Drayce could now understand King Armen's struggle to protect his daughter.
'King Armen had protected her all her life. I seemed to have judged him too quickly. Being a normal human, he had done everything in his capacity to ensure her safety, even though it restricted her freedom. It would have not been easy for him to protect his daughter from those powerful beings who he can't even deal with. Knowing he can't defeat those powerful people, he preferred to hide his daughter instead or he would have lost Seren long back. He must have felt helpless all these years. I failed to understand his worries.'
Once Seren had calmed down once more, he looked at her and wiped away the tears from her eyes. He had one more thing left to ask her.
"I have one more concern."
With her reddened eyes, she looked at him, waiting for what he had to say, and he asked, "Remember how you woke up inside the bath? I was waking you up because you were having a nightmare. Can you tell me what it was about?"
Her body shivered, subconsciously reacting to the one memory she didn't want to remember. Still, it was Drayce who asked. She had no heart to refuse him.
"I was surrounded by fire. Huge flames... dangerous fire...they were everywhere. Those flames were like a prison, and it was as if I was in the middle of hell. There was no way out, no way to escape the flames. I didn't want to come near the flames, but even though I wasn't on fire, my entire body felt like it was burning...It was so painful..."
"Fire..." Drayce mumbled.
She lowered her head. "But..."
He watched the expression on her face. "But...?'
"I wasn't alone. A woman appeared out of nowhere. I don't know who she is, but she seemed to know me. She looked at me like I owe her something...As if she wanted something from me...She looked like she was in pain too...I tried to talk to her but...then I was awake."
"Can you remember anything else about your dream? Don't miss any details, even the smallest ones."
Seren looked reluctant but she quietly nodded and closed her eyes for a while. "The dream only had the fire and that woman...there wasn't even a sound. I couldn't hear even the cracking of the flames. About the woman, I can't tell her age, but she's wearing strange robe-like clothes, simple yet elegant, like the ones you see in the temples during ceremonies. She has long brown hair and green eyes..."
'A green-eyed woman?' Drayce thought. 'The way Seren's body reacted and her temperature were so abnormal, that dream cannot be meaningless. Seems like I need to find that green-eyed woman. It might lead to the mystery of Seren's life.'
He caressed her cheek and pecked on her forehead. "You should rest. You have exerted yourself a lot."
She nodded as she did feel tired despite just waking up, but then she asked, "That person who saved me...is he here in the palace?"
"He is here. He is the one who brought you back here. But he is resting because he was severely hurt. Once he is awake, we can meet him."
Seren agreed and Drayce helped her lay in bed. He covered her with a blanket but then Seren held his hand. He looked at her with a puzzled expression, only to hear her say something that he didn't expect.
"I missed you, Dray."
She meant it. Though he was gone only for a day, she already missed him, and after that incident, she realized how important he was to her and how much she wanted to be with him.
An uncharacteristic gentle smile appeared on the handsome man's face and he leaned down, leaving a peck over her veil-covered lips as he whispered against them. "I missed you as well, my Queen."
He could feel her lips widen into a smile as he peered into her beautiful purple eyes closely. He whispered again, "You should rest. Not good if I were to exhaust you when you are already so tired."
Seren understood what he meant and blushed. "I will rest," she mumbled against his lips.
Drayce moved back to not mess up with her in her weak condition. "Close your eyes. I will remain by your side, and be the first person you see when you wake up."
Seren nodded and closed her eyes, feeling safe with Drayce by her side. Because her husband was here, she knew everything would be all right.
After a few hours when she woke up, her eyes searched for Drayce, feeling worried what if he was not around but...
A smile painted on her lips when she saw Drayce sitting in the chair and going through a few parchments. She didn't call for him, instead continued to look at him silently as if trying to imprint his image in her mind.
Her eyes continued to observe his handsome face which and how focused he was on his work.
'Just a one day and I already missed him like I haven't seen him for ages. How much I look at him, can never be enough.'
"If you continue to look at me like this My Queen, I might think you want me to accompany you in the bed." She heard Drayce who was busy working but knew she was looking at him without glancing at her even once.
His unexpected response startled her but she got back to her senses and asked calmly, "Will you, Your Majesty?"
Drayce's hands that were holding a parchment, froze and he looked at her in surprise. He didn't expect his wife to flirt back with him. He wonder if she even knew that she was flirting with him.
He put the parchment down and stood up to go to his wife who continued to look at him boldly. He sat at the edge of the bed as he looked at her veil-covered face which was beautiful to him even if he could not see her face entirely.
"Are you flirting with me, My Queen?"