Jae-wun

I stood by Hiro's side as the doctors eventually backed off. I hoped that his selflessness wouldn't cost him his life. I recall something Queen Jiang once said.

If nothing works, Re Itsuwari will kill him. He'll get sent to an early grave…He must do all he can do.

I suppressed a groan of anxiety and watched as Yatsu's ear pricked up. I looked over at Hiro, almost expecting him to sit up and ask me how the weather was—

Hiro sat up gasping, I bolted to his side. Helping sit up properly. His eyes were wide, sweat beads rolling down the sides of his face. He looked at me widely and reached out to yank me closer to his face.

I watched him warily. "Hiro…are you okay?" I asked, hoping that would break him out of that…whatever it was.

His breathing was harsh and forced. He watched me for a few moments and then let go, lying back down gingerly. He mumbled deftly;

"I'm sorry."

I sighed and brushed his fringe out of his face, feeling his forehead. There were no traces of any fever. It must've broken not long ago.

I looked at him. "It's nothing."

He mumbled something in response but it was too low for me to hear. I sighed softly and looked up as the boy who accompanied the Russian princess walked into the room.

He was honestly gorgeous. But I knew he was there because she chose him, not because he tagged along. I watched as he leaned against the wall, his hair falling in his face, his doe eyes watching Hiro warily.

"How is he?" He asked, his Inglesh forced as his gaze travelled to my own.

I grimaced and pulled my hand back. "He is better," I said in Russian.

He stiffened in shock and then smiled. "That makes it easier, you could maybe translate for us." He raked his hand through his hair. "It's so hard to speak your language all the time."

I chuckled and nodded in understanding. "I can understand," I said, trying to sound as smooth as I could. I looked at him and my face returned to normal, wiped of humour. "Are you and the princess lovers?" I asked, I blushed as I realised how he must've interpreted that question.

"I—I'm sorry—I—"

He waved away my apologies and smiled softly. I realised then how tall he was. I grimaced and then smiled.

He sighed and looked at his hand. "I found her stuffed away from the palace on a farm. A few outsiders found out about her true identity and they kidnapped her." His face darkened. "I got there just in time, I was only nine at the time, and she was seven. I rescued her and looked after her. It was then she told me who she was and I told her would get her back to her home. Back then, I believed that she shouldn't be deprived of her parents." He looked at me and grinned. "Her palace was miles away, we spent eight years travelling through the forests. Scavenging from villages as we went—it was then we fell for each other.

"Then, once we finally arrived at the palace, we had long accepted each other. And it was only months after that the palace was attacked and…" He trailed off, casting his gaze back to Hiro.

"Anja told me that her mother spoke about Hiro, about how his abnormal power could save us from the King." His gaze wandered back to me.

I watched him, frowning slightly. "What is your name?"

He grinned and put his hand up to pull on the hair resting, loosely cut, on the back of his neck. He grinned. "Aleksei."

I grinned and held out my hand, he shook carefully, as he was afraid I would break. Under these circumstances, it didn't seem impossible. "Jae."

He smiled a typical dreamer's smile and looked back at the door. "She said she wanted to visit him as well, I wasn't sure if that was okay so I actually came to ask you." He said airily.

I frowned. "Of course," I said, changing back to Inglesh.

He bowed deeply and walked off. I sighed and I looked back down at Hiro, his face was screwed up, as if deep in thought. I honestly thought that he was too strong for his own good, he buried all his true feelings for others' sake. He never truly tried to accept himself as a person.

I tapped him lightly on the forehead. "Wake, Princess Anja will be here soon to talk—act like a fellow royal but yourself as well…" I sighed and stood up, walking out of the room quietly. He really was just a boy inside, who still hadn't grasped his purpose as a prince let alone a King. A human being with the power of a god-like disease.