Once More (Ice Fantasy)

Six

It was already night time when Yan Da woke up. Opening her eyes, she was met by Shi's sleeping face. He had fallen asleep hours ago. Yan Da smiled, reaching out. She gently caressed his cheek, waking him up.

"Hi." She said when he opened his eyes, meeting her gaze.

"Hi." He replied, letting out a small smile. "How do you feel?"

"A bit better than before." She said, retracting her hand and sitting up. Shi then stood up, stretching his legs. Suddenly, his stomach grumbled. Yan Da chuckled, meeting his embarrassed gaze.

"Let's go eat." The fire princess said, standing up too. The duo then went out of the room, looking for something to eat. When they're done eating, the two went to the garden of cherry blossoms.

Now, the two are both sitting on the tree's trunk. Stargazing. Silently, enjoying each other's company.

"Aren't you tired? After all, you stayed by my side until I've woken up."

"Nah, I slept too. Honestly, it was the first time that I slept that well."

Yan Da frowned. "You... what do you mean?"

Shi looked down, smiling sadly. "Most of the time, I wake up in the middle of the night. I always have difficult time going back to sleep when that happens."

"Nightmares?"

The boy nodded.

"About?"

"People..."

"Huh?"

"I'm not exactly the kind of prince that people admire or like. I don't have any powers. To them I'm just a disappointment. A burden and such. The only people who truly care about me is my mother and my older brother, Ka Suo."

"Ying Kong Shi..." Yan Da said, feeling the pain in his voice. She then stood up, hugging him tightly. "I care about you a lot. Ying Kong Shi, don't mind those people who mock you. They don't see who you truly are. You have a good heart. You are loyal to the people you care about. And someday, I know that you'll become a great man."

She said, distancing herself a bit to look into his eyes. Shi's eyes were full of unshed tears.

"You really think of me like that?"

Yan Da nodded, smiling at him. Some tears falling from her eyes. "I believe in you." She continued. The boy smiled, kissing him softly on the cheek.

"Thank you." He whispered sincerely. Deep in his heart and mind, the words that Yan Da said were engraved. Never to be forgotten. Shi lift his hand up, brushing away the unshed tears in her eyes.

Dui bu qi mother but I can't stop these feelings. I know that I'm still young to understand them fully but there's one thing that I'm sure of. I want her to stay by my side, forever.

"You said that you don't have any powers?" Yan Da asked, confuse. But I clearly saw him use it a lot of times...It's probably because he's not fully awakened yet. I wonder if I can help him?

"Yeah." Shi repeated.

Yan Da smirked. A plan on her mind already. "Want me to teach you some things then? There are other ways to become a good fighter other than our powers, you know."

"You'll teach me?" The boy asked, eyes glinting in excitement.

Yan Da smiled. "Sure. How about starting now?"

Shi nodded. Yan Da then stood up, going to the place where there's a wider space for them to train. Shi followed her.

In the middle of an ice ring, Yan Da thought him some of her moves. The young prince absorbed the lesson quickly. The fire princess smiled. Happy that she's able to help and comfort him.

Unknown to both, three pairs of eyes were watching them. Three hearts were filled with fear, worry and pain. Fear for the future. To where this development between the two will lead them. Worry for the duo themselves. Will they be alright? There's a lot of things that could happen and most of them will surely hurt the duo. Pain for the two...praying that their story will not end in tragedy.