Wang Jun had been watching from a distance.

Ara was spending her days running in and out of the temple, carrying people on her back as she rushed to help them. They knew that the Demons were fast approaching the final battle, if it could even be described as such, but they weren't exactly going to let anyone in their path live and so Jun took it upon himself to silently guard the area, sending back any Revenet reserves who got ahead of themselves.

If only she knew... she wouldn't be struggling like this, she wouldn't need to, because she would know how to get around the problem.

But it wasn't her fault.

And so Wang Jun made his way through the rainy plaza and into the temple, terrifying everyone who laid eyes on him. The temple smelled of dampness - the stench of blood and iodine hanging around in the air as the clergy ran around attending in turn to every sick patient who had been injured by the Demons or were too ill to leave. Jun knew they couldn't leave the country to get help even if they wanted to.

But he could.

No one cared about the Witches and truthfully, except for Ara, he didn't either. He would offer to do this only because he loved her and he could see that it was killing her not being able to handle it all. He stood silently at the entrance, his shadow being thrown across the stone floor of the temple.

There she was, casting some kind of spell over a patient in the distance and helping them drink some kind of potion.

Jun silently made his way around the edges of the temple, not wanting to disturb nor be spotted as he approached Ara just as she finished healing a patient. He grabbed her hand and pulled her aside into a private room, her protests useless against his strength. He shut the door of the small dusty office they'd entered and before he could get a word out, a sting suddenly erupted on his left cheek. What was that?

Ara's chest heaved as she breathed deeply in and out, absolutely irate at his arrogant entrance. Jun noticed her shaking her hand and realised that she had slapped him and so he acted accordingly, his own hand flying up to touch his cheek and grunting in pain. He was met with a roll of the eyes that fixed on the book cabinet in the corner of the room and Ara folded her arms as she refused to look at him, trying very hard but failing to control her emotions and so Jun stood dumbly in front of her as her nostrils flared, eyebrows furrowed and tears escaped from her eyes.

"Miss Ara-"

"Don't." she interjected, now looking squarely at him.

The nerve of him to show up! Had he come to make her leave, too? Hunter had already tried that and it wasn't going to work. She was so snowed under in trying and failing to take care of everyone and there were too many people and every hospital had been absorbed already and why the fuck was he here?

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"I'm here to help."

"I don't need your help."

"I know. I'm not here to help you, but I do want to help because of you."

Ara's arms unfolded and she straightened up, her face softening somewhat.

"This is important to you, and that makes it important to me."

"Are you serious?"

"I know I lied to you already," he began, "but I hope you understand why."

"...I understood."

"...Thank you." Jun said, desperately wanting to reach out and touch her, but refrained from doing so. "Where is the nearest hospital over the border?"

"Only a few miles." she sniffed, ungraciously wiping her face. It was only then that Jun noticed how dirty her robes were and wondered if she'd even had time to wash in the past few days. "I... are you going to escort us?"

"I will."

"Once they're safely in Kijj, I'm coming back, they need me here and don't try to-"

"I won't. I wouldn't dare stop you from doing something that you wanted to."

Why did he have to be like that?

Why did he have to be Wang Jun?

Why did it have to be a Demon she fell in love with? A complete mixed bag of emotions had been raging inside of her since his admission and she was no clearer on her own feelings as she stood in front of him for the first time in too long. She had missed him, she knew that much, and if she was being very honest with herself she was secretly delighted that he had come to find her. But at the same time, she was still mad at him. She was mad that he lied to her for so long about who he was. She was mad that his country was doing this to hers, even though she knew about the treaty.

Nothing that happened was really his doing.

But she couldn't very well run off with a Demon, never mind one who was directly involved in the ending of their home land - Zhan would have her head. Everyone would be out for her.

Her eyes met his again.

"Please don't come back." she murmured.

The corners of Jun's mouth fell. "I said I would always protect you no matter what."

"I know."

"I can't leave you like this."

"You won't." Ara shook her head with a small smile. "You'll help us and then you'll leave... or I guess I will leave after the takeover is finished."

"Do you really hate me?" he asked softly, taking a step towards her.

"It hurts too much." she smiled, a weak laugh leaving her. "Seeing you reminds me we can't be together and that hurts so much because I love you."

Jun sucked in a breath and pulled her towards himself, wrapping his arms around her.

"I promised you I would marry you, didn't I?"

A muffled response came from his chest and he smiled a little as he felt her arms wrap around his waist.

"Do you not believe me?"

"I do."

"You'll say that to me again in future, wearing the most beautiful red and gold robes."

He expected her to have a smart comeback, or some sort of feigned indignance at his quip, but instead she gave him only a half-hearted laugh and he felt her grip tightening on his robes. He let her pull away without protest and planted a chaste kiss on her cheek as she murmured that she had to go. Before she could open the door, however, Jun spoke again:

"Miss Ara, do you happen to know what the patients are afflicted with? The ones who have been hurt by magic."

Her hand dropped from the handle.

"They say they feel like their insides are twisting around, but I've never heard of anything like that. I'm only clergy, I'm not a doctor, but the medical staff here are treating it like they would when one is afflicted with vines."

"Vines?"

"The botanists sometimes get attacked by their own plants - the vines can get inside the body and twist the insides around. It's not usually fatal, but it's pretty serious."

"Are they all reporting this?"

"A quarter of them, maybe. The rest have different needs."

"It sounds like they used Gravity." he replied. "Their insides will move into a single space inside the chest within a week. It slowly crushes them to death from the inside."

"How do we cure it?" Ara asked.

"Buy yourself some time with a spell for slowing things down. I don't know if Witches have that, but anything to give them more time. I will try to learn what I can about it, but maybe in Kijj they will be able to help."

"And how will you help?"

"I'm a Demon - ranking almost as high as the Crown Prince himself. I know a thing or two."

"Fine." she nodded. "When will you come?"

"Tonight at midnight."