Living with an unexpected guest was a little harder than Amaryllis expected. She had only gathered enough food for one person, herself, and she had a small appetite on top of that.

Evan, on the other hand, ate almost twice as much as her. Therefore, her food supplies were running out faster than she expected.

She wished she had some meat on hand, as it would be better for Evan’s recovery, but she wasn’t very skilled at hunting and there wasn’t a way to preserve meat in the cottage. She would have to buy it in the nearest town market, which was still miles away. She thought about killing her horse and eating it, but no, she still needed it for her ride back. Also, the horse wasn’t hers, it was borrowed from someone else at the nursing camp and she didn’t want to kill someone’s precious companion either.

The only source of food she had was what she could find in the meadow, as well as Livia’s overgrown garden, which Amaryllis had managed to wrestle back under control.

As she eventually became less and less wary of Evan, she became appreciative of the fact that she wasn’t alone anymore, and that she had a companion who didn’t know her true identity. Also, taking care of someone makes her feel more useful and gives her something to focus on aside from the war.

What an unlikely friendship between a princess and a soldier from two warring kingdoms. Amaryllis fought the urge to laugh at the thought.

She hadn’t noticed that his eyes were jeweled when they first made eye contact. Would she have been more motivated to help him if she had? It wasn’t until he woke up that she finally got a good look at him in the sunlight, and that’s when she noticed that his eyes were the color of a clear, cloudless sky and sparkled like polished crystals.

She had never met another person with a god’s blessing before in her life, excluding the oracle, so it made her curious about him as well. Is that why she divulged what her ability was to him? Because they were alike in a way no one else was?

The more surprising thing was that he didn’t seem concerned or upset about her power. Most people she mentioned it to before felt uncomfortable and perceived it as an invasion of their privacy. Yet, Evan had embraced it easily, as if he had nothing to hide or be ashamed of. Not only that, he seemed impressed by it.

Despite the unexpected turn of events, Amaryllis still had a great time at the cottage. Since he was still bedridden and immobilized, Evan couldn’t move very much, but he would read some of Livia’s books that were kept in the cottage while Amaryllis did her chores, like cooking or maintaining the cottage. If they got bored of books, one of them would share fun stories from their childhood, both careful to omit details that would give away their identities. 

She could sense that Evan was curious about why she kept the bottom part of her face covered, but he didn’t ask. She was grateful to him for respecting her boundary. Maybe he thought she was hiding a hideous scar?

It was quite the opposite. Amaryllis had been hiding her face with a veil in public and in court for years, ever since she realized her beauty caused a stir everywhere she went. Luckily, it was easier to get away with it as a nurse since they were encouraged to keep their face covered in case they breathe in some airborne diseases.

Funnily, having her face covered with a veil unexpectedly sparked a fashion trend in her home kingdom. Now, it was common for noblewoman in Etheria to cover their face with a veil for modesty and to protect their skin from the sun.

She wondered what Evan planned to do when he was healthy enough again. Would he bid her thank you and farewell? Or would he sneak out like a rat, too grateful to her to kill her, but too ashamed of being treated by an enemy nurse to thank her.

The latter idea occurred to her again one day when she came back to the cottage after a whole morning of foraging, only to find the cottage empty.

Evan was gone.

Disappointed but not surprised, Amaryllis set her basket of vegetation on the table as she surveyed the cottage to see if Evan had taken anything with him.

He hadn’t. 

Is he crazy? If he was going to flee back to his kingdom, he should at least stock up on some food so he doesn’t starve on his way back. Or is he too chivalrous to rob her of her last remaining food supplies?

The bed was made, surprisingly. She hadn’t even realized he was strong enough to get out of bed. It had only been three days since he woke up. An ordinary person would have taken much longer before they could walk, especially after being battered by earth and water to the extent that he was.

With a soft sigh, Amaryllis finally took off her face covering and sat down on a chair to rest. At least she can have the bed back. Evan had protested when he realized he was using the only bed in the house, but since he was a patient, Amaryllis refused to let him give up the bed. Even though Livia and her brother lived there in the cottage together when they were younger, they could only afford one bed and Livia’s brother must have slept in a cot. The cot had been long gone, either taken by one of the siblings or discarded after being worn out.

Amaryllis couldn’t help but smile at the memory of Evan insisting that she take the bed back. When she jokingly suggested that they share the bed together, he turned so red that she thought he was going to faint again.

“He really is a gentleman,” she murmured softly to herself. “Good luck, Evan.”

Now that he’ve left, it’s best she forget about him and move on.

She got up and started preparing dinner with the vegetation she gathered from foraging earlier. She was about to start chopping the vegetables with her kitchen knife, but was dismayed to find it missing.

“Is Evan crazy? He left with only a kitchen knife? I still need that.” She grumbled to herself.

Annoyed, Amaryllis took out Evan’s dagger, the one he used to kill the water snake, and started chopping the vegetable with it. She had retrieved the dagger some time after she dragged Evan to the cottage, but was hesitant to return it to him because she was still partially convinced that he might turn on her. She still had her own self-defense knife with her, but she didn’t want to dull the blade by using it on chopping vegetables. She was so focused on chopping the vegetables that she almost missed it when the cottage door opened unexpectedly.

With a yelp, Amaryllis whipped Evan’s dagger at the newcomer. Who was it? The cottage was located pretty remotely, so there wasn’t anyone nearby for miles and miles.

“Guess what? I caught something for dinner!” A jovial voice came through the doorway as a familiar, tall figure stepped into the cottage.

Amaryllis’s jaw dropped. “Evan?”

Evan was carrying a dead rabbit by the ears in one hand and a bouquet of pink flowers in another, with her kitchen knife strapped to his belt.

“I can finally move my arm again, so I thought I’ll surprise you…” Evan’s voice trailed off as he realized Amaryllis’s face was uncovered for the first time. Well, second time, but he was half-conscious when they first met and he most likely forgotten about it. “Are you alright?” he asked in a lower voice, one full of concern.

Amaryllis realized that she was covering the lower half of her face with her hand in reflex. “I— You’re back?”

“You thought I was leaving for good without a word? I wouldn’t do something like that.”

Yes, that was exactly what she thought, but she felt too embarrassed to admit it. So, instead, she chided him, “You shouldn’t be moving around so soon! You’re not well enough yet!”

Evan only grinned in response to her concerns. “No worry, I feel right as rain, and I’m tired of being cooped up in bed. Also, weren’t you running low on food?”

He noticed? Amaryllis was careful to hide that so she wouldn’t worry him, but not only did he notice, he also went out of his way to fix it.

She felt touched at his considerate actions. She hadn’t noticed how hurt she felt at his absence until it disappeared at the sight of his return.

He was also taller than she expected. He had been lying down all this time, so she didn’t realize how tall he was until he stood up. He has to be about a good foot taller than her.

She suddenly noticed the bouquet of flowers again. They were pink amaryllis flowers.

Evan seemed to notice her staring and offered it to her bashfully. “I- uh, got distracted by these pretty lilies growing nearby, so I thought I would pick some for you.”

She could only stare in silence for a moment. In that brief moment, she thought about how ironic it was that he gave her the very flowers she was named after. She couldn’t help but start wondering whether he realized her secret, but she could tell from his emotions that he had no malicious intent. He even called the flowers by the wrong name. She was just overthinking again.

A smile broke onto her face as she took it. “They’re amaryllises, but thank you, Evan.”

Evan frowned as he stared down at the bouquet again. “I’m pretty sure they’re lilies. Maybe it’s called by a different name here?”

Amaryllis rolled her eyes and laughed. “They look similar to lilies, but aren’t considered true lilies. I would know, since they’re my favorite flowers.”

She also noticed that Evan took care not to get the rabbit’s blood on the flowers. She glanced back at the dead rabbit he was still holding.

“I… I’m not good at preparing whole animals.” Amaryllis admitted. On top of that, she didn’t like touching freshly killed animals because she would inevitably start feeling guilty for its loss of life.

“No worry.” Evan waved her off. “I know how to prepare it. Let me cook for you today since you’re always cooking for me.”

He hoisted the rabbit onto the kitchen table and unstrapped the kitchen knife from his belt.

Amaryllis’s eyes narrowed as she finally addressed the kitchen knife. “Is that my kitchen knife? You’re not supposed to kill rabbits with those! Not only is that thing blunt from constant use, it also rusts easily because it’s made of iron!”

“My bad.” Evan looked a bit embarrassed. “I didn’t have anything else to use.”

Amaryllis sighed. “Here.” She finally handed over his dagger.

He glanced at his dagger sitting on the palm of her hand. “You’ve been using my dagger to cut carrots and onions?”

She glared at him. “It’s because someone stole the kitchen knife.”

She half expected him to get mad or apologize again, but to her surprise, he bursted out laughing. “I can’t believe you used that thing to cut vegetables!”

Her glare melted to a frown as she stared down at the dagger. It was a finely crafted weapon with good weight and sharpness, and it had a familiar crest on the pommel. It was also made of steel, most likely forged in Cartia, the metalworking kingdom. Was he mad that she used something so precious to cut carrots and onions?

No, his mirth was genuine. He seemed truly amused.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

Evan wiped away a tear. “It’s just nice to see a war weapon being used for something productive instead of something destructive.”

Amaryllis flinched as she realized something. “Am I cutting carrots and onions with a weapon that has taken human lives?”

“No, don’t worry about that. I just keep it on me in case of emergency, but I have never used it to kill a person before. Although, I bet the blacksmith who made it in Cartia would have a riot if he knew what you’ve been using it for.”

At that, Amaryllis cracked a faint smile. “All right then. Why don’t you use this to skin the rabbit instead since it’s sharper? But before you do that, wash the kitchen knife so I can finish cutting my vegetables. And fill this vase with water so I can use it for the amaryllises.”

When Evan came back with a clean knife and the vase filled with water, she placed the bouquet in it, then went back to finish cutting the vegetables. Dinner that night was delicious.

Now that Evan was more mobile, their sleeping arrangements had switched. Amaryllis got to keep the bed now while Evan sleeps on a blanket on the floor. They hung up a length of cloth between the two of them for privacy. They took turns cooking, usually Evan when it comes to meat and Amaryllis when it comes to vegetables. With Evan hunting regularly, she no longer had to worry about food supplies running out.

But something felt different. Somehow, when Evan came back to her that day, something had changed. Was it her perception of him? She could see the traces of his presence around the cottage more and more: new flowers in vases every day, the furniture neatly arranged, dishes done when she wasn’t looking. And of course, the addition of meat to their meals.

Amaryllis had also stopped wearing her face covering. It was useless now as Evan had already seen her face, but he didn’t change the way he treated her, something she highly appreciated. 

Sometimes, when their hands brushed together or when their eyes met, it lingered for far too long to be normal. Then, one of them would clear their throat and look away. And later, they would pretend nothing happened. She would pretend not to notice the growing seed of a forbidden attraction between them.

It would be a lie if she said she didn’t want things to remain like this forever.

However, a week later, a letter came to her from Livia.