Her steps were light, but she was not alone, as he walked ahead of her in complete calm… tall, broad-shouldered, his head held high with a strange confidence despite his eyes being covered with a piece of black cloth.
Arwa (inwardly, with a faint smile):
"Really… for a moment, he looked like Kyle… the same calm steps, and the same confusing aura. Did you inherit charisma with the milk?"
Arwa (in a low voice, walking behind him):
– Your Highness… how do you know the way when you can't see anything?
He paused for a moment, then gently ran his fingers over one of the stones on the side of the path, as if greeting an old friend.
Raftyan (in a low, confident voice):
– I know it by heart… every stone here is like a brother to me… and I touch their features with my fingers, just as I'm doing now.
Arwa (with curiosity and a small smile):
– And can you distinguish people too…
Raftyan (confidently):
– I can recognize your form with just one touch, if you allow me.
Arwa (with surprise and a light laugh):
– Haha! How would you know? That's cheating! We're not playing "Who Am I?" here.
Raftyan:
– Just keep talking… your voice leads me to you.
Arwa (hesitant):
– What should I talk about? I don't know what to say when I'm asked to speak.
He approached her with a grace unfitting for his large build; his steps were precise, like a ballet dancer's. The distance between them shrank without her realizing it.
Arwa (thinking, inwardly):
"Why is he so tall? What does he eat? Is this the effect of palace fertilizer?"
Raftyan (with mysterious calm):
– May I describe you? Just by feeling…
Arwa (embarrassed):
– H-huh… me? I don't look that interesting, really.
Raftyan (with a small smile):
– Just say "yes" or "no."
Arwa (with a small sigh):
– Alright…
He reached out his hand, didn't ask again, just acted. His fingers weren't hesitant, but careful, as if reading a story written on her body.
He ran his fingers slowly through her hair, smiling as if touching the edge of a silky cloud.
Raftyan (in a calm voice):
– Soft… like the fur of a small polar bear… no, warmer than that.
Arwa (smiled despite herself):
– Yes… your description is oddly accurate.
He continued with a gentle touch at her eyebrows, then her eyes.
Raftyan (with confident voice):
– Almond-shaped eyes… wide… with a calmness like sea breeze when the waves sleep… and long lashes… I wonder, how many hearts have fallen into them?
Arwa (with a shy smile):
– I don't know… but… yes, my eye color really matches your description.
She expected him to stop there, but he didn't. He ran his finger along her cheek, then gently lowered it toward her lips. Her breath stopped.
Raftyan (in a very low voice, almost whispering to himself):
– Soft… like two buns untouched by cold.
The air froze.
Arwa (thinking, stunned):
"What is happening? What is this strange moment?! Am I in a scene from a romance novel?!"
She stepped back.
Arwa (in a tense, low voice):
– I… I think we've crossed the line a little…
Raftyan (didn't move his hand):
– Your silence means something… but I don't know if it's good or bad.
Arwa:
– I want to go back, Your Highness… I feel the situation has become… strange.
She stepped away from him, step by step, in a silence that didn't suit her. Her face grew more serious. The oddity that surrounded her since the beginning of the conversation turned into undeniable discomfort.
Arwa (in a formal voice):
– Thank you for guiding me to this point… I'll return from here.
Raftyan (calmly, without turning):
– You discovered your path only because I led you to it… don't you think I also need someone to guide me, even if I know all the ways?
She didn't answer. Her steps faded away.
Raftyan (in a voice barely a whisper):
– Have your feelings toward me changed… just because you lost your memory?
She walked away, but she wasn't sure whether she was walking away from him… or from herself.
Raftyan (with a faint smile):
– Oh Arwa… what I've hidden wasn't only my eyes.
On the way back…
Arwa (talking to herself):
– What was that? I… I can still feel the touch of his finger on my face… what kind of madness is this?
Kyle's voice from behind, suddenly appears:
– Arwa… your face is red, did something happen to you?
Arwa (startled):
– Kyle! Nothing… absolutely nothing.
Kyle (investigating):
– You were with Raftyan, weren't you?
Arwa (stammering):
– Yes… he guided me on the path… nothing more.
Kyle (raises an eyebrow):
– Your face says: "more."
Arwa (sharply):
– What are you saying! Nothing happened… literally!
Kyle:
– Don't play around beside me, understood?
Arwa (embarrassed):
Yes, understood!
Kyle, with strange looks as he walks toward the door calmly:
Arwa, we'll meet in my father's room.
Arwa: Yes, I'll be there.
---
In a parallel scene… inside a dark room
Raftyan (whispers in the dark):
– I recognized her… from her voice, from the trembling of her breath… even before I touched her.
Servant (steps forward lightly):
– Shall we proceed with what you ordered, sir?
Raftyan (with a mysterious smile):
– No… not yet. Let's see if she remembers me, or if she truly lost her memory.