"Was it Celestria?" Edric asked as Amanda entered his room.

The other one nodded, "She sensed Alex was in danger and came right away." Amanda responded as she poured some water into a glass.

Edric smiled, "It was a good idea to let her have the beacon."

Amanda heaved a weary sigh, "I don't think so."

Edric frowned as, with Amanda's help, he sat on the bed and drank a few sips of water, before asking, "Why did you say that?"

Amanda explained how she first saw Celestria and then, she told Edric the reason why Celestria appeared like that.

Edric's expression remained unchanged as he heard his lover saying,

"After seeing her wailing in relief this morning…I realized how deeply she loves him."

Edric nodded, "Yup…that's why I have been pushing both of them to give their relationship another chance."

Amanda smiled faintly as she sat down beside him and said, "Do you think I would have gone to such extreme lengths to see you as well if you had been in danger?"

Edric didn't hesitate while answering, "You might haven't even boarded a carriage and ran all the way to see me."

Amanda grinned, "Quite confident you are."

Edric kissed the back of her hand tenderly as he whispered, "I trust the love we share."

Amanda didn't say anything to that, the smile on her face extending a little before she leaned forward and planted her lips on his.

—------**-------

In a different room, Celestria was told to lie down on the bed as Alex sat near the other end of the bed and rested her feet on his lap.

"I am…really fine-ah!" She winced in pain when his ointment-coated fingers made contact with her wounded feet.

Her once unblemished and fair feet were tainted with clotted blood spots and blue bruises.

She said she lost her shoes somewhere on the path, and she couldn't even remember which beast she fought against since her focus was on reaching her destination.

Seeing that frown on his face, the blond Princess couldn't help but ask, "Are you mad?"

"Yeah, I am." Alex instantly replied. However, his displeasure only made her smile.

Seeing that smile irritated him even more as he said, "Stop smiling."

Celestria instantly controlled her lips…however, she couldn't resist it for long.

His fingers slowly moved up her heel to cover all the bruises. He has already cleaned her wounds and applied antiseptic.

"I don't like when people needlessly care about me," Alex grumbled.

Celestria softly smiled before telling him, "But I am not 'people'...I am your friend and it's my right to get worried about my friend."

Alex looked at her sternly before telling her, "No friend goes to such extreme lengths for their friend. What if you had gotten yourself killed? Your father would have sentenced me to lifetime imprisonment."

Celestria shook her head and assured him, "I wrote a letter before leaving my room stating that I am doing this of my own free will and no one shall be blamed for this."

Alex stared at her blankly for a few moments before an audible sigh left his lips,

"What are you, Celestria?"

"Someone who doesn't want to see you get hurt." She softly held his hand as she got up and looked at him tenderly.

Alex was rendered speechless. This girl…why is she so persistent? This was not because of guilt or pity.

Her dedication and passion reminded him of Sarah. That girl could also go to some extreme lengths when it came to him.

Alex frowned, and after holding her hand firmly, he asked, "Celestria…do you love me?"

Celestria was struck at her place; her expression turned stiff, and colors faded from her face.

She….never thought about it. Maybe in a corner of her mind, she knew the answer; however, she continued to chase Alex in the name of friendship.

However, when Alex asked it directly, she wasn't able to say yes or no.

Alex heaved a sigh before telling her, "Your behavior must be making it seem like you love me….and that's not okay given you have to get married one day to a guy whom your father selects-"

"I don't want that!" Her strong refusal surprised Alex.

With her eyes closed and tears welling in them she repeated, "I don't want to spend my life with anyone else. To let them touch me…to let them call me fondly…to let them know my secrets…I don't want anyone else to have the right over it except for…"

"Me?" Alex asked, seeing that she paused near the end. Hesitant whether she should say it or not.

Celestria slowly opened her eyes and softly nodded. Just after not giving him a proper answer about her feelings, she confessed to him how she felt about Alex.

….how marvelous.

It would be a blatant lie to say that Alex didn't see it coming. Her attitude has changed ever since she returned from her home after Abeth's situation and he didn't know why.

He softly cupped her cheek before telling her, "I am unsure about how I feel about you so give me some time to think about it, okay?"

Celestria held his hand, pressing more firmly against her cheek as she asked,

"You…won't abandon me, right?"

Alex chuckled, "Even if I try to run away, this tracker would lead you to me."

Celestria smiled, "Am I caught?"

Alex slowly shook his head as he softly planted his head against hers and whispered,

"I am completely unaware when the innocent and sweet Celestria turned so crazy."

They remained together for another hour before Alex told her to rest and left the room.

He met David on the way. The dude looked too tired to even have a proper conversation so Alex asked him to rest as well.

"Alex." Just as Alex stood outside the room where the silver-haired lady rested, the headmaster called out.

Hector rested his hand on his shoulder before telling him, "Whatever you hear from her…remember that Soulforge will always be your home where you can return to any time you want."

Hearing those words, Alex was surprised. He realized that the whole mystery behind his unnatural awakening last night must be too severe for the Headmaster to say something like that.

He gave a firm nod before assuring the man, "I will keep it in mind, sir."

—-------**---------

A/N:- Thanks for reading. Drop a comment/review.