My Liege And I

The Woman And I

Chapter 57

Oren
Nevoria

The day he met his friend was during the cold year, mostly remembered by everyone as the year of death. The economy of Nevoria was struggling and that meant the smaller countries around the great empire had it worse. It was due to the widespread pandemic that was said to affect the internal heat of the body; thus, the qi of individuals was depleted.

Oren caught the terrible disease and barely survived it. He lay in the hospital bed for days on end under the care of the palace maids assigned to him. During that time, he had lived in Nevoria for a year or two, and his talent had just been noticed by the previous dragon.

The Fallen Dragon wanted to appoint him as the sword master that would be in charge of the young crown prince, Shen Hong. Thus, when he fell ill, royal resources were dispensed so he could be well looked after.

Many palace maids came in and went out as his caretakers, however, there was one who stuck in his mind till the present day. Her soaring beauty, how could he forget? The vision of her was still clear as day.

She had vulcanite black hair with melon lilac lips, and her eyes were beautifully round on her symmetrical face. Her shapely figure was alluring. He had it memorized that if he was to see her with her back turned to him, among a large crowd, he would easily tell her apart.

Besides her unique features, their friendship was rooted in the familiarity they developed as she was one of the two palace maids who resided at his quarters for his care. It was up to 30 days that he would wake up to her dabbing his face with a warm cloth. It was up to a full moon; she would help him lie down and cover his body with blankets; she would be the last thing and person he would lay his eyes on before he dozed off.

At that time, he was a man with a bleeding heart, hurt and feeling quite rejected and abandoned.

No matter what, Elora would not choose him over duty. He desired to be seen and wanted with a love that was relentless to face all obstacles, but nonetheless, she was blind to his presence and deaf to his words.

Yet, when he fell ill, he found himself in a place where this certain palace maid considered his words to be her heart’s orders and his needs a mission to be fulfilled. Such things were not a justification for him to evidence it as the reason why he became infatuated with that palace maid. Not when she was not the only palace maid who he was under the care of.

However, it was still one of the things that made him look at her with dove eyes. Whatever she did for him made his heart flatter, be it as small as a water droplet or as big as the vast sea.
There was so much authenticity about her. She did not try to be who she was not, and that made him relax in her company. He found openness and honesty in her that he never shared with anyone.

Years had passed since they last saw each other, and for the first time since, he would see her again. Looking around the forest behind, he parted the branches before him and disappeared into the vegetation that obscured the entrance.

He was then enveloped by darkness, and he had to feel for the wall to walk along the hallway of the cave until it led him into its stomach.

The cave was lit by a multitude of candles. It gave an orange glow that relaxed his alert senses into a state of calmness.

In the centre of the cave stood a huge canvas painting. It showcased rich green mountains with cascading rivers. The artist creatively used falling leaves to indicate the season and colour to showcase the time of day.

“By and by, seasons come and go,” he commented on the painting. “However, some feelings aren’t as seasons, they do not shift to pass us by.”

The silhouette of the person who sat behind the tall stand of the painting moved slightly, before she responded, “Mountains are cleansed by lingering clouds, the sky is veiled by fine mist. However, yearning is not like the sky, it cannot be veiled by time apart." Her honeyed voice was sweetness to his ears. "Feelings are like the mountains, they have passion and desire to linger over them like the clouds.”