the room cut like glass. The general remained motionless. He didn't return the kiss, but he didn't push me away immediately either. A blink of an eye, a soft hiss, then the laws of power and hierarchy returned between us. The next thing I sensed was a cold hand on my shoulder, gently pulling me away. The ruler.
"Enough."
His voice was quiet, but that made it all the more fatal. I felt my body tense, my heart pounding in my throat. I couldn't speak, I couldn't move. The only thing I perceived was the pair of emerald green eyes that held me captive as if they were shackles. Then I heard Elis's footsteps as she stepped behind me, as if instinctively trying to shield me.
"You're coming with me! Now!"
There was no question. There was no escape. There was no other choice but to obey. I was about to move when another voice cut through the silence.
"Your Majesty."
The general. His voice was calm but firm, not challenging, but not submissive either.
"I don't want to interfere with your decisions, but it's my responsibility to keep her safe. Tomorrow she'll come with me to the camp, and she'll serve in my unit. I believe it's my duty to keep an eye on her now as well."
I was stunned. I wanted to look at him, but I didn't dare move. I just stood there, my body still tingling from the ruler's cool touch. Silence. Seconds that seemed endlessly long passed. Elis's hand wrapped around my arm, as if ready to pull me away if the situation turned bad. Then the ruler finally let go.
"If you're so attached to her, take her. But remember, general..."
His gaze darkened, his voice carried something threatening, something deeper than anger.
"Tomorrow you'll follow my orders. Both of you."
The general nodded. I felt my hand clench into a fist. My anger, my confusion, all those intertwined feelings wanted to burst out for a moment, but there was nowhere to escape. The general turned to me.
"Let's go."