Cocoon of Warmth

"Aaliyah,"

No one has ever called her name in a way that made her feel so...much. She couldn't find the words to describe how she was feeling, but one thing she knew was that it was a giddy and cheerful feeling that was spreading up her chest just by hearing how her name fell off his lips.

It took a lot of deep breaths to tear her eyes off him. Regardless of whether he had been out here waiting for her or not, it didn't change anything between them. He was a cruel man, and she had nothing to say to him.

Alastair silently watched her limping as she dragged herself closer to him. She had just walked out through the wall of thorns on her own, suffering from severe injuries that should have rendered her dead a long time ago.

Her hair was dirty and disheveled. Her skin was covered in dirt, deep cuts, and bruises that could have been caused by many things, and she looked like she was baring holding on to consciousness.

This was disbelieving. Even though Theodore had predicted that there was a slim chance she would make it out alive, it was still hard to believe that a human like her could have achieved such.

Alastair never saw her as anything special, but there was too much proof on ground that kept proving him otherwise.

Why her? Why and how the hell did she survive the hollow forest? Something no one else has ever stepped out from alive.

From a distance, Aaliyah sighted the city. Although it was too far for her to tell whether it was the same one she and Yuan had found themselves, she had no choice but to go and seek help.

As she walked past Alastair, she forced herself to continue ignoring him the same way he wasn't moving to lend her a helping hand. Even in this state of near-death, she was in, she couldn't believe he was standing there like a statue...and that look of disbelief she had seen shimmering in his eyes a while ago had disappeared...replaced with the normal stagnant hard gaze.

She sighed under her breath, reminding herself not to expect anything from such a man like him. She just had to focus on getting to the city alive, and luckily find someone to help her.

There was a swift intake of breath, and strong hands wrapped around her legs and waist, pulling her into a cocoon of warmth that had the most ethereal scent she's ever been graced to perceive.

Aaliyah gasped and looked up to see herself in her husband's eyes, his eyes staring forward. Her heart almost exploded.

"What is this?" She asked in bewilderment, "What are you doing?"

"You can relax now. I'll take care of you,"

Okay. She was almost convinced that this person was still the voice because how on earth could this person be the same Alastair she knew that didn't care one bit about her existence?

"Are you mental?" Her voice was weak, almost a whisper.

He didn't reply and started to walk. Unable to take it anymore, she started to wriggle out of his arms so he would eventually let her go, but he only tightened his grip even more and pressed her more into his arms. She inhaled more of his scent, and her body automatically relaxed and breathed in more like she couldn't survive without it.

Her muscles were already aching badly, and as much as she wanted to be out of his hold...she had to accept his help for now. If not, she might not be able to make it back to the city on her own and might end up fainting on the way.

The thought of becoming unconscious had her eyes slipping close, and the last thing she saw was his soft glance on her face. Yes, she was very sure he had looked down at her this time.

It made her feel...pleased.

.

.

.

Kekoa had locked up the both of them in the dungeon underneath the mansion where other wrongdoers had also been kept for as long as they should. She had made sure their dungeons were apart from each other and left without a backward glance.

Oliver and Reine had done that to Aaliyah simply because she was Alastair's wife. This means there are many more out there who wanted Aaliyah dead, and would risk everything to make that come true. That was why the wedding had been half-planned and rushed like hell to keep them from knowing, but of course, they had eventually figured it out.

Oliver and Reine would be kept in those cells for as long as she pleased, and they would pay dearly for their crimes every day till she finally sentenced them. That is what they get for touching something that belongs to Alastair.

Even with all these, Kekoa was only being merciful to them.

If left to Theodore or Alastair himself, they would be barely hanging on to life by now.

Just as Kekoa stepped back into the rooms, she sighted Yuan perched in a corner with regret and sorrow written on her face. She had heard that Aaliyah was thrown into the hollow, and had become like that ever since.

"At least she made it this far," Kekoa said to Yuan as she lit up a cigarette, "You always cry whenever they die," Kekoa added and sucked in some smoke, puffing it back out the side of her mouth.

"I failed to keep her safe," Yuan mumbled, eyes red.

"And there's that too," Kekoa acknowledged, puffing out another heavy smoke through her nose, "Wait, how did you guys even arrive here in the first place? We left you at the mansion, didn't we?"

Yuan's mind wandered to what had happened right before they saw themselves here at Olympia and the strange glowing rock that had weakened her. Just as she opened her mouth to tell Kekoa about it, the door opened and Theodore walked in.

"I'm guessing we have to find another girl, huh?" Kekoa asked.

"Do we?" He retorted.

"Don't we?"

"Why should we?"

God, Kekoa hated it whenever he started to answer a question with a question. And whenever he does that, it means something is up. That was something she had grown to understand about it from all the years they'd been together.

"What Happened?" She pulled the cigarette out of her mouth.

"The Girl happened," Theodore replied.

"You mean Aaliyah?"

"Yes,"

The Cigarette slipped off Kekoa's hand, and Yuan's lowered eyes grew wide. A silence which only descended because of the mind-blowing news had both women dumbstruck, unable to think straight.

Aaliyah...was Alive?!

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