“Calm down. You’re going to overexert yourself,” Epsilon held her shoulders and laid her back.

“I so wanna grab these pillows and make your face the foundation of a pillow fortress…” She hissed.

“You really have one of the most stupidest imagination for getting your way, don’t you?”

“If it pleases you.”

“It doesn’t.”

“Then my work here is done.”

Epsilon rolled his eyes. He plucked a yellow rose from the bouquet hanging above her head and brought it down to her.

“These are from your father. He’s brought fresh ones every morning and every evening.”

“Papa…?”

“He really does treasure you. It’s disturbing.”

“Don’t be jealous.”

“Okay, I’m sorta jealous.”

She looked at him then, resting her head back on a pillow, “So…why didn’t you do anything?”

“Do what?” The man plucked a star lily for himself.

“Help me. Surely, with your skills, you could have easily gotten rid of whatever what was going on.”

“No, I couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

“Firstly, I didn’t have permission. In order or me to do anything, I need to have some sort of permission to do any kind of work,” He confessed.

“You’re confusing me.”

“A sign that you need more rest.”

“No, I think I’m good enough to hear more of your excuses.”

“Why do you have to be so bad at this?”

“I’m not bad; I’m a bad ass.”

“Har har,” Epsilon shook his head, “I was blocked out. I couldn’t find a way in.”

“Are you talking about getting permission from the Church?”

“No. I could have projected into your mind to calm it down and see what the problem was, but I couldn’t do it.”

“You couldn’t do it,” She ran a hand through some of her strands.

“Only someone with god-level powers or at least ultra-affinity could block me like that.”

Ryunise glanced at him. Her fingers were caressing and turning the blossom in her fingers.

“I don’t have the answers yet. I have a bunch of reading that I’m doing to try and catch up all these centuries.”

“…centuries.”

“Yes. Centuries.”

“Okay, Crypt Keeper.”

“I have no idea what that means, but I distinctly have a feeling you just shaded me.”

“Oh, you know shade when it hits you in the ass, do you?”

“I may be centuries older than you think, but at least I have an ass.”

“Ooo, burn me so good long time, Captain Zinger,” She flatly spoke, “I’m not going to ask how or why, and I have a feeling you’re not going to tell me who you really are.”

“Damn straight, woman,” He winked at her with cock-and-loaded fingers.

“How long was I out then?”

“Only two days,” He replied, “But it wasn’t easy. When you came back to life, you still needed a blood transfusion. Even with additional Miracles being casted to bolster Auggie’s, you still ran a high risk of dying just the same.”

“So, what happened?”

“Matching blood types, for one, obviously always takes time. But you had to get tested first. There was so much of your blood for sampling around the room to fill a bathtub, but the problem was your affliction. Your blood was more ink and tissue than something viable for testing. Your blood vessels had collapsed in your extremities, and any extraction from other places could have led to excessive bleeding and organ failure.”

“But at 40% loss, there was already organ and brain damage.”

“Very good. Your heart could barely maintain adequate pumping power to keep your inner core alive, let alone afford to carry precious oxygen to the rest of you,” He nodded.

“When they did manage to get something to test with, Miracles could only go so far to keep your body from shutting down one organ at a time. Your brain most of all was a severe priority. A doctor among the Oracles instructed that Silphyre boy to massage your heart.”

“Chest compressions?” She asked.

“Yup. Chest compressions. Miracles could maintain your oxygen levels, but they didn’t have the power to force your blood to move. Your lungs were also being backed up with waste, and would begin necrosis. Blood clots were building up in your blood vessels too.”

“So, Marquis began pumping…”

“He was a smart learner. He didn’t have to be told to sync the compressions with his own heart…” He drifted a bit, “…then came the next part. No one matched your blood in their data, not even your own father. It seemed yours just had to be different.”

“That sounds like a recessive trait.”

“Recessive?” He blinked once.

“Everyone carries the potential gold mine for all blood types. If certain types are more common in a person’s family, and they had a child whose family also had the same chances for certain types, the possibilities are very high that the child would have completely different blood make up.”

Epsilon pondered, a hand under his chin in deep thought. It seemed sound and plausible, he thought. That bears further study. He could ask her for more, but not now.

“I see. Well, you had no match. Junior angel offered his blood to be tested after overhearing the Oracles talking. But unfortunately, he was no match.”

“But I’m alive, so that must mean…”

“Bingo,” Epsilon said, “That left His Highness.”

Ryunise stopped at that. She blinked once, “Highness?”

“What? You didn’t know?”

“Why would I be asking if I knew, moron?”

“His Highness is Highness Vincennt Genesis Regina Rakoul, moron,” Epsilon simply repaid in stoic kindness.

Her mouth slightly was ajar, eyes wide at him and frozen. Then she came back to life with a quick blink, “…His Highness…”

“His Highness Vincennt Genesis Regina Rakoul,” He said again, “Moron.”

“…the Third Prince of the royal family?” Ryunise didn’t care if she was visibly gawking now, but was so glad to be laying on the bed, “You lie.”

“Seriously. Who the hell gave you your mouth? Yes, the Third Prince. And no, I don’t lie.”

“…Vin is the Third Prince. That disrespectful, rude kibble?!”

“What in Goddess’ good graces above and below is a ‘kibble?’” Epsilon made a face, or at least with his visible eyes.

“N-never mind,” She tried to recover, “You’re not telling me right now that his blood was a match?”

“Is this another rhetorical question? I think you need to go back to bed. You’re in the dumb right now.”

“Oh yeah? You gonna tuck me in and read me a bed time story?” Ryunise shot back.

“Sure. Once upon a time, there was a ten-year-old brat who was in the dumb and needed saving like a prissy princess. Then she woke up, declared her undying love-love for the great Epsilon, and rode off into the sunset on a pink single horn.”

“I swear to God, I will kick you so hard it’ll make your age rotate backwards as fast as it can to stab your creative ideas to death.”

Epsilon smirked, “Yes, little girl. You have royal blood in your veins now.”

She laid back, completely stunned, and speechless. Vin was not only royalty, but the third in line for the throne of Rakoul. She vaguely remembered all that she said to him, how she acted, the words, the condescending, the sass and spicy sarcasm. Even questioning whether or not if he could read! No, no, no, this can’t be happening. She didn’t offend a royal! Ryunise pressed her hands over face and muffled a high noise.

“Wow. You really didn’t know?” Epsilon peeked closer at her, “Well, it’s not like his face is overly populated to the public. He’s generally supposed to be incognito.”

“That’s not…!”

“Ohh, you’re squirming like a worm because of the crap you spouted earlier in the halls,” He snorted at her staring at him, “Yeah. I heard everything. The Prince is right: you talk a lot.”

Ryunise groaned and covered her face again. Just sink, just sink, drown in the bed. Become one with the bed, and maybe the ground will open up to swallow you whole and take you down to the center of the molten and solid core, and THEN maybe revisit all of this!

“Serious? That’s all it takes to shut you up? Your pride?”

She couldn’t even muster a groan.

“Wow. One point for ol’ Epsilon,” He scoffed, “Hey. Little lady.”

“What…” She muffled under her hands, “I didn’t subscribe to more gloating…”

“That’s not it. Look at me.”

The girl sighed. She put her hands down and looked at him. Epsilon met her gaze with his. The play and competition had disappeared, revealing a more somber, melancholy of a man. It felt to her then, for a brief moment, it was as if the wisdom and chains of the world and sky sat upon the shoulders of his one being. The power, the responsibility, it was crushingly awe-conjuring, and yet forlorn all the same.

“Epsilon…?”

“It’s fine,” He seemed to know what moved in her mind, “Don’t worry.”

He bit the finger tip of his white glove and pulled it off with his teeth. His hand reached out and smoothed her hair back from her face. He looked at her eyes; so very green, so very clear, and alive. She was alive.

“Rest those eyes…I’ll be here watching over you,” He said, then snickered, “And maybe take notes of your stupid sleeping faces. Maybe you’ll drool this time?”

“Screw you.”

Ryunise’s mind dipped, and her eyes drooped. Before she could wonder how tired she actually was, sleep like an old friend embraced her. Her hand loosened around the flower, relaxed like the rest of her small body. A few birds sung in the trees to speak of the afternoon hours. Another wind and silver leaves tumbled around the skirts of the bed.

Epsilon, true to his word, watched over her. His hand curled and pulled back. A dark expression drifted into his eyes. He wasn’t expecting any of this. It was way too much, way too soon, and way too little time to figure it all out. She had died. That wasn’t the plan.

He looked up. Another man was in the room. It was Principal August Haviomist, and his eyes were too wide in his face at seeing Epsilon. But the man in white simply just lifted a finger in front of his mouth, shushed slowly, and then there was silence.