The Hero's Forsaken Princess
Chapter 117: Their Story: First Encounter II

Chapter 117: Their Story: First Encounter II

[ FLASHBACK: First Encounter ]

Young Eve made Alaric lay on the ground. She tore her dress, using the cloth to wrap his wound.

Alaric’s body felt so heavy and weak. He could only listen to Eve’s footsteps. She was walking around the old stockroom as if she was searching for something.

"I found old blankets!" Eve’s elated voice echoed in the stockroom.

In a brief moment, she was sitting next to Alaric. She covered his body with the old blanket. Then she placed his head on her lap.

"You take a rest to regain your energy. I’ll be watching you." Eve’s soft voice soothed him.

He thought he was going to die. But this young girl started taking care of him.

"Are you cold?" Eve asked him when she saw Alaric clutching the blanket.

Alaric just shook his head.

"You can sleep now," she said. Eve gently stroked his hair and started singing.

Alaric felt like he was being compelled by her angelic voice. He managed to endure the pain and drifted off to sleep.

The young Eve stared at Alaric worriedly. ’He must be in pain. I feel sorry for him.’

The next morning, Alaric woke up at the sound of running footsteps outside. But his entire body was in so much pain. His eyes were still swollen. The stockroom was so quiet.

’Where is she? Is she still here?’ Alaric asked himself as he tried to sit up. However, he couldn’t lift his body because of soreness and numbness.

His feeling had gotten worse when his stomach started to grumble. He was hungry and hadn’t eaten anything yet since yesterday.

In a brief moment, the stockroom’s door was pushed open and Eve emerged from it. Alaric turned in the direction of the sound and was surprised to see Eve. He couldn’t see her clearly because his vision was still blurry.

But he could see her small figure running to him with her hands holding some things.

"You are awake!" Eve’s cheerful voice was heard.

She put down some stuff on the ground as she assisted him to sit up. She made him lean on the old cabinet.

"Drink this!" Eve gave him a small wooden water flask.

Alaric drank the water to quench his thirst, finishing it in just a few gulps.

Then Eve handed him some bread. Alaric quickly took a bite, munching on the bread.

Eve softly giggled and said, "Slow down. You might choke."

"I brought a cold pack for your swollen eyes. Gently press it on your eyes to alleviate the swelling." She handed it to him.

Alaric bowed his head to thank her before accepting it. As he applied the cold pack on his face, Eve just watched him intently.

"I’m Eve. I’m living in the Lotus Pavilion." She introduced herself.

After successfully escaping from the locked stockroom, she returned to Lotus Pavilion to get some food and medicine for Alaric.

Meanwhile, Alaric was taken aback for a moment. At first, he thought she was the child of a young servant. However, she mentioned Lotus Pavilion. Was she a daughter of a high-ranking official or a noble?

’Thank you for taking care of me. I owe you my life.’ He thought to himself, eyeing her meaningfully.

Alaric wanted to say those words but he remained silent. He was too embarrassed to speak to her. What if she was indeed the daughter of a high-ranking official?

After finishing his bread, Alaric lifted his head to look at her. His vision became clear as though he was revitalized by the food he had eaten.

Alaric was stunned upon seeing her charming smile. But what attracted him the most was her emerald eyes. They were so beautiful. He could tell that she was younger than him.

’She must be a royalty. She is so adorable. Her eyes... her smile and her long silver-gray hair.’ Alaric couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her thick brows and freckles didn’t make her less charming at all.

Alaric attempted to stand but Eve stopped him.

"Don’t move around. You are still weak. Here, take this medicine. My mother made this herself. This can help you alleviate the pain."

Though she was too young, Eve talked like an adult. Alaric could only obey her, unable to refuse her.

"I can’t stay here for long. I have to go back to the pavilion." Eve stood up, bidding him farewell.

Alaric felt a little bit disappointed since Eve was leaving him again. He still couldn’t walk so he couldn’t return to the training ground.

He wondered if General Artemis had noticed his absence today. Would the general think he left the palace without permission?

"I’ll go back and ask for help. You must be treated so that you can recover quickly. Forgive me. I want to bring you to Lotus Pavilion but I can’t carry you alone."

Alaric nodded in response. "I’ll wait for you."

Eve smiled at him one last time before disappearing from his sight. She was in a hurry.

Alaric closed his eyes. He fell asleep once again. He didn’t know how long he remained asleep. He just woke up at the feeling of someone touching him.

’She’s back!’ Alaric thought to himself, peeling his eyes open.

He was surprised to see a beautiful woman tending to his wounds. She had the same emerald eyes and silver-gray hair as the young girl who took care of her.

’Is she her mother?’ Alaric looked around searching for his little savior. But to his disappointment, there was no sign of Eve.

"Child, why did you get hurt like this? Who are you? Are you a servant? What pavilion?" Esmeralda asked Alaric while cleaning his wound.

"I’m Alaric. I’m training here as a knight," Alaric politely spoke to her. He didn’t tell her that his fellow knights assaulted him and brought him into that stockroom.

Esmeralda fell silent as she watched Alaric. He was too young to become a knight. She felt sorry for him.

She sensed that Alaric didn’t want to talk about what happened to him so she didn’t ask him again.

"I’m done treating your wounds. I’ll tell someone to send you back to your barracks. They might be looking for you now."

"Thank you," Alaric replied.

Esmeralda just nodded before she stepped out of the stockroom momentarily. When she returned, two knights followed her from behind.

The two knights immediately brought Alaric back to the warrior’s barracks. He didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to Eve. That was his first encounter with her.

[ End of FLASHBOOK! ]

"So you were that boy! I can still remember you. But I forgot to ask your name. I was only seven years old." Eve said in her elated voice. She finally remembered her first encounter with Alaric.

Alaric nodded with a smile. "I was twelve when I met you."

"The woman who treated me... is she your biological mother? She has the same emerald eyes and silver-gray hair. She is so beautiful. You resemble her a lot," Alaric said, gently caressing her face.

Eve let out a soft giggle. "Yes. She’s my biological mother. Her name is Esmeralda. I learned medicine from her."

Alaric felt so glad that he had met Eve’s real mother. "She is so kind and smart just like you. Like mother like daughter."

"I miss her so much," Eve mumbled in her solemn voice.

Alaric pulled her into a hug. He could understand her longing for her biological mother. Eve had suffered a lot because of Queen Amara.

"But still... I can’t remember giving you this amulet. When did I give this to you?" Eve asked him curiously.

Alaric chuckled. "That is another timeline. Another story."

Eve nodded. She couldn’t wait to hear that story from him.

"I’ve never seen you after that first encounter. I didn’t know what happened to you after you were brought back to the barracks," Eve said in her sad tone.

"I stayed in the barracks for a month to recuperate. After I recovered, I wanted to see you and express my gratitude. However, I couldn’t leave the training ground," Alaric explained to her.

"Why didn’t you look for me?" Eve asked, staring at him intently.

Alaric chuckled huskily while pinching her nose.

"If you only knew what I did just to see you. During our break time, I snuck out of the training ground to visit you in the Lotus Pavilion. I climbed several walls and got caught by royal guards numerous times."

Eve gasped when she heard that. "I’m sorry. Did they punish you because of that?"

Alaric nodded with an awkward smile. He was embarrassed to recall those moments.

"At first, I just wanted to see you one last time to thank you. One day, I succeeded in sneaking into the Lotus Pavilion. I was supposed to show myself to you. However... I found out that you were the third princess."

"Because of that, I hesitated to approach you. I thought I didn’t qualify to talk to the third princess."