The gentle voice of the lady stopped Elara's frantic eating, "Please, My Lady, eat slowly or you might choke. You've already been through quite a lot." The woman's words were soft, and her eyes – those pastel purple eyes held a tenderness Elara couldn't quite understand the reason for. It wasn't just professional concern; there was something more behind them, something protective. Almost... maternal? Elara shook the thought away. How can this woman be her mother?
"What happened to the men that brought me here? Those mercenaries? Where are they?" Elara asked, setting the spoon aside. There was something strange about those men- something she couldn't quite put her finger to but if she wanted to solve the mystery, she must use each and everything.
The lady's gaze flickered as she sighed, shaking her head slightly. "They left right after they brought you in. I didn't get any details and everything was in chaos... y-you... you were in a state no one had ever seen you in. I was focused on you, My Lady, making sure you would wake up..." The lady shook her head frantically as if to get rid of the image of the scene she was sharing. But Elara was not going to let this go.
"Let me get this straight," Elara said, her voice laced with suspicion as her eyes narrowed slightly. "They brought me- an unconscious, battered body- into this camp and just left with as much as a word? No one was in their right mind to stop them? I am sure there are enough people to stop three mercenaries."
The lady flinched in her seat. She opened her mouth but closed it again. She opened it again but before she could say something, a voice from outside the tent interrupted them. "Commander Lupina!" the man's voice called urgently.
Elara blinked. She looked at the tent's flap in confusion and then back to the lady. Commander Lupina? Was this woman the commander? No, why would someone so important come all the way here just to take care of an injured person? She understood she- that was the girl with silver hair was someone important, but a lady of the ducal house can't be important enough to be personally looked after by a commander.
The voice outside became more urgent, pulling Elara's attention from the increasing questions. "Commander, it is urgent- "
"Are you an idiot!? Don't you know what condition she is in?" another voice hissed; it was a female.
"But- "
Elara still said nothing, her mind working fast as she just stared at the tent's flap where the voices were coming from. She could make out other noises too- a commotion? It was not the one she heard when the lady came in bearing the meal for her. This one was different, more frantic. But her mind was racing for other reasons. Those mercenaries did mention HER knights, but they didn't tell her that she was their commander and not just the youngest of the house.
"What is it?" the lady's voice cut Elara's chain of thoughts. Her voice was authoritative, the warmth it had earlier couldn't be heard in it anymore.
The man's voice came abruptly, "Lady Claytrix? What- where is Commander, there is a guest-" Another shush stopped the man.
"Lady Eara is in no condition to entertain guests. Make them leave." Lady Calytrix answered firmly.
A guest? Who else knew of her being in this wilderness? The man those mercenaries were talking about? Wasn't it the one who commissioned them- one of her knights? Could this guest be someone higher than her position?
"He is not someone we can send away. Please let the Commander know- " The man's tone had changed; it was respectful but with an edge of politeness only for outsiders. Elara looked at Lady Calytrix, the change in tone didn't bother her.
"Who is this guest? Who else knows of our presence in this remote area?" Elara finally asked, there was no point in keeping quiet, especially if she needed the answers to all those questions revolving in her mind.
If this guest was important enough for the knights to disturb their injured commander, it must be someone she couldn't ignore. And it couldn't be good news. The last thing she needed right now was for someone to find out she wasn't who they thought she was.
The woman outside hesitated for a moment, "It's the Fourth Prince," she said, her voice heavy with the gravity of the situation. She clearly misunderstood Elara's question as her reprimanding them. "Adrian Valor Rosethorne. The mission was not revealed from our side, Commander. His Highness has informed us of his presence in the area. It turned out his highness has been in the vicinity for hunting, he got the information from the passing by mercenaries." She added hastily, trying to keep her cool.
The mercenaries again? And... the Fourth Prince? What on earth could he want from her?
"You should have kept those men until I woke up," Elara said colly, exchanging a look with Lady Calytrix who flinched at her words.
"T-that's... we tried to- Ah, Your Highness?"
Elara instinctively sat up straighter hearing the last words, ignoring the lingering pain in her shoulder. She felt the sudden movements of Lady Calytrix standing up as the flap of the tent opened suddenly, inviting the gush of cold air.
The very next scene made Elara's breath hitch. The man that came in despite the protests of the due on his heels had an air regality: Light golden hair, tousled from travel, caught the dim glow of the lanterns, a striking contrast to the dark hunting attire he wore- practical and fitted for movement. It was not something a prince would typically wear, yet the craftmanship and subtle embellishments betrayed his status.
The black traveling cloak although looked normal to the naked eye, with its hood down. But Elara felt something weird about it, the way the fabric was still, not disturbed even by the man's subtle movements made her remember the cloaks the mercenaries were wearing.
But what made Elara still was his eyes.
Crimson- not the kind that burned with malice or cruelty, but something deeper. Mysterious. A color that seemed to pull at the edges of her mind, demanding recognition she couldn't give. There was a quiet intensity in his gaze, a wight that felt as though it had been carried for far too long. And for a fleeting second, as his gaze settled on her, something flickered in them- something unreadable.
A strange, unfamiliar nostalgia twisted in Elara's chest.
"Your Highness," Lady Calytrix greeted carefully, bowing her head in respect.
Elara said nothing, merely watching as the Prince nodded, acknowledging the greeting, his eyes never leaving hers. Her mind though exhausted from endless calculations and assessments, started its gears yet again.
"I see you are awake, My Lady." He finally said, his voice smooth yet unreadable.
The way he said it- it wasn't just an observation. There was something deliberate in his tone, something that made Elara take pause. Furthermore, instead of using her rank, he had addressed her as My Lady.
She held his gaze, her mind racing, figuring out her relationship with this Prince and how to react.
Lady Calytrix, noticing Elara's lack of response to an Imperial Prince, stepped forward "Her Ladyship is still not fully recovered, Your Highness. I would advise to let her rest for now-"
"Funny..."
The man, instead of heading the suggestion, moved leisurely, settling on a chair with the ease of someone who had no intention of leaving. He crossed one leg over the other, resting an arm against the chair's back, completely at home.
"The Commander of Aeternum Knights I have heard so much about was not his weak." He remarked idly "... someone who can't even answer herself."
The words were laced with provocation, but Elara caught something else in them. Heard so much about... that was it.
She finally allowed herself to take a breather, shifting her posture to sit straighter.
"I imagine that alone can tell Your Highness the current condition of the Commander you have heard about," Elara replied coolly, tilting her head just slightly.
His lips quirked, his eyes flashing with something akin to amusement. "Hah..., My Lady- "
"Commander," she corrected smoothly, offering a small, deceptively soft smile. "Or, if you prefer, Commander Lupina."
The Prince paused, momentarily thrown off. "Pardon me?"
"Oh, it's quite alright," Elara continued lightly, her fingers idly brushing the blanket draped over her lap. "Since it seems Your Highness only knows of me from what you've heard, allow me to clarify something. As long as Your Highness remains within my encampment, surrounded by my knights, you will address me as Commander. Or Commander Lupina."
The air in the tent shifted.
Lady Claytrix shifted in her place from the weight of the tense atmosphere inside the tent. Even the knights outside stilled as they listened. The Prince, however, instead of getting angry at her Impudent behavior, studied her with renewed interest, his fingers tapping lightly against the armrest of his chair.
And then almost at once, his lips curled into a charming smile.
Elara didn't lower her gaze nor prodded further, instead, she kept her gaze on the man silently. If he was here to test her, she would ensure he walked away knowing exactly who he was dealing with.