Before she out, all Jennie could hear through her fading consciousness was Jisoo's scream. Everything else sounded like a gurgle in deep water. The leftover energy in her gave her just enough strength to stir her eyes to the left and see Jisoo; her girl's face was as white as snow. Even then, Jennie still thought she was beautiful. 

Everything turned black for her after that. 

Her body did not feel like her own at all for long, long hours. No, it was worse than that. It felt like her physical body was no longer there, because she failed to see it in the darkness that somehow still tormentingly kept her soul awake. She did not see anyone either, not her mother, not the guards, not the foe, not Jisoo. There was only her and her soul wandering in an endless, void space. Was she dead? No, she couldn't be dead yet. She still wanted to see Jisoo, marry her, live her life with the girl. She couldn't let her life taken away just yet.

It was either this obstinacy or what sounded like the loud sound of a choir group singing in different high pitches that seemed to force her back to life. Her eyes jolted open and she took a while to comprehend all that was going on around her. Seconds later it came to her that it was not a choir group singing, but people talking in worried, high frequency while hustling around her. Before she could even turn her stiff neck to the left, a loathsome pain exploded around her left chest like a thousand needles were being ed into her altogether. The burning sensation on her skin followed along right after, and that was when her scream went off unrestrained from inside . 

"Your Highness, please stay still. Please calm down" Jennie knew this voice pretty well. It was one of her maids. "The physician would be back soon with the medicines. You will be alright, Your Highness"

Jennie heard her say, but still, the urge to see Jisoo overcame everything else, even the pain. Strugglingly she managed to shift her neck a bit and take in as much sight as her eyes allowed. There was no Jisoo. Again, with another great effort her head moved painfully slow to her right, but the Venusian's existence was still missing. 

Another thousand-needles shot took place in her chest. It gave her body such an impulsive shock that her muscles went weak and pulpy as if they were now liquid instead of solid, and they started to leak out of her and her strength. Her eyes gave in and they closed down again. 

At this time, the Martian was obviously unaware that Jisoo was, in fact, had been around all the time. She had been there from the moment the troops outflanked the assaulter. She saw them lose track of the mysterious masked-man as he escaped through the maze-like aisles of the castle. She also never moved her eyes off Jennie as they rushed the wounded princess inside. It was just that she had to wait outside the ward. Despite her protests and her endless enquiries to the maids about Jennie's current condition, she still had to wait there. Her body was still trembling as much as it had when Jennie was being rushed inside. Tears were unstoppable; she only could hold them back when she tried to convince herself that Jennie would be okay. Her whole cheeks were bloated after crying for so many hours. Jennie's mother came earlier to check on her daughter and told the Venusian to rest, but there was no way she could even sit down calmly at that moment. 

Jennie would be okay. She told herself again and again. She turned out okay when she protected her for the first time, and she must be okay for the second time too. 

***

Queen CL let out a deep, long sigh as she stared outside the window in her bedroom. The sight of her daughter in pain with the blood that had turned her left chest to a red pool bore fathomless sadness in her heart. When she looked into Jisoo's eyes as she met her outside where Jennie was lying down, she knew that the Venusian felt the same. 

"Your Majesty" 

The Queen stirred. When she turned around she saw Phobos kneeling. 

"Stand up, Phobos" The echo of her low, deep voice filled the room. 

"Your Majesty, I truly apologize that we have still been clueless of the assaulter's identity, nor of where he came from and escaped to"

The Queen was tight-lipped for a few seconds. "It is alright. We will find out sooner or later. Whoever causes or has any attention to bring harm to my daughter and Princess Jisoo must never go unpunished"

"I understand" Phobos replied firmly. "But, Your Majesty, if I may talk..."

Queen CL turned around completely this time. No words came out of , but her eyes gave the prompt for The Commander of Mars to continue. 

"The prophecy, Your Majesty" Phobos' voice quivered. "I just thought that it would be better if we let Your Highness Princess Jennie know soon" 

Silence came after. The Queen of Mars and her Senator exchanged look for a while. 

"It is okay. They still have time" She muttered, rather to herself.

***

It felt like forever to Jisoo before the door of the ward was sled open again at last. The Venusian had been sitting on the floor from midnight 'til the freezing dawn in her nightgown, though she was still warm enough thanks to one maid that brought her a blanket. Jisoo remained unshaken even after they insisted her to go back to sleep and promised that they would inform her should Jennie wake up. 

"Your Highness Princess Jisoo, you are still here?" One of the maids asked. 

"How is she?" That was all that Jisoo cared to reply. Puffs of air escaped her lips as she spoke. 

"Your Highness Princess Jennie is alright now. She is still sleeping, but her wound has been taken care of. The blade didn't go deep into more vital parts, thankfully. She will still be unable to move around much for quite a while, however" The physician - an old man at about 40 answered her. 

"Thank god" Jisoo created another pool of cold smoke through her lips before covering with her palms. The anxiety leaped out of her heart like a heavy baggage plummeted off a cliff. Her knees felt weak by the news alone. "Oh thank god"

"Your Highness, you should go to sleep. Princess Jennie would most likely be awake by afternoon tomorrow. It will not do much if you stay here, and I'm afraid you will get sick instead"

Jisoo looked at her own feet. What the maid suggested was true, but it was also true that going back to sleep would do her no good at all. It was not like she would be able to fall asleep. She wanted to see the Martian and stand by her, even if Jennie was sound asleep. She fixed her gaze again at the physician and the maid. 

"It's okay. I'll sleep here by her side" 

"But, Your Highness-"

"I have decided. Please just let me" Willfully, Jisoo said again, cutting the maid off. 

"Yes, Your Highness. Do you want me to bring an extra bed for you?" 

The Venusian's head shook. "A chair will be enough"

"Alright, I will bring it here. If you need anything else, please tell one of us, Your Highness" 

With a bow, the physician and the group of maids walked away. Jisoo stared at the brown door fleetingly before stepping inside the room. From a distance the image of unconscious Jennie came to her sight. She walked noiselessly closer and closer to the bed. 

She finally could observe Jennie's resting face clearly. It was free of pain now, though bullets of sweat still formed on her temple. The rest of the Martian's figure was enveloped in a blanket, although Jisoo could still see the wound dress that clad the girl from the shoulders to down below. The Venusian was tempted to open the blanket just to get an image of how bad the injury was. She locked the thought, though, after briefly considering that a slight touch of cool air might alert the wounded girl. 

So instead, she paid attention to a small bucket of water on a stool next to the bed and the small towel hanging on its edge. Tenderly she grabbed the white towel before drenching it in the water and twisting it to milk most of the water out. She brought the wet fabric in her hand slowly after giving Jennie a careful look. 

She knelt down and started with the center of Jennie's forehead where most of the sweats were pooling in bullets. The towel in her grip motioned cautiously as it poked Jennie's skin, afraid that the Martian might wake up. While doing this, though, the Venusian's gaze was not on the towel the whole time, but gradually down on Jennie's eyes, nose, and lips instead. 

She never realized how beautiful Jennie was until that moment. Sure, she knew how gorgeous and charismatic the girl was from the very first second she found those facial features under a tree in Venus. But this - the delicate, pretty side of Jennie was like a diamond that had been there all along but she never took time to appreciate, and it took her aback. As her eyes scrutinized Jennie's y, thick lips, her heart raced. Jisoo breathed in sharply. 

What was she being there for? She was there to take care of Jennie. The girl was in pain, for god sake, and she dared to steal a few seconds for the thought of locking those lips with her? She quickly pulled her hand away from Jennie's forehead, bringing the towel with her in her hands. She stood up facing the bucket and concentrated on it again. 

***

The next afternoon, Jennie woke up not due to pain, fever, or any negative feelings. She woke up from her deep slumber because of her palm sweating. 

Still, it did not mean she woke up effortlessly. It was still a struggle for her to uncover her eyes from her eyelids. The bright light that was the sun and shone into the room made her dizzy. Her bones were aching here and there. The worst of it all, however, was the hot, burning feeling on her left chest. She winced a bit. 

She tried to scan the room, then, and soon after she deliberately moved her head she noticed that something was wrapping her left hand. Her eyes squinted and found the girl she had desperately looked for when she was awake previously for a few short minutes. Jisoo was there. Her head was on the edge of the bed just right besides Jennie's waist. One of her arms was under it as a pillow while her other hand was holding Jennie's tightly. The rest of her body was on a chair, bending stiffly towards the bed. Just a slight look and anyone could tell that it was not at all a convenient position to be asleep.

Her heart was simply overwhelmed. The fact that Jisoo was alright and not hurt, her longing to see the Venusian - not knowing that they had not talked to each other for barely less than a day, and the sight of Jisoo being there beside her and falling asleep while holding her hand; it was all overwhelming to her. The strength in her body was still nowhere to be found, yet the beautiful sight of Jisoo infused her with power to open and force her voice out. 

"J- Ji- Jisoo" She sounded weak and hoarse, and she didn't like it. 

Fortunately, the Venusian was quickly alerted. The girl jolted up and shot her eyes wide opened. Having blinked for a few times, it dawned on Jisoo that Jennie was awake, and that she was the one who spoke her name. The last time she saw Jennie's eyes open and heard her speak was merely less than half a day, yet she badly missed those orbs and voice. She choked with joy as she threw herself to the Martian, not keeping Jennie's wounded chest in mind. 

"H- Hey" Jennie smiled weakly as Jisoo landed on her embrace. The sound of Jisoo's irregular sobs let her know that Jisoo was not any less overwhelmed than she was. "Hey, I am alright now" 

Jennie was left unanswered, but she did not bother. She let the Venusian wet her neck with her tears, and with her hands she caressed Jisoo's back, feeling the rhytm of her chest rising and falling as she cried. 

Long minutes ensued without words as the two felt each other. Why would words be neccessary, indeed?

"You're not gone" It had been a while until Jisoo broke the silence first at last. Her sentences were still impeded by her sobs. "I was really scared that you would be gone"

"Were you?"

Jisoo nodded slowly. 

"I thought you would want me to be gone" 

That made Jisoo look up at her. Jennie met her stare and she could read confusion and sadness. "Why would I want you to be gone?"

"Because all this time you seem to reject my presence" 

Jisoo let go of her embrace and came back to the chair she had used the whole morning to sleep. She gulped as an attempt to calm herself down. The Martian did not say anything more, and her look said as if she was waiting for an explanation instead of just an answer. Jisoo wiped one tear that was about to fall with her thumb. 

"I didn't reject your presence" She began. "I was just... to accept the whole thing was scary and embarassing to me. The whole marriage thing"

Jennie was still keeping her eyes on her and she felt embarassed to go on. 

"I- I don't want to talk about this right now. It's... It's not important. Are you... Are you feeling okay now?"

"Much better than yesterday at least. My chest still hurts terribly though. How long did I pass out?"

"More or less half a day"

"You were sleeping beside me all the way?"

Jisoo avoided her stare as she responded. "Yeah"

The answer warmed the Martian to no end. "What happened to the attacker, by the way?"

"They lost track of him" Jisoo replied. "A large number of troops arrived soon after he hurt you. He was agile enough to flee though. They went after him but went back without result. None seemed to know where he came from or what he intended to do"

"Whatever it was, he attempted to murder you" The Martian felt the jolt of pain in her chest again. She brought her left hand to touch the injured part as she winced. "Oouchh"

"I- I'll call your maids and the physician now!"

The chair screeched on the ground as Jisoo stood up abruptly. Much to Jennie's disappointment, the party that barged in to her room after that did not include Jisoo in it. She was glad to see her mother, of course, but still, someone whose heart was in love would yearn for the person they were infatuated with. More over than that, what Jisoo did to her - embracing her like that, was something totally unanticipated. Whether the girl felt the same toward her was now the biggest curiosity she wanted to figure out urgently, and if Jisoo did reciprocate her feelings, she wanted to make Jisoo say the words. 

The physician checked on her and advised her many things she was unable to follow one by one. They also made her drink this whole cup filled with red liquid that tasted like a mix of wine and medicine, and it dragged her to drowsiness again. No matter how determined she was to stay awake so that she could talk with Jisoo in case the girl came back, her weak physical status overpowered. 

She had had no other visitor since her mother left. The quietness of the room seemed to do nothing but making her sleepier than she already was. Just before she gave in, however, the door of the ward was opened slowly and revealed Jisoo before her eyes. 

"Hey" The Venusian greeted with her lips turning up slightly.

"Welcome back. Where did you go?"

"Your mother insisted me to take a shower and have my meal. Come to think about it, I had not had my shower since last evening so..." 

"Ah, okay" Jennie replied shortly.

The room fell silent safe for the sound of Jisoo's steps approaching the chair next to Jennie's bed. 

"Feeling better again now?" Jisoo initiated after she settled with the chair. 

"Yes. Our physician is well known for his ability to give quick cure. We need him since most of the time our troops need immediate treatment after coming back from a war or battle"

"That's good. I want you to heal quickly"

"This is too bad, isn't it?" The Martian went on after a brief silence. "We were about to plant so many trees and now I am injured. I probably can't even walk around with you anymore and your stay here is only two or three more days"

Jennie saw Jisoo looking intensely at her. The expression on Jisoo's face was rather unreadable, like guilt and sadness were both present at the same time. "But you got hurt because of me. So I... I asked your mother to let my mother know that I... will stay longer here..."

Upon the news, Jennie's eyes widened involuntarily. A wave of warmth washed over her. "You... are prolonging your stay here?"

Jisoo's eyes gave her a fleeting shy stare before wandering around again. "Yes"

"Why?" For a second Jennie forgot that she nearly lost her life the night before or that she was terribly injured. 

"B- Because I want to... look after you! I- I mean, you got hurt because of me" By this time, the Venusian's cheeks had turned as red as they had always been when she blushed. 

"Really?" Jennie locked their gazes together, although Jisoo broke it soon after. "Jisoo, can I ask you something?" 

"Y- yeah?"

"When you said you were really scared that I would be gone, is that sincere?" 

"...Of course I was sincere"

"How would you feel and what would you do if I were truly gone then?"

Jisoo failed to give the other girl any answer. Her chest started to feel tight, like a volcano of emotion was about to burst out. Jennie's question was left hanging in the air as she contemplated. 

"Jisoo?" 

The way Jennie said her name sounded so soft and beautiful to her ears. There was no use holding back. She might as well vomit everything right then and there. "I- I would feel really sad and... and I don't know. I will miss you a lot because... because all this time I think about you a lot whenever you're not around"

Jennie could feel the quickening of her own pulse. Jisoo seemed to torture her even more by falling quiet then, and it was enough to drive her crazy and to rush the girl. "Tell me, Jisoo. Tell me how you actually feel about me"

Jisoo turned to look at Jennie only to see the Martian's usual warm orbs. The same orbs that always managed to crack the wall she had built, and now it just seemed that another crack was added and her defense crumbled to pieces. She had never believed in fate, let alone her fate in falling head over heels for this girl in front of her, but Jennie melted all those barriers as if there had never been any line between fate and coincidence. 

Perhaps the line had never been there in the first place. There had ever been only Jennie, and she didn't care anymore.

"I have fallen for you, okay?" Being the first to break their eye-contact for the nth time that day, Jisoo started. "I have fallen for you from the first time. It was true that I didn't like your presence at first because- because I have never believed in that marriage thingy and I... I hate to see myself proven wrong. But you... You obstinately keep coming around me and throwing yourself like a literal shield for me, keep getting hurt because of me and I just couldn't resist you anymore so I... I..." 

"So you have fallen for me now?" Jennie chimed in before she could complete her last sentence. 

"Not just now" The Venusian replied. "I told you I have from the very first time. It's just that... It's just..."

Jennie smiled as she saw the girl stutter. She needed no more from the girl; every single word that Jisoo had spoken out was beyond more than what she wanted to hear. Pain and drowsiness forgotten, the Martian sat up straight before reaching one arm out to Jisoo.

"Come here now" Jennie instructed tenderly. 

Jisoo waited as she looked at Jennie doubtfully, still embarassed by her confession seconds ago. But what she had to say had been said, and it was not like she could go back now. So she slowly shifted from the chair to the bed, before leaning into Jennie's warm, welcoming embrace. 

Jennie sighed in relief as Jisoo's head touched her chest for the second time that day. She waited until Jisoo's tensed muscles loosened up and as Jisoo snuggled closer to her neck, she knew the Venusian felt comfortable enough now. No words were neccessary and no kisses were needed; for some reasons, just feeling each other's warmth was enough to let them know that they owned each other now. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello again :)

I feel happy just by reading every warm message that you have left here. Although time and energy limit me from replying one by one, please do know that I really appreciate every single comment. 

I hope you like this sweet chapter where Jisoo finally gave in to Jennie 😁. Thank you for reading and, until the next update.