38. shock(?)
Yuki bit her lips a bit harder, it started bleeding as the pain made it easy for her to concentrate on him, before this, she had used a very small amount to control his riling emotions, this time, she had to used a larger amount to mend his core and then put a barrier over it to stop the overflow and also so that, it wouldn't be affected by the same forces anymore before calming the violent waves altogether... though the theory was quite easy, she already had cold sweat from this much and her own body was trembling, she had definitely gone over her own limits, the moment she was done with him, she lightly pushed the now calm Aki to the side and coughed out blood, she could feel some vessels inside her bursting, but she had to help the prince as well, not for anything else, but simply because he was a 'child' she could still save.
She was not throwing her life for him, she still knew her limits, but if she used that as an excuse to not save him, she probably won't have a good night sleep... in a way, even though her life as the very first and strongest line of defence of her Empire had finished and she had given her previous life for the same cause, it seems, the blood and deep-rooted ideals of a former soldier hadn't changed... saving life had become second nature to her... but she was aware, it wasn't always possible.
Her coughing feat increased and she felt dizzy enough to see black, the only good outcome was Aki was fine.
Aki was very scared from the moment the prince lost his control, it wasn't instinct per say, but simply fear of something colossal that could make the reason for his existence vanish, that denied his core, but when his Onee-chan saved him and he relaxed enough to get a good idea about the surrounding, he didn't know why, but before he could give a look to his Onee-chan, he was ambushed by the suffocating emotions from a source, well, in the end, the prince was losing control over his emotions resulting in this storm and Aki was growing up as an Omega, who are inherently sensitive to the changes in these emotions that lead to magic turmoil and storms so, now with Yuki having created a barricade to protect him from the magic, he was forced to feel the raw painful and depressing emotions from the prince in bulk...
He was suffering so much, Aki could feel it and his eyes misted from the suffering of the prince.
He didn't like this... the crown prince to him was still a good brother, a while ago, he was agitated just because he was trying to deny his Onee-chan, but he knew that he was really a good person and if possible, he will also apologise to him.
He called for him, "Onii-chan?", his voice a bit pitiful... but that person didn't reply, he looked to be suffering, it was then that Aki remembered, he still had Onee-chan with him, she can do anything!!
With a wishful look, he turned to the side to tell his Onee-chan to save him, but his heart almost stopped beating the moment he saw her, as his entire existence stiffened, he wanted to negate the reality of what he saw;
Yuki was a proper lady, she may hate all those pesky etiquettes, but it was rooted deep in her soul and she couldn't change it.
Aki was used to seeing her like that, always shining, always calm and always strong, it was like she had everything under her control, to him, she was the epitome of everything, she was perfect--
But his Onee-chan now looked haggard, her small face looked pale, her prim and proper hair was in mess and there was blood everywhere... her eyes that looked like they held the whole of Universe, were a bit dim and hazy...
"Onee-chan!!!!", he cried as he jumped to her side, by now he would have lost control, but Yuki had used her own force to bind them so, he was still able to think clearly, but the reflexive tears didn't stop, he knew he shouldn't cry... his Onee-chan looked to be in pain, him crying will make her worry more, but he couldn't stop them no matter what...
"Onee-chan... wuwuw... what happened?... wuwu... Onee-chan, Aki will do everything... Onee-chan..?", he was a simple child and at the moment, he was totally helpless, he wanted to call for someone, but he didn't want to live his Onee-chan alone, he saw his Onee-chan used the hem of her sleeves to clean the blood and trying to give her a smile...
The suffocating and helpless feelings corroded his gentle heart, he was afraid again, afraid to be useless and only burden his Onee-chan... he didn't want to be like this...
But what can he do?
Yuki was trying hard to control her breathing and body, but the strain was harder than she expected, the repercussion was too severe for the body of this child to bear.
Still, when he saw Aki like this, she knew she had to get over this, this child will be traumatised and scarred, she was glad that she had made a barrier to protect his magic core after repairing it....
Yuki spoke with all her strength, "Aki, don't cry! I'm fine. We have to stay strong, okay!"
As if to remind them of the situation they were in, the pure physical force broke through Yuki's mental barrier that she had created earlier, in a way, Yuki had used too much of her powers today and hence, that thing had become flimsy and broke..
This time, it was Yuki's turn to feel those violent waves head-on, before this, she still had a stable core to negate everything, but now, she was very weak and susceptible to outside force... this was going the wrong way.
But just then a miracle of sort happened, Aki who was supposed to be in a state of recovery and by law, should not be able to use his powers very well, as if, this wave triggered his hidden core... a gentle light covered their bodies.
Yuki, who couldn't discard the use of her eyes strengthened by her mental force to keep track of the prince's condition, felt it immediately!