Chapter 133: The Things We Hide
"It was purely by accident. I discovered that I had these powers when I was six, after accidentally teleporting myself into the royal throne room. Luckily, nobody was there to witness it, since it was in the middle of the night and the room was empty. After that, I tried it every night when everyone was asleep, but I always ended up in unexpected places before teleporting myself back to the palace. Then, when I was fifteen, I had a dream, and I wanted to see a place like that. I just thought about it and teleported to the spot where the willow tree stands."
He paused, his voice distant as if he was reliving the memory, "This place somehow brought peace to me, so I wandered around until I found a small hut by the stream with no one inside. So I gathered some locals from the nearest village and paid them to build a cottage here. After setting it up little by little, I decided to seal this place from others’ eyes, so that in my absence, no one could make use of it."
Eve continued to gaze at him softly and asked, "Do you come here often?"
"At first, yes, but with my teleportation being unstable, I wasn’t always able to end up here. Then, as I started taking on the duties of the crown prince, I barely found any time to spare."
"So does no one else know about this place?"
"No," Ivan’s eyes lingered on her serene face as he murmured, "You are the only person who’s ever set foot in here apart from me."
Eve’s heart thudded against her chest at his words and the quiet intensity of his gaze. Suddenly, her throat felt parched and she gulped down the wine quicker than she should have. Clearing her throat, she asked, "So...what do you actually do when you’re here?"
Ivan’s lips curled subtly as he watched her get flustered, trying to fill in the silence. He hummed softly before looking out of the arched window, "I read books, catch up on sleep, or go out for a swim."
He then turned his gaze back to her and asked, "Would you like to try it?"
"For a swim?" she asked, surprised.
"Hm," he studied her while taking a slow sip of his wine.
Eve licked her lips and said with a nervous laugh, "Unless you want me to freeze to death, I think I’ll pass." She nervously glanced out of the window at the stream flowing past the porch, the faint chill of the idea sending shivers down her spine.
"Don’t worry about the water temperature, I can fix that," Ivan said, and the more he thought about swimming, the more he wanted to do it, only with Eve this time.
"B-but I don’t have any spare clothes here," she tried to reason with him.
Ivan raised a brow and tilted his head slightly as if she had said something silly, "You take your clothes off to swim, Eve. That way they won’t get wet."
This made Eve snap her wide blue eyes at him, giving him an incredulous look, "You can’t be serious?"
Ivan gulped down the rest of his wine in one go and set the glass on the coffee table before extending his hand towards her, "I am as serious as one can be."
When she failed to react, he leaned in slightly and pressed in this low, persuasive voice, "When was the last time you did anything even remotely close to this? To have a nice, relaxing swim in the womb of nature, far away from any prying eyes, breathing in the crisp mountain air mixed with wild flowers...with me."
His smoldering eyes bored into hers as he gently coaxed her, and god, she was coaxed.
Everything he just said sounded so pleasant to her ears that she wanted to experience it all, to live freely, without a care in the world.
She parted her lips and was about to say yes when another concern dawned on her. "Ivan, everything you just said sounds very convincing. But...there’s an issue."
His brows furrowed slightly. "What issue?"
Her cheeks flushed red in embarrassment as she glanced down at her half-filled wine glass, "I...I don’t know how to swim."
"And?" Ivan asked quietly, as if sensing there was more she wasn’t saying.
Eve bit her lower lip before admitting softly, "I have this fear of water." Her voice trailed off at the end.
He expected Ivan to laugh at her shortcomings, but as seconds passed, he did no such thing. The silence between them stretched, and when she finally looked up, she found him gazing into her eyes, not judgment or mockery, but with calmness as serene as the stream flowing outside the cottage.
After staring at each other for a few seconds longer, Ivan asked, "If I teach you, will you be willing to learn?"
"I want to...but my fear runs deeper than you think," she said solemnly.
Ivan finally shifted from his place, inching closer to her. He gently took the wine glass from her hand and placed it on the table before taking her hands into his. His voice dropped low as he asked, "There’s more to it, isn’t there?" He studied her face closely, and when her heart skipped a beat, he knew he was right.
Eve lowered her gaze, unable to meet his eyes, only to hear him continue softly, "Eve...I know we both have our fair share of pasts hidden from each other, and I don’t expect us to reveal everything all at once. But I can’t deny that I want to know you better. If possible, I want to know every single thing about you, the good or the bad." He paused, his tone turning gentler, "So...why don’t we take this first date as an opportunity to get to know each other better? I’ll tell you something, and you’re free to share whatever you are comfortable with. Alright?"
Eve looked at him, surprised as she never expected Ivan to be ready to reveal anything more about himself. She wondered what more he would share. Eager to know more about him, she gave him a small nod.
When he saw her agreeing, a faint smile touched his lips. He realized then that he, too, needed to open up; it couldn’t be a one-way street. So with a slow, steady breath, he began, "When I was a kid, I once came across a puppy in a village I had accidentally landed in while experimenting with my teleportation. I grew fond of it instantly. Wanting to take it back to the palace, I picked it up and used my powers to bring it with me. But when I finally managed to teleport back after much difficulty..." He paused, his eyes hardening, "When I looked down at the puppy, it was...charred, burned by my fire."
Eve’s heart twisted in pain as she saw a flicker of anguish flash across his eyes before he blinked it away, masking it once again beneath his calm exterior. Then turning his gaze to her, he said quietly, "After that, I never tried to teleport anyone else...until today."
"Then why did you...try it with me?" she couldn’t help but ask.
Ivan looked deeply in her eyes and whispered, "Because you’re the only one who doesn’t get burned by my fire."
"I....didn’t realise.." she murmured, swallowing hard as the weight of his words sank in.
"It’s the truth," Ivan said softly. " Somehow, I know to my very bones, my fire will never burn you...it’s inexplicable."
As silence settled between them again, Eve realised she needed to share her part as well, though it was far harder than she had imagined. Panic began to rise in her chest, which she tried to push down, terrified of how he might react to the darkness of her past. Shame burned through her, yet when she looked at him, she saw only patience in his eyes.
While she struggled to gather her courage, Ivan quietly watched her, noticing every flicker of hesitation. Sensing her inner battle, he gently released one of her hands and placed it against her cheek, "It’s fine..Eve," he said softly. "If it’s too hard...don’t push yourself. We can do this another time, when you’re ready."
He gave her a faint, reassuring smile and began to rise, she quickly reached out and grabbed his hand, "No...I want to!" she blurted out, lifting her gaze to meet his. "I want you to know..."
Ivan slowly settled back down and waited patiently. Eve’s eyes drifted towards the window, where the soft murmuring of the stream outside stirred memories she had long tried to bury. The trauma it carried resurfaced vividly, her screams echoing in her ears as if it had all happened only yesterday.
She began softly, her voice trembling, "When I was ten years old, Queen Elara once found me by the river near the Palace of Light, holding my mother’s ring..."
