In a forest outside of the capital city of Blackhelm, in a desolate riverbank sowhere downstream filled with tall boulders, a fragile-looking young woman was dragging an unconscious man out of the water. Under the soft light of the moon, it could be seen that his handso face was abnormally pale. Blood could be seen seeping through his drenched shirt, and his body was losing heat by the second.
'I need to heal him, but I can't use my powers or they will find us,' she said in her mind. 'If only the Prince's life was not at stake, I would have shown them who they are dealing with…but I need to prioritize his safety. I can't put him in danger.'
Esther had to wake him up so they could imdiately move from the riverbank and hide deeper into the forest. She first checked his pulse and it looked weak to her. Even his breathing was almost non-existent, and it looked like his lungs were filled with water. She pressed his chest hard, and he did not even groan.
'Will it be fine if I…? He is a prince, so it should be all right as long as I keep him alive. But what if he feels offended once he learns that I…?' She sighed. 'He is unconscious and won't rember it anyways. I have always wondered before, how can these humans who dominate this continent be so weak? If only I can freely use my powers…"
Sighing helplessly, Esther decided to apply traditional resuscitation ans that she learned during one of her travels before. She placed Prince Theron on his back on a relatively flat part of the ground, careful not to bump his head against the rocks. After checking his breathing once more, she elevated his head, slightly tilting it to clear the airway for what she was about to do next.
'You weak human, you are making do this. Don't bla later!' She let out a shaky breath as she leaned down closer to his face. The mont their lips touched, she could swear that she felt like the unruly young man's face crumpled.
"This—ugh, I should be the one to feel offended when you don't even know who I am!"
However, perhaps it was just her imagination because the young man didn't show any response when she pressed her hand over his chest. She had to lower her head and breathe air into his mouth once more.
'This is how it's done, right? It is my first ti doing this to soone. Last ti, I have only watched the village elder do this to that young son of the fisherman. It seed easy when he did this… This prince, why are you not breathing…?'"
After several more frustrating tries, the Crown Prince finally coughed out water and gasped for air.
Cough! Cough!
Esther looked around to check if she could sense the dissonant energy nearby. As the Crown Prince was coughing loudly, she was worried they would hear him. Not like she could shut his mouth as coughing was a given and a good sign of his recovery from nearly drowning to death.
Fortunately, no one seed to be around where they were hiding. Esther turned her attention back towards Prince Theron. She rubbed his chest to ease the coughing and asked in a low voice, "Can you hear ? Are you feeling fine, Your Highness?"
With heavy-lidded eyes, the Crown Prince of garis looked at his saviour. Esther. It was Esther again. Even though she was drenched from head to toe as well, which would have made any person look pitiful, in his eyes…she was glowing, as beautiful as the silver moonlight shining down on her.
'What is she saying?' he could not help but wonder. The young woman was asking him sothing, but his ears were ringing and he could not hear her voice. Only her worried face ca into his sight, and her lips moved but he could not make out the words. He wanted to laugh at how silly the situation was, but he could not find any strength. He closed his eyes again.
Esther gaped in shock. "What? Why did you close your eyes? Wake up! Wake up, Your Highness! We have to move away from here before they find you."
There was no response from the Crown Prince and she sighed helplessly again. 'Seems like I need to drag him sowhere on my own."
Her gaze went towards the blood on his dripping wet clothes. It was only then she rembered that he was injured, his right shoulder and the side of his waist in particular.
'He has lost too much blood already.'
However, they had to get away as far as they could from the river first, and only once Prince Theron was in a safer location could she try to dress his wounds. Using strength beyond that of a common knight, Esther easily pulled his body up. She first helped him sit and then afterwards, she put his arm around her shoulder and she circled her arm around his waist. She made him stand and looked at his low hung face.
'If I am just an ordinary young lady, I will not be able to do this. You human prince, you should be glad that I am with you…It seems like I have an ill fate with the Ivanovs, or maybe they really are an unlucky bunch of humans…"
Her gaze suddenly sharpened. She sensed that dissonant energy approaching and it reminded her that she needed to hurry. She dragged the Crown Prince from the river bank and decided to enter deep into the woods. For a mont, she thought of using her powers to erase their tracks, but she dropped the idea the next mont.
'I need to keep my powers suppressed, or they will sense it.'
She walked fast like a seasoned hunter, walking the dangerous forest path filled as if she's walking on a flat road. Her feet didn't even make a sound, and she didn't even disturb the branches nor the leaves that covered the forest floor, choosing to step on the large rocks to prevent anyone from tracking her and the Crown Prince.. Though it was incredibly dark, with Esther's abilities, there was no problem as she could see her surroundings as clear as if it's dayti.
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