17 At least, tell me your name

Whatever they said about your last moments. It wasn't true at all.

There were no flashbacks, no pictures running through my head and no reliving the past once more. Wait, maybe that was because I am living another person's history already? Or perhaps because my mind went awol just now so that I can't even think about those things anymore.

I just felt the tension in my body rising and my heart skipping a beat. When I could feel gravity gripping and dragging me down, I shut my eyes tightly out of fear. Just then, I felt a strong pull followed by a pair of arms wrapping around my body, containing me in a firm embrace. Blood rushed to my ears, but it wasn't because of the masculine scent wafting into my nose. I was just scared to death at that moment, trying to cling onto that foreign body that came to my rescue. It was better to be an indecent lady than be a proper dead lady!

Honestly, I can't tell whether or not I was screaming at that moment, but when our bodies crashed to the ground, it felt like someone pressed all the air out of my lungs. No matter how hard that man tried to cushion our fall with his body, it still hurt like hell when we fell to the ground and started to roll a few times, sliding and skidding down a small slope. I could feel my bones hitting against each other and my intestines running loopholes. Ouch, ouch, ouch!

"Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Another one's voice was groaning next to my ear.

The first sense that I regained after this excruciating experience was my hearing, then my sense of smell.

Although he was barely hissing through his teeth, I could hear him loud and clear, because I lied on top of him. My throbbing head, still resting on his chest that rushed up and down to catch his breath, could hear his loud beating heartbeat. As stupidly cliched as it sounds, it reassured me that we were both still alive at that moment.

I slowly opened my eyelids to regain my sight. The last sense that came back to me was my sense of feel thought.

'He's so warm...'

My saviour, I guess I can call him that now, lied between me and the hard ground. His muscles were sturdy and firm. His body must have been stretched taut to cushion our fall because I could feel how tense he was. But even though his body was stiff, the hands that were holding me were warm.

When he seemed to come to his senses as well, I tried to separate myself from him. But as I tried to get up, his hands that were still holding me in his embrace suddenly pulled me down again.

"Wait..." he murmured. His voice was rough, almost like it was dragged over sandpaper.

"W...what?!"

"Are you unharmed?" He asked.

"I think so...?"

"If you're okay, then stay still until I've gathered myself together." His voice was bitter as if he was annoyed with himself.

"I can't feel my legs, and I don't know if there is any injury to my back. Let me regain some feelings first. I couldn't prepare for the fall properly."

He explained because my face betrayed all my uneasiness over his suggestion to stay like that. Good thing we were alone.

"How could one prepare for a fall properly?" I wondered.

"It's quite similar to how you decided that falling into the water would be better than falling on bare ground. That was a smart approach, by the way. Too bad it didn't work out in the end."

His praise made me blush, so I put down my head again. I couldn't face those dark eyes anymore. I always felt that there was a hint of laughter in those inky orbs that would shine like polished granite when the sunlight reached them. The jewels would glow, and a hint of red would radiate through.

"..."

After a moment I could feel his body vibrate ever so slightly - was he in pain? It didn't take long to find out that he was trying to suppress his laughter, though. Again, I looked up with scrunched up brows to meet those pair of eyes that were now clearly ridiculing me.

"You can get up now." He smiled.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked with worry. No matter what, he used his body to shield me, so I was still indebted to him.

"Yes," he chuckled "I can feel everything now." His emphasis somehow lied on 'everything'.

"...?"

!!!!!

With both hands pressing against his ribcage, I pushed my own body up from his' beneath, making him gasping for breath. His hands, which were still on my back and waist a second ago, were now innocently hold up into the air. With a painful expression, he made it look like I was the one who pounced on him, and he had no choice but to feel me up.

We both sat up in silence.

Now that I got a look at him from a safe distance, he had an annoyingly boyish side to him. He was good looking. But what stood out was the wild and carefree side that gave him a distinct sense of being a daredevil. With that roguishness attached, he stretched out his hand and plucked some leaves out of my hair. At some point during our fall, my hair had broken from the ponytail I had and fell freely now. I must look like a mess right now.

I said with a red face and a guilty conscience for the possibility of having troubled him: "Thank you."

"What for?"

"F... for saving me?"

"Oh, that. You're welcome."

I looked at him with suspicious eyes. But then I recognized that mischievous glint in those eyes watching me like a young eagle that mulled over his prey, not knowing if he should play with his food first.

'I've seen eyes like that...' I thought to myself, but the place and the occasion didn't give me time to think about that.

"I guess you owe me now." He explained, more jokingly than anything else.

But even though he was joking, to me, it was natural. He did save my life, and he didn't hesitate to put himself into danger while doing so. If not for him to use his own body, I don't know if I would be able to sit here and get ridiculed by him.

He didn't say anything else, so I didn't even know how severe his injuries might be, but he did hit the ground hard by what I could tell, and on top of that, he cushioned me on the entire way we rolled down the slope. We both had some cuts and bruises, and I guessed that those would become only more prominent with time.

"If there's anything that I could do..."

"Actually..."

Before he could say anything else, he turned his head upwards the slope where noises started to appear from afar. It took me a while to apprehend what he discovered. With some concentration, I could tell that the loudest person was Eric, who called for me frantically.

Suddenly recalling that the others must have been in a turmoil since I didn't come back, I stood up hastily, forgetting about what the other person wanted to say.

"They're are looking for me!" I exclaimed. "Let's go up first, lest they miss us."

The man nodded and followed my movements. He didn't say anything afterwards and supported me in silence. His hand naturally stretched out to me, and with decisiveness, he led me up the slope.

Back up, the first ones we met were our two horses.

Sina was right up the slope - the horse limped, but she seemed okay to me otherwise. I was afraid she broke her leg while tripping over the rock, but it seemed we both somehow survived this drama. I could tell that Sina was anxious but glad to see me again after we were separated. She was pacing restlessly up and down and stopped only when I got into her sight. What a well-trained horse! No wonder she was her Majesty's exclusive companion once before she had to retire.

His horse, on the other side, was mentally unobtrusive. It was a few metres away, grazing over a patch of grass as if nothing in the world was wrong. Noticing his dishevelled and bruised master coming closer, the black stallion didn't even stop eating for a second - it kept his leisure routine, only minding the man a slight glance.

"Ungrateful bastard." The stranger murmured and gave his horse a slight slap on the back. He sounded rather amused than angry.

With a swift action, the man got back on horseback.

"Your people are coming. I will be going then." He announced to my surprise.

"Wait! You should come with us and get your wounds examined!" I suggested, how could I let the person who saved my life get away like that?

"You think such a minor thing could hurt me?" He laughed haughtily.

I guess men are proud beings that didn't want to reveal the slightest weakness.

"Then, at least tell me your name!" I hurried to ask him. A gut feeling told me that if I don't ask now, I will never learn to know. And I might regret it for the rest of my life.

He hesitated before answering: "It's Xander."

"I will remember it! Everyone here calls me Daria, you will find me at Queen Qūin's manor. Please come by so I can properly thank you!"

He sized me up with a pondering gaze, then nodded and spurned his horse on. I wondered if it was okay for me to reveal that I was acquaintanced with the Queen while watching his silhouette leaving.

As fast as he came, he was gone.